Men in Japan over the age of 40 need to have their waist line measured – And if they are overweight, the company is Fined!!!

Being Fat or obese is such a common phenomenon in today’s society that, we even have a reality show called “The Biggest Loser!” In fact, Nicole (My daughter) loves it so much, that she severely embarrassed the family while we were dining out previously. (Read the story here)

But Getting Fined is a whole new ball game!

Under Japan’s health care coverage, companies administer check-ups to employees once a year. Those who fail to meet the waistline requirement must undergo counselling. If companies do not reduce the number of overweight employees by 10% by 2012 and 25% by 2015, they could be required to pay more money into a health care program for the elderly.

So if you are a guy staying in Japan and your waist is over 35inches, you are in DEEP TROUBLE!

According to reports, an estimated 56 million Japanese will have their waists measured this year. (Read the Full Story here)

Isn’t this really shocking news? According to the CNN report, employees also find their job threatened when they are overweight!

Wa…Sounds drastic…but it might actually be effective!!! I am sure that we will have more men hitting the gym, if this becomes a National Law in Singapore as well.

Looks like I better start exercising a bit more in the days to come, or else I might be a wanted criminal in the Land of the Rising Sun!

Sponsored Review

Some people think that Club Med has only activities for the young and trendy…

In fact, I used to think of Club Med as a singles club, where single people meet. Well, to a certain extent, this is true!

Club Med still has Discos on the resort where you can party till 2am. Coupled with a relaxing romantic atmosphere, this is an ideal place for newly-weds!

However, besides catering to teenagers and to the “swinging singles”, Club Med has night activities for the family as well.

For example, during our brief 3 Nights stay at Club Med, we experienced:

1) The Circus

2) Pirates Performance by the Children of the Hotel Guests

This was one of the activities where parents and kids enjoyed tremendously. It was also really fun watching the kids perform, and many proud parents were busy “snapping away”, as they watched their little ones perform!

3) A Cultural Show

To tell you the truth, I am not too much into the Cultural Dance Scene. But I thought that Club Med added a great touch to the festivities by bringing the Cultural Dance into the resort. This means that tourists do not need to go off the resort to soak in the Indonesian Culture. A real thumbs up to Club Med!

4) Fire Show

Native Balinese danced around with hula hoops set on fire. A real eye-opener for the kids, and great pool-side entertainment.

5) Family Carnival

The games at the carnival were really simple, but full marks to the staff for trying to make the games as fun as possible… And if you win a lucky draw prize, you get 10% off your Hotel Bill! Sounds like a great deal to me!

Overall, I genuinely believe that Club Med is great value for the whole family. Although it is on the more “pricey” side, the resort can turn out to be a real bargain, when you purchase your holiday, with their 1 for 1 specials.

Best of all, you can still get supper all the way to 1130pm, at no additional cost. This is one resort where you will not lose weight!

You can catch more reviews on Club Med at Maybe Baby and Here.

If you are wondering what you can do with your kids this weekend, you can try taking them to the Luge at Sentosa!

The Luge is a part go-cart, part-tobaggan with a built in braking system that promises thrill for the kids and the family. This sleigh-like contraption, is safe enough even for my 2yo girl, and it brought much smiles and laughs for the whole family.

We bought tickets for the Luge at Mount Imbiah, which is located at the Cable Car Station.

Basically, the Luge is like a sleigh which goes down the slope at high speeds.

Needless to say, helmets are not a fashion accessory, but a safety requirement for the ride.

Is the Ride really that Fast?!?

Although the kids are allowed to go for the ride, they all had to ride “pillion” with us. Children need to be taller than 130cm, if they want to travel alone.

As the kids travelled with an adult, we basically controlled how fast we wanted to go. Therefore, the ride is perfectly “safe”, as long as you are not Mr. Bean!

The ride is really fun, and as there are 2 trails, almost everyone goes for at least 2 attempts at the Luge. As the Ride works on a the concept of a sleigh, you will need to make your way up the hill to try it out again.

I know…you must be thinking…So I must walk all the way up the hill in the Hot Sun to try out the ride again….there must be a better way!

Well, YES! There is!!!

When you buy your tickets, go for a round trip ticket.

This entitles you to take a sky ride up to the top of the slope again!

Yes…The sky ride is the common Ski lift that you see, when you take vacations on the slopes of Switzerland…and this lift seems to be put to good use on this attraction.

Frankly, we were a bit nervous about the kids riding the lift, but the Staff  at Sentosa were very good at getting us onto the lifts, and the children were very well behaved throughout the ride (We noticed that some kids rode the life barefoot, as parents wanted to make sure that their shoes did not drop along the way)

Were they Paranoid?!?

Not really…I saw a foreign family walking up the slope looking for their shoes….looks like you can’t be too careful!

Is this a Good Family Activity?

As I like to bringing the kids outdoors, I think that this is a really great action ride for the whole family. My wife was a bit nervous about bringing the kids at first…but once you learn the ropes, it is actually quick an easy ride!

Although it is on the more expensive side, with 2 rides including the sky train costing about $17 dollars , it is definitely worth the experience. (I managed to get the ride at half price, as AMEX was offering a half price promotion on weekends!) *Children are charged differently.

Detailed Pricing

Luge & Skyride Combo
One Luge & Skyride:
S$12 / Person

Two Luge & Skyrides:
S$17 / Person

Three Luge & Skyrides:
S$21 / Person

Five Luge & Skyrides:
S$29 / Person

Family Deals*
Four ride family pass: S$29
Eight ride family pass: S$49

Skyride only
One Way: S$8 / Person
Two Way: S$12 / Person

*Family deals are applicable for families with a child below 16 yrs old
Age and Height restrictions apply.

Skyride
Min. height 85cm to ride with an adult
Min. height 130cm to ride alone
Luge
6yrs and 110cm or taller to ride Luge alone

Opening Hours
10 a.m. – 9.30 p.m. daily

I have been wanting to blog about this for some time…but I have only just found the time! It is about our trip to The National Museum on National Day!

Besides the Museum offering FREE Admission to all that day, it had a children’s program for all visitors as well! Based on the theme
“The Swinging Sixties”, there were lots of games and activities based on that era!

The Fun Fair was designed in such a way that you had to complete all the activities to get a special prize!

Here’s a picture of my enthusiastic models with their game cards!

Basically, as the games were based on those that were played in the 1960s, the booths were all very simple in design. However, the games still required a lot of skill, and they were still a challenge for the adults and children. From tossing the hoop into the cans, the kids also had to shoot at objects with a toy gun! Full marks to the museum for their creativity!

One of the booths that the family enjoyed, was when we were given the chance to make our own badges!

Here is a sample of the badges that we could make:

Cool right! With the vision of our badges presented to us, the kids got into a colouring mode.

After colouring our papers, we brought them to the staff manning the machines. With a pull of the lever…

The kids all loved it… and many families all huddled together to make their badges…

There was even a dance workshop, so that you can swing like the “Swinging Sixties”

Daddy’s Favourite activity was the 60’s costume dress-up.

The queue was mega long, and we were blessed to be one of the last families that had a chance to dress up!

Check out Elvis…:)

And Baby Elvis…

And my little La Mei! (Spice Girl)

And of course…the Psychedelic family

Museum Day is really fun…and the family are converts! Look out for Museum events as they are really cool…and best of all…it’s FREE!

Just visited  Daphne’s blog recently and I stumbled onto this article about a local food Blogger called Lady Iron Chef.

The controversy seems to have gone upscale by getting itself reported on Yahoo news and making its rounds on the internet.

According to Yahoo News:

A young food blogger had demanded that he and his three companions be given free meals at an upscale restaurant in the Joo Chiat area.

When presented with the final bill of $435, the blogger initially refused to pay and repeatedly told the restaurant’s chef, “I never pay for food in any restaurant.”

The restaurant eventually offered to waive off the cost of the meal for him and his partner as well as the cost of the champagne out of goodwill, thus lowering the bill to $159.

Still upset but finally relenting to pay, the blogger then threw his credit card onto the bar counter in front of the cashier before storming out.

Personally, I don’t know the Blogger in question and I actually thought that the blogger was female, until I read the article in Yahoo.

As the Blogger has not been out to defend himself, I feel that in this case, we might have to give the blogger the benefit of a doubt. I believe that it is more appropriate to  hold one’s peace until we have heard the other side of the story.

We must realize that everyone has an agenda…including the friendly News provider…

However, I think that the issue does bring out certain points to ponder about:

My current Blogging escapades seem to have brought me certain benefits, as people have began to ask me to review their products and it even got me to Club Med!

I, for one am not complaining, as I really enjoyed Club Med, and I also enjoy meeting new people as well. However, as blogging started out as a hobby for me, I have not given the commercial aspects much thought until today.

Basically, I just write and take pictures, because I enjoy it, and it’s also a fun way for me to communicate with my family and friends. I strive to  get the basic idea across that Parenting is Fun, and that there are people out there, who laugh at themselves and their kids too!

However, I also understand that it is difficult to write unbiased reviews, especially when money or some other fringe benefits are involved.

Is there a way to strike a balance?

1. Maybe Bloggers should just label their posts more deliberately, especially when it is a paid Advertorial.
2. Bloggers should have a certain level of integrity. I seriously don’t want to recommend to my friends a really lousy dieting product and find out that they suffer from liver failure in the near future.
3. Can’t think of any more points at the moment?!? Maybe you guys can help me…

And lastly, I think that everyone makes mistakes. To err is human, to forgive is divine…

Maybe we should just be less critical and more forgiving. After all, at the end of the day….Oh yeah, Oh yeah, Oh yeah is just a cheer!  

Mummy blogs…

So we’re back to humid reality. It’s been about a day, and the whole family is still a bit in limbo… some call it holiday-sick, I call it Club Med sick.

Yes, Club Med was that fun, that relaxing, and that great a holiday! Bali was well, just Bali.

Edmund blogged about it, and he certainly showed the adrenaline and excitement we experienced. I figured I should a La Femme 4-point review of Club Med!

Let’s start!

1. Club Med makes women forget that they need to diet (I didnt use the fat word!)

[A] The unofficial dress code for women: Anything comfortable! Close to 80% of the women there were in bikinis. There was maybe only one with a body like Angelina Jolie. The rest were regular women with flabs on arms, spares on the tummies, droopy boobs, cellulite all over. To cover up, just a simple shirt or sun dress! There’s definitely no push –up bras and no corsets. I think we were really just there to relax, and not be concerned with inadequacies!

[B] There’s food & drinks everywhere. Buffet, Ala-carte, Cocktail, Mocktail, Smoothies, you name it. And it’s available all day and for free!

2. Club Med gives you freed-up couple time

Yeah! We travelled with kids, and at Club Med, we could ‘deposit’ the kids at their respective club from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.! The hours were flexi such that if you wanted to pick them up earlier, you could!

Now, the beauty is, the kids got to do what we tried, only at their level, at their pace, and with trained instructors. E.g., they had Yoga, Windsurfing, Trapeze, Golf, Archery etc during their club time. And Mummy and Daddy got to try all that too, without worrying about their life jackets, drink enough water, look out for them while I try it… you mummies know what i mean?

Of course, we did the Singapore thing. We got their time table, and when they were trying out interesting stuff, we sneaked in from some bush/wall to watch them! haha… yet we didn’t want to risk them seeing us, and wanting to follow us!

We got to try out some stuff that we couldn’t if the kids were with us. We went snorkeling, aqua-fitness class, golf, archery, drinking at the bar, and of course stalking them!

If you are worried about capturing the Kodak moment, Club Med has photographers all around taking all these shots! At the end of the day, just go to the photo booth, check out the hundreds of photos taken, choose the ones that has your kid or yourself, pay a nominal fee for each and you got those moments! Not bad ya?

3. Club Med is the place for the whole family and friends

We saw guests who were there with their large extended families or with close family friends. It looked really fun! Imagine, the kids all got to play and spend time together WITHOUT parents! And the parents got to play and spend time together WITHOUT kids!

The place is designed such that you only go to your room to sleep for the night. The TV in the room is small, the layout is simple but comfortable and there’s no room service. They really want you to come out and not get stuck in the room. So if you are hungry, food is in abundance, if you are thirsty, drinks are in full variety and in abundance. And, ALL FREE!

4. Club Med is just simply the place to go!

Oh! We found out there’s an in-house doctor at all Club Med resorts. Ours was around from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. Thereafter, a nurse would tend to you if you need medical assistance. The sick bay or Infirmary was stocked like a regular clinic. If you need medication, you have to pay for it, but consultation is free! Assuring?

We over-packed for the trip. This is what I would propose for a 4 day trip (i didn’t do a kids list, cos all parents would still over-pack regardless!):

- Sunscreen                                                                                                                                    – Swimwear (women: just get the bikini. really. regardless of age!)                                     – Tees/Dress/Shorts for 2 days (it’s just to wear over the swimwear!)                                – Track Shoes (only if you insist… I went to the Golf Range in my flip flops!)                                                                                                                                                 – Flip flops/Sandals/Crocs (anything that dries fast)                                                              – No need jeans, jewellery, hair gel

My conclusion? Go to a Club Med when you have no intention to travel out and visit touristy locations. You don’t need to spend a cent, don’t need to travel out. All around Club Med, there are little reminders of your location.

For us, there was one day of the week where the evening programme is dedicated to a cultural performance, with an artefact/ornament fair so you get your dose of Bali’s traditions and history.

You know what I did when I first got back?…I googled Club Med Bintan!