Maldives Day 4 - Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa

22 Jan - With a night well rested, we started the day with some some sea sport activity called Kayaking since we can try all non-motorized sports activity for free with our Gold package. Arm with sunblock all over our body, we reached the sea sports center, grabbed ourselves a Kayak and into the sea we go! 

A Centara staff helping us to prepare the Kayak

Photo taken off the bottom somewhere in the middle of the sea while Kayaking

Well, *mds* soon says she is tired from the rowing and we decided to head back to shore after about 20 mins out. Haha, she sure don't like the sun! =p When we got back to our villa, we took advantage of the good morning sun and start snapping photos!

Our rented snorkeling equipment (Just for show)

Teddy Bear enjoying the sun and sea

Lunch time at the Italian Restaurant

Taking more photos of scenic spot on the way back to villa

Since the weather is so nice to us (Not raining), we decided to go snorkeling again to make full use of the snorkeling mask we purchased and brought from Singapore. This time, the sea is much clearer compared to the day before and there are more fishes!

Fish swimming around the reefs

Caught this fella resting on our villa steps. It decided to give way to us and went hiding at the side

Artistic shot (Not sure how we did it though)

After snorkeling, we spent some quiet time reading His words before preparing to go for our dinner at the Middle East Restaurant. Little did *mds* know that there is a surprise for her! Well, we expected it to arrive at 8pm, but the staff brought it to our room around 7pm.

Happy belated Anniversary!

Anyway, we left the cake and champagne in the room after taking some photos and proceed for our dinner. In summary, for our Middle Eastern meal, it only looked nice but doesn't taste nice. Well, I guess the chef is not up to the mark....Felt bloated after the meal... since we thought it is not nice to leave so many food untouched... lol

Grilled chicken

Lamb patty

Fruits Platter

Ice cream Sorbet - Strawberry, Lime and Basel

Maldives Day 3 - Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa

21 Jan - Today is the day we are finally going to our long awaited resort at Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa. After we have our breakfast and lunch, we bid farewell to The Somerset Hotel around noon time and got onto their complimentary transport back to the airport, where we went straight to counter 12 to check in our luggage and wait for our complimentary speed boat ride (We got it free from booking direct at the resort website, else it is chargeable). Can't wait to check into our room and swim in the crystal clear waters!

Speed boat ride to Centara Ras Fushi

The speed boat we are in

The check in at the reception is pretty smooth. One person will be in charge of a couple or group to explain the resort rules and regulation. If you bought their Gold Package (Full Board All in package, which is highly recommended. The Ala Cart prices here are very inflated), they will explain to you again what you will be getting. I will be listing some of the significant items on the Gold Package list below. One very important point is to book your lunch and dinner reservation at the various restaurant  on your arrival as sitting are limited. They have the Thai Restaurant (Suan Bua), Italian Restaurant (La Brezza) and Middle Eastern Restaurant (Al Khaimah). Personally, after trying all 3 restaurants, we felt the Italian is the best among the three. You can give the Ocean Restaurant a skip as they are only serving buffet style food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After the explanation is done, they will transport you and your luggage to the room assigned to you!

Centara Ras Fushi Gold Package Significant Benifits

• Complimentary wireless internet access throughout the resort.
• Daily replenished minibar service including a selection of snacks, soft drinks and mixers, mineral water, chocolates, beer, and two miniature spirits. Minibar is stocked once per day. Additional stock will incur a charge.
• Open Bar service is available daily from 11:00 until 23:00 hrs. at the resort’s 3 bars - at the exception of Waves Pool Bar where beverages are served from 10:00 until 18:00 hrs. Beverages comprise all house pouring brands, wines (red, white, and sparkling), draught beer and a bottled, premium spirits, and a selection of cocktails, as well as still water, soft drinks, filter coffee and tea selection, coffee and juices.
• Snorkelling equipment and water sports equipment including canoes, pedals, and rental of windsurfing equipment. Windsurfing lessons are chargeable.
• Unrestricted dining: Guests have the freedom to order from the à la carte menus without any credit restriction for lunch or dinner at Suan Bua or La Brezza (excludes some premium dishes which are available with additional charges). Guests can also dine à la carte for dinner at Al Khaimah (must be booked in advance to avoid disappointment). Available during regular restaurant opening hours with a prior reservation.
• Daily spa credits of USD 50.- per villa to redeem at SPA Cenvaree. Credits may be accumulated and used against spa treatments in SPA Cenvaree (excludes Spa Retail products). Credits cannot be refunded or exchanged for cash.
• Guests can enjoy up to 3 dives per villa, per week (up to 3 times per 7 days) as an alternative to spa treatment on selected days. (terms and conditions apply).
• Two pieces of regular laundry washing and pressing, per villa per day.

On the way to our villa over water!

Our room - 230

Bathroom in the villa

Bedroom to be issued with life jackets for snorkelling

Our Jacuzzi and sun bath mats overlooking the crystal clear waters.

Steps to the sea

The first thing we do after check in is to walk to the diving center to loan their snorkelling equipment. We thought we need the flippers for ease of snorkelling but it later proved to us it is more of a hindrance than help. To loan you the snorkelling equipment, you will need to pass their swimming test, which is to swim in the sea for about 5 meters with everything on. Don't ask me why but it is their resort rule. Final advise: you don't need the flippers for snorkelling. With everything set, we brought our underwater camera and into the sea we go!

The sea today is a bit milky as there are tiny sediments floating around, so the pictures are not that clear.

We did see occasional fishes swimming by....

Some long beak fish?

Catch this fella before it zoom off into the distance

Dinner at Suan Bua, sitting beside a star lit pool

Live band to accompany your dinner

Truth be told, the Thai food here does not taste Thai to us... Hahaha

Maldives Day 2 - Exploring Male

20 Jan - Since we arrived on a late night flight, in order not to waste our time at the resort, we decided to stay over at Male island and do our self exploration for a day. Male island by itself is not big, probably about 3 km by 2 km, with most of the attractions concentrated on its northern shore. 1 day will be more than enough for you to walk one round the island and take lots of pictures!

Started our day with a breakfast at The Somerset Hotel

Republic Square in the morning

Masjidh Al Sulthan Muhammad Thakurufaanu Al Auzam - Islamic Centre & mosque with golden domes opened in 1984, with conference hall & Islamic library

Shaheedh Hussain Adam Building with a big Maldivian flag

Fresh catch of the day at the Fish Market (Size of the fish is huge!)

Rasfannu - Artificial beach with jogging track, swimming & fishing areas, plus barbecues, swings & showers

Tsunami Monument - Steel memorial adorned with spheres representing those who lost lives in Boxing Day tsunami in 2004

When we got back to the hotel around noontime to escape the burning sun, we got a surprise!

Victory Monument - To tribute those who shed their blood to protect the civilians of Maldives from the terrorist attack on 3rd of November 1988

Muleeaage - Ornate house built for Sultan Mohamed Shamsuddeen III in 1906, & now Maldivian president's office

China friendship bridge connecting Male island and Hulhumale

Republic Square at night

Overall, there are still a lot of construction going on on Male island. The landscape will probably change in a few years time, with bigger buildings coming up along the north shore. With a fruitful day spent and tired from all the walking, we retired for the day. For the meals, it is highly recommended to stick to their fish dish, which are extremely tasty. Their 2 most common fishes are Tuna and Reef Fish. For the rest like chicken... you can skip it, I just feel they overcook the meat... Haha. 

Maldives Data Plan and Tips

Yup, here is the plan available at Velana International Airport which travelers can buy once they go out of the arrival gates. It is recommended to pick Dhiraagu as they are the biggest operator in Maldives and they cover almost all the islands. Even though your resort might have wifi connection, they may be weak or limited at times (like what I had experienced), so I highly recommend to get a data plan to stay connected throughout your stay.

For the available plans, they have 3GB at USD$16 and 15GB at USD$22. The staff will help you to set up your phone, so do not worry. For us, we bought the 3GB plan and used it most of the time for Goggle Map navigation on Male island and play Pokemon Go for our 5 days 4 night stay. When we depart, we still have some unused data.

And Yes! We can confirm that Pokemon Go! is available on Maldives. They have plenty of Pokestops  on Male island and their gyms are easy to fight. 50 coins a day is almost guaranteed!

For local currency exchange, you can do it at the Bank of Maldives counter. Do remember to keep the receipt if you intend to change back the currency before you depart. For the accepted currency, they will accept USD, SGD, and some other major currencies. RMB is not accepted, so to be safe, please arrive here with USD.

Hope the above information helps.

Maldives Day 1 - Departing Changi, Hello Male

19 Jan - A trip to Maldives has been a dream trip which I owed to *mds* for a long time and finally, He has made it happened. I managed to secure my leave dates, book a flight at promotional rate and obtained a resort package that is within my budget. Best of all, the operator of the resort is one of the hotel brand that is used by my current company, so I will be getting their member points to redeem for discounts later on. =) From the numerous reviews I have read, Maldives is known for their crystal clear waters and relaxing environment, so I will be going there for our belated Honeymoon, chill, relax and have fun snorkeling in their waters!

I have read that there will be a new Japan Gourmet Hall opening in Terminal 2 about 5 months ago and that is where we will be heading for our dinner before boarding our flight.

(Photo grabbed from Straits Times website)

Actual dining hall

There are not many stalls in the hall, just about 5 stalls which does not serve any appetizing food in my opinion. The concept is like Ramen Champion style, where diners will be issued a token at the entrance to order their food at the stalls, and pay for their meal at the cashier before they exit the area. I tried their ramen and it taste weird. Definitely will not be going back here again.

Safely arrived in Male at around 10pm local time and we went straight to the hotel counter (Counter 43) at the arrival area for our complimentary transport to Male main island.

Before exiting the airport, we make sure to visit the local telcom (Dhiraagu) outside the arrival area  to buy our data card for Internet roaming and Google Map navigation, in case we get lost tomorrow. Haha. The price is not expensive (I will share in the next post), so visitors from Singapore do not need to whack their brain in getting a wifi egg since there are not a lot of operators providing Maldives coverage back home and even if they do, the price plan is way too expensive. The staff at the counter will help you to setup your phone.

The hotel room where we will be staying for 2 nights. It is large with a living room area and they secured our ferry ride from the airport to the main island and got us a taxi to bring us straight to the hotel! Actually, if you walk... its about 5 mins, but the taxi ride took about 10 mins as it drove one big round the island. LOL.

The Greatest Showman

Synopsis: Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. [Source: Golden Village]

Not a bad musical that tells the tale of the greatest showman on Earth, which is largely based on a true story of P. T. Barnum's creation of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, which performed its last show on May 21, 2017 due to weakening attendance and high operating costs. A lot of songs in the movie musical such as "A Million Dreams", "Come Alive", and "The Other Side" are pretty nice. A good musical to catch in a long while.

Rate: 8/10

4Q 2017 Investment Strategy Update

A few hours ago marks the end of trading for Dow Jones for the year 2017. So how did USA and Singapore fare for the year 2017? Marked by a strong USA economy recovery in 2H and low unemployment rate, corporate profits has continue to exceed analyst expectation, fueling a bull run in stocks. DJI ends the year at 24719, climbing 4957 (+25.1%) compared to a year ago. This has the potential of being derailed by the nationalist Trump, enacting policies (Tax breaks, employment) that seems to benefit more for the wealthy than for the common people. Reducing taxes will definitely boost the companies profit in the short term, but this policy hinges on the assumption that with more money on hand, economy will spend more, resulting in more profits and more taxes to be collected for the government. But, what if this doesn't happen? If forced to hike tax rate to stem the rise in government debt at a later date, it will have a disastrous effect on the economy. On the case of employment, to bring jobs back to America again, will it actually happen? From the news report, it seems unlikely. Companies are proceeding with upgrading and investing in Automation, reducing the number of workers needed. Through these upgrading investment, I agree it will spur the economy for 1-2 years, from the companies providing the upgrade service, but after this phase pass, what is left? With better economy, the housing market are on the rise again, leading to more construction, new homes, renovations, which will mean more debt as people borrow to carry out these projects (I doubt they will have cash to paid in full without borrowing). This all looks like a housing boom 2.0 all over again. This was what George W. Bush tried to do during his term and failed miserably. One thing that they seem to forget (or purposely overlook) is with stronger economy, US dollars will rise, which means the things produced in America will be much more expensive. Things will start to go wrong when people starts switching to cheaper alternatives overseas. Having said all these, will it happen? We will know in 1-2 years time. At least for the next 6 months, USA will continue on its growth path.

Back closer at home, STI has also benefited, with Singapore economy scoring bull eyes in 2H. STI ended the year at 3402, climbing 522 (+18.1%) compared to a year ago. Most of the stocks seems overprice for now, so I will just hold some cash and wait for the Bear to come. However, among all stocks, I can still see a few good ones that is positioned to grow in the next few years (I will talk more about it later). Having received the cash from Croesus privatization in 4Q, I am looking forward to 1Q 2018 cash from GLP privatization to continue re-shuffling my portfolio.

Now a time for reflection, compared to what I stated at the start of the year (New Investment Strategy 2017 - Growing Passive Income), how do I fare? This is a 3 year plan and having passed 1/3 of the journey, below are my result:

Original 2017-2019 plan:

1. 50% Equity, 50% Reits/Trusts
2. Portfolio Yield to be 1.50% in 2017, 2.50% in 2018, 3.75% in 2019.

End 2017 Snapshot:

1. 90.96% Equity, 9.04% Reits/Trusts (Around the same as 2016)
2. Portfolio Yield at 1.27% (+0.51% from 2016, but miss 2017 1.50% target)

Below is my end 2017 portfolio snapshot:

2017 has been quite a good year for me, ended with the complete divestment of Croesus Retail Trust, partial GLP sale and selling off Man United share with a good mid tens percentage gain. However, I am still on book losses for the commodity and O&G shares. Hopefully, with the boom in oil and commodity price in 4Q, I will be able to reduce my exposure to the sector in 2018. Below will be a summary of the transaction I have done in 4Q 2017:

Transaction 1: Bought in another batch of Man United shares in early October.

Seeing the good performances of Man United on pitch and ticking up of Man United shares on NYSE, I decided to enter the market again, hopefully exiting the counter when it reached my target price.

Transaction 2: Sold off most Man United shares a few weeks after transaction 1.

To put it simply, target price reached and I decided to exit the counter for a mid tens percentage gain.

Transaction 3: Bought in a batch of Mapletree Industrial Trust.

50% of cash from Croesus Retail Trust privatization was used to fund this purchase. They have a good pipeline of new properties coming on line in the next 2 years with good tenant commitment rate. In addition, they have now divested into data centers, with the recent joint venture to purchase a portfolio of data centers in USA with its parent company, Mapletree Investment.

Transaction 4: Bought in a batch of Fraser Centrepoint Trust.

Renovation at Northpoint City North Wing is drawing to a close and tenant occupancy rate should start ticking up. That will provide a base for this counter. For the new Northpoint City South Wing, it is still currently under Fraser Centerpoint. However, I got the feeling that once tenant base stabilize in the South Wing, Fraser Centrepoint might want to divest the whole South Wing property to Fraser Centrepoint Trust. This will be a good catalyst for growth. Fraser Centrepoint Trust currently already owned the Northpoint City North Wing and the adjacent building (Yishun GV) Level 1 shops.

Transaction 5: Bought in another batch of Noble Group.

Their debt restructuring efforts is coming to an end and it looks like banks will not forced them into Chapter 11. Just bought in a small batch to average down my overall price.

Transaction 6: Bought in another batch of Krisenergy.

Like what I shared in Q3, they have a potential of farming out their oil field to reduce the capital investment stress. Just bought in a small batch to average down my overall price.

Transaction 7: Sold off a small batch of GLP.

Cash in for the Noble Group purchase.

That is all for now. See you all in Q1 2018 update and thank you for reading this long long post. =)

Journey to the East (Bedok)

In 30 hours, I need to make my way to Bedok not once, not twice, but three times. It is indeed record breaking. All these for:

1. Sunday Street Soccer Session
2. Attending a Malay Soccer Kaki Wedding
3. Free gift redemption

I guess I have seen enough of Bedok for now.....

Upgrade of Krisflyer Membership Tier

Now... I will have 25% more miles for a year whenever I fly

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Synopsis: In Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past. [Source: Golden Village]

At last, the next saga of Star Wars is released after waiting for 2 years. This time, the plot concentrates on the next generation of the First Order and the Resistance Leaders as they try to make their mark in this drawn out war. There are plenty of galaxy fighting, few scenes of the ever familiar light sabers fights, not much new character introduction as the Resistance turned tail and try to escape for their survival. Not a bad show to catch as we catch up on the plot.

Rate: 7/10

Fireworks, Should We See It From The Side Or The Bottom

Synopsis: One Summer day, in a sea-side town. One Junior high school is gathered with an excitement before a firework show. Norimichi(Masaki Suda) and Yusuke(Mamoru Miyano), at a pool side, meets Nazuna(Suzu Hirose), an idol of their class, a girl they both secretly have a crush on. The two boys turn out to have a swimming match with Nazuna. Norimichi, although fails the match, finds a mysterious ball in the water. On the other hand, Yusuke, who won the fight, is asked by Nazuna to go out to watch the firework show together. After school, while boys have an argument whether fireworks are round or flat when viewed from sideways, Norimichi is told by Nazuna that she was going to ask out the one who won the swimming match. However, her true purpose was to “elope” with a boy from her remarrying mother. Nazuna, in front of Norimichi’s eyes, resists her mother who pulls her back home. Norimichi, powerlessly, only stares the situation and cannot do anything. “If only I won the match thay day…” Irritated, Norimichi throws the ball he found in the water and then… He finds himself back in the moment of the swimming match. After the day repeated over and over again, what will Nazuna and Norimichi find in the end? And after all, is the firework round or flat when viewed from sideways? When the fireworks sparkle, the love encounters a miracle...[Source: Golden Village]

Truthfully, I get the anime plot where one person keep going back in time to make things right. What I could not get is that the author ends the movie without much of an ending. It just makes us wonder why do we even sit in the theater for 90mins to watch the anime in the first place. Well, at least the film has got some nice songs and music. Personally, I will only recommend you watching this if you are good with film leaving you hanging on a cliff.. with no sight of season 2....

Rate: 5/10

12th Year Blog Anniversary

Yes, this blog has officially open shop for 12 years. For the past year, by God's grace, I have changed job to a scope that I wanted to do and with much better work life balance. Things are going well and we are looking forward to 2 holiday trips next year! I do hope I can still keep this blog active for many years to come and I give thanks to Him for everything He has blessed us with.

2018, here I come.

Some Statistic: 

Page Count: 58618 +3002 

Year on Year increase: +1860 +162.87%

Justice League

Synopsis: Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes--Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash--it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions. [Source: Golden Village]

Not a bad movie as a sequel to Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, which I remembered failed terribly the last time I watched it. This time, at least they have a proper plot throughout the movie. The film can be funny at times with its slow motion to see the reaction of the flash as he watched everything moving so slowly past him. Batman seems to be catching on in age and this might be his last appearance. Overall, I find this a good DC movie to catch.

Rate: 6.5/10

India (Gurgaon, Mumbai) Work Trip (281117 - 011217)

First time going to India on a business trip, with lots of advises from my colleagues and horror stories of the past, such as Japan expatriates needed to hospitalize for 3 weeks due to stomach problems, came back to Singapore and needed MCs for 1 week...etc. To protect yourself, the common advise given is to drink only mineral water, avoid local food and to the extend of using mineral water to brush your teeth! To make the situation anything but better, the air in Gurgaon is pretty bad, as reported in the newspaper of smog engulfing the whole New Delhi city a few weeks ago. Well, at least I will come prepared with a N95 in the luggage.

Good morning Gurgaon, with a layer of smog?

India version of prata, nothing resembling the Singapore version we are used to. Dough is salty with cheese in the filling. There is no curry for the dough and the orange stuffs has a unique taste I am not used to eating

Daily newspaper update on PM2.5 level. 342...reminds me of 2013 Singapore haze

Next trip to Mumbai via Air India. Service and food is not good, plus my table is spoilt. I think next time I will try Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and SIA

A look at the polluted canal next to Mumbai Office, reminds of the pictures seen in the Singapore 60s

Well, at least I survived India, only down with a little runny nose and cough the next day, most probably due to the air....I guess....