Wednesday 22 June 2016

My journey with braces #3 -- 1 year, 6 months updates

I seem to do better in the mid-points! My photos look better and I can always seem to find the photos for them! My teeth at 1 year, 6 month mark. This is the first photo where I see rubber bands on my teeth but I think I started on them once earlier.


1 year, 6 months


With rubber bands to close the gap so upper and lower teeth can 'fit' better

My Journey with Braces #2 -- 6-month update

How my teeth look like after 6 months. Actually, I wanted to post the photo for the second month as my teeth had straightened considerably but they are in my old phone. Lazy to dig out ;p 


Teeth at 6-month mark

5 money-saving and sanity-saving tips for travelling in London from a Singaporean Girl (Not to be confused with SQ girl)

As mentioned in my previous post, I just returned from a trip to Ireland and the United Kingdom. We got some free time to ourselves and I would like to share what I learnt here with my readers and also as a reminder to myself.

1) Don't think you can afford to take the Tube (similar to the MRT in Singapore) all the time
Before I went, I identified certain place I wanted to visit during the free time. I identified the nearest Tube station, printed the maps from this link (there are several options, like black-and-white vs colour, A4 vs A3) and thought I was set. Just two or three trips on the Tube should not cost very much, right?

Boy, was I wrong! Compare to the Tube fares, our ez-link card fares seem like peanuts. This is partly due to the unfavourable exchange rate. When I was there, 1 British sterling pound = 2 Singapore dollars. If you did not have an Oyster card (similar to our ez-link card), then each single trip would cost £8. That is the equivalent of 16 Singapore dollars which could last me a week in Singapore! I so regretted not borrowing the Oyster card from my colleague before going. You could buy an Oyster card while you were there by paying a £5 deposit that is refundable but I did not because not every station sold Oyster cards (the one I went to, Vauxhall, did not) and I did not have time to locate one that did without wasting too much precious time.

whynotearlier says: Time and money mean you may not be able to take the Tube as and when you wish. Be prepared to walk. A LOT. Get a map of Central London. I got one from the hotel I stayed at.

The bewildering Tube map. You can identify a Tube station by looking out for the logo of a red circle with a broad blue line in the centre.


2) Don't Overestimate the Number of Places to Visit in a Day

Besides the cost, I had also overestimated my ability to visit a certain number of places in half a day. Although I planned to visit the places that were within near each other, I had overlooked on the waiting time needed at certain attractions and the impromptu events that can happen. For example, I wanted to witness the changing of the Guard at the Buckingham Palace but I was so (un)lucky that my first visit coincided with the celebration of Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday! Not only were many roads closed, the ceremony also did not happen. I had to go again the next day and even though it starts at 11.30 a.m., it is best to go earlier. I was there around 10 a.m. but only got a spot around 10.30 a.m. and by then there were no good spots left! I would say reserve 2 hours for the Buckingham Palace if you intend to watch the changing of the Guard, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Even after the ceremony ends and you wish to leave quickly, there are barriers all around the area and you have to make detours even if you were just crossing the road.

whynotearlier says: Factor in time for waiting and improptu events that may happen.

3) Don't Assume Entry to Toilets is Free
In Singapore, it is so easy to find a non-paying toilet but not so in London. Public Toilets = Paying Toilets so make sure you have coins ready. The one at St James Park is payable. My suggestion is to visit the toilets before and after a meal so that you can use the toilets at the establishment and identify some shopping centres beforehand. Although it does not cost very much (we paid 20p at St James) but I have taken free toilet access for granted and it definitely adds up if you multiply it by the number of persons and the number of days!

whynotearlier says: Identify some places where you can answer nature's call beforehand.

4) Don't Assume You'll Get a Shopping Bag
In most places, you'll get asked if you want a plastic bag. Why? Cos there is a charge for it. 5p to be exact. If you need a bag but don't want to pay for it, some places offer paper bags and you will usually be given one if you ask for it.

whynotearlier says: Bring some plastic bags along! Like NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage. Don't bring transparent ones e.g. Giant. Don't attract unwanted attention.

5) Don't Take Safety for Granted
The busier a place is, the more dangerous it is. Why? Because then, more crime happens. Leave your Coach, Gucci and LV leather bags in Singapore and bring something more ordinary. Be low-key and don't attract unwanted attention. I have heard and read many stories where people encountered pickpockets near Buckingham Palace and Picaddily Circus.

Find out what time the sky turns dark during the time you are there and plan to get back to your hostel or hotel by then. Generally, days are longer in summer and shorter in winter. Shopping centres usually close around 6 p.m. (actual time depends on day of the week), with restaurants closing later.

If the area feels unsafe, it probably is. Stay on the main roads as much as you can. If you have to go on to a side road, stay alert and look out for exit paths.

whynotearlier says: Take care of your belongings and don't be a statistic. Going and coming back safely and happily is my travelling mantra.

Thursday 16 June 2016

Travel Review: 14D11N Best of Great Britain and Ireland

Europe is one of the favourite destinations of Singaporeans due to the diversity of its people and cultures. There is something for everyone -- the foodie, the shopping queen, the culture buff, the adventure seeker. In this post, I review my second trip to the continent which covers four countries: Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and London.

1. Group Package Tour
I chose a group package tour for the opportunity to visit more countries efficiently. However, this is a trade-off with the flexibility to customise the duration of visits according to your preferences. 

2. Travel Agency
I decided to travel with Dynasty Travel. They are located opposite Central at Clarke Quay MRT station. This is my third time travelling with them. From past experiences, their tour packages are priced much higher than their peers, about 20% to 25% more. The hotels and meals included in the packages are touted to be of a higher quality than the others in the market. For me, it has been a hit-and-miss affair. Their tipping policy this time also included compulsory porterage of £20 (SGD$40) per person. For those who are unused to package tours, tips are a compulsory part of the package for the staff who may include the tour leader, coach driver. In this case, the tipping extended to the hotel porters as well.

The booking staff that handled my booking was not specialised in Europe tours and could not tell me very much beyond what was already on the itinerary. It so happened that her colleagues who could tell me more were also not at work. To her credit, she did offer to get another colleague to explain the details to me if I were to visit the office again. As a tour briefing would be provided before the departure, I did not take up the offer. Payment was swift (as always) and I was given the travel bags. This time, Dynasty Travel has innovated its travel bags to look like Longchamp carry-ons but printed with its company logo. The thing that irked me was that I was only given two luggage tags, one for each of us. From experience, the tags are susceptible to destruction due to the frequent loading and unloading throughout the trip and so I asked for more. The booking staff, who had been quite professional before my request, gave me two more grudgingly, but not before saying curtly, "Actually, one customer only gets one tag." I do not know if this change in attitude was because I had just paid in full for the trip, but it left an unpleasant aftertaste. To me, the luggage tags are part of the whole package and no company has ever mentioned such a restriction to me. I could use my own but won't it be difficult for your staff to identify my luggage?

The Longchamp lookalike



The luggage tag that was so 'precious'

Rating: 3/5

3. Logistics -- Weather, Flight Time, Insurance
The trip was in the first half of June, which is the start of summer. However, summer in Europe is starkly different from the tropical weather we experience in Singapore all year round. In Europe, temperatures can dip and rise throughout the day. During my trip we experienced lows of 13°C on certain days, The average was 15°C to 18°C on most days in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. In London, temperatures were more comfortable, hovering around 20°C. Hence it is important to pack a warm sweater or good windbreaker, or even scarves. A poncho or umbrella is absolutely essential, especially in London.

The flight was a red-eye flight lasting 12h 35min and due to the 7-hour time difference (London is 7 hours behind), it was morning when we landed in London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. Immediately, we transferred to our connecting flight to Dublin Airport which took another 1h 25min. The flight home was a direct flight home from London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 back to Singapore Changi Airport. 

Insurance is a must for me when I go overseas. This time, I bought it online as I had narrowly missed the discount at the travel fair by three days. I managed to find a deal that bettered the 30% discount so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that I had not bought it earlier.

4. Airline
The airline was British Airways and the baggage allowance was one piece of luggage not exceeding 23kg for economy passengers. If you are a big shopper like some of my tour mates, then perhaps it is not enough. Two meals were served on the flight, dinner and breakfast. I did not understand why despite the long duration of the trip, that breakfast was served only an hour before landing. There was barely enough time to scoff down the meal before having to prepare for landing. Compared to Singapore Airlines, there were fewer refreshment options. When I travelled to Italy on another European airline three years ago, the service was more efficient and being a long-haul flight, the flight attendants walked the aisles more frequently with beverages to quench our thirst. I only experienced this once on the return flight this time round. Both trips were made in the Airbus A380s but my the experience this time was more bumpy. I am not sure if it is because I was seated on the upper deck this time.

Airbus A380 was not so swell this time


Flight path

London Heathrow Airport T5


On board domestic flight to Dublin

Rating: 3/5

5. Transport 
One of the affordances of going on a packaged tour is having the use of a coach. The convenience of alighting and boarding near to the places of attractions and the security of being able to leave your belongings on the coach without lugging them around the entire day cannot be disputed. The three drivers who were assigned to us were experienced and skillful and our journeys were mainly smooth except for a minor skirmish with another vehicle which made many of us thankful for the seat belts.

Rating: 4/5

6. Itinerary
Below were the places we visited.

Dublin - Belfast - Stranraer - Glasgow - Glencole - Isle of Skye - Loch Ness - Scottish Highlands - Edinburgh - Lake District - Greater Manchester - Stratford-Upon-Avon - London

Mostly, we stayed a night at each place, except for Belfast, Edinburgh and London where we stayed for two nights.  

We had city tours at the following cities: Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Isle of Skye, Edinburgh and London. Personally, I would have preferred to walk around at some of the places rather than look at them from afar in the coach. At each of these tours, there was a different guide. Not all were interesting and we had to pay £2 each for their services. 

City tour after city tour...sigh


Our guide at Isle of Skye which one of my tour member liked

Many places listed in the itinerary were mere photo stops. Like at the Titantic museum, where many other tour groups visited, we merely just drove past to view the giant cranes, used the toilets at the place and were given 15 minutes at the gift shop. One tour member commented that the things bought could only be meaningful only if we had visited the museum and I truly agree with her.

Some of the more memorable places where our visit was longer were: Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge and Edinburgh Castle.

Only a photo stop at the Titanic Belfast Museum

Giants Causeway

Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge

Edinburgh is pronounced as "Edinburrah" by the locals

Edinburgh Castle

Rating: 3/5

7. Food 

I mentioned earlier that this is the third time I have travelled with this agency and I must say that for the price paid, the food served were monotonous, unpalatable and the portions were even stingy. Some of the better meals were the Chinese meals (consistently tasty and the hotel dinner served at Crowne Plaza Manchester Airport. But the service at the Chinese restaurant was bad. Our table had finished our meal first and we were sitting there, waiting for others to be done and the staff actually came over to ask us to leave the table when we were done! So rude! My tour mates were so mad that they went outside to wait even though it was cold.

Not all of the meals served in hotels were good, the meal at Stormont Hotel being a classic example. The beef was so salty it was unpalatable and a tour mate described it as being "dipped in salt". No one could have taken more than two bites without gagging. When the manager came round to get feedback, he just said, "Oh!" and walked away quickly.

In England, I blinked my eyes when the fish and chips were served as I could not believe my eyes. It was literally a piece of fish and some chips! In the U.S., it would have been a kid's portion! Wait, but I paid adult prices! And the hygiene of the restaurant was poor. The tour member next to me found a housefly in her salad while she was halfway through. It was still alive! :(

The better meals were those we had on our own which made us wonder why the food served to us was so yucky since they were curated for our trip and the meals we had on our own were pure random choices?

 The good (I didn't take photos of the Chinese meals):

Dinner in Manchester

The nasty:
The extremely salty Northern Irish Doube of Beef

Kid's portion served to us who paid adult prices!
Rating: 1.5/5

8. Accommodation
Those in the know would know that the travel agency we signed up with prides itself on the quality of the hotels it works with. However, throughout my trip, my tour mates and I faced problems with the air-conditioning, the sink and the kettle. If you were lucky, the hotel would offer a room swap but if you were not, the hotel staff might raise their voice at you or simply apologise but not do anything about it. This was consistent throughout our trip. On my second last day, the air-conditioning of the room was not working and I was offered either a room swap or a fan. To avoid the hassle of a move, I took the fan and the one that came was the size of an A4-paper! I kid you not. The breeze reached maybe like 0.2 m away. It was that feeble!

The location of the hotels were also not ideal. In Dublin, the area our hotel was situated in was unsavoury and the locals even told us it was not safe to walk around by ourselves. In Edinburgh, our hotel was 20 to 30 minutes (depending on how fast you walked) from the main shopping belt. In London, our hotel was also situated away from the city centre and to get anywhere, you had to take the Tube which took up time and money.

At the hotel in Isle of Skye, we were talked to in a military style. The server told us that we could only go down for breakfast the next day at 7.15 a.m., "no earlier and no later" as they had many tour groups staying that night. I wonder why it was our issue that they took on more than they could chew?

The worst was at Holyrood Hotel. Hotel breakfasts are usually done buffet style but this hotel only had it buffet style for the cold dishes. For the hot dishes like egg, sausage, bacon, you had to place orders with the waiter. This was not a problem, but the problem was that the kitchen could not keep up with the orders! And we stayed two nights!

On my second day there, I placed my order at about 8.05 a.m. at Table 1 but moved to Table 2 and my my meal was not served until 45 minutes later at 8.50 a.m.! When I asked the manager to pack it in a takeout box since I had to depart at 9 a.m., he had the audacity to tell me, "You could just eat faster!" In the end, they packed it messily into a piece of aluminum foil (see photo below) without any cutlery! I had to ask for the cutlery myself.

The hotel where I experienced horrible breakfast service

The cold lumpy breakfast with the unappealing wrap
Rating: 1.5/5

9. whynotearlier says
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, this is the third time I have travelled with this travel agency. While I understand that many unexpected issues can crop up in the course of a holiday, many of the factors were well within the control of the agency, like the food options and the lodging. I no longer see the justification in paying a premium for the package because the whole package is no longer above the other agencies in the industry, unlike the first time I travelled with them. Not all of the places I stayed at and the staff I met were unpleasant, but there were more bad experiences than good experiences throughout. It is disappointing, to say the least, as one has to invest time and effort into a long-haul trip and I do wish it could have turned out better.


Sunday 22 March 2015

My Journey with Braces #1

Hi everyone, it has been so long! I couldn't really blog as I have been busy, and I have ............................... *cues music* started my braces treatment!!!

Deciding was the hardest part. To go ahead or not? After thinking a loooooong time, I decided to go ahead. It's been half a year since and here, I just want to share with my dear readers the experience thus far.

Pre-braces

I said that the hardest part was deciding, and it really was. Cos it was not about deciding one day, let's go to the dentist and have the braces fitted. Due to overcrowding of teeth, I had to have four teeth extracted! I cannot even remember the last time I had a normal extraction. All I could remember was my wisdom teeth removal and the experience was .... best left as a memory.

However, with the support of my family and on the advice of the senior consultant, I decided to go ahead.

DISCLAIMER: 
All these photographs are original and not photoshopped. They are also my property and for reference only. All opinions expressed are mine and do not serve as substitutes for doctor's advice!

Before commencement of treatment
This is how my teeth looked like before any extraction or treatment, They look quite bad in this photo cos I think I was trying to show as many teeth as I could! LOL

Then came the extractions which were scheduled a week apart. The extractions were done by another doctor. I think it is quite a common practice since the doctors are all experts in their chosen specialisations but that didn't mean that my orthodontist was free! You'll see why in the next photo.

After the first extraction

You will see that here are blue objects in between my teeth, They are called 'separators', and they were inserted just before I went for my first extraction to space out my teeth and prepare them for the braces. I didn't realise the implications until I got home and wanted to eat. I found out I couldn't really bite on the biting surfaces normally anymore cos those separators were hard! It is a little hard to describe cos normal people won't have this kind of thing in their  mouths but it felt like biting on plates? Smooth but very hard. 

In case anyone wants to know how the extraction process is like, here it goes. The doctors first explain the risks to you and gets you to sign a letter giving them the go-ahead to extract your teeth and that you have understood the risks involved. Then comes the part which I dislike infinitely. Dislike x infinity. The anesthesia shots. These are the worst. The feeling of the anesthesia travelling through your blood vessels and making your cheeks swell. However, the doctors were really very good and skillful. Both times, they assured me and got the teeth out quickly enough to reduce my misery. The recovery process was normal too. Nothing to take note of very much, except a little soreness where the extractions were done.

After the second extraction

Do excuse the blood. I think I tempted fate by opening my mouth wide to take this photo, but it was really all right! No issue at all.

In the third week, I was finally ready to have my braces fitted!

Ta-dah! My braces are on!

Braces 1st Month

Very uneven and tortured viewing for the reader. But it was normal according to my orthodontist. The brackets couldn't be place on one of the teeth as it was 'rotated' but my doctor assured me that once it was straightened, the bracket (metal thing) would be fixed on. That was about six months ago, and since then, the tooth has straightened out sufficiently. Will give you more details in my next post!

whynotearlier says:
If you are hesitant about getting braces due to the extractions, don't be! Although my doctor may be different from yours, the doctors in Singapore are all well-trained and know their stuff. As one of them told me post-extraction, "Scare yourself for nothing, right?" And I had to agree with her! (Incidentally, all the doctors who did my extractions and my orthodontist are all female! How's that for GIRL POWER?) The extractions are necessary to give your mouth and teeth more space to accommodate the existing teeth so don't feel like it's so sayang to extract perfectly good teeth.

Friday 9 August 2013

Trung Nguyen Coffee

Where to go for authentic Vietnamese coffee in Singapore? Trung Nguyen Coffee is the place that you should head to right away! It has a cosy environment, with sofas as an option. Rather quiet place for chilling out if you are in the Clarke Quay area.

Front counter
They serve cakes too but on the day I went, I had coffee on my mind! I'm sure lots of us have tasted civet cat coffee but have you tasted any from wild weasels? The Legendee, which is the one I ordered is from wild weasels!

Legendee
The restaurant touts it as having "earthy" flavours and I must say I quite agree! I drank it on its own, without any milk or sugar and it packed a punch! So if you are not a frequent coffee drinker, go slow and easy to savour the small but rather pricey cup of coffee.

Address: Liang Court, 177B River Valley Road, #02-34/36, Clarke Quay
Nearest MRT station: Clarke Quay (5 min walk)

Wednesday 15 May 2013

For beginners: The secret to young, clear and bright skin

Recently, I spoke to a young girl in her late teens who was envious of her friend who had, according to her, 'young and smooth skin'. I thought, 'Wow, really? But both of you are of the same age!'

I have seen her before, but not her friend and I think she looks young (well, she IS young) and her skin is not bad. Maybe not perfect (Whose is? In this day of photoshop and make-up magicians, it is sometimes hard to tell.), but definitely not as bad as she had made out to be.

I am relating this incident because of the recent social experiement by Dove in which a FBI-trained scientist drew women twice, first based on their own descriptions, then the second based on the description of a person who knows them. And in many cases, the latter was found to be more pleasant and more close to the woman's actual appearance. Now, this 'social experiment' has received a lot of flake for how it tries to appear scientific when it is not. For example, the artist knew the aim of the experiment. Apparently, to avoid bias, it should not be the case. In addition, no backtracking was allowed to ascertain if the artist had interpreted the verbal descrptions according to what was actually meant. However, based on the anecdote I related in the beginning, I am inclined to think that sometimes we are just too harsh on ourselves. How many of us are like that, thinking the worst of ourselves when others see us in a much better light?

One of my best friends has really good skin. So good until you cannot tell if she has foundation on (or not)! Really envy her! And today, I am going to share with everyone her basic routine. The word to take note of is, basic. The foundation is always the most important. Get it wrong, and everything becomes shaky like this!


 
 
So before aiming to look younger, start looking your age. Before aiming for pimple-free skin, aim for clean skin. Then the rest will fall into place and good skin will come naturally.
 
How to get it right? I suggest this friend's routine as a good base, which is to cleanse, tone and moisturise.
 
I hear you saying: I know this already! or What? Are you kidding me?
 
But  this routine is not as simple as it sounds. There is an art to this routine. First, are you able to answer all the following questions? What is your skin type? What is your budget? Do you have any skin allergies? If you can, you probably shouldn't be reading this post and you should proceed immediately to the post for advanced readers (which has not been written yet and may never be written). If you can't, you are at the right place and your next goal should be to get hold of the answers. Finding out the answers to these questions takes time (and sometimes a lot of trial and errors, research, visiting of beauty counters, talking to friends). This step is important as you have to select the cleanser, toner and moisturise that are JUST RIGHT for you. That's right, no more, no less. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  And if you think about the zillions of products out there, suddenly, it does not seem so simple anymore.
 
So I suggest to all who read this, if you want young, clear and bright skin, get the basics right before piling on the serums and creams, or exfoliators. For those who are curious, the girl I spoke to just used cleanser and I suggested that she should add on toner and moisturise to her routine. I hope she does so as I truly believe that the three-step routine is essential.