NYAA Entry - Skills - July and August - Electricity and Electronics

Date: 8/7/07 - 6 hours

• Online self learning in the morning on basic concepts of electricity such as safety regulations as well as resistance and circuit breakers etc.


• Afternoon practical on usage of analouge ammeters and voltmeters, how to operate them at the correct range, positioning of meters and reading of meters.

Date: 15/7/07 - 3 hours

• Practical lesson in the afternoon to verify ohm's law using simple circuit and multimeter.
• Also, practical drawing of simple circuit diagrams.

Date: 22/7/07 - 3 hours

• Practical lesson to verify the resistance of several resistors using mulitmeters in a series circuit.

Date: 29/7/07 - 3 hours

• Practical lesson to investigate the value of current flowing through various series circuit using a DC power supply unit.

Date: 12/8/07 - 6 hours

• Morning self directed learning on the use of series and parallel circuits in domestic apartments.
• Afternoon practical on the investigation of voltage drop across each of the parallel branches.

Date: 26/8/07 - 3 hours

• Practical lesson on the usage of series-parallel circuit.
• Drawing of schemetic circuit diagrams.

Laos EOY Trip Itinerary

Hi guys, sorry this one took me so long to come up with. This would be our tentative itinerary for our trip, which can give you a rough gauge of what we are doing. Plan your own budget, baggage etc. with all the information available on this blog to be sure of what you are doing.
Do give me your doubts or feedback regarding this post if you have any, thanks!

Fusionoize Laos

Day	Date	Morning	Afternoon	Night	Remarks
1	3/12	Meet at: 0430 Check-in + final baggage check + breakfast? Singapore-Bangkok Flight: TR 102 Departure Time: 0630 Arrival Time: 0750 (local)	Arrival in Bangkok Est: 0900-1000 Baggage to be stored at Hua Lamphong Station after buying tickets first Early Lunch + Bangkok Orientation + Preparation of items	Overnight train to Ubon Train: EXP67 Departure: 2030 Reach there by 1730 Dinner in Bangkok	No need to have any lodgings here. Must follow schedule closely though, as train leaves once per day Note: time of departure is 4AM
2	4/12	Arrival time: 0530 Breakfast Bus to Warinchamrab then to Phibun	Arrival in Chong Mek from Phibun Est: 1300-1400 Lunch + border crossing Bus to Ban Muang Kao Boat across Mekong to Pakse	Arrival in Pakse Est: 1800-1930 Dinner + Lodgings for the night in a guesthouse Planning for the next day’s activities	Time here is just a rough guide, there is more than one way to Pakse from the border. Just hope to reach there by nightfall.
3	5/12	Breakfast in Pakse Pakse- Sipandon Bus ride: 4-5hours (120km) Leave at 0800	Arrival @ Muang Khuong Est: 1200-1300 Lunch + recce of Don Khuong and nearby islands for service + sightseeing	Dinner @ guesthouse/restaurant Lodgings for the next 4-6 nights Plan for next few days of service	Have to liaise with locals on service, implementation of plans after recce trip of area
4	6/12	Breakfast in Sipandon 0600 wake-up call Service/sightseeing	Service/sightseeing Must be spread over few days Eg. Mekong river, Li Phi falls etc. Lunch in Sipandon	Dinner @ guesthouse/restaurant Debrief for the day and planning for the next	The locals rise early and sleep early (2200 curfew), so we would have to keep up
5	7/12	Breakfast in Sipandon 0600 wake-up call Service/sightseeing	Service/sightseeing Lunch in Sipandon	Dinner @ guesthouse/restaurant Debrief for the day and planning for the next	Our project would be done over 4-5D during this period in Sipandon
6	8/12	Breakfast in Sipandon 0600 wake-up call Service/sightseeing	Service/sightseeing Lunch in Sipandon	Dinner @ guesthouse/restaurant Debrief for the day and planning for the next	Muang Khuong would be our be our base as we remain in Sipandon and her islands
7	9/12	Breakfast in Sipandon 0600 wake-up call Service/sightseeing	Service/sightseeing Lunch in Sipandon	Dinner @ guesthouse/restaurant Debrief for the day and planning for the next	It only takes a while to get around the Sipandon islands, so we will have the same lodgings
8	10/12	Breakfast in Sipandon 0600 wake-up call Sipandon-Pakse Bus ride: 4-5hours	Arrival @ Pakse Est: 1200-1300 Lunch + Lodgings Sightseeing (motorbike rental) to Tad Lo	Arrival @ Tad Lo Est: 1800-1730 (Bus takes approx. 2.5 hours to get there from Pakse) Dinner + Lodgings Debrief for the day and route planning	Our baggage becomes a problem as we need to find a place to store them while we ride around the Bolaven plateau, unless we bring them along
9	11/12	Breakfast in Tad Lo 0600 wake-up call Tad Lo – Paksong	Arrival @ Paksong Est: 1130-1230 (Bus takes appox.1.5 hours from Pakse) Lunch Paksong - Attapeu	Arrival @ Attapeu Est: 1800 – 1830 (Bus takes 5-6 hours from Pakse) Dinner + Lodgings Debrief for the day and route planning	We will sidetrack from the main roads as there is plenty to see, so we will take more time. Just ensure we are in a town by 1830 before nightfall
10	12/12	Breakfast in Attapeu 0600 wake-up call Attapeu - Pakse	Stopovers @ villages of either Ban-Mai or Ban Pha Pho Lunch Continue toward Pakse through Ban Thang beng	Arrival @ Pakse Est: 1900 (unsure as this route is rather unknown) Dinner + Lodgings Debrief for the day and planning for the next day	This day would be rather tight with the timingas we are covering the most distance here. If it is not feasible, we can try to stay over at one of the villages along the route
11	13/12	Breakfast in Pakse 0600 wake-up call Exploration of areas around Pakse	Exploration of areas around Pakse E.g. Champasak, Wat Phou etc	Pakse Dinner + Lodgings Debrief for the day and planning for the next day	We can mostly finish up whatever we want to do in Laos before leaving the next day here
12	14/12	Pakse - Buffer Day	Buffer Day	Buffer Day	Just in case we cannot finish our service. We can also simply leave earlier and spend one more day in Bangkok. But more costs…..
13	15/12	Breakfast in Pakse 0600 wake-up call Check- out + bye bye Laos! Travel to border between Laos and Thailand	Border crossing Border – Chong Mek – Phibun – Warinchamrab – Ubon Lunch in one of these towns will do	Overnight train to Bangkok Train: EXP68 Departure: 1830 Reach there by 1730 Early Dinner in Ubon	We will spend one day traveling back into Thailand, hopefully by another way e. g bus/boat etc
14	16/12	Arrival @ Hua Lamphong Arrival: 0530 Breakfast + Lodgings Bangkok Orientation	Bangkok Orientation Lunch	Bangkok Orientation Dinner	Budget here per person is totally up to you, just spend within your means
15	17/12	Breakfast Bangkok Orientation	Check-out by noon if necessary Bangkok Orientation Lunch	Reach there by 1830 Check-in + baggage checks + Early Dinner in Bangkok Bangkok-Singapore Flight: TR 109 Departure Time: 2010 Arrival Time: 2330 (local)	Tell your parents to be at the airport, say @ 2345 as we all know this #@^#$%& airline is never early. Just kidding…

Things You Should Know About Laos - PART III

Hi to all once again,
this would be our final installment for the Laos must-knows, so please read up on the previous ones if you haven't done so yet. I hope to see all of you guys on Friday in VS @ 2 in the afternoon as i have a meeting with Khooky to discuss about our itinerary (hint: Cambodia might be included!). Do try to come if you have any doubts or comments regarding this trip, thanks!

JW

Transport:

Laos is a large country with a small population; with its' mountainous terrain and rainy monsoons road construction is more of a challenge. Getting around in Laos would rely mainly on boats, buses or even bikes.

Boat: Prices vary according to vessel size, number of passengers, length of journey or even time of the day. There are many ferries and boats for hire up and down the Mekong river which we will be doing our service at Sipandon. Do not expect sheltered decks or even life jackets, as a boat ride is very cheap though it is rather dangerous.

Bus/lorry/songthaew: This would be the main form of 'public' transport. Expect glassless windows, narrow seats with little legspace and sharing the bus with livestock or sacks of farm produce. These include old Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles, mostly running on poorly maintained roads. The roads in Laos are quite unpredictable due to frequent stops, weather conditions that affect the mud tracks and more often, vehicle breakdowns. Expect to have unprecedented stopovers along the way; patience is the key word here.

Bicycle/Motorbike: These are more common in Southern Laos where bike and motorbike rentals are available to tourists, charging by the day or mileage. We plan to ride around the Bolaven plateau on trusty motorbikes we saw in Vietnam for the thrill and experience over a few days. Sipandon is also best enjoyed on a bicycle, which can be covered within 2 days to finish all the sights.

Car/car hire: A car can be rented for US40-80 day with a driver. This would be too expensive although it would be an alternative to non-existent taxis in Laos. Furthermore, only one of us can drive not counting those who mastered their skill from a screen, thus this would be just a mode of transport that we would not be counting on as we would not know the roads in Laos well enough to drive.

Hitchhiking: This would be a productive way of getting around for free however desperate it sounds. Most Lao drivers are friendly and would stopover for a ride to the nearest village or town, although these would most probably be trucks and lorries delivering goods as privately owned vehicles such as cars are rare in Laos.

Safety concerns:

Accidents: Road accidents are common in Laos as the roads are unpaved and narrow, so we would have to take note of the following. When taking buses, try to get a seat in the middle toward tghe aisle to minimise serious injuries, while avoid taking speedboats as these do not have life jackets and are very likely to capsize when travelling speeds of up to 70km/h.

Theft: Like every foreign country, tourists have to exercise precaution with their belongings and be wary of things happening around them. When we leave the guesthouse or sleep for the night, do remember to lock the doors before doing so. If we were to take a crowded bus, watch your bags and try not to put any money in your pockets. There have been incidents where theiving duos on motorbikes snatch belongings from unwary people, so please exercise caution at all times. Do note that most shops and restaurants close by 8pm daily and some even earlier, as the town's electricity is cut by around then. Thus avoid going out at night as the unlighted streets would pose a danger to anyone.

UXO: Also known as unexplodede ordance, these are remnants of the Vietnam war towards the eastern border of Laos. It poses a threat to anyperson passing by and ranges anything from land mines, mortar shells and even cluster bombs. 130 people die from UXO in Laos every year according to reports from the the UN, thus never touch an object on the ground that might be an UXO no matter how defunct or old it may appear. Although we might not be going near the conflict zones, we never know when we would run into something like this.

Water: Water in Laos is unsafe to drink directly from the tap and sources such as rivers, so only consume mineral water in serrated (sealed) bottles. Check that the caps have not been unscrewed or drink from bottles with corks or tops. With regards to ice, try to refrain from drinking it although water served in most restaurants are mostly safe and boiled. You might also want to bring some iodine tablets for water purification purposes just to be safe.

Bilharzia is one of the more serious health problems in Southern Laos due to its' close proximity to the Mekong River. You are strongly advised to avoid bathing or swimming in rivers or deep fresh water bodies as the disease takes weeks to develop and can do irreversible damage to your internal organs!

Food:

Lao food receives its' influences from neighbors Thailand, Vietnam and China and even France during her occupation. Examples include rice and noodles as the staple food, fermented fish sauce (Vietnam) and even French baguettes being sold on the streets. To be able to find Halal or vegetarian food would be difficult, although the latter can be requested before ordering at Lao restaurants. Laos is also well-known for its' homegrown coffee on the cool Bolaven Plateau, which is something hghly recommended locally for its' freshness. Lao like to eat noodles with beef or chicken slices (just another way of saying its' pho...) and sticky rice, somewhat like glutinous rice with a dipping. However, it is also possible to find other food such as simple steamed white rice, stir-fried chicken, fried rice etc. in Laos. Fish caught from the Mekong is also widely-eaten in various dishes, such as soups. The local speciality would be the Lap, a 'salad' consisting of minced meat or fish mixed with garlic, chillies, shallot and eggplant etc.


Costs:

The recommended cost is around 20 US dollars a day if we scrimp and save, such as by staying at guest houses and eating at less extravagant Lao restaurants, taking cheap public transport and walking if necessary. If you are planning on buying some extra souvenirs, i would suggest bringing more money there to use. However, do note that price tiering is common amongst tourist areas and we might end up paying for more than we should (e.g. transport, accommodation rates) . Fix a price with the seller after checking prices around to gain a better idea and avoid getting cheated.

Note: Tipping is not a Laos custom, do so as your own whim!

Below are some of the hitherto costs in Laos that i hope would give a better estimate for the daily expenditure:

Entrance Fees to Museums/monuments : 1 USD
Standard Lao meal per head: 1-10 USD, depending on where you eat. (1USD = local restaurants!)
Bottled soft drinks (e.g. 7-Up, Pepsi) and mineral water: 2000 Kip (canned drinks are more expensive)

Eggs & baguette breakfast: US$1

One litre of petrol: US$0.50

One litre of bottled water: US$0.25

Bowl of fo\ve (rice noodles): US$0.40

Souvenir T-shirt: US$2.50

Note: not forgeting transport, accomadation and miscellaneous costs!

Things You Should Know About Laos - PART II

This post would be about the things to expect when we get to Laos. In order to better prepare us, here are some of the things that we would have to expect when we are there. Please go through every singe one of them, thanks!


Currency:

The official currency of Laos is the Laos Kip (LAK), which currently trades at:
1 USD to 9707.10 Lao Kip. Converting it again to Singapore dollars (@ 1USD = 1.52 SGD), that would put us around 1 SGD = 6386.25 LAK. The infrastructure of Laos is not as developed as other countries, thus do not expect any ATMs or even money changers around every street corner. Instead, we should change our SGD into USD or Thai Baht beforehand so as to be able to change them at money changers or banks as these are more widely used than the SGD in Laos.

People:

The people of Laos are mainly Buddhists who had been once a French colony and under a communist government. Lao people also share many similarities with neighbors Thailand (eg. Language, traditions). Lao are a very diverse mix of people with its' many ethnic groups and mountain tribal people (such as the Hmong), with most of its' population being subsistence farmers. The form of traditional formal greeting is the nop, where the hands are brought together at the chin in a prayer like gesture (think of the Thais!), although sometimes a handshake would suffice as the Lao have received influence from their once-colonial masters.
In parts of Laos tourists may be a rarity and it is not strange for the locals to smile upon the newcomers or going up to shake hands. Do not be apprehensive as it reflects well to return the friendly gestures as guests.

DO NOT:
- touch or play with people's heads or hair as it is considered a sacred part of the body and doing so is considered very rude.
- dress provocatively (eg. walk around bare-bodied) as Lao look upon this very seriously as a poor reflection of tourists in their midst.
- use your feet to touch people. The feet are considered to be unclean and do apologize immediately if you step on someone or kick someone accidentally. Also remember to remove your shoes when visiting a home or temple before entering.
- use your left hand to handle things (or at least try to) as it is used for other less hygienic purposes. Instead, use your right to receive something or return a wave etc.
- refuse something. Eg. if someone offers you a drink, drink it as it would be impolite to refuse a host's act of hospitality.
- point with your index finger, it is considered rude.
- take photographs without first asking for permission. (e.g. in village homes, monasteries and sensitive locations such as military installations)
- stepping on door sills of houses. (i.e. men keng)

Climate/Environment:

As we would be going in the month of December, temperatures would be expected to hover around +-25C in the day time while possibly dropping to about 15C in the night. As we would be going during the dry monsoon season, the climate would be cool and dry, so forget those raincoats and ponchos. Instead, bring those personal lip balms and moisturizing creams, not forgetting some warm thermal clothing. (No fur coats and stuff like those who went for Baoding, just thick windbreakers used in Genting would suffice!)

Note: There is a time difference of 1 hour behind in Laos compared to Singapore time, simillar to Bangkok time. Do adjust your watches if necessary!


Others:

When shopping in Laos, bargaining becomes a necessity for all the markets and towns we pass. However, we have to note that Lao people are not as out to make a killing from tourists as compared to those we have seen in Thailand or even Beijing, as Laos is still a relatively remote part of SEA not as popular as a tourist destination yet. Thus when shopping for stuff, when the shop owner offers you a price do not halve his price or something, as they will think you are being rude or impolite. There is a certain limit to what they can accept, thus remember to keep the prices within a rational range in order to get what you want. (Someone better get the hint on this one...)

Post-trip project

Objective:
- to add value to/enhance our expedition to Sapa last year by making it transferable and reproducible
- to assist interested participants in their course of planning an overseas service learning trip by sharing our experience and conducting various activities aimed at achieving specific goals that would be very beneficial to them when they actually execute the project

Who we will be working with:
Mr Wong WL's class 3D of 2007 (a group of 20+ interested students)


YOUR TASK NOW
to brainstorm on what we can do to help them. we are hoping to keep it within 2 sessions (yes we will have to personally come down)

We have split it into 4 sections

- Team Dynamics (DEADLINE 19 AUGUST 2007)
20 is a big group, and they do not know each other as well as we do. this is to basically build on unity, discover team strengths and weaknesses, how to best delegate responsibilities, conflict minimisation and talent maximisation etc

- Factual Information (DEADLINE 26 AUGUST 2007)
this is basically country briefing, where we can discuss issues like weather/climate, accomodation, packing list, language, culture, food, etc. Would most likely involve the parents

- Activities (DEADLINE 2 SEPTEMBER 2007)
this is the most crucial one as it determines what they are actually going to do there. help them set goals and develop steps to achieve it. can include pre, during and post trip actions

- Expectations (DEADLINE 9 SEPTEMBER 2007)
this is actually a session on self-exploration. very individualistic and reflection-oriented. to gauge how ready mentally they are for the trip, and their attitude towards the project, etc

Write on each section these few points, and send to my email by the respective deadlines
- Define understanding goal (what do you want them to learn from this session)
- Performance understanding (how are you going to make them demonstrate understanding/how to you measure success of your understanding goals)
under this section should have the SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES as well
- Ongoing assessment (how can the person continue to demonstrate understanding)
this one also have SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
e.g. reflection writing, setting up a blog, writing down words of encouragement regarding planning which they could refer to in times of difficulty, etc.

ACTUAL EXECUTION
date is still unsure because the EOY Exam timetable is not up yet
but it will be after ours and their exams

THIS IS NOT REQUIRED FOR A PROPOSAL
so dun have to be full sentence

bottom line is: THINK MORE WRITE LESS

Things You Should Know About Laos - PART I

Hi to all once again, this time i am posting about the stuff you guys should all know about the EOY trip. I believe this would be useful as i have summarized information from 3 travel books Khooky gave me which will give us a better understanding of our destination, so please do not merely just give it a glance!

Destination- How to get there:

By now all should have already known that we are headed to SOUTHERN LAOS for our trip, and we would be going from Bangkok (Hua Lamphong train station) through an overnight train ride (presumed to be better than the one in Vietnam) to the Thai border province of UBON RATACHANI. Then, we will travel to WARINCHAMRAB and then the town of PHIBUN MANGSAHAN (known locally as Phibun, approx. 90km).
From there, we will take a bus/pick-up/van/songthaew*/whatever to the border town of CHONG MEK and get across the border on foot after stamping our passports at the immigration 'office' there (do not expect much!).

Things to note:

The traveling plans are strongly subject to many factors such as the weather (roads get flooded there) or even outdated information that we make assumptions on, thus we would have to be conscious of what we are doing in order to change our own itinerary to be flexible.

*A songthaew is just a modified pick-up truck owned privately and would possibly be our main mode of transport due to our group size. It is a common transport feature in most Lao towns, similar to the jeepney of the Philippines in being an 'icon'. (Imagine: the driver would stuff as many passengers in the back with 2 rows of benches facing each other on each side) Btw, songthaew means 2 sides in Lao......

As you can see, we would be traveling long distances over periods of days, thus i recommend everyone to bring less books but instead MP3 players to kill time as the roads would be too bumpy to concentrate on a text.

Although we would be passing through many towns, a quick check of the books reveals that we would not be missing much even if we do not have stopovers as these are mainly Thai-Lao markets that sell daily necessities, not catered to passing tourists.

Previously we might have heard from Khooky places in Laos such as Luang Prabang and Vientiane, but FYI these are in the northern provinces and would not be in our itinerary.


Itinerary - Where and What:

After crossing the border from Thailand, we would then take a bus/pick-up/van/songthaew*/whatever to the Lao village of Ban Muang Kao (45–75min away) and then a boat across the Mekong to Pakxe, Southern Laos's major transport hub, and also our main 'base' to get our supplies or other essentials in Laos. From there, we will travel around Southern Laos to do our service and recreation within 9 days.

Some places where we are going:

Pakse: The biggest Lao town in the far southern area of Laos, where most backpackers and tourists use as a convenient stopover point to access the others parts of the region. This is also where we are basing ourselves at for this part of the trip.

Si Phan Don: Also known as the 4000 islands, this is one of the best attractions there that is highly recommended to visit. It is made up of some river features that form on the Mekong such as sandbars (braided stream). This would be our tentative location to do our service as it is quite remote and distant from the main towns in southern Laos.

Salavan: One of our possible destinations for our planned motorbike trip, it takes a full day to get there from Pakse. It is located near the Bolaven Plateau, where there are plenty of amazing sights.

Things to take note:
These are the major places that we have placed in our itinerary, thus I might have left out some other smaller towns or markets that we might actually visit.
Also, as Lao is a very difficult language(6 intonations!), the places actually come in many spelling forms. eg. Pakse, Pakxe etc. When reading up on your own, just note that these actually mean the same thing.

Thanks for reading till the end, but do remember to check back here as i will be posting a series of must-knows over this week. Please read these at your own time and give your comments or doubts that any of you guys might have.

NYAA Entry - Skills - Overview for July - Guitar

6 July 2007
- Practised plucking of notes and strumming of chords for Wen Rou
- taught interpretation of certain notation on music scores, to repeat or to jump to another line
- Individual playing of Wen Rou

13 July 2007
- Practised plucking of notes and strumming of chords for Wen Rou
- Finalise songs with assessment
- Started on new song Ai Wo Bie Zou

20 July 2007
- Practised plucking of notes and strumming of chords for Ai Wo Bie Zou
- Music Theory: Chords - Major, Minor, Dominant, Addition, Suspended, Augmented, Diminished.
eg. C Key - 1-C 2-D 3-E 4-F 5-G 6-A 7-B
eg. Cadd9 = C Chord + High D

More to read up at:
http://jmdl.com/howard/music/chord.html (Guide to Chord Formation by Howard Wright)
http://www.guitarchordsmagic.com/guitar-music-theory/guitar-music-theory.html (Chords Formula)

- Individual playing of Ai Wo Bie Zou
- Started on new song Qing Fei De Yi as teacher will be away and there will be no lessons for the next 2 weeks