Sean's Footprints Around The World

Inspiring Quotes

2010-05-31T01:04:00.000+08:00

You don't Face your Fears, You should Stand Up to Them

The Future belongs to those who believe in the Beauty of Their Dreams

The Man who has no imagination has no wings to fly high

We cannot control the directions of the wind, but maybe we can adjust our sails

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a Team, but one Man cannot make a Team

When you bring a single light of Peace, It will brighten up wherever you go

Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly

The most Important thing about Motivation is Goal Setting. You should always have a Goal

To be Successful, you need to develop the hunger for it

Teamwork is the catalysts that yields excellence from shared thoughts

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible

Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind

While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us

You should not comply something due to fear, You should believe & trust what you are doing is right

If only everything in life is as precious as you!

You make each working day exciting

The different colors of your personality makes this world an exciting place to be in

Cheers!
Sean

8 Secrets of Better Decision Making for Success

2010-05-30T00:58:00.000+08:00

Our minds are always into thinking about it – Decisions and more Decisions to make. Our everyday life’s are full of it, small mundane ones to large life-changing types. To have the right to choose and make decisions are important to our well-being, and is central to us being an Individual. However, sometimes we just make decisions so bad that make us very unhappy or live with lifelong regrets.

Over the few decades, scientists, neurologists and psychologists are looking into the possible mental processes and signals that may affect our decision makings. Here i distilled some of the findings and will share with you 8 simple ways to make better decisions towards your success.

A) Danger of Social Pressure

Everyone of us would like to think of our-self as a single-minded individual and have a clear say of what we want, but in fact no one is immune to Social Pressure. Many studies have shown that human succumb to social pressure especially at extreme conditions.

We do have ways to avoid the the danger of Social Pressure. At anytime that you suspect that your decisions are based on what your superior or senior wanted, step back and re-group your thoughts. When you are in a group and everyone agree on a certain thing, don’t assume they are right and go along. Step back and ask yourself if this is true, and if not – be the one to oppose and share with them your thoughts and reasoning. Beware of situations when you have little responsibilities because that is where you are most likely to make irresponsible decisions and feedback.

B) Do Not Fear Consequences

Every decision that we are making usually involves predicting the future, be it choosing who to date and marry, changing of jobs or what course to study. We normally try to imagine how our choices will make us feel, and we usually go for the option we think will make us the happiest. The problem is that we aren’t that good in this type of affectionate forecasting.

We have too often overestimate the impact of our decision outcomes, both good and bad. In fact the outcomes of most events are less intense and briefer than most people thought. A major factor is due to Lost Aversion, where we feel that A Loss will hurt more than A Gain will make us happy.

Our solution? Instead of imagining how a outcome can make us feel, we should try to find someone who has made the same choice before and see how they felt. Is is important to understand that whatever the future holds, it will probably hurt or please you less than you have imagined.

C) Go with Gut-Feeling

Sometimes an instinctive and instantaneous choice might be as good as a decision that requires much time to conjure. One article reported that we make judgements about a person’s competence, aggressiveness and trustworthiness within the 100 milliseconds of seeing a new face. Given a longer time to look (up to 1 -2 second), researchers found that observers hardly revised their views, but only become more confident in their snapshots decisions. Something you are familiar isn’t it?

Some would argue that extra information can help you to make rational decisions. Yet many times, the more information you have, the better off you may be going with instincts. Practice with cautious and experience perhaps.

D) Emotions Consideration

We all think that emotions are the enemy of decision making, but in fact they are integral to it. Neurologist’s studies show that whenever we make a decisions, the brain’s emotional centre is active. Our brain stores emotional memories of past choices, which we use to inform present decisions. This is detrimental as making choices under the influence of an emotion can seriously affect the outcome of it.

Personal experience shows that when we are angry or nervous, we are more prone to accepting the first thing that we are being offered rather than consider other options that are available. Anger and nervousness seems to make us risk-prone and impetuous. All emotions affect our thinking and motivation, so it may be best to avoid making decisions under such circumstances.

Sadness on the other hand, surprisingly, seems to help us make better decisions. When we are sad, we seems to take time to consider the various options on offer, and ended up making better decisions. There are reports that indicated depressed people have the most realistic take on this world.

E) Understand that Irrelevant Figures affect our brain

Our decisions are easily attached to irrelevant facts and figures that we come across. Every-time when we see something that marked “reduced price”, “end-of-year sale”, “moving-out sale” in a shop, we lost our senses for making decisions. The original price serves as an anchor against which we compare the discounted price and we make it look like a great bargain even if in absolute terms it’s expensive. This is very difficult to break. One way is to resist the temptation and spend sometime looking around for similar products or services.

F) Looking from the other angle

We prefer options that seems to offer some gains and detest those that seems to involve losses. This is a common weakness in us that marketing dept of products and service tend to exploit. We would rather a product that indicate “80% fat free” than another that shows “20% fat”.

It is tough to ignore such effects but it is important to at least know that such biases is around. Better education and experience will come in to negate this effect. But for now – we can avoid it by looking at other angle.

G) Be Adaptable and Flexible

All the success coach and motivation guru always tells us to have perseverance and be strong to drive the project or ideas through. This is not wrong, but i believe they did not mention that we should persevere but be open, adaptable and flexible at all times. We need to be realistic.

The notion is that the more we invest in something, the more commitment we feel towards it. The investment need not be in financial form. Who has not persevered with a tedious thick book, and yet find it not interesting at all? Does this scenario sounds familiar to you? Always remind yourself that the past is the past. It is alright to move on, as there might be better things ahead of it, compared to the current settings. If at the time of considering whether to end a book or a project, that you wouldn’t initiate now if given a choice, then it’s probably not a good idea to continue. Scrape it and start something new and refreshing.

G) Limit Your Options

We might think more choice is better. But consider this – Let say you are trying to get a packet of crackers for you son. Would you be happier to choose from a selection of 10 or a selection of 30? This is commonly known as the paradox of Choice. In fact more choices is not always good. Sometimes, less choice is better.

More choices requires more information processing skills and the process can be time-consuming and confusing. Greater choice also increases the chances of making mistakes, so we will easily feel less satisfied due to the fear that we have chosen a wrong option and missed a better opportunity.

This paradox of Choice is worst for people that examine all options before making up their minds. They spend whole lots of time and energy trying to find the Best Solution. Those people that tend to choose the first option that meets their requirements suffer least. If we are out to find a ‘good enough’ answer, a lot of the pressure’s off and task of choosing something in the avalanche of choices becomes manageable. Thus, instead of searching for your ideal Hand-phone, ask a friend if he’s happy with his. If he is, it will probably work for you too. Even in situations when a choice seems far too important to simply choose it, try to limit the number of options.

H) Avoid Procrastination

For cases where time permit us to slowly come up with the decisions, it might be detrimental if we do not keep it in check. By being complacent and only visiting on surface the problem is not good for us. We should avoid procrastination and think and of the possible options that we have and jot it down. In this case, we have a certain “number of options” in our list and can easily filter out one at a time as each day passes. This ensures that our mind is clear of our actions.

Hope this information will help you to make better decisions in order to be successful in your own ways. For me, i have a couple of decision to make for my career and i will be employing the eight ways that i have mentioned.

To your Success,

Sean

“People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.” – Lewis Cass

The Secret To Happiness & Success

2010-05-28T00:55:00.000+08:00

What is your take on the true secret to happiness and thus success? To me, i strongly believe it is ATTITUDE! If you think that being wealthy, popular, handsome or rich will make you happy, think again.

Happiness if a matter of the heart and has little to do with external events on matters. It is about how you see things, not what happens, that makes the difference. The most well-adjusted people are those who choose to look at the brighter side of life.

So, instead of dwelling on negative thoughts, they count their blessings each day, at every moments. They understand that gratitude is integral part of happiness and we need to acknowledge it personally. These "happy" people generally develop positive speech habits and learn to speak out blessings, not curses and complaints. This tells us one important thing - How we say things makes a huge difference in how we perceive them.
(Pix by One/Million)

Happy people do not look for worth in material things. Those that are always going for the material things are not that happy after all, as they are sometimes afraid of loosing the wealth that they have currently. Those that have millions but are driven to develope themselves and their business will be much happier and eventually be more successful. They understand that material things alone will never fill that empty void that life sometimes brings. As such, to be really happy and be successful people, we need to find peace and purpose in a strong faith.

Inspiring Movies – Peaceful Warrior

2010-05-28T00:41:00.000+08:00

Arrogant, talented Dan Millman seems to have the perfect college life: a stunning gymnast's body of incredible strength, handsome looks, good grades, plenty of money and a shot at the Olympic qualifiers in men's gymnastics. Still, Dan wakes up almost nightly from terrifying nightmares and odd visions he can't explain or dismiss.

One night, awakened by yet another nightmare, Dan goes for a run through his foggy neighborhood and comes upon a well-lit service station. Behind the counter, an old man seemingly moves without regard for space or time. One moment, Dan is paying for his snacks, the next the old man is on the roof of the station. Stunned by the impossibility, Dan begs the old man, whom he instinctually names Socrates, to share the secret of his abilities in order to achieve his goal of Olympic Gold. The old man puts him through a regimen that changes his diet, training, and lifestyle. Before long, his life is ruined, and he loses his friends, his girls, and is almost thrown off his Gymnastics squad. Thus begins a journey of discovery for Dan that will shatter every preconceived notion he has about academics, athletics, and achievement, Guided by Socrates, Dan will consider a whole new ideology--one that values consciousness over intelligence, strength in spirit over strength in body. But in order to succeed, Dan must somehow let go of all of his expectations--and simply live in the now.

The reason this movie succeeds is that it follows one of the most basic rules for good story-telling: it shows rather than tells. Although some fundamental spiritual ideas are described with words, it is the plot and character development that proves the truth of those words. You see the transcendence and the realizations in the faces of the characters, and you are not left to wonder why. You understand.

For many years I have been convinced that non-religious spiritual thought and experience could be something to drive the world in a new direction. This movie provides an example of what life can be like if we ponder these thoughts and implement them in our lives in a concrete and practical way. It's not necessary to be a champion gymnast to derive the fundamental teachings from this film. It is a teaching that anyone can understand. This is why I see that The Peaceful Warrior can inspire those who embrace the possibilities which it offers to become peaceful guerrilla warriors, working tirelessly underneath the radar, changing the world.

This is not just a good inspirational movie, i thought it is an important one that worth watching and keeping.
The point of this movie is not whether he reaches his goal or not, but the process of going there, and thats what makes this movie worthwhile.

Inspiring Movies - Gridiron Gang

2010-05-24T00:39:00.001+08:00

This is a gritty and inspirational movie based on a true story of a group of teenage delinquents given a second chance to redeem themselves by playing football. Sean Porter (Johnson) is a frustrated juvenile probation officer. Most of the kids in his detention camp are either sent back to prison once they leave or meet a violent end when they return to the streets. Desperately looking for a way to make a difference, he and his co-worker Malcolm Moore devise a plan to teach discipline and responsibility through the game of football. But with only four weeks before the start of the season, Porter must overcome insurmountable odds to put together a competitive team. It's a season that will test their minds, spirit, and bodies as Porter teaches his players the principles of good character, strength through resiliency, and genuine respect for one another.

Certainly a good movie for the many juvenilles these days that wonder around the streets and hope to inspire them to pursue something in their life with a Greater Purpose.

Success is being True to Yourself

2010-05-23T00:38:00.000+08:00

In one’s pursuit of success in life, there are many paths to attain it. To me personally, success is being able to be true to yourself. It really doesn’t matter what others say, be they your friends or business associates. At the end of the day, you ought to live your life the way you want to.

Most unenlightened people will light success to lots of money. I think there are many angles from which to look at this. My personal phliosphy to success is to be upright and honest person because if you are not, the all the millions in your bank means nothing. The values of integrity, honesty, responsibility, disciplines, determination and hard work should be inculcated at young age. These values will certainly carry you through everyhing to lead a truly successful life.

In this way, we can savoured life to the fullest, as we seek our own meaning of Success in our life.

5 Simple Ways to Organize Each Day

2010-05-21T00:29:00.000+08:00

As a person seeking a more Successful and Fulfilling Life, your time is precious. While the choice is yours in how to spend your day, the best way to utilize your resources and maximise your time is to organize it. We should start each day in an organized way, and you’ll get more done than you can imagine.

Below are 5 simple ways for achieving an organized day:

1) Make a To-Do List:

Make a list the night before of the things you have to do tomorrow. Prioritize every item in the sequence it should be accomplished, with the outmost priority to be placed on top and the rest in a descending manner. Consolidate similar tasks. When you wake up in the morning, you will have a clear-cut guide for everything that must be done.

2) Be Wary of Getting Diverted:

Very often we are distracted by other external factors and our schedule that we have set earlier gets thrown off track. If you find that you constantly get off track, we can set a timer that goes off every 30 minutes. Every time it sounds, be sure you are working on what you originally planned. If you’re not, stop what you are doing at that moment and get back to schedule. Most distractions are not emergency situations.

3) Strike Off Items As You Complete Them:

Every time you finish something, strike it off your To-Do List. This will certainly give you a sense of accomplishment throughout the day.

4) Call Before You Move:

If you have an appointment during the day, always try to confirm before you leave your office or home. This will ensure that the person you’re meeting did not forget about the appointment. And if you client has something to finish up and need to meet you slightly later, perhaps you can do something else first, before you leave to meet them.

5) Do A Final Check:

At the end of the day, take a look at your To-Do List. How many items were you able to accomplish? Are there only one or two things left unfinished, or are there many yet to be striked off the list? If there were just a few undone, simply move them to tomorrow’s To-Do List. If there were many undone and unstriked, and you work diligently on everything all day, then you probably had too many things on your list to begin with. Re-think how much you can possibly do in a given day. Remember, we have only 24 hours, and we should be using one third of those hours to sleep and rest our system.

The above ways have been my key towards a more efficient and effective lifestyle.

Hope you will find the 5 simple ways as useful as i find it.

One Who Conquers OneSelf,

Sean

A Great Book with Great Tips to Live Your Life!

2010-05-20T00:27:00.000+08:00

A year ago, i read a very good book - a No.1 New York Best-Seller on Self-Improvement known as "The 4-Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferriss.

Really an awesome book. It empowers us on escaping the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich, where we live everyday to the fullest. We do not believe in Retirements when we are so rich at 5o years old. Instead, we believe in having many many mini-retirements throughout our life.

Who wants that? Highly recommended book for those that want more life than the 9-5 work week, especially for those that aspire to become an entrepreneur.

I seldom recommend books to others, but this one is really special!

Go Get The Book Now! You will be as happy as me. =)

Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia - Part 4

2010-01-05T11:24:00.005+08:00

This post will be the fourth one (i.e. Part 4) of my Backpacking Holiday trip to Perth, Western Australia. You can check out Part 3 HERE. This series will serve as a mini-travelogue for people that are searching for information on Perth Backpacking and Free-&-Easy Holidays.

Day 3: APT Tours to 4WD Pinnacles + Caversham Wildlife Park + Sandboarding Adventure

As per Day 2, we went early to wait for the day coach and was sad to realise that the driver (cum Day Tour Guide) is a different person. We understand that the drivers were given rotating schedule and destination in order to keep them excited and fresh. But we were all gear up mentally to have another exciting day with the new driver. Oh, the tourists group were also different, thought we met a couple that was on same coach with us on Day 2 tour.

Hot drinks are a comfort in the chilling morning

We left the city limits and crossed over the Swan River and headed north through the Swan Valley to Caversham Wildlife Park where we stopped to view and photographed koalas and hand feed kangaroos. It is a shame that the wildlife park tour was in a rush. Everyone was enjoying ourselves here and was so reluctant to leave those animals.

Caversham Wildlife Park

They are so gentle and cute =)

So nice to touch..opps..not suppose to?

We then continued with the thrilling experience of 4-wheel driving in our giant 4WD over massive Lancelin sand dunes and the chance to try sand boarding. It was the first in my life and i was enjoying myself with many rounds of sandboarding!

4WD Drive was scary at first

Getting ready for sandboarding

I am good with Sandboarding

We then continued on to the Nambung National Park, home of the amazing Pinnacles Desert. Here our driver guide took us for an easy paced walk through parts of this fascinating landscape covering some 404 hectares. It is such an amazing structure! Full of Chemistry - limestone formation and Geogrpahy - sand and wind erosion! Another thing to add: the day tour guide is damn good! Seemed to be a chemist or geologist or what. Technical terms were made so simple for many laymen to understand the possible reasons that Pinnacles are formed.

Day tour guide explaining the possible formation of Pinnacles

Posing with the awesome Pinnacles

Later enjoy a sunset journey back to Perth and arrived back in Perth at approximately 7.30 pm. We bought pizza back from a cafe in Perth City Central, and to our disappointment - the pizza taste like stone - rough, hard and almost tasteless.

Now, we were exhausted from 2 days of Day Tours to National Parks. But we still need to get up early the next morning cos we are going free and easy walk of Perth City and famous Cottesloe Beach.

PS: Do drop me a comment. Would love to hear from you.

PSS: This blogpost is part of a series titled: "Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia". Click on "Holiday Tips" for whole series.

Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia - Part 3

2010-01-04T10:13:00.014+08:00

This post will be the third one (i.e. Part 3) of my Backpacking Holiday trip to Perth, Western Australia. You can check out Part 2 HERE. This series will serve as a mini-travelogue for people that are searching for information on Perth Backpacking and Free-&-Easy Holidays.

Day 2: APT Tours to WaveRock + Historic York + Wild Flowers Viewing

Early in morning of 7.15am, we waited for day coach at the office area of Australian Pinnacle Tours office. Realised through my conversation with the driver (cum day tour guide) that Australian Pinnacle Tours is the official service provider for many other day tour agencies/companies in Perth. I.e. we booked and paid for the day tours with APT Touring but they have no offices in Perth, only Melbourne / Victoria area.

At about 8am when everyone (other tourists) have arrived, we headed east through the scenic Darling Ranges where we stopped to enjoy some morning tea & pastry at historic York, the first township founded in the Avon Valley. We were given about 30mins to take some pictures of the old Victorian buildings and enjoy the pastries on our own expense.

Surprised with the selections in this Old-Fashion Candy Shop in York

We then continue heading east where we passed through wheat belt plains and stop en route at the famous Dog Cemetery, a tribute to Australian working sheep dogs.

Our comfortable Day Tour Coach

Dog Cemetry Signage

Dog Cemetry @ Corrigin

Later we reach the small town of Hyden, home of Wave Rock. Before lunch we visit Hippos Yawn an unusual natural rock formation shaped like a yawning hippopotamus, regarded by the local Aboriginal people as a special place. We then went to the Wave Rock Wildflower Shop to take our Picnic lunch, prepared by the driver (cum tour guide).

After lunch we went for the tour of Wave Rock. Estimated at being an incredible 2,700 million years old, the rock has over time been sculptured by nature into the form of a huge breaking wave. It was an awesome sight! It is so high up from the ground that you enjoyed the consistent breeze blowing towards you.

Posing at the bottom of Wave Rock structure

Water found on Peak of Wave Rock structure

Leaving Wave Rock, we head off to view some other intriguing rock formations of the area including the Humps, a camel hump like granite rock and finally Mulkas Cave. Our guide explained the ancient Aboriginal cave paintings featured within it, telling the legend of the outcast Aboriginal, Mulka the Terrible. It was a mysterious tour i must say!

Our return journey took us along back roads through the heart of the Western Australian wheat belt to the small farming town of Babakin. Here we enjoy some country hospitality over an afternoon tea (own expense. we dint order any food due to the heavy lunch) with local town folk.

The only thing we missed was the supposedly wild flowers that should be covering the roadside. We dint see any. According to the day guide, the wild flowers has wilted a week ago before we arrived.

We ended Day 2 with arrival in Perth at approximately 8.30 pm, but not without our dinner at McDonald's. We were all excited about Day 3 as we went to bed.

PS: Do drop me a comment. Would love to hear from you.

PSS: This blogpost is part of a series titled: "Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia". Click on "Holiday Tips" for whole series.

Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia - Part 2

2010-01-03T15:46:00.019+08:00

This post will be the second one (i.e. Part 2) of my Backpacking Holiday trip to Perth, Western Australia. You can check out Part 1 HERE. This series will serve as a mini-travelogue for people that are searching for information on Perth Backpacking and Free-&-Easy Holidays.

From today, we will start to discuss on the 8 days i spent my time in Perth holidaying. Hope this serves as a possible itinerary for your planning.

Day 1: Reach Perth + Perth City Self-Tour + Fremantle

From Singapore Airport, we took Jetstar Asia budget airline and reached Perth International Airport on Friday morning, 13th November 2009 at about 3am in the morning. We took a nap in the airport before we took the airport city shuttle at about 7.45am to Perth City where our backpackers hostel is located.

Reached Perth International Airport

The trip was fast and we reached Globe Backpackers Hostel with a pleasant surprise - the hostel has a very good geographic location in Wellington Street. We were greeted and received at the check-in counter by one of their permanent staff, Trish, which starts our 1st day in Perth. She is so helpful and friendly - told us to check with her on anything to make our stay in Perth an enjoyable one. Since we can only check in at about 10am, we left our backpacks in the Baggage Room and proceed to our quick Perth City foot tour which is around our hostel.

At about noon time, we proceed to take the train to Fremantle - the port city of Perth, with the aim of visiting Western Australia Maritime Museum and sampling seafood at the Fishing Boat Harbour.

Western Australia Maritime Museum in Fremantle

Fremantle is a beautiful place and was packed with lots of locals as well as tourists on a friday afternoon. We went to Cicerello - known for as "Western Australia's No. 1 Fish & Chips" and ordered two set meals: Famous Fish-&-Chips as well as their Seafood Basket. We were glad we were there. The fish and the seafood basket is awesome and their fries are damn tasty! I would vote for them to be World's No.1 Fish-&-Chips!!!

Best Fish-&-Chips in the World! Oh my, the fries is damn good also!

We then proceed to the reknown Fremantle Markets which is opened only from Fri-Sun.

Fremantle Markets - reknown market in Perth

It is a pleasure to walk through the market and looking at the products offered by each stall owners. We did not pick up any items or gifts since we felt nothing was really special and items are over-priced (obviously since this is a tourist attractions). We did stop by a Pastry-serving cafe (one and only) for some servings. The food was great! Recommended!

Lovely pastries in the Pastry-Cafe in Fremantle Markets

We then proceed to the Fremantle Coastline to enjoy the sea breeze. Lovely scenery!

Sean posing at coastline of Fremantle

With that, we took a trip back to Perth City where we checked into our room and was shocked by the condition of it! It was way too good for that price! I have never stayed in a hostel that is so clean and comfortable. I knew i was going to enjoy my time in Perth. The savings we had for the hostel (instead of extravagant posh hotel) is going to be used for food and other entertainment/activities!

After a quick shower, we proceed out to check out the night life and scene in Perth City. It seemed like they prefer home-based activities in Perth. Most of the shops are closed by 7.30pm, including shopping centres and shops. The only ones still open are Fast-Food Restaurants such as McDonald's and Hungry Jacks (Burger King) as well as Kebab and Pizza serving shops. Most of the people on streets are tourists and young adults / teenagers.

More activities (Pubs and life-bands) can be found at Northbridge Area where queues to enter entertainment premises can be seen. In general, it felt safe for tourists. We did not really see any commotions, except one black sheep - a small group of youngsters taunting each other for fights. Do note that this particular scene is not common.

So Day 1 ended with us walking back to our hostel safely and feeling excited about Day 2.

PS: Do drop me a comment. Would love to hear from you.

PSS: This blogpost is part of a series titled: "Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia". Click on "Holiday Tips" for whole series.

Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia - Part 1

2009-12-28T00:17:00.013+08:00

I just came back from Perth, Western Australia about 3 weeks ago from a backpacking holiday.

We decided to go for a free & easy backpacking holiday due to 2 reasons:

1) Cover places of attraction that we really are keen to see, rather then being lead to places by tour guides (many are to commercial places/shops that the tourist guide has a commission) that we dislike

2) We can control the pace. Normally if you follow tour groups, the time spend at each location is very short - with just a few photo shots and you need to move on. With backpacking, we can control our own pace

3) Most tours agency in Singapore will only cover Perth City Central and maybe the Pinnacles. We would love to visit others Western Australia's awesome National Parks - oh by the way, if you go to places like Australia and New Zealand - it seemed like you have never been there if you have not visited their National Parks.

4) We love to interact with the people on the ground. Nothing beats chatting and knowing more about the lifestyle of the aussies living in Perth.

As usual for a backpacking holidays, you would need to check out 4 things:

1) Air-tickets - we went for budget airline Jetstar Asia as the deal was good when we bought the tickets 6 months earlier

2) Lodgings - we chose backpackers hostel (Globe Backpackers in Wellington Street - we will talk more about it later) rather than posh hotel in Perth as we would love to mingle more with the people, rather than enjoying the comfort but soloist lifestyle in the hotel

3) Travel Insurance - this is a must especially if you doing Backpacking

4) Search for Information on Places of Interest + How to travel around + Recommended food

1 and 3 was pretty easy during the planning stage.

No. 4 (Backpackers Hostel) search was relatively easy as you will find many listings on the web which consolidates the list of backpacking hostels. Just check out the ratings and testimonials by others and you will be able to distill down to a few choices to make a final decision. Once again, risk are involved since the testimonials may not be 100% accurate. One trick is to consider testimonials that are nearer to you. Overall, we would like to give a Thumbs Up for Globe Backpackers Hostel (4.5 / 5 ratings), based on the following:

My room in Globebackpackers

Staff: Super friendly & Helpful (Sarah and Tracey - you are brilliant in Customer Service!)
Accessibility: Very accessible. Train & Bus stations just opposite. Free Shuttle (CATs service) also 2-3 mins away. 3 mins walk to the major shopping area of Perth City.
Safety: Located along the main road. Felt safe when we went back to hostel late in night
Room: Clean, Comfortable, Private, Nice Linen. (Pillow maybe change to thicker ones?)
Toilet: Clean, Well Maintained. Private. Can't complain!
Price: Excellent from what i got! Felt comfortable in my 8 days stay there!

Posing with Sarah

Sean posing with Sarah

It is No. 4 (Information on Places of Interest + How to travel around + Recommended food) that we face challenges. There isn't much travel guidebooks about Perth (and outlying National Parks) in the library or bookstores. We did many nights of internet surfing for information but there was just very little information on the web. The one that always comes up is Tourism Perth Australia which, as we know shows you the "so-call" attractions. These information are usually suited for those going for standard tour activities - we were looking for more information on heartland activities and food.

It seemed like not many blog about Perth - there wasn't much travelogue or blogs to help backpackers like me. Alot was based on asking around when we were physically there in Perth. Are you one of them facing this problem like us???

As such, i promise myself to blog about Perth and Western Australia when i am back into Singapore, in order to assist other backpackers that are looking out for information on Perth. I hope google and yahoo! search engines would be able to display this blogpost for people to pick up and plan their backpacking holidays.

Let's get started with the Introduction of Perth!

Perth is the capital & largest city of Western Australia. The pace of living over there is so much slower and relaxing as compared to other Australia Cities such as Melbourne and Sydney. Most of the shops & eateries in Perth City Central are closed after 6pm and the streets will be quiet at about 8pm.

Perth International Airport

If you are a tourist looking for food in the streets, you can either go for fast-food chains such as McDonalds and Hungry Jacks (equivalent of Burger Kings). You can also find shops selling Pizza and Kebabs until late in the night - this are usually operated by asians. Alternatively, you can walk to Northbridge area where Chinese restaurants are waiting for you for late night / supper meals.

Cup of hot coffee in the early morning in Perth City

In the next few blogposts, i will share with you on the day tours that we took to outlying areas surrounding Perth City Central - many are the amazing National Parks in Western Australia. I will also give an overview of the economical food you can find in Perth City. Stay tuned for the next post!

PS: Drop me a comment. I would love to hear from you.

PPS: This blogpost is part of a series know as "Backpacking Holidays in Perth, Western Australia". Click on "Holiday Tips" for whole series.

Suprise Google Adsense Cheque

2009-11-02T12:17:00.005+08:00

It has been sometime since i last check my google account due to work commitments, and i am surprised to see another cheque posted to me by Google Adsense!

Is nice to receive cheques in your mailbox, rather than credit card bills.... =)

Isn't it?

What do you think?

Singapore 44th National Day Celebration

2009-08-18T22:16:00.013+08:00

Hi everyone,

Just want to share with you on my trip to watch the Singapore 44th National Day Celebration at Marina Bay Singapore.

This is my first time to attend the National Day Parade, and definitely the first time at the temporary Floating Platform at Marina Bay.

It was all excitement as we (my meow and myself) waiting towards such an celebration event. On the day, we pack some bread and chips and head towards the Marina Bay via public transport of MRT. We have to walk pretty far and go through 1-2 police security checks before we can proceed nearer to the floating platform.

(just got pass the police check)

(we are near the floating platform where the parade will be conducted)

(Of course i am happy. It was a long walk)

(Floating platform at 4.30pm when we reached)

(It is full house at about 5.30pm)

(We heard of Kallang Wave at the defunc National Stadium. How about Marina Wave Roar at Marina Bay Floating Platform?)

(Yeah..That's Me!)

Last but not least, i must stand up for my national flag fly-pass.

Facebook Fantasy Football

2009-08-05T11:44:00.005+08:00

I have been playing Yahoo Games - Fantasy Football for the last season (Year 2008/2009) available at www.yahoo.co.uk and was 4th in the group (with group code name Maradona). Can't wait for the BPL (English Premier League) season to kick start on 16th Aug 2009. Hee. My selection of team has been done By the way, my account name is "Eric The King 7".

Just realised while on my facebook account, that Facebook has also created an application for FB-Fantasy Football based on the BPL. I have also set up an account with them known as "Eric Cantona Shirt 7".

Looks quite cool!

Join me there!

Transforming my Optimus Prime (Leader Class) from ROBOT to TRUCK mode

2009-07-23T13:15:00.010+08:00

In the blogpost about few weeks back, i mentioned that i was given a set of Optimus Prime (Leader Class) toy.

During my Organic Chemistry Mastery Workshops 2009 in mid-July, it was unveiled to the group of GCE O Levels Secondary 4 students and they were surprised to see me bringing a toy to a proper academic Chemistry Workshop.

After telling them how this Optimus Prime Transformer toy is linked and associated to chemistry, typically Organic Chemistry, they were excited for me (as well as themselves). However, i has problem in transforming the ROBOT mode to the TRUCK mode.

Even after the workshop, i did not manage to transform it properly after i read (and try to follow) the instruction manual. Hours and Hours passed and after 4 hrs, my TRUCK mode is still not in place.

During one of the recent Chemistry regular tuition class, one of my students told me to check out YOUTUBE to find videos on the toy transformation. I was initially skeptical about it, but when i reached home and check it out, i was shocked to find out so many videos that teach us the step-by-step! It is certainly 100% more useful than the instruction manual provided with the toy.

Check out these transition states of my Optimus Prime as it transform from ROBOT to TRUCK mode:

Saw my computer LCD screen? Yes, i was following instructions from youtube videos.

If you have problem in transforming your Optimus Prime (Leader Class), check out the youtube video below. That is what i did! Social Media websites are a source of enrichment and self-developments.

Link to Youtube video

Transformers - My 1st Toys since childhood dreams

2009-07-13T16:55:00.006+08:00

Hello friends,

Sorry for disappearing for awhile on this blog cos i was away to conduct Intensive Revision Programmes for a group of committed GCE O Level Chemistry students, in the whole month of June.

Just a quick update, i have watched Transformers Part II: Revenge of the Fallen in the movies and also got my 1st toys from Transformers, since young. Watched the cartoons when i was about 19 years old, but has never gotten a Transformer toy before.

I got my Optimus Prime lately! Yeah! It was a gift from my meow, and was such a surprise for me. Big big set of Optimus - leader of autobots.

And i won the Scorponok (member of Decepticon..the bad guys) when i enter the "Transformer Spinning Contest" at Robinsons. This decepticon is featured in Transformer Part during the "Scorpion Attack of the US soldiers"

How about seeing me with the real Optimius Prime taking pictures together?????

Diabetes Please Note - Sugar Level

2009-06-06T12:13:00.025+08:00

Hi everyone,

Thought this will be interesting for you to know.

For diabetes - PLEASE NOTE!

ps: received these pictures via my email sent by a buddy of mine

Hmm. No wonder they always say eat more fruits if you crave for "sweet" stuff, rather than buying off the shelves processed food that are available in supermarkets.

Hope this helps. =)

June Intensive Revision Programme (O level Chemistry & Math)

2009-05-21T01:50:00.003+08:00

How has your child performed in the Mid Year Exams or common tests?

Are they scoring the marks they want? Or did they not do well this time?

With less than 24 weeks from O level exams (10 - 12 weeks to Prelims), this June holiday will
perhaps be the ONLY TIME that all students can learn and build up a strong foundation in order
to be prepared for this major exam which determines the next stage in their educational pathway.

The outcome of their O level exams is determined on how they spend their time and energy from now till October.

All students who have done exceptionally well for O levels start their preparation early. It involves building strong foundation of concepts, ability to apply correctly on questions, confidently prepared and mentally ready for their first International exams.

Our June Intensive Revision Programme (IRP) for Sec 3s and Sec 4s this holiday will achieve all the objectives as mentioned.

June IRP is designed into topical workshops which consist of heavy weightage and tricky topics (Sec 3s and 4s) many students find challenges in.

This June Intensive Revision Programme is carried out in this manner:

Experiential learning
Active participation
Timed exercises environment
Pre-post review assessment

All of these are to ensure that students benefit the most from each workshop: Strong foundation of essential concepts, confident on applying to exam questions, well-prepared for exam condition.

The subjects involved are E-Math, A-Math & Chemistry.

For schedule of this programme, here's the click:
http://www.WinnersEducation.com/blog/schedule/

To register, please call us at 9685 7675 / 9828 7357
(Register now & Save up to $700!)

I look forward in personally making a differences in your child's

academic success!

Sean Chua

Founder of SimpleChemConcepts

http://www.SimpleChemConcepts.com

P.S: The topical workshops will be conducted in a very focused manner for maximum effectiveness. As such, each workshop will only have 12 students. Do contact us early as Seats are Limited!

P.P.S: Kindly note that our subscribers enjoy priority early bird registration from now till 24th May 2009 before this holiday programme is launched to public.

In case you haven't seen any of the hundreds of success stories we get flooding in every year, here are a couple for you that will inspire ...

"A-Math used to be such an abstract subject for me. I couldn't make sense of what I was taught and I did not pass any of my A-Math exams or tests previously. Joining this A-Math Intensive programme was turning point for me; I wish I was taught the strategies earlier! They were simple and easy to use as I learnt how to "see" A-Math better. Thanks for the belief in me!" Vanessa Lim, E8 to A2, MGS

"Sean has made it possible for me to understand certain Chemistry Concepts much better. There are several fundamentals that he insists on me knowing it, that i initially thought of skipping. His analogies and ways of relating chemistry to everyday life is very apt and makes it easier for me to grasp the concepts. With a good grasp of the fundamental concepts, it was so much easier
for me to tackle other tough chapters like Acids, Bases & Salts, Electrolysis, Mole Concepts and Chemical Analysis. Appreciate your help Sean! I would highly recommend Sean to you;
especially you face problems in understanding those Chemistry Concepts,
'cos he makes it so simple to relate to." Cheney Wong, D7 to A1, St Andrew Sch

There Is NO Failure, Only Feedback

2009-04-29T14:57:00.005+08:00

In the previous post, we have read about Susan Boyle, an inspirational 47 years old woman that prove many critics and skeptics very wrong, and announce to the world that "Everything Is Possible". She has instantly became an Inspirational source for many. She has proved to us that everyone can succeed, if they have beliefs in themselves.

If we can have the same beliefs they do, we will have the ability to produce the same results in our lives.

However, many a times, talents have been discouraged to pursue their dreams due to negative comments, and "labeling". Many were labeled as "Failures" whether directly or indirectly.

To be successful, we need to believe that there are "NO Failures", there is only "Feedback".

Let's check out another recent video from Britain's Got Talent (BGT) and see how 12 years old Shaheen treat turn a "not-so-positive comment/gesture" into a "Feedback" to give a world class performance.

Shaheen Jafargholi Sings Micheal Jackson Britains Got Talent

Source from Youtube Videos

Many of us (even adults) would crumple at the gesture given by Simon Cowell (one of the judge).

Shaheen proves everyone wrong by believing he can do it!

PS: Let me know your thoughts on it. I would love to hear from you.

Most Inspirational Video EVER - Susan Boyle (Britain's Got Talent)

2009-04-21T22:25:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone,

If you have not heard about “Susan Boyle” yet, i trust you will be very glad to read about this blogpost. Her video in YouTube has been viewed more than 25 millions time (that is 25,000,000 ++ times) after it has been posted just 7 days ago! A day ago when i watched it @ 1am in morning, i had “goose pimples” and my body was shivering…when i watched the 2nd and 3rd time, the effect was still electrifying! Simply Awesome!

Yesterday, i showed it to my O Levels Sec 4 Chemistry Class and i trust many have been overwhelmed by Susan's performance and belief system. None of them were skeptical or cynical about plain-jane Susan. In fact couple of them ask me about the name of "Susan Boyle" so they can share with friends and family.

We have heard of different ways and tools available when people can be motivated:

* Motivational Movies
* Motivational Songs
* Motivational Speech
* Motivational Books, etc by Gurus, Masters and Professional Trainers

But none of the above can ever beat a basic “Live Example” of a commoner that proves to be the ultimate motivator (if a commoner can do it, you can do it too!).

Presenting to you…Susan Boyle that shock the world in Britain’s Got Talent (a reality show in Britain)

Click HERE for Youtube Video
(can’t embed the video as they have disabled the function..click link directly)

Click HERE for DailyMotion Video

Susan Boyle is 47 years old and came from a small village in Scotland. She is currently unemployed and has never kissed a guy before. Look at the audience's faces when Simon Cowell (one of the 3 judges) ask Susan to introduce herself. Many were skeptical and cynical when Susan, a plain-jane told the audience she would like to be a professional singer and would dream to be like Elaine Page.

She proves everyone wrong (see the expression on the audience's faces as well as comments by judges) and wows the judges with her performance, singing “I dreamed a dream” from Les Miserables.

One lesson i personally learned from this video: “Live your dreams! Do not let skeptics and cynics obstruct your passion & belief. Nothing Is Impossible if you put heart and soul into it. Do Your Best!”

And you will shock the world!

PS: Leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you. =)

PPS: Share with your friends, classmates and relatives....Pass the inspiration around!

MSN TO BE CHARGED - PLS READ; IT CONCERNS U ITS TRUE!

2009-04-04T17:40:00.005+08:00

Hi everyone,

I have received a couple of emails with regards to MSN to be charged in near future.
Bcos of the number of emails i received on this subject, i am really wondering if it is true or it is just a "chain mail" that someone is trying to create something.

I do really on MSN to chat with my oversea friends and ex-students...so seems i need to fork out some cash to keep it alive!?

Hmm..Do drop me a comment if you know something about this ok!!??

This is the email that i received recently:

This is Tara and John, the directors of MSN.

We would like to sincerely
apologize for the interruption, but msn is closing down.

We know many of
these messages have been sent out lately, and that they wouldn't be true.

However, this one is in fact true, and it will occur soon.

MSN
will begin to charge you money soon.

This is due to the fact that too
many inconsiderate people are taking up all the names
(ie. making up lots of
different accounts for just one person).

Therefore, we only have 578
names left.

If you would like to close your account,

DO NOT SEND
THIS MESSAGE ON.

We would not reccommend this, because if in the future
you'd like to use MSN, and you don't send this message on, you will be CHARGED
to use MSN monthly.

If you would like to keep your account, then SEND
THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST.

As we said this before,
this is no joke, and we will be shutting down the servers.

Please send
it on.

We do not want to be receiving phone calls stating that your MSN
will not open, or that you are being charged for using it - because this will be
your fauly for not sending it on.

The estimated cost for MSN monthly
will be about ten dollars CAN.

SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT
LIST.

NOW YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

In case you believed this is yet another of those 'prank' ! MSN shut
down emails, go to:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1! /hi/business/1189119.stm

(I did not access the above link thou!!!)

Regards,
Tara and
John
(Directors and Operators of MSN.com, Hotmail, Windows Live Hotmail,
etc)

PS: Drop me a comment if you know anything about this.

2nd Google Adsense Cheque

2009-03-10T09:52:00.004+08:00

Yeah..i got my 2nd Google Adsense Cheque after i received the 1st one on 28th Sep 2008.

Not alot of money but it proves again to me that Google Adsense is true.

6 months to collect a cheque worth S$170 plus is pretty cool i thought.

2 Singaporeans gearing nearer for BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

2009-03-05T10:01:00.001+08:00

"TWO men from Singapore have been shortlisted for the “Best Job in the World”, beating some 34,000 others who applied to become the caretaker of Hamilton Island, a job with a A$150,000 ($149,000) contract to enjoy the sun, sea and sand for six months while writing a blog to promote the area.

For 24-year-old Singaporean Jimmy Wong, a freelance diver and photographer, it was a complete surprise as well. “I was in a state of shock, but I realised if you do something out of passion and the love for it, you can go far.”

American teacher Greg Reynen said the news was timely, as he had just turned 31. “I was at my computer and I couldn’t believe it. I just screamed and I went
running down the hallway.”

The judges were impressed by the duo’s video submissions. Tourism Queensland said it
received 224 applications from Singapore. The 50 shortlisted applicants will be narrowed down to a final 10 while an 11th applicant will be chosen by popular
vote."

Channel New Asia, TODAY Newspaper 4th March 2009

The Hidden Truth (Indian Advance technology FIRST)

2009-02-22T16:15:00.007+08:00

Recently, i have been really busy with my chemistry and a-math coaching programmes as well as finishing up my 2nd Chemistry book titled "Secrets of Mole Calculations" for GCE O Level students and IGCSE students. You can find out more HERE, if you want.

Check this out, contributed by Mohd Nizam:

The Hidden Truth (Indian Advance technology FIRST)

It's a hidden truth....
But Indians were the 1st, and reached the Moon much b4 the USA guys

Look at the shadows below.
Have u ever noticed the images that we see?

This is known to the world............
But NASA has released only half of the Picture taken.............
..
..
..
..
..
..
Now see the original Full Picture..................!!!!!
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
Until next post,

See you and take care...