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Entertaining myself while on vacation...

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Subject - Me

Video editing - M@rk

The Land of Smiles - The friendship and the people

Friendship…We talked about quitting our jobs to become florists, I was supposed to master the art of floral arrangement and she was supposed to do web design. While we were in Hawaii, island hopping, we talked about becoming wedding planners, coordinating weddings for couples. That was after we had watched many TV programmes about jobs of wedding planners and how they planned weddings in Hawaii. Ha, think we even talked about some details, roles and responsibilities. Heh, gals’ talk. After these few years, well, we are still doing what we are doing…But anyway, hey gal, know what, wedding planners or not, I think the most wonderful thing would be to be able to attend your wedding, I will be looking forward to that, ha, I will be waiting patiently :P Thanks gal, for sharing wonderful memories with me, for your patience and understanding in this friendship that we share…

People… the Thai are pretty friendly people and the hotel staff that we have met during the trip were so attentive that we kept singing praises of them. Even the gardener turned and greeted us. We were thinking it must be real tough working under the hot sun the whole day and despite that, his smile was still full of warmth and it was so sincere. We were wondering if they ever complained about work. You know, sometimes there’s just much to learn even from a gardener. I was telling Jiaqi that maybe they are just thankful that they have a job and probably that’s of utmost importance to them. They know they must work hard and put in their very best in whatever they do, even if they were chambermaids, bell boys, beach boys or gardeners. Hmm, I guess it’s not what we are but it’s probably how we do it. I know I am gonna miss the smiles of those people from the Land of Smiles : )

The Land of Smiles - Food

There's always space for dessert...red ruby was a gem with crunchy chestnut, coconut ice cream was not too sweet, flavour was rich and worked very well with a generous serving of lotus seeds.

We are known to be capable of finishing one big fish :P Great sauce, sweet, sour and spicy. It was sizzling hot and went very well with the fish.

Afternoon tea at a cafe at Paragon...nice tiramisu!

Taking a short break from shopping...Real nutty and crunchy!

Sashimi at Fuji!

Actually, there were more that we ate...too gulity to confess, ha! I think both of us have piled on kilos after this trip, well, it's not as if we were that thin before this trip :P Now that holiday trip is over, better work on getting back in shape!

The Land of Smiles - Shopping

Did that mostly in Bangkok. Ha, shopping didn’t feel that hectic without Kat. She always had lotsa things to buy when we were in Bangkok for the past two years :P Goodness, she loves to feed her friends with lotsa of food too. But you know, she has been like an elder sister to us, I know she always cares so much for us and protecting us like a mother at times, ha! Kinda miss having her around and her thunderous laughter this time :)

Well, have used a brand of body moisturizer from Bangkok two years ago and love the one with lemongrass. The smell isn’t too strong and it works well on my skin. My sis helped me to buy a few bottles some time back but all used up. Thus, this time, bought quite a few bottles back. Ha, those body, mind and soul stuff constitutes the bulk of my shopping over in Bangkok. Heh, I think all of us should try to pamper ourselves and our bodies at times :P

While I was paying for a set of PJ that I have bought, Jiaqi was kinda ‘caught’ by a sales promoter cum make up artist for a make over. He, or should I say she :P, added some colours to Jiaqi’s face. I should say our dear Miss Tan looked beautiful after that, ha, the important thing was she bought a bottle of make up stuff after that and that wasn’t really cheap. The next moment, the sales promoter was eyeing my face, wanting to create a piece of art out of my face. But I politely declined. Not used to having make up on my face, let alone on my relaxing day, prefer to have my face in its bare self on days like that. Oh well, maybe except for a bit of sunscreen and foundation :P

Was looking closely at my eyes in the mirror one of those nights at the hotel. Goodness, those lines beneath my eyes seemed to be more complicated than the Japan rail. I know I cannot handle Japan rail when I was there a few years ago, oops, let alone those beneath my tiny eyes :P I gave a sigh and vowed to be more diligent in applying my eye cream, day and night, when I got back home.

I guess age is catching up but it seemed that we used to be able to walk and shop the whole day but now, every somewhat like three hours, gotta sit and rest at a café. We decided to pamper our feet by having a foot spa at Paragon Siam Square. While have our foot wrap, we were given a head, shoulder and back massage too! Wow, a great deal and certainly pampering for our tired bodies. I think I fell asleep at some point of the one hour half treatment.

The Land of Smiles - The journeys

To get to the town, Ao Naung, we gotta kinda climb the side of a mountain, not literally to climb but walk on and climb some kinda wooden steps. We were told that the whole journey from the resort to the town would take about twenty minutes and it’s only meant for resort guests. Well, after we went through that, we believed that the so called twenty minutes might be meant for those professional trekkers. You know, missing one step at some parts of the journey is certainly no joke. Ha, we were walking like two aunties, gripping hard to the wooden railings at the side, having our full attention and concentration on every plank that we stepped on. We had muscle aches the very next day and decided to give the town a miss, decided to just laze by the beach and read :P Sigh, city gals…

This is kinda like the resort’s jetty, I was pretty excited seeing that when we first reached the resort. But trust me, it was not easy walking on that, especially when the current was real strong. I felt like a surfer surfing on a ‘surf board’. Nah, let me rephrase that; I felt like a lousy surfer on the ‘surf board’. It was kinda difficult to balance, let alone walk on that. Jiaqi said she would probably get sea sick walking on that for long. I wouldn’t disagree. But you know, while walking on that, I was kinda fearful that I might fall but I was also feeling kinda thrilled walking on it. That day, after we have checked out and had to make our way to that resort’s jetty, we were pretty apprehensive about walking on that as it was a rainy day and it was pretty slippery. We took our first few steps, I was trying to balance myself by stretching my hands. There came a strong current, I was wobbling and someone held my hand, I turned and saw an assuring smile. It was one of the staff who was seeing us off at the jetty. She held my hand all the way to the motor boat and ensured that we board safely. I thought that’s really sweet and nice. She must be thinking these city gals probably never got a chance to experience this *embarrassing*:P Well, if I were to stay there long enough, I will make sure I conquer this journey by walking till the end.

The Land of Smiles - The sea (Krabi)

Frankly speaking, the incident in Hawaii a couple of years back has kinda left an impact on me. You know, at that very moment, I really thought that I was not gonna see my loved ones anymore, that was really a terrible feeling. Well, still love the sea but still a little fearful about sea sports, just a little bit. Ha, probably my bones are also too old and creaky for those adventurous sea sports. I remember when I was much younger, was so gungho to try everything, from rafting, kayaking, snorkeling to diving, almost tried anything that's available. Heh, but now, just like to enjoy the beauty of the coastline and the vastness of the ocean. The sand at the beach near to the resort was real soft, felt like walking on a carpet at times, one could even dance on it! Always love to walk along the coast, barefooted, feeling the breeze caressing my face and listening to the melodious sounds of waves as they hit the shore. With the sunset, it was just simply calming and beautiful, it was so easy to break into a smile.

The Land of Smiles - Accommodation

This big room at Centara could easily sleep four

Besides the bed, another thing I like about the room is the bathroom. It could easily be the size of a room in a condo. Well, with this kinda bathroom, those who know me well enough would probably know the amount of time I spent for each shower :P

The resort's jetty, we were received by the front desk people and the security guard here.

Friendly staff from the resort picking us up from the jetty. Thank goodness we didn't have to carry our luggage, can you imagine how heavy they were after much shopping at Bangkok :P

Centara Grand, the view from the motor boat

Have been staying at Novotel at Siam Square for the past few times we gals were in Bangkok. According to them, good location, indeed it is. As for Krabi, we picked Centara Grand. I would say it’s really exclusive, there is no way one could travel there by road. We had a half an hour drive from the Krabi airport to a jetty and the resort’s motor boat picked us up. I really like the peacefulness and quiet in that resort, have always preferred private beach area too. There was no crowd, no pubs, no loud music…one could just hear the frogs croaking and sounds made by different kinda insects at night. If we opened our balcony door, we could hear the sounds of waves but at the risk of having mosquitoes in our room. Service was great, very attentive, efficient and friendly staff I must say. Ha, simply enjoyed being pampered like a princess. Of course, a princess who’s appreciative of the little things they did to make our stay a relaxing and enjoyable one.

Fly away...

I knew I had to get out for a while this June holiday, decided to explore Krabi, probably miss the sounds of waves since my Bali trip in April…Have always wanted to go Krabi, will fly to Krabi via Bangkok and so decided to stop over at Bangkok for a few days. Ha, I thought I was in Bangkok last year too :P Hmm, I must try to make sure I fly out of South East Asia end of the year. Right in front of me now is a cup of some kinda tonic that my mummy will make me drink whenever I am travelling, some kinda they call it ling yang with some other dunno wat herbs brewed together (see pic). Mummy said it will remove heatiness. Oops, she just came into the room to check if I have finished every drop of it. Help me, the most difficult part is swallowing it, dun like the taste at all. Well, stop being such a baby! Considering my mummy took much effort and time to brew it, I will gulp down the whole cup of it. Thanks Mummy!! …gulp…gulp…goodness, I think I need a mint now :P Now, the next thing I dread about travelling is packing, I am kinda not done yet and have got a real early flight to catch tomorrow morning, gotta go…time to flap my wings and fly...

Oh yes, dearest Sunny baby, have been thinking of you and miss ya dearly. Hope that you are doing fine and have been a good boy. See ya real soon, muack!

Fly high and away

Nuts about chocolate with peanut butter from Baskin Robbins...

slabs of peanut butter, terribly sinful!

Grilled seafood at Menaga Cafe by the beach...fresh seafood

Lobsters were finger-licking good!

Our hotel, Melia Bali, has a really beautiful and well-maintained garden

Enjoying a meal by the beach

Beach at Nusa Nua, just at our hotel... simply relaxing by just walking along the beach...

feeling the soft white sand...

Beach at Kuta...during sunset

The 'nua' queens :P

Those clips on my wings were gone, I flapped my wings and flew free in the clear blue sky…I took a last look at my black planner (one that I cannot work without but know that I can live without) last Thursday afternoon and bade farewell to it as I placed it aside, forgetting its existence…well, I guess for a few days. I was away for a short getaway to Bali over the long weekend, was craving badly for some sun, sand and sea. Ha, I simply love being lazy at times :P
Jiaqi, my ex-colleague cum good friend cum travel mate especially to a few beach resorts needed a break from work too. We kinda have been talking about lazing around in a beach resort since last year. Finally, this busy friend of mine’s schedule can meet mine this time. Ha, we can never forget how we nearly perished in the Pacific Ocean when canoeing in Hawaii, how we bravely or should I say foolishly followed a big burly local around the island. Well, he was pretty friendly. He brought us to a few places and told us so much about his country. Well, actually both of us gals did talk about how to attack that big guy just in case he tried anything funny, ha! We are considered super ‘nua’ queens by Kat, we are the kind who can go back to hotel for afternoon naps while travelling, the kind who can spend much time watching TV programmes while travelling. Lazing around is always part of our agenda when we travel. We bet Kat cannot stand it, being a shopping queen and always with numerous things going through her mind. I think she must be busy shopping last long weekend. Wish she could just rest her body, mind and soul at times. But I guess shopping is her way of resting her body, mind and soul :P

Okie, back to my Bali trip, I went back to the same hotel I stayed in a couple of years ago. Service still as great, we were kinda treated like princesses or should I say ‘nua’ queens :P We were always greeted with a smile, from the corridor to the pool to the restaurant to the beach, from the chambermaid to the waiter to the bell boy to the gardener to the beach boy, everyone of them. It was always like, “Good morning!” and “How are you today?”. Their smiles were always so sincere and they were always so helpful, considering our safety, ensuring our comfort and pretty assuring. It’s always great to see them hard at work and doing their best to provide the best service to their customers. Well, in this instance, I do not mind paying for good service, I do not mind pampering myself on such trips :P Days were spent getting a massage, spent some time at Kuta (too crowded, didn’t really like), lazing by the beach, eating and eating. Oh boy, think I need to stop eating like a glutton, had ice cream every day. Goodness, love the peanut butter chocolate ice cream at Baskin Robbins!... Oh yes, the sounds of waves, was so used to hearing them for the past few days that kinda miss hearing them now. Enjoyed the walk along the beach, on the soft white sand. I looked back, I saw my footprints, a trail of it…some washed away by the waters eventually… footprints left on the sand can be washed away but footprints left in my heart over the years can never ever be washed away…I raised my hands and feel the space around me…As I stood there, it felt as though I was being embraced by the sea, it has brought comfort…

I look at my black planner as I am typing this, not really wanting to open it as yet…