Video walkthrough of Himeji Castle from the main gate all the way through the castle grounds and then to the highest level. Was accompanied by hordes of school kids in blue as you could tell.

Himeji Castle (姫路城 Himeji-jō) is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.

Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and it was registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country.nThe area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site and five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures.

My first time visiting Himeji Castle was before the year 2000, so this second visit was truly way overdue!

​​Made my second quick trip and visit to Nara, Japan to feed the deers. They were as friendly and hungry as always!

Nara Park (奈良公園, Nara Kōen) is a large park in central Nara. Established in 1880, it is the location of many of Nara's main attractions including Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum. The park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered in Shinto to be messengers of the gods, Nara's nearly 1200 deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated as a natural treasure. Nara's deer are surprisingly tame, although they can be aggressive if they think you will feed them. Deer crackers are for sale around the park, and some deer have learned to bow to visitors to ask to be fed.

As I arrived at Nara late, it was merely a quick visit to the deers, and then I was back on my way to Osaka. 

​Starting the first day of the pig year at Fushimi Inari ⛩️ Taisha to pray for a good business year ahead. Good health and happiness for everyone that I know.

Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.

Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.

I didn't venture too far up the mountain though - it was just too packed. Eventually backtracked and decided to detour to Uji instead.

My cute niece Adele. Taking over family dinner last evening. 

Today is a hectic (i.e. rather busy) day of lecturers and trainings. There are three courses to attend: 

First one: 10am to 1pm 
Second one: 2pm to 5pm
Last one: 7pm to 10pm 

I have just finished my first two courses and my brain cells are numb for a while. Going to catch a light dinner and then back to the last course! 
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Sunday is the usual. I woke up earlier than usual today (body clock?)... after perusing the news channels on Flipboard, I decided to get myself up to feed the cats, then I got changed to head to Penhas. For once, I was earlier than A and waited downstairs for him. 

Today marks the last weekend for April. Weekends are always important as we get a large bulk of customers over the weekends. If there are new customers, we will need to take time explain the processes and procedures to them. Also, there are also other areas to focus on, such as planning for the marketing activities for the month of May. May, being Mother's Day, would be our key focus area. 

Work ended at 6pm, and we headed over to Ritz Carlton's The Colony for a sumptuous buffet dinner - also to celebrate Marcus' Birthday. In my opinion, The Colony has one of the best buffets in Singapore, so I was happy with the decision, and I skipped lunch for it! 

All in all, it was a great dinner outing. We had great food, great company, and ended up spending almost four hours at the restaurant! 

Sunday is the usual. I woke up earlier than usual today (body clock?)... after perusing the news channels on Flipboard, I decided to get myself up to feed the cats, then I got changed to head to Penhas. For once, I was earlier than A and waited downstairs for him. ​

All in all, it was a great dinner outing. We had great food, great company, and ended up spending almost four hours at the restaurant! 
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So today, despite my busy schedule, managed to grab an hour between services at Havelock, to get the two requested benches for CQ outlet. Another busy but fulfilling day. I ended the day with a headache, which fortunately went away after a while. I am certainly fatigued, but hey I need to keep focused. The best is yet to be! 

Running a business is a lot of hard work, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. The planning for this Micron event started as early as April, when the team was involved in the Livewell Fiesta. The lead came from Marcus' friend, Choon Meng. 

This lead to a series of recces, presentations, as well as many email exchanges. Hence, in a way, there was a sense of anticipation leading to this event. This was coupled by the fact that it was a major event which included a talk on Gut Health by our Doctor Meng, a Pound demo class by Samuel, as well as a product and service fair by the rest of the team. We also helped liaised with Angela of Bits and Bites to cater lunch packs for the audience. 

All in all, we expected a bigger turn out, but for those who attending, some bought products, some signed up WFit, and one customer even bought an Elight one-month package. 

I suppose what was most important was the brand awareness that we were building, and then, the camaraderie that was forged through the hours of hard work spent together. As months pass, I can't help but feel closer and closer to the team. Thank you all for sharing this dream! 

I had the opportunity to attend the premier of Cirque Du Soleil's KOOZA, which would be running in the striking blue and yellow Big Top, till 20 August at the open area along Bayfront Avenue, just beside Marina Bay Sands. Having attended previous shows by Cirque Du Soleil, I know that while the production quality for their shows are always of a high standard, the individual segments for the shows could be a hit or miss. 

Notwithstanding, KOOZA turned out to be amazing!! A deliberate return to Cirque Du Soleil's origins, KOOZA follows the protagonist, a simple guy with a kite, as he journeys into a magical kingdom after he opens a magical box. KOOZA is inspired by the Sanskrit word "Koza" which means "box" or "chest", and emerging from this box is an international cast of acrobats, musicians, singers and actors. 

What made KOOZA special, in my opinion, was that various acts and segments were fresh and interesting. The tightrope segment, for example, was executed differently and with no safety harnesses for the acrobats, it was freaking nail-biting scary!

Accompanying the various acts was a strong and stellar music ensemble and two power singers. Having recorded music and live music made all the difference, and for many occasions I felt that I was watching a musical, where the story flowed seamlessly from one chapter to another. 

Interspersed between the acts were several entertaining comedy moments, brought about by the unassuming funny King and his two humping assistants. They broke the tensed acrobatic parts skillfully with genuinely funny antics, and the crowd, including myself lapped it all up. 

All in all, KOOZA was pure 150 minutes of pure fun, fear and entertainment. If you have time, do make a date with KOOZA before 20 August. There is a 15% discount for M1 customers, and DBS and POSB card holders also save 15% on A, B, C and D Reserve tickets for shows from 13 to 23 July and from 14 to 20 August. Enjoy!