When it comes to trading, most people think that trading is stressful and boring because it involves staring at a screen the whole day and watching prices move, and then having to execute trades at lightning speeds to make any profits.
That is quite often what is shown in the movies, and very much dramatized.
In reality, there are many different kinds of trading, and here is a simple infographic depicting the main categories.
Generally, what you see in the movies tend to depict scalpers and day traders, which is the most stressful kind of trading. I myself tried it for a couple of years, but it started to take a toll on my health, which I decided was not worth the money, even though it was pretty good.
Hence, I find that the most useful kind of trading for anyone who is doing it part-time, or does not want to get too stressed out, is to use a swing trading approach. This means taking tactical positions to capture the medium to long-term trends.
With just 15 minutes a day, it is more than enough for me to place and manage my swing trades, which leaves me more free time to focus on the things that matter in life.
Of course, there are some drawbacks to swing trading as well, for example your income will be more lumpy as compared to intraday trading, and you will need a ton of patience in waiting to enter the perfect trades, and also waiting for trades to play out.
In summary, the type of trading style really depends on each individual personality and amount of free time, but personally I prefer to use the swing trading approach because it gives me the best returns for my time and effort.
Do you know what is your preferred style, and does it play to your strengths? 😀
https://synapsetrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/swing-trading-vs-intraday-trading-which-is-better-card.webp6301200Spencer Lihttps://synapsetrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/synapse-logo-horizontal-light.pngSpencer Li2018-06-13 23:21:092026-09-09 22:01:19Swing Trading vs. Intraday Trading: Which is Better?
Last week, we had some pretty decent trades in, netting close to US$2,000 in profits for a handful of quick trades, riding on the strength of the USD after the FOMC.
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Over Christmas 2016 and into the New Year, a friend and I drove more than 3,000 km across South Africa and into Lesotho, with a stop in Dubai on the way.
It was my first time in Africa. In 2 weeks we went shark-cage diving, rode an ostrich, did a safari in our own car, and crossed into a country that many people have never heard of.
How far is 3,000 km, really?
Let me put the number in Singapore terms. 3,000 km over about 14 days works out to roughly 210 km a day, every day, on average. The drive from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur is about 350 km, so it is like doing more than half of that trip daily for 2 weeks straight.
The timing helped. December is midsummer in South Africa, so the days are long, with the sun setting in Cape Town at around 8pm, which matters a lot when you still have 200 km to cover after a late lunch.
So why drive at all, when a tour bus could do the work? South Africa drives on the left, the same side as Singapore, so the steering wheel sits on the side a Singaporean driver expects. And with our own car, we could stop for a view, a farm stall or a herd of something on the roadside whenever we wanted.
What is shark-cage diving actually like?
Here is how it works. A boat takes you out to where great white sharks feed, and a steel cage is tied to its side. You climb in wearing a wetsuit and a mask, the crew throws fish bait into the water to bring the sharks closer, and when one swims past, you hold your breath and duck under to watch it. You need no scuba licence for this, which suited me, because I snorkel and do not dive.
Did I really ride an ostrich?
Yes, I did. It sounds like a joke, but the farms there offered rides to visitors.
The ostrich farms are around Oudtshoorn, in the Little Karoo, a town that got rich from ostrich feathers in the late 1800s, when every fashionable hat in Europe needed one.
How does a self-drive safari work?
Most people picture a safari as an open jeep with a ranger. In parks like Kruger, you can also do it yourself. We did ours in Addo Elephant National Park, near Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). You drive your own car on the park roads, you stay inside it the whole time, you get out of the park before the gates close at sunset, and the animals are wherever they happen to be that day.
That last part is the whole game. You drive slowly, you scan the bush, and you watch for other cars stopped at odd angles, because that usually means someone has found something.
Is Lesotho really a country?
When I first told people I was going to Lesotho, I had to add, “Yes, this is a country!”
Lesotho is an independent kingdom completely surrounded by South Africa. Only 3 countries in the world sit entirely inside another one, and the other 2 are San Marino and the Vatican. The difference is altitude. The whole of Lesotho sits above 1,000 m, and its lowest point is around 1,400 m, which is why it calls itself the “Kingdom in the Sky”.
How did the trading fit in?
I kept trading the whole time, for about 15 minutes a day, just as I do at home.
That routine is the reason a 2-week drive across a continent is possible at all. I wrote up how it works, the watchlist, the alerts and the time zones, in how I trade while travelling.
What would I tell a friend planning this trip?
If you are planning a South Africa road trip, the one thing I would tell a friend is to count the kilometres before you count the sights. The country is huge, the sights are far apart, and 210 km a day adds up fast when you also want time to stop.
This trip came 2 months after my trip to Ireland, Iceland and the UK, so I went from Iceland in October to South Africa in its midsummer.
Have you driven in South Africa? Would you get in the shark cage? Let me know in the comments.
All my other trips are on the travel log, country by country, and more photos are on Instagram, @iamrecneps.
https://synapsetrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/dubai-south-africa-2017-spencer-at-the-cape-of-good-hope-sign.webp7831400Spencer Lihttps://synapsetrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/synapse-logo-horizontal-light.pngSpencer Li2017-01-29 02:47:142026-08-22 20:20:11Dubai, South Africa and Lesotho: 3,000 km by Road in 2 Weeks
In October 2016, my sister and I spent 18 days in three countries: Ireland, Iceland and the UK. Iceland was on my bucket list, and this trip ticked it off.
The route was simple. We flew into London, went straight on to Dublin for 4 days, then flew to Reykjavík for 8 days, and finished with 4 days back in London before the long flight home to Singapore. So it went city, then a week of nature, then city again.
What do you do with 4 days in Dublin?
We started with the big three sights in the city. The first was the Guinness Storehouse, where the tour ends with a pint in a glass bar on the top floor looking over the city. The second was Kilmainham Gaol, the old prison where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed, which is a much heavier visit than the brewery. The third was Trinity College, home of the Book of Kells.
Then we took 2 day trips, the first to the Cliffs of Moher, which drop about 200 m into the Atlantic, and the second to Glendalough, a monastic site in the Wicklow Mountains, and on to Kilkenny.
What did we see first in Iceland?
Iceland is about the size of South Korea, with fewer than 400,000 people, which is roughly 1 person for every 15 in Singapore.
Then came the nature part.
Most first-timers start with the Golden Circle, and so did we. Þingvellir is the national park where the old Icelandic parliament met from the year 930. Gullfoss is a huge two-step waterfall. And at Geysir, the Strokkur geyser shoots water into the air every few minutes, so a small crowd stands around it with phones up, waiting. We added Kerið, a crater lake with red volcanic walls, on the same loop.
What is on Iceland’s south coast?
Iceland’s main highway, Route 1, is a loop of about 1,300 km around the whole island, and most people call it the Ring Road. Our stretch of it ran out from Reykjavík along the south coast.
The south coast is waterfall country. Skógafoss is a wide curtain of water you can walk right up to, and on a sunny day there is often a rainbow in the spray. Further east, about 370 km from Reykjavík, is Jökulsárlón, a lagoon where chunks of glacier break off and float out to sea. We also did a glacier hike nearby.
On a separate day, we went north to the Snæfellsnes peninsula, which people call “Iceland in miniature” because it has a bit of everything. It is also where Kirkjufell is, the mountain you may know from Game of Thrones.
Did we see the Northern Lights?
We tried, but no. October is early in the season, so it is never guaranteed, and it comes down to a clear night and some luck. We did not get either, so the Northern Lights are still a reason to go back.
Back in Reykjavík, we did a free walking tour, the Sunday market, the Harpa concert hall and, on the way out, the Blue Lagoon.
What does Iceland taste like?
Icelandic food runs from comforting to challenging. At the comforting end, there is the lobster soup at Sea Baron, a small harbour-side place in Reykjavík. At the challenging end, we tried minke whale. And then there is hákarl, the fermented shark that Icelanders serve in a small cube with a shot of schnapps to wash it down. The smell of ammonia hits you first, and most people give up right there.
What did we do back in London?
The last 4 days were London. We watched The Book of Mormon, had lunch at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze Grill, and did the Harry Potter Studio Tour. With friends who live in London, we took a day trip to Stonehenge and the Roman Baths in Bath. We also went to Dover for the white cliffs, and did a walking tour past Big Ben, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard.
How did the trading fit in?
The same way it always does, in about 15 minutes a day, and I kept supporting my students and traders from the road. Europe in October sits 7 to 8 hours behind Singapore, so the time zones need a little planning.
I wrote up how the routine works, the watchlist, the alerts and the time zones, in how I trade while travelling.
https://synapsetrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/iceland-uk-2016-a-blue-iceberg-in-jokulsarlon.webp10501400Spencer Lihttps://synapsetrading.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/synapse-logo-horizontal-light.pngSpencer Li2016-12-20 03:40:082026-08-05 20:43:13Iceland, Ireland and the UK: 18 Days from Dublin to London, with a Week in Iceland in Between
Source: Forex Useful
