Collin Ng's Blog

It is the last day of 2014 to a start of another year ahead.  It is a "ritual of sorts" for me to post my last thought for 2014 on the last day of 2014.  How did 2014 go for me?  For starter, the year did not augur well for the aviation industry, most particularly Malaysia Airlines when the world received a rude shock on hearing the missing MH plane in the early part of the year which has yet to be found.  The sombre mood worsened further when another MH plane crashed from the Ukraine internal war conflict some months later.  While the world has yet to fully recover from the double whammy, days before the year is over, AirAsia Indonesia plane crashed while enroute to Singapore from Surabaya.  Like many I do empathy for the affected families and hope they will recover from their grieves soon. On a personal note, I do find year 2014 not that bad a year for me though not fantastic to say the least.  However, I do get to know more nice people through th...

I joined the airport team of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 1985.  I was the latest recruit and was the youngest.  I was 23 then.  Aside from Simon Oh who is of the same birth year as me and he joined some months earlier, the rest of our colleagues are more than a decade older than us.  Added to that, they had already worked more than a decade with the company.  For some, two decades.  It was just a beginning for me.  If I can remember well, Simon was few days older than me.  We even share the same birthday month in February. He was a 'little feisty dragon' at work.  He has a fearsome Chinese name called Oh Kim Leng and in Hokkien, it means golden dragon. I remember Zohri who used to work as office messenger running errands.  He was later promoted to handle simple passenger service tasks.  Zohri spoke with a unique slang, almost like an ang moh but not exactly close.  I liked to call him 'Zorro'.  Yes, I was quite a rascal...

During my airport days, I used to have this colleague who will not hesitate to extend help to strangers in distress.  As far as I can remember, she is always overlooked by the management when it came to promotion or perk of sorts.  Perhaps, she was not the complaining sort and therefore, taken for granted by the management then. When I joined the company in the mid 80s, she had already spent more than a decade with the company but still stuck in the same position.  She is one who will not complain about too much work or went around gossiping.  Most of all, she will not pull rank to the junior just because she was more senior, rather the other way around is more true.  Quite frankly, I have never once witnessed her losing her cool while handling difficult passengers. Once there was this elderly lady passenger who missed the flight, had to stay in Singapore for few days and had no money on her.  My colleague could not bear to see her stranded high and dry...

I confess I have never enjoyed doing air ticketing when I was working for KLM in the 80s due to its complex rules and regulations that one has to remember.  Like it or not, we have to know some ticketing knowledge being part and parcel of our job.  We have to know whether a ticket issued by another another carrier can be endorsed to another carrier or accepted by us.  Some tickets were simple.  It was point to point, easy to read - no sweat.  However, some tickets were all over the places and involving few carriers and in different classes of travel.  Unlike now, we use e-tickets but prior to proliferation of the Internet, only properly issued airline tickets can be accepted.  Each flight coupon had to be issued and uplifted at point of departure.  If we do not understand some ticketing rules, we will find ourselves 'stranded'.  And if we accepted the wrong ticket, we will be held liable. Our airline has already already built up a reputati...

The neighbourhood in the 70s I used to grow up with was notorius where gang fights were the norm during those days.  We shared the common corridor with each household facing one and another.  The corridor was always noisy with kids like us running up and down.  The block has since been demolished in the early 80s. I was 12 or 13, I think and I was hanging around at the playground and minding my own business when a boy, around my age and built approached me.  Without provocation, he started to challenge me to a fight.  I ignored him but he persisted to taunt me.  It got me mad and we started to fight.  Crowd gathered immediately but nobody broke out our fight.  I quickly got him on the ground, folded up his hands and sat on top of him.  He couldn't move and meekly surrendered the fight.  I then told him to leave me alone and walked home.  I did not dare tell my mother I had a fight or I could have 'eaten the cane'.  Her canin...

In uniquely Singapore, there are three important celebrations in a calendar year that relate to the three major ethnic groups.  Typically, when we refer to Chinese New Year, the Chinese will come to mind; Hari Raya Puasa, the Malays and Deepavali, the Indians.  Deepavali or Diwali is celebrated by the Hindus and Sikhs.   The meanings of Deepavali or Diwali, its symbols and rituals and the reasons for celebration are innumerable.  Deepavali celebrates Lord Rama’s glorious and long awaited return to his Kingdom of Ayodhya after his fourteen long years of exile in the forests.  It commemorates Lord Krishna’s victory over the demon Narakaasura who had kidnapped and terrorised the gopis of Vrindavan.  When the evil Narak was finally killed by Bhagwan Krishna and Satyabhaama, he begged for mercy; thus upon his entreaties, it was declared that this day of his death would be celebrated with great joy and festivity.  It is also celebrated as the day of Bh...

Rolling off at Ishigaki Port It was our third expedition but this time, we will have to fly, then cruise and cycle at each port call.   Sandy and Xuejing of Star Cruises were already exploring a ride event in Taiwan and Okinawa following our successive second edition earlier this year which took us to Penang and Phuket.  It was not easy especially for Xuejing who had to co-ordinate with many parties, the likes of the airline, the hotels and the ground operator, among others and when the program was finalised, we were left with about two months to get cyclists. Group picture at Ishigaki Port It was a 6 days and 5 nights cruise and cycle expedition, with 3 nights aboard Superstar Aquarius and 2 nights in Taipei.  At S$1,288 per person excluding airport taxes & surcharges, it is a steal.  We had scheduled to depart on 20 Sep, Saturday and returning on 25 Sep, Thursday.  We tapped on various social media platforms to get the cyclists.  Some of ...

Group picture with the famous 'Cat woman' at the finishing It was my third Yellow Ribbon Prison since its inception in 2009.  This Yellow Ribbon run will cap my last run for year 2014 and for the first time, I am not participating in Stanchart Marathon since 2007.  I did not have the chance to run for two weeks due to my busy schedule but did some step training though.  I was still hoping I could clock a good time and barring any foreseeable, I should prevail. Picture with Jonathon, Shirley and their son at the flag-off   The run was scheduled this morning near Changi Village and as usual, the finishing is in the prison compound.  The distance was 10 km.  I was to pace Winnie but she had stomach upset in the last few days, thus had to forgo as much as she would like to run.  I had arranged to meet up some members of Aranda Country Club the likes of Peter Yeo, Simon, Poh Kuan and Richard Foo (the latter was doing 6 km) at the club and our ...

To many non-Muslims in our multi-racial society, it does not come as a surprise if many still cannot differentiate the symbolic days between Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji.  Simply put, Hari Raya Puasa symbolises the end of Ramadan (fasting month) and Hari Raya Haji is in remembrance of the sacrifices made by Prophet Ibrahim on his son, Ismail.  Both days are public holidays in Singapore and more often than not, after celebration of Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji will follow suit some months later. Tracing the sacred journey, Hari Raya Haji is usually celebrated over a period of four days by Muslims in Islamic countries and the festival starts on the 10 th day of the month of Zulhijjah which is the last month of the Islamic calendar. Aside from the sacrificial theme, Hari Raya Haji also marks the end of Hajj where thousands of pilgrims converged on the Holy Land of Mecca to perform a series of symbolic rituals.  Before the 8 th of Dhul-Hijah ( sacred month...

Group picture with Alim, the star (man in the middle) before the flag-off I participated in this morning's TRI-Factor series by "default" and it was my first in three disciplines, swim, bike and run.  One of my kakis from the 'happy group', Edmond who signed up for this event but at last moment, he pestered me to take over his bib.  Some of us suspected he could have developed 'cold feet' syndrome though he told us that it clashed with another event of his.  Reluctantly, I took over.  It was just a "Freshmen" entry, swim 200 metres, bike 10 km (yawn) and run 2.4 km (more yawn).  For the first time, I was running in the name of Edmond. Group picture with Tan and his "Happy Group"        Due to tight schedule, I did not do any exercise for the whole week and this one at least can allow me to burn-off some calories - thanks Edmond hor.  I had arranged to meet Tan and his "happy group", the likes of his wife who is ...

Group picture at Hatten before rolling off I was a newbie when I heard about Ride For Rations event from some friends and that year was in 2011.  I brought a cheap Raleigh mountain bike for the ride.  I had always thought those who ride on road bikes are risk takers but not knowing after this event, I bought my first Giant roadie too.  In the first edition, I was joined by some of my outdoor kakis for this event.  Kevin Soh brought his Dahon foldie and he rode for three consecutive years, Hooi Yen who was the first one to inform some of us of such a meaningful event rode for three consecutive years too.  Corina and Vivien rode for the first two editions.  CK and Dora joined us on the second edition and they did twice in a row too. TS Chua joined last year and this year again.  My kaki Long Chua did one ride, had a bad fall while preparing for the second year but he continued to provide support back up until today.  I got to know the two Tay ...

When Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on moon on 20 th July 1969, he did not manage to make a date with “Chang Er”.  When he took the first step on moon, he famously says, “ This is one step for a man, one giant leap for mankind ”.   This may have dispelled the “Chang Er” myth but to the Chinese, the legendary story of “Chang Er” which is very much connected to Mid-Autumn Festival is still very much celebrated in any Chinese community all over the world.  Some say her husband was a tyrant, some say he was a great hero but “Chang Er” remains a perfect wife to a fault.                 Legend says “Chang Er” had sacrificed herself by swallowing an elixir given to her husband, Hou Yi who apparently shot down nine out of ten suns to relieve people’s suffering from the extreme heat .  She then flew to Moon and became a Goddess.  Eventually, people offered sacrifices to “Chang ...

Me after the race It was the inaugural event organised by Infinitus and admittedly, it was not cheap either.  It came with two race categories, 30 km (run 5 km, bike 20 km and run 5 km) and 60 km (run 10 km, bike 40 km and run 10 km) respectively.  I decided to sign up for the 60 km event to test my own endurance.  This race could have cost me more than S$200.  My club, Aranda Country Club agreed to absorb half the cost and coupled with early bird discount, I only paid less than S$80.     Start of our 10 km first leg run  The race happened this morning at the Changi Exhibition Centre.  For 60 km participants, we had to run 2 laps inside the exhibition centre in our first leg, cycle 4 U-turn laps along the Coastal Road and finally run 2 laps to the finish.     The night before I hit the bed early.  Though I set my alarm at 0415 hrs, I actually got up at 0130 hrs...haiz, I was too excited, probably.  Anyway, I...

Eid al-Fitr is known as the “Festival of Fast-Breaking”.  In Singapore we call it Hari Raya Aidilfitri or Hari Raya Puasa.   Muslims have to observe a month of fasting, which is known as Ramadan and when it ends, Hari Raya Puasa celebration will begin.   In Malay, the words “Hari Raya” is called the “grand day of rejoicing” which falls on the first day of Syawal, the 10 th month of the Islamic calendar.     During Ramadan, Muslims have to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and indulging in any form of behaviour that serves to nullify the fast from dawn to dusk.  They are also required to perform religious duties such as reading the Quran.     Days before Hari Raya Puasa, there will be a “Hari Raya Light Up & Celebration” along the stretch of road at Geylang Seria which showcases our proud Malay culture and other inter cultural events.  It is usually run for a month until the last day of Ramadan.  The light up is ...

The idea of having an International Youth Day was proposed in 1991 by a group of young people in Vienna, Austria during the first session of the UN’s World Youth Forum.  The primary aim of declaring Youth Day is in concert with fundraising and promotion purposes, among others and to support the United Nations Youth Fund in partnership with various youth organisations. While ours is not for charity purpose of sorts and have been observed for more than three decades, it is a festival celebration for the youths here.  It was first celebrated on 18 July 1967 at Jalan Besar Stadium when Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) was launched by our first President, Yusof Ishak.  It involved some 24,000 from primary and secondary school in a two-week celebration then.   This has since metamorphosed into an annual event showcasing youth talents and involving more than 40,000 students typically in the month of July. Whatever its purpose or aim, it is therefore safe to say tha...

I met up a secondary schoolmate for lunch recently and we started reminiscing the good old days when we were running in marathon events as students.  If I can recall, there were not many run or walk events in the 70s.  There was this New Nation Walk that I can still remember.  I think the walk distance was 5 km and when we finished, we were given a completion certificate without our name - we just have to write our name on it. Mobile Marathon was the most prominent run event, perhaps the equivalent of Standard Chartered Marathon of present time.  The event came in 4 stages - first quarter run for 10 km in early part of the year, second quarter run for 20 km in second part of the year, third quarter run for 30 km in the third quarter of the year and finally, the full marathon distance of 42km in the last quarter of the year.  I ran that event with my classmates and we were just 15-year old jackasses.  That year was 1977.  We had no idea what carbo l...

Group picture taken with the children   Sometime in March last year, I made my first trip to Baan Dada Children's Home in Thailand.  It was a cycling tour organised by Nick where some of us flew to Bangkok from Singapore and together with an enthusiastic group of cyclists from Thailand, we cycled some 360 km over 3 days to the rugged western region that borders between Thailand and Myanmar.  It was a personal fund raising project for the purpose of setting up a vocation training centre at the home.  I met both Dada Rama who hails from the Philippines and his assistant, Dada Prashanta who hails from Indonesia in person for the first time.  Both "Dadas" (brothers in Sanskrit) have pledged their entire lives to help a worthy cause and they do not draw any salary at all.  Their worldly mission is to give love to the less fortunate ones - the kind of sacrifice not many can do it.   The muddy path just outside the home Dada Rama has been involve...