Hong Kong – December 2012

Mar 13, 2013 by
in Flavours and aromas, Footprints on earth

In December last year, I went with 2 of my very good girlfriends to Hong Kong! The last time I visited Hong Kong was almost a decade ago.

We were there for 4 days 3 nights and it was chilly, tiring but extremely yummy due to the good food we ate. I think I was kind of a wet blanket, as I was having backaches and kept insisting that we sit down to rest (and to play the Logo game).

In Hong Kong, we shopped non-stop. Or rather, XY and I did. ;) They said that I’m the one who always enters a shop and leaves with a new shopping bag. Oh well, I did buy some facial products to try out, and maybe some gifts here and there. Not that much, really. But even I myself couldn’t believe that I managed to buy an aromatherapy diffuser from the airport. That’s totally unexpected.

We ate famous Hong Kong dim sum (Tim Ho Wan; which is coming to Singapore) and roast goose (Yung Kee; which might close its doors soon). We also ate lots of delicious Hong Kong breakfast (think noodle soup, macaroni, toasts) and typical Hong Kong cafe meals (rice, dishes, milk tea). At Harbour City, we also ate Itacho Sushi, though we think Singapore’s outlets do it better.

We cam-whored non-stop, took the scary inclined tram up to Victoria’s Peak, sat on a ferry between islands and stayed in a nice little hotel (next to a cemetery) which provides free shuttle services to Times Square, a shopping haven.

We did sheet masks, lazed around and traded secrets.

It’s fun, and I think I need to have more trips with girlfriends! Good for the soul :)

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Phuket – November 2012

Mar 13, 2013 by
in Because love ♥, Footprints on earth

I have been neglecting this space, and lots of people have been asking me to update my blog. So, since I will be travelling for the first time this year in 2 days’ time, I thought I better post some memories of my previous trips late last year.

In early November last year, J and I went to Phuket for a holiday! It’s not our first time there, but we still managed to gather some new and exciting experiences. Here’s a gallery of some selected  photos:

We stayed in a resort which we have stayed in when we first visited Phuket. It’s clean, centralized and has a very Thai-resort feel, unlike typical hotel rooms. This time round, we ordered a lot of room service, simply because it’s delicious and cheap! Thai food is YUMS!

Our biggest splurge was a full day trip to Coral Island, but it’s super worth the price. The island is so beautiful and serene that we just wanted to stay there for longer. At Coral Island, we tried deep sea walking and parasailing. Deep sea walking involves wearing an astronaut-like helmet to enable you to sink and breathe in water. The fishes we saw were colourful and pretty, just how we imagined it. However, there were too many fishes, and they nibbled at our hands and legs, especially when we held our pieces of bread. It’s kind of scary if you don’t like to be that up-close to marine life. Parasailing was wonderful; I can’t wait to do it again at another location. Initially, while queuing up for it, I was pretty apprehensive as I saw some people being dragged in the sand by the motorboats. Ouch. I was also worried that my technique for landing isn’t good, and I will somehow get cuts and scratches. But whee! My experience was perfect! It’s definitely a less dangerous experience than sky diving, and the view of Coral Island from the parachute was awesome. A top-of-the-world feel.

We also went shopping in Phuket, at the Central Mall and Tesco. The mall was pretty normal, but we ate at Fuji Japanese Restaurant – a cheap Japanese food place. I also bought some body products like massage oil and natural soaps from the mall. Tesco, on the other hand, was a place we found bargains. However, we didn’t manage to find the very soft tees which we bought a couple of years ago. We also bought an insane amount of KFC back to the resort! *Taxis were super hard to get at Tesco, so it’s recommended that you arrange with your resort.*

On other days, we also indulged in massages (went for 2) and lazy swims in the resort’s pool. We watched tv, soaked in the big tub, and drank wine. We also walked around the Kata region and ventured to great and affordable restaurants, such as Two Chefs (at Kata Centre). We also made reservations at the highly recommended Boat House, but unfortunately, we were too tired and lazy to actually go there for a nice dinner. Perhaps the next time!

It’s a super relaxing trip, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely with very little money spent! Phuket really has lots of hidden gems and treasures just waiting to be discovered.

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Hello 2013, Goodbye 2012

Jan 12, 2013 by
in Life as it is

Hello 2013, Goodbye 2012

In a blink of the eye, it is now 2013. Wow. Time really flies as you grow older, isn’t it?

I haven’t been blogging – excuses being having writer’s block, being too busy spending my free time with those I love, going on holidays. But really, I haven’t been writing because I just simply don’t feel up to it. I want to record my life, so that I can read back years later, and appreciate everything that I have gone through. But I just don’t have the energy and the motivation to do it.

Maybe the start of the new year will be a good time to set my resolutions, as well as catch up with the writing on this blog -

{1} Sleep – I hope to sleep before midnight, and to achieve a healthy sleeping pattern with minimal oversleeping. Working weird hours in 2012 made me sleep at weird hours (2-3 am) and wake up at unhealthy timings (10-11 am). I hate this sluggish-ness, and I hope that both J and I can get some quality sleep hours (between 10-2 am) everyday!

{2} Eat – Eat better, that’s my resolution almost every year. I make baby steps improvement, so I hope to keep this up! I aim to eat more fresh veggies, fruits and yogurt / milk. Eating healthy makes me happy. :) Of course, I also hope that I can learn to whip up more delicious and healthy dishes, to prepare myself as a wife. :P

{3} Sweat – This year, I really need to exercise more. I aim to exercise at least twice a week, one time to focus on cardio, and the other to focus on toning. Regular exercise will not only make me slimmer, but also give me the much needed health!

{4} Work – I hope to be really committed to my students this year. There may be big decisions which may waver my commitment, but I still hope to see them all through till the end of this year.

{5} Write – In 2013, I hope to blog closer to the heart. I have already reduced my sponsorship posts as I want to make this blog more personal, something of greater substance to my own life. However, this space will still feature a couple of sponsored products once in a while.

{6} Love – This will be a huge year for us. I want to be able to love with all my heart, to be the one who will always be there for J, as well as all my other loved ones. I hope to treat each day as though it is the last, so that I can properly and truly cherish each and every moment with my loved ones.

{7} Discover – Last year has been wonderful. I went on a total of 6 holiday trips overseas, and also took a staycation in Singapore. I worked hard, and enjoyed hard. A true blue Hwa Chong-ian. This year, because of my commitments and J’s schedule, we wouldn’t be traveling as extensively. Hence, I hope that we can maximize our holidays by going to new places, so that we can continuing exploring new spaces and ideas!

{8} Zen – I know this will not be an easy year with huge changes in our lives, and the easily-stressed up me will feel very very pushed to the edge. I hope that I can learn to be more zen, to apply more relaxation techniques in my life. By sleeping, eating and exercising well, I know I will be able to manage stress better. As we are starting to get very into aromatherapy, I also hope to incorporate that more into our lives!

Hope that 2013 will be amazing!

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12-12-12

Dec 12, 2012 by
in Because love ♥

12-12-12

Last night, J and I were talking about the special date 12-12-12.

A long time ago, we thought we would be registering our marriage on this date, and then have a huge Chinese banquet on 01-03-14. (Read date 1-3-14 in Mandarin.) 

We got engaged in early March this year, and I guessed we could have followed the plans to register today. But well, somehow, we got carried away by life. This has been a quick year for us, but also a big one. We just didn’t have the time and energy to plan for a ROM.

So now, we would only be getting married next year, in June. It’s going to be a small and private affair, even though we have been increasing the table-count bit by bit.

Will we regret not sticking with the 12-12-12 and 01-03-14 dates? I doubt so.

Because we know that we would be just as happy, and just as xin fu.

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Long break

Dec 5, 2012 by
in Footprints on earth, Nothing much

Hi, I haven’t been updating. Have been taking a long break.

Have been feeding the soul.

Last trip of this year – Hong Kong. Departing today.

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