Budget Airlines - Bane

Singapore - I read a good article in today Sunday Times on the hidden cost of flying on the cheap.

1. Once a booking is confirmed, it will cost anything from $70 to $100, depending on the airline, to change flight or passenger details for a round trip. Fare top-ups will apply if you were originally scheduled to leave on a slow day such as Tuesday or Wednesday, and now want to fly over the weekend or during the school holidays, when the airlines charge more.
2. Change fees - these are subject to fare top-ups. Airlines allow customers to book new flights provided they did so within a stipulated number of days of the originally scheduled departure date. Typically, such waiver period last a week or two.
3. Low-cost carriers do not give refunds. And if they do, the refund process can be tedious and can wait for months for the refunds to be paid.
4. Flight is cancelled or delayed for whatever reason, you will not get a drink or a bite out of the airline while you wait at the airport, and it will not put you up at a hotel either.
5. If bags are lost or damaged en route, do not expect a hardship allowance or quick compensation. Read the fine print on the when claims must be made upon returned.
6. Getting in touch with budget carriers can be tough especially in a crisis. Nobody picks up the phone and there is no email contact for customer service either.

Fly low-cost by all means. There are many good deals out there and, most times, nothing will go wrong. But if something does - a coup here or an earthquake there - it is always good to know where your airline stands on matters such as flight cancellation and refunds.

Mercury poisoning in Food??

Singapore - Toxic effects from ingesting fish containing mercury, a liquid metal harmful to humans. Sea creatures absorb mercury deposited in oceans due to natural occurences such as underwater volcanoes or man-made causes like industrial pollution. Fishes higher up in the food chain (like tuna, swordfish, salmon, etc) accumulate higher level of mercury compared to smaller fishes.

The symptoms of mercury poisoning are fatigue, muscle weakness, impairment of speech, vision, hearing and memory loss. In severe cases, it may lead to brain disorders or even death.
Cooking doesn't remove mercury from fish because the metal is bound to the meat. The fish will contain the same amount of mercury whether it's eaten raw or cooked. So it's all the same whether it's sushi or barbecued sambal fish.

Be careful where you next eat your sushi !!

NamHanSanSeong

Seoul - Before lunch my channel partner took us up a nearby mountain for a scroll.  Namhansanseong (literally "South Han Mountain Fortress") is a park at an elevation of 480m above sea level, immediately to the southeast of Seoul. It is located on Namhansan ("South Han Mountain"). It contains fortifications that date to the 17th century, and a number of temples.  

 

NamHanSanSeong - South Gate

Tony and OB Kwon

Info on NamHanSanSeong

Garlic and Fish Tear Liquor

Seoul - Koreans are the world's largest consumer of garlic and most notably they would make everything from garlic. I had alcohol made from garlic tthat helps blood circulation and rules out insomnia and hypertension.  

Tony, Young Jin and I had dinner with Dr. Na in a Korean Sashimi restaurant - the sashimi was not good because it was served frozen.  But we had 'fish tear' liquor  with a very fishy taste.   

Young Jin drinking his Fish Tear Liquor

Tony knocking back his Fish Tear Liquor

Cold and Wet in Tokyo

Tokyo - Landed in the evening and it was cold 3 degress and was raining. It was the wind and wet that was miserably very cold. It took just 1hr for the Limo bus to take me to TCAT and then took a taxi to Hotel East 21. I settled into my new room got the internet access up and running - it's cheap considering it is Tokyo - just US$6 for 2 days. Today, I hanked for sushi..yummy. When outside of the Hotel to a sushi chain and sat at the counter - they had a promotion on tuna 50% discount...hmmm excellent. I had a good meal and also added a plate of shishamo - I love shishamo.

Lighting hit Singapore Merlion

Singapore - The Merlion Statue, which was slightly damaged in a lighting strike yesterday, is only one of many structures hit by the frequent lightnigh storms that zap across Singapore each year.

Singapore has the dubious honours of being one fo the highest rates of lightning activity in the world as its hot tropical weather is ideal for the formation of storm clouds. An average lightning strike carries a current of up to 200,000 amps. In comparison, a 100-watt bulb carries a current of about 0.4 amp.

Between 1982 and last year, the NEA Meteorological Department detected lightnihg on an average of 186 days per year. And lightning hits each sq km of land 12 to 20 times each year. Because of this, lightning rods on buildings have been mandatory since 1979, as they help intercept lightning bolts.

Authentic Taiwanese Food in KL

Kuala Lumpur - We lost track of time in our discussion at the Hilton Petaling Jaya executive club. This is one of best Hitlon Club floor that I have visited. The receptionist and waiters were professional, polite and patient, there was a good spread of food for executive floor guests. I stayed at a normal Hilton floor but as a Gold Hilton member, I am extended the priviledges to enter the Hitlon Club floor.

It was around 9pm, my good friends brought me to dinner at Petaling Jaya, this is the location of the most authentic and famous Malaysian food. This restaurant, new Formosa restaurant serves authentic Taiwanese food located @ 46, Jalan SS2/24, 47300 Petaling Jaya. Contact: 603-7875-1894. The food is really good and tasty and the price is reasonable, just over RM$130 for 3 of us.
Die die must try -
Sour Plum Juice,
Stir-Fry Buttered Eel,
This desert is very unique - Formosa Special Sweet Yam. The yam cubes were first deep fried and coated with a layer of melted caramel with sesame seeds. The cubes were then transferred to a basin of ice water for the caramel to cool and harden. Interestingly, the yam cubes were not wet at all when taken out from the water and they’re still piping hot at the inside. It was very delicious - in Singapore we have similiar but with Banana. I just love it....