It was my wife's birthday and I decided to her and the kids to a fancy Chinese restaurant. We had a wonderful time and the Top Chef, Mr Lam personally handled the dishes.

Took a family Groupfie...

Took this shot using my iPhone.

By dusk, the lights were switched on. Took a picture of one of the bridges over the lake.

All along the lake, there were activities.

The pier near the 'Needle' monument was a beehive of activities. Never seen a ferry docked there before.

Last Saturday took the family out to the 2014 Hot Air Balloon Festival Putrajaya held at the lake side near Presint 2. This year the event was done very tastefully. In an large area beside the lake, the organisers set aside a place for people to sit and have a picnic. Big bean bags are available (for rent I assume). Below is a picture of one such area.

The official title of the event.

The start of the conference. This conference was also co-hosted by the Romanian Finance Ministry.

This place is reminiscence of SC Malaysia's building. The large skylight room makes the area feel fresh as natural sunlight illuminates the hall.

My spot.

The next day was the conference day. It was held at the Romanian Banking Association training facility 20 minutes walk from the hotel. As the weather was just nice (chilly but not that cold), walking to the event was not difficult at all. This conference was organised by The World Bank to help emerging markets learn methods and ways to improve their respective Government bond markets. A number of emerging markets participated and I was fortunate to be invited to such an event. The set-up was very G-to-G like where everyone sits around a large square table arrangement. To ensure every participants can see the presentation without needing to swing their necks too much, flat screens were placed in strategic areas. The picture below was taken prior to the start of the event.

Above is the picture of the Intercontinental Hotel. When it was built, it was the tallest building in town. In the picture also you can a typical city park with a lot of statues and sculptures. Note the heavily stickers-ed street lamp.

One thing I have to note is the number of casinos as well as the erotic shops in town. They are everywhere. Even the Intercontinental Hotel has a casino. Although I only saw one beggar on the street throughout my four day stay in the city, every time I went out, I would be approached by pimps. Even though I felt safe in the city, the constant badgering by pimps leaves a slight bitter taste to the overall experience.

The Central Bank of Romania has an imposing facade. Romania is very proud of being part of the EU and everywhere you go you will see the Romanian flag as the EU flag flying side by side.

Bucharest is an old and very city. I hardly see any rubbish on the streets. However, I see a lot of graffiti on practically everything in the city. Note the picture below. This is the city campus of one of the primary universities in Romania. Noticed the walls? Weather was a nice single digit Celsius. Excellent weather for walking.

Not a lot of hotels have bidet anymore.

Loads of marbles in the bathroom. Marble is one of the natural stones found in Romania.

Very quaint city that I can't wait to explore.

The room number was #825. The view out of the window is the city of Bucharest. Very low buildings. I was made to understand this city sits on a geographical fault-line and suffers from earthquakes once in a while.

Should be comfortable as a base for the next few nights.

Internet is not free!

Stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in the centre of Bucharest. Got a car that was from the hotel and after a short 30 minute drive, arrived at the hotel at around 1 p.m. The room is very European in concept; warm and loads of fabric.

The airport is reminiscence of the old Subang Airport. Two stories high and a bout 100 meters wide. The car park is right in front of the terminal.

After another 4 and a half hour flight from Doha, I arrived at Bucharest International Airport. The Qatar Airways plan was a small Airbus. A small but modern airport. Weather was a nice 8 degree Celsius.

The lounge was huge but nice.

Due to the amount of traffic on the ground, what with the airport operational vehicles as well as the construction crews, it took us 15 minutes to get to the terminal from the plane.

Doha is currently in the midst of completing its new airport. Until that is ready, a couple of makeshift buildings had to be used as temporary terminal buildings. This meant climbing down stairs from the plane and getting on buses.

Business class passengers getting ready to disembark.

After an uneventful 8 hour journey, I arrived in Doha. It was morning and the sky was clear.

It is 3:00 am and time to board the plane. The airport is still bright but minus the people. Unfortunately, the shops were closed too.

There were more service people then there were guests in the lounge. I got one section all to myself.

Luckily, this is a sanction company trip, hence the opportunity to travel by business class. Qatar Airways is part of the One World Alliance and the lounge is the MAS lounge. Although past midnight, I still tried a lamb chop. By this time the airport and lounge was practically empty.

To ensure that I remember my bag, I took a photo of it. This is also to ensure if ever it goes missing (there is that chance since it would not be the same plane on the second leg of the journey to Bucharest), I would have some documentary proof to show for it. I do pray I don't lose it as the weather in Bucharest is chilly. Trains about to come.... I have to say that the missing MH370 was on my mind then. If given the chance, I would have insisted to travel to Doha via MAS to show my support.

Got another assignment. There is a World Bank event in Bucharest, Romania and I was asked to represent the country in a panel discussion. This will be the first time to that country. Unfortunately, there is no direct flight to Bucharest from Kuala Lumpur. The most efficient way to get there is via Qatar Airways with a transit in Doha. Although not the cheapest alternative, it saves me from needing to collect my bag to change airlines (I may also have to change terminals!). Qatar Airways will be responsible for my bag from Kuala Lumpur right to Bucharest. There is also another small problem. The flight leaves Kuala Lumpur at 3:25 am! Because of the timing, I had to take the KLIA Express train just before midnight. Since Qatar Airways to not have a check-in counter in KL Sentral, I would need to check in my bags in KLIA itself.

Once cooled, you can cut them into bars. Its healthy and has a lot of energy. Try it.

Do you know that it is not difficult to make your own energy bar? With just oats, honey, raisins and any other ingredients that you like (we add chocolate chips) you can make it. The other items you need are a tray and a fridge.

On Saturday, my friend Donald was able to source for me the Lego Technic 42009 Mobile Crane MK II from Singapore for a very good price. This model, with over 2600 parts, it is the largest LEGO Technic set released so far. This model is designed by one of the most known LEGO Technic designers, Markus Kossman. The next couple of weekends will be sweet for me. Will post pictures once completed.

I have created two dedicated blogs (1) http://westernwatch.blogspot.com/ ; and (2) http://easternwatch.blogspot.com/ where I review the watches that are in my collection. The first is all watches from the Western world and the second is from the Eastern world.

Over the weekend, my son's friend invited him for a birthday party at a laser tag outlet in Sunway Piramid. It was fun.

The other side