Day 54 of the 60DWCC - Another Run at Chinese Garden

Morning Run at Chinese Garden

Yeah, I know what you are thinking, who would go for an early run on the second day of the Chinese New Year, ya? Well, RK and I woke up early and since we would not be visiting anyone so early in the morning, we thought why not go for a run as there will be fewer people and hence more fresh air for us. :D

As usual, we began the run near the canal nearby our house and we run all the way to the Chinese Garden, stopping a few times for RK to catch his breath. Once we are inside, we alternate between walking and jogging for the rest of the journey to the pagoda.

Enjoying the Cool Morning Breeze on Top of the Pagoda

Yeah, both of us went up the Pagoda again. Wish THL was here with us, she would have enjoyed it. Well, at her current state of mentality and fitness, such rigorous exercise may not be suitable for her. Anyhow, we enjoyed the morning breeze high up in the sky and we stayed for almost 30 minutes before making our way back to the ground floor.

Taking a Break at Japanese Garden

We jogged and walked for another few hundred metres before stopping at a very windy shade at Japanese Garden. There was a few photographers flashing their expensive camera trying to snap picture of a kingfisher that is resting on a piece of white colored rock.

RK and I took a break. I lied down for a bit to enjoy the cool breeze while RK entertained himself by throwing some small pebbles into the nearby pond. I wonder how many fishes he has killed within that few minutes. :)

We catch a MRT home as RK was obviously not in the shape to run back to our house. We bought breakfast home on our way home.

THL Cooks For Her In-Laws - Was it a Disaster?

My parents and sister came by our house around 4pm. While RK and I were entertaining them in the living room, THL was in the kitchen whipping up dinner for us. THL prepared Spaghetti for us all. Was it nice? Well....my mum finished the entire plate including the chicken drumlets. She could hardly walk after that due to bloated stomach. Hee...

 Nice CNY Movie at Jurong Point GV

After the "sumptuous" dinner at home, we finally reached Jurong Point. We waited for a while before we were allowed into the cinemas. The movie was quite entertaining and funny and my whole family enjoyed it.

We took bus home after that movie and we catch a little bit of the Korean drama that we have been watching after RK went to bed.

Transport Expenses: $5.23

Bus Rides:
Home to Jurong Point => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07
Jurong Point back to Home => $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

MRT Ride:
Chinese Garden to Home => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

Daily Afterthoughts:

54 days have passed since we sold our SUV and the 3 of us have certainly gotten used to taking public transport for our daily traveling needs. The only thing that we (especially RK and THL) have not gotten used to is that we have to wake up so early in the morning. I am considering whether I should bring RK to school by taking a direct bus (6 stops) to school on certain days of the week so that he could catch another hour of sleep? Perhaps...I may go for a trial run soon....

Day 39 of the 60DWCC - Fulfilling Meal at Menya Musashi Restaurant 麺屋武蔵

After staying inbounded over the past 4 days, THL and I decided to have a meal at WestGate. At 5.30pm, RK and I took a feeder bus down to Jurong East Interchange. As per plan, RK and I will find a place to eat dinner and THL will look for us there when she arrived.

After wondering around for a bit, I decided to pick Menya Musashi restaurant for our dinner. THL and I have walked past this Japanese restaurant a few times and we always see a long queue outside. We reckoned that the food must be nice since there is always a long queue.

RK and I got ourselves seated inside and to our surprise, every table comes with a mini iPad for customers to place their orders. How cool is that?!

While waiting for THL to join us, RK and I ordered something to chew on using their Mini iPad. The food and drink came within 2 minutes after I placed the order. Wow...I was impressed...

THL ordered her share when she arrived, We also order a Kids Meal set for RK and some little side dishes to share. All in all, despite the hefty price, the quality of the food was good, served hot although the service level could have been better. The space in between tables was rather cramp and the people sitting next to us could easily hear everything we say. No privacy at all.

Anyway we just wanted to try out the food so it is still fine with us. Will we still eat here again? Probably not.

After dinner, we walked around West Gate and JEM. After that we took a train to Jurong Point hoping to get a couple of Micro Charger cars for RK but we were told the cars are sold out islandwide. :(

We took a cab home from Jurong Point as it was already quite late and we were all tired.

Transport Expenses: $14.67

Bus Ride:
Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
Home to Jurong East Interchange (RK and I) => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

MRT Ride:
Joo Koon to Jurong East (THL) => $1.23
JE to Boon Lay Stn => $0.93 x 2 + $0.46 = $2.32

Taxi:
Jurong Point to Home => $9.20

Daily Afterthoughts:

We probably would not have eaten at the Japanese restaurant if we are still financially burdened with the hefty monthly expenses of the SUV. Now that we have this huge financial relief we are looking forward to pampering our tummies with good food once in a while. :)

Day 31 of the 60DWCC - Extravagant Dinner at Poulet

After RK and I are done with our daily routines which also include his napping times and doing his homework from school, we took a train ride to Jurong East to meet up with THL for dinner.

Dinner at Poulet

To congratulate and reward ourselves on our perseverance towards taking public transport over the last month, we decided to have a good meal at Poulet. As it was my first time dining at Poulet, most of the items on the menu looks good to me and that could explain why I ordered quite a lot of food for the 3 of us. :) Although the bill comes up to about $100, it was well worth it as the food quality was excellent and the service staff was friendly and attentive to our needs.

After our heavy duty dinner, we shopped around West Gate and JEM for some CNY clothing before taking a feeder bus home from Jurong East Interchange.

Transport Expenses: $3.74

Bus Ride:

Home to Boon Lay Interchange (THL) => $0.83
JE Interchange to Home => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82

MRT Ride:

Lakeside MRT to JE Stn (RK and I) => $0.73 + $0.36 = $1.09

Daily Afterthoughts:

Instead of feeding our car with expensive petrol which is constantly on the rise, we are now feeding our tummy with good food. With the thousand over dollars in saving each month, I do not think it would be too much to occasionally treat ourselves to some good food.

Day 26 of the 60DWCC - Happy 11th Year Anniversary My Dear!

11th Year of Our Wedding Anniversary - Traditional Version

Yahooo...it is our 11 years wedding anniversary so to speak - from a traditional standpoint of course. :)

We left the house early so that we could catch a breakfast and a first show over at JEM. We had our breakfast at KFC which is located at the basement of JEM and immediately after that, we walked across to NTUC and got ourselves a boatload of titbit. Ha...just joking, we only got 2 packets of chips and 2 bottles of Pink Dolphin drinks.

The Movie - Frozen

Frozen is one of the very rare animation movie that has a somewhat unpredictable plot to it and while the outcome of the ending is predictable, the unexpected twist to it towards the end was epic in my opinion. It is definitely a worth-your-time kind of movie in my book.

Nice Lunch at JEM Foodcourt

As THL have craving for one of the food being sold there, we made a little changes to our plan and had lunch at the foodcourt which is located at the 5th floor of JEM.

Bus Ride to Marina Bay Sands

We again changed our plan when we notice the bus stand that we were at has a direct bus to Marina Bay Sands. Since we have not been there for a while, we decided to cancel our plan to go Bedok and took Bus 97. The bus ride was a short one (probably due to the fact that I fall asleep during the journey there) and as it was almost going to rain soon, we alighted one bus stop earlier and quickly seek shelter inside Marina Bay Sands.

We walked and shopped for a bit before taking a train ride to the Promenade station. From there we walked to Millennium Walk and continued our way to Marina Square. We had a short break (tea-break) at HANS Cafe to rest our tired legs as well as to quench our thirsty throats.

Last Minute Shopping for Anniversary Gift

Yup, although it was not really intentional that we did not get a gift for each other in advance, we both know that we can always get it anywhere. :) Well, to our dismay, it took us almost 2 hours of "browsing around" before we decided on what to get for each other - we got each other a pair of Croc shoes.

It was almost 830pm by the time we made payment for the gifts hence we quickly walk down to level 1 and had our dinner at Cafe Cartel. The food there has already been good and the price is reasonable too.

After our dinner, we walked to the bus stop opposite Millennium Walk and took a direct bus home.

What a day well spent. :)

Transport Expenses: $14.96

Feedwe Bus to Lakeside MRT => $0.63 x 2 + $0.38 = $1.64
Lakeside to JE => $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.82
Bus to Marina Bay Sands => $1.66 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.90
MRT ride to Promenade Stn => $0.83 x 2 + $0.36 = $2.02
Direct Bus to Home => $2.35 x 2 + $0.88 = $5.58

Daily Afterthoughts:

Looking back at the times when I was driving, it has began to dawn on me that the time spent looking for parking lots in shopping malls and outdoor carparks could in one way or another offset the time spent taking public transport. Moreover the amount of money (monthly) I have spent on car park fees alone (especially on places like Marina Bay Sands) had easily surpassed the entire transport expenses we have had over the first 2 weeks of the 60DWCC. The life journey over the past few weeks have certainly rained onto me some form of enlightenment, ya? :)

Day 17 of the 60DWCC - Horrible Experience at Thomson Medical Center

As THL has a annual medical checkup scheduled at Thomson Medical Center (TMC), we left the house early to catch a feeder bus to Lakeside MRT. We then took a train all the way to Novena station. After which we took a cab (not knowing that there is a free shuttle bus to TMC) to TMC and managed to reached there at 9.20 am (10 mins before the appointment time).

As I was too lazy to climb the overhead bridge to the other side of the road where there is a coffeeshop, RK and I took our seriously overpriced breakfast at Delifrance - a Cheese and Ham croissant bread, a glass of lemon tea and a bowl of soup at $13. THL could not join us because she was told not to take any food before the medical checkup.

After our breakfast, our nightmare began... After nearly 4 hours of waiting, we were told the doctor has left for lunch and we had to come back in another hour. THL lost count on the number of times she had to travel up and down the lift just to have one checkup done after another - with a long time waiting time between each). THL & I agree that we will go to another medical center next year.

Our ordeal ended at 3.30 pm after paying the ridiculous medical bill of around $465 dollars. As it was drizzling, we took their free shuttle bus to Novena. The 3 of us enjoyed a short tea-break over at HANs Cafe and we walked around Square 1 and 2 for a bit before taking a train to Somerset 313.

At 313, we had our dinner at Marche. We notice that the variety here is not as good as the branch over at Vivocity. Anyway, we order a few dishes to share and we took a train home after that.

After a 55 minutes train ride, THL was too tired to walk home so we took a cab home from Chinese Garden MRT station.

Transport Expenses: $23.67

Bus Ride:

Feed bus to Lakeside MRT => $0.63 x 2 + $0.38 = $1.64

MRT Ride: $10.03

Lakeside to Novena => $1.77 x 2 + $0.58 = $4.12
Novena to Somerset -> $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07
Somerset to Chinese Garden => $1.63 x 2 + $0.58 = $3.84

Taxi Fare: $12

Novena MRT station to TMC - $6
Chinese Garden Station to Home - $6

Daily Afterthoughts:

Although today's transport expenses were all time high (since we took 2 taxi rides), it could have been worse had we drove a car to the places we have been today.

Petrol consumption would have easily been $20 dollars, parking fees at TMC would have been $20++ for 6 hours of parking and parking at Novena Square 2 and Somerset 313 would have been $8 at least. Hence all in all, we could have spent at least $50 bucks on transport expenses had we drove a car.

Day 14 of the 60DWCC - Scrumptious Brunch at TimHoWan - Singapore's Most Popular Tim Sum Restaurant

Having seen it been advertised on TV commercials and across various variety shows, THL and I decided to pamper our taste buds by having brunch at TimHoWan. This treat is also partly to compensate our tummies for the overpriced and low quality food that we ate the night before.

Since it was already 10.40am, we took a taxi to JEM and walked through to the restaurant at West gate. The restaurant's opening is 11am but we thought we would be among the first few customers to queue up since the 3 of us managed to reach there slightly before 11am. Ha...being kiasu singaporeans ourselves, we should have known better. A long queue has already formed by the time we reached there and by the time the restaurant opens, we were only among the first batch of customers to get seated. We had to hold on to our groaning tummy and waited on the queue for another 35 minutes before we were being ushered to our place inside.

Revenge of the Tummy

The 3 of us were so hungry we ordered about 10 dishes including desserts and we managed to devour all of them within an hour. Below are a few of the dishes that we manage to take picture of before they were gone.

Are the Tim Sum at TimHoWan more expensive than the typical Tim Sum? Yes. But they are not overpriced because they are really very well done and the fillings within most of the Tim Sum dishes are generous hence THL and I feel that they were all worth their $4 to $5 a dish prices.

After the brunch, we took MRT train down to Orchard to satisfy our craving for last minute Christmas shopping. The journey downtown was pretty smooth with no nasty traffic jams to tackle with, no carpark "full" headaches to worry about, we were able to shop till our heart's content without feeling a pinch for the car park charges which were usually more than $10 for just a few hours of parking.

We were able to shop from ION Orchard to Wisma and then to Takashimaya and all the way to Paragon. RK bought both of us a gift and he paid for them using his pocket money. Cool! :) There is a new confectionary shop at Takashimaya basement and THL could not resist and bought some breads for tomorrow morning's breakfast.

We took Bus 502 back home after we could no longer feel our legs (too tired to walk anymore). We had a somewhat light dinner at a nearby coffee-shop (if you consider Curry Fish Head a light dish) before going home.

Transport Expenses: $13.43

MRT Fare:

JE to Orchard => 2 x $1.55 + 1 x $0.58 = $3.68

Bus Fare:

Orchard Bus 502 to Home => 2 x $2.42 + 1 x $0.88 = $3.30

Taxi Fare: $6.45

Week 2 transport expenses stand at $116.59.

Daily Afterthoughts:

Today's trip down to Orchard makes me realize that while driving a car downtown could save us some traveling time but it will also give us unavoidable headaches such as:

• Traffic Jams
• Finding Carpark lots
• High Carpark Charges (especially at City area)

It has been 2 weeks since we go car-less and honestly speaking, I have not miss driving at all. Okay, maybe a little bit but not much as I expected. :D

Day 9 of the 60DWCC - Bus Ride to Brother-in-law House

After I was done with my daily work and household chores, RK and I proceeded to take a bus to my brother-in-law's house. The primary purpose of the visit was of course to have RK played with my niece RT and also to have dinner with THL's family.

We took Bus 185 and it was a long wait (about 13 minutes) and despite the deafening thunders roaring across the sky, I resisted the urge to grab a cab. The bus came just as I was about to surrender. Phew...

The ride in and of itself was rather comfortable. It was not packed and the journey was surprising short and "painless". :D

Their somewhat "crazy" dog was barking very loudly at us when we were at the door and my niece has to carry it away. For me, I have never really like dogs (especially stupid ones that bark blindly) except for those who has all their teeth extracted and do not have the ability to bark (is there such dog in existence? Toy dog? Heehee).

For many moments I resisted the urge to kick it on its face as it sticks out its smelly and sticky tongue to get "familiarize" with the 2 of us. Yuck! Please forgive my adversity towards this dog because I really could not stand its stupidity when it comes to recognizing people. Does it have to bark whenever it sees us? Does it have to lick our legs every time he sees us? Come on, somebody give that dog some marbles...

RK and I played Monopoly with my niece shortly after we are done with the dog thing. THL came at 6.30pm and we have dinner together. We continued the game after dinner and we left for home at 830pm.

As it was still drizzling outside, we took a cab home.

Transport expenses: $10.30

Bus Ride:

THL to work => $0.73
RK and I => $1.03 + $0.51 = $1.54

MRT Ride:

THL from JK to JN => $0.73

Cab Fare: $7.30

Daily Afterthoughts:

Although taking public transport can be time consuming among other negative factors (long waiting time, become human-sardine during peak hours, risks of getting infected when someone coughs non-stop, standing beside someone who has B.O etc), it is still bearable for the most part especially when there is a huge difference in expenses between owning a car vs taking public transports.

That being said, I am not saying I will never ever get a car again. I am just feeling comfortable right now with taking PT (public transport) and I will definitely evaluate our situation again after the 60 days challenge is over. :)

Day 7 of the 60DWCC - A Hefty Meal at Ichiban Sushi vs A Full Tank of Petrol

As it was school holidays, RK and I stayed at home most part of the day with the exception of me going out for my daily morning run and getting lunch from the nearby food stalls.

We spent most part of the morning focusing on our own stuff - with me working on my projects and RK playing his games and exploring new countries and terrains using the newly installed Google Earth apps on his handphone. For his age, he does amazes me on the sort of things he has very keen interest in - things like getting to know the largest known planet in the universe, the largest known number and all the geographical information like the largest continent on earth and so on. In my opinions, he has already outgrown his age with his super mental capability. He has never fail to amaze me with the types of questions he has been asking me.

RK: Hey Daddy, why is Googolplexian the largest number in the world? How many trillions are there in a Googolplexian?

Me: Huh...

RK: Daddy, how many seconds are there in a month? Do you know?

Me: Please use a calculator...

RK: Why use a calculator?

Me: ???

It was not until late afternoon that I have some spare time to accompany RK. He was watching his favorite TV shows on Okto and I watch the show with him. Did you know he could remember most of the TV programs from Okto channel? Incredible...

6.00 pm - We went out to meet THL at Jurong Point for dinner. We waited for her outside Ichiban Sushi restaurant. While there was no much of a queue outside, the restaurant was already full and we had to wait for 25 minutes before we were shown to our table.

As we were very hungry, we ordered quite a fair bit of food and RK alone ate a few plates of sushi from the sushi conveyor belt. The food came shortly and we devour the food after THL took some last known pictures of them before they enter our hungry tummy. :D

Micro Chargers 

We bought a set of Micro Chargers from Kiddy Palace for RK as Xmas gift since he has been pestering us to buy for the past few months. He was over the clouds when I bought the upgraded version, much to the dismay of THL who preferred him to get the smaller version that is easier to setup and keep. Anyhow, he was very happy and we told him that we will wrap it up and he can only unwrap and play it 9 days later (Christmas Day).

We took bus 198 and walked home.

Transport expenses: $4.01

MRT Ride
LS to BL (THL) = $0.73
LS to BL (RK and Myself) = $1.09

Bus Ride
Bus Fare for THL -> $0.73 = $0.73
Bus Fare for RK & Myself -> $0.73 x 2 = $1.46

Daily Afterthoughts:

The money we spent for the hefty meal at Ichiban Sushi could have been otherwise spent on pumping up a full tank of petrol for "XL". Not sure about THL, for me I definitely feel that it is more worthwhile to fill our tummy with good food (our stomach will at least appreciate in size...LOL!) than to feed overpriced petrol (in SG context) to a car that has a depreciation value.

No matter how I look at it, I still feel that I have made the right decision in selling away our 2.4 litre SUV which had been a very expensive beast to maintain. The next car, if we ever get one again, will definitely be of a small engine capacity and more fuel efficient.

Day 5 of the 60DWCC - Postive Adaption Process Begins

Welcome to Day 5 of the 60DWCC. 4 days have past and the 3 of us are still alive. The world did not end like we expected. Hurray! :D

We left the house at around 1pm. We took a feeder bus 335 to Jurong East Interchange and took a MRT ride to Clementi. We waited for a shuttle bus to Grandstand which was estimated to arrive at 1.45 pm. Upon reaching Grandstand, I went to settle some stuff with one of the car dealers and we had our lunch at Curry Garden after that.

The food at Curry Garden has always been nice and this time round we ordered some Naan, butter chicken, a very delicious curry prawn dish to share as well as 2 egg prata for RK. It was a very fulfilling meal.

We took the shuttle bus back to Clementi and we shopped for a while at BHG inside Clementi Mall as THL needed to get a pair of black working shoe. RK and I went down to 7-eleven to get a Pink Dolphin drink to quench our thirst. After THL got her stuff, we went down to the basement to et some dessert before taking MRT ride to Jurong Point at 4.15pm.

As we had earlier arranged with my parents to meet up at Jurong Point for a meal together (my mum's birthday), we waited at for them at Mos Burger. They came at 6.20pm and we went up to the Soup Restaurant at 2nd floor for dinner while waiting for my sister to join us. We ordered 6 popular dishes that we have tried before. 

After the meal, we took bus 187 home alongside my parents and sister. We got some stuff from NTUC on our way home and I was glad the 5th day ended without any form of emotional hiccup. :D

Transport Expenses: $8.93

Bus Ride:

Home to Jurong East Int (3 of us) -> $0.73 x 2 + $0.36 = $1.87
Boon Lay Int to Home (3 of us) -> $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07

MRT Ride:

JE to CL (3 of us) -> $0.83 x 2 + $0.41 = $2.07
CL to BL (3 of us) -> $1.17 x 2 + $0.58 = $2.92

Daily Afterthoughts

The 3 of us are certainly getting used to taking public transports like Bus and MRT and I have a strong feeling we may no longer need a car after the 60 days challenge. We will see how it goes.