CINQ: Bless this Van!

This is probably the most indestructible vehicle on earth. I saw this van whilst driving in Singapore (Oct 2006). If you check out the stickers on his rear window, you'd probably say this guy has taken kiasuism to extremes!

Happy Driving!
TO

QUATRE: Maggi Goes Upmarket!

For those of you who come from my part of the world, MAGGI is synonymous with instant noodles! MAGGI MEE is used interchangeably with instant noodles in singapore and malaysia. Very popular amongst singapore students studying overseas are the maggi flavouring sauce, stock cubes and chilli and tomato sauces. We get these either from CARE packages from home or from the usual chinatown provision shop which sell the stuff at 2-3 times the price back home.

So imagine my surprise when I chanced upon Maggi Kochstudio in Frankfurt (May 2007). Clearly this is incongruent with the brand status/image that Maggi has in singapore and malaysia. Come to think of it, the situation is almost the same as that of BATA! BATA had, in my school days, the monopoly on white canvas shoes, with the Badminton Master and the BM2000 models being the mainstay of school uniforms. As a result many people grew up with the impression that BATA (which originated from what is now the Czech Republic) was a local brand!

Cheers
TO

TROIS: So Frickin Fast!

Was in Toulouse (Mar 2007) when I chanced upon a regional fair. One of the exhibits, among the various booths offering smelly cheese and various duck/goose products from sud-ouest France, was a snail race. Talk about speed! I reckoned the exhibitor could leave this for the whole week and it would not have ended. I think the set up of the race is flawed; the wooden lane markers would do diddly to prevent any cheating little slimers from crossing the lanes and impeding its fellow racers. As such, it think salt, yes, good old sodium chloride (NaCl) should be coated along the lanes. Furthermore, to prevent the odd lackadaisical slimer from holding everyone up at the finish line, a timer controlled salt dispenser should also be utilised to "encourage" speedier passage to the end. All you animal do-gooders should refrain from chastising me, but see the merits of my suggestion for a good clean race. Besides, the little bastards are destined to end up as someone's escagot entree anyway.

Bon apetit!
TO

DEUX: Spits or Swallows?

In the lavatory of Al's Diner at fisherman's wharf in Macau (May 2007), I had to take a piss in someone's mouth! The urinal was shaped in an open mouth with bright red "collagen injected" lips. The red plastic strainer in the bottom of the urinal made it appear like the tongue. Swallowing seems to be the order of the day.

If this type of thing is your thing, try the following url: www.urinal.net


Cheers
TO

UN

Hi all

this is the inaugural post on the travelling observations blog. Like the flu bug ,which as been making its rounds in the office, the procrastination bug is another lethal disease which affects a large section of the population. I admit I'm a chronic procrastinator and this bug has caused, inter alia, late trip reports, late travel claims submittals and also this post, which incidentally was delayed by 2 months.

The intent of this blog is to document what I observed whilst roaming the earth, capture images of strange or weird stuff, from the perspective of an Engineer, and also from the perspective of a Singaporean. Other times there may just be commentary from me, usually after close encounters of the illogical kind.

So I hope you enjoy the blog and that it provides you with greater insights of how different things can be, in other parts of the world.

Cheers
TO