Random pics

The weather is nice in Tokyo now, nice time for riding a bike.

Nicole is getting taller, either that or Japanese cars are getting smaller.

Simon Chong, this is what a REAL GPS looks like, not that 1980s Namco racing game 'thing' you have...

It was good to be home

Seeing my friends, seeing the old haunts, sweating profusely and of course no trip back home to Singapore would be complete without a trip (or several) to good ol' Ghim Moh market. Every local dish or speciality you could wish for could be found in Ghim Moh. But, there was only one thing I was dying to eat... Bak Chor mee.

...and there it was. $3.00 of pure culinary delight! I take my hat off to these noodle sellers, they have the skill and have perfected the right mix of oil, vinegar, soya sauce and chilli. Having tried several times to replicate it here in Japan has only made me more desperate to get a bowl from the experts.

10 minutes later, I was a happy man... walking out of Ghim Moh with a spring in my step and a tummy full of happiness.

The Wedding

I can't belive my week in Singapore is over, suddenly I'm back in Toyko looking forward to another holiday. The main reason for going back was to serve as best man for David at his wedding. As usual a wedding attended by the boys is a wedding worth going to... what a party! It's been years since I'd seen so many drunkards in one room.

The dapper groom, way before the 'graveyard' hit

The gorgeous bride, didn't run off at the last moment...

It was a party to remember, problem with so much drink is I can't recall much. I have flashes of David being finished off by a 'graveyard', Leonard Loke, Peter, Bryden, Lyndsey, Adrian and myself bombed by a 'graveyard' each, while three men of lesser intestinal fortitude didn't touch the stuff, Leonard Chuah, Simon and Clarence.

I can still taste the sambuca in my mouth... yuck.

Pulled over... again.

Greater Tokyo has a population of 35 million.

Japan has 79 million motor cars.

Japan has 258,000 policemen nationwide.

Tokyo has 42,000 policemen.

Tokyo has 1,100 police cars.

Tokyo has 951 police motorcyclists.

In a country of 79 million cars and a city of 35 million people with only 951 motorcycle traffic policemen to cover all the roads in Tokyo. How on earth does one of them always manage to be there when ONE Singaporean decides to bend the rules?

I must remember, do not overtake on a single yellow line, do not overtake on a single yellow line, do not overtake on a single yellow line...

A regular Japanese lunch meeting

I thought I would snap a couple of pictures at a typical Japanese agency lunch meet, in this case a gathering of the operating team on our largest client, Philip Morris and because we're discussing 'sensitive' stuff, we can't go to a restaurant.

The key thing here is to get lots of coffee, because if it's a lunch meeting, it means one thing... it's gonna be long. Inevitably the most boring and monotonous person will be doing the bulk of the presentation. The highlight of the meeting is a toilet break.


The most important person here in the picture is the translator, without her, I fall asleep within seconds.

Another staple at lunch meetings is the bento box lunch. My question is, what is wrong with a sandwich or hamburgers or char siew fan (yeah right!)? These darn bento boxes look attractive but the food is always cold and I can't tell what half the stuff is... I have a simple rule here, if I don't know what it is, I'm not eating it. The problem for me with Japanese food is, even if I knew, I'd wish I didn't...


Anyway this particular meeting took 2 and a half hours. I think I went to the toilet 5 times...