Pulau Tulai (also know as Coral Island) - Full Day Snorkeling Trip Part 1 @ Tioman [Malaysia]

The full-board package i booked with Discovery Tour for Tioman included a half day snorkeling trip to the offshore Reggis Island and Marine Park. 

That would be sufficient for most people but not for Alex and i; two crazy men who are obsessed with the beauty of the underwater world!

Therefore, when we realised there was an option to top up to a full day snorkeling trip, we jumped at the opportunity and immediately signed up.

I am not going to bore you with details of the over thirty-minute boat journey and shall bring you straight to the first destination; Tulai Island which is also known as Coral Island.

As i plunged into the clear blueish water, i was disappointed to find the ground too sandy; an environment that is hardly conducive for corals and fishes.

We should never forget that Earth is 30% land and 70% water! Venture further and you would find an improved situation although it paled in comparison to what we experienced in Redang Island.

Even Alex faced extreme difficulties in enticing the fishes to feed on the bread he purposely brought along. Bet by now you would have noticed the differences in picture quality and contrast. We brought along two underwater cameras; an Olympus and a Canon!

Now, be ready for an avalanche of underwater pictures as i paddled further away from the shoreline.

Just like humans add life to cities, fishes bring life to the underwater world even if they are living in a not-too-prosperous region.

Walked up the beach to take a breather and chanced upon this sign. Bloody; you are not supposed to use the inlet as a rubbish bin! On second thoughts, it would be better to have them there rather than dumping the rubbish on the beach.

Another picture of the beach, which was the first destination of our Tulai island excursion. I didn't confirm with the boatmen but this could be the pasir panjang beach listed on the aged poster installed next to the resort's activities corner.

This would be the second destination; a bay at Coral Island that would likely be the Teluk Genting. Once again, i neglected to confirm with the locals! :(

The sight that greeted us was indeed more spectacular than pasir panjang beach!

I would have taken many more pictures if not for our dear Alex's insistence that there would be enough battery juice for the snorkeling trip. Turned out one of the cameras was almost drained and we were not even halfway through!! Bloody Alex!!!

Anyway, it takes a keen eye to spot the tiny creatures (like the hermit crab above) with amazing camouflaging skills wandering all over the places. The water current often blurred the pictures and it took me a while to take this "okay" picture. 

Coral Clams! They were in abundance in Tioman and how i wish i can scrape them out and barbecue them over charcoal! That would be so delicious! 

Final look before the whole group departed for Kampong Salang for lunch! 

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Location Maps

As above. 

The Ramly Burger in Tioman Island - Paya Cafe Corner [Kampong Paya]

Food is of utmost importance whenever i take an overseas trip. Unless it is unavoidable as in the case of tour groups, i would vehemently search for local delicacies online and try my best to look for them when i am in the country.

In my quest for good food at Kampong Paya in Tioman (where my accommodation was located), one item frequently popped up in the search engine; ramly burger! 

There wasn't indication of any shop name and there were two of them in Kampong Paya! I didn't have sufficient time (not to mention burgers are also highly fattening) to patronise both and hence, took a bet with Paya Cafe Corner. 

Maggi Soup

Put simply, it was the normal soup-based instant noodles added with more ingredients like chicken meat. Nothing spectacular but as with most instant noodles, this was still satisfying! 

Ramly Beef Special

As Ramly burger originates from Malaysia, i can vividly remember my first bite twenty two years ago when my family went to Johor for a day trip. The buns were soft, the patty had a unique flavour that tasted superbly good and for a person who could not stand spiciness then, the chilli sauce was a perfect companion of the mayonnaise cream!

Sadly, there is none of the flavours from the past and i initially thought it was limited to only Singapore. How i hope the buns had a more buttery kick and that the patty was topped with a sunny side up, just like when i first had it! Nonetheless, this was easily one of the better ramly burgers i had in ages! 

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Location

From Paya jetty, turn left and walk around twenty meters where the Paya Cafe Corner is to your right.

Price

Maggi Soup - RM 4.00

Ramly Beef Special - RM 4.50

Menu

As above.

Sliced Fish Soup @ West Coast Hawker Centre

Despite working in NUS for over five years, i can count using one hand the number of times i have dined at the nearby West Coast Hawker Centre; TWICE.

You should have seen the drop of my colleagues' jaws when they heard my answer! I have nothing personal against this hawker centre but strangely, i have never felt motivated to visit.

In the past few months since i rejoined NUS, my colleagues were often heard reminiscing about this particular sliced fish soup stall in West Coast and i was finally given an opportunity to step in to the hawker centre the third time in my life early this week. 

First step - take a sip of the soup and let it swirl around your tongue for a few seconds. Verdict - too bland. Problem? I didn't stir!!! =_=; so, after giving it a thorough stir, the soup tasted plain yet robustly flavourful, especially when you eat it with a bowl of white rice! Frankly, i would enjoy it better with the addition of flat fish although not all would share the same opinion. 

I was more impressed with the slices of fish which were thicker than most competitors and featured a smooth yet firm texture that said so much about their freshness! 

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Location

Block 726, Clementi West Street 2,

#01-138 [known popular as west coast hawker]

Price

Sliced Fish Soup - Minimal S$4.50 

Rice - S$0.50

Digital Etiquette: What your Email Sign-off Says about You!

This is taken from a facebook posting and i thought this would be interesting for many of my ex colleagues in AIC and current colleagues in NUS!

Happy Reading!!!

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10. "Cordially,"

What it means: Cordial comes from the Latin cordialis, and means "of or for the heart." Some etymology manuals suggest it means something closer to "sincere."

Pros and cons: Strictly based on the definition, "cordially" would appear to possess personal undertones. And yet, it can also come off as stiff and formal, making it ideal for business correspondence and not much else. Assuming you're not an automaton, there are better options further down this list.

Typically used by: Job-hunters sending "thank you for meeting with me" notes. Nigerian email scammers.

9. "Cheers,"

What it means: By the late 14th century, the verb cheer had taken on two meanings: (1) To "cheer up, humor, [or] console," and (2) "to entertain with food or drink." Let's go with the latter.

Pros and cons: It's friendly. Chummy, even. At the same time, signing emails this way makes it sound like you really need a drink. Esquire's Rule No. 351 states that "Americans who say 'cheers' are pretentious twits."

Typically used by: The British. That co-worker who can't wait for Friday.

8. "Regards,"

What it means: Short for "kindest regards," at least according to Emily Post's seminal work, Etiquette. "It is too bad that the English language does not permit the charming and careful closing of all letters in the French manner," writes Post (p.294). Ergo, "kindest" gets the snip.

Pros and cons: This is one of those divisive sign-offs. On one hand, its formality gives you a professional blank slate — great for that new co-worker you can't quite get a read on yet. Others find it cold. According to one commenter at Giga Om, "regards" communicates something akin to "go to hell."

Typically used by: Frenemies. Go-getters with slightly sociopathic tendencies.

7. "Take care,"

What it means: Shorthand for "take care of yourself."

Pros and cons: It's friendly, conversational, and versatile. (Everyone needs to take care of themselves!) But ideally, "take care" should be left for people you know in real life. BarbaraBogaev at Marketplace makes a good point: "Take care" might sound insincere to someone you don't really know very well.

Typically used by: That co-worker you just completed a 20-week project with. Drake and Rihanna, I'm assuming.

6. "Warmly,"

What it means: "With warmth," but in adverb form.

Pros and cons: It's succinct and good natured. Think "regards" drained of its latent nastiness. Richard Kirshenbaum, chief executive of the ad firm Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, once toldThe New York Times that "warmly" felt like a comfortable middle between "love" and "sincerely." "I want to convey a sense of warmth and passion, but also be appropriate," he said.

Typically used by: Ad execs. Despondent millennials. Facebook "friends" asking for a favor.

5. "Xoxo," "xo," and all derivatives

What it means: Hugs and kisses. (Defining X as "kiss" goes all the way back to 1763, according to The Oxford English Dictionary.)

Pros and cons: Last year, The Atlantic investigated xo's quiet invasion of the workplace lexicon: "xo is not a habit unique to 20‑somethings reared on Gossip Girl," wrote The Atlantic's JessicaBernett and Rachel Simmons. "It has surfaced in the digital correspondence of everyone from Arianna Huffington to Nora Ephron…. In Diane Sawyer’s newsroom, staffers say, the anchor uses xo so frequently that its omission can spark panic." Indeed, xo's colloquial brevity is feminizing the workplace — for better or worse.

Typically used by: Arianna Huffington. Nora Ephron. Diane Sawyer.

4. "Best,"

What it means: Short for "best wishes."

Pros and cons: "Best" can sometimes feel abrupt. If you're sensitive to other people's feelings, you can always tack on a "best regards" or the aforementioned "best wishes." But "best" fits a wide variety of individual case uses, from acquaintances to strangers to bosses. I'd argue that its open-endedness is part of its appeal. According to Lifehacker, "best" is friendly with natural undertones, and like most sign-offs on this list, is ideal for emails with people you're not too familiar with.

Typically used by: Outside vendors. The tech support guy.

3. (None)

What it means: ….

Pros and cons: In this case, silence can speak volumes. Just bear in mind that you can trigger a variety of thought patterns, often simultaneously:

• "I have no time for nonsense."

• "I don't want to waste your time with nonsense."

• "I'm too indecisive to think about a proper sign-off."

• "I am possibly a mean person."

• "You're on thin ice at the moment."

Typically used by: Your boss when you request extra vacation time. Frank Sinatra, apparently.

2. "Thanks," "Thank you," etc.

What it means: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase is "a polite expression used when acknowledging a gift, service, or compliment."

Pros and cons: "Thank you" can sound forced. "Thanks," on the other hand, is pithy and versatile. Just don't use it too much in a back-and-forth, lest you sound like an apologist. (Thanks.)

Typically used by: Everyone! (Except for The New York Times' Nick Bilton, apparently.)

1. "Sincerely,"

What it means: "With sincerity." "Sincere" is believed to be derived from two Latin words: Sine(without) and cera (wax). According to lore, ancient sculptors often used wax in their stone statues to hide their mistakes. Thus, a sculpture "without wax" was the work of an honest man.

Pros and cons: Deliberate. Concise. Formal. Ubiquitous. Basically, it's everything you could want in a proper sign-off. In Etiquette, Post calls it "the best ending to a formal social note" available (p. 294). We tend to agree.

Typically used by: People who know what they're doing.

Oyster Omelette (No Brand and not the Famous One) - @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

Judging from the lack of queue outside the stall in the above picture, the normal me would think twice before attempting to make an order. 

Wait a moment! 

In the mind of many, normal is a term that hardly describes me. 

Not that i am psychologically unbalanced but there are just way too many things i can crave for when placed in a hawker centre where photographs of mouth-watering dishes on the signboards beckon and the delicious blend of aroma tickles the fickle foodie's heart.

Craving of that day: Oyster Omelette.

Occasionally mistaken as fried oyster, the omelette version lacks the gooey starch that would be a real killer for those on carbohydrate-free diet and features a more solid texture. 

I personally prefer oyster omelette even though there were many times when the freshness of oysters was too subtle, rending the dish to be merely a slight notch higher than the tze-char style fu rong egg. That's exactly the same feeling i iad with the above oyster omelette.

By the way, i belong to the group of weirdos who love fried oyster (also known as or-jian) and oyster omelette yet find the oyster meat downright disgusting to the taste buds!

I know, it's so wasteful! 

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Location

Block 120, Bukit Merah Lane 1

(Alexandra Village Hawker Centre)

Map

As above

Price

Minimum S$5

Old Punggol Satay (舊榜鵝沙爹) - Super Sweet Pork Satay @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

I am not mature enough to know the origins of this old Punggol satay but in my honest opinion, the inclusion of "old" to any signboard often means there is a legitimate basis to its longevity in the cutthroat food industry.

The fifteen-minute wait for my ten sticks was excruciating for two reasons; my deep love for pork satay and that i was super duper hungry! It didn't help that the char siew stall i wanted to try was also closed for the day! :(

At fifty cents a stick, the amount of pork was significantly chunkier with thick layers of fats enveloped in that delightful smokiness! However, there was a big demerit point. 

I have always enjoyed satay with a saccharine flavour but these satays were seasoned with far too much sweetness, resulting in a sickening aftertaste that even a sweet-tooth person like myself could not accept. 

Most satay veterans place an equally important emphasis on the satay sauce. Despite the inclusion of zesty pineapple paste, this very mild peanut-based dip failed to thrill me.

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Location

Block 120, Bukit Merah Lane 1, 

#01-52 (Alexandra Village Hawker Centre)

Map

As above

Price

Pork Satay - S$0.50 a stick