Our formal group photo at the RSAF Flying Training School, Perth, Australia
Pearce Airbase attachment in 2003, this is an annual exchange for air cadets to learn more about the life of a pilot trainee life. The exchange lasted a week long. 
Well, this is the priviledge of being an air cadet. We have more opportunites to fly overseas. This time, its to Perth. This time round, HQ manage to book the air tickets from SIA. Btw i did not pay anything for the air ticket. Haha courtesy of NCC HQ.
The flying attire for our pilots
S211 trainers, that our pilots use. This is the last stage before they are assign to their specialisation in either fix or rotary wing training.
Mazlinah with one of the trainee
Our Group photo.
Flight simulator training, the thing is we didn't actually get to fly the real thing so this is as close as we can get.
There is usually a lot of spare time in between our programme hence one of thing we did was to schedule time to visit other places. This photo is to an orange plantation that is near the base.
The four old guys having a group photo at the plantation
The workers planting the orange trees.
The S211 taxing on the runway
Our transportation is a small minibus with the registration plate initial, RSAF. That car plate attracted a lot of eyes when we are out visiting places such as the chocholate factory.
Everyone had a room to himself and this is suppose to be where they bunk new trainees, nickname the HDB, before moving them to another hostel, nickname the Condo. Well you can really see how well the airforce take care of its people in terms of facilities. You won't get such a thing in the army.
The Squandron office
Visit to Caversham Wildlife Park.
We also get to visit the Australian side of the base. Here we are standing with Sean on an Australian trainer plane
A visit to the one of the air force museum. There is plenty of old aircrafts in their collection on display such as this biplane here to spitfires, aircraft lovers paradise.
Besides that, they do put other artefacts such as this Luger and other WW1 and 2 items.
Fisherman market
Our escort giving a token appreciation to the CO of the host squandron. Behind are the delegates from SYFC that are in the programme as well.
Somehow we got the wrong message in terms of dress code on that day and while everyone dress down, we were all in our no3. 
Lunch serve at the mess, it happens to be their family day when this picture was taken. Btw air force food is always better than army food and i am not kidding. All the air bases that i visit have all pretty nice stuff that are comparable to those outside.
One of the monuments that we took a group photo. Left were the NCC people and on the right the SYFC people. 
Me with Tim outside one of the Casino resort there, dun worry i didn't gamble, just using it as a backdrop. As all good air cadets do, we have contacts with cadets from different parts of the world. Tim happens to be my bunk mate in Canada the year before and when i dropped him an email to say that i was coming, he offered and took me around town.
One of the submarines that i saw at their naval yard. Somehow i find it wierd that the place is quite open and near to the public.
This is the award I had gotten from AMKSS Awards Nite 2008. Its the Friends of AMKSS Award, a.k.a Long service award. Counting back I have been with the unit for 11 years in various capacity. As a normal cadet, platoon i.c, company sergeant major, cadet lieutenant, relief teacher, UAC chairman and advisor.
Mr Tan looking at the award in great detail
Our Secondary 3 cadets
The teachers and instructors of the unit
Group photo 
I am the one on the left and the right is my buddy Ian Soh and the bottom left is our escort officer LTA (NCC) Liza and the right hmmm is a representative of the Civil Aviation Authority Singapore (CAAS) to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). We took this picture when we visited the ICAO which is like the United Nations but specifically for civil aviation matters.Our flight took more than 24 hours taking us from Singapore to Tokyo, Tokyo to Vancouver and finally from Vancouver to Ottawa. Well for someone who have not taken long haul flight it was one hell of a ride and we wanted to get off the plane so much that when we finally did, me and Ian just simply forgot to bring our CD player and Nintendo game box, which was in the pocket of the seat down with us. But if you think its bad, my friend Tim who was from Perth had a 36 hour flight, haha. I apologise for the wordy contents and the lack of photos but well 2002 was the time when digital cameras were still new and printing photographs were still very expensive. If I have the time maybe i will scan more photos.
The one on the extreme left is Jacqueline yah and the 3rd from the left is me. The thing here is most of the participants are from either their armed forces or air force trainees with the only exception of Singapore and Hong Kong. There are even F16 pilot trainees which made me wonder how come we are placed together haha when the best thing i have flown is actually a remote control plane... But ya, there are a lof of stuff you can learn from these guys. Beside me, the two guys are from Israel and the thing is they have to jog 10km every morning before they go for breakfast (which reminds me of the Indian NCC). At that time, I just thought they were crazy haha. 
While we were there, we stayed at different places including University Hostel, Hotels, Military hotels and with local host in their homes so we get a taste of everything but the stay with the local host is excellent cause you get to see what the local people do and immerse in their culture. The picture above is taken at the Military hotel in Trenton, let me tell you something its better than Holiday Inn. You got big beds, iron and ironing board, swimming pools, washing machines and dryers and the thing is this is military accommodation. Anyway, as you can see from the picture its a bit like the Pasa Malam here, all the cadets were taking out their badges, caps and everything they have looking for a good exchange. As all good Singaporeans do, i came prepared with lots of badges and looking for the best deal and indeed i got some of the best deal including a huge chunk of those ribbons you always see on the generals and a Swiss knife.
So these are my clique of friends, from the left we have Carlos, from the United States, in the middle Mehmet from Turkey, then there is me. The one at the back who is the big friendly giant, Torben from Sweden. The first two from the left Jacqueline from hong Kong and Amihai from Israel. Sadly, without msn and with the technology then it was hard to maintain contact.
This is a photograph taken outside the Canadian Parliament, believe me we had a lot of perks that are not given to ordinary tourist. I will elaborate on one later..jpg)
This is the Canadian tower and let me just highlight basically we don't pay anything.
Obviously as air cadets, we are suppose to have aviation related activities including this helicopter ride and a glider session (unfortunately cancel due to bad weather, damn...)
This photo is taken at the Niagara Falls. Beside me is Joseph, later on he email me with his new email and guess what he said he like his new email address and i took a look and i was like wAo... princeton.edu.sg and he said he wanted to go Yale for another degree after that.
This photograph was taken with my first local host, Captain Jeffrey. He took us to this posh restaurant beside Niagara Falls and that night when we were there, there were fireworks splashing across the sky just beside us and it was simply fantastic. The special thing about Captain Jeffrey is he was also the host for my senior Mdm Ong Pei See, who is now a pilot with jetstar, and my junior, Ahmad. I mean what are the odds that he always seem to be the one taking care of the AMKSS cadets. 
Later on, Capt J took us to have a try at changing the lights of the Niagara Falls at night and yah this is one of the special perks we had. In other words, the tourist taking photos had to bear with whatever colour we chose. It was awesome. Introduction again, Torben from Sweden beside me, Nicholas from UK and Tim from Australia. I later visited Tim when i was in Perth on attachment. 
This is my second host family. they are french speaking Canadians and sometimes we had to go back to the ancient way of trying to express ourselves. Their daughter, Catherine spoke English so sometimes we rely on her to help us translate. Their family stayed besides St Louis river and guess what we saw a Otter in the river and the last time the host saw one was over 20 years ago so i guess we were pretty lucky. Oh one thing, the pizzas are really huge, our large is probably their medium and drinks come in jugs and not cups so well if you are there don't make the mistake we did cause we almost died eating pizzas.
I forgot to talk about our meals, be assured they are the best. Let me quote a few examples, we had buffet style meals almost for every meal. In the military hotel at Trenton, we can even get the cook to prepare omelettes and pizzas of our choosing. We had buffet lunch on a cruise boat after white water rafting and you basically choose the meat and someone will bbq it for you. I have never felt more like a King then when i was there and yah there was the palm size Oreo ice cream with 2 pieces of Oreo biscuit. 
Not a nicely taken photograph but well this was taken with my first generation 1.3mega pixel camera with 16MB in built memory so don't expect that much.
Our plane landed an hour off schedule due to bad weather. Hong Kong was experiencing its Monsoon season and our aircraft met with very bad turbulence. Our first landing attempt was aborted at the very last stage as i can see the buildings and landscape fairly big. There were probably at least another aborted landed cause i could feel the sudden thrust of the aircraft. There were these sudden drops and climb which make the ride seem like a roller coaster ride. Many of the passengers vomited but i guess i was kind of used to this sort of ride and i actually enjoy the ride. 
After we finally landed, we went to get our Octopus card, their version of the Ez-link card. It will cost you a HK$50 deposit and can be purchase at the airport.We boarded bus A21 that would take us to Mongkok and would offer us a different view of the city. There is a small area where you can leave your bags on the first floor but be sure to look after your bags.
My aunt booked this Dragon Hostel at the Mongkok area which is near Mongkok MTR exit D2. We had 2 rooms that are capable of taking 5 each. It cost about S$100 so it works out to be S$20 each.
It is very cramp though especially for my aunts who were so used to big hotel rooms but well this is about 10 times cheaper then your regular hotel. For young travellers, stay at the hostel and save your money for the shopping and eating. For those who cannot bear being cramp and like the comfort of a hotel then this is certainly not your place.
There is an attach bathroom to our rooms but there are some smaller rooms that do not have one and so there is the public toilet. Supplies of toilet paper are available at the front desk if you are asking and there are basic amenities such as a common hot waterboiler, fridge and washing machine.
Scallop with dong feng, its full of flavour 
The 10 course includes abalone, lobster, scallop, chicken, fish, cockles, bamboo clam, crab, prawn, vegtable, fried rice and watermeleon for desert. The chicken is especially good along with the rest of the food. It definately test better and value for money compared to Singapore seafood restaurant. 
Since we are on the topic of seafood and Chuen Kee, I will share with you the highlight of my trip to Hong Kong. It happens to be my lunch at Chuen Kee on the last day with my uncle and aunt and one of my cousin. We had Alaska crab, fish, scallop and vegtable with rice and Woooo it was awesome. We asked for the smallest Alaska crab that they have and it cost us HK$280 per catie (600g). The whole meal cost us about HK$1700 but again its worth it cause it would have cost more in Singapore.
I like the Alsakan crab, its so easily cut apart by using scissors and its so full of meat. Easy to eat and a great enjoyment. 
Carrot cake like dim sum with a bit of chili
This is good, the filling is yam if i remember correctly
The filling for this is shark fin
Cheers would be a middle range Dim Sum buffet but still with my family of big eaters we busted their records. I heard the average bill of a table there would be around HK$150 but we hit HK$800 and the captain keep asking my aunt are we sure we want all the orders. Haha but anyway point to note some of the restaurant would charge you a higher rate if you pay after 11 but for Cheers they charge according to when you order so order before 11a.m. There are also some special discount for the afternoon tea. 
Still on the topic of food, this is Yung Kee Restaurant near Lan Kwai Fang. This restaurant is very famous for its roast goose. The location is easily accessible its near Central MTR at wellington street. If you are dining in big groups, its advisable to put up a reservation. I had to wait an hour plus but luckily they got us a table at the VIP area at the 4th level. This is not your cheap restaurant if you are on a budget but the roast goose is a must try if you visit Hong Kong.
This is the famous roast goose, it cost around S$80. It is juicy inside and crispy outside.
Don't expect portions to be large
Next stop Central pier, this is where you take the star ferries and well for our case taking bus 15 from the interchange at the Pier to the Peak. Taking a bus will let you see a different sight that is different from the tram. You can take the tram on the way down. Yes, to the place for the best view of Hong Kong's night scenary. The best time to go is after a rain when the clouds have cleared. Sidetracking again, its amazing as i discover their Octopus card is much more versatile then our Ez-link card, we can pay for our ferries and even the tram ride from the peak by tapping our Octopus card... Man IDA or whatever Singapore agency in charge of this, they better step on the integration, its absolutely unacceptable that we claim to be advance in adopting technology yet this is not done.
This is what i get when i paid HK$20 to the observation deck whereby you can move more freely and have so called a better view. The only problem is there are plenty of people around so its hard to not get a shot with unwanted people inside. A tripod is essential here and i don't have it so the pictures are the best i can do with pump up ISO.
You know what i meant by there is alot of clutter if you want to take a photo for your memory sake maybe paying for the professionals (the right is worth it). Another place to take photos ironically is at the Burger King outlet.
Take an out air bus or tram and enjoy the scenaries at a different angle.
Ocean Park, a place for everyone. Go to Admiratly Station Exit B and take bus 629, it will cost you including a return trip HK$218. This park is huge so plan for having a day or at least start off early.
You have all sorts of ride here, theres something for everyone
Personal favourite, the cable car, the good thing about this cable car is there are four lanes and you don't have to wait and you get a fantastic view as see from below. The entrance tickets allows you unlimited rides on all rides so enjoy.
Take the outer lane for an excllent view of the coast
Do check the timing and be there at least 15 mins earlier or risk not able to catch the show as it can be fully packed.
Well, i am not involve in most of the shopping but if you are looking for some cheap and maybe sometimes good deal there can be found at Ladies Market near Mongkok and Temple Street near Jordon MTR station. For even better deals go to Shenzhen it will cost you about HK$30 to take a train to the border and clear custom and take another MTR to lao jie to their wholesale and retail centres where the deals are really there. Security do come first and if you do visit these place beware of pickpockets so carry less and try not to be so obvious you are a tourist...
Another place that you might want to go is Causeway Bay and Granville Road. The later have two streets of factory outlets shop. Its near Tsim Sha Tsui Staton Exit B2. Do watch your timing and wallets.
Every city have its problems and culture, one which i found is the very backward way of the HongKong police of deploying man on the streets everywhere. There are at least 10 sightings of them at different location daily throughout my stay. Oh yes and interesting enough my lift lobby got seal off by the police cause there was some fighting or some activity that left some very minor blood stain. The plainclothes came as well so it was kinda exciting like watching HK drama show.
