Acupuncture Day

I was feeling ok, nothing major... just that I came across a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinic & thought I should check with the Chinese Physician if he could do anything for me about my leg, or lower-back ache.

I was hoping for some Tui Na but I got acupuncture treatment instead. The poking was pretty ok, almost pain-free. But, it was the 'tuning' of the needles that gave me so much pain. I know that was supposed to let the 'chi' or the blood in the system going, but I really didn't enjoy that pain. 

Picture below: I had five needles in my buttock & 2 needles in my left calf. 

And, a heat-emitting lamp to ensure I got a nice hot bum... yea, you would think eh...

To be honest, I don't think I will go for it again. The effect is not as good as Tui Na, which the Chinese Physician indicated might have adverse effect. But I felt better after a painful Tui Na than a acupuncture treatment. 

Comment, suggestion, words of wisdom... anyone?

I just need to make sure that I have this on my blog...
Alan and I had two pairs of pants and a vest tailored here, and we were impressed with not only the service but the tailor himself. He knew what he was talking about, and he didn't put the prices up just because we were 'farangs'.

If you are in Phuket, and would like to get suits, gowns or dress tailored... I recommend Mark & Peach. Or, at least you have another tailor shop like Mark & Peach that you can make your own comparison.

We decided to pamper ourselves tonight, booked us a hotel room at Taj Samudra in Colombo and arranged for Bodhi & puppies to be taken care of and then we headed into the city.

45 minutes' drive saw us there at the Taj Samudra, we checked in and Alan went to get his work stuff sorted out.

Next, we were deciding between Western or Indian cuisine. But it was an easy choice, we heard too much about Navratna, the Indian restaurant at Taj Samudra & would not want to miss that.
The managers introduced themselves, and the waiting staff too... and the ambience was fabulously enriched by the musicians playing sitar & drums.

The Chef (above) came to our table, introduced himself & asked for our food preference (type of meat, tolerance of spicy food, any particular request, etc. ) I thought that was service at its best, clearly a positive first impression. He then went on to suggest some of the dishes that he thought we might like, and also highlighted some of the signature dishes of the restaurant.

The first dish that he strongly recommended us to try was the Chicken Tikka. The combination of the succulent chicken and the explosion of flavours in the mouth definitely made this my favourite Indian dish. Die die must try, like what Makansutra would say.

We were then served Briyani rice with butter chicken and lamb curry. Again, it was very tasty, I preferred the butter chicken while Alan liked the lamb dish better.

The dhal (below) served at Navratna was quite different too, it was not too strong nor heavy. The flavour again made it unique.

I felt that the whole dining experience was greatly enhanced by the service, and also the fact that the Chef was out there in the dining room, tailoring the dishes according to our requests. It's like having a personal chef... :)

My elder sister Irene was hospitalised, and I went back to see her in Singapore. She was unable to eat/swallow food, and had to be on a drip, and subsequently put on tube feeding (the pipe thru her nose). Irene has difficulty coordinating her movements, and she is unable to sit up on her own or get out of bed.

Considering that I had a good post-ops care and physiotherapy in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in June 2000, it was really obvious that the level of service provided at TTSH has dropped drastically. The nurses were unmotivated, the doctors were unapproachable and could not give patient's family any insights, and so were simply 'doing their rounds'. Very disappointed in the unprofessionalism of doctors & nurses.

Sorry folks, I've been out of action for a while due to the electrical re-wiring work in the house and also the Internet was down for several days. Apparently, some technical people from the Telecom was stupid enough to run a parallel cable to a new subscriber in my area, using my telephone line. On calling the Telecom, they insisted that the line was ok and went on to suggest that my modem was (not may be) faulty, then they blamed it on the micro-filter, then they blamed it on the telephone wiring in my house, etc. Enough was enough, I called the Regional Engineer guy, he came with his laptop and couldn't get any signal as well. And eventually, they traced it back and found out the problem.

Anyway, I am back online and the electricity is almost back to normal. Don't ask.

The last couple of weeks have not been our best, the electricity shut down from 6.30pm and came back on only when Alan was about to leave the house at 6.30am. No one could explain, not even the Ceylon Electricity Board.
We had enough of the nonsense and it was driving us mad, the mosquitoes buzzing at night, the lack of light, and unable to prepare dinner, etc.

So Alan made a call to the houseowner, and they were quick to have the electrician to look into the problem quickly. We have been pestering them for 3-phase, and it seemed like the single-phase was not able to take the load. Funny, isn't it? Just the two of us and we don't use much power. Seriously.

Anyway, 3-phase power supply was put in place by Eric, our Electrician guy. He's friendly and does his job well, his workers are equally good. That's reassuring, considering it's current that we have to deal with.

The power is now back to (almost) normal, power trip still occurs around the same time - but at least for only one phase out of the three. At least, we still have some power running.

My first visit to the Galle Face Hotel... Alan and I have made reservation to dine at The 1864 Restaurant. Australian visiting Chef Celeste is there, Alan met her during the International Chefs Day at Ran Mal Hotel. Alan also wanted to catch up with Chef Haleesha, so that was all good.
I was impressed with the interior feel and the recent renovation has definitely brought up the colonial charms back to life.

That's us at The 1864 Restaurant having a pre-dinner glass of Champagne...
The food was good, the service staff were outstanding and professional, but the company we had that evening was the best. Thanks Chef Celeste and Chef Haleesha!

Cathay Pacific

I had such a wonderful experience flying with CX for CMB-SIN-CMB.

Right from making the reservation at their office in Colombo, the General Manager was a really nice guy when I called him up to explain about the letter I have for the airticket. He acknowledged the letter, and transferred me to his ticketing staff to arrange the booking. I didn't have to explain myself again, as he had already communicated to his staff. To me, that was a good FIRST impression.

Then, when I was at the CX office in Colombo, I was again served well by other staff and Ms Myumi explained how and who I should call to have my tickets changed should I have a change in my travelling plan. Myumi went on to upsell, in a very non-assertive way, the promotions for February and March since she noted that I travelled quite a fair bit. I thought she was really good.

My flight from CMB-SIN on CX dated 15Feb was a great experience, the flight stewardess serving me was both attentive and prompt in her service. The 3.5 hours flight time didn't seem long at all, especially since I was flying overnight and arriving Singapore in the morning. I wrote a nice complement letter thanking her for the wonderful service.

As my elder sister needed to be hospitalised, I called CX office in Singapore to change my travelling plan. I was again given prompt and personalised service, he spoke very Singlish to me and made me feel so at ease. The changes was made and even though the ticket was fully flexible, I felt I have inconvenienced CX - as he was extremely courteous, efficient, and I was delighted by the service rendered.

On 5Mar when I was due to depart SIN-CMB, I was again truly impressed by the service delivery at the Check-in (Row 8 @ Changi Airport). CX Ambassador, Ms Liane Chia served me at the counter. I had 31.5kg of baggage to check in, she explained that she could only allow up to 25 kg, and 7 kg for ONE handcarry. A strict requirement for flights to Sri Lanka. She asked if I would like to remove some of the items and added that my Mom could bring them back, or I would like to pay the excess of $20 per additional kg. Her tone of voice was adequate and good, which otherwise I would have felt insulted. I explained that I would remove some of the items to meet the requirement.

Ms Liane Chia advised that I could repack at one corner, while she processed my check-in. A few minutes later and after repacking, I went back to Liane with 5 kg lighter but still at 26.5 kg. I explained to her that I was taking some of the CNY goodies back to Sri Lanka for my local friends and kids, and Liane made exception for me. She didn't have to, but she did and that's why I felt touched and truly special.

Liane ran further on the extra mile for me again, she asked me to add items to my handcarry which was only 4.5kg, so that I could fully utilise my handcarry allowance. So, in the end, I had all my items brought to Sri Lanka - because I had a really kind and understanding CX Ambassador (Ms Liane Chia). Thank you so much, Liane!

Onboard SIN-CMB, my flight stewardess Ms Joey reaffirmed CX excellent service level. I was again impressed by the service delivery, and I asked for Ms Diana - the Inflight Manager, to give me a customer survey, there were several questions - and I took the entire flight time to fill it up as truly as I possible could. It wasn't enough, I asked for a Compliment Feedback Form to thank Ms Joey and Ms Liane Chia for making today a very special one.

Meal service (dinner) onboard CX711, SIN-CMB on 5 March 2007.