After the Mitsui symposium on 14th and 15th March (refer to my previous posts), Victor left Tokyo while Mingxian and I stayed back in Tokyo for more exploration. Mingxian had 5 semesters of Japanese lessons in NUS and he did a 6-month internship in Mitsubishi Chemical, so he can speak fluent Japanese and he knows the Japanese customs and etiquettes. Mingxian booked a room in an inn in Otsuka (near Ikebukuro), so we travelled from Chiba to Otsuka to deposit our luggages in the Otsuka inn. After putting down our luggages, we took a tram to Sunshine City, one of [View Full Entry]

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2 of my juniors and I were invited by Mitsui Chemicals to attend an international symposium in Kazusa Akademia Hall. (Refer to my previous post on the symposium.) Mitsui Chemicals was very kind and it arranged the Okura Chiba Hotel as our accomodation for 3 nights (13th, 14th and 15th March). The hotel was situated in Chiba City near Chiba-minato (Chiba harbour). On the morning of 15th March, I woke up earlier than expected. Since I still had 1 more hour before meeting my friends for breakfast, I decided to go out for a stroll. I explored the area around [View Full Entry]

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I was very honoured to be selected by Mitsui Chemicals to take part in the Mitsui International Symposium on Catalysis Science 2007. The symposium was held in the Kazusa Akademia Hall (in Chiba Prefecture, Japan) on 14th and 15th of March. Besides me, 2 NUS applied chem students were also selected. They were my applied chem juniors Victor and Mingxian. The 3 of us were chosen through an essay contest. (Mingxian wrote about the world of polymers. Victor and I wrote about the works of Prof Grubbs, a 2005 Nobel laureate in Chemistry.) We arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport in [View Full Entry]

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It's hard to find a single word to describe Tokyo. If you ask me how Tokyo is, I can easily find dozens of adjectives to describe the city, among which are "dazzling", "fast-paced", "efficient", "amazing", "crowded", "breath-taking", "religious", "disciplined", etc etc. If you ask me to use only one word, I guess the best choice is "exciting". Tokyo is indeed exciting. The city is like a hyperactive kid who is trying to attract attention, and it succeeded in attracting my attention. As a result, I'm also feeling hyperactive. Life is fast-paced in Tokyo, but I like the speed and efficiency [View Full Entry]

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Although Macau is tiny, it's definitely impressive. Where else can you find a place where two totally different cultures (Chinese & Portuguese) co-exist and develop an unique blend of cultures for half a millenium? I visited Macau 3 times in 2006 (refer to my previous post) and I have taken so many photos that I feel that one blog is not enough! In this blog I'm posting more photos during my 3rd visit (in Dec 2006), with an emphasis on Coloane & Taipa (the two outlying islands south of Macau, which have merged into one giant island after massive reclamation). [View Full Entry]

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Macau became a colony of Portugal after the Portuguese reached Macau in the early 1550s. On 20th Dec 1999, Macau was returned to China, and ever since, Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Prior to 2006, the last time I visited Macau was in 1997 with my family and grandma. We only spent 3 hours in Macau, as we were on our way from Zhuhai to Hong Kong. It was a pity, as Macau is a fascinating place which has an unique mixture of Chinese and Portuguese heritage. Hence, in 2006, I decided to visit [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday afternoon, I went to Singapore Expo to see the Innovationation exhibition. Expecting long queues and huge crowds (because the exhibition is admission-free), I was very surprised when I saw nobody queuing and very few people in the exhibition. Nevertheless, the exhibition was an interesting, impressive and inspiring experience. It showcases the technological development in Singapore and how technology integrates into our lives and makes our lives better. Beside displays of old telephones and old computers and old mobile phones, there are plenty of hands-on high-tech display. There are [View Full Entry]

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One year ago, I posted an entry about the heavy fog in Vancouver ("Fog comes, fog goes"). Now, I'm in Singapore, and I'm experiencing some form of "deja vu". For the past few weeks Singapore is shrouded in a haze, all thanks to the numerous forest fires in Indonesia. The haze is really an eye-sore. Not only visibility is affected, the smoke particles in the air also make one's eyes dry and irritated... (That's why I say the haze is an "eye-sore".) Last Saturday, the PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) shot up to 150. (A PSI level of 0-50 = good range. [View Full Entry]

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Today I went back to VJC (Victoria Junior College) for its annual open house. Normally I go back to VJC every year for its open house, but last year I didn't go because I was in Vancouver. I'm one of the very rare people who went back every single year after I graduate from VJC, because my VJC art class had only 4 students and we were very close to our art teacher. Every year, I would go back to view the A-level art projects and chat with my art teacher. Today, I saw the A-level projects for this year and [View Full Entry]

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Today is the NUS Rag Day 2006. Rag Day is a tradition in NUS (National University of Singapore) and it is an annual event where each of the different faculties and halls of residence builds a carnival-style float, integrates the float with a musical dance, and creates a spectacular show. This year (2006) is the first year where I participated in Rag as a spectator. In 2003 I joined Science Rag as a freshman, in 2004 I joined the Science Rag committee, and in 2005 I missed the Rag Day because I was doing my attachment in Vancouver, Canada. This year, [View Full Entry]

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