Just Me, myself & I

Great time in KL!

2011-11-30T02:01:00.001+08:00

We didn't get to go to the Black Circuit Party afterall! :( Couldn't get any tickets... So we ended up visiting the SkyBar & Zouk in KL. SkyBar is pretty cool, and has a fabulous view of the Twin Towers as you can see :)

As for Zouk, I didn't enjoy it much since it was way too smoky inside! KL needs to ban smoking in clubs! :P

The Shangri La hotel was great though. Fab service and lovely bedsheets..hehe...

I visited a clairvoyant in KL as well. I've never met one before, and it was an interesting experience. She actually read based on vibrations she received from me (according to her), and she was surprisingly spot on in regards to my character and personality! Freaky! She gave me some good news, so I'm hoping she's right about that too. If she is, December to March/April will be an interesting time :)

Update

2011-11-20T14:38:00.000+08:00

Sad to say, things didn't work out with him. Sigh...

I guess the signs were really obvious right from the start, but silly me, I chose to look aside and thought I saw something decent in him. Guess everyone was right after all! When will I ever learn? :( I didn't want to do it, but I had to cut him out completely, otherwise he'd just be stringing me along for who knows how long! But don't worry,I'll be fine :)

On a brighter note, I'll be going to KL for the weekend with Besey next week! Can't wait! I hope we get to go to the Black Circuit Party. That would be really cool! If you're reading this, and can get us in, PLEASE DO!!! *fingers crossed* :)

Halloween 2011!

2011-11-10T20:36:00.000+08:00

October was an interesting month for me. Got to know many new interesting people :)
As usual, I wouldn't miss the chance to dress up during Halloween! This year, I decided to just go SIMPLE (after last year's outrageous outfit!). Probably will try something more fun next year!

For the first time, I had Besey with me for Halloween! Things didn't work out between Gabriel and her, so she needed to keep busy so she wouldn't think about it. Like last year, we changed at the Fullerton spa, and made our way to Soul Club at Odeon Towers.

CHEERS!

Universal Studios Singapore!

2011-09-04T22:31:00.000+08:00

I visited Universal studios Singapore for the 2nd time last Tuesday, and it was for my company team bonding day. Although it started raining in the afternoon, I had a great time! Honestly, I thought that it would be a long and tedious day since team bonding activities tend to not be very fun... but surprisingly, the organisers planned a great game that was easy and fun :)

And I love theme parks!

These were just some of the stuff we had to do as a group for the game, and we won 4th place! haha...

Here's to more fun days! Cheers.

Nadi Astrology

2011-08-26T10:12:00.000+08:00

I realised many visitors come to my blog hoping to read my previous post about Nadi Astrology... I've moved that blog to another address, but I'll repeat that post here just for all of you! Enjoy :)

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Do you think that you're the master of your own fate? Or that everything is predetermined, and we are all but actors in this big show that is life?

I just discovered something really interesting. Any of you heard of "Nadi Leaves"?

Apparently, it is believed that everything in our lives have already been planned ahead for us, and even recorded down on these leaves about 2000 years ago.

"Nadi Astrology is an ancient Indian method of Astrology to learn about one's past, present and the future. It is said that thousands of years ago, the great sages of Indian had the power to look into the past and future of the entire universe and recorded the life of each human being who either lived, were living or were to live. At some point of time , these discussions were written on palm leaves in an ancient Tamil script, which can now only be deciphered by expert Nadi astrologers.

Each Nadi is made up of a particular ola or palm leaf, written in Vatta Ezhuthu , a Tamil script, with a sharp, nail-like instrument called Ezhuthani. The palm leaves are preserved by rubbing peacock oil on auspicious occasions. These palm leaves are still preserved in the Saravasti Mahal library of Tanjore(Thanjavur), in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The primary centre for Nadi Shastra is in Vaitheeswarankoil, near Chidambaram in Tamil.

The palm leaf inscription of an individual is spotted out by his thumb impression. Lines on the thumb of people on the earth are are classified into 108 types. The Nadi palm leaves are arranged according to these types. The Nadi readers identify the particular types of lines on the thumb and the corresponding set of palm leaves are taken.The time duration to pick up your leaf depends upon the identification of the thumb impression. Some impressions are identified easily and the corresponding leaves are found soon.

Leaves are there not only for Indian nationals but also for foreigners and other nationals belonging to other religions and creeds.The very word "Nadi" in Tamil means -" destined". Hence destiny has leaves for those who wished to have their readings. Those who are not destined may not even know such a type of astrology exists. Even the very age when the native is destined to go to them is marked on the leaves.It is also stated that about 40% of the people in the world only are likely to get these results as available.The other leaves might have been damaged or lost in the course of time. "

According to Indian Astrology, you will only "meet" your Nadi leaf when it is the right time for you to. So if it isn't, no matter how you search, you won't find it.

Of course, this all seems creepy and crazy, but Violet said her friend's friend actually got his leaf, and it contained information like his name, parents names, spouse name etc. Were these all predetermined long before our time?

How is it even possible??

Well, what I think is that as long as I don't find my own leaf, I probably won't be convinced of this at all. Its too freaky! What do all of you think?

My first solo trip... to Egypt! (Final!)

2011-08-25T22:54:00.000+08:00

And finally, LUXOR!

First stop, Majestic Karnak Temple, one of the most impressive of all the ancient Pharaoh's monumental works!

The complex is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world! The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction of temples started in the Middle Kingdom and continued through to Ptolemaic times. Approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere.

More pictures!

To me, this was one of the truly fascinating and impressive sights in Egypt (the other being Abu Simbel, of course!)

I had really good grilled chicken for dinner that night, so thought I'd just share it :)

The next day, we explored the Valley of the Kings - a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom.

The trip started off at the Colossi of Memnon- two 17m high statues on the West bank representing Pharaoh Amenhoptep III

During this trip, I'd already taken a camel ride, so now, it was time for a DONKEY ride to the Valley of the Kings!

It was fun! But my donkey looked so tiny, I was afraid I was going to crush him to death! Luckily he was a strong little fella! :)

At the Valley of the Kings...it was extremely extremely hot there!! And we had to trek from tomb to tomb in the scorching heat.

To think that the colours have survived up to today, and are still as vibrant as they are now. The Egyptian government has really done a good job preserving the tombs.:)

And finally, I've come to my final day at Egypt.... where I return to Cairo. Before the flight back home, I made one final stop at Saqqara to visit the Step Pyramid. During the Third dynasty of Egypt, the architect Imhotep built Egypt's first step pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser, by building a series of six successively smaller mastabas (an earlier form of tomb structure), one a top of another and here is it:

Apparently, the oldest graffiti in Egypt is also preserved there!

Well, that's it. My first solo trip to Egypt. It was an incredible journey for me, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Egypt didn't let me down. Who knows, maybe I'll go back someday :)

A crazy week for stocks!

2011-08-24T22:19:00.000+08:00

Woah... the last few days were crazy...! Right after I wrote the post about Nuskin & Fossil stocks, the market went down, down down...!! Especially for Fossil!! Stock prices fell to $72 from $91! OMG...

Thank god, the market seemed to have improved this week! I hope Fossil goes all the way to $100!! If only I'd dared to buy more when it was at $72...hehe... alright, I shouldn't be greedy! :p

Fingers crossed! Hopefully I have GOOD NEWS to post in a few days :)

Good stocks to invest in now?

2011-08-18T01:20:00.001+08:00

Well, I've recently gotten pretty interested in stocks and investments!

It's time to start making plans for the future, and going into the stock market seems a pretty good way to do so! Of course, I've been watching the market, doing some research. There's no point just jumping in blind and losing all my hard earned money, is there? That would be really stupid actually :p

So, I've recently invested in 2 US stocks: Nuskin and Fossil.

NUS stock is still way above the 200 day moving average, so I'm not worried about it. I believe that it's a great company with a solid future since its profits have been growing about 30-40% annually. Share prices have also risen from US$10 to the current $39 since Jan 09! That's pretty amazing! :) So far, I've made almost US$3 per share, and it's only been 2 weeks. This is gonna be a long term investment for me. With new products launching in October, go Nuskin! Go DOUBLE DOUBLE :)

As for Fossil, the prices have been falling daily...but it's ok... I believe it will definitely rebound, and this is 5star stock worth holding on to :)

In July this year, stock prices were close to US$140 per share, and was on an uptrend all the way! Until it started dropping in August...which is good coz now it's a lot cheaper to buy! :) I do believe prices will definitely go back up to at least $100, so let's wait for it :)

First time on BUSINESS CLASS! woot!

2011-08-10T21:55:00.000+08:00

Yes, for the first time ever, I've experienced taking business class as a passenger :)

It was awesome!!!!
Priority check-in, boarding, huge comfy seats, good food, haagen dazs ice cream and Praline dark chocolates! Wow, I could definitely get use to it :)

My first solo trip... to Egypt! (Part 4)

2011-07-31T21:16:00.006+08:00

Finally, what I came to Egypt to see... Abu Simbel!

In 1257 BC, Pharaoh Ramses II had two temples carved out of solid rock at a site on the west bank of the Nile south of Aswan in the land of Nubia. Because of their remote location near the Sudanese border in sourthern Egypt, the temples were unknown until their rediscovery in 1813.

Nowadays, it can be reached by road or air, but I decided to fly there, and caught the EARLIEST flight into Abu Simbel....4.15am!!

It was total darkness when I reached the site, and hence managed to catch the gorgeous sun rise. Abu Simbel is magnificient and I felt like I was at a movie set especially watching the first rays of the sun peeping above the eastern rim of Lake Nasser and lighting up the temple bit by bit.

This facade is 119 feet wide, and 100 feet high, while the colossal statues are 67 feet in height. The most remarkable feature of the site is that the temple is precisely oriented so that twice every year, on 22nd February October, the first rays of the morning sun shine down the entire length of the temple-cave to illuminate the back wall of the innermost shrine and the statues of the four gods seated there.

The Small Temple was dedicated to Ramesses' favourite wife, Nefertari. At the entrance stand six 10-metre-high (33 feet) rock-cut statues - two of Ramesses and one of Nefertari on either side of the doorway.

The Pyramids didn't impress me, but THIS was truly the Egypt I came to see. It was dramatic and everything I imagined Egypt to be :)

Isn't this amazing... I heart how delicate and detailed Egyptian hieroglyphics are... Made a cartouche necklace with my name in hieroglyphics...unfortunately, I seemed to have lost it :(

Check out my flight ticket back to Aswan...

****
Day 5: One of the days I had been dreading... Felucca day!!!

Why? This was basically IT. There was NO toilet on board, and we were spending a full day and night on it!

Floating down the river Nile...which is about 6670 km (4160 miles) in length and is the longest river in the world.

Felucca chef making lunch. That's the entire kitchen/galley area! And that was all we did that day. Rest, eat, rest eat, sleep!

Finally, the lovely sunset...

We had to stop and park the felucca for the night...and build a toilet!! haha... I'd never gone camping in the wilderness before, but during this one felucca ride, I experienced peeing in the bushes for the first time...! It was kind of weird but at least I can now tell others that I've been there, done that!! :D

The Making of..the toilet!!

Tadaaa!

Our felucca - Princess Ferial :)

Really clever huh!

Anyway, like I said, we didn't do much onboard, so we went to sleep shortly after dinner, and soon, it was morning! And it was freezing... about 5degrees if I remembered correctly. Brrrr...!

Getting ready to leave...

Next, we head to the city of Luxor, the Valley of the Kings & the magestic Karnak temple!
Watch for it :)

My first solo trip... to Egypt! (Part 3)

2011-07-19T00:04:00.008+08:00

One of my favourite foods in Egypt - the Shawerma!

Honestly, I didn't think I'd like it since it was stuffed with relatively big chunks of onions. And they were mixed so well with the chicken pieces that there was no way I could get rid of them, so I just had a big mouth full, and....it was delicious!! And very very cheap... about S$1 if I remembered correctly.

Next up, the Egyptian Museum-home to an extensive collection of Egyptian antiquities!

It was pretty fascinating to see the collection of mummies and coffins there. There were even mummified pet animals! Unfortunately, photo taking is prohibited in there, so...this is all I have :p

Next destination...Aswan! After spending the afternoon at the museum, I had to catch the overnight Sleeper train to Aswan.

The train I took was supposedly the highest level train available in Egypt and it's comfortable enough but definitely not luxurious... Mine was a private twin berth cabin with seats and fold down beds which the train steward helped to make up for passengers in the evening with sheets, blankets and pillows. My roommate for the night? Hillary from Canada :)

Aswan is a city in the south of Egypt, and stands on the east bank of the Nile. The city includes the formerly separate community on the island of Elephantine. I stayed at the Nile hotel with a lovely view of the River Nile.

Now to explore Aswan! First up, a boat ride out to the Nubian beach and Elephantine Island.

Checking out the Nubian beach that was close to a wonderful Nubian cafe-restaurant set in a quiet garden on the west bank of the Nile, against the backdrop of a towering sand dune. Many of the tourists were climbing the dunes and sliding down like kids. It was lots of fun to watch :)

Had an early dinner at a Nubian village with a local Nubian family on Elephantine Island. It was an amazing experience to visit their homes and to experience their very simple way of life. Some parts of their house had no roof and they had only 3 television channels, yet they seemed so happy and proud of whatever they had. It reminded me to be grateful for the things I had back home.

In Part 4...Abu Simbel!!!

A visit to the Singapore Food Festival

2011-07-18T23:48:00.002+08:00

Being the glutton that I am, I couldn't resist visiting the Singapore Food Festival Village at Clarke Quay on Sunday. It promised to be the BIGGEST F&B event in its 18 year history and I couldn't wait to go.

I have to say though, it was quite a disappointment. Or rather, it wasn't anything special at all. Just a huge tentage with various stalls selling local dishes like chicken rice and curry fish head. There was no performance or festivities, and seemed more like a makeshift hawker centre than The Singapore Food Festival...

In the end, my friends and I decided to have dinner at Merchant Court Hotel's Ellenborough market cafe instead. It was good, but I definitely over ate! No more buffets for a while!

If you're interested in visiting the Singapore Food Festival, the village will be at Clarke Quay till 24th July, so you have a few days to go :)

Going vegetarian for a day...!(Or rather...a MEAL)

2011-07-17T11:16:00.004+08:00

Yes, I admit that I'm a true-blue carnivore, and I would never have gone to Annalakshmi if not for Liz and Visit That Festival.

Having said that, Annalakshmi is a very unique restaurant because they do not charge any specific amounts for the buffet they serve. Instead, everything is based on charity, and customers pay for whatever they think is fair. Of course, I'm sure some people abuse this trust and eat like pigs and pay close to nothing, but I believe most people do give a decent amount depending on what they eat.

The food was actually very good, except I don't like vegetables, so it was kind of wasted on me... I did like the rice and curry though! Pity thats all fat & carbs! :(

Still, for fans of Indian vegetarian food, I would highly recommend you visit this place, if you haven't already done so :)

Cheers!

A lovely day at the spa

2011-07-13T22:42:00.004+08:00

"Nested on the hill side next to the Indah Puri Golf Club, amidst lush gardens, sits the exclusive Tempat Senang Boutique Resort and Spa."

That was where I spent almost an entire day of pampering last Wednesday. And it was wonderful :)

I hadn't woken up so early in a long time, but a few friends and I had to catch the 8.20am ferry to Sekupang, Batam, so I was up by 6.45am (Harbourfront is a long way from Bedok!) The ferry journey there was pleasant enough, except the air conditioning was a little too cold :p

We spent a long time clearing Customs and only arrived at the resort at about 10am (one hour late!! ) Well, we were still in a good mood anyway! We're getting a full day of spa treatments afterall!

Choosing our treatments & waiting to start! :)

I'd made the reservation without checking out any reviews of the spa, so I was a little worried at first. However, as you can see from the pictures, there was no need for any worries at all. The resort was beautiful and we were told that it used to be a private villa (wow...imagine living at a place like this!)

We booked the full Day Spa Special with free lunch, which cost us about S$125+ each.

I chose to do the Honey Oatmeal Yogurt facial, Balinese massage, Hawaiian Lomi lomi massage, Avocado Cream hair spa, pedicure and Ear Candling treatment. Yes, 6 hour-long treatments including lunch for only S$125+! Amazing isn't it? In Singapore, I'd probably get an hour massage max!

We got our massages in this very relaxing environment with the birds chirping in the background.

Lunch was awesome! I expected maybe a sandwich...but we got this!

Ok ok, I exaggerated a little... the fish isn't part of the free lunch, but even without it, its extremely good for a free lunch! :)

So for those of you interested in spas, do check out Tempat Senang!

If you get the same package I did, you'd get your choice of 6 different spa treatments from the menu. (Each treatment is 1 hour. )

Recommended to take the 7:50 or 8:30 Ferry to Sekupang and return on the 17:00 ferry or have a nice romantic dinner before returning on the 18:20 ferry. Ferry tickets are not included, and cost $40 per pax.

Enjoy! :)

Welcoming the ebook revolution!

2011-07-09T23:40:00.004+08:00

Will ebooks ever replace traditional books? I think so!

I used to enjoy buying books...That was until I ran out of storage space, and especially when I realised my precious books that I'd been hoarding for years had started yellowing due to the high humidity here in Singapore! Of course instead of buying books, I could borrow them from the library, but the popular books are usually unavailable, and by the time I do get my hands on them, they look like they've been through a war...or a toilet?! Yucks...

Hence, I decided to get an ebook reader.

After doing some research, I had my heart set on getting the Kindle. Unfortunately, I somehow also later got information that the Amazon Kindle could not be used in Singapore, and so I ended up getting a bebook instead. Boy, was that a mistake. Its a lot heavier than the Kindle and my friend recently bought a Kindle, and it works just fine in Singapore.(Darn!) Best thing is, the new Kindle has WIFI and Global 3G so it works anywhere in the world!

If you've never heard of the Kindle, or just need more information, just go to Amazon, or I've also included the direct link for you below:)

Kindle 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 3G Works Globally, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

After that, if you need free ebooks, just get in touch ;)

Lovely birthday celebration!

2011-07-03T22:30:00.005+08:00

It's my dad's 60th birthday today!

To celebrate this milestone event, I took my parents to watch The Lion King today.

I already saw it once in New York in 2008, but watching it again today...it was still spectacular...probably better than I remembered since Little Simba here was a much better singer than the NYC one! For those of you who've been living under a rock and have no idea what I'm talking about, The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name, and has been playing at the Marina Bay Sands theatre since March 2011.

If any of you haven't seen it, please go buy your tickets before they leave Singapore (at the end of this month I think?)

Here's a little preview:

We had dinner PS Cafe @ Palais. The last time I went there (also my first time there), I had such a great experience that I decided to go back today. The service wasn't as amazing this time round, but still better than many restaurants I guess. No complaints, but I wish it was more memorable...maybe its only the first time that's special? haha...

My first solo trip... to Egypt! (Part 2)

2011-07-02T14:01:00.022+08:00

Right next to the Great Pyramid is the Khufu Boat Museum, where an actual solar boat (or barque) was found in a sealed pit! The ancient Egyptians believed that with this solar boat, the dead pharaoh would be able to join the Sun God and sail through the underworld (Don't you just love Egyptian mythology? :))

The boat was made of cedar wood and almost perfectly preserved, although disassembled in to over 1000 pieces.

Magnificient :)

The actual pit where the boat was found.

And finally, the Sphinx! Honestly, it was a lot smaller than I expected! The Sphinx an ancient iconic mythical creature (kind of like our Merlion??:p) of a lion's body and human head. This is the largest and most famous of them all- the Great Sphinx of Giza, which is on the Giza Plateau! Before visiting Egypt, I didn't even know there were more... Did you?

As the iconic symbols of Egypt, it deserves one more picture :)

A lovely panaromic view of the great pyramids of Giza

My first solo trip... to Egypt! (Part 1)

2011-06-30T17:08:00.008+08:00

Ever since I first watched the movie "The Mummy" in 1999, all I'd wanted to do was to visit Egypt. Unfortunately, no one else seemed to share my fascination with the pyramids, mummies and especially the Egyptian hieroglyphics! After years of searching for that elusive travel companion, the intrepid traveller in me decided to finally give up and do a solo Egypt trip!

I have to admit, I was a little stressed out before the trip after many concerned friends and family started going on and on about how dangerous Egypt was..(Thanks a lot guys...)

Arriving at Cairo International Airport on 13th November 2010. Everything went well. Didn't get robbed or anything..heheh...

The King hotel I was staying at was pretty shabby, so no pictures of that!

On my first night, I checked out Old Cairo which contains the remnants of cities which were capitals before Cairo. It was an eye opening experience to see goats wandering around the city!

Khan el-Khalili is probably the most famous and therefore touristy souk (bazaar) in Egypt. Its a major souk filled with an amazing variety of Egyptian merchandise. It was fun bargining with the very funny Egyptian men, many of whom kept asking me if I was Australian (huh?)

First dinner in Egypt! Dips and lotsa meat!! Yum!

Day 2

I'm off to see the Pyramids of Giza!
Amazingly, the Pyramids are really really close to the heart of the city!

Throngs of people rushing to get tickets to enter the Pyramids. Only a limited number of people are able to get in each day, so the more kiasu you are...the better :p

Yay! Got it!!

Tickets to visit the pyramids, and to enter Menkaure's Pyramid - the smallest of the three Pyramids of Giza, built to serve as the tomb of the fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure.

A camel ride across the dunes of the pyramids to the Giza plateau in the scorching hot weather!

And of course..the cliche pyramid poses! How can anyone leave Egypt without them? :p

Makes one wonder...How did the Egyptian people move these humongous pieces of rock, and build so many pyramids with them??

Or did ALIENS really do it...hmmm :p

Its been a while :)

2011-06-30T00:00:00.004+08:00

Yes, it has definitely been too long, seeing how my last post was in 2009!

Inspired by the success of "Visit that Festival" blog that Liz & I started together, I've decided to work on this again and give my old blog a brand new (simple) look! I've travelled a little more since July 2009, so definitely lots to update! Well, its kind of late now, so..maybe tomorrow...

Better late than never I always say!

2009-07-08T16:26:00.004+08:00

My overdue Hokkaido Part 2! :)

First of all, are prices getting crazier in Japan?? ... ONE Mango will cost you about S$49!!
I don't think it used to be so high a few years ago?!

*****

My trip to the Jigokudani or "Hell Valley"... I didn't like it much coz the smell of sulphur was overwhelming... Reminded me of my days in the Science Lab... yucks!

Next, a visit to the Noboribetsu Bear Park. We had to take the cable car (called a "Ropeway") all the way up to the Bear Park.

I couldn't see any squirrels at all... chey~ =p
****

The JR Tower Observatory T38

And last but not least, picturesque Lake Toya...

2009-06-16T11:01:00.004+08:00

Finally, the way overdued gathering...!

On Saturday, we finally met up as a group, after 6 whole months! Well, unfortunately, some still did not show up, but...whatever... :p

We walked around The Central, bickering about where to have dinner, and finally decided on Mr Curry~

I had the Doria, and it was pretty good.
But then, baked rice can't go wrong, I suppose? =p

Headed to Helipad after that...

It was a pretty nice place... I wouldn't mind going again :)

2009-06-09T13:00:00.007+08:00

I'm back from Hokkaido!!!!

How I miss the weather... Its HOT here!!

Unfortunately, it wasn't flower season proper yet, so there were just little clusters of flowers around, but not fields of it as advertised in the papers!!

Where were the flowers I was supposed to see?! @_@

Anyway, I did see SOME pretty blooms... so all was not lost~ haha...

It was Tulip season, but because the Tulip farm was more than 5 hours away, we decided not to subject ourselves to the torture of travelling 10 hours just to see flowers! =p

Of course, we visited a few of the usual Must-sees...

The famous Sapporo Clock Tower!

Otaru- Picturesque Port town, famous for its Canal & the many pretty glass products.

I found a lovely store selling Candles there. Just look at the amazing stuff they sell.... Yes, they are CANDLES!!

Looks good enough to eat!!

Since Otaru is near the sea, there are Lots of Live seafood there too...

23,800 yen each ( About S$360!! for this crab!)

The ever-popular FARM TOMITA... Fortunately for us, some Lavender flowers were already blooming, so it wasn't such a wasted trip. Plus, I got to taste LAVENDER SOFT CREAM!! Ooooh~ Check out the lovely purple hue of the soft cream!

And who can go to Hokkaido, and not buy the yummy Shiroi Koibito chocolate!
We even visited the factory, which didn't look like a factory at all...

Everything is just exceptionally gorgeous in Japan:)

More to come after I edit my pics~! Stay tuned :)

2009-04-06T01:30:00.008+08:00

Alex is in town!

He apparently moved from Venezuela to Sydney, and is now in Singapore for a 2-week visit.

I haven't seen, or spoken to him since Yamasa days, which as he reminded me, was about 7 years (Where did the time go???!!) ago, but surprisingly, it was like the good old days again when we met up for lunch last week :) We laughed about how he used to be the Harry Potter fanatic who listened to Ayumi Hamasaki songs all day long. It was nice to see him again :)

On Saturday, we had a potluck at Michelle's place. Sort of a "Welcome to Singapore" party for Alex.

Of course, we had WAY too much food!!

And we played "Poker" (First time for some of us...eg ME!)

Thanks to this, we managed to pick it up pretty fast!

Yup, it was written on Majong paper, and stuck on the wall for easy reference! haha!

Good times :)

2009-03-25T13:55:00.002+08:00

Its been almost a month since my last entry!!

Well, not really much to update at this point in time, so I'll just share a few pics~

Actual day photos (professionally taken!) from Serena's wedding.

Messed around with the pics... heehee

And most recently, a trip to Timbre with friends :)

The "Sakura" is Fabulous~! (Lychee, vodka & RIBENA!) Yummy~~!

2009-03-01T16:17:00.004+08:00

"Marley & Me" finally came to Singapore, and I went to watch it with some friends on Friday.

Watching Marley reminded me so much of Jet Jet... the way he used to chew up everything in sight, slobber and drool all over the place, and pretty much destroy whatever he could :)

Yes, even after attending 1-to-1 obedience training classes.

Looking through my old pictures, I found a photo of one of the more horrifying messes he created.

Yes, he tore up a big cushion,dug out all the stuffing, and just lay there looking damn proud of himself (and waiting for me to clean up after him, of course)

Yet, to quote John in the movie, "no matter how we keep saying that he's the 'World's Worst Dog', the truth is that we still really really love our dog" :)

2009-02-17T16:39:00.007+08:00

It was a pretty busy weekend, with many events to attend! On the 13th, I attended one at Arena, the BBQ on the 14th, & finally, Serena's Big Day on the 15th. Phew~! I was totally worn out after all of it, especially since I had to start helping out at the wedding at 7am on Sunday. It was a beautiful wedding, of course :) Dinner was held outdoor, at the pool area, which was pretty (but SOOO humid & hot...bleh =p)

At least thats the last wedding I will be attending for a while ( I hope! ) I need a while to recover from all the wedding ang-pow giving!!

Anyway, pictures!

"Torture time" for the groom & his group of xiong di (Well, the bride wanted us to do it so...)

I'm sure they'll never forget this day! LOL

Finally...Part 5!

2009-01-08T17:05:00.005+08:00

Our visit to Hershey's Chocolate World at Hershey, Pennsylvania...

Attractions include the Really Big 3-D show, the Hershey Trolley Works, Factory Works Experience, a free Chocolate Tour ride and a huge theme park with rollercoasters!

Unfortunately, due to time constraint, we only got to take the free Chocolate Tour :(

Next up, the Corning Glass Centre, where we got to see a glass blowing demo. Really interesting :)

It snowed the night before, so a random picture taken outside the Corning centre :p

Finally, we set off for Niagara Falls, which was a Long Long Long way from Corning...

It was night by the time we got there, so we went to see the night view of Niagara.

The lights come from the Canada side of Niagara, which has become really commercialized with casinos, ferris wheel etc... I was hoping the guide was referring to the Northern Lights when she mentioned "colourful lights at Niagara", but oh well~ no such luck! haha

After a night at a pretty crappy hotel with cracked bath tub (yucks!), we went to visit Niagara Falls again in the morning~

Niagara Falls is composed of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side of the border and American Falls on the United States side.

Now, time to head back to NYC! It was a 7-hour bus trip back... bleah...

For our final day in NYC, we went to Central Park, the Empire State & dinner at Little Italy before catching our flight back home :)

Lucky for us, the weather was fantastic on our last day :) We didn't need our huge coats at all!

Well, thats it for my 10-day USA Trip! I had lots of fun, and hopefully I get to do this again soon! :)

2009-01-04T23:56:00.002+08:00

USA Trip (Part 4)

We finally set out for Washington D.C.!

Before that, Pennsylvania...

First stop:

Next, we moved on to visit the Liberty Bell, which has served as one of the most prominent symbols of the American Revolutionary War. It is a familiar symbol of independence within the United States and has been described as an icon of liberty and justice.

We spent a lot of time in the bus... passing through other states before reaching Washington D.C.

Some stuff we saw along the way...

Some of the scenery was truly postcard perfect :)

For lunch, we stopped at a food court style place at Maryland state.
Maryland is apparently famous for its Crabcakes, so we definitely had to try it.

I wasn't expecting much...

But it was mind blowingly good!! The crabcake was Stuffed full with Real crab meat, and it was just SOOO good... *drool* Gosh...I miss it so much!

Next on our itinerary...

where we got to see all these ancient airplane models, and also a genuine Moon Rock. Pretty cool :)

Capitol Hill

And of course, The White House!

View of the Washington Monument at the path towards the Thomas Jefferson Memorial...

More to come soon~! Stay tuned!

2009-01-04T16:16:00.001+08:00

USA Trip (Part 3)

Its shopping time!!
Whats a trip to USA without visiting the factory outlets?!

We spent a whole day at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets...

We ended up buying so much stuff, we had to borrow trolley carts to move our stuff around! =p
Wanted to end our shopping spree back at the candy store (above with the snowman candy box), but we were too tired to make our way back... *sob* I really wanted to buy the snowman chocolates!!! Oh well...

Something interested on the streets of NYC...

Yup, REAL live Christmas Trees!!! They smell SOOOOO good!!

On to Grand Central... there was the usual yearly Christmas fair there...

It was back to Times Square after that.
Firstly, to get tickets for The Little Mermaid (finally!! wheee~)

It was a good show. The set, stage & costumes were amazing as usual, but somehow, I felt a little disappointed at the end... I guess this review of the musical sums it up perfectly: ""Disney has turned "Mermaid" into the latest of its high-gloss screen-to-stage projects — and the result is almost exactly half as clever and touching and tuneful as the film."

Shucks... :(

***

Moving on.. I found the most interesting thing!

Need to go while you're in the middle of Times Square? Don't worry, just lookout for the Charmin Restrooms! As the promoters at the door (yes, there are people persuading you to visit!) say "its clean & its FREE!"

So, why not, ya? :)

There were dancers, ushers etc etc in this so-called Restroom. The toilets were cleaned after every person, so they were SUPER clean!

Turned out to be a whole promotional/advertising campaign to sell TOILET PAPER!!!

How cool is that?

***
Our visit to Toy'R' Us, Times Square

And our favourite past time...

Eating lah!

Huge dinner, as usual. (Yes, I think we seriously over ate in US...)

I guess when the weather is cold, all you want to do is Eat??

Well, thats it for Part 3! More to come soon~!
Oh, and HAPPY 2009!!!!!!!

2009-01-04T16:15:00.002+08:00

USA Trip (Part 2)

We watched a few musicals in NYC this time...
After The Lion King was WICKED...

People start lining up at the box office before it opened at 11am. By 10.45am, the queue was already pretty long...
Since WICKED is usually sold out, many of these people were queuing for "cancellation tickets" for the current day's show... Yup, they wait from 11am till about 7pm! We were just there to get tickets for another day's show, so we left by 11.30am. Phew~ :)

BTW, WICKED is fantastic. I will never watch "The Wizard Of Oz" in the same way ever again! Do watch it if you get the chance...Very very good!

Next, the Statue of Liberty!

We didn't want to pay for the ferry, so we took the free Staten Island Ferry, which passes the Statue of Liberty...

Strong winds on deck!!

After "Night at the Museum" the movie, we definitely couldn't miss the Museum of Natural History!!

It was a lot more high tech than it looked in the movie... but at least I found the dinosaur bones that I was looking for~ =p

This trip, we ate SOOOO much!!! Here are some of the yummy stuff we had in NYC...

PIZZA!!!

We visited the Red Lobster for... what else but...

As for asian food, we had...

Korean hotpot & BBQ...

Chinese...and Japanese (but no pic..=p)
and of course, this...

***

Some interesting little "men" we saw at 14th St station...

The station was filled with many of them!

How interesting :)

Thats it for Part 2! More to come in Part 3~!! Ciao~

2009-01-04T16:15:00.001+08:00

I'm back from my 10-day USA trip!!!

It was lots of fun! I visited NYC, Philly, Washington D.C. & Niagara Falls, and it was great :)

Picture time~!

My first ever flight on China Eastern Airlines...

It was an extremely LONG flight, and there was no individual screen for videos...!!! They were showing some strange foreign movie (French maybe...?) so we basically slept throughout. Well, for S$650 for a 2way ticket to NYC, I guess I can't really complain huh?:p

Because the hotel rates at Manhatten are exorbitant, at about USD400 per night, we rented an apartment from a guy named SEVEN... I found his ad online, and since the apartment looked pretty good, and he was asking for only USD225 per night. Location was great. Its at Chelsea, and the subway was only about 2 min walk away. Fantastic :)

2 Queen sized beds, with attached bathroom and kitchen...
In case you're wondering, we got the entire apartment to ourselves :)

Random picture of us leaving the bulding...haha

Our first proper meal in USA... a huge breakfast at the Hollywood Diner near our apartment.

Vibrant Times Square~!

A Must-watch musical in NYC - The Lion King. Costumes were AMAZING...!

Head of "Mufasa"... thats Simba's dad, for those of you who don't know ;p

Thats all for now... Will post more pictures soon! (I took LOTS!haha)