One Night In Bangkok (Is Not Enough)

You know what they say about Bangkok? How, according to the song made famous by murray head, that spending one night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble, not much between despair and ecstasy, and lastly, how just one night in Bangkok can make the tough guys tumble. My personal favourite is how the song ended with how one can feel the devil walking next to him.

Nice.

That is exactly how you will feel in Bangkok, the city of angels. This lovel thai capital has long been a favourite quick getaway city for Singaporeans (including me) for a short trip; the famous Chatuchak weekend market where you can find everything from furniture to food to pets, the busy junction of MBK shopping center and, on this trip, I discovered my new favourite place du jour there: Siam Paragon.

There are just so many gorgeopus place to dine there (since we all cannot afford any of the designer wear that sits prettily in the boutiques' shelves) and I personally have a few favourite - The basement food hall with its wonderful selection of low cost authentic thai food in a comfy setting, the trendy Another Hound Cafe by the Thai chic label Greyhound, and one brasserie the thai girls (Tigers) introduced us to.

At Another Hound, we had wonderful lunch and the dishes are all lovely!

We stayed at this hotel near the Victory Monument call Ibis (which I am sure my European friends have no problem realising is the budget arm of Accor) and the rooms were nice and comfy. I loved the firm mattresses though Tina think they are a tad too firm and hard for her preference. The only peeve was the toilet's water pressure (can be stronger) and also the drainage (somehow there's a faint drainage smell coming from the shower cubicle's water drainage) Nonetheless, it's a steal for a double room at 900 Baht (23 Euros) in a proper hotel for a night!

Now of course, nothing beats meeting friends and yes, I managed to meet Cha, Mook and Fon (a.k.a the Tigers) from my exchange in Vienna last Fall. These three lovely angels made the impact on how unique Bangkok is for us on this trip, despite me having been there for few times. The presence of an enchanting city, great company and a greta time sure made this trip to bangkok wonderfully memorable!

Cha and Mook bought us to this nice cafe call Vanilla that serves kick-ass crepes and a sinfully creamy Macadamia Frappe on Sunday (which happened to be the Queen's Birthday) at Siam Paragon. Later We crossed the street and got to Hard Rock for some Kamikaze cocktails. Se how they love Vanilla! And Cha and Mook still look so radient despite cha having been out for hours before meeting us that day and Mook having a bad case of Flu.

The lasagna crepe which is heavenly!

The next day, Cha, Mook and Fon (who was away the previous day) brought us to this amazing lovely thai restaurant by the famed Chao Phraya river and we had the best thai food ever in this lovely open air place with a great live band! Then we went to the backpacker's haven in Bangkok call Kao Sun Road and there were so many bars to choose from. In the end we settled on this country-ish looking place and we had more drinks! And of course lots of good conversation were conducted in those 2 days and more wonderful memories to go into my mind. Memories all thanks to the lovely thai friends I made from the exchange!

I'll upload more photos after I get them from Tina.

I am back!!!

Hello all me dear friends and pals! and and if you are some stranger stumbling upon this blog, well, you're in for a treat! The photo above is just a peek on what's to come...

Haha, by now all my friends will know I am most prob on my suger high and thus being soooo hyper active...

Ok, It's been 2 weeks since I've updated the blog and what other reason can there be other than the fact that I had been away! Yes! Finally, I get to travel to the tropical Eastern part of Malaysia on Borneo and spent 2 weeks there. Though only the 1st 3 nights were spent in the delightful Shangri La Tanjung Aru Resort, with its own private beach! Oh man...I love that place to death! The waters of the South China Sea are crystal clear and the sand is so darn soft. Despite the Shang being a family resort (read: many kids on summer, or rather winter, holidays from Australia) I still love the place to death! I wanted to extend for few more nights buit the resort was fully booked! Man! Even the nearby 2 other resorts are also full! There were tons of Hong kongers and Australians on hoildays there as it was summer holis for HKm, and winter getaway for the Aussies!

The resort is sprawling over a large plot of land and the lobby is traditional Malay style and inviting too!


The staff are attentive, pool is gorgeous, and a great gym for me to continue my 3-2-1 regime too! The rooms are furnished tastefully and the bathroom, oh my god, dun even get me started on how spacious it is! The bath is seperated from the shower and the whole bathroom is soooooo huge, i wanted to stay there all day if not for the inviting and comfy bed (but of course, Sheraton's Sweet Sleeper bed is still the best bed I had ever slept in) The room was so spacious, and even if you get sick of all those planned free activities all hour long like, yoga, beach volleyball, soccer tai chi, mahjong lessons at the resort, you can just zonk out in the room and enjoy the beautiful view of the sea and catch some sea breeze at your room's private balcony!


The view from my room looks out into the sea and also faces the mini 9 hole golf 'course'. I of course, played some golf to kill time while I was there! haha...somehow, the 7 am tai chi lessons i signed up for me and mum...erm...well, i slept in instead haha...but mum actually rented a bike and rode around the hotel grounds! and she actually woke up every morning to walk along the coast line...and i thought she'll be bored there!





Surprisingly, I spent very little time at the pool and beach cos the pool was free form and I had great difficulty trying to swim my laps there...plus, pool=family's favourite area=many many kids= many many irritating kids in the water=not my cup of pool

But the pool is gorgeous though!



I actually love the view and the sea breeze when I sit along the coastline on those sun chairs, so there's what I usually do before i'm at the hotel gym doing my 3-2-1 routine. The view is lovely, ain';t it?












Now, of course, how can one not have fresh seafood when you're in Kota Kinabalu? This reataurent is one of my fav in the city and we went there for at least 3 dinners on my 2 week long trip...The lobster simmered in cream sauce is my favourite and seriously, i had been waiting to relive this moment again since my last visit to kota kinabalu 10 years ago! Also, the steamed fresh abalone with superior stock gravy is anothey must try! The fresh fish that are steamed and delivered to your table piping hot and freakingly fresh! Man!





I shouldn't have waited 10 years before going back there again! Haha, this is what Mum was experiencing whenever I was overseas in the sumnmer holis for the past 2 years! And! she was also there when I was in Europe...somehow, its a tough choice between food and europe haha...My last indulgence was a box of Varhona dark chocolates I got fronm the airport at the start of my trip. haha...a holiday too good and heavenly!


Next stop: Bangkok to look for the 'Tigers'!

paradise found (i hope)

in less than 6 hours, i'll be heading to the airport for an early flight to the exotic land of borneo. Well, or at least it seemed exotic to others. It's been at elast 10 years since I've stepped foot into that piece of land and I really really really miss the wonderfood seafood i can get there. I already have the munu planned out in my head from my favourite seafood restaurant in sabah, at a place call Portview. Man, those baked baby lobsters simmered in a creamy cheese sauce is soooo farking delicious, i swear it's so worth just flying there to have a taste of it!

Of course unless you are flying to better destinations like europe or america. haha...then the trip to those places are much better.

Hopefully i will get aome free internet connection in the shangri la hotel there or at my cousin's condo where I'll be staying after the luxurious retreat by the beach.

Oh, and before I jet off, i have already play matchmaker to jeremy and lauren by arranging a dinner for the, supposedly, 3 of us tomorrow. Hope the blardy Jeremy will be daring and profess his 'love' for lauren so that my bff can get a great guy...haha...ok, i am merely hoping that in my deepest inner mind, they will be an item. Of course, they blth denied feelings for one another but seriously, well...dot dot dot. haha...

gotta go...seeya bee-yotches in 2 weeks time after i get back from borneo and before i fly off to bangkok to meet moo, cha and fon!

approaching borneo

yeah, this is the last week of my summer class! Just handed in the assignment where i had to prepare a media kit for a promotional campaign launch and despite having another imbecile on my pair work group, I managed to come up with like erm...88% of everything that was submitted. Not that I am complaining.

I mean...if I ever get a good grade for this class, I can so sure that it's really my job and I'd give myself a good pat on my shoulders. Though chances are that with the elite group of students in this small class size of 16, I'll be at the end of the bell curve again haha... Oh, did i mention a local minister's daughter is in my class? haha...and some local celebrity's younger sister too.

I'll be having a class test on writing a press release tomorrow and frankly speaking, i really do love this particular module I am taking. Who knows that the media are so bitchy when they get a press release from someone who does not know how to write it? (meaning, people without training in such stuffs and trying to pass off as a p.r. personal in the company) In fact, its gets sooo frightenly scary that the format is soooo embedde in news editors mind that they can smell if you are trained in such writings just be looking at the paper. Sadly of course, people in singapore are as usual too microscopic to look beyond the importance of such stuffs and think that such writing is idiot proof and anyone can churn out something similar.

Anyway, I'll have 2 more lessons and then coming Monday, I'll be jetting off to Borneo. Yes, 2 weeks of fresh seafood, and wonderful view of the south china sea, though it's fiji or tahiti I'd rather be at...Nonetheess, i hope the seafood buffet spread at the resort will be much cheaper than the one we had at the local Shangri la..

I'm all ready to be walking along the beach an enjoy a lovely sunset over the sea and immerse myself with the orang utan...ahhh...bliss...

Well, I would also love to have some fun on the water doing something sporty but frankly my dear...afetr one failed attempt at wakeboarding years ago, I serioualy never want to do it again...haha...

more than meets the eye

if you are a fan, you'll surely know what I'm gonna be talking bout in this post.

I met up with tina and k.s. to watch transformers today after the entire population had watched it like, 3 weeks ago and are now chasing after stupid harry on his broomstick.

Anyway, I love the mover simply because i think it rocks! Gosh, if only I had realised that robots were so cool when I was young(er)...I am so gonna be burning all my barbie and ponies later on...haha...just joking...play-doh was more of my thing (opps!) haha...

I am so in love with Bumblebee...but alas, not as much as I wanna ride Megan Fox! haha...Somehow, it's so wrong to think megan riding bumblebee...haha

This movie kind of brought back what I personally feel a movie should be, impactful and engaging - a point that's sadly missing in so many movies nowadays...

More of (ME AT) Serene's Solemnisation Ceremony

haha, yes, i just got the photos from kiyo and is posting more photos of me at the event up to reward my reader's support of this blog...haha...






By the way, I am contemplating a new haircut again, cos my hair's at this length where its neither here nor there...and i am starting to look so shaggy...haha...

Manslaughter Charges

After the wedding tea reception yesterday, I managed to rush back home thanks to Stevie's ride for a quick change before meeting Elise, Huiling, Tina, Victor and Douglas for a nite of singing at the karaoke.

Had lots of fun and i managed to kill all my listeners with my non-melodious and absolute tone-deaf singing skills haha...Elise had a greta voice and Huiling was superb too! Everytime these 2 gals sang, its as if the singner was singing the song!

Far Far away in a far-flung obscure fairy land

I went for one of my high school friend's solemnisation ceremony yesterday. Yes, it's that stage in my life where friends starts getting hitch. And to think she could have chosen a much better and convenient location, she actually choose to hold her tea reception at her alma matter. All the way in some obscure location in the West. Ok, I don't mean to be a bitch, but considering I come from an extremely centralised located campus in town, her location is really like making a trip from Vienna to Salzburg, of course the entire car ride was actually only 30 minutes. But if you consider the size of our entire country, 30 min is like half the time needed for me to do a cross nation ride!Hyena (who attended another local uni, but spent some months in this campus due to her training course to be a teacher) was so disgusted by the journey and the location that she is really pissed.

And please do not even get me started on describing the campus. There is only so much old disgusting residence halls and dated buildings I can take. Luckily, her choice for the ceremony was in a ultra Chinese style building in her campus. Initially, I did rolled my eyes when a friend told me bout her choice of location (in terms of the chinese style thing) but after a short circling of like erm...10% of her campus, i think the chinese style trumps over all those old dated colonial era buildings.

There's actually this rivalry among my uni and this far flung located uni locally and seriously, for someone who has no student residences on campus (and sine my uni is supposed to be the different creative cousin) this two notes on the car parking lot caught my eyes. Things are so dead buerecratic there that even parking has to be dfferentiated! And besides, why hall fellows?

The ceremony was short and sweet and the buffet was even more unmemorable. I managed to meet many old friends and strike up a few friendly conversations. It was a really boring choice i made to attend her solemnisation ceremony. So just a note to my pals getting hitch, location is key cos seriously, you really do not want ur guests to be cursing and swearing while they are on their way to your wedding.

After the wedding, Stevie drove us to a mall near his place, Parkway Parade to get Hyena's shelf from Giant, but sadly, it was sold out :( At least we were all much happier compared to driving to the far flung location in the morning!

Also, to end things on a fun note, its like a Chinese tradition that whenever cpuples get hitch, be it dinner or solomisation ceremonies, we can give monies in red packets instead of gifts and this is what Steven wrote behind the packet. Notice the funny thing? "Wishing both of us the best..."Haha...we all laughed so loud, and luckily, we alerted his choice of word and managed to changed it before we gave it to the bride.

what happened to my 3-2-1 regime?

in case you are all wondering i'm already starting to slack off my gym routine, no! it's just that i've just came back from yet another buffet (let me count, shangrila 3 weeks ago, steamboat buffet last week, and now, another one!).

Ever since the great let down of shangri-la buffet, i have been itching and putting my research skills to good usage by finding another great hotel seafood buffet. The result from reading tons of comments and forums was a shorlisted 2 hotels - Ritz Carlton, and Fullerton.

In the end, Kiyo, Stevie and I decided to give Fullerton a try. And since we all tried Shang and found it to be a letdown, we hoped that the fullerton experiance will resurect our confidence in local buffet standards...haha...

Well, I like the fullerton buffet cos i eat almost 80 percent of the stuffs there. Though amazingly lacking in terms of variety to Shangri-La, the price is also cheaper (Fullertons' 48 to Shang's 68) and also, I really like the appetisers fullerton has. I'll let the photos do the talk. Oh, one bad thing bout Fullerton is that they have a small dessert selection (I suspect it's cos they want you to go try their Chocolate buffet instead - which i did last time and found it ok). another thing to note is that since its a Seafood buffet, all are seafood! There was no meat dish at all - only beef salad and this mutton salad dish have meat.

Fullerton is located along the Singapore River and within the skyscraper towering business district

It used to be the post office during Singapore's colonial times under British rule, hence this very European-ish looking building.

It's July!

That's how fast time passes by! Just been really busy with trying to desperately slim down and be fit that I have no time to update this blog...haha...

Well, so far, after 2 weeks of 3 times a week sessions of 2 hours at the gym on my 3-2-1 routine, I managed to lose 2 kg! yeah!

3-2-1 is the term i coined up for my fitness regime at the gym, haha, does it not sounds glam? its actually 30 minutse of ecliptical machine jog, 20 min of rowing, and 10 min of cycling. Now all i need is to add in 5000 more words and i am on my way to a best selling fitness book.

Anyway, I was called up to go for an interview at CitiBusiness (Citibank's Corporate division) for a part time internship running concurrently with my school term, and what a freaking boring job it sounded. I was so not prepared for this position at all that I did not even bother to pick a nice outfit to wear. In the end, I just settled on a boring white shirt-black trousers ensamble. Also, I was so appaled that the job involves banking processes that after 10 minutes of the group interview (i was with 2 other folks from my school), I decided to just ask stupid questions to them to kill time. I was never that (insert suitable adjective) at any interview before. Guess after the foiled attempt at asset management at JF, my life really is a bore.

The Citi interview also reinforce what I really wanted to do in banking - trading, reasearch or asset management.

Well, on a good noe, i am going for a Seafood buffet at Fullerton hotel later! Haha...i am already salivating! Also, my PR writing class is immensely fun! So i guess i can't really ask for anything more.