What's the Big Deal about Growing Old?

The title says it all.What's the big old deal?

I have no qualms about others joking about it. And I definitely have no qualms about revealing my age.

But it sure makes me think that one is insecure about growing old if he or she keeps poking fun at someone's else age. Seriously, what's the deal here?

Everyone will grow old. Just because society values youth so much, I feel sorry for those that have to hide their numbers or rejoice that they're younger. Either insecurity is eating them up or that their value is very much tagged to their age.

Although age may not bring along with it the reassurance of wisdom for some, it is even sadder to cling on to the numbers. These people have not much wisdom to begin with and I doubt they'll acquire much as they grow older.

I'm at ease with being over "3 - Old" because I am not determined by mere numbers only.

Cheap Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) in Singapore Found!

And so my research begins in preparation to keep cost low for my first Japan trip. Since we're planning to go from Tokyo to Osaka on the first day we arrive, then to do day trips to Kyoto & Nara from Osaka. And finally back from Tokyo from Osaka, all with 7 days, we decided to get the 7 days Ordinary Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) as it'll cost us 28,300 YEN each.

I was lucky to chance upon Creative Tours (Singapore) Pte Ltd last night and I only called them this morning. By far, they offer the cheapest JR Pass even though the price is fixed at 28,300 YEN. This means that their exchange rate is more attractive and also, the staff I spoke to extended a 5% discount if I could pay in cash.  She was able to offer me this discount even with purchase of 2 tickets only.

Today's exchange rate is 100 YEN to 1.56 SGD. With the discount, we only paid $431 each. Yipee!! The next cheapest found was $448 elsewhere. 

YEN may drop further with the Japanese government's intervention to bring the Japanese currency down against the USD but we're happy enough with this price after waiting for it to drop for a month.

Not only that, I am so happy with the E's service! With so many unpleasant customer service encounters in Singapore, I want to share that Creative Tours is really professional.

She asked me to email her my details so that she can prepare the JR Pass tickets in advance. That was 10 plus in the morning. At around 11 plus, I called to tell her that I may have to postpone the collection as something urgent cropped up. She then asked if I can issue a cheque instead but I couldn't 'coz I don't have personal cheques.

I kept apologizing 'coz she mentioned the passes were already issued. In the end,  we had to cancel it. The sweet bf then told me that he'll drive me there to pick them up. And so we did. When we reached, E had to reissue a new ticket for me as I gave her a wrong name with typo. 

The whole time, the E was pleasant about it and she even gave me some maps and advice on what to do with my JR Pass. If you want the Japan JR Route Map, just drop me a comment here with your email address. I'll send it to you within a day or 2.

Here's some tips from her and some useful websites:

1. To exchange the JR Pass ticket for the JR Pass at Narita airport basement for the Narita Express Train tickets to get to Tokyo city.
2. The JR Pass is valid for 7 days upon activation.
3. For city travel (eg. within Tokyo), just show the JR Pass will do.
4. For inter-city travel (eg. from Tokyo to Osaka), we'll need to get an additional ticket stating the date and time of travel. We can get these tickets beforehand or on the day itself.
5. Within Tokyo, most major shopping places, even Disneyland are within reach of JR station except for Ginza and this famous shrine at Asakusa station.
6. With this 7 days JR Pass, we can travel on all JR Group of bullet trains and not on NOZUMI, the fastest train.
7. Go this this site to check for rail schedule.

• JR Pass types and rates
• Who is eligible for JR Pass
• Stations with JR Pass exchange offices

Creative Tours (Singapore) Pte Ltd contact is:

16 Raffles Quay

#01-01 Hong Leong Building

Singapore 048581

Tel: 6222 8475

Ask for E coz she's nice! And someone is driving you there like me, the driver can wait at "Telegraph Road" in between Hong Leong Building and AIA Building.

Hope you find these info helpful! =)

*E's name has been deleted and struck off coz she's no longer working there.

**Read more about my Japan trip here.**

A Painful Week : Wavehouse n Sunset Grill & Pub

Pain can be addictive. Don't you think? 

I went to Wavehouse @ Sentosa my friends 2 days ago and it was fun, fun, fun!! Initially, I was a little apprehensive about the pain when I fell. But I brushed the thought aside and just went ahead. I would fall anyway and there's no point thinking about it. And thankfully, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

It was fun 'coz standing up and balancing has a lot to do with overcoming my own mental state. Looking ahead at where I would like to be and visualizing surfing helped me to gain balance quickly. Once again, this reaffirms that focusing on the small things and worrying does not help. 

The body aches came only the next day and my bruises appeared 2 days later.

It didn't help that I had a bad fall on my butt while blading yesterday. Now, my whole body is in pain and it can even be torturous to move around on the bed.

Yet, I feel so accomplished and really had a blast that night!

Tonight, we had our dinner of Fiery Buffalo Wings and more from Sunset Grill & Bar @ Seletar Airbase.

The wings were only Level 5 but look at my lips! Even my cheeks were flushed. The trick is to avoid touching the lips and put the meat right into the mouth. And of course, it'll be great if you can down mugs of beer in between. "Burp"

I really wonder how anyone can manage to finish up the Level 30 wings. 

We weren't ready for that much pain yet so we had a slow meal with the beautiful sunset to end our mildly painful week.

We'll be back for more!

Ways for Toddlers to Keep Cool

See how grandma helps me keep cool.

It's toddler chic too.

Awfully Chocolate, JooJoo, Mooshi Bakes at Joo Chiat Road

JooJoo! Where do you think you can find a cutely named JooJoo eatery at? Where else but in Joo Chiat! Hehe... 

Bf spotted this place a few days back and we went there on our date day (yes, we need 1 whole date day per week, date night just ain't enough for us). With a chic canteen style decor, it houses 3 Awfully Chocolate, Mooshi Bakes and JooJoo under 1 roof.

Awfully Chocolate has their usual chocolate cakes, handmade chocolate truffles, cupcake and chocolaty treats.

Mooshi Bakes, as the name suggests, offers bakery stuff like buns, tarts, quiches etc.

As for JooJoo, the one we wanted to try for its yakitori and kushiyaki; it was closed for lunch after 3pm. We didn't manage to try anything there.

Sad to say, I found the $8 slice of Awfully Chocolate chocolate cake a disappointment. And the handmade chocolate truffle and Kahlua truffle wasn't that fantastic in my opinion too.

But we found a gem! The Gooey bun above tasted heavenly! And its name is Gooey! We were told that children love it and it's not hard to see why after taking a bite. It's slightly sweet and creamy. The sprinkle of cinnamon powder on top gave it a nice touch of aroma. And it's not ex at $1.90! 

I definitely won't mind going back for more of Gooeys. ;)