borat is stupid.
and i feel stupid for actually sitting through it.
perhaps it would have been more of a laugh.
if i hadn't been so troubled.

been bogged down by a lot of thinking.
been trying to find answers to so many questions.
or maybe it's just THE one answer to THE one big question.
been getting no help from the relevant authorities.

i'm so tired.

and i'm sick of not being in singapore on special days.
i hate special days.
because i actually do find them special.
and i want to spend them with the people who matter.

i don't want to go away.
i don't want to be alone.
i don't like this empty feeling.

ho ho ho

first and foremost, a very merry christmas to one and all!
*puts on santa hat, takes out santa bag and gives out imaginary pressies*

i spent the stroke of midnight strapped in to my seat
all alone in a plane that was just taking off from dubai.
(i swear, dubai and istanbul are two of the most un-christmassy places in the world)
it was sheer misery.

touching down back in singapore lifted my spirits though.
lovely smses, shouts of merry christmas,
digging everything out of my luggage and showcasing them to my parents,
taking calls even when i was in the shower,
our korean bbq lunch at this nice new place in dempsey (yummy wagyu!!!),
and two sleepyheads driving around.

ho ho ho!
-----

long overdue, but next comes photos from my paris trip!

it was the first sunday of the month,
so we had free entry into the louvre
and jostled with the crowd to look for mona...


i was the only one who successfully took an illegal, picture-perfect shot of mona
woohoo!

walked past an ice skating rink while looking for a place to have dinner
and we decided to try our hands (and feet) at moving on thin ice!
no hard falls, thank goodness, and we got better with practice,
but no socks means i got a pretty icky blister!



my first time ice skating and it's really fun!
we skated (and posed around) in the kiddy rink most of the time
and them french kids were so cute and red-cheeked and smiley!

a yummy seafood (and escargots of course!) dinner
and nutella crepes dessert later,
we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest
before more sight-seeing the next day!

we took pictures at the arc de triomphe,
walked down champs-elysees towards the louvre,
found longchamp and bought the whole shop,
popped back into louis vuitton and exercised self-control,
had a cup of hot choc at la maison du chocolat for a whopping 6.50 euros,
then dinner at a frenchy restaurant near our hotel.



exciting wintery activities and pretty christmas lights of paris,
and actually having nice people to hang out and sight see with.
that's the closest i got to a white christmas this year.
once again, merry christmas one and all!!!!!!

zouk me out

dinner at kuriya before
got me so full i looked 5months preggers.
traffic was bad when he sent me into sentosa,
and we drove around looking for a place for me to change haha

the boot party was a success,
with booze aplenty to keep everyone happy,
and once again, the VIP carpark didn't let us down.
a few new zealand natural cups of green tea and 7up (for me) later,
we headed into zoukout
and hopped in the sand to lawler's tunes.
corsten followed,
and we went wild,
though not as wild as we were last year, i think.





no diamond raindrops fell,
but i did see a couple of trannies' boobs
and an ang moh's dick.
a stupid oaf fell on me,
pushing me onto the sand,
and stumbled off without even an apology.
grrr.

i didn't survive till the end
coz a morning flight and no sleep after that
does not make an energetic bunny zenn.
still, it's good hanging out with the whole gang again.

zoukout 2006 - checked.
next up would be the christmas eve and new year eve parties
that i'll be missing out on.
boohoo

icantsleepandallicanthinkofisyou
-----

show your support
lightamillioncandles

three bored girls

friday night
christmas lights
taitai shoparound
coca steamboat dinner
delinquent photo session

orchard madness

a cute boy i didn't see
hongkong cafe dessert
cheers magazine hunt
butter boogey to close

my loves and i

return of the prodigal daughter

some areas in the city have changed,
but it's essentially still my beloved melbourne.
there's hardly enough time to take a trip down memory lane,
plus sweet tian brought me to see the new /previously hidden places
and i fell in love, all over again.

her fluffy kitty, nemo, left fluff on my new bettina lianos,
but he's so cute, especially when he licked water off the tap,
that he's totally let off the hook.
i had my first encounter with a rainbow dick,
got leashed to tian by a leather collar,
and borrowed a top from her to look presentable for dinner at justin's.

of pets, S&M, and a yummy dinner

justin's a fantastic cook
and the potato&leek soup, grilled mushrooms and roast leg of lamb
left me totally satisfied.
to make the night even better,
we cracked open 2 bottles of champagne,
including a delicious rose that left me red and high
and knocked me out for the night.

an early lunch the next day at melbourne central
and tian introduced me to a lovely japanese hole in the wall
that had scrumptious gyu-tan rice.
this trip's also filled with tian showing me exciting coffee places
that seem to have sprung up since i left melbourne
(or that i was simply blind to).

gyu-tan don, monkey graffiti and underground cafes

the artwork at these places were so gorgeous
i wish i could bring some of those walls home.
plus that cactus - i adore that cactus. haha

i love melbourne
(and i love tian)
=P

jungfraujoch.jpg

postcards from switzerland

can't wait for the rest of the crew to send me photos
since i'd probably have flown to zurich twice more
before they finally email me
so i'm just going to settle for the ones i took.

spent the first night taking a quiet stroll downtown
popping into bally and not buying anything,
grocery shopping and failing to find the chocolate i've been searching for
since the last time i holidayed in zurich,
and walking to the lakeside to feed the giant swans.

streets of zurich

got up bright and early the next morning,
rented a car and went on a road trip to the mountains!
we stopped by the town of luzern for a stretch, some photo moments
and a cup of hot chocolate to ward off the chills.

autumn colors of luzern

the scenery en route to jungfraujoch was breathtaking.
we got a tad lost and ended up having a late lunch in interlaken
at the local hooters no less!
when we finally made it to grindelwald
the last train up to jungfraujoch - top of europe - had left,
so we took the next best alternative,
and went up to the second highest peak - kleine-scheidegg.

it snowed!

it was snowing dreamily when we got there
and it looked like a scene out of some wintery fairytale.
we snow-fought and built an unsuccessful snowman,
found a ready-made one and took pictures with it,
and got totally wet and cold.
after a while, it turned dark rather suddenly
and was awfully quiet coz we were the only ones there
so we finished with mucking around with the snow
and headed into the nice little cafe
for another cup of hot chocolate to warm our red-nosed selves up
and to wait for the last train to take us back down to the foot.

next time i fly to zurich,
i want to go all the way up to jungfraujoch
and hopefully, it'll be ski season then!

my birthday treat


"you pick. surprise me," i said.
now i can't get over
how he managed to choose the one restaurant
that i had in mind.

hanging out @ mt emily

taitais hang out

hanging out @ mt emily

i love trying out new food places with my girls.

home sweet home

switzerland's wonderful and my road trip was a great success.
a beautiful drive to jungfraujoch,
soft snowflakes falling from the sky,
snow fights, snowmen and hot chocolates.
i'll post photos once i've got more from the others.
(same goes for XLB photos from shanghai - hinthint YIQIAN!!!!!!) haha

it's good to be back though.
went for a much-needed facial after i touched down,
followed by lunch with mum,
a short rest then dinner with him,
and a long after-meal walk by the beach
filled with some serious talking, crazy laughter,
plane-watching, stone-stepping and childish mucking around.

armin on saturday - woohoo!

today's the last day to vote for ME
at www.vibrantshots.com!
please please go drop in your name, NRIC and contact numbers
and stand a chance to win a SONY T10 camera
and let me not end up as the winner from the bottom up! =P

greetings from zurich!

spent the afternoon at suntec just before i flew here
and checked out the singapore motor show.
the cars weren't terribly exciting
(except for a couple of ferraris that never fail to impress)
but we got tickets for the very last subaru stunt performance show
without even having to queue
coz we met a friend of his who works there *wicked laughter*

russ swift gave such a performance!
spinning donuts, doing two wheelies,
and parallel parking without going into reverse
into a space so tight
i'd crash and burn if i ever tried to do it.
(i've got video clips of them but i don't know how to upload them here)

he rushed me home after that,
and 2 hours of frantic packing and dressing up ensued,
followed by a 12 and a half hour flight
and here i am in cold cold zurich.
it looks completely different from when i was here on holiday 6 years ago,
so it's interesting exploring the downtown area earlier
and feeding some giant swans in the lake.

i'm gona go on a road trip to the mountains tomorrow! wheeeeeeeee!

i don't need this pain

no one knows
what's going on in there.

why can't you just tell me?


wrong time
wrong me
all the time

first foot experience

your sole is one of the most annoying places
where a mozzie can bite you

*scratch*
argh

happy birthday to me!

i am officially in my mid-20s!

i am old.
*peers at my wrinkles with bleary eyes*
but i didn't let age get in the way of celebrating!

it all started with sharon and cherie's swensen's surprise
right on the dot at 0000hrs of 9 november 2006.
our casual (or so i thought) meet-up was made all the more special
when they got the staff to send us a cake,
and sang me a hushed and unembarrassing birthday tune.
it also evolved into a 7-hour chit-chat/share sorrows-&-stupid-people-stories session

got home at 6am only to have to wake up
for an appointment at 2pm =/
i lounged around in paragon alone after that,
sipping a cup of hot choc while waiting for the rain to stop.
he wanted to come get me after work,
but the downpour ceased even before he got out of the office,
so i made my way home myself.

dinner with the family was supposed to be at
a peranakan place along upper bukit timah road,
but it turned out to be closed for the night,
so we went to owen seafood restaurant at turf city
for a yummy seafood spread instead.

dinner ended late,
and by the time we collected the cake (from island creamery)
and i swung by loon's place to get my new camera,
and we cut the cake,
it almost wasn't my birthday anymore.

happy birthday to me!

the next afternoon, i met up with feng and qian
for taitai high tea at marmalade pantry.
we missed the lunch time by a few minutes
and had to settle for tarts and cupcakes
but at least those were yummy too (although the cupcakes're damn sweet).

met him for dinner after a long day shopping
and got my birthday gift that he bought when he's in LA last week.
happy times, and a very sweet night,
but i guess i just had to push it and spoil it towards the end.

butter factory-ed after that with the girls (and some boys)
and drank and danced to my complicated life (right...).
ah, what the hell.
at least mee pok and my girlfriends love me and are decisive.

i self-planned a dinner the next evening
and took edmund's suggestion of trying out le papillon
at red dot traffic building.

we butterflew

i like the wall we sat next to.
tried the "disgusting menu"
otherwise known as the menu dégustation
and the tiny portions added up to fill my tummy.
the cod, beef, and pork that the other tried were also scrumptious,
and so was the exciting 3-storey cake that the staff sent
with a leaning tower of a candle,
compliments for my birthday. =)

checked out st james powerstation after,
and spent the night hopping from movida to bellini room,
sneaking into the chantel room at mono,
listening to a fei xiang lookalike belt out a cheena song at dragonfly,
then back to enjoy the sounds of the lovely live band
in the gorgeous setting of the bellini room.

st james dong li huo che.

i want a wall in my future room to be wallpapered/painted
in a similar manner!!!

anyway, that's that for now,
i'm supposed to have 2 more dinner treats (haha)
but let's see if that ever comes through.
i embark on my 24th year with mixed feelings,
but well, things will get better *fingers crossed*

thank you

to all who smsed, friendstered,
msnd, chatterboxed,
and celebrated with me in person.

it will never cease to amaze and floor me,
how global we've become.
jetsetters sending in birthday wishes
from all corners of the world.

cheers to my beginning as a mid-20s-er!

the partying continues...
(so photos will only come later) =P

a roaring musical & meals fit for a king

lovely london

caught a musical this last trip to the UK
and the lion king proved to be a magical show.
breathtaking sets, amazing imitations of animals, and a live orchestra -
you have to watch it to fully comprehend the sheer beauty of it.

dinner was at papageno -
a gorgeous restaurant near the theatre.
we went a tad crazy taking photos of the magnificent interior
and the colorful blooms that lined the eatery's exterior.

a roaring musical & meals fit for a king

rounded up the night with a walk in the covent garden vicinity,
watching a busker on a monocycle (or whatever it's called),
and seeing the crowd mysteriously disappear when he started asking for cash.

was treated to a 10-course dinner the next day
after long hours on my feet walking down sloane, oxford, brompton,
before heading to bayswater's gold mine
which has, as i said in my last post about london,
the best roast duck and crispy pork and comfort soup in the world.

my last day was spent doing more shopping along oxford street,
and getting into the christmas-y mood.

zurich's coming up, then paris next month.
my bank account's looking rather worried. heh

ahhh...my pictures may be crap but...
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!!!
(click above)

i don't need to win this round,
but it'd be nice to get more votes haha
and you might win a camera!

so please, from 10nov to 24nov,
gime gime gime your votes
(you can vote once everyday!)
while i struggle to take a photo a day
and scour for internet wherever i go!

wayang
the art of faking it

and a skill i have yet to master
(perhaps i never will).

four months and counting,
and i've come to realize that
my survival may come to depend on
my ability to wayang.

how fake can one get?
to have to report on every single thing you do,
just so you get marks for doing your job;
to have to subtly mention that so and so just visted his grandchildren in london,
just so you get marks for your PR skills;
to have to say that you walked the entire length of the plane,
just so you get marks for being helpful and cooperative.

the shallowness of it all is getting to me.

someone told me recently:
"in this line, 'please', 'thank you' and 'sorry'
are of no value".
they're terms thrown about freely,
just to save your own ass, and make other asses feel better.
another commented when they saw me give a passenger
some peanuts along with his drink (without him asking for them):
"wah, you must tell the complex leader,
if not no use going the extra mile!"

it is no longer enough that the passengers are happy,
coz what's the point of doing something
and not getting credit for it, right?

what fucking bullshit.

at the same time, it sucks that i'm doing all these
and not getting any recognition for it.
no, wait, that sounds wrong.
i don't need to be praised, i don't need no compliment.
i just want to be treated decently,
and be seen as someone who is doing her job well.

don't you have eyes to see what i do?
granted maybe not all, but at least some?
isn't that part of "situational awareness"?

the fake smiles, the inane conversations,
the vapid gazes, the robotic replies.
the worst are those who think they can be rude and curt
just coz i'm most junior.
hello? i'm human too.
and there are nicer ways to correct me
when you think i'm doing something wrong.

i wish they'd all go away.

of course, i've met many more who are genuinely nice,
the sweet ones who go out of their way
to help me when i'm slow.
the kindly ones who take me under their wings
and show me the tricks of the trade.
the lovely ones who guide me along and comfort me
after i've made a booboo.

and i'm thankful to each and every one of them,
for without them, it'll be sheer hell.

a few rotten apples can really spoil my mood though
and give me a disgustingly horrid check report.

it's tragic that my livelihood depends on them.

g-suited!

of bananas, not pumpkins

B1 and B2 came out in their pjs
to have some late night halloween fun
that began with a boot party
at the end of a little dead-end road named river valley green.

the night bananas came out to play

gracie, lou and i went as humans
and mingled with the fruits, a bouncy rabbit,
a humsup mechanic and a dead race queen, among many others.
we even got red-beamed by unknown terrorists
wielding scary sniper rifles.
jj, whom we haven't seen since goodness knows when,
made a special appearance as brandy's twin.

i thought of going as a smoker,
complete with yellow box, fag hanging from my lips
and an ash tray perched on one shoulder,
but i'm a lazybum.
i did play dress-up earlier in the night though,
and could have gone to the party
as a dashing fighter pilot in an anti-gravity suit:
(you should have seen the helmet!)

partially g-suited and ready to rumble!

if only the gear wasn't so big,
and didn't cost thousands! =P

was supposed to report for a BKK.
woke up early and was all changed and about to step out of the house
when i received a call to tell me that i don't have to be there
and am now on standby.
"aircraft downgrade. we'll call you if there's anything".

righty-o.

so i'm supposed to just sit around,
nap with full make-up on,
and maybe take my bun out for a walk?

ARGH!

scaredy seeks a home

oh give me a home...

heard a kitty mewing piteously for the longest time
so i went downstairs to take a look.
it hid from me for quite a while *massages sore legs*
before venturing out bit by bit
and eventually allowing me to hold it.

scaredy seeks a home

scaredy has been fed
and is really quite clean.
but now scaredy needs a home
(coz my parents are heartless).
please let me know if you can adopt it!
(yes, i forgot to check if scaredy's male/female)

God was so surprised that i actually went for a swim today
that he ordered a thunderstorm right after i got into the cab and left the club.
-----

i want the princess hours vcd!!!!!!!!!
*nudges fengmin, puppydog eyes at aunty sai*
-----

i like dou miao
and i like it that he lets me order dou miao
even though he thinks it's rubbish veg.
-----

there's a little black alarm clock
somewhere in the world,
that doesn't have my name on it
but really does belong to me.
i'm sorry i left you on the bedside table in that foreign hotel.
-----

i need more books.
-----

i just killed a baby roach
by placing a newspaper on it
then stamping on the newspaper real hard.
my mum came out of her room to find out what happened,
and i got dad to lift the newspaper up to see if the carcass was there.
i told him that the roach's real big. ARHAHA
-----

i think it's time i go to bed.
(and time for cinderhelly to start studying heh)

glory glory man united

MANchester, not MANila

i know the F16 flies much faster than my boeing,
but it still doesn't take me 13 hours to get to the philippines.
the toot. =P

anyway...

no trip to manchester will be complete
without a visit to old trafford.
so despite there being no afternoon tours
coz it's the day before the big match (manchester united versus liverpool),
the 3 of us still took the leisurely bus ride to the stadium,
just to have a look.

we saved the 6pound entrance fee to the museum
since we got there just as they're about to close for the day.
the nice lady waved us in,
and we raced around inside,
like camera-wielding rabbits with foxes chasing after us.

glory glory man united

plenty of silverware on display,
and lots of red, as expected.
pity we couldn't go for the tour,
and missed out on sitting in the stands
or maybe kicking a ball on the field itself!

would have gone for the big match
if the "normal" tickets were still available.
but i wasn't prepared to part with 150pounds,
just to get one in the black market.

the next day was a sunday
and the cathedral near my hotel called out to me.
the 10.30am eucharist marked my return to church after quite a while.
it was a nice, friendly atmosphere filled with lots of old folks
and a rather entertaining preacher who spoke of terrorism and racial harmony.

called to church by the tolling of the bell

the rest of the day was spent
walking down manchester's main shopping strip,
checking out primark and arndale,
popping into M&S and H&M and the many boutiques.

oh, and a 92-year-old man nearly died on my flight there.
oxygen had to be administered
and an announcement had to be made for medical personnel.
thank goodness there were 2 young doctors onboard,
and their timely help extended the old gentleman's life.
he was very disorientated after the whole thing though,
and his poor wife was worried sick
(and also angry at him for making her worry). =S

meeting the parent

there's something daunting about that,
especially when the first time you see her
is after you've skipped out of the toilet,
and the sound of an additional female voice in the house
caused you to creep to the corner to peep out.

a few moments' lingering,
before taking a deep breath and stepping out.
uncertain.
both heads turned round to look at me,
conversation ceased mid-sentence.

i must say he made it easier for me.
his amused yet comforting grin, eyes reassurring me that it's all right,
then the introduction.
her gracious smile, an outstretched hand,
a few kind words before she finished their conversation
and left us alone.

then later, when we were about to leave the house,
he walked into the room to let her know that i was going,
and i poked my head in to locate her.
my very original "bye auntie"
her half-stand to smile and bid me farewell.

nothing dramatic,
nothing unpleasant,
yet still left me rather perturbed.
i think it's the total unpreparedness of it all.
she might as well have yelled "SARH-PLIIIISEEE!!!" when she saw me.
hahaha now that would have been scary =P

orgasmic piece of meat

whirlwind sydney visit

had just over half a day to sleep and eat,
which is hardly enough.
worst sydney pattern ever!
and with tazzy sick at home,
and glenn (who now owes me a dinner) finding it too late to travel,
it's a good thing trusty bigben was there to save me
from having to have a lonely dinner.

we walked over to darling harbour,
and stepped into meat and wine company
for the most delicious and perfectly done steak i've had in a long while.
it was totally worth the long waiting time
even though i was deliriously weary and hungry.

300grams of orgasmic goodness

*drool*
p.s. no, the chips aren't larger than the piece of meat hrmph. haha

random thoughts and lines starting with "i"

i did my first live safety demonstration this morning and
i think i didn't screw it up too bad.
it's relatively easy, 'cept that when you're not prepared for it at all,
it can get rather jumble wumble.

i kept wanting to burst out laughing at myself.
-----

i experienced the best touch down (of the aircraft type) yesterday.
it was so smooth, so bumpless, so quiet a landing,
it was as if the wheels gave the tarmac a soft kiss.
i wouldn't have known that we'd touched down
if it hadn't been for the slowing down of the plane.

i think the captain deserves a medal.
-----

i am sleepy and grumpy.

kimchi chichi

ah nyah hoh say oh!

kimchi chichi

one short day in seoul gave me but a superficial glimpse of korea.
i sacrificed sleep to catch the earlier shuttle bus to itaewon
where i got luggage tags embroidered
(that seems to be THE thing to do there, other than to buy fake goods).

a huge korean lunch of yummy kimchi
and way too much beef and mushrooms later,
i headed back to the hotel to put my stuff down,
then took another shuttle bus downtown to the posh lotte department store.
i walked past scores of gorgeous korean women
(and a handful of guys with movie star looks)
and ventured into namdaemun where i got plastic-framed glasses made,
before i called it a day.

hopefully i'll get to experience the more traditional side of korea
the next time i fly there.

before male

a weekend of diving in tioman,
with my diveketeers fai and mark,
who made choppy seas friendlier
(even though that didn't stop me from puking).
it's good to be back on board the ruby with them.

back on the ruby

the dives weren't all that spectacular though
since the monsoon season's fast approaching
and the conditions got pretty bad.
we had trouble getting back to land on the first day,
and when we finally reached the jetty,
a terrifying accident happened just as we were climbing out of the boat.

uncle boatman was trying to hold the boat steady for us
when he slipped and broke his shin.
his foot was in a funny angle last i saw him,
and he was bleeding and sitting down,
holding on to the bottom half of his leg.
they had to rush him to hospital - which was a feat in itself
seeing that the nearest hospital was more than three hours away.
he ended up in hospital in JB.
it was scary shit.

i just hope the doctors know what they're doing,
and set him right
so that i'll see him onboard the ruby again real soon.

back in male...

crazy hazy
all thanks to our flamin' neighbours.
on the bright (less smoggy) side,
we can pretend we're in foggy london/paris
(feng's very good suggestion).

i escaped the haze with a week in the maldives
*pictures lotsa green-eyed monsters glaring at me muahaha*
the diving was as good, maybe even better, than the last time i was there -
i saw more manta rays and one of them even gave us a private display,
gliding around us for the longest time.
and the weather was heaps better - not a drop of rain,
just burning rays all week long
that turned many of us lobster red.

back in male...

thanks to the fantastic weather,
we managed to go night fishing.
i learnt that i cannot make a living as a fisherman -
i caught ZERO fish.
it's a good thing the boatmen and most of the other crew
fared far better than i did,
and caught more than enough yummy fish for our dinner.

we went nightfishing!

some less fantastic happenings marred our stay though.
illicit propositions from dodgy island staff,
a mysterious phone call saying that one of us had been airlifted out,
loud knocking of some doors in the dead of the night,
and a broken window and upturned tables and chairs in the balcony.
all very very strange indeed.

crazy shopping in frankfurt

frankfurt - the land of unpronounceable words
many many euros disappeared from my bank account
after just three days in germany.
three days of whirlwind spending
on chocolates (giotto *yum* and hanuta),
on a guided tour to old heidelberg,
on birkenstocks,
on bags (the killers),
and on souvenirs. *help*

crazy shopping in frankfurt

spent my first day with some of my colleagues,
eating at the spinach/pizza/pasta place everyone goes to when they're there.
shared a large serving of spinach, a squeeze of lemon, and creamy mushrooms,
a to-die-for salmon pizza,
and way too much spaghetti carbonara.
that was enough eating to last the whole day.

the more experienced ones brought us newbies to the shopping area,
where i spent my flight earnings (and more) on my first pair of birkies
(plus one for my sis and one for grace),
my first longchamp bag,
my first louis vuitton bag (omg i've gone over to the dark side!),
german chocolates chocolates and more chocolates.
i am a sucker hear me roar.

started out my second day bright and early
with a buffet breakfast at the hotel cafe
before getting on the bus for a guided tour to heidelberg,
which is a city about 80km south of frankfurt.
i traveled on the famed german autobahn
where there aren't any speed limits
except at certain areas and for certain types of vehicles.
it's a pity i was in a bus and buses can only go up to 100km/hr.

old heidelberg provided a different german experience.
its "romantic" bridge, calm waters of the neckar river,
quaint town and magnificent views all round
were a far cry from the more cosmopolitan frankfurt.
i had a lovely time walking down the little streets,
visiting the church and leaving a written wish,
popping into shops every now and then,
and soaking up the bustling atmosphere.

tour to quaint old heidelberg

the old town also boasts of a beautiful old castle
whose ruins loom over the town centre
like an ever-watchful guard.
the sprawling castle gardens,
the rich history behind the building of the different facades,
and the awesome bird's eye view of the town
were almost worth the 68euros tour fare.

spectacular gothic facade of heidelberg castle

touched down friday morning and got a bit of rest
before heading to tioman for a weekend of puke-inducing waters,
a terrifying accident,
relaxing dives,
and some fun with my underwater buddies.
but more on that next time.
gota go pack for tonight's flight to male.
woohoo more diving!!!

a loonie birthday

the night started out at the bottom of the "V" of the "Y"
that is otherwise known as archipelago brewery at circular road.
some deep fried finger food and plenty of crazy drinking later,
we followed a very-high-but-still-walking birthday boy over to zouk.

a loonie birthday

the ian-at-zouk though, was pretty much gone.
he'd stopped shouting at the top of his voice,
and he didn't move around much either.
the poor boy. haha

a birthday spent with your closest friends,
getting silly-drunk
and knowing that they're there to watch your back (literally).
hope you had a great 24th my dear!

the night we murdered yogi

so...i got up to something rather out of the ordinary last night.
the phone rang, and out of the door i went,
to aid ah hock in committing a murder.
yes. a murder.
apparently, there's a bunch of people running around singapore
bearing cards with the faces and addresses
of the targets they have to kill.
it's like, reality murder idol or something.
nothing overly dramatic though - no bloodshed and all that...
they're just armed with water guns or, in our case, a syringe.

we had a stake out at tampines sports hall
where our victim-to-be was having his floorball training.
as luck would have it, we actually are acquainted with our target.
singapore is THAT small.
an hour passed and our target was more interested in hitting a ball with a stick
than coming out of the hall to get killed.
so like all good murderers-to-be,
we walked to maccas to get some fries.

training ended just as we finished with our food,
so all we had to do was to be inconspicuous,
wait for the target to get out through the doors,
before hock crept up on him with an evil grin,
and shot him in the neck
while i filmed the entire murder.

the night we murdered yogi

poor yogi died a most tragic death haha

we (including the dead and his girlfriend) went to yishun next,
to attempt a second murder (of yogi's target).
unfortunately, the lady and her family pretended to be asleep
and refused to open the door
even though we knocked till our knuckles hurt
(admittedly, it's 11.30pm).
ah well, someone'll get her...eventually. heh.

*video of the kill should be up on hock's blog soon muahaha
(and i apologize for the shakiness) =P

can't not eat "ji pa" in taipei! (even if the brand is kuku-G)

was still nursing my conjunctivitis when i left for taipei,
and i went on board contact lens-less
so it was all a little blurry.
but i didn't bump into anyone, or anything,
so all's good.

still, touched down pink-eyed,
and the 2-hour bus ride to the hotel didn't help my aching body.
traffic jam all the way,
no thanks to it being a friday night,
and also to the anti-ah-bian protests that were going on.

managed to make it to the shi ling night market though,
and it's quite interesting to see a sea of red-shirted taiwanese on the train,
all pumped up from their rallying.

the shi ling night market didn't disappoint.
we stopped by the hawker centre nearby first,
to fill our empty tummies with local delicacies
like frog egg drinks and orh lua with funny pink sauce.
didn't buy much as we trooped down the shopping strip,
mainly coz we're rather tired
and we spent too much time looking for the ji pa (fried chicken).

can't not eat "ji pa" in taipei! (even if the brand is kuku-G)

still, it was an interesting first view of taipei
and i'll definitely see more of it (and actually do some shopping)
the next time i'm there.
-----

the boy was in transit at chiang kai shek airport
when i was sleeping in the taipei hotel.
thought that was fairly amusing.
he got my macbook a lovely new traveling case
from the apple store in the states.
it's black and custom-fit,
slim and still with space for accessories,
and it has a lovely velvety inner lining.
so sweet he called me twice from the store,
just to make sure he got the right one,
and also coz he couldn't decide on the color haha

ok. end of blackperiod paragraph. quit puking. =P

well fed and watered...

last weekend saw a bai-ka me celebrating birthdays in style =P
edmund and hoven (no, they're not gay) held a joint dinner do at
the awesome lei garden,
followed by way too much champagne at loof.
it's the first time i bought a bottle of bubbly! haha

well-fed and watered

-----

i went to the doc's for the fourth time in a week,
after i touched down from beijing this morning
and got the stitch removed.
the wound's looking very pink and raw,
but at least it's not bleeding anymore.

and true to my china curse,
my sore eye got worse in beijing
and the doc says that i've got a minor case of conjunctivitis.
yucks.

for someone who's not been to the doc's in eons,
i seem to making regular trips to the clinic these days.

september 11 tomorrow,
and the boy left for the states this morning.
ick. =(

first day's check-out dive, dinner & fish-feeding frenzy

the maldives - a picture perfect holiday

i've been looking forward to my maldives flight ever since i saw it on my roster
and it certainly didn't disappoint.
my very own villa on bandos resort island,
lovely flowers just outside my door,
and a rocky road out to the gorgeous beachfront.
what more can a girl ask for?
(other than better weather and that special someone to share it with heh)

first day's check-out dive, dinner & fish-feeding frenzy

went for the check-out dive at the house reef
after the morning storm passed us by.
it felt so good to be diving again!

most of the crew met up at meal times,
for tons of bread and a wide selection of food
at one of the several resort restaurants.
that first night, we headed to the jetty to feed the fishes
after we'd had our fill of dinner.
the batfish were huge and swallowed huge chunks of bread,
and we laughed at the antics of the shoal of millions of little silver fishies.

the next day was DIVE DAY!!!
another avid diver, joyce, and i started the day early at 8am
and ended up making three dives that day.
among the many colorful underwater creatures we saw
were a 2-and-a-half-metre nurse shark sleeping in a cave
(we went so close to it we could almost touch it!),
and a baby manta ray who made a special appearance
after making us wait while being swept about
by the strong, cold currents on manta point.
the baby manta looked so angelic,
swimming so serenely in the waters *swoon*

made 3 dives and saw a baby manta ray before the storm came in

couldn't dive the next day coz we're not allowed to dive 24hours before flight,
so we spent the rest of our time soaking up whatever sun there was,
and enjoying the peaceful island life.

being hyperactive, i decided to try my hand at snorkelling,
and of course, got myself cut by corals in the process.
i didn't think anything of it,
until a black-tip shark swam past me.
it was only when i headed back to shore after 15mins
that i realized i was bleeding and that it looked like a pretty awful cut.
so off to the medical centre i went, with blood streaming down my leg
and blobs of fats (who knew knees had fats?!) sticking out from my wound.
the nurse and the doctor made "ick" faces when they saw what they had to deal with!

snorkelling's more dangerous than diving

no anesthetic coz the jab'd supposedly hurt more than anything else,
so doc proceeded to cut off my protruding fats (free liposuction!)
and gave me a stitch that hurt like hell.
i think i'll just stick to diving from now on *hobble hobble*

gracie sent me an mms that i couldn't read when i was there,
and i laughed my head off when i checked my inbox after i got home:

only gracie will do such a thing. as pecked always says: "so cute"

she took it at an MRT STATION
with millions of people looking at her
and thinking she was absolutely mad.
wahaha PRICELESS!

i can't wait to go back to the maldives next month
for 3 more glorious days of sun, sand, sea, fish,
and more diving! WOOHOO!

rsaf openhouse

a day above all

spent half my saturday at paya lebar airbase
tanning at the rsaf openhouse.
the sun was blazin'
and left me with a rudolf-nose and a v-neck t-shirt tan.
eek. haha

that aside, i had a great time
with my personal guide who came to join me
after his impressive F16 D+ solo aerial display
that left many little boys telling their parents:
"i want to fry aeropranes!"
heehee

rsaf openhouse

was lucky enough to cut queues (heh)
and be given joyride tickets by one of his friends
so we took to the air in a fokker 50
and enjoyed a view of singapore few get to see.
it's all well worth my sunburn =)

the subway, harrod's and maccas

we're londONErs!

the last time i was in london was after my 'A' levels
on a family trip round europe.
what i seriously missed out that time,
was the wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth and totally irresistable
roast duck and crispy pork (sio bah).
strange as it may sound, london has the best duck in the world!
oh, i'm still drooling just thinking of it.

my colleagues brought me to this place in bayswater,
a quaint chinese restaurant named gold mine
and boy oh boy, what treasures i tasted!
the soup was just perfect for a chilly london afternoon,
the vegs were not-too-oily, not-too-salty,
the chilli was the perfect accompaniment to the meal,
and of course, the roast duck and crispy pork were TO DIE FOR!
*swoon*

wendy and i took the train to knightsbridge after lunch,
to try walk off the heavy meal.
we did a bit of window shopping,
ate krispy kremes,
and spent a lot of looking at wealthy arabic women buying
all sorts of hideously expensive bling bling in harrods.

the subway, harrod's and maccas

i was craving for some maccas
so "da bao-ed" some back to the hotel for a late dinner.
ang moh countries do the best quarter pounders with cheese!
mmmmm......

we headed out bright and early the next morning
for a touristy fix.
energized by yummy egg and bacon croissants from the cafe next to our hotel,
we hopped onto our open-top bus
and began our day's journey with "the big bus company".
i met quite a number of people along the way!

all them famous people came out to meet me

politicians, royalty and sportsmen - i'm so popular!

yeah, i was really touched =P

st paul's, big ben, london eye, tower bridge,
westminister abbey, my friend blair's gates
a cruise down the river thames,
topped off with a long stroll down oxford street.

touristy sights, marks&spencer, delicious duck.

we were all over london
and i can't wait to go back!

mimi's birthday

a tad late, but here are photos
from mimi's 24th birthday bash.
we had dinner at pete's place (oh i just love that place)
and then went to butter factory for a hothot night:

mimi's birthday

it has been proven that mark cannot look normal in photos.
heh
HAPPY 24TH MIMI *muacks*!!!

flying solo

sleepless in beijing
on this second trip to china in 2 weeks,
i was hit by insomnia.
it was a trip marked by tossing and turning in bed,
channel-surfing and lousy telly programs,
swimming in the icy hotel pool,
and exploring the city alone.

i set off early in the day and just missed the peak hour jam.
armed with a "please take me to..." card given by the conceirge,
i hopped into a cab and made my way to the forbidden city.
after shelling out RMB60 for admission, and RMB10 for an english map,
i entered through the gate of spiritual valor
(shenwumen aka the north gate/backside of the city)
and trooped down the "middle route"
that brought me past different halls and palaces of
heavenly peace, tranquility, purity, and harmony.

flying solo

bronze lions, grand architecture, tourist-filled gardens,
musky halls, sprawling grounds and some construction sites later,
i emerged unscathed (but for a slight sunburn)
through the meridian gate (wumen aka the main entrance).

i learnt that many chinese cannot take good photos,
and that even more are rather unfriendly.

walking on, i took a snapshot with chairman mao,
gazed at a very sunny tiananmen square from across the road,
and padded down a tree-lined street to my next destination:
quan ju de peking duck restaurant!!!!!!

quan ju de & counting down to the beijing olympics @ the museum

compared to da dong restaurant (went there on my first beijing trip),
quan ju de's duck's more tender, fatter and much yummier.
da dong's grander though, with proper queues and cheongsum-clad waitresses,
while quan ju de had hollering dian xiao ers and a rather fastfood feel.
i shared a table with a pair of chinese parents and their brat of a son,
and enjoyed a leisurely lunch before heading back to the hotel.

it's quite fun traveling solo
and i foresee having to do it quite often
seeing that every other crew seem to have been to each place a million times before
and all they want to do is sleep in their hotel rooms. hrmph.
i am a tourist hear me roar!

sillybilly @ mint

there's something about china that hasn't failed to make me ill. i had a fever the last time i went to beijing, and this trip to shanghai saw me coming down with a bad flu and a hacking cough. *blows nose violently*

it's a good thing my hotel was great. a nice clean chinesey room with a big comfy bed and all the amenities one would need. i walked into the bathroom and was greeted by two rubber duckies with "take me home" tags round their necks.

duckies

they're sitting in my luggage right now. very cute.

shanghai itself was terribly hot and hazy - the dirty air certainly didn't do my throat any good. the people in the streets (and there were MILLIONS of them!) picked their noses in the open, and spat on every surface in sight. they spoke so loudly and sharply that they sounded like they're quarelling even when they weren't. and when they were, ear plugs wouldn't have kept their voices from hurting your ears.

shanghai

i managed to convince 3 of the other crew to join me in exploring qi pu lu, which is like the lousier version of beijing's xiu shui. didn't buy much other than a necklace and a flower-pin. the clothes they sold were....weird...

was feeling all grimy by the time we went back to the hotel after a quick dinner. took a good shower and a nap before heading out again, this time to meet *drum roll* TINY!!! haha he happened to be in shanghai, so i had someone to hang out with, and and laugh at (whenever he attempted to speak mandarin) haha. we checked out a very empty vault bar at the bund where he had to finish my lychee martini for me, then went to mint (apparently THE place to be on a wednesday night).

sillybilly @ mint

mint was so full of expats that it didn't feel like shanghai at all. the asians there weren't hot, and the music kinda sucked, but everyone else seemed smashed and happy and it was good getting a glimpse of the shanghai nightlife - certainly wouldn't have had the chance to do so if tiny wasn't there! =P

think i would have enjoyed shanghai a whole lot more if i was feeling better, and if i had more time and not have to be back at the hotel to catch a 2-hour rest before flight. but ah well. off to beijing again next week, with hope, i won't still be ill then!