Reminiscing and Moving Forward

I don't know about you, but I think this year passed a lot faster than any other year I've experienced. And now, just a couple of hours shy from 2009, I feel that I have short-changed myself this year. It is like I did not do more and see more than I should have.

Looking back at the 364.75 days that have passed me by, these are some memories, although not all are good:

1. Visited a couple of destinations for the first time - Taipei, Hanoi, Port Douglas, Macau and Cameron Highlands. Did not have enough time to explore Taipei. Hated Hanoi. Port Douglas was small and boring. Macau was too cold and too packed with Chinarians for my liking. And I loved Cameron Highland's The Lakehouse hotel to bits. That was my birthday holiday from Joshua.



2. Mummy dearest suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack. It reminded me of the fragility of life and my loved ones will not stay by my side forever.

3. Took a holiday in Hong Kong with Joshua for the first time. I may have been to Hong Kong a couple of times for business but it was my first trip there with the man. I got him hooked on Yong Kee roast goose, century egg porridge and wanton noodles. And I converted him into a Tough Jeansmith fan. Haha!



4. Stayed at the Naumi, a new luxury boutique hotel in Singapore that charmed my socks off.

5. Caught a glimpse of some of the masterpieces from the Louvre Museum when it brought a selection of its exhibits to the National Museum of Singapore. Nice!

6. The Singapore Flyer opened this year and I rode it FOUR times - thrice because of work and once with the curious in-laws. I liked only one experience, and it was the one that involved free-flow of Moet and NO SCREAMING KIDS onboard.


7. Got rid of my bleached locks and turned very Asian with the darkest possible shade of brown. Regretted that decision.

8. Planned a two-day stay at the lovely Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa as Joshua's birthday surprise. It was champagne, cheese and sex every night.

9. Watched Singapore's first F1 race LIVE at the Padang Grandstand! Ooh, and had loads of fun at the F1 parties later in the night!

10. Dined at The Cliff in Sentosa for the first time. This is worth mentioning cos the place is darned expensive and we had oysters and champagne through the night.

11. Lived like the rich and famous at the uber luxurious and private Paradee in Koh Samet!


12. Had a major crush on someone. But not anymore now. How fickle is this heart of mine.

13. Inked myself the eighth time. And it is somewhere only my men could see.



14. Visited Siem Reap for the second time - this time with Joshua. And I still love it.

15. Had a holiday with daddy and Kenny in KL. The last time we travelled together was more than 10 years ago! And on this trip I discovered how much a shopaholic daddy dearest is.

At the end of this list, it suddenly dawned on me how discontented and insatiable I am. Here I am lamenting about how I feel like I did not live 2008 to the fullest, yet I seem to have done quite a lot of lavish living.

Which brings to mind this story:

My friend Kat popped by a noodle house in Causeway Bay for lunch on her recent trip to Hong Kong. A couple sat at the next table and were sharing a bowl of wanton noodles between them.

The husband excitedly urged his wife to eat and when she took her first mouthful, she exclaimed, "Oh! So delicious! The soup is so tasty and the noodle is so springy!"

The wife then pushed the bowl of noodles towards her beaming husband and urged him to dig in as well. The husband took a mouthful, complimented the noodles and passed the bowl back to his wife, who stopped him and asked him to have more.

"No no," he said. "You eat more. I have been to Hong Kong before and have had the chance to eat this very often. You are here for the first time and should eat more!"

In a nutshell, the couple were radiating immense happiness although they were just sharing a bowl of cheap noodles.


After relating her story, Kat and I sat in silence for a couple of seconds as we took long drags on our cigs.

Then she broke the silence, "I don't think anything can make me that happy anymore. Not even the most expensive meal or branded bag."

And that meant a lot because Kat has some very expensive bags from Bottega Veneta, Valentino and the likes, and she has seen quite a lot of the world.

Then she turned to me and said, "I remember when you first joined this company and got to travel on the job, you would enthusiastically whip out your camera and take pictures of everything you see and eat. But lately I realised you don't do that so often anymore. You have changed too."

I remained silent. Perhaps my silence was out of wonder and surprise at how fast it took to numb me from material indulgences. Perhaps my silence was out of shame - how discontented I have become.

Luxury is like a drug. The more you experience it, the more is needed the next time to give you the same level of satisfaction.

So in 2009, I will try my best to stay grounded. Perhaps dine more at smelly hawker centres. Perhaps stay at al cheapo hotels on my personal travels. Perhaps limit my holidays to picnics at East Coast Park. Perhaps minimise impulsive buys at Coach.

Maybe that should do the trick.

Morning Guardian

"Dar dar, wake up. You'll be very late for work if you sleep on," Joshua whispered in between light kisses on my cheeks.

I stirred from my slumber, pulled off the blankets and turned to him... but only to find his side of the bed empty.

For a moment I wondered if I had been dreaming. But it was 8.10am and indeed I would be very late for work if I slept on. Joshua always leaves for work by 7.30am, so he could not have been next to me just seconds ago trying to rouse me.

Yet his presence felt so real.

Actually, this wasn't the first time. I have been woken in the nick of time on countless occasions by either Joshua's presence or a voice.

I would always try to reason that perhaps it was my biological clock at work, but would one's biological clock rouse one exactly at 8.10am every morning?

So freaky, don't you think?

Saying Yes

Joshua found a sports resort in Pattaya called Fairtex, which provides Muay Thai training every day. There are also yoga and other sort of physical activities for guests who do not fancy kicking banana trees and punching concrete columns.

Now the boy is completely fascinated and is oozing enthusiasm from every pore.

Being a sporty sort of property, Fairtex is nothing like the hotels I am used to. There are no butler services, designer furniture, fancy beds, pillow menu (yes, more hotels are starting to allow guests to choose the type of pillows they like), fine-dining restaurants and bars.

Photos of the rooms spell S.P.A.R.T.A.N.

Although it does not sound like my idea of a holiday, I have decided to follow Jim Carrey's YES MAN rule to saying 'yes' to life and gave Joshua the nod.

Jim Carrey's latest movie YES MAN is a real inspiration. It is very true when one says yes to what life offers, many interesting things could happen. Very often my lazy inner voice will whine when I am extended an invitation to industry parties - and I do get many. Although there will be endless flow of champagne, there are only so much bubblies I can ingest each week.

I would rather go home and slouch in front of the TV without my make-up on. Or play The Sims II to death.

But I realised whenever I do go to these parties, I would meet someone new, someone interesting and intelligent, someone immensely funny, someone who could give me a great discount on something I have been wanting or free stay at some swanky hotel, someone who could contribute excellent industry insights to feed my thirst for news.

Of course, there were occasions when conversations were so bad that I wished someone would just kill me. But these instances are far and few between.

So yes, yes, yes. It is definitely good for you to say yes.

So yes, I will go to Fairtex and experience some kickass Muay Thai training.

In turn, Joshua has compromised and agreed to extend the holiday to either Koh Samet so I could visit Uncle Hans and indulge in some luxury living, or Bangkok so I could go shopping for fancy lingerie.

Not such a bad deal after all!

Ho Ho Ho!

MERRY CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!

May the festive season be filled with endless flow of quality bubblies, not champagne-wannabes that give you a massive headache the morning after, AND loads of mind-blowing sex with pretty people and not some drunkard who looks good only under dim disco lights and under the influence of alcohol!

KL With The Boys

If you didn't already know, my Siem Reap holiday was followed immediately by a trip to Kuala Lumpur.

I've been to Kuala Lumpur so many times that it is hardly my destination of choice for holidays. But if daddy dearest wants to go, I will go along with him.

Instead of flying or driving up to the Malaysian capital like I've been used to, daddy decided to take the coach instead.

We had to be at Concorde Hotel by 7.30am on Sunday for the pick-up. And horrors, our return flight from Siem Reap on Saturday was delayed so it was past midnight when we got home. With only a couple of hours to re-pack our bags, bathe and SLEEP, we had to make great haste.

By the time we were done with unloading our dirty clothes and packing in fresh stuff for the KL trip, it was already 3am. URGH.

And I had to wake up at 6.30am.

Anyway, everything flowed in good time on departure day.

I have not taken a coach before and had only known through advertisements that the new generation of coaches come with large reclining seats and on-board entertainment.

The coach we took with Luxury Tours & Travel came with all that and on-board food service. Heh, interesting.

Luxury Tours & Travel coaches also provide a guide on each trip to ensure that passengers are well taken care of. Our guide was a funny Indian man, Henry, who introduced himself as "your tour guide, F&B manager, steward and driver."

"Yes, one man, four jobs, four pays. I lead an excellent life, " he went on to say.

Later, as he was distributing boxes of nasi lemak, he said, "Now you will have nasi lemak and water. I'll bring out the whisky later."

And as he was done with the distribution, he stood up right, looked at us, clap his hands once and declared, "You may start eating NOW!"

Funny man.

But with the coach travelling at high speed on bumpy Malaysian highways, getting the spoonfuls of nasi lemak into one's mouth is a great challenge. My nasi ended up all over my face and chest instead. At one point, my spoon flew out of my hand when the coach took a violent leap.

Gah.

We arrived at Hotel Istana, KL, five hours later.

Hotel Istana is one of those hotels that probably invested a great deal of money on its facade and lobby facilities but stinged on its basic grade guest rooms.



Daddy upgraded us to a Deluxe room, but I thought its amenities and creature comforts are more of a Superior quality. The carpet was old and the bathroom fixtures, which were predominantly white, were starting to turn yellow. It was so old-fashioned that even the hair-dryer was the wall-mounted type that emitted hot air through a flexi-tube!

Damn, it is hard to please me. I have been so spoilt by my job.

Oh well, at least the guest room was clean and the bed comfy.



Actually, before deciding on Hotel Istana, daddy and I deliberated on Crowne Plaza Kuala Lumpur and Impiana KLCC. I have stayed at Impiana KLCC before on business and it was a nice property, albeit a little small. And Crowne Plaza can be trusted for their quality.

I wasn't quite into Hotel Istana because their promotional photos failed to impress me. If Photoshop cannot enhance the images, what would the real stuff be like?!

But daddy chose Hotel Istana.

Nevermind lah. We spent more time out shopping and dining anyway.

That's the thing about city holidays. It's mostly shopping, eating, drinking (and possibly dancing at some of the hottest clubs).

As Hotel Istana is located in the heart of the shopping belt, it is within walking distance to several malls. We visited as many malls as we could - Mid Valley Mega Mall, Lot 10, Sungei Wang, Suria KLCC and the new Pavilion, of course.

Eventually, daddy still prefer Pavilion and that was where we spent most of our time throughout our three days in KL. Pavilion is like Paragon in Singapore. It carries several major international brands and a selection of local mid- and high-end brands.

I've always known daddy to be a fan of brands, considering how he favoured Ralph Lauren and Ashworth for his golfing wear, Aldo for his shoes, Armani and Oakley for his glasses, etc. But this was the first time I've gone shopping with him.

He and brother Kenny made a beeline for Ralph Lauren and Gant and were happily picking stuff off the shelves. Josh and I just poked around at various items and scrunched up our faces at the price tags.

I love quality clothes, but there was no way I would pay over RM$400 for a Ralph Lauren polo T, even if the embroidered horse logo looks very charming, or over RM$300 for a navy-inspired cotton shorts from Gant.

Because Pavilion featured mostly the indulent brands, I ended up empty-handed while the boys - daddy, Kenny and Joshua - walked away with several purchases. How rare for me not to buy anything!

And because I was the only one without a harvest, daddy kept egging me on to buy something, anything.

When I held an AX Armani Exchange tee against myself, daddy said, "Nice. Buy it."

When I held up a canvas bag at Gant, daddy said, "Most pretty. Buy it."

When I tried on an oversized sunnies at Aldo, daddy said, "Very stylish. Buy it."

When I just only reached out to knee-high boot, daddy said, "Hmm, interesting. Buy it."

URGH.

He was like the shopaholic devil on my shoulder.

Because our hotel is surrounded by most of the malls, we made it a point to travel on foot or by monorail whenever possible. That meant we consulted the map very frequently.

And since daddy spent mostly of his adult life driving and hardly participating in the peak hour mad rush on public transport, I HAD to take photos of him taking the monorail!



At the monorail station, I spotted this mind-boggling sign:



No smoking, pets, littering, chewing gum and eating. But you are welcomed to leap off the platform's edge?

Oh, and what is a trip to KL without taking a touristy photo against the imposing Petronas Twin Towers, eh?



We also managed to catch a good shot of the Twin Towers later in the evening as we tried our very best to walk off a heavy dinner at the famed Restoran Oversea on Jalan Imbi.



Yup. Looks like a character out of Babylon 5.

Apart from Restoran Oversea, we also hit La Bodega at Pavilion on one of the days.


It was daddy's first attempt at Spanish food so I took the lead with the food orders. We lined our stomachs with a variety of tapas and sangrias while our paella (Spanish rice dish) was being prepared.


The best tapas has got to be the lamb chops.


The paella was a little disappointing though. It was too moist. Its saving grace was its generous serving of seafood.



Another day we hit Manhattan Fish market for flaming lobsters.


And on our final night in KL, we went to Parkroyal's Si Chuan Dou Hua for dinner. We loved Si Chuan Dou Hua in Singapore and it is great to know that the hotel chain has an outlet in KL.



I miss Kou Shui Ji and Si Chuan Dou Hua does it best! Kou Shui Ji translates literally to Saliva Chicken, but it is really an appetiser dish of steamed chicken soaked in potent chilli oil.



Although the street hawkers along Jalan Alor came highly recommended by the hotel concierge and tour guide Henry, daddy was turned off by street-side dining and prefered the clean comfort of restaurants.

In the night, we staked out the hotel's lobby lounge for drinks and chatter.

Apart from shopping, eating and drinking, daddy and I also found time to pop by the hotel's spa for a good rub down.

So that was what we did in KL for three days.

OH, and yes, I did managed to sneak in a cigar too!

Romancing Siem Reap

Two years on and Siem Reap is still charming.

Johsua has never been to Siem Reap so I had to play tour guide. It was easy to play tour guide in Siem Reap cos it is small and the only key attractions are the temples and Pub Street. Heh.

Since I've written much about Siem Reap back in 2006 after I made my first visit to the historical cradle, I shall only share some special moments from this recent trip.

I was a scaredy cat the last time I hit the temples and refused to scale any stairs that were impossibly narrow and steep. I was terribly afraid of falling off and breaking my neck. Also doesn't help that I wore girlie sandles to explore the temples the last time.

This time round, I came prepared with sturdier shoes and a very enthusiastic Joshua.

I visited Angkor Wat, The Bayon, Ta Prohm and Preah Khan on my last trip to Siem Reap. With more time on hand this time, we also stopped by several smaller temples that are scattered around the park.

Here are just only a couple of photos. The complete collection are at Facebook, peeps.



We also hiked up Phnom Bakheng (means, Bakheng mountain) to get to the temple at the peak where one could catch a beautiful Angkorian sunset over Tonle Sap.

It took us some 15 minutes to get to the top of the mountain and our thighs were burning by the time we hit the peak. I thought getting to the peak would be it and I could lie around and wait for the sun to set.

Noooooo.

There is a temple on top of Phnom Bakheng and ITS ROOFTOP IS WHERE I HAVE TO GO IF I WANT TO GET THE BEST SUNSET VIEWS.

So we rested a while at the foot of the temple to recharge.



Then it was a crazy climb up awfully narrow and steep steps. I had to stop myself from looking down, because if I do, my legs would turn to jelly.

Ahh, but the terror is worth it once I got to the top. The sun was already starting to make its descend over the horizon and the skies were starting to get tints of violet, orange and red.

The approaching sunset seems to have driven visitors into an urgent flurry and hordes of them suddenly arrived on the temple rooftop like they were brought by whirlwind.



Like every one else, Joshua and I found a spot to sit and wait for Mother Nature's performance.

And then it came...



For the next few minutes oohs, ahhs and camera clicks and whirs echoed through the air. Then as quickly as they came everyone streamed down the steps and made their way down Phnom Bakheng.

Sigh... even the vast beauty of nature cannot behold impatient humans for long.

Having exhausted our body in a full day of temple trekking, Joshua and I went for a two-hour massage at the luxe Sokha Angkor Resort's Jasmine Spa the next day.

I had a one-hour Relaxing Aromatherapy Massage, a 45-minute Loofah Body Scrub and a 15-minute Milk and Rose Bath. Shiok!

Joshua had a lengthy massage before joining me in the bath. It was some kind of kinky to be sitting together in a milky jacuzzi bath with rose buds and petals swirling around us. The room was lit only by a few tea lights around the bath.

How very erotic. :)

Joshua and I also went around Psar Chaa (Old Market).




We ate and drank too much around Pub Street, where there are plentiful local and Western dining options and busy bars that serve local beers at only US$2.50 or US$3 for a big bottle.



We stuffed our faces with local favourites, such as Amok fish, Lok Lak, Khmer sour soup, braised eggplant with minced pork.



We also found pretty good Italian-styled pizzas at Le Tigre de Papier.



When we were sick of noisy Pub Street, I took Joshua for a quiet dinner at my favourite Viroth's.



Oh, and with compliments from Weng, we got to see The Legend of Angkor Wat Show - When history comes to life. The one-hour show is set within Angkor Wat and actors wore glittery brilliant costumes of yesteryears. Adults pay US$80 to watch the show - darned expensive!



When we are tired, we headed back to our room where I took long baths and Joshua amused himself with Cambodian TV shows.



It seems that Cambodia bought many Hong Kong and Singapore movies and drama, which they dubbed in their language. The funny thing is, one man would dub the voices of several male characters, so everyone sounded alike!

It was also hilarious that the dubbed voice failed to reflect the emotions of the action. There was this scene where the actor was clearly agitated but the dubbed voice spoke calmly. Heh.

And when we departed Siem Reap, the Angkorian sun bade us goodbye once again.

Back Home

I am back.

Siem Reap was most physically and emotionally stimulating. Kuala Lumpur was just another city raid. Hardly interesting on its own - just like Singapore, but I had a great time there with daddy dearest and Kenny.

I am darned exhausted now, having spent more than five hours on the road from KL to Singapore. Travelling home, whether in the air or on the roads, is most tiring and a great waste of time.

My body is screaming for the bed but I want to make the most out of the rest of the day I have left. So despite an aching back and half-shut eyes, I managed to edit the bunch of photos and is now in the midst of uploading photos taken in Siem Reap on Facebook in between typing this post out.

But I think there is a glitch and my photos are disappearing into cyberspace.

Perhaps this is a sign that I should surrender and hit the pillows now.

G'nite, then.

Xmas Treat

My editorial colleagues sent in a sob story to GOLD 90.5 FM about our move to this godforsaken place and the DJs replied to say that they will be dropping by with a S$500 hamper from Cold Storage.

Now that is a real Christmas treat!

Anyway, here's the A-star letter written by Pat:


Dear DJs,

We used to work in the middle of Shenton Way, surrounded by a fantastic buzz of shopping and eating options plus gyms, convenience stores and lots of transport options.
Just a few weeks ago, we moved to our new location - it's in Science Park II, away from almost everything we have come to enjoy from city life. We now have to deal with longer transport times, eating canteen food and lousy coffee options. Our corridor to the office is a long ,windowless corridor with wierd stains.
Many of us are in need of cheering up so that we can go back to being our happy, productive selves.
It would be great if you can surprise the whole office with the gift of your Christmas cheer. We may not have mistletoe hung up, but we'll sure give you all big kisses if you show up!

With best regards,
Pat

Ditzy

Ditzy queen has struck again.

I thought I had taken leave today to prepare for my trip to Siem Reap - you know, I need to get a Brazilian wax, stock up on travel toiletries, borrow a book from the library to read on my flight, buy a new sex toy to keep Joshua and I amused in the night - but decided to pop into office for a bit to polish off two stories.

"Surprise!" I hollered when I came into office, thinking that my editorial colleagues would be damn happy to see me when I was supposed to be away.

Instead, the surprise was on me. Apparently I did not apply for leave today. My leave would only start tomorrow till Christmas eve.

"Yah yah. I was about to call you and ask why aren't you in office yet," replied my department secretary as she eyed the clock. It was 10.20am.

Oopsadaisy.

I had better triple-check my flight time for tomorrow. Just can't trust myself.

The Ultimate Xmas Gift

Every year as Christmas approaches, there would be a national gift-wrapping contest in the US to single out that one most talented person who can transform odd shaped items into the most beautifully dressed up pressie anyone could lay their eyes on.

This year at the 3M sponsored competition, New Yorker Anton DuLaney was crowned the ultimate guru of gift wrapping. According to the Scotch website, Anton wrapped up a three tiered candy dish, a set of golf clubs in a caddy bag and a baby grand piano with finesse.

Bah! I tell you, if 3M and Scotch brought this gift-wrapping competition to Singapore, Anton DuLaney would never stand a chance because my friend Jeannie will surely beat him to the crown.

Neatly wrapped gifts with cutie-pie printed wrapping paper adorned with strips of laces and ribbons are so yesterday! Today only the daring will set the trends of the future!

BEHOLD this ultimate gift wrapping style that will break all the antiquated rules of gift-wrapping and re-create the highest standards of dressing up a pressie for your loved ones.



No more carefully tucking wrapping paper into neat folds! No more double-sided tape! No more boring ribbons and laces!

Just lay your gift in the centre of a shiny fabric - better if it is crinkled - and haphazardly gather the edges atop the the gift and secure with a yellow rubber band for a touch of rustic chic.



Not only is this style unique, the recipient of your material pleasure will never ever be able to guess what lies under the wrapper. Hah! How's that for upping the surprise quotient?

If you are now hollering: "YOU CALL THAT HORRIGIBLE MESS A STYLISH GIFT? ARE YOU MAD? AND GOOD LORD, IS THAT AN URN INSIDE?" - stop.

Think about COMME des GARÇON. When the brand was first launched, critics booed the designer's de-constructive styles. Now COMME des GARÇONS is one of the world's leading international fashion brands.

So the more de-constructive the style the better. Only the truly creative will understand.

By now I am super sure you would want to know who is the genius behind this cutting-edge gift-wrapping style. Hold onto your panties now, people...

All hail the Artist Formerly Known As Jeannie:



Erm... now she is merely known as The Artist.

And see how the queen of style demonstrates the practical side of the gift - one could hold it by the knob like a trophy. Or as a hammer to beat some artistic sense into your thick skull - and I am refering to the unidentified owner of the arm that is flashing a thumbs-down sign. Hur, you know who you are!

Kerlyn had the honour of taking home Jeannie's... I mean, The Artist's present in our early Christmas gift-exchange party.



Geez, you cannot imagine how jealous the rest of us were.