I wonder whether there is any company or organization in Indonesia that prohibits the wearing of perfume at workplace?  I think wearing of perfume, cologne and scented lotion is an acceptable practice,  as I have seen many people wearing perfume in offices, banks, government offices and shopping malls in Jakarta. The sale of perfumes is a booming business in Indonesia and there are countless perfume counters and shops in almost all shopping malls in Jakarta. As people spend more money on grooming and personal appearance, I believe this would lead to more people wearing perfumes in Indonesia.

A friend of mine has a mild allergy to certain perfumes. He would sneeze or develop symptoms of  blocked nose if comes into contact with it. Fortunately for me, I do not have such problem. But sometimes my nose do feel irritated by the smell of certain perfumes – especially those which have strong musky smell or smelling too sweet. I think the problem is that some ladies and men tend to put lots of perfume on their body; so the smell of the perfume tend to be extra strong. You can in fact smell them even if they are a few cubicles away in the office. Now imagine having to put up with the smell 8 hours a day, five days a week with a co-worker who wears a perfume that irritates your nose. If the fragrance from the perfume affects the sensitivity of the co-workers, the employer should step in and educate the worker concerned. I think if a person wears a perfume lightly, there should not be a problem as the smell would not be overwhelming throughout the office.

Wearing Perfume to Work

I think it is difficult to implement a fragrance free policy in the office or workplace in Indonesia. Besides, it may not be practical to enforce such a policy especially in a workplace where you have visitors or the public have accessed to it – for example hotels and shopping malls. In such instance, the employer can reduce the smell by installing an air purifier machine and through better air ventilation system. Personally, I am not against the policy of people wearing of perfumes to workplace; neither am I for it. I think whether you choose to wear perfume or be fragrance free is a personal choice. However, it would be nice if people who wear perfumes understand that all they need to do is to put a little ( a few drops ) perfume to smell good.

Beautiful Perfume Bottle

I went to a Chinese restaurant recently and was looking at the menu for some seafood dish in the menu. I saw a dish called Fried Prawns with Macadamia nuts – this is something that I have not tried before and so I decided to order it. When the dish arrived, I saw prawns with the head , legs and shell removed and deveined as well. I think this is good because it is troublesome to remove the head and shell of prawns when eating them. The prawns looked fresh and clean on the plate and I saw some slices of vegetables being added. However I was also eagerly trying to find the Macadamia nuts in this dish.

Fried Prawns with Macadamia Nuts

The prawns tasted fresh and the meat was firmed. The Macadamia nuts were roasted and it was crunchy and slightly sweet and salty as well. Overall I liked this dish and would probably tried to cook it in my home. I understand that Macadamia nuts is good for our health. It contain many minerals, proteins, fibre and monosaturated fats; which are good fats which helps to reduce the body bad cholesterol levels. I think the roasted Macadamia nuts taste better as it is more crunchy. However it may be less healthy as perhaps salt and sugar has been added to enhance the taste.

Fried Prawns with Macadamia Nuts

The Fried Prawns with Macadamia nuts is a simple and yet delicious dish. It is easy to prepare and cook. All you need are fresh prawns – with shells totally removed and deveined. Then add some vegetables – in the photos you can see carrots, mushrooms and slices of green pepper being added. I think the Macadamia nuts should be added last when the dish is cooked or almost done. I would want to add the roasted Macadamia nuts last in the cooking process – let it fry for 1 to 2 minutes together with the prawns and vegetables before serving it up. For those who does not liked Macadamia nuts, perhaps you can substitute it with roasted Cashew nuts which I think is also great.

I remember a few years ago when I first started on internet marketing and blogging, I was also browsing on the web looking for any simple tasks that I could do that pays me money. One of the thing that I stumbled upon was online surveys. I saw that there are quite a number of survey websites that promised big and easy money for participating in surveys. But there was a catch of course – I have to pay these so called companies money first before I was allowed into the club membership to participate in these lucrative surveys. Or other websites would want you to pay them first before they reveal to me the name of the survey companies that I could joined to earn money.

I was not prepared to pay money to any of these websites that promised big and easy money for online surveys simply because I was skeptical. There were too many websites in the internet where the sole purpose of their activities was to scam the public. So I continued on my own to search for legitimate survey companies that were free to join and pay me for my time in participating their online surveys. I finally found 2 such survey companies, and if you interested in trying them out, just follow the link below to my blog which I have wrote on this matter -

Making Money from Online Surveys

Below is a portion of a email that a survey company sent to me when I have sufficient points to redeem it for cash. How much money you could make would depend on how many surveys you have completed successfully. For this survey company, the minimum sum for the cheque that I received was about RP420,000 – not bad for something that you can do at home leisurely at your own pace.

Hi Kuan,

We have received your request to redeem 1000 MarketPoints. You’ve been working hard and we really appreciate it!

You will receive a check in your local currency within 4-6 weeks if you live in the United States, and within 6-8 weeks if you live outside the U.S. We appreciate your patience while your check is processed and mailed to you.

So go ahead and try it out if you can keen on making some extra cash at the comfort of your home with online surveys.  Your kids can also joined in too if they are at least 14 years old for some survey companies. For your convenience, here is the link to my blog regarding joining online survey companies that pay you money -

Making Money from Online Surveys

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Went out with a friend for lunch today. He casually told me that he had seen a couple of properties in Jakarta and was keen to buy an apartment or condominium in Jakarta.  However he said that property prices were too high right now and was adamant in his belief that it will fall in one or two years time. He went to view a condominium in Menteng, a studio unit of about 40 sq. m on the high floor with a asking price of U$76,000.  He mentioned that he would loved to buy a property for investment if it is reasonably cheap.

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Buying Properties in Jakarta

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I told my friend that there are properties in the United States going very cheap; in fact he could get a home for a price of a set dinner in a good Chinese restaurant – that is One hundred US dollars or approximately RP885,000. He was shocked and though that I was joking until I explained the facts to him. If you looked at Detroit which is the largest city in the state of Michigan, there are thousands of properties that are under foreclosures and even abandoned properties. Why would the owner of a property be willing to sell you his home for just US$100? That is because he is in debt and is unable to pay the property taxes for his home. So instead of incurring this property tax every year, he would rather sell it off cheap. But beware of buying such properties, because most of it are in very bad condition and in areas where it is either crime ridden or in abandoned neighbourhood. Property tax are high in the state of Michigan and are payable in advance of the year in which they are due. The property tax is calculated based on State Equalized Value ( SEV ) which is normally half of the assessed value of the property. Bear in mind that just because your neighbour’s home in Detroit is paying say US$2000 in property tax, it does not mean that your property next to him will be the same amount.

My friend then asked me whether there are good investment properties in Michigan. I explained to him that there are plenty of good value properties in Michigan. The key is not to look at the assessed value but focus on the cash flow. When I focus on the cash flow, I am looking at the rental income generated from the property which I have purchased.  Take the annual rental income and less of all expenses such as property taxes, insurance, maintenance, management fees, etc and if it still gives you a positive cash flow of above 7%, then I would consider looking into this property. In Detroit, there are plenty of good valued properties being sold at US70,000 onwards but you need to do your homework. You would want to buy a property in a prime location so that you will enjoy capital appreciation of your home once the economy picks up.

So whether you are buying properties in Jakarta or in United States, the important issue is not the valuation of the property, it is not the selling price of the house or the economy, it is just the cash flow and potential capital appreciation. I want to know what type of tenants can I get and how much is the net rental income ( after deducting all expenses ) per year. As for capital appreciation, prime location will also be the first to appreciate in prices when property prices moved up.

I would normally ordered omelette for breakfast whenever I stayed in the hotel. Most of the hotels will offer either the usual butter omelette or mixed vegetables omelette. In Singapore, the fried oyster omelette is a popular food among the locals. I do order this food occasionally and I would instruct the stall owner to make sure that the oyster is well cooked because eating raw or half cooked shellfish like oysters can caused Hepatitis A. There is one omelette which I love to eat but is not found in the menu of many restaurants or food stalls; and that is the Prawn and Mushroom Omelette. The Prawn and Mushroom Omelette is very easy to prepare and cook and many of my friends said that it is delicious and wholesome meal. In this blog I would liked to share my style of cooking this dish.

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Prawn and Mushroom Omelette

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The ingredients for the preparation of Prawn and Mushroom Omelette are as follows:-

a) 4 fresh eggs

b) 8 medium sized prawns – peeled, deveined and you can have it whole or sliced in half.

c) 4  fresh mushrooms – cut it into small pieces.

d) a few slices of ginger, carrots and spring onions.

e) sliced chilli or red pepper – this is optional.

1)  break the eggs in the bowl and mixed it well with a fork and add some pepper. Some people beat the eggs which is fine. But beating the eggs tends to make it over mixed. I do not add salt because it is healthier or you can add some soya sauce.

2) put some oil on the frying pan and heat it up. Get a medium size pan, because if you cooked it using a small pan, the eggs would become too thick and spongy.

3) put the fresh mushrooms and vegetables into the pan and stir fry it just for a few minutes. Then add the prawns into the pan and stir fry it until the prawns become pink in color.

4) when the mushroom and prawns are cooked, quickly pour the eggs into the pan. Make sure that the eggs are spread evenly on the pan. You can do this by tilting the pan till the eggs are spread evenly on the pan. Wait for a few minutes, then flip the eggs over and let it cook for another 2 minutes. The omelette should looked golden in color.

5) put the Prawn and Mushroom Omelette on a plate and it is ready to be served.

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Prawn and Mushroom Omelette

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The Prawn and Mushroom omelette is a easy to cook and is good to eat. In fact there are times when I cooked this omelette as a quick lunch for myself. If you are creative, you can try adding different types of vegetables such as thin slices of lettuce, onions and garlic. One thing to take note is that try to use fresh prawns instead of frozen prawns when cooking this dish, as it will taste much better.

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Recently I read the news that the Governor of West Java had ordered all his civil servants to buy and wear shoes that are made in Indonesia. Governor Ahmad Heryawan started this campaign to support the local shoe industry; and was reported to give all his civil servants one month grace period before taking actions against anyone flouting his order. Thereafter if he find any civil servant wearing foreign made shoes, he will punish the offender with 200 push ups exercise. Really his campaign of Made in Indonesia shoes are very amusing to me.

Many international brands of shoes such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas and many more are made in Indonesia. So it means that Indonesia has the capacity and skills to made high quality shoes. Then why is it that the shoes with local brands are not in hot demand with the local Indonesians? I think the taste and the aspirations of the Indonesians have changed over the years. Many Indonesians especially the young are fashion trendy and with more money to spend. These young people are fashion and brand conscious, and they won’t want to be caught by their peers wearing local brand shoes or clothes -in their view this would be an sheer embarrassment. Even Indonesians in their forties and fifties are now increasing buying foreign brand shoes, clothes and accessories. When we go to any upscale mall in Jakarta, consumers are buying foreign brand products, eating in foreign brand restaurants, buying foreign brand home appliances and phones.

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Hush Puppies Shoe

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My view is that if you want more Indonesians to buy local products such as shoes, the manufacturers must first improve upon the quality, design and the brand of the product. When I go to Bandung for shopping, there are locally made shoes that are quite attractive in design, but the quality seems to be lower. I will not hesitate to buy local products so long as it is of good quality at affordable price. The local manufacturers and distributors must have a more competitive business attitude if they want to succeed in capturing the local consumers market.

An example of a successful Indonesian brand is Teh Botol produced by the Indonesian company Sosro. Teh Botol is a sweetened Jasmine tea that is very popular in Indonesia. I loved drinking it just as I also enjoy drinking Jasmine tea produced by Pokka. Drinking Jasmine tea from a glass bottle is unique to Teh Botol and in this instance, the company has a successful marketing strategy. Another example of a successful product and brand in Indonesia is the Bintang Beer. It is a very popular local brand of beer in Indonesia and I drink it all the time when I am in Indonesia.

I do own and wear shoes made in Indonesia but at the same time I also wear foreign branded shoes. I hope that the Governor of Java would not be too harsh on his subordinates. Perhaps he could just made it mandatory for his civil servants to wear local made shoes once a week – like every Monday which is the start of the working week. He could also worked with local shoes manufacturers and distributors to get special discount for his subordinates when they buy shoes made in Indonesia.

My friends and I were having a light discussion last week on the topic of safety while staying in hotel and also on the topic of hotel safe in the room. Of course we were aware of stories from travelers who had lost their valuables in the hotel rooms or items placed in the hotel safe. So the question is how safe is the safe in the hotel room? I think this is not an easy question to answer; or there is no correct answer at all. Personally I have used and placed my travel documents and money in the hotel safe on many occasions and it was totally fine and safe.

Let me just start off by saying that generally the safe in the hotel room is safe. That is based on my personal experience traveling for so many years and staying in many hotels. There are certain precautions that I normally take when I choose a hotel. First, I always do my homework on the location of the particular hotel before I do the booking. I would find out whether is the hotel located in the sleazy or crime areas/spots of that particular city or town. If it was so, I would not stay there. Secondly, I would normally booked a hotel and not a motel. I know that motel and small hotels are cheaper than established hotels; but I am prepared to pay more for added security and peace of mind. Thirdly, are the lifts in the hotels using card access and similarly on the rooms? That would be my preference as card access lifts and rooms are strong security feature in the hotel.

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Hotel Safe

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Now moving on to the room itself. Normally in an established hotel, the door in your hotel room is solid, strong and fire retard with strong lock features. I have seen the doors in smaller hotel and motel rooms that are cheap, thin and with cheap locks. You can literally hear the commotion on what is happening next to your room or outside the corridor. In such instance, the safe in your hotel room is not safe, as it is easy to break into your room. In many good hotels, the hotel safe in the room are bolted down to the cabinet or very heavy. There is no worry of house keeping workers coming in to clean up your room as they do not have the master key or the secret code to open up the safe. If you have forgotten the password to your safe, only the management or the security staff personnel are authorise to help you in opening the safe.

As a precautionary measure, I do not placed all my money in the hotel safe – only a portion of it. I do not wear jewelery or expensive watch when I travel – leave it at home. If I see the housekeeping team cleaning the adjacent rooms in the morning, I would asked them to clean my room while I am still in the room. I would always check that the hotel safe is securely locked and thereafter checking the main door is properly locked after I leave the room. I would also leave the TV and lights on when I leave my room if I am staying on the lower floor of the hotel. Most of the time I would request and get to stay at high floor.

So my answer is that the hotel safe in the room is safe provided that the hotel has strong security features installed and implemented; and that you have taken all precautionary measures to make your room safe. There is no such thing as a 100% theft free hotel but you can take measures to minmise this risk.

The Indonesia government is still pondering on a bill that allows foreigners to buy properties in Indonesia on a longer lease that range from 70 to 90 years lease. This is to boost the demand on the property market especially on major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. Allowing foreigners to buy on a longer lease period will increase the revenue of the government through tax and investment.� The current status is that foreigners are not allowed to buy land or landed properties, and also not allow to buy any building or apartment build on freehold land. I think this status will remain in force with the exception of apartments build on leasehold land.

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Bill on Foreigners buying properties in Indonesia

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Does this bill look attractive to foreign investors? In a way it is a beginning of a process to liberate the property market in Indonesia. It would be better if the leasehold period is 99 years instead of the maximum 90 years lease. That will make it look more attractive to foreigners. The bill should also make it easier for foreigners to borrow money from local Indonesian banks up to a maximum of 70%� from the purchase or valuation price of the property. This will help to boost the business of the local banks as well. Laws with regard to rights of foreign ownerships to the purchased properties, taxes and duties, the right to resell and transfer should also be made transparent and clear. The problem with Indonesia is that it is a country with too many loose laws and by-laws, making it so confusing for foreigners and even local Indonesians. Foreigners purchasing these apartments should also have the right to lease it out immediately, the right to resell and the properties should be free from emcumbrances.

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Foreigners Buying Properties in Indonesia

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Gradually the Indonesian government should looked into the ownership of freehold property by foreigners. They could start by imposing strict restriction in terms of rights to resell only after say 10 years from the date of purchase, capital gain tax ( to prevent speculation ) and restriction such as allowing foreigners to purchase only high end properties – such as properties above US$300,000.

Recently there has been an increase in the number of ATM robberies in Jakarta. The police had asked the banks to increase the security of the ATMs by employing more securing guards in shopping malls and convenience stores. The police had also recommended the installation of more closed circuit television ( CCTV ) around the compound of the ATM.� I think most banks will comply to enhance the security of their ATMs. However we must not just leave the issue of security to the police and the banks. I believe there are things that we can do to prevent ourselves from being a victim of robbery at the ATMs.� Let me just share some tips and steps which I personally use whenever I need to use a ATM machine to withdraw cash.

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Steps to take to prevent ATM Robberies

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1) No all ATM machines are safe. Remember just because a ATM machine is there doesn’t mean that it is safe to use.� ATM machines that are in remote area/quiet or hidden by walls, pillars, large trees or any obstruction are not safe to use. If you really need to use them, asked 2 of your adult friends or family members to accompany you.

2) Use ATM machines that are in crowded open area ( along a busy walkway or street ), well lighted and with heavy traffic. For example I would normally use ATM machines that are installed within the bank premises, beside a supermarket, inside a crowded shopping mall or ideally even beside a police station.

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Use ATM machines that are in the bank and on busy streets.

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3) If you are withdrawing a large sum of money from the ATM, get 2 adults to accompany you and use a ATM that is safe ( as mentioned above). Alternatively make multiple withdrawals within one or two days so that you don’t withdraw lots of money at one single time.

4) Do not use the ATM during late night as most robberies happened during the night. You may make a safe withdrawal from a ATM at a supermarket, but you may be robbed as you leave the supermarket to your car or along the pedestrian walkway.

5) Look out for suspicious people hanging around the ATM machine. Scan the area for people loitering within 5 metres of the ATM machine. If you see a person sitting in his car/bike, or someone just loitering around be more alert. If you do not feel safe at that time, move on. You can find alternative ATM machine to use.

6) keep a list of ATM machines in your work or home areas that are safe to use. This list will come in handy just in case you need to make an emergency withdrawal of funds.

7) If you see someone suddenly approaching you while you are in the middle of a transaction, terminate the transaction straight away. Asked the stranger sternly what is it that he wants from you? Remember to remove the bank card and put it safely in your pocket. If the stranger refused to moved off, raised your voice to attract attention or simply walked away from the ATM machine to a crowded area.

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Use ATM machine during the day and on high traffic area.

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most robberies occur after the ATM cash transaction has been completed. Once the cash had been withdrawn by the victim, the robber would moved in quickly to grap the cash. The robber would normally warned the victim that he has a concealed weapon in his pocket. Do not fight with the robber, just hand the cash over to him and remember his features. When you are safe, immediately asked for help from strangers and call the police.

The above are the steps that you can take to ensure safety when using the ATM machines. ATM machines are now part of our daily life and we used it without much thought. With a little planning and an awareness to safety, we can ensure that the cash that has been withdrawn from the ATM machines safely goes into our wallets.

Most people in Jakarta loved to hang around in shopping malls and that is the reason why there are so many shopping malls in this city of Jakarta. There will be plenty of food outlets and a main food court in almost every mall. People will have their meals at these food outlets because of the convenience, reasonable prices ( though some food outlets are expensive) and tasty food. But I feel that the food sold in many of these shopping malls taste almost the same and it is very boring. The food that I ate in these shopping malls are either too salty, too sweet or taste flat. Perhaps it is because these food are meant to be cook very quickly to serve the consumers.

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Normally I will try to find better quality food whenever I am in Indonesia. Quality here does not imply higher prices than those charged in restaurants or food outlets in the hotels or malls. Some of the better quality food in fact cost less than what I pay while eating at the beautiful shopping malls.� So whenever I have the time, I will visit these warungs ( small businesses selling food ) which are small restaurants or food outlets. You can normally find them along the streets. Some of these warungs are located on the busy main streets, while others you need to find them as they are located on minor roads. Many of these warungs are simply small family owned businesses and they serve authentic local Indonesian food. To me, these restaurants are the real deal. It is almost like eating food cooked by your mum or grandmother at home.

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Warung Food in Jakarta

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The cost of eating at these warungs are lesser than those restaurants in shopping malls or in hotels. Always ask for their in house specialty dish when you are there. However be prepared to have a less cosy or comfortable environment in some of these warungs. Well if you are there for the delicious food, a table and some chairs will suffice. There is no need for some fancy decoration on the walls or pretty waitresses in smart uniform to serve you. The atmosphere in these warungs are definitely more informal and casual; and I liked it because it is more relaxing. Normally you will also get to see the boss there who will be there either taking your orders, serving or even cooking the food.
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Warung Chef

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There are many small restaurants in Jakarta serving a variety of food, snacks, deserts and drinks. Some of them served pretty good coffee and tea, in fact better than Star Bucks or Coffee Bean. And I loved the traditional Indonesian cakes and deserts to go along with my tea. So many young people in Jakarta loved to hang around in slick coffee joints in the mall; but for me I prefer the small family coffee shops in Jakarta. In other words, what is important to me is the food – it has to be delicious, good quality and taste like home food.

I was in Singapore Botanical Gardens recently and visited the Orchids Garden there. There is a section where you can find beautiful orchids named after Very Important People ( VIP ). These VIPs were either the Head of State in the government or from the Royal family. Surprisingly I saw a orchid that was named after the late Tien Soeharto, whom was the wife of the former President of Indonesia Mr Soeharto.� In Indonesia, she was commonly known as Ibu Tien. The orchid is named Dendrobium Tien Soeharto.

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I think the orchid Dendrobium Tien Soeharto is a bright and beautiful orchid. It is bright yellow in color with some elements of green color added to it. This orchid was named after her in 1974 when Ibu Tien visited the Singapore Botanical Gardens. There were many other orchids named after different VIPs such as Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of Britain and even Princess Masako of Japan. The Orchid Garden is a must visit place if you are in Botanical Gardens. The entry fee for adult is S$5/- per entry. I was amazed at the sight of so many beautiful orchids over there.

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Dendrobium Tien Soeharto

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I have taken photos of the orchids in the Orchid Gardens as well as the Botanical Gardens in Singapore. If you are keen in viewing these photos, just follow the link to my website below:-

ImageSingapore.com

On the website, click on the photo gallery, then click on the category – Parks. You can see 2 categories – one is for Botanical Gardens and the other is for the Orchids Garden. Do make a point to visit the Botanical Gardens if you are in Singapore, it is definitely worth your time.

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Dendrobium Tien Soeharto

Whenever I do my shopping in the mall, I will also looked out for beautiful window displays. Some retailers have put in lots of effort in ensuring� that their window displays are attractive and with a focus theme. Unfortunately there are also many retailers in the mall who are not bothered at all on window displays.� They simply placed the products in front of their store windows and expect the consumers to notice them. They do not realized that it only takes a couple of seconds for me or a consumer to pass by a retail store. So if the store fails to capture the shoppers attention, they will lose a potential sale.

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Beautiful Mannequin

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I happen to pass by an exclusive boutique and saw this beautiful window display; and so I took a couple of photos of this beautiful window display. You can see a beautiful mannequin sitting in an artistic manner.� The entire big window was simply focus on this beautiful mannequin and it has the ability to capture shoppers passing by. So when I stopped and see, I will be drawn to focus on the clothes that this mannequin is wearing and the colorful bangles on the mannequin wrist. Lastly I will see the color socks and shoes that this beautiful mannequin is wearing. Effectively this store had managed to capture my attention on the clothes and accessories that they are selling in their store.

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Beautiful Mannequin

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I have this habit of bringing my camera along with me whenever I go shopping. So when there is a beautiful window display that captures my attention, I will take some photos of it. We can learn from successful retailers who are good in the art of selling through their window displays. I will put more photos of beautiful mannequin and window displays in my future blogs.

I wonder how many people actually listen and act according to the advice of Financial Advisers or so called Investment Experts. Some people believes that these financial experts are worth listening because of their in depth knowledge of financial products and markets.� I met one financial adviser recently when I was in my friend’s home to catch up with him. So this financial adviser couldn’t help but started to give me some advice on financial matters. Perhaps he is really passionate about his job or otherwise trying to pitch a sale.

This financial adviser told me that this is now the right time to put money in stocks because stocks are now relatively cheap. I told him that when stocks are cheap, they have the tendency to become cheaper real soon. He told me that he sees the US economy will be recovering and the Asia’s economy is strong. I share a different view from him. I explained to him that the consumers spending in US is still weak and millions of Americans are still out of work. Many companies in the US are still not hiring workers because of� poor demand for their products, as a result of a cut in consumers spending. I do not see banks lending money as they did before, where it is so easy for companies and people to get loans by just signing on the dotted line of a loan agreement. In fact, there are now extra precautionary measures that makes the banks tightening their lending practices. Banks is in the business of lending money. And if the banks do not lend money to companies, the economy simply cannot pick up as fast as it was before.

My friend joined in and told me to buy gold, as gold prices has not shot up to the roof and is still have the potential to climb higher.. I told my friend that I do not have the practice of predicting the market – be it stock or gold. My view is that gold has enjoyed some very impressive bull runs and when prices get over inflated relative to the actual value, the bull run will run out of steam and prices must then fall. Then the financial adviser told me that I am being quite negative about investment and have shut my eyes on opportunities. I told him that on the contrary, I am open to any sound investment advice. I gave him an example of my investment strategy right now. Stocks are cheap, and yes it will get cheaper. Putting money in the stock requires a prudent approach. My view is that I will put money in buying stocks from utilities, energy, transportation and telecommunication companies. These companies are very strong financially and they are doing very well even during this difficult recession period. What’s more, these companies are paying good dividends to shareholders annually.

In this difficult times, the most important strategy in investment is to preserve your capital So when financial experts comes to you and tell you of great investment opportunities, take it with a pinch of salt. Is he looking after your best interest or simply looking at his own interest, and how much commission he can earn from you?

All of us have our own favorite beverages that give us the boost in our daily life. Many people swear by the morning cup of coffee or tea; while there are others who loves their beer, energy drink, wine, milk, etc.� For myself, I love to drink ginseng tea, in particular it is the Korean Red Ginseng Tea. I do drink Chinese tea daily namely Jasmine and Iron Buddha, which I consume about 3 times a day. I normally drink the Korean Red Ginseng tea in the night, about one hour before going to bed. I feel that it has the ability to make me feel relaxed and calm and also the taste is great.

Many people knows the benefits of consuming ginseng. Go to any health or pharmacy stores and you will be able to find many ginseng products. Personally, I feel that ginseng has the ability to keep my body fit, more relaxed and also increase the mental and physical energy each day. I have recommended ginseng to my friend who always feel tired and stressed out. He told me that his health has improved tremendously after drinking Korean Red Ginseng tea every day. There is no bad side effects from drinking ginseng tea every day which I have done for so many years. However I keep the consumption of ginseng tea to a maximum of 2 sachet a day and each sachet has a content of 3gm.

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Korean Red Ginseng Tea

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There are many types of ginseng tea being sold in the stores and what is the best ginseng tea to choose. My recommendation would be to buy Korean Red Ginseng tea. There are Korean Red Ginseng tea that are very expensive which cost more about US$100/- per box of 100 sachets. These are normally premium brands from Korea and if you can afford it – by all means buy them. And at the other far end, there are ginseng tea from Korea that are very cheap, you can get them for less US$20/- for a box of 100 sachets However, these are poor quality ginseng tea and definitely not the Red Ginseng tea. So if you are buying ginseng tea, make sure that it is Korean Red Ginseng tea. This is because Red Ginseng is organically grown in Korea and it has more ginsenosides than ordinary ginseng. The best test is to take an ordinary ginseng tea and Korean Red Ginseng tea and drink it separately for one week.� I did this test myself and the result is this – I threw away the ordinary ginseng tea in the garbage can after one week – it does nothing positive for me and a complete waste of my money.

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Korean Red Ginseng Tea

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So for anyone who which to see an improvement in their health, buy a box of Korean Red Ginseng tea and try drinking it for a month. You can buy them in smaller box of 50 sachets per box. I am sure that you will be able to see and feel the benefits of drinking red ginseng tea after 2 weeks.� Do keep them in a cool place and if possible you can put them in the fridge.

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A friend of mine asked me whether are there any cheap hotels in Batam. The word cheap is very subjective, as what is cheap to one person is view as expensive by another. I told him that there are many cheap hotels in Batam going for about US$60/- a night. He told me US$60/- is beyond his budget; he was quoting me a rate of US$40/- and below. I affirm that there are many cheap and budget hotels in batam for US$40/- a night but it would not be so comfortable and secure. He said that he does not mind so long as it is within his budget.

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Better Quality Cheap Hotel in Batam

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There are many cheap hotels in batam and� most of them looked like those 3 or 4 levels high shop buildings. These cheap hotels are easy to find and are plentiful in the heart of Nagoya town. You can get a room for about RP300,000 onwards depending on the location and the grade of the hotels and rooms Most of these cheap hotels offer single or double room and have either standard or deluxe type rooms There is normally a bathroom attached for this price.� A typical room for this rate would have a bed, a small chair plus table, a small TV, wardrobe, air conditioned and a small attached bathroom. The floor of this room will be bare – no carpet. Some budget rooms do not even have a window. My suggestion is to reject any room without windows. There are some budget hotels in Batam that also include a simple breakfast with the booking of their rooms. Simple breakfast means limited choices of bread with butter and jam, or fried rice and noodles with coffee or tea.

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Attached Bathroom in Batam Cheap Hotel

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The disadvantages of staying in a cheap hotel in Batam is that normally there is less privacy, less comfort and definitely less secure. Most of these budget hotels have very thin walls. It means that you can hear the noise emitting out from the surrounding rooms and along the corridor. The door of the bedroom are non fire proof door with poor door lock system. It is common to have problems like air condition that is noisy or not cool, water pressure in the bathroom is low, or beds that are worn out, dirty towels and sometimes small cockroaches running around the room.

The important factors to take note in choosing a good budge hotel in Batam are as follows:-

1) it must be a proper budget hotel with a small reception and lobby and not those pirated hotel establishment

2)� ask permission to view the rooms – standard and deluxe room before booking. Most of them are fine with this. Tell them that you want to see their standard and deluxe room before deciding.

3)� insist on a room with windows and not too close to the staircase. Noise from people walking up and down the stairs can be heard during the night as the door and walls of the rooms are thin.

4)� make sure that there are no KTV or bars directly on the ground level, otherwise you will have sleepless night. However, if you are a party animal, then this does not matter to you; as you can go down to the bar and join them. Many of these budget hotels are directly facing a main road, so you have to bear with the noise from vehicles during the night – there is no choice.

5)� be prepared to see young ladies in revealing dresses or mini skirts with men. It is a common sight in many budget hotels in Batam. Most men used these budget hotels for one night stand or bringing women from the KTVs and bars into their rooms. Noise from lovemaking, fights and TVs can be heard from adjacent rooms.

6)� of course make sure you like the room before booking – that is is clean and comfortable.

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Batam Cheap Hotel

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Budget hotels in Batam are useful if you are stuck in Batam without a confirmed hotel booking during the peak holiday period. I have experience twice, when all major hotels are booked during the eve of Christmas as well as during Chinese New Year.� Take your time to walk along the streets of Nagoya and browse through these budget hotels to check for their rates and condition of the rooms. I am very sure there is a suitable cheap hotel to suit your limited budget

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