i bought 3 dresses from GG<5 on Sunday afternoon. 3!!! and i NEVER buy stuff from GG<5! maybe i was too excited (and amazed) by the fact that i could wear their XS. and in my defence (as if any is necessary), they were having a closing down sale. this is the store at PS.

these are 2 pieces i was considering but didnt get.
the white blouse - i was too uncomfortable with the big balloony sleeves. look kinda like a chef?
the dress - i love how it fits, esp the skirt portion totally hiding my big hips and butt, but the 2 flapping pieces at the chest area was kinda strange?




this dress. i did buy. but now regretting it. it looks like a uniform for a nurse, waitress, or convent school teacher. argh!!



the other 2 dress i bought are nice but boring, and i didnt photograph them. :)

my current favorite. when it comes to bags, at any one phase in my life, there can only be one great love. and for me, at this moment, this coach bag which i grabbed at the Woodbury Outlets in new york is my great love. under-statedly perfect in size, color, shape.



on a totally off-tangent note, my shingles are healing, but now i'm down with flu and sore throat. that's all, girls.

so huiwen and jean brought me to a new place - Spruce.

I liked it!! as in "I am definitely coming back here" kinda like. :)

the place had a lovely chill feel to it, which i really enjoy. oh, it was also gay haven but that's just a side observation. the table of good looking guys who didnt even raise their eyes when a girl wearing a total bare-back dress strutted past them, made huiwen laugh out loud.

anyway, huiwen and I had the signature Spruce Burger and i thought it was thumbs up YUMS! the girls think the burger at Oriole may be better, though! (i think it's time we re-visited Oriole - our ex-fave hangout) the Mac & Cheese was sinfully delicious. but Jean's signature pasta was cooked a little too 'tough' for her.





for the 3 mains, 1 starter and 1 side, we spent $62, all thanks to Jean's $500 White Card which gave us a 33% discount! (Jean: I later explained the concept of the Card to wp, and he supports your purchase! He thinks savings of $500 can easily be chalked up :))

after Spruce, we went to Canale @ Shaw. we ordered 3 ice-creams which turned out to be gi-normous!!! we could have shared 1. seriously. after we stuffed our face with the 66% chocolate cream.. we went to Borders to browse magazines. :) nice and happy saturday night.

and also, miss yang huiwen is right now, at this moment, having a MAJOR breakthrough in her career. :):):):):) she's heading to the "cheena New York. in its 80s." now, who can beat that!!



---

and i'm off for alicia's wedding!

next entries wil be on shopping escapades, amazing inspiration at work, and alicia's wedding.

xxxx

So apart from the food (see last entry), the last week of October was just pure fun.

Settling comfortably at home with the husband with Death Note I & II and Forrest Gump was luxury.

and dragging the husband out to Clarke Quay on Halloween turned out pretty fun too. we skipped the people squeezing and wild partying, and chilled in a tiny corner at Cafe Iguana.





the next afternoon was mahjong at Huiwen's basement and it was mad fun to sing KTV and play mahjong at the same time!!!





if only every weekend is chilling with the girls, together with wp of course!!

---

on another note, i'm now suffering from very painful, blistering, viral rash. it's diagnosed as Shingles (zoster), and it hurt so bad last night i barely caught any sleep. the doctor said it's a strain of chicken pox virus. :( it hurts in the day as well, but i keep myself distracted at home. hope that by this sunday, the pain will subside, as i'm attending alicia's wedding! by the way, it's on the back, so i can only lie down on my front. *sniffles*

xxxxx

so last weekend was simply A M A Z I N G. wp was back from Thursday-Tuesday

1. on Thursday, we had dinner with his family at Ngee Ann City's Crystal Jade Palace. Chinese food cooked to perfection. Total yums.

2. On Friday night, we had a date with Wild Rocket. I was rather surprised when I tried to make a reservation a day before, and almost couldnt get a table! they were full for dinner time, i could only get a table unless I was willing to leave before 830pm! i guess they must be doing rather well.

the meal turned out to be lovely. lovely conversation about nothingness, and interesting food which teased our taste-buds with blends of unexpected tastes.

what we had: (minus 1 which is not so memorable)

starter - Pan-seared Tuna Rocket Salad


mains - Laksa Pesto Spaghetti (their signature dish! very interesting dish with a rather over-powering taste - for the adventurous), chilean sea bass (simply exquisite), sambal chili prawns (not bad). they have starter portions for most of their mains, so you could order more dishes at the smaller portion to try. :) nice.



he loves the sea bass.


dessert - Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau with Flambe Bananas (perfect end to the meal. though undoubtedly one of the better ones i've had, but nothing to shout about)



overall, the dining experience was great. perhaps because we were so early (first dinner customers), the service was fantastic and prompt. the portions were far from generous, and at $110 for a couple (no drinks ordered, mind you!) , it's a tad pricey. it can be a risky visit too, as i suspect many of the dishes are the love it or hate it sort. :) luckily, i liked all the dishes we had.

3. on Saturday afternoon, we had lunch with my parents at Grand Hyatt Hotel's The Straits Kitchen. The spread was decent, and the quality was mostly great. however, the astonishing and disappointing part of the buffet was that tea/coffee was not included! a kopi / kopi-o / teh tarik etc would cost you $5 per small cup. that's really un-acceptable. tsk tsk.

4. on Sunday afternoon, the best Goreng Pisang i ever tasted, at Huiwen's place. Her mom bought them from Long House @ Upper Thomson Rd)

5. on Monday afternoon, our lunch was at our favorite claypot rice @ Chinatown Complex.


and dinner was at Hougang Green's Tze Char stall which we saw featured on TV. Their specialty was crab - and it was totally worth destroying my 1 week old manicure for. i've never tasted crab in such a flavour - blend of black pepper, peanut sauce, egg yolk. maybe i'm wrong in the ingredients but the taste was one of a kind. and it was FANTASTIC!

bloated.

New finds over the weeekend!!

kickstarted with Swee Choon Dim Sum at Jalan Besar. It is a street away from Desker Rd where the seedy KTVs are, and walking distance from Mustafa. had to pay $2 ERP along the way, but so so glad we found parking almost right after turning in towards Mustafa, PLUS its free parking after 5pm!!!

the Dim Sum, though not out-of-this world amazing, is very yummy and very affordable! 6 of us paid around $65 for an extremely filling meal! the har kaw and siew mai were dissapointing, but the rest of the dim sum more than made up for it. i especially love the Fried Golden Tofu and the banana fried prawn thing. :) after dinner, a quick round n Mustafa, and checking out the new City Plaza shopping mall at Farrer Park, we finally settled in Park Royal Hotel (Kitchener) for drinks. the service was very dodgy! but i think they changed the music from oldies to R&B moments after we entered (for us?!), so it was alright. :)









Saturday evening, on nan's recommendation, we headed to East Coast Rd (near Joo Chiat) for dinner! i was a little apprehensive driving there, because i have never driven there before, and i was expecting trouble with the parking in the Joo Chiat area... but thanks to Streetdirectory.com, we found the place without difficulty! it's oppostie Katong Mall, along the stretch where Astons and Kim Choo are.

the restaurant's name is Naive. sounds strange, but the food is really wholesome and yummy!!! they specialise in monkeyhead mushrooms, and they were extremely yums. thumbs up for their Wolfberry Soup, too. even their drinks were delightful. mom and i loved their Sour Power.

there is a before-meal ritual involving pounding of sesame seeds. customers can then sprinkle the sesame over their food. we used up our portion! :)




after the meal, we went to Kim Choo to buy kuehs and rice dumplings. on the way to dinner, both my mom and aunt were positively squealing in delight when we passed by Kim Choo Peranakan Restaurant - i suspect it's the Little Nonya effect, as the restaurant is a sponsor for all the food in the drama series. ANYWAY, it was apparently "one of the best!". so after dinner, we came back to load on takeaway kuehs and rice dumplings. had them the next day, and they were indeed YUMS. love the nonya bak zhang, superbly fragrant. :P:P



so these are my 3 great finds over the weekend!

xxx

1. Aldo - i have 3 pairs. i love how pretty they look, but of my 3 pairs, 2 are very uncomfortable. they are the ones that tempt me to cab home because by the end of the day, my feet would be protesting like hell. i doubt i am going to buy another pair of Aldo heels! i also start to believe that Aldo is over-rated. :(

the 2 offensive pairs:


the kind one:


verdict: prefer not to buy

2. Nine West - i have/had 2 pairs. 1 is too small for me; i bought it at an outlet in Sydney and was wearing leggings then, so my size estimation was off. :( my other pair was very comfortable though the heel was a tad wobbly. i lost my balance a few times on this pair of 4 inches. anyway, the strap gave way (see picture below) after about 8 months. sad that it did not last longer. and i am still regreting not buying the pair of black pumps i saw when with shu-en the other time.



verdict: will buy

3. Guess - so freaking painful. the back part is really stiff. sigh. will NEVER EVER get another pair of heels from Guess! (not ruling out Sandals and platforms .. haha)



verdict: won't buy

4. Mondo - i have 1 pair (which i got for free thanks to some vouchers haha).. comfortable but poor quality. the kind that may dis-integrate (ie bits and pieces will fall off) in < 1 yr.



verdict: prefer not to buy

5. Zara - there was a pair of black patent heels i bought 2 yr back that I ADORED. wore to work almoast EVERYDAY PLUS during weekends too - for shopping, church anything. even wore it to the zoo! yes, i know i'm extreme... but they're so darn comfortable. HIGH and STABLE. TO DIE FOR LOR. it has since worn off. but very well worth it, comsidering how often i wear them!



verdict: will buy

6. Steve Madden - this is my new love!!! UNBELIEVABLE COMFORT! got it in NYC on my 2nd last day; hesitated because it was a size too big + couldnt decide if they were pretty or not. but oh i love it now! i wore it for a few consecutive days after i bought it, and it was so soft and comfortable right from the start! with no blisters AT ALL! good ankle support + it's HIGH enough. yay. bad thing is the singapore store doesnt look all that impressive :(



verdict: will buy

7. M)Phosis - worst shoes ever. lesson learnt (only) after owning 5 pairs. from my un-fortunate experience of owning 5 pairs of M)phosis sandals, trust me, they will start falling apart after a few months. this pair i had broke apart on my 2nd wear. utterly disgusted. as u can see, it was made of a few pieces of cheap cardboard and super glue. urgh. will never buy again.



verdict: won't buy

8. Itti & Otto - i love this Japanese brand. a tad painful at my first few wears, but turned out to be uber comfy and long-lasting! but i'm still wearing a pair of classic black heels i bought more than 3 years ago!!! bad thing is that the heel height is not sky high, but sometimes i feel like resting my feet, u know? :)

also the pair that i've worn to sydney, india and china. super. in suzhou 2 yrs ago (can't really see the sheos, but it's the only photo i have of it, right now!) >


verdict: will buy

9. Charles & Keith - i always have 1 pair of Charles & Keith in my shoe closet. have bought at least 5 pairs (that i can remember) before; almost none could last up to a year. though not long-lasting, they r comfortable and affordable enough. and with so many designs in the store, there's always one pair that catches my eye.

my current pair:



verdict: prefer not to buy

10. Sketchers - officially my 'walking shoes'. i really started wearing this pair this yr. Passed the Beijing Forbidden City test, so it came with me to NYC. loved it. can walk fast and super comfy even after miles of walking. so cute too! yippie.



verdict: will buy

---

this is all for now. :)

by the way, remember this somewhat overwhelming picture of my shoes? that was 2 years ago... and i'm proud to say that i now have a completely new collection! (the only old timer is them trusty pair of Itti & Otto heels)

and what i would really really like now? a good pedicure. wouldnt mind that pair of Novo platforms i was eyeing too.

pls add on your shoe experiences in comments! i'd like to learn about all types of shoes - not limiting to heels ! :)

one of my happiest and most care-free trips. just aimless wandering, and soaking it all in. loving it. :)

1. on my 1st day in nyc, i met with px. she taught me how to take the subway. it was filthy, stinky, confusing and pretty cool.



2. on my 2nd day in nyc, i was alone. i decide to head out with a friendly young Romanian guy who was staying in the hostel. we had a nice and affordable muffin and tea for breakfast, then asked around for directions to the Empire State Building.

the USD20 veiw of Manhattan from L86 of Empire State Bldg was ok-great, although the experience was a tad too touristy for my liking.



we split ways after that as he was heading to the Opera (he is a Music student), and no way am i gonna appreciate that. the rest of the day, i got horridly lost with my laughable sense of direction. i was looking for the New York Public Library, not knowing that i had walked past it that very morning on the way to the Empire State Building.

3. i eventually found the New York Public Library. and i fell in love with it once i entered. well, actually, once i got onto L4 where the main reading room is. i remember sitting outside a bench at the entrance of the reading room, and just looking around in awe and happiness.



i thought of how cool it was to be studying or doing research in the library.

4. on my 3rd day in NYC, i was very happy and excited because Jean and Kang Li (whom i had not met yet) were arriving. that morning, i decided to take a walk to the United Nations Headquarters before meeting them. i walked all the way from 9th avenue to 1st avenue. that is almost the width of Manhattan!!! i did not realise that the distance would be so long. but the wonderful thing about Manhattan is that, walking can be very fun. :)

i thought the UN Building was super cool.



when i was there, Jean sms-ed to say that they've arrived in NY! i went to meet them, this time i took a subway back.

that day, with them, we passed by the Leica Gallery where they were exhibiting "the first 100 days of Barack Obama". the Gallery was closed though. :(

5. on my 4th day in nyc, we went for a picnic at Central Park!!! i was very happy that i was getting along well with Kang Li (of coz this may be one-sided thinking. HAHA), and was extremely happy that px was joining us on that day!



in the afternoon, we found our way to the Museum of Modern Art, only to find it closed. :(
at least we passed by the Leica Gallery again, and could enjoy the exhibit this time round.

6. on my 5th day in nyc, after a delightful brunch at Clinton St Baking Co, while wandering around Chinatown, we stumbled into an elderly centre. inside, hundreds of old folks while their time away playing cards, mahjong. some singing opera.



we looked for the Museum of Chinese in America. only to find it CLOSED> not much luck with museums, huh.

7. we went to Wall Street. and wandered into Battery Park. i loved it. the winds were very strong on that day, especially since we were near the water. it was so surreal. at that moment, i felt like i had not a care in the world. we ran and hopped around; jean danced some ballet.



8. on my 6th day in nyc, a bird shat on Kang Li, which i thought was really gross and funny at the same time.



9. that day, we walked through Central Park on our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. at least we knew the MET was open. (i checked on the internet the night before)



i'm not a museum kinda girl, but i've heard and read wonderful things about the MET. it was indeed pretty cool! didnt spend much time inside, but i'm happy with just getting a feel of it. :)

10. on my 8th day in nyc, Jean and Kang Li left for their workshop (i'm tempted to say "dead-man" workshop but that would be horribly rude of me. :|) it was my Woodbury day, and i made my way there somehow.

i had quite alot of stuff to buy for other people, and i was quite frazzled after squeezing my way alive out of the Coach outlet. went to a few other outlets, before deciding to head back to Manhattan. i managed to get some neat deals and was a happy camper. :)



11. woodbury took up almost my entire day and i was too tired to meet px for dinner. so i bought a hotdog from Papaya Dog to sit at Times Square to eat. it may possibly be the most touristy place in Manhattan, but i loved it. the bright lights, the buzz and the senselessness of it all.





12. on my 9th day in nyc, px and i took a ferry to Staten Island. the view of Manhattan from the ferry was great. however, the ferry decks were darn crowded!

we did not stay long at Staten Island. it looked kinda boring. so i snapped a photo of Manhattan and we headed back. :)



13. that night, as we passed Rockefeller Centre, a guy was proposing on bended knee in the middle of the skating rink. he booked the place and a sizable crowd had gathered, cheering him on. it was totally an 'awwwww' moment. :)



14. the 10th and my last day in nyc was spent running some errands and hanging out with px. :)

i was loving my daily calls to wp when i was there; it felt so nice to share with him.
actually, i loved my every single day in nyc, especially when i was blessed with great company, great weather, and minimal jet-lag. :):)

it was a very special trip.

xxx

i have 19 orders for Coach, 2 for Kate Spade, 1 Kenneth Cole, and 1 LeSportsac...
enough already!

is that normal?!?? i've certainly never bought 19 items at one time from Coach before!

i think clothes and cosmetics are fine... but how am i going to bring 15 boxes of bags home? and will my friends be fine if i discard the original boxes and squash their new bags together in a smelly luggage for check-in?

well, i'll just go with the flow and enjoy myself , first. shopping (for other people) will NOT be my priority! :P

we headed to Arts House to check out the Shooting Home photog exhibit at The Arts House, where Jean's photos were exhibited.

Felicia likes this "collection" of Jean's, while personally, i prefer colored photos :)



the 3 girls headed to Timbre afterward but gave up after 5 minutes of Q-ing, and went to the Substation Timbre instead. which was cool, because we had the best table with the best view of EIC.

it was a good mid-week break. we decided to meet up / party every week (those traveling excluded) till feli leaves for her 2-yrs in Antwerp for her overdose on Belgium men and Belgium fries.

in the near future, perhaps we would all be living and working in different countries. i suppose we have gotten used to each other traveling often, but living apart is different. then, when can we still hang out during the weekends, not catching up, but talking nonsense because we see each other so often we dont need to 'catch up'? that being said, i dont think we need much time to catch up when we see each other - we go straight to the nonsense.

on a totally different note, i'm without mascara and eyeliner for the week, because i cannot decide if it's my Dior eyeliner or my YSL mascara that makes my eyes itchy and red all the time. maybe it's both.

and i'm off to NYC tmr... to buy new eye makeup from Sephora :P

xxx

last last weekend was spent exploring the streets of Beijing
last weekend was with hubby and family (yes! he was back!)
this weekend is F1!!
next weekend i'll be in NYC!

WHOOOOOOOOOOO WHEEEEEEEE

---

with the husband, i first found out that it is possible to get an overdoze of my favorite chicken wings @ NO. 5 Emerald.





next, i found out that our favorite scissors curry rice @ Jalan Besar is no longer that great. it's been almost a year since we last visited?



and also, i've discovered that sci-fi movies with gruesome scenes (no matter how good the ratings are!) are not my kind of thing.

oh, it was such a simple and fantastic long weekend, catching up with family, darling girlfriends, and each other.

muacks

like other work trips, i had no time (or didnt bother) to plan or think of what im going to do in Beijing for leisure. because there was usually no time for leisure. whatever half days we could squeeze out, we/i go shopping.

but, it was afterall, Beijing. and i knew, this would be the first work trip that i did something touristy. because, it's Beijing! how could we not take a look at Tian An Men Square? or Forbidden City? we wouldnt forgive ourselves, i think. :P

we changed our flight, so we had 1 day. it was between the Great Wall and Forbidden City+Temple of Heaven (天坛). we decided on the latter. and we headed there once we touched down at 730am, after just barely 4h of sleep.

Forbidden City was huge. i knew i had been there before (erm 12 yrs ago?) but the memory was so watered down, i felt like it was my first time. we had to do a quick one (2 hrs) because the place was closed at noon for their national day rehearsal.







our next stop was at Temple of Heaven (天坛) - by then we were real tired! i guess these places were a little wasted on me (like how to some extent, the shopping in NYC is wasted on my DAD) because i'm not the type of girl who makes any kind of effort to appreciate chinese history and culture, and so the significance and beauty of these places would probably have a bigger impact on someone like my Dad. or the husband.



our 2 good meals were at Bellagio and Beijing's famous Da Dong Restaurant - where they serve arguably the best Beijing Roast Duck! (YUMSS)



another memorable dinner was the gala dinner held at the Great Hall of the People (人民大會堂) which is off-limits to 'civilians'. it was grand, indeed.




we did some shopping (at Sanlitun area - 三里屯VILLAGE), but i didn't buy anything except a few books from a roadside stall, and of course little gifts for our team.


other than the eating, shopping and sight-seeing, the 6 days was packed with meetings and meetings, of which many were conducted in Mandarin. i have not presented or had a meeting in Mandarin for awhile (last time was in Shanghai in Nov 08?), but i am happy to say that i was pretty comfortable. it is indeed a blessing to be able to communicate in both English and Mandarin. :P

somehow, Beijing is my most mentally and physically draining trip. it is also a trip i would never have survived without my trusty sketchers walking shoes. yes, i was in flats! well, i dont usually even bring flats when i travel. but i think im growing out of that decade-long phase. :P

---
xoxoxo

the past 5 days was absolutely crazy.
my 6th work trip, 3rd to china. (yes, of the 6 trips, 3 are to china... sigh!)
we woke up at 6am every morning to leave the hotel at 730am. and got back at the hotel at about 10pm every night.
have not been so zonked out for awhile.
it was my 2nd time to Beijing, but the last time was about 12 yrs ago, so that really doesnt count because everything has changed now. completely.
i think i enjoyed shanghai more though. *shrugs**

so so so looking fwd to my next trip. NYC here i come!!!

sashimi. Ben & Jerry's. seafood @ Jumbo. russian food. shark bone soup. and of course, the daily snacking






apart from the feasting, we've also set up a sigh fund. we get a $1 fine for every sigh. sigh tally is about $35 now!

in response to my disappointment over lack of quality time spent with hubby, he decided to return to Sin for a full 2 weeks this time. :P:P the 2nd week, we booked a 4d holiday to Langkawi.

we were so looking forward to the '2nd honeymoon' - our 2nd overseas trip since Cape Town. :) (No, India definitely does not count.) we flew budget but booked a top notch resort and got double-upgraded to a private beach-front villa. very beautiful and homely resort.



1st day - food
it was raining, so we rented a car and went exploring the little town. we ate the biggest 'bao' we've ever seen!. love the bak kut teh find by the roadside, and the Pasar Ramadan - WP acted like he like the rest of the muslims, had been fasting the whole day, and totally 'chiong-ed' for all the food at the huge make-shift market of glorious, dirty street food.






2nd day - jellyfish trouble
our prayers were answered and the weather was good. so we went for the cable car in the morning.





(it was scary!!!! )


the only thing i really wanted to do in Langkawi was the much talked-about island hopping, so we booked ourselves on a island hopping tour. unfortunately, it was cancelled at the last minute so we decided to explore the various beaches ourselves.

first stop was Cenang beach which was disappointing. small. full of shells (cant walk properly barefeet! - what kind of beach is that?).

second stop was a far drive to Tanjung Rhu beach. i gaped for a moment at the pretty and lovely beach. it was serene and made such a pretty picture. we loved it at first sight.







but it was there where the trouble began. and our '2nd honeymoon' turned into a nightmare!

i remember being in the water with wp, and he was saying, "this place is really damn nice". the second after that sentence, he howled in pain. his back was stung by jellyfish. we were not deep in, so he managed to drag himself to the shore. (i suppose if he was deep in the water, he would be in danger of drowning because of the pain.) as he wailed in pain, i was freaked out, and as i looked around at the sparse beach, there seemed nobody to run to for help. a kind old couple came over and we rubbed the scary jellyfish off his back with sand (yes, they were still stuck on him! FREAKY!)

the beach was equal distance to hotel and to Kuah town, where the old couple told us had a hospital. i wanted to drive him to the hotel and get staff there to call for a doctor for us. but he was in intense burning pain, and wanted to be hospitalised immediately,

so i drove towards Kuah town. that seemed like the longest drive of my life. as i manouvered the unfamiliar roads and landscape, i said a million prayers while wp was braving the pain at the backseat. i did not know the way to the town and did not know how the hospital looked like, so i could not drive fast. when we finally arrived at the hospital, he was admited to emergency immediately. about 2 hours later, when i got to see him, my heart broke when i saw him crying in pain still! the doctor said he could return to rest, so we went back to the hotel.

however, that whole night the husband could not sleep as he was suffering from the toxin still - breaking out in cold sweat, shakes, coughing. so at 2am he requested for hotel staff to send him to the hospital again, where he was warded.

3rd day - in Langkawi Hospital
visited him first thing in the morning, expecting that he could be discharged to hotel to rest. unfortunately, he was not looking gd still. and he could only be discharged at 5pm.





i went back to the resort, not knowing how to spend the day. settled at the resort's private beach with my book, for an hour. packed our bags. and headed back to hospital again.



that night was tough, as wp still could not sleep.

4th day - in Singapore General Hospital
wp was slightly better, able to walk though weak and slow. we made our way to the airport first thing in the morning.

once we arrived at Changi, we went to the clinic at airport, and the doctor soon called for an ambulance to send him to the hospital.

---

what a holiday. and no, i did not pee on him.

---

sexy back

To the airport on a Friday night, on our way to Jakarta for our dear friend's wedding!

DAY1
we were going to the church wedding which starts at 9am
meiyan woke us up at 615am, because she thought it was 715am in Indonesia. zzz!!
no surprise that we were the very first to arrive.

at the church wedding


church leaders pray for the couple. very touching. *sniff*


us!!!


after the excitement, we went to...
no, we were not in hospital. we had a full-body massage followed by Pedicure / Manicure! :P:P


dinner was with the rest of the Singaporean gang at Social House @ Grand Indonesia.


DAY2
lunch at Garuda Indonesia, as recommended by the locals.
once our bums hit the seats, waiters started piling the table with dishes non-stop. finally, a staff who could communicate in English explained that we were to eat whatever we wanted, and we would be charged accordingly.


hanging out at Mangga Dua Sq - with A&W!!! Baskin Robbins (LOve Potion flavor rocks!), and strange mascots


getting ready for the dinner!
our "Indonesian hairstyles"


after getting our hair done, it was a mad rush to Hotel Mulia for the wedding.
and it was a grand event indeed!

we arrived just in time for the march-in of the family members. nico's 2 sisters. sihui's parents.


nico's parents. i could not take my eyes off mom's bling gown!


finally the couple. sihui looks so elegant! :):)




families on stage


fruit stations had real grapes hanging from way up high! choonyen grabbed an apple and was muching on it for like eternity. muahahha.


us on the stage. decorated like a fairytale land.


i wish i had more photos of the couple but i was too caught up in the moment! i really ought to be a more professional photowhore. tsk tsk!

we had loads fun phototaking




by the way, that's my JC2 prom dress! sense of achievement that i am wearing it for the second time! it has not gone to waste afterall. :P i intend to wear it a 3rd time! maybe after another 7 years perhaps. haha


camwhoring even in the washroom


after the wedding, we settled into a club at the Hotel
drinks and dancing! waterfall for the couple.

i wonder if this is inspired by "somebody call 911. shawty fire burning on the dancefloor"?? ok, nvm




DAY3
we packed frantically, before bidding goodbye to the apartment.


to Grand Indonesia before hitting the airport
our lunch. yummy indonesian food. at Singapore prices. a dish for abt S$5.


last moments in Jakarta!! meiyan is inspired by ANTM
one of my fave photos of the trip :P:P




---
it was a fantastic trip because of the company.(we all went crazy-even me) :P:P and weddings are always lovely to attend. wishing the couple a blessed blissful marriage!
---
Jakarta reminded me a little of Manila. (traffic is much worst, and buildings does not seem as ancient though.) like Manila, it's also not a place i would visit for leisure. till the next time!

i'll be traveling every month for the rest of the year. looking fwd to the new experiences!

xxxx

last Saturday was Sihui & Nico's wedding. and we were kept busy and excited from morning till night!

radiant bride! beautiful lace gown. :)


fuschia pink was the color of the day!! love my new rose-print halter from Asos :P


helpers arrived at 730am in the morning to prepare for the gate-crashing!


us waiting for the boys.


boys will be boys. they were 30min late! unforgivable at some weddings, but we were lenient on them. ;) we especially liked nico's wondergirl dance in ugly granny underpants and cuili's hot red bra


after 1h of genuine grief and frustration on both sides, finally the groom gets to receive the bride!!


love the big vase of roses. very pretty :):)


after the morning excitement, we took a 2h break to go home to change, and convened again at chijmes hall in the afternoon for the solemnization followed by the wedding dinner.

at the reception


awww.


at dinner/




cuili was really high. and hilarious. she kept us entertained the whole evening.


sihui's evening gown


there's something special about attending a wedding. there's an emotion during the solemnization ceremony that wells up inside you, makes your heart go awww in a soft sigh. or maybe it's just me.

of course, the other fun part of attending a wedding is dressing up. it's the best reason to get a haircut, manicure, new dress, throw in a matching bag, shoes, accessories pls. :)

jakarta next. let's go , girls !

xxxxx

1. company did not perform well + budget cuts --> stress at work + increased workload --> leave work late --> take cab home alot

2. stress at work --> pimples / breakout --> facial packages, facial products

3. increased workload --> less time to meet friends --> everytime we meet, we decide to indulge and pamper ourselves

4. increased workload --> less time to shop --> everytime i shop, try to buy more things to make the trip 'worth' the time

5. less time to shop --> don't bother bargain-hunting at chinatown / far east like i love to in the past --> go straight for large shopping centres and just grab whatever decent stuff i can find

6. less time to shop physically --> more online shopping --> uncontrollable shopping sprees online

7. expecting low bonus --> mentality that i won't be able to save much money this year anyway, so just spend lor!!

i'm spending like never before. way more than i can remember.
and i strongly believe that it is because of the recession.
whee!

i suppose there's something romantic about flying to India over the weekend to celebrate birthday for your husband. :P:P

i headed straight to the airport from work on Friday night. wp was just a 3.5h flight away! and before i knew it, i arrived at Chennai Airport, in his office


Saturday
i wanted to sightsee but obviously none of us did an inkling of research, so we were left to the good hands (and driving skills) of Raj.

he drove us out of Chennai city to Mahabalipuram . i'm amused by wikitravel's description of this place, "Be prepared to fight your way through clutches of gypsies, beggars, guides, snakes charmers and so on, all of which is an essential part of the experience and not to be frowned upon. The whole thing would be bland without them."

Mahabalipuram is a large sightseeing and chillax area, and it was there where we...

1. wow-ed at Krishna's Butterball - a giant natural rock perched on a hillside, defying all laws of physics. many other such strange rocks around! we were told that they are growing in size!


2. got a nice view of the city, the sea, after climbing the rocky planes


3. admired intricate stone sculptures - 2 of the Five Rathas


4. made our way to the beach. makeshift carousels at the beach


5. drank coconut. it was hot but thankfully windy as we were near the sea.



6. had a big lunch. 2 Humongous jumbo prawns, curry fish, curry chicken, masala chicken, calamari. that's wp's style. always feasting :P:P
(check out Raj'sUniquely Singapore polo T ;) must have gotten it from our Chennai office)


as we were heading back to Chennai city, we stopped by an amusement park, and we had the most interesting amusement park experience EVER.
the ride we were on got STUCK yes. the wheel came out of the TRACK.
CAN U BELIEVE IT! yes! we were like stuck hanging in the air. yes, OMG. we eventually crawled out. -.-


back in Chennai city,we dropped by
1. St Thomas Basilica or Santhome Church/ This church is built over the tomb of St Thomas, 1 of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ


2. Marina Beach, one of the longest beaches in the world!!!! kid u not. :)
the beach is crowded with hundreds of food vendors, some with make-shift kitchens.


3. Malaysian restaurant for dinner. curry fish-head, and wp's favorite Indian dish - chicken lollipop. the chicken meat is pushed to one end of the bone, and u hold it like u would a lollipop. :P cute


Sunday

1. lazy breakfast. ooh i love idley


2. exploring the neighbourhood. there's a beach just a stone's throw away! and a pretty famous one in Chennai too - Elliots Beach. the locals love love love the beach


fish market. oh i've never smelt anything like that in my life.


3. our guests arrive with dinner for us! huge crab, and 2 curries. BEST crab i've tasted oooh YUMS.


Monday

1. exploring the home. love the big terrace




2. movie at Chennai Citi Centre - superb mall! we watched a 10 rupee movie! YES 10 RUPEE! equivalent to S$0.30?! and it was a pretty decent experience too. the people here love their movies. the place is sprawling with theatres and multiplexes like i've never seen before.

3. quick stop at "Chennai Chips", we went home with 5KG of banana and tapioca chips!


4. birthday dinner - wonderful (and amusing and hilarious >> dear, u wld know why!*winks) authentic Japanese meal. and i was so FULL i couldnt move. quite common when i'm with the husband


best birthday weekend!

love the new city, the new home. and i'm hoping to visit again during Diwali/Deepavali, where people take to the streets throughout the whole night, with fire crackers!

xxxxx

upon touching down on Tues 6am, i went to work arriving before 8am, and
it seemed like
every single little thing i procrastinated on in the past few months, has come crashing onto me in a huge tsunami wave

and everything needs to be done in these 3 days. deal with it!

to travel

2008
Sydney, Manila(work), Shanghai(work), Mumbai(work), Hyderabad, KL (work)

2009
Cape Town, Hyderabad, Chennai,
next up: Jakarta in Aug, Langkawi in Aug(4 days leave), Beijing in Sep (work), Chennai in Oct(2-3 days leave), New York in Nov/Oct (5 days leave at least), Chennai in December (1-2 days leave)

i need more leave leh. still want to travel next yr!