EDsight

Last Saturday, my family joined 55,000 others in the packed National Stadium to watch Singapore play Malaysia in the Asean Cup semi-final.

The atmosphere was akin to the good ol’ days in the 1970s and 1980s when the stadium was filled to the brim with up to 75,000 screaming fans.

While the crowd was there, the Kallang Roar was not quite there. Yes, there was the occasional Kallang Wave. But the roar, it just wasn’t loud enough. There were moments of awkward silence when nothing was heard. In fact, it’s at times like this that I really appreciate the commentary at ESPN and Star Sports.

Guess there’s a whole new generation of football fans that need education, or rather, the opportunity to experience the Kallang Roar again.

Let’s hope the Lions’ Den will roar to live tonight in our match against Thailand.

Watch any English Premier League soccer match and you will notice that nearly every time the ball goes out, players from both teams will raise their hands, in the hope of getting the ball their way. As there are only two teams per match, what this goes to show is that half the people are lying.

Yet, when the ball lands into the net, the hands go up too. This time, it’s to claim credit. Except that the hands that go up are from the scoring team. No opponent would want to claim credit for having the last touch that placed the football across the goal line.

Having said this, I really don’t envy the referee’s responsibility because he only has a split second to make a decision and not be distracted by the wrong claims.

Just what is it about queueing? I can understand people queueing for hours for tickets to a soccer match or concert but in Singapore, it seems that queues are everywhere.

Last weekend, I found myself in an hour-long queue, waiting to go to the Clarks warehouse sale at Tampines Safra. Was the offer fantastic? Was there a must-buy deal? The answers are “no” but yet people are prepared line up on a Saturday morning just to see if they can grab a good bargain for a pair of shoes.

I can’t help wondering if the organisers go it right by making people queue to go in. Having a queue gives the impression that the offer is too good to pass. As people wait patiently to get in, their appetite for purchase becomes higher. After all, why queue for an hour to go in and leave the place empty-handed?

Whether it’s an intentional move by the organisers or just pure herd mentality, having a queue does seem to set the cash registers ringing.

Yes, I left with a pair of shoes for myself and another for my wife.

Budget airlines have made travelling more affordable, or at least, in most instances.

I have flown on all the budget airlines flying out of Singapore and I must say that there’s definitely value for money, especially in short haul flights.

The best aircraft is those from the now-merged ValuAir. With the extra leg space, it beats flying economy on the main airlines. As for the others, legroom can be a little crammy but it’s OK if the flight is under three hours.

Food wise, there shouldn’t be much concern for short-haul flights. If you really don’t want to buy food on board, just grab a bite before you board the plane and have a meal after you land.

I would prefer seat allocation as in the case of JetStar because dashing into the plane to grab a seat can be challenging, especially for those travelling with young children.

In one personal encounter in Bangkok, a group of travellers from a particular country pushed their way through the stewardesses at the gate just so they could get in first. But, because they could not speak English, my friends and I were able to have seats by the emergency exits, which afford better leg room.

While budget tickets are generally cheaper, they can also be more expensive, in particular when you book nearer your departure date or a popular flight. The cost can sometimes be higher than main carriers.

Having said that, overall, budget flying has made it more affordable for budget-conscious travellers and families.

How many times have you been irritated by people talking loudly on the mobile phone while in a train or subway? These folks talk as though nobody else is around. And this seems to be a global phenomena, or so I thought.

The Japanese have shown that technology and basic social etiquette can mix. During my trip to Japan, I noticed a sign in the trains asking people to refrain from talking on their mobile phone while in the train. Right, I thought — this is just another sign.

I was expecting that rule to be broken. After all, this is the land of technology and nearly everyone carries a mobile phone.

How wrong I was. Throughout my entire stay in Japan and the numerous train rides I took, only once did I see something talking on the phone while on the train — and even then, the lady picked up her call only when she was about to exit.

I’m impressed.

Having been an aficionado of smart phones, I have been closely following the development of the Treo. However, I had two bugbears – the thickness and the stubby antenna. I joked with a friend who worked for Palm that if these issues were addressed, I would seriously consider switching from my trusty Nokia 6600 smart phone to a Treo.

And voila! With the Treo 750v, Palm has delivered what I want from a smart phone. No more antenna means less risk of having it damaged when I pull it out of my pocket to answer a call. And the Treo 750v looks slimmer too. I really like this form factor, which is small enough to fit in a pocket, yet has a screen that is big enough to work with.

With Windows Mobile, I can easily synch with my notebook and work on Office documents. For travellers, the 3G capability ensures that I can stay in touch with friends and family, even when I am in Japan or Korea.

As I really dread scribbling on the touch screen, I appreciate the QWERTY keyboard, which makes input so much easier. Crafting an SMS or email message is a breeze.

While the screen resolution of 240×240 is not much to short about, it is surprisingly bright and clear and easy to view.

Only two features stand in the way of making the Treo 750v a perfect device. The first is WiFi. The Spectec WiFi card that I bought is not quite reliable and I had to keep re-installing the Utility to get it to work. The second feature on my wishlist is GPS. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the feature built-in?

Bottomline: If you’re in the market for the perfect smart phone, the Treo 750v is as good as you can get.

Think of hot springs and my mind conjures an image of a relaxing soak.

I had my first onsen experience in Japan recently and boy, was I in for a major mind-shake! My family headed for the Taizen onsen (Japanese for hot spring) in Hakone, a resort just outside Tokyo in December.

Looking inconspicuous on the outside, with barely anybody around except for a few cars, the place looked almost deserted. We found a flight of steps leading up to a building on the hillside and made the steep ascent.

Once inside, we were greeted by a lady, who explained what we needed to do. After placing our shoes in a locker, we made our way past several hallways and rooms, some with people lying down and resting.

We finally arrived at another reception area with directions to two separate rooms — one for the men and the other for women.

While my wife and girls trudged off to the women’s room, I gently opened the men’s to what looked like a changing room. From this room, I had my first look at what an onsen is really like on the inside. Men in au natural were walking around and soaking in various pools.

Whatever image I had of relaxing soak in a hot spring went down the drain. After all, what I saw in movies were people sitting with towels wrapped around strategic body parts, not what I was seeing.

Not wanting to stick out like a sore thumb, I tried my best to blend in with the crowd (after removing all clothing and placing them in another locker).

As it was winter time, I felt a little cold so I quickly tip-toed to the nearest bath area for a quick scrub before dipping into the pool. This is probably the only place where one can have some “shelter” as my back was facing the crowd.

After what took longer than my usual bath, I inched in to the nearest pool. The water was not just hot but scorching! My leg was cooking. I eased my lower body in and could feel the heat all over. I felt as if pins and needles were shooting out of my body.

Once I’ve gotten over the sight of naked men walking around freely, I realised that the view from the onsen is quite spectacular. The pools are located in an open area on a hillside and the natural surrounding was somewhat therapeutic.

While the others seem to be able to soak for hours, I concluded that one hour was enough for me.

After taking a quick bath and getting air-cleaned, I put on my clothes and headed back to join my family.