New York - An Interesting Poster

An interesting poster being displayed at Ellis Island. It shows 4 gentlemen trying to stop an immigrant from coming on board (to USA). The gentlemen were all very well dressed showing that they were wealthy. Behind them were silhouette shadows of the gentlemen respectively. The shadows indicated that they were once poor who had come to America to look for wealth and opportunity. They succeeded and became wealthy. Their actions seems to show that they had forgotten their humble beginning of immigrants to the United States.

It is a reflection that shows the current situation the United States is facing: trying to stop immigrants from coming to United States. To make America great. But the proposition has forgotten the roots of their humble forefathers who had come to America to seek a better future and brighter prospects.  To live an American dream.

New York Porsche 911

I saw this 2 Porsche in dusty and being repaired condition in Brooklyn. My guess is the garage wanted to sell the Porsche and might include repair cost to the final bill. From the side mirror, it looks like it is a 912 Coupe model.  Being a classic Porsche, I don't think the price will be cheap.

Coincidently, Porsche has announced its 1 millionth production 911. To mark the event, Porsche has designed a modern rendition of the original 911 of 1964 (with its chrome rear mirror and its green body).



Copyright of AFPRelaxNews

Other than Porsche, I saw this beautiful Mercedes C43 with nice rims in New York:-

Also, I saw Tesla being sold in Washington DC. The advertisement behind shows that monthly installment is about US$1000/month. This model comes with autopilot.

New York Wall Street Charging Bulls

The number of visitors at Bowling Green for Charging Bull is enormous (see photo above). It is simply impossible to take a proper photo of it unless it is at weird timing. It becomes a symbol of New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street.

Fortunately, unknown to tourists, the original bulls and bear statue is located at the Museum of American Finance. There are few visitors and they can touch the bulls and bear as long as they like. The history of the bull and bear figures is also narrated below it. Of course, I rub it for luck.

Original Charging Bull and Bear



And Story behind the Charging Bull and Bear

Washington DC Aircraft

One of my objective of visiting Washington DC is to see the beautiful planes at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as well as the Steven F Udvar Hazy Centre. These planes are my favourite.

F14 Tomcat - One of the most beautiful fighter aircraft in the work. Retired but still flying in Iran Air Force. Sweep wings and fantastic looking body. The F14 is the base for Macross Valkyrie cartoon / toys. War proven aircraft.

SR71 Blackbird - Nicely designed with sleek bodyline. Aerodynamic as it needs to travel more than 3 times the speed of sound. Black colour for better heat dissipation during high speed travel. Leaking fuel during takeoff and need to refuel for mission.

Mitsubishi A6M zero fighter - Big Engine head. High maneuverability. World War 2 Japanese military dogfighter.

United Kingdom Spitfire - Unique wing design. World War 2 Royal Air Force high performance interceptor.

USA Vought F4U Corsair  - Unique wing design. Pilots in the Corsair have achieved a kill ratio of 11:1 against enemy aircraft.

New York Food

Awesome food - NY Pizza Suprema. Great tasting Suprema Special. US$5 for a slice. Located near Penn Station. Founded for over 50 years (according to the information board). They sell only pizza. Must try.

New York Fish & Chip - Personally, I prefer Singapore Fish & Chip as the batter is thicker and fuller taste.

Street Food - NYC Hotdog. Cheap and good. US$3. Quick and simple tasty meal for a rush to the next destination. Love it with mustard and tomato sauce. Note: At Times Square, it costs US$10 for the same hotdog by a street food vendor. I walked away. Buyer beware.

My breakfast from LIC Hotel - Typical American breakfast. Bacon, sausage, egg, cereal and apple juice. I like it.

New York LIC Hotel

LIC Hotel

LIC Hotel Room

I stayed in LIC Hotel for 3 nights. It was awesome to stay in this hotel located at Long Island City which is 10 minutes train ride to midtown Manhattan. The nearest train station is 23rd Street/Court Square with E and M subway line running through. It takes only about 5 minutes of walking to reach the train station nearest entrance/exit.

Being out of Manhattan, the hotel room is reasonably price, hence it was fully booked at the time of check in. The price was inclusive of breakfast which to me is good. A good breakfast before setting out provides energy for the rest of the day.

There are restaurant and convenience store near the entrance/exit of the train station. Bathroom has a very powerful hot water shower system which is fantastic after a day of sight seeing. The room is clean and quiet for a good sleep. The roof has a great view of NYC skyline, beautiful during day break and at night.

I have no issue with security even though I travel alone.

The small feedback I had was a lack of kettle in the room and the air-conditioning sound a bit loud. Other than that LIC hotel is a fine traveller hotel.

New York and Washington DC - 29 April to 9 May 2017

New York City

United States Capitol

I had the pleasure to visit New York and Washington DC, United States of America from 29 Apr to 9 May 2017. The dates are inclusive of travelling time between Singapore and US East coast which is one of the longest journey that I had taken. I have travelled by China Southern Airlines and transit in Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou. Flight time alone between Singapore and Guangzhou is about 3 hours 45 minutes and between Guangzhou and New York is 15 hours. Transit time varies between 3 hours and 8 hours. It was really a tiring flight couple with a wholesome 12 hours in time difference between the 2 cities.

During the trip, I had visited the following places:-

New York City
(1) Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Building
(2) Times Square
(3) Wall Street and Museum of American Finance
(4) Chinatown NYC including the Museum of Chinese in America
(5) September 11 site
(6) Brooklyn bridge (ie at the side of it)
(7) Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island
(8) Ellis Island
(9) Chrysler Building and Empire State Building (from the external)
(10) Museum of Modern Art
(11) Grand Central Terminal
(12) Central Park

Washington DC
(1) Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle)
(2) Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
(3) Smithsonian National Museum of American History
(4) Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
(5) Smithsonian National Gallery of Art
(6) United States Capitol (from the external)
(7) Washington Monument
(8) Lincoln Memorial
(9) World War 2 Memorial
(10) Vietnam Veterans Memorial
(11) The White House (from a distance away)
(12) Ford Museum and Petersen House
(13) Chinatown Washington DC
(14) Steven F Udvar Hazy Center

I am impressed with all the museums but found that the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) price of entry (at US$25) too expensive for the number of art pieces.

The security in US museum is high and the highest ever was seen in John F Kennedy Airport. In the Airport, I had to remove all the belongings in my pocket, my shoes, my belt and laptop/tablet had to be taken out of the bag.  I went through the 360 degree body scanner. On top of that, security officer performed a body search. My check in luggage lock was removed by TSA Security.  All in the name of security, it makes air travelling a bit frustrating and scary. The airport was also filled with armed military personnel. To reduce the inconvenience (not to mention recent bad publicity on US airliners), I opted for Amtrak train between New York and Washington DC. Amtrak Northeast Regional train is one of the most profitable route for Amtrak even though it took 3.5 hours for the ride. The train ride was quiet and smooth. The only complaint I had was in NYC, a traveler would not know which gate to line up until about 15 to 20 minutes before train arrival. After which, a long line would form to get up the train. Everyone was looking patiently at the information board at Penn Station. There wasn't any security check, only a request for ticket which was fair.

Weather was between 10 degree (in NYC) to 20 degree (in Washington DC). One of the memorable event was walking through rain in Washington DC with just a plastic poncho. I was totally drenched with my shoe filled with rain water. Fortunately, it wasn't as cold as New York.

Being first world cities, hotel fares were the highest ever. This makes travelling to NYC and Washington DC expensive. I will share more subsequently.

For Singaporeans travelling to United States, there is a requirement to apply for ESTA permit which costs US$14, even though it is VISA free. Current regulation only allows US$10,000 to be brought into United States. Anything more, traveler must declare at custom.

Star Wars - Rogue One

Walker of Rogue One

Watched Star Wars Rogue One yesterday night.

As a person who had watched every episode of Star Wars since 1977, I find Rogue One enjoyable. Memorable parts include:-

(1) Darth Vader who was dead in Part 6 was alive in Rogue One. Love it when he uses the light saber
(2) All the familiar original X-wing and Tie fighters. Space fights scene was good. The use of aiming mechanism onboard Tie fighters is a reminiscence of the same used in A New Hope.
(3) Director made the security facility (internal) in Scariff looks like the original Star Wars Death Star
(4) The original storm troopers
(5) The original star ship and fleet
(6) The original Imperial walkers (from Empire Strikes Back)
(7) Admiral Ackbar and its space ship
(8) The connection with Star Wars A New Hope where the last part of Rogue One is the beginning of A New Hope. Awesome connection.
(9) A relatively simple story

What I hope can be improved:
(1) Digital animated actor like Princess Leia and Tarkin is unreal, but good effort. Rogue One use of animation (or rather the less use of it) is still better than Star Wars Part 1 (The Phantom Menace) battle droid, which is totally artificial. The K2 unit seems realistic enough but could not recall the presence of K2 unit in A New Hope.
(2) Why would the top of the security facility has openings that allows human size droid or person to go through. Isn't that a security breach? Ventilation duct should not be opened in the first place.
(3) Strange that Rogue One is multi-racial but A New Hope does not reflect that. Obviously for commercial reason.
(4) There are birds on another planet far far away from Earth? Most of the Planets are quite earth like other than Darth Vader Planet Mustafar.
(5) The storm troopers vehicle on Planet Jedha is basically an earthly tank. Could have been more creative in imagination. Something which Star Wars Part 4 to 6 had achieved.

Lastly, Rest in Peace Carrie Fisher (aka Princess Leia).

Messerschmitt Me 262 Plastic Model

Me262 Plastic Model

Real Life Me262 from Deutsche Museum

Painted in accordance to the colours found in the real Me 262 at Munich Deutsche Museum. The colours could be off due to poor recognition of colours from Tamiya paint palette.  The plastic model is from Revell which I bought it from a souvenir shop in Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim in 2015. However, it has one defect, the box does not enclose a decal of the German airplane. The other issue is that the plastic is not balance on its wheels, it is more heavy and rotate about its rear. I like the design of this plane which is so unique of its era and even from today perspective. It looks like a shark.

Braised Duck Rice at Zion Riverside Food Centre

Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap and Braised Duck

Big Bowl of Rice Flat

Zion Road Hawker Centre

There are 3 stalls at Zion Riverside Food Centre selling duck and kway chap specialties. The stall with the longest queue is usually Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap and Braised Duck ( 文通记 ). The queue will include foreigners who are attracted usually to braised duck rice or noodle.

I ordered the duck and kway chap mix for 2 persons which cost S$9 + S$1.50 (3 bowls of rice flat at 50 cents each). The bowl is bigger than many other kway chap stalls that I have eaten. The gravy that was poured over the duck and kway chap mix was generous and tasty.  Many of other stalls gravy tasted salty but this stall gravy has an unique taste which I like. The duck meat was also cut in thin pieces which made it easier to chew and blend well with the gravy.  Overall, I would consider Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap very good.

There are 2 downsides. Firstly, the tau pok was not that good as it was not soaked in the gravy for too long which made the texture harder than those soft ones commonly available. But some patrons may like it that way. Secondly, the gravy has MSG which I could feel the thirst in my mouth after consumption.

Zion Riverside Food Centre is a nicely located hawker centre next to a beautiful river located in a prime location. The only problem is its difficulty to find a parking lot during peak hours.

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice

Claypot Rice at Smith Street Hawker Cetnre

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot 联合本记 is located at Smith Street Hawker Centre in Chinatown. It occupies 2 stalls #02-198 and #02-19. It opens from 4:30pm to 10:00pm daily (except Thurs - not verified).

I had ordered a S$20 mixed claypot rice with $3 vegetables. The S$20 pot was meant for 4 persons and it had a mixture of chicken meat, chinese sausages, salted fish and rice seasoned in black soy sauce. The claypot could be ordered for $5, $8, $10, $15, $20 and $25.  The stall had a few stoves to cook the claypot rice and it was quite famous locally.

My view is that the claypot rice is better in taste than the one at Blk 729 Ang Mo Kio Central Hawker Centre. However, it was not the best I have eaten. It could be better if the rice was cooked slightly dryer and more crispier. It was still soft when served. Secondly, the salted fish pieces were better to be cut to smaller pieces. I have eaten more fragrance salted fish. The chef had added MSG as I could feel thirsty after eating it.

The best claypot rice I had eaten was in XinHui, Guangzhou, China. That claypot rice tasted  authentic and reminded me of what I had eaten when I was a young child. The review could be seen here:-

http://e21s.blogspot.sg/2016/07/guangzhou-part-1-food-in-xin-hui.html

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Fantastic Year Ahead!!

Its the most wonderful time of the Year !!

Goldman Sachs

Sold my Goldman Sachs (GS) equity on 7 Dec 16 (US Date) for US$234.50. This happens when the Dow Jones hits 19,549.

I bought this equity because of Mr Warren Buffett.  He had bought US$5 billion of preferred stocks and said back in 2008: "Goldman Sachs is an exceptional institution. It has an unrivaled global franchise, a proven and deep management team and the intellectual and financial capital to continue its track record of outperformance."

I bought 20 shares of Goldman Sachs on 31 Oct 2008 when the price was US$87.76 and 10 shares on 16 Apr 2010 when the price was US$157.99. When I first bought the equity, Dow Jones was at 9,200. The index has since been through a roller coaster and now has gained more than 10,000 points since 2008.  The profit from GS is one of the best ever from Investment. A reminder that US equity still presents a good opportunity for investment when the price is right.

Mr Buffett had liquidated some of his holding in GS in 2015.

I am still holding Citibank which has been one of my worst ever, other than Creative Technology. The reason why I had brought Citibank equity back in Feb 2008 was that Singapore Temasek Holdings had purchased it, prior to the Great Financial Turmoil of 2008/9. What a great mistake I had made. Still holding it as a loss.

Thanks to Mr Buffett for his wise insight.

Jinhao 163

Jinhao 163

In July 2016, I bought this Jinhao 163 fountain pen in Guangzhou for RMB60 (equivalent to about SGD$12.60). The shop sells mainly roller ball and ball point pens but it has only 1 fountain pen which is the one I bought. It has a medium nib which is suitable for my style of writing.

It is smooth in writing and I can feel the ink flow without much difficult. The pen uses a ink pump system similar to my workhorse pen, the Waterman Expert II Dune.

The body has a rather nice finishes and I hope it doesn't tarnish over time.

I am generally satisfied with the quality in relation to the price paid and this is the third cheapest fountain pen after my Hero 336 and Hero 441 pens.

Nutmeg Plum Drink



Nutmeg and Plum Drink

While there wasn't much spectacular food I had enjoyed during this KL trip, I must highlight this nutmeg plum drink. This was from a Penang restaurant in mid valley mega mall. The drink was uniquely from Penang.

It was a refreshing drink and it tasted good when served with ice. A sour plum was added to the drink to compliment the taste of nutmeg. Nutmeg is grown in Penang and there are many by-product from the fruit of the nutmeg tree, eg nutmeg oil, preserved nutmeg sweets, nutmeg alcohol etc.

I enjoyed this but couldn't remember the price. Hope to try it again.

Hotwheels Porsche 934

Porsche 934 Hotwheels

Hotwheels Porsche 934 purchased from Mid Valley, KL Toys R Us. It costs RM7.90 which is about S$2.60. In Singapore, a hotwheels will cost S$3.90 (at Takashimaya Singapore). I could not find the same Porsche 934 at Takashimaya.

I think it is quite rare to find a Porsche Hotwheels. I will probably keep it together with its packaging intact.

KL Street Food

Roti Prata at Lorong Ceylon patronised mainly by locals

Prata quality was reasonable. Sauce was diluted as compared to Singapore version. But prices are incredible low. RM2 for one with egg and RM1 for one without egg.

This is how local residents eat. There are pockets of area where street food are served at local prices and they are of good quality.

Audi Malaysia Prices November 2016

Audi A3 RM 159,900 (S$53,000)

Batu Caves

About 20 to 25 minutes train ride by KTM Komputer from KL Sentral station. Cost only RM2.60 one way. Off peak hour wait could be 45 minutes each.

The height of Batu Caves is about 105m above sea level, base on my watch barometer. There are 272 steps. The climb is not that difficult, considering there are landing at regular interval where a climber can rest. There are monkeys, rooster and plenty of birds in the caves. The huge Indian God statute is currently under renovation. A Indian temple resides within the cave. It is still being worshiped by locals.

A good morning exercise while on holiday.

I had been here when I was a little boy about (6 to 7 years old) but could not recall whether I had climbed it.

KL 2016 - Jalan Alor

An over-rated tourist attraction in Kuala Lumpur.

Food was terribly cooked and charged at a high price.

I am sure local KL residents have plenty of alternative authentic Chinese food.

While the signages were displayed in chinese and English, the restaurants are run by foreigners and food cooked by foreigners. They have no idea what good food is.

I ordered satay, hotplate toufoo, kai lan (vegetable), cereal prawns, fried egg with drinks. all for RM141 which is equivalent to S$47. The price was similar to a Singapore street chi-char stall. But the quality was far worse. The toufoo was overcooked. The sauce was blend. The prawns were over fried. The satay was not well marinated and the satay sauce was bad etc.

Highly not recommended.

iPhone 7

iPhone 1 vs iPhone 7

I am generally not a fan of iPhone and perfectly fine with Android phones. However, last week, just out of curiosity, I went to purchase a iPhone 7 32GB with gold back cover. It was considerably more expensive than ordinary Android phones.  In China, the iPhone is hailed as a status symbol. I had some difficulty trying to get accustomed to iOS.

Here are my views after using it for 1 week. Of course, the points are made in comparison with Android phones. I could be wrong in my assessment as I am still trying to learn iOS.

The Bad:-
1. No FM radio. Radio has to be through apps and uses wifi or mobile data.
2. The mail was in sync with my gmail. The feel is different and there are more steps required in order to complete a task. For example; to delete email, there is no direct means, but to move it through trash.
3. No direct connection with the computer. To download or upload, I have to use iCloud or iTunes. For Android, I can read the files directly just by connecting it to a Windows base PC/laptop. Transfer of files are easy.
4. No Bluetooth connection with other Android phones. Connection could not be established.
5. Higher battery energy consumption. Faster drainage on battery.
6. Calendar events are not as refined under the month mode. In Android, I am able to see minor line and major line with each line representing an event.
7. More step to enable and disable mobile data.
8. Prefer Chrome than Safari.
9. The surface of the iPhone is smooth and is more prone to dropping. While it is nice to hold, I have ordered a plastic cover to improve handling.
10. I prefer the 3.5mm jack than the lightning jack for headphones.
11. No notification light unless user wants to make use of LED light meant for the hearing impaired.

The Good:-
1. GarageBand - I simply love this app from Apple. It is user friendly and interesting.
2. The silent button as a physical control over sound generated from iPhone. Ease to switch over rather than through software.
3. iPhone 7 has thumb security via the home button which allows access to the phone without security numbers or patterns.
4. Photo from the camera is good.

Other comments:-
1. The first generation of iPhone has black frontal finishes. Wonder what was so special about jet black or matt black finishes in iPhone 7. My other Android phones are black in colour.
2. Sony Android phones (certain models) have long been water resistance. Not sure what is so special about iPhone 7 water resistance capability.

KZ ZS3

KZ ZS3

I have also bought the KZ ZS3, an in-ear headphone for S$20. The main reason of purchase was the reasonable price of the headphone. It is convenient for travelling although in-ear headphone can be quite uncomfortable as there is no noise connection with the world outside which is unnatural. The headphone is biased towards low frequency. Music lovers who prefer base will enjoy it. It is a made in China headphone.

Audio Technica ATH AD700X

Audio Technica ATH AD700X

I bought this Headphone over at Comex 2016. Prior to purchasing this headphone, I tested several headphones which include the Sony MDR 1A, Sony XB750AP, Sony MDR Z7, Seinnheiser (not sure the model), Bose QC25, Armaggeddon Molotov 3 and Audio Technica (a few models).

I would say the Sony MDR 1A is impressive and it has a 40mm dynamic driver unit. The price at S$399 is quite expensive. The MDR Z7 has a price tag of more than S$800 in Singapore but performance wise, I would think it is comparable to MDR 1A. The Bose QC25 is also quite good but it is another expensive unit at S$429 with noise cancelling function. The QC25 is also light and suitable for travelling. The Armaggeddon Molotov 3 is impressive in its base sound and more importantly the price is only S$29. I almost bought this if not because of its colour (bright yellow, bright red and camouflage). This is meant to target the young. My test song was consistently Debbie Gibson "Out of the Blue" which has a good balance of bass, mid range vocal and treble.

Finally, I bought the Audio Technica ATH AD700X at S$158.

The good points of the AD700X :- 53mm driver unit (even bigger than the Sony MDR 1A). Frequency response is 5 to 30000 Hz. I find this a gimmick as the human hearing is only 20 to 20000 Hz and hearing deteriorates with age. The Price is fantastic. Good at mid to high pitch sound. Good Clarity. The earpads are in cotton fabric which is comfortable over time, but it could get hot with prolong listening. It has a 3m long cable.  Personally, I do not like PVC earpads that cover the whole ear.

The bad points of the AD700X:- Heavy (at 265g, it is heavier than MDR 1A) and big size. Not suitable for travelling. Not very strong at low frequency level. Plastic components.

Other features:- Open Air Feature. (See photo). The box says designed and engineered in Japan.

Brie Cheese from France

Brie Cheese

Brie Cheese with mold

I wanted to taste what a Brie Cheese is like and bought this Ile De France brand cheese. It tastes salty and resemble cheddar but is not so tasty. It has also a slight mushroom taste. The Brie cheese has the penicillium roqueforti mold which makes it unique. On the surface of the cheese is a white layer of mold and within the cheese, there are black spots.

It costs S$7.95 for 125 gram and it was produced in France.