New year trip - to UK

Woke up at 5am on 1 jan in Dubai and catch our flight at 8.30am to London.. 

Arrived at Gatwick airport, london around 11.45am..rent our car and went driving around..it was pretty cold in London and have been raining for past few weeks...drove through some flood area..went to billingshurst and went straight to bed at 8pm as I am experiencing jet lag..

Woke up at 7am in the morning and feel totally fresh! Had my all-time favorite English breakfast and earl grey tea to mark my day! Attempting to go the Stonehenge but the admission ticket is just too much..paying £15 to see stones is not cool! Lol.. Drove to Bath instead  and is really an interesting town..great food and shopping can be done there...end the day with steak for dinner and meeting friend up..awesome day!!

                      Stonehenge 

                          Bath

Woke up early to check out and went to Windsor castle..as the day light is shorter during winter, I have to utilize the sun as much as possible before the ground turns dark at 4.15pm.. Windsor castle was amazing..looking at those items that queen likes and the history and drawings from the royal family was really interesting..afterwhich, drove up to Luton and spend a night there..

Day 4 in UK, finally drove back to London from Luton..went to Camden town for shopping and street market were exotic..the people there were covered with tattoos and piercing, bright colour dyed hair, weird hairdos n leather or heavy metals outfit..nothing I will come across in Singapore..haha...well, is an interesting place to shop..gotten a short for my little nephew and some art painting that I wan to put on my wall..

Went to Oxford street after that..it was so beautiful and romantic while walking along the street filled with Xmas lightings..I was really impressed..done some shopping there as usual and end the night with drinking at local pub..

Final day in London, UK.. Went to shard to have a panorama view of London..it is quite costly..around £22.50 to go up to the 68th to 72th floor of the building..the weather was clear thankfully and have an clear view of the city..head to tower bridge to have my picture taken again (been there in feb 2012) and sign up the tour to Tower of London..spent a few hours there understanding the history of the tower and the crowns..lol..then pay a visit to the queen at buckingham palace..enrich myself at British museum when queen is not at her palace..

                    Camden town

                     Oxford street 

              View from the shard 

                     Tower bridge 

                      The shard 

               Tower of London 

                  Trafalgar Square 

Waiting impatiently for Jana in the toilet 

              Buckingham palace 

             How natural our expression 

                 British museum 

Don't know why Egyptian items are here

3 weeks trip- first stop -Dubai

3-2-1, Happy new year!! It's my first time counting down to new year in overseas! On 30 dec, after my company event, went to the airport at 7pm to catch our flight to Dubai at 9.15pm..

   Company event at MacRitchie reservoir 

Arrived at Dubai at 1am (Singapore time 5am). Check in and went straight to bed.

It is not as hot as I thought...temperature is around 23 degree.. Went straight to burj kahlifa by train..super cool..the mall was huge and lots of stores and retail shops to shop!! Went to the aquarium first..it's the largest indoor aquarium in the world ..afterwhich, went ahopong and bought a pair of work shoes there before meeting my friend who works for emirates for dinner..awesome time over there..

Thankfully, we didn't want to countdown at burj Kahlifa because it was so chaotic and crowded when we were on our way home at 8pm..massive crowd spur into the mall to witness the fireworks..we spent around 30mins just to leave the mall to the train station..and was squeezing with pack of people..

Nevertheless, we countdown outside our hotel looking at burj kahlifa from a far...and went straight to bed as I have a morning flight to catch to London the next day ..

Xmas time and last weekend for the year!!

In a few days time, we will be bidding good bye to 2013 and look forward for a brand new year in 2014.. Time really flies.

Had Xmas dinner with family at Crab party on Sunday...I got a cooking pan for mum and toys for nephews..and my second brother got me a Ralph polo shirt..it's good being surprised to receive gift..lol

On Xmas eve, I have a Xmas party with the group of friends that I have known for years..gift exChange, countdown party and games..pretty awesome night..

On Friday, I also gotten the performance appraisal from my boss. I was elated and surprised with the bonus and salary increment.. What a sweet ending at the last working day in 2013. 

I think this year had been a really good year for me.. 

Feb - gotten my ACCA and found j

Apr - gotten a good bonus from UOB

May - move on to a new job 

Aug - first time to aust

Oct - got my ACCA membership

Hopefully 2014 will be another great year for me. Jan 9 will be the result released for my exam.. Finger cross xx

It's December

It's December and it's time where most people taking leave, holidaying or flying home for Xmas.. It's a lazy month for me at work since is an off-peak period now.. As such, the girls in my office began to decorate the office as well as my desk! 

Went for course on the second week of Dec and hope I can pass the exam to fulfill my goal of being a chartered accountant. Will know it very soon. Haha..went shopping on Sunday and got these toys for my 2 nephews..hope they like it even though it burns a hole in their uncle's pocket (my pocket)..lol..next year will need to get 3 gifts as 1 is on the way (sis in law (elder brother's wife) is pregnant).. Is a joyous news :)

It's been a good year for me so far and I'm really glad about it.. A lot of changes in this year..qualifications, job, environment and responsibility.. Thanks for being there for me j :)

Lastly, I have a lot of plans for 2014..further studies, traveling and better job prospects..

 

An extract from previous post http://tsfmike87.blogspot.sg/2008_05_01_archive.html

Target met..Obtained my ACCA which I set 5 years ago..

Really looking forward for those plans.. 2 more weeks to my Europe trip ..yeah ;)

Busy November

November is the peak period for me as all our corporate clients are required by law to submit tax returns to the authority by 30 nov.. With my workload, I have been working 10-12hours since oct to clear my job and prepare the returns.. As well as working on weekends..nevertheless, I still find time to chill and head out..

Went to gardens by the bay on 3 Nov. Due to its public holiday, we get discounts for the entry..pretty nice and worth to go.. Flower dome and cloud dome were pretty cool.

Subsequently, on 16 Nov, head to Sentosa for a day trip. I bought the package from deals.com which cost $38 which includes 2 ways cable cars, sky ride, luge and Segway. The sky were clear and bright until it started to rain heavily at 3.30pm.. What a shame as we did not complete the Segway,luge and the ride. Hate gloomy weather when doing outdoor activities..

Counting down

Can't wait for the much anticipated trip.. 48days to go...in need of a break seriously...

Convocation

Finally, this is the moment I have been waiting ever since I have started my course.. For those who knows me well, they all know that I have come a long way to complete my course.. Also, my parents always wanted at least one of us to be a graduate..and I'm happy that I have fulfilled their dream.

On 26 oct, I woke up early at 6.50am and headed to serangoon garden country club where the convo was held.

The event started at 9.30am and they started to present and affirm the certification at 10.15am..the whole ceremony ended around 11.30am..pretty glad that both my parents are able to be there to witness the affirmation.

Finally, that's the sweetest part of completion of the course..all my hard work paid off ..and time to earn more money in the future..lol

Another KL

On 11 oct, we drove up to KL again..this time, we have a mission..buy clothes, clock and accessories..

Left work at 6pm on Friday evening and arrived at KL around 10.30pm. Check in, and went for Prata feast and bedtime after that..

On 12 oct, woke up at 10am and headed to KLCC for breakfast at Dome..then drove up to Batu Cave and spent 3 hours  there 

Well, there is a 45 mins tour to the cave for RM35. Pretty cool...exploring the cave, finding cave insects and also experience total darkness (zero visibility)..the guide was pretty entertaining too..learnt a lot from her..subsequently, we went to pavilion and KLCC for shopping..

I can't miss the mango dessert in KL..is really yummy..food and shop for the whole Saturday..went to mdm Kwan for dinner before getting really drunk at the rooftop bar at my hotel..I was so drunk that I threw up when I went back to my room.. Lol

On Sunday, woke up late around 11.30pm, check out, went to Central market for breakfast and shopping..gotten a wall painting from there..

Then rushed to KLCC to get my banana republic shirt and had the mango dessert again before driving home...I think I have spent quite a lot this time..but had lots of fun..will go KL again for more shopping 

Sept

Nothing much this month...Rushing for my work in the beginning of the month and serve the nation from mid to end of Sept..will be more hectic from Oct onwards.