az lunar new year lunch

so full until my stomach's going to burst.
just look at the portion of this Yee-Sang,
salmon fish, cod fish, and even gold foil!!!

pre jo's recital check

before going to josephine's studio for recital check,

we went to a vietnamese cafe for a drink.
ordered a FLU FIGHTER JUICE...
well, tasted quite good...

sentosa flowers 2008

went with all antipation, but ended up with disappointment

most of the flowers were not as bright as i thought, most even whithered.

only managed to capture that few photos.

CNY: trip up north

on the 1st day of chinese new year, i went on a short trip to north malaysia with my parents, relatives and friends. well, we're not avoiding the chinese new year, 避年 as the chinese would call it. we still do our new year visiting in the day set off in the evening. basically, we're visiting 2 places: kelantan and trengganu. kelantan being the state run by the opposition islamic party has always been rumoured with horror stories of the strict muslim laws they impose on the people and how the locals, esp the women, are unjustly treated. we were surprised to find that the local malays are much more friendlier to chinese compared to other states in malaysia. in general, they're very tolerant of other races. because of its close proximity to thailand, buddhism in kelantan is much influenced by thai.

the structure of the temples, the style and the buddha they worship are soooo thai....



the sitting, the standing and the sleeping buddhas....


fortune telling the thai way...


the wishing tree. seems familiar right? resembles scenes from hongkong TVB dramas.


a night market in kota bharu...


they sell many of these fried seafood along pantai cahaya bulan (beach of moonlight).
nearly ALL the stalls sell the same stuff....


asam! yep, you use this to cook asam curry.
here's the fresh, unpeeled version


i better give him a hand, coz he can't handle such sudden
big orders.... phew....


rantau panjang is the duty-free zone at the border of thailand,
where an assortment of goods is available at attractive prices.
we're really spoilt for choice at this bustling market





in trengganu, the tian hou gong, or ma tzu as termed by the taiwanese,
blesses fishermen who regard the sea as their livelihood


checking into hotel grand continental, can finally rest well....


the trengganu state museum complex is the largest museum complex
in southeast asia. it offers a glimpse into the rich history of the state
religion, royalty, culture and economy



coincidentally, my cousin and i were wearing number 33 on the same day!!!


steven giving it a shot at the batik making factory


here's the end result.... not bad huh? ;-)


end of journey. accompanying me throughout my 4 day trip:
my zen v plus, oakley shades, bottle of water and travellers' guide

seng poh cantonese porridge

initally michelle wanted to bring to have teochew porridge,

but we went to the wrong place and ended up here...

but the porridge's really not bad. it's very smooth and

the ingredients are very fresh. the raw fish is good.

ambience's very rustic as well.

if you're looking for simple, plain food and quiet environment to have

your lunch, look no further. seng poh rd at tiong bahru.

team dinner at indochine @ ACM

yeah, here's the photo taken during our team dinner
at indochine. food's nice, ambience's even nicer...

officially 26

hey guys, a big thank you for the kind wishes.
here's the list of well-wishers whose
wishes reached me on 4th Feb...

Abigail, alright, u're first!
Sherine
Thai Ha
Sherry
Huifang
Wesley
Xiaoyu, Alicia
Zhiyun
Rafael
Bertram
Mummy
Daddy
Amutha
Razia, all the way from Mauritius!
AZ Colleagues. Michelle Ow, you're the 1st in office!
Mei-Bao
San Wee, my little bro
Grace Tan
Minghui
Vern Howe
LingZhu
Jipson, thanks a lot for the chocolates!
Tim Go
Flora
Calvin Ng
April Rheiboy
Mr Chu Wee Yong
Last but not least. Harmonica Orchestra!
Thanks a lot for the cake and birthday song,
esp to the juniors.

our mini recital practise with our conductor

it was the first time we went to our conductor's, josephine, studio at bkt timah.
the first impression that struck us.... HOMELY & COSY! too bad, we didn't
take any photos. it was really a very comfy studio, with nice cushion, soft
carpet and exquisite decor.

tequilla's invitation to burglar

yes, you're not seeing things. tequilla (my housemate) actually left the keys on the lock,

closed the door and went to bed! caught her red handed when we got back!

sigh.... blue friday

wat a blue friday. bad orchestra practice. things are not in place.
lost. frantic. anxiety. frustrations. mixed feelings.
however....
i'm sure we'll definitely see rainbow at the end of the day.
heads up, spirits high! don't lose faith!

AZ POA 2008

phew, the yearly poa finally ended after 3 days in singapore
and 2 days of conference in sabah. super worn out and drained.
felt that there was a significant improvement from last year.
this year was good in the sense that we can do our ESS audit and
training in spore and when it comes to the company's goal and objective,
did it with the malaysia and brunei team. it's really a very good idea.
and of course, for this year's conference in sabah, sutera harbou resort,
it's definitely a much much more ideal location compared to langkawi.
better food, better accomodation,better venue.
too bad we only spent 2 nights there, and didn't get to see sabah at all.
interactions between our malaysia and brunei counterparts' limited as well.

the worse thing is, there's something wrong with my camera's memory card!!!
can't read the photos!!!
damn. that's the worst thing that can happen to a photographer.

strawberry gaga

initially martin, michelle and myself were just browsing around,

looking for something for the pharmacist.

then, something struck us.

on closer look...

wow! $26.90 for a small packet of strawberries!!!

well, u can call me mountain tortoise, but that's really the most

expensive strawberries i've ever seen- compared to

the one whole of box 1.0kg of strawberries for $2 i bought in dalat.

but well, this are amaou strawberries from fukuoka, japan.

i can tell u, it's every cents worth.

texture is perfect, not too tough, not too soft, just nice.

a little sour at first bite, but marvellously sweet when u bite

into the flesh.... heavenly ! (errr, yah, we actually bought it)

apparently, 1 strawberry like this is filled with so much goodness.

- rich in vitamin c. 5-8 of amaou strawberries is enough to

fulfill body's daily requirements

- pectin (fibre), promotes better regulation of the digestive system functions

- potassium, helpes the body to get rid of excess sodium

ah, that must be one of the most expensive fruit bites i've ever had

Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

i'm down...

today i'm down with gastric flu/food poisoning.
as usual, the GP couldn't draw a certain conclusion on
what I'm actually suffering from.
just fed me with anti-spasmodic, anti-diarrhaer,
anti-vomit and salt replacement drugs.
drowsy whole day..... :-(

how to cross a road in saigon

here's a guideline on how to cross road in saigon
when it's busy (always is).

1. NEVER, ever trust the green man or the zebra crossing
2. walk slowly at consistent speed
3. pause for a while if necessary
4. NEVER reverse
5. if a bike is coming your way, continue walking, it'll avoid you
6. practise for 2-3 more times and you'll reach perfection

introductory keelboat session

today's my first sailing experience and it was totally fun.

many things to remember, many steps to follow and many

things to take note, but well, since it's an introductory course

we cannot ask for much anyway.

oh yah, for those who've no idea what a keelboat is, here you are:

"The term keelboat is also used to describe any sailboat which has a keel, as opposed to a centerboard, multihull or daggerboard..." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

However, we met with a storm and were totally drenched.

but i can really tell u it's very very exciting riding through the storm.

camera hunt

sam finally bought his 1st digital camera on the 2nd day of 2008.
after much considerations, he finally decided on Canon Digital IXUS 860IS.
here's the FIRST photo taken on the new cam...

savouring my cha lua

here's my favourite vietnamese ham, cha lua.

best sandwiched with egg, baked bean, fresh tomato and cheddar cheese....

mmm...yummy!!!

it's so good, u can even eat it on its own! (coupled with tomato ketchup)

welcome 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

yes, yes, i'm counting down at home by the tv.
don't really wanna squeeze with the crowd at the
countdown places, and have problems getting home after that...

my new year resolutions:

- lower my cholesterol levels
- build and tone up my body
- start my marketing grad. dip. course
- learn guitar
- get our 2nd Soiree Award
- continue traveling

and counting.......

footprints in vietnam

can't wait to share with you the joys and fun i had during my 8 days in vietnam (22/12/07- 29/12/07)

day 1:

Hotel => SLEEP!!!
i really need my beauty sleep coz i woke up at 3am to catch the
morning flight from spore to saigon.

with a super big suite room, with a super big bathtub, what else can i ask for?
in the afternoon, chou chou brought me to a traditional Hue restaurant for lunch.

they serve really nice spring rolls

and yes, they've got their safety helmets now (effective: 15/12/07). it's a booming business for helmet sellers.

next stop, reunification or independence palace. to my disappointment, there're just rooms, rooms and more rooms. but well, it's really very BIG!

before heading back to the hotel, i went to a spa and massage centre and had one of the best massages i've ever had. they're really professional and i was treated like a king for 4 full hours!!! .... and now you know why i felt like a king. i took the emperor package

this is chou chou

and her bIkE

day 2:

on my way to dalat, city of flowers. on the bus ride to dalat, i met a new dutch friend, marco.

he had been in vietnam and cambodia for the past 2 months, teaching and travelling.

the trip was a torturous 10 hours. my head, neck, back, butt n legs were aching all over when i arrived in dalat. dalat was not really that cold when i arrived but well, at least cool enough to compensate for the scorching heat in saigon.

it's a very nice place with beautiful scenary,

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flowers,

flowers,

flowers,

and flowers, everywhere,
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beautiful weather,
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.
and beautiful people.

awww....isn't he lovely?

i stayed in a nice and cosy villa hotel. small, simple and clean.

and had dinner with marco in the evening at a restaurant as featured in the lonely planet.

when night falls, it was freezing.....

day 3:
breakfast was delivered to my room, i had my favourite pho (vietnamese beef noodle).



i joined the sinhcafe tour on a dalat city tour. got to know many travellers in this day trip.
dalat's really very beautiful.

we visited the pren waterfalls,

thoa from hanoi

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how carefree....

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Bao Dai palace, for the last king of vietnam

yep, we've to wear this inside the summer palace

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the crazy house (well, it's not really that crazy)


and the valley of love....


celebrated my first christmas eve abroad.

thai ha and myself had dinner at sister tu anh's restaurant and she kept complaining on how tough it was when she set up the restaurant and blah blah blah....

but it's not as tough as her pancake. it's ROCK HARD!

another freezing xmas eve night.....

day 4:

owners of the villa

merry christmas and goodbye dalat.
harlow nha trang
nha trang's a beautiful beach resort and serve rather cheap and fresh seafood.

i had pho AGAIN for dinner...really love it.
unfortunately, it's not as good as the ones i had in saigon.


day 5:

went on a boat trip with loads of people. met many vietnamese who migrated to US many years ago. heard their stories and i was simply enlightened on the harshness of life during the vietnam war. the boat trip was fun and i reckon the super hyped people were the crew themselves, even more excited than the tourists.


how amazing it was when they converted the seats on the boat into our lunch table.
we had lunch on board...

and champagne in the sea...

at night, i took the bus back to saigon. another 10 tormenting hours....


day6:

chou chou brought me around the parts of saigon, esp district 5 where the chinese lived and worked.

every food's cold in saigon, including their green bean and peanut soup

x'mas lightings at saigon centre

watched a traditional vietnamese water puppet show in the evening.

(not watching vietnamese water puppet show

means not visiting vietnam yet!)

how gimmicky...

at least that's the reason why i watched it.

day 7:

the big day finally arrived! it's not my big day, it's Son's and Trang's. of course I'm equally excited, not only because it's my first time attending a vietnamese wedding, but also i'm involved in the actual procession of the ceremony right from the morning.

me at Son's place in the morning,

to bring the offerings to the bride's house

nervous Son

and cheeky Trang

and here's teamNUS: (from left to right)

me, sherry, son, trang,kit yin, foong yin, jocelyn and ruth

best wishes to Son & Trang once again

many thanks trang for inviting me to share your joy. i can truly say it's my one of the most joyous and memorable weddings i've attended. had thoroughly enjoyed myself the whole day.

day 8:

chou chou brought me to a vietnam broken rice restaurant for breakfast.


after which, brought me to buy my favourite cha luoc (vietnamese ham).

after 8 days of stay in vietnam, i'm beginning to love this place very much.
seen and felt things which i've never had experienced during the last trip.
thanks to chou chou, trang, son, thai ha and other friends who made this trip so much fun.

goodbye vietnam and see you real soon...