Durian, Peak Harvest

In 2002 Australia, during the height of terrorist attacks, airports were on high alert. And so it happened that cargo handlers at Brisbane airport discovered a powerful smell in the cargo hold of a plane and raised the alarm. Part of the airport was evacuated, security forces deployed, only to discover that the cargo hold contained a load of the infamous Asian fruit - durians!

Durian lovers can understand why public transport ban it.




The grade in rage now is Mao Shan Wang. Many years before, it was D24. It can cost a fortune especially when the fruit sell by the kilo.
But frankly even seasoned durian gluttons may not be sure if he is paying for the real thing.




There are durian plantations in north Queensland, perhaps 15,000 to 20,000 trees and maybe 5000 trees around Darwin. and they are just starting to put some fruit on the Australian market place. What a sight it would be to see angmo eating durians by the roadside.



Some described the durians as a powerful aphrodisiac, while women would eat the ashes from burnt durian skins to help them recover after child birth. Recently nutritionists have claimed that the durian fruit can help lower cholesterol and cleanse the blood as well as cure jaundice and alleviate fevers.

The durian is also packed with amino acids as well as Vitamins B, C, E and tryptophan.
Tryptophan is essential for making and maintaining serotonin levels in the body that regulates our happiness. People with low serotonin levels tend to have short tempers.

Economic Forecast

Gerald Celente, founder of the Trends Research Institute and predicted the 2008 crisis, shared his thoughts:










In The United States 72% of our GDP is consumer based , it's unsustainable and it's insane , you cannot consume 72% more than you produce , what we are going to see is a rush of bankruptcies and more and more vacancies both in the retail sector and in the business sector , so all these office buildings that were built at the big boom from about 2001 to 2007 they're going to remain vacant " said Gerald Celente "United States of America is over stored , the commercial real estate sector is going to collapse " now they are bailing out the commercial real estate , and hence creating another bubble that we call the bailout bubble , first we had the dot com bubble instead of letting it burst they created another bubble the Real Estate bubble by lowering interests rates to 46 years lows , now the real estate bubble burst , rather than letting that burst now they are creating the bailout bubble they have 13 trillion dollars worth of tax payers money to bailout everybody.

Wall Street

The federal reserve is behind the reasons that created the crisis in the first place . The Federal Reserve is a private company and is not more federal than the Federal Express , these are the people who created the problems . The FED by lowering interest rates created the problem and now they are creating the bailout bubble which is even bigger than the Dot Com bubble the real estate bubble , they continue printing phantom money out of thin air backed by nothing and producing nothing...it is not about being optimistic or pessimistic it is about being realistic ...


Harry S. Dent Jr, is the Founder of HS Dent Investment Management,
is predicting the world economy will face a crisis in the next two years even bigger than the current downturn.
"We're in the middle of a bear market rally," Dent told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He said share markets were likely to continue to gain in the next few months but would fall again towards the end of the year as the global banking system suffered another meltdown, bottoming out in 2011.

Rice Price

RICE PRICES AVERAGE
(US$/Ton Ex-Country of Origin)

Thai 100% Grade B
2004 - 244
2005 - 291
2006 - 311
2007 - 335
2008 - 695
2009
Jan - 611
Feb - 624
Mar - 637
Apr - 606
May -559

Thai Fragrant 100%
2004 - 443
2005 - 404
2006 - 470
2007 - 550
2008 - 914
2009
Jan - 876
Feb - 879
Mar - 880
Apr - 888
May -901

Thai A1 Super 100% Broken
2004 - 207
2005 - 219
2006 - 217
2007 - 275
2008 - 506
2009
Jan - 332
Feb - 333
Mar - 335
Apr - 341
May - 316


Although profit margins look attractive, rice importers must meet stringent Rice Stockpile Scheme (RSS) rule which require pre-commit minimum monthly stockpile of 50 tons.
On top of that, importers must keep twice the monthly stockpile in a government warehouse, any shortfall subjected to penalty.

New Crane at Ardmore Park

Two months after the crane collapse caused by the Sumatra Squall, a new tower crane has been installed at Ardmore II.

Here you can see the crane being hydraulically jacked up behind the tower on the left.

Climbing...


Still climbing...


And...Done

1km Nakheel Tower

The Nakheel developer has further pushed back work on its flagship 1km high Nakheel Tower project.
Work on the project will not resume until the start of June 2010 at the earliest. Development was set to resume in January next year after being placed on hold for what was originally a 12 month period at the beginning of this year.

Meanwhile Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building being developed by Emaar Properties PJSC, will be taller than previously envisaged, with height enhancement work already in progress.
The final height of Burj Dubai will be revealed only on its completion in September 2009.
So for now it boast of being the highest structure in mankind.

helicopter view of Burj Dubai

Holding company Dubai World president Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the entire Nakheel Tower project would cost US$38.12bn or 140 billion UAE dirhams.

Construction Technology

Buildings are getting ever higher and construction machines must also evolve to meet the tough challenges. One of the difficult task is to get concrete to the upper floors in the shortest possible time to prevent concrete from hardening.
The concrete pump is one equipment that can meet this challenge.

concrete pump

The next alternative is to use a crane and bucket. But this slow method is limited to low rise buildings.

bucket

And in an area where machineries are unheard of, this video will give you an idea why humans became smarter than other animals.

PC Expo 2009

The PC Show ends last Sunday saw hugh turnout of 1 million people looking for some savings on their desired gadgets.

2009 - $52 million in sales

The 2008 Show also attracted 1million visitors, also with $52 million generated in sales.

The 2007 event boast 900,000 visitors, with $26 million in sales.










So the 2009 show saw an increased of 22% over 2007 visitors. But sales jumped an incredible 100%, and this in the midst of a recession.

Crisis ? What crisis ?

Exports numbers are dropping drastically, retrenchments are massive and brutal. Sound like the great depression. But judging from big ticket pop concerts lining up the next couple of months with healthy ticket sale, crisis ? What crisis ?

AIR SUPPLY LIVE IN ASIA 19 Jun 2009
MAX Pavilion@Singapore Expo
$128, $98, $78, $58

STEFANIE SUN WORLD TOUR
11 Jul 2009
Singapore Indoor Stadium
$168, $148, $128, $108, $78

SUPER BAND Singapore Concert

Jonathan Lee, Wakin Chou, A-Yue, Lo Ta Yu
Singapore Indoor Stadium 18 Jul 2009
$178, $158, $138, $118, $88

Mayday DNA World Tour
Singapore Indoor Stadium 28-29 Aug 2009
$178, S$148, S$118, S$88

Makan and the economy

Cooked food prices remain high despite the poor economic climate. Even the simple, humble fishball kway teow mee is $2.80 and with only 5 fishballs ! Rental, and not raw materials cost is to blame for this situation.
But all is not hopelessly lost if you know where to look for cheap but not neccessary tasteless fares. Ask taxi drivers, they are the yellow pages for makan information.

At the Holland Drive HC, head for the $2 duck rice stall. Same price apply for either char seo, duck (roast, or lor) or chicken. Address ? You can't miss it as the queue seem a permanent feature. Lunch time queue look like TOTO $10m draw. The portion is normal and can satisfy as it should, an adult. Stall close Thursday.

Queueing for duck rice

While many need to tighten their belts for whatever reasons, many need no second thought about splashing in restaurants like Pasta de Waraku, which is packing them in.




Astons Specialities, which now have 16 outlets, some in the heartlands is also packing them in as if there is no tomorrow. Whether you desired a $10.90 black peppered steak, or a $7.90 spaghetti, queue.

Restaurant/Menu

Another name packing them in - Cafe Cartel which has 10 outlets islandwide.

Taxi Tales

Taxis are called Ilban in Korean and referred to as Grey Taxis by expats, are usually silver with a white or blue line. Fares start 2,400 won (S$3.00)
Deluxe Taxies, called "mobeom" taxis in Korean, are black with a yellow sign on the top and the words "Deluxe Taxi" written on the side. Fares start 4,500 won (S$5.50)

Left: Grey cab, Right: Mobeom cab

Seoul launched Haechi taxi in May 2009. The Haechi cab is expected to replace Seoul's current fleet of taxi within the next 4 to 5 years. The fare is the same as that of the grey taxis.

Haechi Cab

Tokyo can boast of having the most colourful taxi fleet in the world. They can also safely claim the most type of taxi signs, not seen anywhere else on earth which stand corrected, of course.

Colourful fleet -Tokyo

Some of the taxi signs

And Bangkok is not about to be runner up in the colour race.

Bangkok Taxis, top/below

And yes, purple cabs too...

Rojak

The opening of the new food court at the old Queenstown Police Centre, just outside the MRT station, was scheduled for May/June but works seem to be frozen, no signboards, no lights, no nothing.
The grapevine abuzzed there is kind of a contractual breach. The building was leased from the Land Authority by an educational company with a provision for a canteen but not a food court or kopitiam.

Frozen in time

So those looking forward to new stalls with new fares have to wait further. Or maybe there are no stalls at all if matters are not resolve soon.
Anyway there is a rojak stall nearby. The key to a dish of heavenly rojak lies with the right mix of prawn paste, (hayco) and assam juice. To further enhance the taste, "pang huay" a bud from the ginger plant is finely cut and added.

Rojak

There is a old saying "rojak with beer, better than becoming an
emperor" so I'll figure that out when I lay my hand on a Heineken pack...

Goodbye, Banyan Tree

A banyan tree does not use pollen and seed but procreates when its branches grow downward which when in contact with the ground develop roots and a new trunk. This way, banyan trees can grow outwards into an area 1 acre or more in size.



But progress has caught up with the banyan tree at the Queenstown MRT station. There is works to install a lift and the tree, which is easily estimated to be 50 years old is considered obstructing access.



So its rather sad to see a heritage as old as Queenstown being removed.


Note the total diameter, and the numbers of trunks. The chinese call the banyan tree, "seng chiu".


And there is also an altar for Datok and Earth God under the tree set up by workers during construction of the MRT station in 1984. According to long time residents, a cobra is known and seen to reside inside the trunks.

What's in a name ?

A history professor from Thammasat University is organising a campaign to officially call Thailand, Siam. If the professor get his way perhaps other countries may also want to use their ancient names too. Lets do a trial run...


Name : Siam





In 1939, by Government order, the name of Siam was changed to Thailand. Thai was the ancient name of the Siamese people and meant the 'free.'

Name : Formosa

In 1517 Portuguese sailors fleet sailing through the Taiwan Strait on the way to Japan sighted Taiwan and called it Ilha Formosa, meaning beautiful island.




Name : Ceylon






Ceilão was the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived in 1505. The british called it Ceylon until 1972.




Name : Nusantara

Nusantara is a Javanese phrase meaning "outer islands" (from nusa, "island")
Nusantara is an Indonesian word designating the Indonesian archipelago.



Name : Persia



For more than three thousand years Iran was referred to as Persia, until 1935.



Name : Mesopotamia


Iraq was part of the Mesopotamia region until the arrival of the Islamic Caliphate, when the region came to be known as Iraq.




Name :Temasek



Singapore was founded in 1819.
'Sea Town' in Javanese, spelt Tumasik