A Photo Canvas

A Special Moment

2011-04-02T23:06:00.001+08:00

The Special Place
The Special Day
The Special Moment

Which will be remembered for the rest of our lives...

Yokoso Japan !

2011-03-31T22:40:00.001+08:00

Period: 31st March 11 – 8th April 11

Season: Spring

We are flying off to Japan! Yes! yes! yes! The girl and I are going to Japan! It was a long awaited trip as well as a tough planned trip. So much changes here and there but still, we are going ahead. Japan, here we come...!!!

Our 3rd Anniversary

2011-03-11T22:32:00.003+08:00

Our 3rd Anniversary was spent in a relax way. Although it was in the heart of the city, we decided to just laze around and have a simple meal. Time spent together was the most precious thing we could give each other. Of course, not forgetting our gifts for each other too. =) Happy Anniversary my dear...

Another Moment to Remember

2011-01-23T22:49:00.000+08:00

And then, there was the King Penguin & the Kimono Dragon...

Travel Plan: Malaysia

2011-01-05T09:51:00.000+08:00

When: 8-10 January 2011

Our first ever last minute trip!

Going At It Again

2010-12-27T09:46:00.003+08:00

Trying out luck yet again with a 5-room Punggol Topaz unit.

Update: That's strike 2 now...

A First

2010-11-08T20:05:00.004+08:00

We embarked on a milestone today by applying for our very first BTO flat, Anchorvale Horizon.

Choosing not to burn a hole in our pocket, we decided on a 4-room flat. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Update: We didn't get it...

A Moment to Remember

2010-08-09T20:08:00.000+08:00

After watching The Last Airbender, the Boy turned to me and...

*Blows at me*

Him: I am the last airbender...

Me: -_-|||

Scrapbooking

2010-08-08T22:14:00.003+08:00

The Boy and I started on a new project: Scrapbooking! And we specially chose to scrapbook only our travel memoirs... So off we went to the library to gather some ideas and inspirations (of which I don't mind owning some of such travel scrapbooking books). I'm sure we'll have lots of fun compiling our travel adventures =)

China Moments: Day 8 and 9

2010-07-30T18:06:00.008+08:00

Day 8 of our trip. We woke up early in the morning yet again and proceeded on to Hangzhou. I was feeling excited but then again lousy because of the hotel which we were going to stay in. Yes. It was the hotel that was stinky and provided the lousiest breakfast when we first touched down in China. Even the girl agrees with me. Guess I'm not the only one who's fussy here. Hai...

This is our hotel in Hangzhou. But don't be fooled by the image as the condition was really bad...

Our first stop was the tea plantation, Mei Jia Wu Longjing Tea Culture Village. It is actually a tea plantation located in Hangzhou, of which produces the finest quality of green tea in China. One can actually not buy the tea leaves and just find out more about the benefits of drinking green tea. But as you know, Singaporeans are so easily psy-coed, how can one not buy anything especially when they are in a foreign country!? The presentation was so goodl that everyone was amazed by the wonders of drinking tea! In the end, people started buying any product that has got to do with green tea! And that includes me and the girl... We got ourselves 10 packets of green tea sweets and 500 grams of tea leaves! (With a bonus of a complimentary can of tea leaves. Haha)

We had our lunch at a nearby restaurant and that was when I finally got to taste my highly anticipated dishes, Dongpo pork and Beggar chicken. I would say these two dishes are pretty nice. My girl and I each had two plates of the Dongpo pork! Yummy...

From there on, we proceeded on to visit the Red Carp Pond. One would really be surprised to see the countless number of big, fat carps there as the pond was almost covered in red!

Fishes, fishes and more fishes!

Beautiful...

Smile!

Smile again!

Eh peacock?

After snapping some nice couple pics with the scenic background, we headed on down to the renowned West Lake in Hangzhou. It was really a lovely place for couples to hang out and just enjoy the sunset scenery. A lovely place with a lovely cruise accompanied by a lovely girl... Cherishing every single minute and moment with her, what more can I ask for...

A happy couple with a lovely smile... =)

Our self driven boat ride! Yea!!!

Not forgetting the bird which I had to twirl 3 rounds for the girl to capture it!

We rounded up the trip with an exciting performance called, "The Night of Xihu." And then it was off to the airport early next morning to catch our flight back to the sunny island.

I would say that I truly enjoyed myself with the girl. (Minus off the time where I felt sick). I can't wait to go on a trip again! Haha. Every trip marks a new exploration, every journey marks a new bond with you...

China Moments: Day 7

2010-07-29T18:43:00.005+08:00

Early in the morning, we checked out our hotel and were brought to the largest wholesale shopping mall in Yiwu. According to our China tour guide, most of the items which our country imported came from Yiwu. the size of the malls there were really huge, with the interior which look like a maze. It reminded us of Platinum Mall in Bangkok!

Next, we were off to Dongyang Museum, where there were lots and lots of master pieces of woodcraft items on display. Although I do not really know how to appreciate the master pieces, one can really see that every piece was wonderfully crafted in fine detail.

And so, we continued our journey to Hengdian where we had our lunch at the hotel and to check in our luggage. The hotel was pretty nice and spacious. I guess it should one of the nicest in the city. After lunch, we made our way to Qin Palace, the film site for numerous TV and Movie Epics such as the famous film, Hero. And here we are, busily snapping away.....

To kickstart, a couple pic at the entrance? Haa
Looks grand and spacious isn't it?

A general in the making... Cool?
A Happy us with a nice backdrop

I would feel that this day wasn't very well planned in our itinerary. We were given only an hour to roam around in the palace, after which we were transported back to the hotel and it was free time all the way till dinner. Worse of all, there wasn't much shopping which could be done in this small city as compared to others like Suzhou or Shanghai. Poor us... We were stuck in a miserable place with no shopping... All we could do is to hug each other and cry.... =(

After dinner, a night performance was arranged for us. To our surprise, it was merely a 10 min performance! Omg! We were stuck with no shopping yet again! Not even a nearby convenience store to ease our hunger... Oh well, so we turned in for another early night before we head on to Hangzhou the next morning. Zzzz....

A view taken from our hotel room

Our nice hotel room! We got the highest storey too! Time to piggy in... Zzzz...

China Moments: Day 6

2010-07-28T18:45:00.005+08:00

Rise and shine to a brand new day! Here we are at the Shanghai World Expo 2010! The girl was really excited on paying a visit to the World Expo. And even though she knew that there would be millions of people (not forgetting the weather of course) , there seem to be no stopping her. Moreover, she accompanied me back to China this time round just because of the World Expo! Indeed, we were greeted by throngs of people upon reaching, and were only given 4.5 hours to explore the entire area, which is of course impossible... Therefore, after clearing security, we displayed our "Singaporean Kiasuism"... We actually starting running! Haa...

Our first stop; Thailand pavilion! From that moment, we were just busily snapping from pavilions to pavilions and running from area to area...

The Asian Countries Sector (Not all)

Not forgetting a couple pic with our country's icon -
The "durian''!

Due to the girl's forgetfulness (didn't bring IC), and that our passports are with our tour guide, we could not join the priority queue given to Singaporeans to visit the Singapore Pavilion. However, we did manage to visit one, at least, and that's the New Zealand Pavilion. Is that a sign to my next destination I wonder... Haa...

The European Pavilions

The weather was really hot and warm on that day. By the time we finished taking picures of the Asian and European pavilions, we were dead beat despite only exploring half the size of the whole Expo area. And having skipped lunch, we were both hungry and thirsty, resulting in me having this sudden craving of an ice cold drink to cool myself down. And so, the girl nicely got me a bottle of coke. It was like reviving a dead man from it's tomb... Shiok!!!

By the end of the Expo tour, everyone looked breathless and tired. Nonetheless, it was pretty rewarding with both of us busily snapping away and us getting a free tan. The girl had something extra, a pair of white toes... =P

To end off the Expo tour, I present to you the 3 most popular booths. Each pavilion required the people to queue for more than 6 hours to get in! Make a guess on these 3 pavilions?

They are Saudi Arabia, Japan and Korea Pavilions! (left to right)

We ended off our Shanghai Tour with a trip to Tongrentang, a place where they provide foot massage to spread the culture of Chinese Medical practice. Of course, I didn't try as I am really afraid of the ticklish sensation. =x The girl also gave it a miss as she had tried it during her previous trip.

Thereafter, we bid farewell to Shanghai and continued with a 5 hour journey to Yiwu. By then, it was already nightfall. We checked in to our hotel, Days Inn Hotel, whereby we had our dinner and an early rest.

A pretty nice and cosy hotel for us to recharge for our next exciting day!

China Moments: Day 5

2010-07-27T23:28:00.008+08:00

The next day, we were brought to Suzhou Museum, where it showcased a collection of ancient Chinese art, Chinese paintings, calligraphies and handmade crafts.

I love its architecture. Apparently is was designed by Leoh Ming Pei, a well-known architect.

We had a quick tour of the place, as we learned how to appreciate their arts.

Surrounding the museum was a lovely pond and patio. But because there were so many people, it was hard to capture my final two shots as seen above.

All we could do was limit ourselves to this background for a parting shot =)

When it was time to leave, we bypassed a few nice areas, of which we quickly took a snapshot at it or with it.

Our final destination of the day was the Suzhou Silk Factory. While we were there, we did not get to see the process of their manufacturing. Instead, the local tour guide brought us immediately to the sales area, and starting asking every one if they wanted to buy the silk quilts. While I understand that she meant well by ensuring we got the best goods available, I felt that she could be slightly more professional in ensuring that we saw what we needed to rather than 'hard-sell' us. Not to mention that the day before, she was going on and on about the silk products...

Anyway, after deciding to buy the silk quilts for the Boy's parents, we were 'treated' to a very short fashion show, and was given more free time to walk around their store to see if we would like to buy any more silk products...

And then, it was off to Shanghai!

Our first stop there was Nanjing Road, where we were given about 1 hour to 'shop'.

Well, we didn't exactly shop, because the things there were too expensive. Plus, it was extremely crowded that it was pretty hard to navigate ourselves about the place...

And then, it was on to ChengHuangMiao.

Photos!

We had to settle our own dinner there, and we were initially hoping to try Nanxiang XiaoLongBao. But... The queue was just too long! It was either the queue on the first level, or head up to the second level for a 30 dollar bao... We decided to forgo both in the end, and try our luck at another nearby cafe...

This was our dinner. Xiaolongbao (of another kind), siew mai, har gao, crystal dumpling, and pumpkin lookalike dessert. Only the pumpkin was nice!! The rest were mediocre, and their skin was just way to thick...

Our last itinerary for the day was the night cruise along the Huangpu River. Both of us were so excited to grab lovely pictures of the night river scene that we went crazy snapping and snapping and snapping...

We only stopped when the boat made a u-turn and was about 1/4 of the way back to the harbour. It was then that we decided to rest and just indulge in the night scene together. Thinking back, it was really nice leaning on my Boy and enjoying the night scene with the wind blowing against our faces.

This was one of my most memorable experience with him... Totally romantic... =)

Our stay for the night was at Shanghai South Hotel. It's not that great, but not too bad either. We would have loved to check out Xujiahui shopping district as it was near our accomodation, but having had a long and late day, it was time to just turn in and catch some zzz... Expo here we come!!

China Moments: Day 4

2010-07-26T23:48:00.004+08:00

Having covered most of our itinerary in Wuxi, we were due for 2 of Wuxi's designated 'shopping' venues before moving on to the next state.

Having discovered the hotel's nice fountain at their entrance, I thought of taking a picture of it for keepsakes. Who knew that the Boy would do the same thing to me as he did to me 2 years ago! He made me block a full whole fountain!! Zzzz....

Anyway, the shopping venues we were brought to were the Fresh Water Pearl Cultivation Centre and the Wuxi Zisha Centre. There, he got me a lovely (but more affordable) pearl necklace, while I got myself a green zisha cup for my green tea drinks =) Zisha nowadays are slowly becoming rarer, so if you ever got your hands on one, do not let it go!

My lovely purple pearl necklace =)

Having finished our shopping, we headed off to Suzhou.

Our first stop was Ou Yuan, a residential garden built during the Qing Dynasty. There, we went crazy shooting...

As evidenced by the number of photos I have of this place =P

We even took a mini boat ride just around the corner, driven by a very fit 60 plus year old auntie!

After that, we made our way to Yuanrong Times Square and Suzhou Industrial Park, the two places where it is known as another 'Singapore', a place for the rich...

The largest LED screen in the world, one which is not turned on except for special occasions in order to save electricity...

Clarke Quay cum Harbourfront combined lookalike...

Posers...

Us discovering Coco bubble tea and enjoying every minute of it!

At the ''Golden Chicken' aka Jinji Lake.

Our 3 hours of shopping-cum-dinner this time round was at Pingjing Street. While we had lots of free time to kill at Nanjing and Wuxi, we felt that 3 hours in Suzhou was too short! This time round, we were able to find clothes that we liked and could fit, and also discover a bookstore where we could look for photo books of the country for our collection. Bah, Murphy's Law just has to strike...

With so little time left to eat, we quickly chose any restaurant we laid our eyes on. And yes, beef noodles was the menu for dinner, as we had yet another delicious meal... Seems like our choices so far have been kind to us =)

Our pitstop for the day was at Suzhou Yijia Kaiyuan Hotel. A very simple hotel with weirdly arranged layout of cupboard, phone and amenities... Oh well, at least it was still a decent enough room for a long day's rest...

China Moments: Day 3

2010-07-25T23:43:00.002+08:00

Early next morning, we quickly made our way to Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, as we wanted to beat the crowd. For that, we had to wake up at about 5.30am!

Little eyes against the bright sun...

After which we made our way to Xuanwu Lake to catch a view of the city in the background.

Hazy skies kind of spoiled our view, but I'm not sure why I like the picture above =)

After lunch, we hopped onto our coach once again, and headed to Wuxi. It's funny how we were in Nanjing but there wasn't much mention about the City Wall of Nanjing by our tour guide...

On the jetty at Wuxi.

We boarded a boat at Taihu Lake, which brought us to XiShi Island. It's a place where they created a man-made beach, which isn't the best place for swimming, yet many people do so because it is free. Anyway, we strolled along the beach for a short which was at the Fisherman's Islet, and by then, the weather was getting very hot!

We then made our way to Lihu Lake Scenic Area (left picture), where we got to see the real water movements of Taihu. It was surprisingly choppy given that it is just a lake.

Moving on, we headed to Zhongshan Road for yet another 3-hour shopping and dinner-at-our-own expense.

As the restaurant that we wanted to try was just way too crowded, we decided to give one of the other restaurants a try. Once again, our choice was the right one, as we enjoyed a very special fried rice, deliciously cooked vegetables, and yummilicious roasted delights! Dinner can't get any better =)

After dinner, with just a little bit more time to spare, we decided to walk along the streets for some quick shots. Don't the pictures just remind you slightly of Orchard Road?

Our accomodation in Wuxi was at Wuxi Redstar Hotel. It was such a lovely hotel! Not withstanding its outskirt location, the room was clean and spacious, and it was so nicely decorated that I feel in love with it. If only all hotels were like this!

China Moments: Day 2

2010-07-24T20:46:00.006+08:00

Waking up early in the morning, we headed off to Nanjing on a 4-hour coach ride... Catching more zzz on board, our first destination was the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.

Built in monotone colours, we understood from our tour guide that one should not walk on the stones but only on the designated paths because the stones represent the dead. And as our tour guide was quite solemn when it came to this place, we adopted the same attitude as well, and I chose not to take much photos of this place. It's not a place of cheer...

Despite there being 2 buildings that house the dead, we were unfortunate to only be able to enter one, as the smaller one was under maintenance due to the constant showers China was facing because of the typhoon. Nonetheless, we both have learnt much from it, and hope that peace will continue to reign in the world after this sad incident.

Moving on, we made our way to Yuhuatai Scenic Area.

Our last event for the day was a 3-hour stop at Nanjing Confucius Temple for shopping and our own dinner.

Here's the Boy at the Confucius Temple. It is said that during the exam periods, the guards would lock over 300 students in the temple, and they could only come out when the exams ended, which is about 7 days long... I think the Boy is hoping that he'll become a scholar with that picture =)

Just some pictures of the place after shopping...

Our stay in Nanjing was at Jiangsu Yin Mao Hotel. I was pretty pleased with this hotel as it was clean and spacious. At least we got to have a good night's rest before waking up early the next morning =)

Given that our trip was a budget one, we had 4 dinner and 1 lunch that was not provided by the tour. This night was one of the night where we had to source for our own dinner. We decided to try out one of the little restaurants near our hotel. Worrying if their food was to our liking, we ordered what we taught sounded nice since the Chinese in China name their food differently from us. Thankfully, the meal wasn't bad, as we enjoyed a thoroughly sumptuous meal! Not bad for a first time order in China =) Let's just hope our future meals will just be as good!

China Moments: Day 1

2010-07-23T23:36:00.002+08:00

Excited and all ready, the Boy and I met our tour group at Changi Airport, boarded our puny Xiamen Airlines plane.

Our simple meal on board...

And the ever happy couple =)

Boarding the plane in the afternoon, we reached Hangzhou only at night. And then, it was time to turn in...

Travel Plan: China

2010-07-19T08:32:00.000+08:00

When: 23 - 31 July 2010

Onwards to our Motherland! =P

World Cup Aftermath

2010-07-13T16:07:00.000+08:00

So, the World Cup has come and gone, and being the little football fan that I am, I decided to join the craze for the finals by waking up early at 2.30am just to catch a little of the action. It’s funny how the 2 teams I originally supported ended up in the finals together, with it being a little difficult for me to take sides (though I did feel that Spain was the better team).

I decided to watch only the first half since I still had to hurl myself to work in a few hours. Good choice I believe because it was a little painful to watch since it was pretty boring and brutal! It was disappointing to see how the Dutch played so physical, while my supported player of Spain did not get a starting 11 again. And while Spain fans celebrate with exhilaration and joy of their win, it’s funny how I did not feel much happiness. I wonder if it was because of all the matches that they played, not once did I get a chance to see them play… Instead, I caught the other teams in action, of which I found a new team bursting with potential.

Germany… (Wave Boy wave... Haha...).

Yes, the Boy is a German fan. And while I did not like Germany initially because of a certain player, seeing their play on the field however took my breath away.

So, maybe it’s time to support a new team? You can call me a traitor, but then I guess I am a supporter of skill and fair play rather than brutish tactics. Besides, I’m quite sure the Boy will be buying their jersey soon, of which he’ll get the white, and I the black. Not to mention that the jerseys of Germany are always oh-so-stylish!

So, it’s going to be another 4 years before the Boy and I:
(1) Start cheering for teams again,
(2) Holding our breaths as the opposition team attacks our supporting team,
(3) Camping out at pubs/bars to catch the games,
(4) Waking up in the middle of the night to head to a community centre to join in the football fervor, and…
(5) Perhaps don the same colours/jerseys of a country…

I will miss those times… =)

Banquet Locations

2010-07-07T22:06:00.005+08:00

Been in the wedding-searching mode again, as I came across some places which I felt are different from the usual style of wedding banquets.

Bluesky @ GardenAsia

And Straits View @ Changi. Unfortunately they do not have much pictures for this one, which makes me wonder if an outdoor banquet here is possible, for it would be by the sea, and very different...

Galley by the Straits is another cool location, with The Boardwalk or The Slipway being my choice of venue.

Lastly, RSYC seems like another interesting outdoor wedding venue. But it's not going to be cheap...

Wedding Rings

2010-06-16T23:13:00.005+08:00

The recent wedding craze with my colleagues has caught on to me, that for no apparent reason I went looking at wedding rings. Well, these rings are really lovely to me =) It's just too bad they aren't really wedding bands.

(It'll be good if the boutiques allow switching of wedding bands with rings that I like instead, though I think that will only happen in my dreams, haha...)

Pictures from Lee Hwa Jewellery

Navy Open House

2010-05-23T20:17:00.000+08:00

While I have always been a fan of the military, navy and air force, surprisingly this year I wasn't that keen on going to the Navy Open House (I'm guessing it's probably because I felt tired). But the Boy decided to check it out, as we head off to the East side for some sunny experience.

It was such a hot and crowded day! Every where we went, there were tons of people queueing up to board the ships or were waiting for the rides. All ships had a minimum waiting time of 1 hour, which was a big turn-off for me, especially when the weather was extremely hot. It was no wonder then that we decided to hide out in some of the tentages. Even then the crowd was scary... Fortunately, it was in the tentage that we discovered through some high-tech screen that there were some ships whose queues weren’t that long. Hence, we decided to give them a try.

We boarded both the Patrol Vessel and Mine Countermeasure Vessel, as we were given a tour of both ships.

When it seems like we were almost done, we received a call from the event organiser that our ballot for a ship cruise was successful! As such, we had to continue waiting in the hot sun for another 30 minutes before it was time to board the Missile Corvette.

My darling Boy and his act-cute pose with the submarine while killing time.

Our little boarding ticket. Can we say that we are lucky considering that we also got to board a plane during the Air Force Open House?

The corvette took us out of the harbour for a quick cruise. It felt nice to have the wind blowing against your face against the hot sun...

Sunshine as ever =D

And to show you how big the gust of wind was...

Check out my flying hair! *Pukes*

What I felt interesting was that we actually boarded the 3 smallest ships compared to what was available. I guess big ships and us are not meant to be...

Anyway, at the end of the day, I was a sunburnt cookie!! But then, I had such a great and special experience with the Boy, nothing can beat that, not even the burn =)

Jade Buffet

2010-05-01T20:38:00.002+08:00

Having a week off from our Japanese class, the Boy and I decided to whisk ourselves away to Fullerton Hotel for their ever famous Jade Restaurant Dim Sum Buffet!!

With such a wide spread of delicacies, the Boy and I fell in love with the Abalone Siew Mai and the Foie Gras XiaoLongBao! I was also surprised by their Custard Bun for it was savoury rather than the usual sweet. Gosh... Just thinking of the food makes me all craving for it again!

Totally おいしい! Happy food makes for a happy couple =)

Circle Line Discovery

2010-04-04T20:00:00.005+08:00

Being an avid fan of experiencing anything new, I decided to drag the Boy along for the Circle Line Open House. Besides, we could both practise our architectural photography skills too =)

Departing from Bras Basah Station, we hopped into the train and travelled to a few stations. There were also some events at certain stations, of which drew some crowds of course. And although there weren't many things to shoot at, I wast still amazed however at how places are connected to each other without having the need to step up to the surface... There were lots of space too, of which I'm sure will be filled up with shops/cafes soon even though I prefer quiet spaces.

Bras Basah and Esplanade Station

My sunshine boy at Promanade Station

My favourite of them all, Stadium Station.

And Paya Lebar Station. I would have loved to take more of this but they constructed a fashion walkway in one of the lanes such that my opportunities were limited… I love how the red contrasts with the rest of the station.

As usual, I was always up to my nonsense shots...

Of course not forgetting our couple shot too =)

Anyway, as part of the event’s open house, we were entitled to free entries around the 4 museums of Singapore. Since we had some more time on hand, and we have had visited the National Museum and the Art Museum before, we decided to brave the hot sun, and walked all the way from Bras Basah Station to the Peranakan Museum!

I think I am really a failed Peranakan, for I don’t know much about my heritage/history, I can’t speak Malay, and I do not know much about the culture. But hopefully one day I will be able to discover more about my heritage…

Once again, I was awed by the lovely architecture of the building, so much so that I wondered again if I could possibly take wedding photos at the museum in future! (I think I'm a little wedding-crazy...) And while I tried my best to find out a bit more about the Peranakan culture since I’m there at the museum, the crowd made it pretty difficult for me to read and find out more. I did however read up a bit about the wedding customs and the handicrafts of Peranakans =)

With one museum ‘conquered’, we moved on further to Singapore Philatelic Museum.

I was quite surprised that its interior was pretty small. Yet despite it being a small museum, its decor was pretty nice, and it is a place rich in information. There, we got to find out more about the different types of stamps from all over the world. It even brought back memories of our younger days when the Boy and I used to collect stamps. It’s just too bad that in the midst of growing up, we either threw our collection away, or we lost it… I think it just proves my point further that one will only learn to appreciate such hobbies/pursuits when we are older. For when we are younger, we probably only go with the flow of collecting just cause others were doing it, or just cause our parents asked us to.

Anyway, as part of their open house, they had some in-house games and events. Deciding not to miss out on it, the Boy and I thought that it’ll be nice to just soak in the atmosphere and try our hand at the games.

Tadah!! The games were of course pretty simple since it was piqued to the level of the children swarming about the place. But hey, no harm being a kid at heart =)

Our Redang Trip

2010-03-22T22:51:00.001+08:00

At Laguna Redang Resort.

Greeted with yet again, gloomy skies...

Snorkelling at the marine reserve

A happy but un-tan us.

My favourite picture =)

Travel Plan: Malaysia

2010-03-18T22:46:00.001+08:00

When: 20-22 March 2010

Our first snorkelling trip together =)

Singapore Martime Week

2010-03-14T19:25:00.001+08:00

Waking up at 4am,
Amidst all the mad rush we had.
To get to Marine South Pier,
With all our camera gear.

Watching the sunrise with you,
While the light shines onto the morning dew,
At Kukup Island we were,
Just you and I, my dear.

A day out to sea with you,
To the lighthouse, the freighters we view.
A special day, a special chance,
With only you, I'll sail with and advance.

Chocolate Buffet

2010-03-13T22:15:00.003+08:00

From Sentosa to Pallada, we finally moved on to the next part of our celebration... Chocolate Buffet at The Fullerton.

Being chocolate lovers, I thought it would be a nice to indulge our tastebuds a little.

But alas, I was not ready for their thick potent chocolate, as I gave up eating just 30 minutes into the buffet!

Thankfully, the Boy was there to help save the day, as he enjoyed the full 2 hour session of chocolate indulgence! (I'm such a weakling...) Oh but I have to say that their dessert wine was really nice!

Thank you my dear for all the sweet memories, with or without the chocolate =)

Pallada

2010-03-13T22:03:00.002+08:00

In between our Sentosa celebration and the next event, having chanced upon the news that a Spanish ship will be docking at Vivocity, the Boy and I took the chance to board the exhibiting ship for some photo fun.

But it seems like luck was not on our side as the skies were very gloomy...

Shots on board

But of course despite the gloomy skies, we still had our fun. In fact, I felt that we were already considered lucky when it skies decided to stop raining when it was our turn to board the ship =)

With you, there can never be a dull day =)

Year 2

2010-03-11T21:35:00.001+08:00

March is the month of our Anniversary, as it is my turn this year to plan for our second year together. This year, I decided to enjoy a night out with him, as we made our way to Amara Sanctuary Spa at Sentosa to celebrate our special day.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with 'bad' news, as our room was not available, even though we were there on time for their check-in time. Fortunately, I booked the package which gave us complimentary tickets to Underwater World. Since the Boy claimed that he hasn't been there before/it was an extremely long time since he went, I thought why not?

Besides, I haven't been there for a long time myself too!

Underwater World has not changed much, except for its external where it has a Stingray Enclosure now. Otherwise, it is still the same, still as small. We missed the Dolphin Show though, as we had no idea what time the performance was. But then, it didn't matter, for it drew the crowd away, and allowed us to have more space for photos together =)

When we ended, thankfully our room was finally ready, as we checked in, unpacked, and exchanged gifts. Curious about what we gave to each other? Ha, it's a secret =)

As the day was still young, we decided to explore the place.

A day and night view of their rooftop outdoor pool, of which we got to enjoy the next morning.

We then made our way to Siloso Beach, where we finally decided to try out the Luge.

Reviews? It was absolutely fun!! While it's shortfall was that the track was a little too short, it was still pretty fast, and we had a ball of a time navigating ourselves along the tracks and trying to beat each other in a little race. No prize for guessing who won =P

And what made the event all the more better was the impromptu picture of us above. Little did we know that his little finger pressed on the shutter button before he said 'cheese' =D Look at my chipmunk face!!!

After having our dinner at Vivocity, we headed back to Sentosa where we enjoyed the night walk around the place.

And before you know it, our celebration at Sentosa has ended... But as much as it was a pretty short celebration, there's actually more planned out for the next day =)

Anatomy Wonder

2010-02-28T20:06:00.001+08:00

Since Body Worlds was in town, and it was conveniently situated in the West, I dragged the Boy along for the exhibition. I thought it would be good for him to take a look at the naked human body, and also better understand what I was studying during my poly day. It sure brought back memories...

Unfortunately, due to the no photography rule, there are no pictures to share. All I can say is that while we were intrigued at the human bodies, the giraffe and squid exhibit were however more fascinating =)

(And I thought we were there to be amazed at human bodies, not animals…)

Lights of Spring

2010-02-20T19:57:00.001+08:00

With our disappointment at River Ang Bao, we thought that the lighting exhibition at Sentosa would be better. Replacing their usual flower festival, this year, they featured lights instead.

At Imbiah Station

But... We were so wrong! Lights of Spring was not any better. Once again, apart from the zodiac signs, there wasn’t any thing more to look at =(

Not to mention that I could hardly make out what the lights were suppose to look like either. Plus the lightings on the Merlion wasn't that pretty, but instead made me think that it looked sick... Sigh, this year's exhibitions were just horrible… I guess the country wanted to cut down on cost so much that nothing was worth our time…

Though I think I should count myself lucky that I got great company to get by the lousy exhibitions =)

River Ang Bao

2010-02-19T22:41:00.000+08:00

Our 3rd straight year again to the annual River Ang Bao Exhibit at the Marina Floating Platform.

All excited about it, we actually walked our way to where Citylive was instead (being the dodo-brains we were). However, with no tickets on hand, we could only do a roundabout turn to where we wanted to be).

We took our usual animal zodiac shots, and then... there was nothing left to look at!

We were only fascinated with this exhibit at most, a dragon and phoenix made of cutlery like spoon, plates and bowls. Other than that, there wasn't much to look at, and the mountain of tigers wasn't very interesting to look at.

So we had no other choice but to walk around and try to entertain ourselves. That was when I saw a master drawing using 'molten' candy. It brought back childhood memories of mine, as I remembered enjoying the sweetness of my animals back then. Never thought I would see such art again...

And then, we came across people trying to hit well-wishes hanging upon bells. I usually do not participate in such things, but I thought, 'what the heck', since the event was pretty boring.

Armed with my 3 coins (two 10-cents and one 5-cent), I aimed for 心想事成. But as fate would have it, out of my 3 coins, only my 5-cent coin hit a little known saying: 春风得意. Ha, I guess even with its well wishes, my 5 cent would not make much of it. Oops... Hopefully my luck would not be that bad this year, haha...

Happy Lunar New Year!

Resorts World Walkabout

2010-01-23T21:43:00.002+08:00

The casino

Escalators in motion

Festive Hotel and Hotel Michael

Hard Rock Cafe Hotel

Crocksford Tower

The shopping stretch

Us

Quest for Immortality

2010-01-16T21:28:00.002+08:00

I don't think I can ever get enough of Egypt, as I got the Boy to accompany me to that National Museum to catch the Quest for Immortality exhibition.

Maybe one day I can finally make my way to Egypt to see the real relics...

At the entrance, we were introduced to some of the sculptures of Ancient Egypt.

Showcases of some of their daily artifacts.

The mural wall

I did not know that so many people were interested in the exhibits of Egypt, though there was this wall which featured little sculptures of the Ancient Gods, from Horus, to Anubis to Sekhmet. All I know was that every one was crowding behind the glass screens taking snapshots of every sculpture,making me wonder if they really understood the Gods and their area of care, and would they also remember them when they finally leave the exhibition…

Relics for the dead… Tombstones and their resting place, the pyramid.

The last section was about mummification, where they even showed a short clip on the 'process'. I chose not to take any pictures in this section, for I thought that it would have been weird to take some pictures of the mummies and the sarcophagus. Plus I was a bit disappointed that they did not share more about their beliefs of the afterlife.

Anyway, at the end of the exhibition, we went back to the little spot where visitors could have some interaction with the exhibits. There was this section where we could print our names according to the ancient hieroglyphics. And I decided why not, since I decided to forgo it previously when I went to the exhibition at Science Centre previously.

The alphabet system of Ancient Egypt. If you can see, they do not have the alphabet “E”!

So there we were, fighting with the rest of the people in order to get hold of the alphabet printing blocks. Fighting with kids and adults alike to get some space, as well as paper and the printing blocks…

Tadah!! Our names in hieroglyphics (though I’m missing my ‘e’)!

With our mission accomplished, we decided to take a couple shot together =)

I’m so glad that I got to take a look at the exhibition, albeit being a little small. And thanks to the Boy and his mastercard, we managed to get the tickets at half price!(which I felt justified the value of the exhibition rather than at its actual pricing).

New Year's Tavern

2009-12-31T23:15:00.000+08:00

Having tried Thai-Spanish fusion, I decided to give the European Swiss cuisine a try for our New Year celebration.

We headed off to The Tavern Restaurant, where we were greeted with a Swiss Chalet-inspired
theme.

And they even prepared some New Year celebration 'tools' in the anticipation that you might stay till midnight.

Escargot and lobster bisque were on our menu this time, as we also enjoyed a complimentary raspberry sorbet.

For our main course, I had some beef with avocado (one whole fruit in fact!), and the Boy had some pork chop with apple sauce. Both tasted fantastic, and we could not help enjoying ourselves to the fullest!

Dessert however was a disaster with the baked alaskan. Even with the lure of brandy for this dessert was not enough to save him from the saccarhine overload, nor me from the overdose of meringue.

But I guess overall we still enjoyed our experience at the Tavern. The waiters/waitresses were warm, and our entrees and mains were sumptuous. We can jsut count ourselves unlucky to have chosen a dessert which we both didn’t like. Not to mention that I got to spend lovely time with my partner, so that makes up for all the dislikes =)

Happy new year my dear!

Christmas Limon

2009-12-25T23:47:00.000+08:00

During this festive month, we decided that the Boy would plan for Christmas, and me, the New Year.

This year, our Christmas Eve dinner was at Limon, a Spanish and Thai fusion restaurant.

Tucked away in Purvis Street lies this quaint restaurant with lovely decor.

I guess he must be quite happy as well, seeing his cheeky grin =)

For tapas, we had Guy Krapow – Thai style fried chicken. It tasted pretty good, though I was wondering what leaves were in the dish. I have a feeling it was basil…

As for our mains, we were both in the fishy mood, as he had the Filete de Salmon, and I had the Limon Bacalao. Both fish were really fresh, and they were yummilicious!

Time to tuck in!

For dessert, we tried out the Lemon Caramel Egg Custard Flan. This was absolutely delicious! A must try! (At least in my opinion)

We also had some wine for the night, as there was a 1-for-1 promotion on their wines. Overall, the dining experience was a really pleasant one, as the place was very comfortable, and the food was great. And when it went back home, it was time to exchange our Christmas gifts!

Merry Christmas my darling!

Japan Joy: Day 6

2009-12-06T23:19:00.001+08:00

Our last day was a tour of Tokyo city.

First up: Asakusa Kannon Buddhist Temple

We also got to shop along Nakamise Shopping Street, though once again, we were too early for most of the shops to open. But... Somehow I managed to purchase a really nice but expensive beret!! Oops... =)

We then proceeded on to Ueno Market, a place where we could buy lots of food at cheaper prices! It was there that I told the Boy it would be a good time to buy a box of hi-chew. But, the silly dodo that he is thought that the airport might sell it at a cheaper price. In the end… I was right, and we were a box of hi-chew less…Boo to that though I did manage to buy some mochii to make up for it.

It was on to Ginza, place of high-class shopping, home to the ever famous Burberry Blue brand… It is here that we ascertain our beliefs that we were in a tour of rich people, as most of them bought the expensive label back home.

After a whole lot of shopping, we bought tickets to the monorail, as we made our way to Venus Fort. It was quite cool trying out the public transport system of Japan. In fact, there were many other tourists on board as well.

In the train and at the station.

A lovely view during the ride.

After a few stops, we finally came to Palette Town, where Venus Fort was located.

It seems like we stuck true to our hobby of photography, as we decided to give shopping a miss, and instead take more pictures.

When we finally stopped and made our way into Venus Fort for some lunch, we discovered that due to the festive season, the shopping mall has prepared some lovely lightings for its shoppers!

Since I'm a lover of all pretty things, I feel in love with the beautiful lightings of the mall.

After lunch, we proceeded on to our final destination – Tokyo Bay

There, we took pictures of the Statue of Liberty and the Rainbow Bridge against the ever beautiful sky of Japan.

And then… It was time to go home!! =(

It was really sad to know that it was time to leave beautiful Japan and head back to Singapore. I thoroughly enjoyed the nice cool weather, and the opportunity to wear my boots! (Seriously, Japan is such a boot country, regardless of age.) And although this marks the end of our Japan trip, I am very sure we will return once again, especially when we have yet to capture Mount Fuji on camera! Japan 2011?

Japan Joy: Day 5

2009-12-05T23:47:00.000+08:00

It's time for Disneyland!!

Unfortunately, the tickets to Disneyland were not part of the tour package, but we had our tour guide to thank as she decided to help us purchase it from a convenience store, for us to exchange it for the tickets itself when we reached Disneyland. Initially, we had the choice of choosing either DisneySea and Disneyland. But I thought since I have had experience with Disneyland before, it'll be good if I could guide him along (Besides, we can always go to DisneySea together next time) =P

Staying in Hotel Akasaka, we were lucky that they provided transport to and from Disneyland. However, it came at a price. It was either at 730am or 10am, when Disneyland opens at 9am. We decided to go with the later one, as I could then sleep in more since I looked more and more like a zombie as the days go by. As nice as it might sound, horrors of horrors, the day that we visit Disneyland is actually a Sunday!! Crazy crowds…

Upon arrival, I knew that the Boy had to take Winnie the Pooh ride. Our first stop upon entering the gates was to head directly to that station. But…The Fast Pass was for 8pm onwards, and the standby queue had a waiting time of 210 minutes!! Disappointed, we decided to give it a miss first, and headed off for other rides.

Our first ride was the Haunted Mansion, which the Boy felt unimpressed. For me, I thought it was amazing how they changed everything to be Christmas themed just cause the festive is around the corner.

Here, we waited for more than 2 hours!! The crowd was just crazy, that even the ever patient Boy also got a bit tired of waiting… However, when finally we got onto the ride, it was a pretty nice one!

When we finally got out of Splash Mountain, there was a parade on suddenly. We thought that we’d skip this one first, and head on to the other rides first, because the crowd tends to dwindle for the rides when parades are on. But luck wasn’t on our side, when we discovered that Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster ride was under maintenance…

In the end, we decided to just try waiting for Pooh’s Hunny Hunt.

Struggling through the crowd to make it to the ride, somehow we got a bit lucky that we managed to still see the parade carousel past us while standing in the horribly long queue…

It was during this 1+ hours of waiting that the Boy got turned off by the Fast Pass too. He realised that while it was good to get it, but the system of letting in 20 fast pass to 3 standby crowd was overly unbalanced. Thankfully, the ride was just awesome to him, that I’m so glad that he thoroughly enjoyed himself! =)

After these 3 rides, it was time to camp for the parade… And with it being 3pm, we decided to just feed ourselves with some munchies to tide us through lunch.

Presenting the ever interesting star-shaped prawn and dumpling bun with mickey chocolate banana pastry.

Since I was armed with just my P&S, we decided that we would divide the work, as I focused more on the parade floats and him the characters.

I thought that the parade was really nice and entertaining, filled with lots of Christmas cheer. When it ended, it was only about 4pm, but the sky was starting to turn dark! Hence we quickly made our way to the castle to grab a shot of it first before we lose the blue skies…

Nice nice… =)

Towards the end, we took a few more rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours (of which I felt sick), and shows like MicroAdventure.

Soon, it was time for the Night Parade, where thousands of lights dazzle the streets!

This was really an amazing experience, it was really cool seeing all the lighted floats! But... Apparently, this parade was a lot longer than the first one we saw, so much so that my arms were aching from holding up the camera for so long.! Not to mention that I had no tripod as well that it was such a challenge taking clear pictures with the floats constantly on the move.

At the end of the parade, I cannot help but feel starved. We decided to just give in to our hunger pangs and buy some of their expensive food in the theme park. During then, we were hurrying with our food, because it wasn’t long before they would blast off some fireworks in the sky. I thought that I would have loved to capture the fireworks with the castle. But due to the lack of time, we ended up being behind the castle, the wrong place to be to capture both the castle and fireworks together on film!

And so, I only got this... -_-

At the end of everything, we decided to just call it a day. As our shuttle bus back to the hotel would only arrive at 1045pm, we had close to 2 hours of shopping! Unfortunately, Disneyland only sells food and souvenirs, as the Boy went crazy over choosing the various types of cookies and crackers, and even influencing me to buy some! Before I met him, I was not one to buy souvenirs or foodies from such theme parks, but because of him, this time, I bought a lot! =P

Anyway, before I end this entry, I shall share with you all a wonderful find.

By the time we reached our hotel, it was about 11pm, and most shops were closed by then. But because we were starving, we decided to try out the convenience store’s takeaway. I chose the udon (left), he chose the prawn noodles (right). And… They were extremely delicious!! Do not be misled that we found them tantalizing just because we were hungry. They do really taste good, and you will really marvel at how they turned from a frozen ball of food to such delicious meals. If you are ever in Japan, do give these takeaways a try! =)

Japan Joy: Day 4

2009-12-04T23:49:00.003+08:00

Early next morning, we made our way to the nearby station where we get to board the bullet train!

It was the Boy’s first time on a bullet train. Hence it was no wonder that he was pretty excited!

Our puny ticket... Looks quite cute!

All aboard!

Leaving Toyohashi, we made our way to Hamamatsu, where our next stop was Mount Fuji.

But before that, some more pictures around the train station...

Our long journey ride to Mount Fuji saw us passing by a few scenic places. And while you can't see it in this picture, the grass were actually as tall as humans! Pretty much seem like a maze… Perfect place to play hide and seek...

Our first stop was the stinky place of Owakudani Boiling Valley.

Due to the mineral conditions of the place, eggs that were boiled there had a natural black colour. They say eating one egg would help minus 7 years of your age. Now, I'm 7 years younger! Ahahaha...

Lunch was in the town of Ashi, where we had some cold dish and plum wine. Plum wine is nice... =D

Exploring around Lake Ashi, we were greeted instead with gloomy skies... Not a good sign...

As part of our tour, we were treated to a scenic Lake Ashi cruise.

We were supposed to be able to view Mount Fuji from the lake. But the dark gloomy clouds killed our chances... In the end, it poured… And because of this rain, we were unable to ascend Mount Fuji. All we could go to was the station at the foot of the mountain =(

Overall, it was quite a disappointment not being able to ascend Mount Fuji at all, especially to the Boy when it was his main wish. But I guess we cannot beat Mother Nature, though I am sure we will be back again to catch Mount Fuji, no matter what!

Departing from Mount Fuji, we made our way to our final destination in Japan, Tokyo. we headed off to the Metropolitan Government Building, where we ascended to the highest level to view the night lights of Tokyo city. However, with the rain that plagued us throughout the night, the windows were filled with watermarks, coupled with the bright lights in the building itself made it difficult for us to capture any shots…

Our next stop then was the ever famous Shinjuku Kabukicho Night Street. We would have loved to stay there longer, and even make our way to Shibuya. But time was not on our side, as we could only wander around a few streets before having to make our way back to a particular street for a dinner buffet.

Here are just some shots that I got on this wet and rainy day…

Upon returning to our hotel (Akasaka Hotel), we decided to continue exploring the area. That’s when we discovered this!

It was such a pretty scene, I really wanted to capture it on photo. That was when we saw this group of ladies, and approached them for help. But… They could not speak English, and neither could we speak Japanese, very much like a scene of a duck talking to a chicken! Still, after much gesturing and patience from them, we finally got a decent photo =) It was also this time when I realised how friendly and patient the Japanese really are...

Anyway in the end, there was nothing else to explore, as we retired for the day, in preparation for our next day of fun at... Tokyo Disneyland!! =)

Japan Joy: Day 3

2009-12-03T23:45:00.001+08:00

Kyoto was our next day's destination. I was very excited because Kyoto is a place of lovely scenes, though the only drawback was that we had to wake up very very early in the morning to set off!

Our first destination was the place that I was extremely excited to visit.

I was in awe...

My only disappointment would be that we did not have the chance to come here at night. If not, the night lightings would have definitely made my day with the stunning photos that I could have captured.

I would have loved to stay longer, but we were on a tight schedule, and hence had to quickly made our way back to the coach, especially when we wanted to capture scenes of the nearby place.

Red leaves apart from the greens of the bamboo.

A happy boy with his scenery pic.

Togetsukyo Bridge that links the Hozu River.

Departing from Arashiyama, our next stop was once again, Kinkakuji – The Golden Pavilion.

Sadly, the sky wasn’t that blue, though I guess it’s still not too bad…

More pictures around the place =)

Lunch was at Nishijin Textile Centre.

Happy boy with his happy food!

Initially on our itinerary, we were suppose to board a train where the train conductor will sing traditional Japanese folk songs. However, this was removed and replaced by a Kimono Fashion Show. Not that I would complain, because this time, the Boy was around, armed with his DSLR for better photo taking!

(Darn those heads!)

Trivia: Single females wear Kimono with long sleeves. Those whose sleeves are shorter mean that they are already married.

Moving on, we headed off to Gion, a place where you could try and catch a rare look at Geishas. (By the way, the picture on the left is a school for Maikos).

But alas, I could not spot any. All I saw however was just this lady dressed in her Kimono…

Our last stop for the day at Kyoto was the ever famous Kiyomizu Temple.

I remember that the last time I went there, the sky was dull, and the colours were dull. This time, the temple was surrounded by lovely red leaves! A lovely sight indeed…

And just to share with everyone how much I love red leaves…

Red here, red there, red everywhere!! =P

And on a totally random note…

Mr Softie anyone? =P

As night fell, we made our way to Toyohashi.

To me, Hotel Nikko Toyohashi was one of the nicest hotel during our trip.

Full from a nice dinner, as the night was still young, we went on to explore the area for more shoots and shopping. There was a large shopping centre nearby our hotel, as I went shopping for more leggings since the next day's event was the colder venue of Mount Fuji.

Lastly, who wouldn't want to take a picture of themselves in yukata when you are in Japan??

Certainly not us! Say cheese! =D

Japan Joy: Day 2

2009-12-02T23:46:00.001+08:00

The next morning, it was time for Universal Studios!!

Having done a bit of exploring near the gate the night before, we were definitely excited to kick start our adrenaline-pumping day in the morning. But first up, some pictures from the night before...

The Boy actually wanted to take pictures with his tripod, so we made a trip back to our hotel to grab it. Little did we know that in that short time span, when we came back, all the lights of USJ was off! Guess luck is not on his side…

The next morning, after a nice breakfast, we made our way to enjoy the rides. But guess what happened? It was raining!!! It seems like luck was really not on our side, as we decided to brave the rain nonetheless, especially when we have travelled all the way to Japan to enjoy the amusement park...

Unlike my previous tour, our tour guide did not accompany us into the theme park, though she did was give us a map and indicated on it what were the scary ones, and what were the mild rides. Thankfully, I have had ‘experience’, as we quickly made our way to our first ride, Spiderman!

Despite the rain, there was still a long queue to beat! Nevertheless, the Boy enjoyed the ride thoroughly!

Our next ride was Back to the Future. As expected, I felt sick, again… The Boy on the other hand was still alive and kicking, very wildly too! He’s such an adrenaline junkie…

(Check out my sick face...)

While rides were of importance given the craziness of some queues, we still pause occasionally to snap a few pictures, of which, I find the above attempted snarl hilarious! =)

I am sweet!! =P

I had my Jurassic Park ride again. This time, instead of a 90-minute wait, we had to wait for only 5 min? Why?

Because it started to rain!! And it had to pour even more when it was our turn to get onto the non-sheltered boat…

Thankfully, we survived the trip even though we did not purchase any ponchos like the rest of the people did, as can be seen by our appearance at the gift shop, and the attempted devouring of me by the t-rex... -_-

Because of the rain, it somehow kept the crowd out, thereby allowing us to enjoy most of the rides.

As such, we managed to catch Jaws and kill it, to the constant chattering of the Japanese tour ride (which none of us could understand). The above couple picture however was taken by a friendly Japanese who freely volunteered his service to help us capture a picture. Bingrong says that the soft toy is held by me like it was my baby. Hmm…

So apart from the above mentioned four rides, we also caught Waterworld, Shrek’s 4D Adventure (nice!) and Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show (boring…). The only thing we missed was Peppermint Patty’s Stunt Slide (very much like our Fantasy Island water slide rides), and the Hollywood Dream rollar coaster ride, much to our disappointment. Why we missed it was because of the rain, and it would have been too darn cold to get even wetter, or to have really cold wind blowing at your face…Bummer...

Our loss however was made up with our many chances to capture photo opportunities with the mascots =)

Midway into our walkabout, we chanced upon a dozen santarinas. Suddenly, there was a swarm of photographers (mainly male), standing in front of them, going shutter crazy! Reminded me very much of the SIN times… =S

Then, from this crazy scene, I spotted a lonely snowman… He just looked so cute (even though I wanted to kick them earlier on, oops)!! Maybe I had a change of heart, but given his really cute exterior, I just had to grab a picture of him together with us =)

After conquering most mascots and rides, you would think that our photo opportunities would have ended. But I guess not with the above 2 pictures, ahahaha... =) Anyway, with the rides more or less ‘completed’, we decided to head to the stores and start looking at souvenirs.

In all our excitement of rides and buying of souvenirs, we actually skipped lunch, partly also because we refused to spent money on their exorbitant meals. That was when I decided to snack, and chance upon extremely cute buns! The Hello Kitty bun had savoury strawberry flavour, and after much scouring, the Snoopy bun had custard (my fav) in it! Aahh… When you bite into them, they taste like heaven…

At the end of the day, after a whole day spent in USJ running from the rain, enjoying the rides, checking out all the stores, we ended up buying more foodie souvenirs than any other things! The Boy claimed that theme park food are a definite must-try, as they always taste very good! Plus, with their extremely lovely packaging, one cannot help but indulge! Besides, the night parade was cancelled due to the rain, and that gave us more excuses to shop around =)

Done with our shopping, we also indulged in challenging night photography, minus the tripod…

Dinner was spent at a restaurant, enjoying some omelette rice… Our happy faces are a sign of good food =) But as much as the food was great, that did not stop us from having some supper…

Snoopy cup noodles!! Check out their cute woodstock and snoopy fishcake-like-things! Yes, piggies we were =P

What a memorable wet day at USJ… =P

Japan Joy: Day 1

2009-12-01T18:29:00.002+08:00

With the Boy having a long-time dream to travel to Japan, imagine our excitement when we finally got ourselves to the airport. We thought that since it was his first time there, we might just join a tour group to get to know the place better before heading off on our own in future.

As with most check-ins, we had a lot of time to kill on our hands, especially when we already had dinner before making our way to the airport. Hence, we decided to plonk ourselves at Starbucks while waiting, as well as fill up any forms required for Japan customs.

Our happy and excited faces when we finally boarded the plane. (Do note how my face turned from happy to fatigue as the days go by…)

Japan Airlines was the company that we were flying with. Truthfully speaking, I do not expect much with regards to the food onboard from other airlines apart from SIA, but I have to say that our breakfast on board was really nice! Crab meat porridge with cold salad of prawn, fruits and green tea. Yummy!!

After a long flight, we finally landed at Kansai International Airport in Osaka. But because of our night flight, we ended up reaching Osaka at 6 plus in the morning!

Check out the deserted airport...

Thankfully our local tour guide, Ogawa, have already arrived, as we slowly made our way to the bus after twittering around the airport for a short while.

On our way to our very first destination, Nara...

Our first stop was Nara Deer Park, where deers are allowed to roam freely within its enclosure. While there were really many deers, I’m not sure why my picture did not feature one!

Nestled in the park is the sightseeing attraction, Todaiji Temple of Daibutsu.

And so began our clicking of shutters...

Couple shot!

With some time on hand, we decided to explore more of the place. That's when we chanced upon this scene...

Such lovely red and yellow leaves! Our tour guide actually mentioned to us that Autumn was late this season. But while our Earth is going through turmoil, I guess it was nice though to still be able to catch view of the Autumn leaves...

Anyway, while we were there, there were actually lots of Japanese students, and they came by the mass! Our tour guide said that it was because their school trips around Japan was pushed back from the Summer season to Winter due to the H1N1 outbreak previously. Thankfully, we managed to get there and leave before they really thronged in by the hundreds!

Moving on from Nara, our next stop was back to Osaka, where we had our lunch in the vicinity of Osaka Castle.

There, we had our one and only group tour photo, where I was mistaken to be the wife of the Boy... Hmm...

Our first local meal from the tour. I was telling the Boy not to be too excited with our meals as I have had experience before with Japan tours. But the food wasn’t that bad, as we had a simple fair of soba and hot pot.

And then, it was back to photo taking...

Osaka Castle

I am actually very pleased with this trip, because this time round, I was able to capture more scenic photos as compared to my previous Japan trip with my family. The skies were nicer, and we had slightly more time to take pictures too.

Surrounded by the yellow Autumn leaves... Oh I so love Japan...

And who knew that we would be so lucky to witness a wedding photography session going on as well during our trip. Check out their cool costumes! (I can so imagine how pretty their pictures would turn out, with the red against the yellow leaves).

More scenes of the lovely Japan in Autumn/Winter...

After Osaka Castle, we made our way to Shinsaibashi, the shopping paradise. But… Our time there was quite short! Plus, shopping during the Winter season isn't the best time for me, as most shops were selling winter wear, which isn’t what I can don often back in Singapore. And when I did find something I like, it was too small for me!! *Cries* =(

As for the boy, given that Shinsaibashi is right next to Dotombori, famous for its neon lights, we were there a tad too early to see any lights… This I would say is quite a bummer for not only him, but also me, for I would have loved to see what he could conjure up with his DSLR. Sigh… What a pity…

When it was time to move on to our next stop, the skies began to darken (dang!), as we made our way to Kobe, where the reknown Kobe beef is supposedly from (all because their beef drinks beer!).

Kobe’s Chinatown, also known as “Nankinmachi’.

Truthfully, there isn’t much things there except for food. And because dinner was still waiting for us, we did not eat much except for some snacks, as I was already starving by then.

The highlight of the place however was this shop! It’s a desert stall which sells extremely nice Almond Jelly. And a person like me, who does not fancy almond essence that much, actually liked it too!

Unlike the usual almond puddings that we usually eat, this one is much denser, and it has more of a milky taste. I like it! Apart from the nice desert, this shop also sells cheongsams! Now, a cheongsam fan like me would definitely love it, but as luck would have it, we did not have enough time to make our way up to the second floor for a peek.

Moving on, we headed off to Kobe Harbourland.

Harbourland is actually a shopping area, and its entrance actually reminds me a bit of Rhodes back in Sydney.

There, we got to see the majestic Kobe Tower. Mount Rokko is suppose to be somewhere at the back, but I guess the sky was too dark to spot it =S But the moon is surely huge…

Although Harbourland is a shopping venue, I guess the both of us were more interested in taking photos than purchasing items. (Now I would think that is an amazing feat for me because I’m such a shopping queen!)

Couple pic!

With not much time left (again), we quickly made our way to a Cheesecake Shop as recommended by our tour guide, Ogawa.

When we got there, practically most of our tour group peers were there. It seems like Ogawa is really good at discovering good food, that all of us would definitely walk in to any shop/restaurant to try out what she has recommended. But what's really great about this cheesecake that it is not like our usual sweet desert! It’s actually savoury, and tastes of real cheese!! Extremely nice that it is definitely worth your money!

I think our happy faces are evidence of a great food find =)

And what better way to end our first day than great photos, nice weather and delicious food, as we made our way back to our hotel (finally), for our long-awaited dinner.

With that, I end this entry of us with the very lovely Christmas Tree at Harbourland. Somehow, I like this picture a lot =)

Travel Plan: Japan

2009-11-26T21:59:00.000+08:00

After one month's of silence, this blog is finally rejuvenated by the entry that we are going to Japan!!

When: 1-7 December 2009

Time to wear my boots!!

The Weeping Emoticon

2009-10-15T22:07:00.003+08:00

The Boy was asking me how to make the weeping emoticon as seen in msn and facebook after I used it on him. So after much trying, he finally gave up and asked me for the answer. I told him to do the eyes, followed by an apostrophe and the open bracket. Guess what he gave me?

i'(

-_- !!!

On Board Doulos

2009-10-11T19:47:00.004+08:00

I heard from one of my colleagues that a floating bookstore was docked at HarbourFront over this weekend. So, being the curious me, I told the Boy about it, and we decided to just head down and check it out, after finding out that the ship's name was Doulos.

We decided to head there after having lunch at Vivocity, only to find out later that despite the hot weather, there was actually a pretty long queue forming up! (I guess everyone else was as curious as us, haha)...

Anyway while waiting, I decided to just take a few quick snaps of the ship with my puny camera...

Thankfully, we didn't have to wait very long, and before we knew it, it was time to climb up the 'steep' steps of the walkway and get ourselves up the ship. I was lucky in the fact that I decided to google about the ship before heading down, hence finding out that the steps to the ship were quite difficult from someone's blog, and that it was better if I had worn flats instead of heels.

It was very interesting to be on board Doulos, as we can both can a glimpse of how it was like to be living on board the ship. While the crew provided a tour, we decided to skip it and just head straight to the bookstore.

With it being a missionary organisation, it was no surprise that they sold quite a number of Christian books. But there was also no lack of other genres, which saw me quickly indulging in the food section.

(I recently have been going crazy over books once again (that will be another entry on its own). And with me being keen on getting my hands down on new recipes to try out in the near future, or when I am married (ahem ahem), I did not mind purchasing any recipe books which I thought might be interesting).

Trivia: In the floating bookstore, books for sale are priced in units. For Singapore, the 'exchange rate was 25 units = SGD$1.

I got Party Food by Linda Doeser in the end, and with the book costing 200 units, I paid only SGD$8 for it. This got me really happy in the end because to me, it was such a steal! (At least in my opinion).

After enjoying my time at the bookstore, it was time for more photo taking sessions. A view of the cruise ship from Doulos...

When it came to us wanting to take a couple picture on board Doulos, we were met with much difficulty. Firstly, the sun was too bright at that time, resulting in us looking all tiny-eyed. Secondly, there were many people walking about, so it was not easy trying to get a decent picture with the ship as our background, minus all those people.

But, after much perseverance and multiple trial-and-errors, we finally got it! Say cheese (with big eyes)! =D

Stomp 09

2009-10-10T23:58:00.000+08:00

Wow. I have never caught a Stomp performance before even though they have been back year after year. With the girl in the military band during her school days, she had every valid reason to pull me along. Haa...

Throughout the entire performance, the girl was completely intrigued by the incorporated martial-arts-like movements in their performances. Their creativity and movements were just so great that it just blew everyone's' mind off, including mine. Not to mention that they had a nutty display of antics that sent everyone laughing non-stop in the hall. What can I say, it was truly an awesome performance, we totally enjoyed it! I would have to thank the girl for pulling me along. With that, I reckon we will be back to catch their performance once again should they be back to perform in Singapore next year =)

Dodo Hatch's Day

2009-10-06T21:38:00.000+08:00

Just a week from my birthday, it was soon time for me to plan for the Boy's birthday. With his hatch day landing on a weekday, I decided to celebrate his birthday on the weekend ahead of his actual day, as I made reservations for Prive.

Hidden in a little corner from its other cafe/bar, we were introduced to a really posh and quaint area.

Somehow, we were 1 of only 3 groups of customers, which made us feel a little weird with so many eyes looking at us. But we soon got use to it, as we enjoyed really personalised service. The waitress serving us also very helpful with recommendations.

Before we started on our dishes, we were treated to a complimentary ’starter’. Unfortunately, I forgotten the name of it, but I thought that it was very nicely presented. Plus, it tasted good!

Our starter was crudo, made from hokkaido scallops, sakura prawns, olive oil, yuzu and shiroshoyu. While it was fresh and tasted great, it was seriously too tiny…

My main was the rare duck breast and confit of duck leg (left) while the Boy had the grilled kurobuta pork chop (right). Seriously, our mains were really really sumptuous! I particularly like my duck breast despite it being rare and slightly bloody. But paired with the persimmon-like fruit, the combined taste was really really nice. The pork chop on the other hand tasted really great with the apple sauce!

For dessert, we had the molten center chocolate soufflé (my first ever!) Nice, fluffy and soft, it’s no doubt it was the recommended dessert by the waitress.

So, with all these delicious dishes, it is no wonder we are such a happy couple. To me, it reminded me a lot like Fullerton’s fine dining, only that it is more affordable.

And at the end of our dinner, we were treated to nice lighting and views of the marina =)

Which of course called for another couple shot =)
Happy birthday my dear darling! =D

And just in case any of you are wondering, I got him a nice Picard card holder =)

Mid Autumn Festival Mooncakes

2009-10-04T21:51:00.002+08:00

It's the time of the year again to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival, as the Boy and I decided to get our hands dirty once again by making our very own mooncakes!

Carrying on the craze from work, I borrowed some of the mooncake moulds home as we got started in the early afternoon. Even the Boy’s mom joined us in the making =)

After 2 long hours, we finally got our mooncakes done! Green, sky blue, purple and white, it was actually pretty nice to see the multi-colours all nicely done!

And something new and special for this year was that we tried making mini mooncakes using Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse moulds. With special thanks to E’s Joie, I managed to purchase these cute moulds, bringing some variety and difference to the usual round/square shaped moulds =)

Such cuteness... Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

The Birthday Girl's Celebration

2009-09-27T22:36:00.001+08:00

With much planning, Raphel celebrated my birthday for me at Vivocity's Serenity Restaurant and Bar, a Spanish eatery with cool decor and a live band.

(Heh, he sure knows how much I enjoy live gigs though unfortunately for him, he could not be somewhere in town where he can hear the F1 cars zooming by and enjoy the smell of burnt rubber!).

Somehow, we were given nice huge comfy sofa chairs for our reservation even though there were only 2 of us. But that did not stop us from enjoying the comfort provided to us, as we soaked up the Spanish atmosphere and the occasional cool sea breeze.

As for food, we ordered an appetizer of prawns in olive oil. It was superb!! It was fresh and it tasted really good =)

For the main, we ordered Paella Valencia (I think), which was seafood paella in general, serving for 2. I thought that the rice was a bit like glutinous rice, though the word saffron in it really reminded me of Restaurant City again, haha =)

While we enjoyed our red wine and the live band, the live band soon performed a live birthday gig for me, while the restaurant presented me with a complimentary birthday cake, which was all too pretty for us to want to spoil it...

Raphel on the other hand bought me a nice Guess watch and... A Tenderheart Care Bear!!

He said it's to brighten up my day as it will remind me of him whenever I look at it. Too bad it's not big enough to hug, haha... =)

So yup, I was a very happy girl at the end of the day. With good food, nice music and lovely company, the day was almost perfect if I had not fallen sick with an upset tummy, for that spoilt my clubbing chance at Butter Factory/Helipad as it is rare that Raphel allows me some alcohol in my system... With that, I had to retire early for the night.

But, the celebration is not over yet, as the next morning, he arranged for a lovely breakfast at Riders Cafe!!

Having come across it on the web, I thought that it was a really cool place to visit, given that one could have the chance to see horsies trotting by while you have your breakfast.

And I sure did not miss them as just when we entered the place, we spotted 2 just coming up the road. That got Raphel pretty excited too as he had never rode on a horse before. And that pretty much gives me the idea that it'll be nice to plan for an overseas horse riding trip one day for the two of us =)

Anyway, back to food. When we had a chance to look at the menu, we were surprised to see that their breakfasts were all very reasonably priced! I had the Norwegian Salmon Benedict while the Boy had the Rider’s Breakfast, both of which cost less than $15! And given the portions that they served, I would think that it is very worth it, not to mention that they taste great too!

With our happy faces, I'm sure you can tell that we are very pleased with the place. In fact, Raphel fell in love with the cafe, especially when we discovered that there are other cool restaurants in the same area too. The only drawback I find is that it is slightly out of the way, and without a car, it is quite inaccessible.

But then again, I don't think that would stop us very much... =P

PS: Thank you very much my dear for the lovely birthday celebration!
Here's to more fun and happy times together.

Now, it's my turn to plan for your birthday celebration (which is only in 1 week's time!)

Happy Birthday Girl !

2009-09-27T20:46:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday!

To my dear girl, may we have many many many more joyous and fun birthday celebrations together! =D Stay pretty always! Hee... Muacks!

Army Open House 2009

2009-09-05T19:24:00.007+08:00

It's the time of the year again, where I get to see the men in green once more at the Army Open House 2009.

As usual, the Boy once again decided to accompany me despite not being a big fan of the army. But then, he stays pretty near the camp, so why not? =P

Dressed for the theme (at least somewhat for me), we head on out to view the stationary mobiles like the chinook, the tanks, the lightstrike vehicle etc. Silly me decided to wear denim skirt for the day, which impeded me ability to climb in and out of the vehicles for photo opportunities =(

As such, we didn't stay around the mock-ups for long, which saw us heading to Battle World, where we decided to try out a 'game' where we had to engage terrorists who had captured 4 civilians. While I was pretty excited to try out the weapons again, the downside of it all was that it involved a really long waiting time, of which your turn was not in order to whether or not you earlier than others. (Bumper to the Boy for that). Anyway, I also found out to my dismay that the M16 was really heavy!! (And I thought I was strong... Humpt!)

Oh ya, one more thing. While I was told to fire at the timer to disarm the bomb for the mission, guess what?

I aimed for the bomb! I'm such a sillified dodo...

Anyway, silly-ness aside, maybe it was because I've been to the Army Open House often enough, or I've seen army related stuff quite often that we did not watch any of the performances. And although I was really really keen to try out the Combat Ride Safari or the Live Firing Safari, the extremely long queue and the estimated time of 1.5 hours of waiting turned me off big time, that we decided to cut our visit short, and just head home.

Oh well, at least I got to shoot the M16 =)
How about the SAR-21 next time??

Rasa Sentosa Getaway

2009-08-23T10:14:00.001+08:00

Given our hectic working schedule, the girl and I decided to getaway for a short relaxation at the southern sunny island of Singapore, Sentosa.

Since both of us are so into travelling, we decided to try different accommodations in Singapore to witness the quality of the rooms and services. And not forgetting our "Pocahontas" mission. Haa.

A view of the deluxe room

Our personal balcony

Boy, it was a packed weekend where we had to queue up for our room to be ready. Even the swimming pool was packed like crazy and that we had to find ourselves a place next to the beach instead. With the hotel providing free shuttle service to Vivocity, we made use of the free service and had our dinner there.

However, both of us were quite disappointed with the breakfast provided the next morning. The variety and quality of food weren't up to our standard. Guess we really set a high standard heh. Nonetheless, I had a really good time spent with the girl. Every minute of her by my side really made me feel happy. *Heartz* =D

Another Product Shoot

2009-08-08T21:35:00.000+08:00

It was another weekend burnt as the Boy and I headed down to my workplace again for a second round of product shoot.

This time round, I was the photographer, after much persuasion by Raphel =P

And I must say, he was a really great assistant =)

Sing Dollar

2009-07-25T20:28:00.001+08:00

I guess that Boy has become very much influenced by me, as he was pretty willing to go along with me for the play SingDollar. Not to mention that it was held at the Esplanade theatre, which got us very much excited as it would be our first time there together =)

Staged in the streets of Geylang, the storyline was about how a group of people try to get away with a discovered bag of money. While I was very much tickled by most of their jokes and amazed by their accurate accents, I guess the play was a little too long-winded for my liking. Nevertheless, the garish costumes, the hilarious jokes and the wonderful acting, SingDollar was really a play worth my time and money.

Italian Fine Dining

2009-07-21T15:32:00.007+08:00

Seeing how The Lighthouse at the Fullerton had an Italian Fining Dining lunch promotion, I thought why not give it a try the next day after we landed back in Singapore, especially when both of us also took leave to rest and relax for just one more day.

Located right at the top of the hotel, we were greeted with friendly staff and a nice ambience.

The happy Boy with his bread.

Our foccacia bread with black olive spread. I cannot help but fall in love with this bread, because it is just oh-so-yummy! One thing interesting to note was that we were given sparkling water as our drink. I remembered last time when we were in Hong Kong, the sparkling water that we bought was pretty nasty. But this time round, we were surprised that it tasted pretty nice. And it had better be considering that it cost $10 per bottle!

While waiting for our food, we were given a complimentary dish from the hotel. I cannot really remember tha name of the dish, though I do remember that it contained salmon.

Being a 3 course meal, our appetisers were simply mouthwatering, particularly the wagyu beef.

Left: Buffalo mozzarella with candied tomato petals, green beans and caprese sauce
Right: Wagyu beef carpaccio with basil, anchovies dressing, parmiagiano cheese and mixed salad

Our main course:

Left: Butternut squash tortelloni with light parmigiano cheese and thyme fondue, and crispy pancetta
Right: Drum wheat spaghetti, tomato sauce with fresh ligurian basil

The star is of course the tortelloni, of which has gotten many good reviews from others.

Faces of satisfied diners =)

Our desert for the day is actually Pink guava sorbet with mixed fruits. Reminds me very much of my kiwi sorbet in Restaurant City, a game that I am playing in Facebook =P

At the end of the day, we were very happy customers who were surprisingly satiated! I thought with all the fine dining, we would not be full. But I guess due to my love for the foccacia bread, coupled with sparkling water, one gets full really easily!

The Bangkok Affair (IV)

2009-07-20T15:12:00.001+08:00

Our last day was spent roaming around the streets for more last minute shopping. But not before we did some crazy photo-taking!

With all the flu scare, we did see quite a few people wearing masks. And although I did bring some over, somehow we did not don it on. So, for some crazy moment, we decided to just put on the mask and have a couple shoot. Don't we just look adorable? Haha... =)

Anyway, our last day was quite uneventful. With us having bought so many things, we did not buy much stuff except for some cuff links the Boy bought. It was more of a 'food feast' however, as we went about trying out fast food restaurants.

R Burger was one of them! Not sure if you have heard of it, but apparently it's being brought into Singapore very soon. It's a Japanese restaurant that focuses on healthy eating, as its burgers are of the man-tou bread rather than our usual burger bread. And... It was really really nice!!

After lunch, with even more time to kill, we actually went to watch a movie in Bangkok!! Harry Potter it was, and I guess we were so lucky that of all the cinemas, we chose the Gold Class equivalent cinema, in which we were treated to really comfortable cushion chairs, coupled with nice silk-like blankets and a pillow.

As for the movie-after dinner before we have to fly back to Singapore?

Well I guess the above photo says it all. A very happy Boy with his A&W root beer float and meal =)

The Bangkok Affair (III)

2009-07-19T15:29:00.004+08:00

A crazy look to start the day =)
(A giant mouse stealing food!)

Anyway, let me share with you the lovely exterior of the hotel:

It makes me feel like I'm in Bali =)

Maybe that's why it adds on to my joy =)

After some couple cam-whoring, we proceeded on to Chatuchuk Weekend Market. As from previous experience, we thought that this time round, we came more prepared, and were better dressed, hoping somehow that we could last more than an hour in the market. But guess what, we were wrong! Once again, we stayed at most an hour plus only, because we either did not have anything to buy, and also because it was really still quite warm!

With us out of the market, an aimless walk around the shopping district soon saw us at Asia's largest aquarium, Siam Ocean World.

The funny thing is we did not see this during our first trip to Bangkok last year, and now, it "suddenly" appeared out of nowhere. But oh well, we decided to just go ahead and in we went into the dark shadows of the aquarium, only to be greeted by 2 giant crabs at the entrance!

See that funny fish on the right? It's apparently a frog fish!

Some interiors of the place.

It seems to me that Ocean World wants to have a bit of everything, for they even have a little section on the Amazon habitats, as well as caved animals...

Some 'friends' we saw there =)

They had a few shows going on, but we only caught one of them, of which was feeding of fishes in a huge gigantic tank.

After that, it's a phototaking session of me, the little mermaid princess with her prince! Ahahahaha.... =)

These were taken in the shark enclosure on self-timer mode. I love the light being refracted by the waters.

As part of the entrance fee that we paid, we were given complimentary entrance to the glass bottom boat ride. But it was nothing spectacular, as it was a really really small enclosure. I guess the only fun part was that you had to buy some prawns to feed the fishes, and the sharks if one was 'lucky'.

Lastly, we made our way to the 4D experience movie, where we were treated to some 'actions' and 'scares', much to the amusement of the Boy who kept laughing non-stop. All because of the screams of the ladies due to the spraying of water in our faces and the whacking of our limbs from a thin wire at the bottom of our chairs... Bleah!

The Bangkok Affair (II)

2009-07-18T14:04:00.002+08:00

When we awoke the next day for breakfast, guess what greeted us?

A very lovely swimming pool! They even have a jacuzzi in the little pavilion.

The breakfast there was not bad, as they had a variety of cuisines, drinks and fruits.

Anyway, we made our way to the lobby after breakfast, where we were greeted by our tour guide, who then brought us to our private car, as we made our way to Chao Phraya River.

Me and my sleepy eyes... Zzz...

Scenes along the river trip...

While we travel through rows of raised houses, one of the stops of the river tour was this fish farm area, where we could pay an amount for bread to feed the fishes. While the Boy and I declined to fork out some money, it didn't stop the kids from getting all the fun from the feeding. Besides, the fishes were really huge!! I dare say that they were at least half a metre long!

Our last stop for the river trip was to a reptile park, where we had to pay an entrance fee. Again, being the budget people that we were, we decided to give it a miss, as we settled down somewhere to just have a nice chat with each other.

While not forgetting to cam-whore still =)

And yup, that pretty much concludes our river tour. Initially we thought that we were going to the floating market, but we were very much mistaken. And as much as we would like to see the floating market, I guess we didn't mind this river tour as it did give us some insight into the lifestyle and culture of the people of Thailand.

After our river tour, we were brought around to tourist shops like those selling jewellery etc, hoping that we would delve into our pockets and pay for something. But as usual, we didn't, though we did come across another tailor - James Fashion International. With all the tailoring that the Boy already did, it was no surprise that he declined to tailor anymore, though it did give him another shop to explore the next time we return =)

After the tour ended, we went on to more shopping around Central World and the outdoor markets, after which we had steamboat dinner at MK Trendi. This time round, we did not scrimp on dinner as we had a sumptious meal =)

When we returned to our hotel, we were greeted with a surprise!

Tadah!! The Boy's suit from Pinky Tailor is in!
And he looks soooo good in it! =D

The Bangkok Affair (I)

2009-07-17T11:47:00.003+08:00

With all the flu scare going around, Raphel and I are so glad that we were still going ahead with our Bangkok shopping trip, especially when we planned for this a long time ago. This time round, Raphel got to bunk over at my place, allowing us for more snooze time before we had to make our way to the airport.

My dear sleepy boy in the sky train on the way to the other terminal for our burger king brekkie!

And after much stoning, we finally made our way to our flight. I like the above picture. One can never really get such a photo because of all the hustling and bustling around the aiport =)

And I'm leaving... On a jet plane...

Seriously, with such a pig that I am, no matter where I am, I can really fall asleep, even when the plane has landed and is taxi-ing its way to the docking point. But finally, we've reached, as we made our way to Centre Point Petchburi.

And... It's such a nice place!! Everything about it is just very nicely lit and spacious. Here's the lobby. Anyway, it was way too early for us to check in. So after checking in our luggage at the concierge, we went just across the road to Platinum Mall!! =)

Shop shop shop... Till it's time to check in!

And here's our very nice room!! I just love the space they have, the couch, and the nice little kitchen! =)

After that, guess where we went?? It was on to tailoring, as our first stop is Savile Row. There, the Boy made 1 pants and 3 shirts, while I made 2 dresses. But the Boy was on a tailoring mission, as we made our way to the next tailor shop to try out their workmanship. Pinky Tailor it was, as we were greeted by very friendly people. There, Raphel made another 1 pants and 1 shirt, as we left for dinner then.

And for our first day, we had an early night, because we have a half day tour the very next day!! When we arrived at Bangkok's international airport, we were greeted by a friendly concierge who told us that we were entitled to one of three half day tours for free, and that we only had to pay for the government tax of 250 bhat per person. So what the heck, we might as well give it a try, especially when we chose the Chao Phraya river tour =)

Travel Plan: Thailand

2009-07-15T22:03:00.000+08:00

When: 17-20 July 2009

The shopaholic strikes again!

POSB Run for Kids

2009-07-12T20:01:00.002+08:00

Being the runner enthusiast Raphel is, it was no surprise when he made his way down all the way to Sengkang for an 8km marathon run that was for charity.

Thankfully, the rain stopped when he was due to run. But it sure got the grounds wet and muddy still.

That's the very big bright banana right there who magnificently completed his run despite not having a number tag...

So what else can the girl do besides braving the mud and making her way down early in the morning just to support her Boy?? =)

Besides, I even made him cha soba for lunch! Aren't I nice?? =)

WCG 2009

2009-07-05T19:58:00.000+08:00

We made our way together for the very first time to WCG.

He was there for the cosplayers, I was there for DoTA =)

3D Movie

2009-07-04T22:52:00.000+08:00

As the Boy has been quite into Ice Age movies recently, it was no surprise when he wanted to catch the 3rd installment of the film. And guess what, it was actually a 3D movie version!!

My first time ever in such a film where I had to wear the 3D glasses. It was oversized, yet truly hilarious to see Raphel in such a sight. It made the movie slightly more fun, especially when there were dinosaurs in it. The 3 baby T-Rex were absolutely adorable!! (Plus they actually remind me of Huey, Dewy and Louie). =)

Of Bowls and Prawns

2009-06-28T20:19:00.000+08:00

Our quest for adventure continues, as this time round, we headed to Jurong Superbowl for some pin-knocking session. Again, it has been some time since I last touched a bowling ball, though not as long since I played pool.

Raphel claimed that he hasn't played bowling in a longer time than I am. But guess what, he still beat my score in the end!! I'm attributing it to the fact that guys have more brute strength, which would help them knock down more pins, hahaha =)

Us enjoying the bowling session.

As if the bowling was not enough, Raphel and his friends decided to head to Lakeside Fishing Village in the wee hours of the night, where we got our first try in prawning!!

The hilarious thing however was that there were 7 of us, but only 2 rods... So yup, we had to interchange and take turns with each other. While we saw that other customers were busily fishing up all the prawns, guess how many did we catch at the end of 3 hours?

Only 3 miserable prawns!!

And Raphel had the luck in catching the very first one.

But then again, I guess 3 is better than none? Not too bad for our first time I guess. And at least I managed to stay all the way up from 1am to 4am without turning into a panda. Though there is no prizes for guessing how badly I knocked out once I reached the comforts of my bed... =)

Pool Time

2009-06-27T21:40:00.006+08:00

With us running out of ideas of what to do, the girl suggested that we should start our bonding activities again. Therefore, the idea of playing pool struck my mind instantly as it has been years since I last played a game of pool. With lots of time to kill on Friday night as the girl and I decided to catch a late night movie of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, we decided to play some pool.

West Area No. 1 Against North East Area No. 1

That's us! The two pros... Haa... Postures 100 marks! =) Even though the girl kept saying she was rusty having not played a game for such a long time, she's pretty good I would say. The killer looks with the killer posture. Haa... And I am certain that I did not bully her as I won most or all of the games by luck. =P Still, it was a nice game after all and I'm sure we'll play more often after this. Right my dear girl?!? =D

A Crazy Moment

2009-06-25T23:51:00.002+08:00

Who would have thought that we would 'regress' back into Gunbound, which saw the Boy bullying me!!

*Pout*

Ahahahaha... =)

Wedding Bands II

2009-06-23T22:04:00.006+08:00

I quite like this set of wedding bands because of the swirls on the band, as well as the little blue gem. (Click on image for a larger view)

Pictures from Gold Heart Jewellery

Swim Time

2009-06-21T21:58:00.001+08:00

After so long, our goal of having a swim session together finally materialised! Yes, we were having some 'problems' as I had to get a swimsuit (I cannot imagine myself wearing a bikini to swim; bikinis to me seem more like for the beaches to get a tan), while the Boyfriend had to get a pair of goggles.

But anyway, we finally got our butts into it, as we made our way to Jurong West Swimming Complex.

Check out the school-boy look! =D

When I got there, lo and behold, they had such fun water slides!! As much as I wanted to try out the rides, I was there with a purpose, and that was to swim at least 10 laps as I really needed a workout. In the end, I made it with 12 laps, but was very sure that I was going to ache badly after the session.

Anyway, I did not get to ride the slides, as I felt a little 'old'. But that did not stop me from trying out the little wave pool that runs around the water slides. It was just like the one at Fantasy Island back then! And I had such a fun time floating around and being carried about by the currents despite not having a float =) The Boy however had a much harder time as he claimed that his legs were too long =D

But a short session as it might be, I had such a fun time! Whee~~ Here's to more splashing sessions with the Boy. And check out my palely white face! It must have been due to the osmosis, ahahaha =D

Steve McCurry's The Unguarded Moment

2009-06-20T23:54:00.006+08:00

Chanced upon the newspapers that the photographer who took the famous "Afghan Girl" photograph for National Geographic Magazine is in town! As such, how can two photo buffs miss this exhibition? =)

Steve McCurry is the name of the famous photographer, as the Boy and I made our way to the Asian Civilisation Museum. Who knew that it was both our first time there =)

Although the whole exhibition was a little small, that did not stop us from admiring the rest of Steve's works. They were really really cool with lovely angles...

Here's a quote from him that I like:

Most of my photos are grounded in people, I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. I try to convey what it is like to be that person, a person caught in a broader landscape, that you call the human condition... If you wait, people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view. - Steve McCurry

Reminds me a lot of my past when I used to wait before snapping a shot of people in action =)

How I wish that one day, I can have my own gallery of photos =)

Anyway, after much deliberation, we finally got our picture taken together by a very nice uncle. His wife said that we were lucky to have chosen him cause he is 'pro', as I quote from her. But then again, we purposely chose him, for he really did look professional =)

Product Shoot

2009-06-13T23:38:00.001+08:00

Due to my work requirements, I was tasked to do up a new catalogue (the old one was really crappy anyway). And with rooms being booked during weekdays, I had no choice but to come back during one of the weekends to do a product shoot! =(

Thankfully, Raphel was really sweet to accompany me, as we made our way down on a Saturday, going through all the temperature taking and contact tracing forms before we finally made it into my department.

While the initial plan was to use a room on the ground floor, a missing key derailed my plans, as we had to migrate to the second storey, while carrying up all the fragile and oddly-shaped items... Thank goodness for having a partner with me =)

Pretty soon, we got our hands down, as this time, I handed the camera over to the Boy to shoot. (The last time I did it on my own, most of the photos were crappy... )

That's my cool boy in action. And yup, he was in all kinds of funny positions in order to capture nice angles of the items =)

Here are some examples of his shots. They may not be good enough for a professional photographer, but they sure are lovely enough for me =)

So, with him being all so busy, what was I doing? I was his assistant of course!! =D

It was such an interesting time just doing things together, even if it's for work =)

Of Wedding Photos V

2009-06-10T17:12:00.000+08:00

There is just something beautiful about wedding photography involving stairs...

Stair 1
Stair 2

Credits to jOhO from Expressively jOhO

Christian Lacroix: The Costumier

2009-06-07T19:25:00.001+08:00

With my interest in design still going on, the Boyfriend was really kind to accompany me to the National Museum of Singapore to catch the Christian Lacroix Costumier Exhibition, even though he was not very keen on it.

I was so excited to be there, because for once, I could see costumes designed by a very famous person himself, as I try to gather more inspiration and ideas for my own sketches as well =)

I believe what really fascinated me was that I really did not expect to see costumes from so many different eras/genres. And surprisingly, my favourite of the lot for the male costumes was the vest of the flamenco dancer, where despite the dance being of Spanish culture, the design of the vest looked pretty oriental to me.

My decision to make a last minute visit to the museum was all the more a right one when I got to see sketches from the master himself. I do not know why, but I always have a love for illustration and sketches. And something which I remember reading from the book was that every artist has got his style, and somehow, I felt that Lacroix's style of drawing was the elongated neck of his models.

After a round in the dark room, we were brought to an exhibition space within the room, where an array of gaudy and flamboyant costumes greeted us. Coupled with dancing costumes swinging from above, and a video with chirpy music from the past, one cannot help but feel light-hearted as well, as we bid the exhibition goodbye, and head back to reality.

Street Photography

2009-05-30T19:16:00.002+08:00

Two towers,
Tall and high.
Ever steady,
Against the cloudy blue sky.
___

Taken while walking around with the Boy =)

Of Wedding Photos IV

2009-05-28T10:19:00.003+08:00

I found another cool photographer!

Buckingham Palace
London Park

I like this because it looks clean with nice angles.

Jumping

And I like these pictures with the National Stadium! Maybe because of my history that I have with it when I was in my secondary school days =)

Stadium Front
Stadium Curves

Credits to Alvin Foo from little.RED.dot photography

Of Wedding Photos III

2009-05-26T16:57:00.006+08:00

I've been so hung up on the National Museum of Singapore to be a pre-wedding photo location due to its lovely architecture, I never knew that the Asian Civilisation Museum could have such lovely shots too!

Bride
By the Window
By the Stairs
From Above

Credits to jOhO from Expressively jOhO

Hmm... Isn't the architecture of the National Museum and the Asian Civilisation Museum quite similar? Silly me... =)

Of Wedding Bands

2009-05-24T14:44:00.006+08:00

I do not need an engagement ring, but I would like my wedding band to be just perfect =)

I like the curves and twists of this ring. Not to mention that the diamonds on the female band makes it all so lovely!!

I only like the one on the left side. Hmm... I guess I just have a liking for slanted/assymetrical things =)

Pictures from Sookee Jewellery

The Love For Each Other

2009-05-22T23:41:00.001+08:00

From Her to Him:

Though far apart they may be,
Close their hearts it always is.
Soon again they’ll be reunited,
Hearts once again close and loving tender.

—

It’s only two days,
Yet it feels like two years.
How she longs for his embrace,
The love and tenderness which makes her heart race.

—

From Him to Her:

I miss my baby,
I miss my dear,
For she is the one whom I fell in love with.
So come back quickly my dear,
For I’ll shelter you again from all fears.

—

It was so sweet of the girl! Such thoughtfulness =D

Two Places Apart

2009-05-15T09:17:00.003+08:00

With the girl in China over the weekend and me in Malaysia, we were both a thousand miles apart.
Still, that doesn't keep our hearts apart and thinking bout each other...

Where: Shanghai
When: 13th – 21st May
Where are you girl?

Where: Kuala Lumpur
When: 16th - 18th May
Where are you boy?