Attending Cheng Siew Ngoh's Wedding

You can see the late Mr. Chen, Mrs Chen and Francis Lai

We went to Malacca to attend Cheng's wedding.

Great lady.

We still keep in touch when we meet for our Chinese New Year lunch or dinner.

The Late Ooi Eng Chor

Buddy Days of Yore

Another great friend of mine.

Ever versatile.

Ultra helpful and most talented.

Passed on in Ipoh a few years ago after he retired of a heart attack.

Those were the Days

All in the Family

From 1986 to 1993 or so, we served in the office of the then Minister of Housing and Local Government.

At Mr and Mrs Chen's house

Besides me, there was Joyce, Mrs, Chen, Cheng, Chen and Amarjit.

Good times

It was a memorable time.

Another shot with the late Mr Chen and Good Old Mrs Chen

My Grandma-Left Me in 1993

Fondest Memories

My memory is fading.

Hopefully not the way my grandma went.

My Granny sans memory

Overtime, she succumbed to Alzheimer's and we did have a tough time to keep her indoors.

She was wont to wander about and not getting home.

She passed on in 1993.

In life, she was a good, hardworking woman.

I adored her.

Salad Days at USM (1972-1975)

Start Out

These were my salad days at USM.

Getting into the Early Motions

Things have really changed.

Geronimo Days

Fate has dealt different destinies for all these players.

Days of Quiet Innocence?

For those who know us, have fun going down memory lane.

Home Away from Home

Gung-ho Aspirations

Bullies by the Numbers

Raring to Go!

Salad Days

Out into the Market

Post Career Travels?

Winsome Twosome

Friends in Perth

Malaysia is Home

Iskandar's Super Property Buyers

High End Landed Wealth

Yes, according to the Malaysia Chronicle (23 September 2013), three out of five buyers of the high-end properties in the Southern Johore corridor of the Iskandar regional townships are the Singaporeans.

They account for 74 per cent of purchases made at the various developments by non-Malaysians. Most Singaporean buyers are people who go to Johore frequently for business and those wanting a weekend home.

"They buy more of the upmarket products, as foreigners can only buy units (both landed and strata-titles) that are above RM 500,000 (S$195,000) in value.  This they can do with ease especially with the increasing value of the Singapore dollar day after day.

UEM Sunrise is the master developer of Iskandar's Nusajaya area. Its developments include East Ledang, a 111ha project with bungalows and villas and several condominiums at Puteri Harbour, Iskandar's mirror answer to Singapore's Keppel Harbour.

UEM data shows that Singaporean buyers usually outnumber all other foreigners combined. At the Imperia project, Singaporeans made up 39.1 per cent of buyers, eclipsing even Malaysians at 24.3 per cent. Foreigners of other nationalities made up 36.6 per cent.

At neighbouring condo Teega @ Puteri Harbour, 36.5 per cent were Singaporeans, 51.8 per cent were Malaysians and 11.7 per cent were of other nationalities.

It was also pointed out that a substantial proportion of non-Singaporeans who bought units in Iskandar have strong links to Singapore.

Many are Malaysians who live and work in Singapore, while others are expatriates or foreigners who visit often.

"These are people who travel to Singapore regularly for various reasons, like health care, education for their children, business and commerce or for lifestyle."

The high number of investors flocking to Iskandar has pushed prices up considerably.

For instance, prices of bungalows at UEM's East Ledang development have surged 44 per cent on average in the resale market since 2011. Even so, prices in Iskandar are still much cheaper than in Singapore and so continue to appeal to Singaporeans.

A 1,500 sq ft three-bedroom unit at the upcoming Marina One condominium in Singapore is likely to be "in the region of RM 11 million". For the same amount of investment, one can buy two swimming pool villas in East Ledang of 5,500 sq ft sitting on land of about 10,000 sq ft.

As they say, the world is a playground only for those who have money and the Singaporeans are leading the way by making Southern Johore just that.

As the song goes," Money Makes the World go Round."

How true!

Out of Africa-the 1937 African Memoirs of Karen Blixen

I Have a Farm in Africa

This is one gem of a movie.

It chronicles the life and times of Karen Blixen while in Kenya and how she lived and worked among the Kikuyu tribe.

Romance in the Kenyan Bush

Starring the screen greats, Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, you can see the spectacular vista of green of the Kenyan grass-lands from the air, by jeep and by train from Mombasa in Out of Africa.

Frolicking

The direction by Sidney Pollack is fantastic and the John Barry music score is beyond compare.

Sad memoirs but hauntingly memorable on film

Spectacular Sights via the Plane Flight

Great re-visit down memory lane.