the value of.

I've learnt to live a little, the kind of 'lifestyle' I've always wanted, that includes:

Eating olives (makes me happy!) Else, bubble tea gives the same temporary high...but I guess olives goes a longer way. And I'm unsure if it's my imagination but it does give me better skin. Either that or the Korean type sheet mask with 'My Melody' cartoon on the packaging that does it...

Doing more artistic stuff (Went to see the Warhol exhibition, also, 'Wicked!', not really into musicals but it was a nice day out.)

Still reading non-fiction, trying to squeeze in as much reading time during lunch breaks and before going to sleep...

Having a mocha on Friday evenings (Reason being, I can't sleep well after caffeine, but I love coffee, so, sleeping late on a Friday night, I can accomplish many things too. Whee.) And it's nice to catch a friend in that cosy coffee place I love.

I've also learnt that I am quite a procastinator and I am quite led by colorful stuffs, namely, clothes. (Oh, H&M...)

I've also learnt that...
Sometimes, what I want may be what I wanted but not what I will want.

Actually, I'm trying to be not-at-all proactive and see what Life throws my way and some of the surprises are pretty good, I must say. Well, I had initiative in some sense, but still, trying to be as honest and open as I can. I do have people judging me constantly but am trying to take it all in with a smile.

Was talking about how some people are 'hard to read' and heck, I can't even read myself at times... ... so how to 'read' others... heh heh. Meanwhile I am obsessed with typifying people and categorizing people into stereotypes. I am often happily proven wrong but continue on this path stubbornly.

So here are my short-term goals:

1. Save money to travel.
(by not buying clothes. Avoid malls like the plague. And not buying 'meat' in economy rice...)In fact, making people treat me to stuff. I am actually naturally gifted in this. People give me free things all the time.

2. Learn Czech.
Been at it for months actually, but reached a very basic plateau. So now frustrating myself with spanish songs (They are lovely!) and trying to translate them without anyone to tell me if it makes sense or not. People say I have a natural tongue to pronounce european sounding languages so I should make the best of it =)... kdyz... prstu...

3. Go Travel.
I am so lucky that the only thing holding me back is the lack of money because I realised that I can quit my job anytime and find back a similar job anytime that pays me about the same. Such is IT recruitment. (I did not say it pays well.)


And why do I want to... travel more, for instance.
Well, I realised the value of an interesting life.
And people who set goals are way more interesting than those who don't.

So this is a note from present me to future me (sometime later this year.)

I hope I remember what I set out to do!

In my element

There are some places and times when you feel - just right at home.

In your element.

You feel that you could be here a dozen times more and still never tire of the place.

For me, it's Melaka. To be more specific, a drive around Melaka past midnight.
Somehow, I enjoy long drives around, late at night. It's getting impossible to do so in SG given the high prices of gas... but I did enjoy those rare sessions.

Even though I don't (can't) drive, the long midnight drives in Melaka always beckoned to me. It clears my mind of clutter and I can think clearly, crystalize my thoughts, and speak them, or I may be comfortable to remain silent and enjoy the scenery in the cool of the night. This is just one small luxury that money can't buy - you have to find the right driver (ie a Melakan), because the roundabout and one-way streets are only easy for locals to navigate, the right companion who listens to the sort of music that you like but somehow didn't know you liked until it plays, and someone who knows you for a long enough time to be comfortable with you, comfortable in the silence.

I love such moments, the way I love waking up to the sound of birds (right now I wake up to the sounds of lift upgrading), the certain cafes where you can be sure a steaming hot cup of cappucino awaits you, the sound of the waves at that cafe, and the atmosphere, puts you in your element. To be sure, there aren't many places like that, and that is why these places hold a fond place in my heart and excited anticipation about my next trip there.

The long drives also brought about a sense of nostalgia for me - I remember the time when I was utterly exhausted about all in life: a demanding sales job, a more demanding leadership position, a bad person trying to mess up my life... I just scooted to Melaka the fastest I could. My therapy consisted of reading comics, watching pirated DVDS the whole day and loving it, good Melakan fare, and the long drives around at midnight. The whole time I was there, I was plagued by neverending migraines - the sign of stress I could not handle, though I did not know it then - and was thankful for the deep sleep I had and the silent company. I thought I had always liked to be in the company of chatterboxes, but during the days I was there, I had hardly talked a few sentences in a day. Understanding as he was, Chestnut did not bother to pursue, and we sat in comfortable friendly silence, watching hours of astro and pirated DVDs. It's really thanks to the Malaysian pirates that I got to watch so many good movies. We never talked about those times, but the respite I got had cemented our friendship, unlikely as it was. I guess no one ever thought that we would hang out - those were his words just a few days ago, and I jibed with a return: It's hard to find a girl similar to you. We make a pair of unusual friends, but I think in life, it's some circumstances that leads to the solidarity of some friendships. He has been though 'my purposeful life', known my pain about losing Captain Zero, losing some things, and growing up from young adults, mere teenagers, to now, we are so old now, it seems!

I haven't met Chestnut for almost two long years, and it was such a relaxing feeling when I saw him again... I count him as one of my closest and dearest friends, we have been keeping in touch almost weekly if not fornightly, and if you are wise enough, you can see that such a friendship, one that can 'maintain' itself for so long and in such a way, is one to be treasured. So I treasure greatly the all-too short times we meet, just like I eagerly anticipate meeting MsBestFriend again in Oz later in the year. It seems a shame to meet once a year or more infrequent than that, but we do try our best to meet when we are in the same country. (Despite me ALWAYS being to Melaka, Chestnut is often not in the country, and thus we rarely meet.)

I brought TheBoyfriend's relatives - our trip consisted of his mom, aunt, uncle and cousin - to a local seafood place where I was once brought to. The roads were almost free of signs to the isolated place near a small stream, yet we could find our place there by GPS and a little bit of intuitive instinct and local know-how. Chestnut was amazed at how we could find such a local haunt; even though most singaporeans would boast they know of the best so-and-so dishes in Melaka, that place was deviod of 'S' plate cars. We were the only one in a sea of 'M's, 'J's, 'W's and the occassional 'P' or 'N'. So, it's a place I love, in the beginning not for the food for I was not a food person... somehow, I am in my element, there. Despite the heat and the mossies.

non- new year's resolutions

Today's a good day.

I was smiling as I remember the last five months or so and prayed, actually THANKED God for bringing The Boyfriend into my life. As well as being thankful for the year, it's been more good than bad, isn't it?

Yes, I know I should be praying 'thank-you' prayers more often. One prayer awaiting thanks, is to have; finally, a good career start in the New Year 2010. I'm not getting younger so it's time to take a hard serious long look at where my career is headed.

3 years ago, I started the '101 things to do in 1001 days'. http://www.dayzeroproject.com/

Basically you just write down 100 things you wanna accomplish and do it in about less than 3 years' time. Some things can't just be done in one year, lacking the money, resources or time frame, so you do need that kind of time to plan for stuff in your life.

Click on the link for more inspiration. Here are some of the things I wanted to do, and did:

I went to Japan, it's always been a dream of mine to visit Japan and I wasn't disappointed!

Saw snow for the first time in my life. Here in the photo my hotel room supposed to face Mt Fuji, but the snow marred the view of it.

I fell in love with a guy who has everything I want! (Almost. Yes, women are never 100 percent satisfied are they...)

I also went to Melbourne!

I DID have regular email pen-pal-ish letters with Chester. Very proud of that. 3 years anniversary!

For the trips, like the Melbourne one, it took months of saving, pouncing on that budget air ticket during the one week it was on sale, and bunking in at MsBestFriend's apartment... it did take some planning. But I can say its totally worth it. I will save more so that I can buy more items next time round!

While others on the 'to-do list' just came along naturally.

'Watching the sunset with someone I love' came unexpectedly.

We saw this sun, glowing like a melted gold nugget (it was taken with a cameraphone so can you imagine the color in real life?) like nothing I've ever seen before in Singapore, it was awe-inspiring and breath-taking.

Believe it or not, we saw this when TheBoyfriend was driving me home (we were still dating and not together yet), it's along my house road!

Unbelievable once in a lifetime experience to see a sun setting like this, here.

Got a new wabbit, 1 year old male who already produced 2 (expensive litters). Mushroom is a Lop, which means his ears can't stand like normal rabbits (real lop from Holland, note the round face unlike local rabbit lops which are mixed breed). However, he has a bit of mutant power, he can raise one ear when he hears his name...

My new wabbit, Mushroom is a delight to have. After my Skiiri unexpectedly dropped dead this year, I had no plans for a replacement. But in the nature of my work I caught up with my rabbit breeder and he offered me this male lop-eared rabbit, FOC. Mushroom has a sweet temperament unlike Skiiri who used to stomp her foot (but it's still very cute), bite people in anger, and run to a corner to glare at you. Mushroom comes up for pats and somehow, contrary to popular belief, actually LOVES carrots. His funny expressions never fail to crack me up and this winsome wabbit has captured my heart.

His fur is velvetly fluffy. And has adapted to our chinese diet of eating veggies like xiao bai cai, sweet corn, carrots, wong bok, wheatgrass, all his favorites. He has forsaken his native hay!

Nom nom nom. Doesn't like to wear anything on his head. Santa hat too big and scary.

Looking back at the last three years, I've realised that I really set out to do the things I wanted to accomplish personally (in my social life), and adventourously. Even though I have not managed to accomplish some of the basic things, like getting a driving license or even learning how to swim, (maybe my inner fragile woman cries for a man to save me in such situations), I'm pleased with the way its all turned out.

Some of life's adventures can be planned for, and it makes life so much richer. Next year is coming soon, and I'm undecided about writing resolutions or doing the '101 things' again.

I guess... I'd do the 101 things!!! Oh well.

a short trip to bangkok

Celebrating the King's birthday in pink...

We finally found chic couple tees in Chatuchak and bought a couple of couple tees.

Watch out for the mad tuk tuk driver...without a license.

=

One of the things I like about travelling, besides the unique items you get to purchase, and the food, is that you can get to soak up the whole atmosphere of an entirely different place. It always amazes me that despite being close in distance to each other, an hour's time lapse away, Thailand and Singapore has entirely different cultures.

Despite being in a truly busy city, their citizens are gracious. Not once did I have my toes stepped on or my bag being pushed by people with lack of peripheral vision. Even though most of them are in a rush to get from one place to another just like us, they are also able to have a common sense of courtesy which I find quite lacking here - they are always able to not bump into you, somehow. So coming back from a city like Bangkok, I still feel refreshed from a hectic hustle and bustle life.

It's also my first trip out with The Boyfriend, coupled with his relatives, and I had great fun with all of them. For my vacations, being few and far between, I'd really like to, you know, get certain things done while I'm overseas, be it getting items on my shopping list or sightseeing some must-sees. So I'm cautious in travelling in a group - a big group, knowing that most of the time is wasted (to me!) standing on street corners deciding what to do next. I'm not really fond of sticking to itineraries but I'm definitely not wanting to do the same things overseas which could be easily done in Singapore (drinking coffee, watching movie, hanging in nondescript malls.) Bearing that in mind, I'd like travelling with like-minded ones, or I don't mind going solo - that's ensuring you have to talk to locals to get your bearings and immerse yourself in more of the culture too! But the trip was really good, everyone was in sync and happy to shop at all the places. I was quite a bad influencer, influencing the ladies to buy bags from a shop which I had bought two - one chanel-inspired in brown fur and another lovely, soft beige suede medium bag which looks... priceless but... inexpensive, considering the quality. I brought them to the shop and they both bought nice bags, well, I hope they love their buys!

I'm looking forward to my next trip, looking forward to the nail crunching sound of having to save for it in the next months!

philosophical

Melbourne's shopping district 20 years ago - 1989, and now. The flooring remains the same but the popular-in-the-past mall has turned into a deserted shopping mall on a populated strip.

I read yesterday a text about Philosophy. Sounds boring and all, but I find myself referring back to it many times from the time I first read it.

Sometimes I get myself into an all-out thinking mode. Unfortunately, it’s often caused by unhappy incidences. I wonder, when I look back at my old photos, whether I am the same person in the photo, a younger, livelier, more cheerful side of me? I don’t think people would describe me as ‘morose’, now, no, perhaps the more positive ‘she has mellowed down’. Maybe my past bubbly and social self was injurious to my emotional needs. But also, maybe I had liked myself better then than now. And it’s hard to say, how life turns out, isn’t it?

I was prompted to think after reading about some instances, about personalities. Like, if after an accident, you become a ‘changed person’, that means you have been altered, then, is the person loving you loving the same person? If you have become a different person, then I don’t think the person has the same love… in that sense, maybe it would be better for the person not to love you/the new you.

I’ve always wondered about people who seem all well-adjusted and a nice friend to others while they are not all that in real life. Somehow seeing too many bad sides of people I have worked with in the past causes me to take a certain caution to new acquaintances. Maybe I’m being unfriendly, but when certain friendships prove injurious to my emotional expense, I’d rather take precautions. So, when everyone is saying how nice so-and-so is, I observe quietly, like a few of my friends. And we notice things about so-and-so that others would have missed, you might call it the ‘dark side’ of the person. I noticed one particular person, he seems to be a influential person, always having a ready smile, kindly, and doing well financially too. But after some skepticism from one of my other friends and me, we began to spot some discrepancies. For instance, said person made some unkindly comments which we believe stem from his insecurities. Maybe the physical manifestation of his fears cause him to come out of the carefully arranged public profile and make such a direct and some would deem, blunt comment. And we have seen him also getting close to people only for certain personal intent. I’ve always believed if you always want people to think that you are nice, you might have some parts that were not that nice. Well, people can say all sorts of things about you, but at least for me I know who would stand up for me and who would believe my side. I have actually felt saddened by people who seem to want to be close friends, always going out for shopping trips, sharing, meals, etc. But after all… you realize they are using you as a fair-weather friend, a ‘filler’in their lives, for they disappear quickly, too. Some come back after a while, claiming their friendship on you and a request to catch up for shopping soon, but this kind of friendship seems superficial to me, and I would not care to share deeply about my thoughts other than that which are found in fashion magazines.

It’s also sad when friendship breaks up because of certain small misunderstandings. It’s quite common in fact. But because of something that happened, it causes an ill-will to be around that friendship and also, it ceases to be the same as before. But I digress. Being wiser as we grow older, we have to think more about things, sometimes even having a notion of what to do before an unexpected situation happens.

So here’s an excerpt from what I read:

‘Go on and argue (in your head)- you will understand more about what you believe. You will begin to understand the subject more deeply. And this helps you to feel comfortable with it. And you might change something or you might not. When we ask ourselves questions, we start to understand ourselves and our lives, and it’s up to us to make changes or not. If the ideas in your head agree, this means you have integrity. What you say and what you do are the same. Everyone respects someone who has integrity!

By thinking and questioning, we can understand more and maybe prevent problems caused by misunderstanding.’

O! Glorious Food!

I was very cheered to have had many nice meals lately. And they are nolstalgic, of sorts.

Since I have been sickly for the last months – first flu, and then another sort of flu, and gastroenteritis of a weird kind – I have not had much to eat, and perhaps, not in the right frame of mind to enjoy it, too.

Tracking down a short history of my food haunts, I am quite an unusual customer, you would say. Even if the food is nice, I would not like to visit it again and again week after week. The exception being, of course, lunch. For lunch, I try not to vary too much. Each week, I’d have yong tau foo, Subway Italian BMT, Mos burger… yes, the weekly lunch menu is always similar.

Anyways, I have had the privilege of visiting the top few restaurants in my personal food lists, yes, I do keep a list in my PDA though it’s seldom referred to.

I started posting photos of all the food places we’ve been to recently, so please add me on FB if you wanna. I must say they are nice photos… hee.

So here are my fave picks!

ITALIAN

Best pasta (freshly made and the only one to do so in Singapore)

Pasta Fresca Da Salvatore’s Sixth Avenue

Try the Arrabiata, it got me hooked. And any pizza with salami in it!

Also

Swiss Culture’s cream and mushroom Pasta. Slurp up every bite.

MEXICAN

Margarita’s – it’s the only one I’ve tried and… super delish. At Dempsey and East Coast Rd has one I believe.

KOREAN BBQ

Chang, Korean Restaurant at Dempsey. Packed so have to book on weekends. It introduced me to authentic kimchi – I never liked kimchi, having only tasted the ones at food-courts…now, I LOVE IT. See photos!

The Boyfriend says the kimchi rocks too.

DESSERT (CAKE)

PS Café’s cakes at Dempsey. I love the pecan pie, sticky date cake, brownie, chocolate blackout…

New favorite being Max Brenner’s Belgian waffle and Crepe Suzette (Esplanade). See photos!

JAPANESE

Without fail, Ichiban Boshi’s sukiyaki and cereal chicken and fresh kajiki sashimi. Some branches have differing standards though, we feel that Esplanade’s one is the best. For more upmarket, Kuriya has a mean sashimi! At Shaw Orchard.

Also, the sukiyaki at ‘Sun with Moon’ both at Clarke Quay and Wheelock is very nice. The plus point of ‘Sun with Moon’ is that it has nice desserts as well. And super romance ambience at Wheelock.

Best soba which made me like soba … Shimbashi soba, Paragon. Try the ‘Oroshi’ cold. And super healthy. See photos!

I have not found any good FRENCH, THAI, CHINESE or SWEDISH food yet… =)

I consider myself blessed we can find such a variety of food in Singapore, and we can afford it, at least as a weekend dinner…

flea marts stakeout!

Here's a lineup of the flea marts happening in Singapore, this Saturday.

Was mentioning to Baby over lunch at Toast that me and The Boyfriend will skip over to Salvation Army's thrift store at Changi and visit a few flea marts.

There are flea marts happening almost every Saturday and here's what I've penciled in my scheduler:

1. Flea mart @Minden Road (Dempsey one three o)

2. Tanglin Mall Flea Mart 3pm to 11pm

3. MAAD 11am - 7pm

The usual suspects Tanglin Mall and MAAD has flea marts every 2 weekends or so.

MAAD is at the Red Dot Traffic Museum near Tanjong Pagar. I heard they sell a lot of handmade accessories and stuff.

Tanglin Mall has some nice stuff too, I once bought Lonely Planet guidebooks there as well as makeup, and clothes, bags, everything you could possibly want. You'd have to fight off the (rich) bargaining FIERCE maids though, who wrangle the $1, $2 clothes. I wonder what do they do with them, ship them to Philippines? I once flea-ed there with friends and profited $300 hahaha so it's worth doing it once in a while.

For the first time, a flea mart is happening at Minden Road (Dempsey here I come!)

Here's what to expect.

A fun and hip little flea market selling special stuff.
Coupled with a carnival atmosphere and loads of great food!
HotDogs @ $2! Draft Beer @ $5!

Pre-Loved Clothes & Shoes : Zara, Gap, Mango, Abercrombie, True Religion...
Imported Accessories from Korea & Japan
Pre-Loved Books
Pre-Loved & New - Baby & Kiddy Clothes : Old Navy, PRL, Gap
Imported Baby Dresses
Children's Toys
Gorgeous Bags : Kate Spade, Coach
Hand-made Tote Bags
Pre-Loved & HandPainted Shoes
Premium Shoes & Rare Sneakers from Nike
Limited Edition Tees (Supreme)

Express Mani & Pedi from $8
Princess Mani & Pedi from $5

Free Muffins for the Kids!
Free Face-painting for the Early birds!

a guide to dressing well (and looking good in photographs) while overseas

I went to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in the start of winter where when it's not too chilly, temperature can be about 15 deg, nice and aircon like - and when it's cold with the foggy weather it can be chilly of 9 deg or less. Being low-fat and always traveling light, here's how to wear stuff so you can pack light and still look good in photos. Oh, and it always helps to have a windbreaker with a light sponge inside. Here, I borrowed one from my friend. Nice road at the 'Little Italy' in Melbourne. I never saw any other roads that looked as nice as this one so when you spot a nice photographic moment, you have to carpe diem!



Day 1:
I bought 2 sweaters for the trip so this is my first one, a raspberry sweater from Nafnaf. I'm quite scared of getting a chill so I wore a undershirt under my black long-top.
These tights are 120 denier, looks classy for night or day and in my opinion, warmer and better looking than jeans. And I added a little black vest from Muji which surprisingly helps to keep warm... I will mix and match these outfits for nice photos as it progresses...



Day 2:
Still wearing the raspberry sweater, went to Philip Island and did a lot of walking so opted for jeans - I did wear thin knee stockings inside to be safe.

Day 3:
Just walking around the bohemian parts of Melbourne and it was not foggy, which means less cold. I wore a black bubble dress underneath the striped sweater and the vest and leggings.

Day 4:
Visited a church and a sunday flea market at St Kilda's beach. in this getup. It's Day 2's top, just that I wore it ,worn under the striped sweater. And leggings, instead of stockings. I bought a scarf from Target because the Daiso one just doesn't cut it.

Day 5:
Stockings with the black bubble dress and raspberry sweater at Ballarat. The white scarf... I love it. Inexpensive and furry and keeps me warm! On windy days it really freezes up your neck especially if you have short hair. Here, in a mock town, 18th century bar which stirs up a saucy pose in me...


Back to jeans for easy walking in a shopping area. Was getting used to the cold so it's just a hooded tee underneath (which came in handy when it started to shower.)

Having studied in design school, I tend to be quite 'tasty' when buying clothes. Shopping is no enjoyable pasttime for me, it's more of like a hawk swooping down on it's prey when it spots a tender, juicy, succulent one... I like bright colors but too often I tend to choose the combi of navy-gray-black that my whole wardrobe looks depressed. I think some people took my one-off comment on dressing well a bit too emotionally. I was just remarking, you could say 'highlighting' the fact that some guys in my midst dress a little too dowdily for the event or occasion they're going for. Maybe they are corporately uptight during work hours (I can wear almost anything I want except when meeting corporates) so they wanna relax after-hours. But I wanted to highlight that dressing dowdily not only catches the attention of the opposite gender in an 'un-tasty' light, it also gives yourself a negative reinforcement. As you would like other people to focus on your good points, therefore. accentuate (not over-emphasize though!) the good points you have through good dressing.

Mr A. always looks spiffy in his dressing (being tall and dark, helps) and I always find it a pleasure to walk beside him, girls tend to be a bit more secure knowing that the guy did make a bit of effort in choosing the clothes to wear. And it needs not be expensive, or glamourous. Just be NICE! (I mean the clothes...) Imagine, if the girl you like always sees you in old, faded, 'homeclothes' style... even though you are young, dashing and suave inside... she will never see it inside! 

(Oooh... I am very excited. Mr A. wants to bring me to places...he said he will bring me to a live band playing near the Sg Flyer area. This week, we are going to a nice sandwich bar in The Office area, take a walk by the Cavenagh bridge, go shopping at uniqlo, and spend one weekend afternoon 'relaxing'. Whee! whee! And he told me he looks forward to my 'bonjour' sms everyday! Muahaha.)

Kinds of dressing (young)girls don't like: boring old polo tees, shorts that show your white-chickeny legs, faded and old shapeless teeshirts that looks as though you have worn it for years, anything that screams 'boring' or 'cannotmakeit'. No "2 by 4" hairstyles too... or those that come right out from the 80s.

Kinds of dressing (young)girls like: shirts are always a crowd pleaser. Loafers. Beige loafers. Shoes in a color other than black. Anything from Zara. Or PullandBear (for me!)

 

Like the white knight in shining armor, your armor has to dazzle her... just that little bit.

  

back.

While in Australia...Me creeping up behind the cow... hyuks. Have you ever seen such a furry cow upclose? We were fascinated by it.

Ta-dah! This is a perfect shot with cow and me.

I was very happy on my trip - thought the whole trip was just perfect. My bestie couldn't have planned it better... we had ample time to walk slowly through the nature at Philip and Churchill Islands, did shopping at the Duty-Free, I ate all the stuff I wanted to, like lamingtons, and raspberries. Got quite a few nice togs too! I can't wait to wear my new jeans and nice tops.

Met Mr A., yesterday night when I was back. I realised that... I've missed him tremendously. It's okay in the day when I'm busy with stuff, but in the night, just as I'm covered in my quilt and snuggly drifting to sleep, I have thoughts of him. Our time together always seems so short... I wanna hug him... but I think that will scare him off, man. We went for dinner and then watched a movie, our first movie : Night at the Museum 2. I'm easily amused so warned him in advance I might laugh at the not-so-funny parts, so don't be disgusted or embarrassed. But during the movie, I think he laughed much louder than me, haha. It's a really funny show, we were laughing uproariously throughout it. Must watch!

I bought a 'Where's Wally' travel edition book for him, we spent some time looking. It's not fun to play it with Mr A, he always spots Wally so quickly... I can't... boooo. Guess I'm a big-picture person. It's nice to just admire the beautiful intricate drawings in the picture. And, if we ever run out of things to talk about, we can just take out the book and play, such a good idea right?  

For trip photos, check out my albums. I've tried to put the best shots with as useful information as I possibly can.

Day 1

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79547&id=686394456&l=2e92034ffc

Day 2

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79720&id=686394456&l=f9fc4e5281

Day 3

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80106&id=686394456&l=9de11f0888

Day 4

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80282&id=686394456&l=2fde4d5a12

Day 5

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80283&id=686394456&l=b290f836a3

Day 6

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80506&id=686394456&l=9b8d9403c4

Melaka Weekend Trip Scrapbook

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Melaka...

Melaka...


Is where, on top Bukit China, just a short walk away from the Peranakan shophouse where I stay in Chinatown, you can see the best sunset, overlooking the city. The hill has olden chinese graves built into it, but doesn't have the creepy feel. Some guys asked me in chinese as I was traisping upwards, "ni bu pa ma?" - aren't you afraid? To which I just snorted at them - not being impolite, but too breathless. Ahhh...



Is where I met my first Swedish cyclist who cycled (!!!) from BKK to SG.
We spent Valentine's of '07 together. I was there to meet Ches, but he had a last-min call to his ship.
So I was there alone, but not really alone. And yes, we were both single at the time.
And nothing else happened BY THE WAY! Although he did come to my guesthouse the next morning to wave goodbye, this was the morning after. And, this was all he carried along with him.


Is where I met my first New Caledonian, in fact, I've always wanted to visit New Caledonia. It will be such an adventure!
He runs a B&B and this is the directions to his place.


Is where I get my 'secret recipe' craving of black pepper lamb pie and cheesecakes galore. At half-price, this is a good way to have lunch!


Is where the peacefulness of the surroundings allow me to meditate and have conversations with God. When I am alone, and have nothing to do, I usually find myself talking to Him, which I did, in ChristChurch, for about 2 hours one afternoon.


Is where Ches lives. My escape to, when I am depressed from the noisy traffic sound and daily life woes.


Is where this baby lives, too. Hello Ethan. I bet you are unaware I am plagiarizing this photo, hoho...

Melaka...
...Is where I'm heading to! Yay!

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KL photos

The highway up to Tuas from somewhere in KL. I was sitting in front of my double decker coach. Aeroline's good. Think it is my preferred way to go UP to KL now...


Went up to KL for the last weekend to film an event.
I really enjoyed myself despite the short time...walked a lot. Walked everywhere, I think I know the Bukit Bintang area like the back of my hand now.
Some photos.


At Shah Alam stadium, was filming this muay thai event where they choose the Malaysian rep for The Contender 2. It's my first time watching a muay thai live! And it's pretty cool! I did like it. Stylised version of boxing popular in Thailand.


Can't see clearly from the photo but this is the infamous KL jam... at 2am!!!
When we finished our supper at 3 am the roads were still packed. I was standing at this intersection for about 15 mins waiting for my lost Boss... and the cars did not move so I suggest walking around at night at the Bukit Bintang area on weekends, would be much faster...


Now see the jam 'behind' from where I was standing. In the far skyline is the Menara Tower - once the tallest vantage point in KL. Scary jam...when we arrived at noon on Friday there was already a jam! I think it's worse than the one in Bangkok!


The Pavillion. Bigger and better. What's with huge shopping centres these days. It has lots of flagship stores like Coach, Mango, Gap, Tangs, Parkson, even La Senza, Roxy, Paul Frank, Pull and Bear, Juicy Couture, my fave shoe shop 'nose'... ummm... one whole day also cannot finish walking. But but but. I still like the crowded, messy type of shopping at Sungei Wang. I like both... I like shopping when I'm overseas...


One of the cool shops at The Pavillion!


Somehow, I find this menu quite funny... It's a sports bar at The Pavillion And I think 'crispy soft shell crab' is an oxymoron... food for thought?


I always suffer on the first night overseas, because I can't sleep on strange beds. My hotel room...Coronade hotel. Kinda oldish and creepy if you have a room to yourself which I did. But the location's fantastic it's just next to Lot 10 so from there you can walk anywhere to Bukit Bintang.


I made my boss do this, Lol! He's almost as tall as the towers...


Someone's hairy arms...It's like moss if you brush against it. You can see the 'overgrowth', this is coming from a guy who has '6 o'clock shadow' at 3 o'clock. Shaving is a must to do everyday. I wonder what creepy little creatures are lurking inside?


Hahaha. Fascinatingly gross. I haven't got a chance to see the 'two monkeys in a hammock' legs.


Me... at Petaling St, Chinatown. There is a cute tradition there where they cannot turn away the first customer of the day or else they would have 'bad luck' for the rest of the day and no good sales! So be sure to appear there around 1130am when the shops are opening. And be sure to haggle if there's something you really want to buy. I think you can slash the price by half...Mostly fake goods though.


Filming. Notice the passersby with same stance, think they are relatives?


Satay! You can't get stuff like these here. The satay at Jalan Alor is really sweet, succulent, tender... I think 10 sticks is not enough for me and The Boss.


The Boss. We are having supper at the roadside stalls selling authentic KL roadside food like char kway teow, ikan bakar, bbq squid, tom yam soup. I love this place - It reminds me of the time I spent backpacking here ages ago.


My favorite drink. At my favorite Roti Canai shop which is near Jalan Alor. The place been around for ages... there's nothing like a juicy banana prata (die die must try) for a morning wake me up...

Wanna go Australia next.