the roads are getting nearer

Saturday, January 28, 2006

` Saturday, January 28, 2006

For some strange reason, I suddenly see the wonders of having the ability to spend Chinese New Year back home.

A year ago, it was in wintry London that I had to trawl the streets in search of a good Chinese restaurant to take my ex-manager and his girlfriend to. I was really appreciative that they had so kindly offered to join me for dinner on the reunion dinner night to make up for the lack of companionship that I would have experienced while having steamboat back home. The sense of loneliness and isolation was possibly self-inflicted, but boy was I glad to be on the plane home after the conference ended.

It's not about the actual festivities of visiting homes and taking red packets (I'm way over the so-called tolerable age limit anyway) that I longed for, but more of the ability to mull at home while your mum nags at you mildly about not helping out with the spring-cleaning, the cheesy CNY songs constantly blasting over the radio and in the streets and the festive munchies that don't re-appear until the next year.

I'll be off to Sydney on the third day of CNY for another 3 weeks, but in the meantime, it feels real good to be home. Doing absolutely nothing but wait for an enjoyable steamboat dinner.

Happy Chinese New Year!

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Sunday, January 15, 2006

` Sunday, January 15, 2006

I'm not sure if these can be accomplished but since given the privilege of f*rting around a bit back home until the travel bug beckons in end-January, there're always some things that never fail to conveniently slip my mind.

- I will start reading.
It must've been in a frenzy that I lugged home an additional 5 kilogrammes of books from Bangalore in November of last year and yet I haven't started reading a single one. Although they seem to make me look intellectual sitting on the half-collapsing shelves in the room.

- I will start spring-cleaning the sty that is my bedroom.
The Chinese New Year is approaching so darn early this year that the only form of clearance I've done to date is to sneak out with my sister an entire desktop box of old clothes for donation to the Salvation Army. I was so traumatised by that incident that I have yet to start the next round of filtering through countless bills, account statements and what-nots. I dread that feeling so bad it hurts. Then, I just hide under my blanket, fall asleep and forget I ever thought about being a responsible adult.

- I will stop stepping into Zara until my credit card bills are rid of countless Zara-related debits.
I swear that store has potent fiscal pulling power over personal finances beyond my weak self-control.

- I will eat more healthily and stop catching countless colds, flus and what-nots.
The Panadol company must really thank me for my undying support if this goes on.

- I will stop gorging myself silly on banana chips.
I can't believe how anyone could've created a more fantastically addictive snack than this. I'm down to my last precious pack. Can someone please bring some back if paying a visit to Thailand? I promise to pay good money!

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Saturday, January 14, 2006

` Saturday, January 14, 2006

Your Brain is 33.33% Female, 66.67% Male

You have a total boy brain

Logical and detailed, you tend to look at the facts

And while your emotions do sway you sometimes...

You never like to get feelings too involved

What Gender Is Your Brain?

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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

` Tuesday, January 10, 2006

I'm feeling rather devastated by a chance realisation of something that may have disappeared for good from the face of my grooming universe. The missing of the gorgeous golden-yellow bottles at duty-free shops and malls did not make things better.

I'm not a particularly savvy user of perfumes in general. However, it is definitely true that every individual perceives a perfume in different ways from the rest. I have been flippantly switching between several somewhat lacklustre scents for many years before I found "The One". At first spritz, I was instantly won over by how this dream bottle made the beginning of a day seem a little better. I loved the fact that it lingered subtly on the skin for the rest of the day without being overpowering like certain brand name products. The bottle itself spoke of a quiet elegance that I hoped to emanate when wearing the perfume on a day or night out.

However, I am sad that its days on the merchandise shelves seem to be over in this part of the region. It's the same dreadful feeling I experienced when Prescriptives pulled out of Asia and I was left feeling lost without my custom blend foundation and powder.

Thankfully, my friends have been so kind to present it as a birthday gift last year (after much heavy hinting of course), so I still have 80% of the bottle to be rationed. Fingers crossed for a comparable alternative to appear on the market soon.

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Monday, January 09, 2006

` Monday, January 09, 2006

Two days after returning from the Hanoi trip, my sister and I dragged ourselves out of bed and bleary-eyed to take the super-early 7.55AM flight on Tiger Airways to the island of Phuket (hard lesson learnt: we spent the early afternoon snoozing in the hotel room due to the sheer lack of Zzzzz-es).

Let me say first and foremost that I've always had an affinity for touring Thailand, eversince I've discovered the drool-worthy local food, unwavering friendliness of the people and the affordable yet super-trendy shopping haunts. Within a span of 5 years, my passport has been stamped with customs clearance more times than the number of fingers on my hands. Phuket tourism suffered a decline since the tsunami attacked its coastline a year ago. This is unfortunate, given that the island is scattered with pristine beaches and immaculate resorts and the damage is virtually undetectable a year ahead of the natural disaster.

My first visit to Phuket was a corporate getaway sponsored by the generous bosses of a company that unfortunately, no longer exists in no fault of their own. We were staying at the same hotel that I had booked for the current trip, the only difference is that the resort is currently managed by a worldwide hotel chain.

The Hilton Phuket Arcardia is a mammoth resort situated off the quieter Karon beach, surrounded by sprawling greenery, 4 swimming pools, several cafes and restaurants within the grounds. A short 5-minute walk along the beach will lead you to a street market filled with stalls hawking wares similar to the ones in Patong and also a myriad of food choices.

Nothing beats the services rendered at a Thai establishment. Always accommodating, always polite and always beyond expectations. Upon arrival, we were presented with huge rose bouquets. The early check-in did not deter them from presenting us with an available upgraded room with complimentary breakfast and fruit basket. Talk about guaranteed customer satisfaction!

The view from the balcony of the hotel room was stunning, to say the least. The weather was fantastic, with a balmy breeze enveloping the air and sunshine permeating the surrounds. The large waterfall pool was beckoning us for a dip, but we surrendered to an afternoon cap instead.

The room was newly renovated, with peekaboo sliding panes that allow a preview into the bathroom. Definitely more suited for voyeuristic couples on a romantic getaway!

Last but not least, no resort is complete without the requisite swimming pool (in this case, it was jacuzzi pool, diving pool, waterfall pool, etc) for a day of lazing on a deckchair, reading a book while amassing a bronzed beach bunny sheen. Highly recommended for those into pure, unadulterated chillout sessions.

The only thing that railed me about the island was how costly it was to take public transport, potentially a common gripe among the visitors. I perfectly understand that distances between beaches were long and warranted higher fares from tuktuk drivers, but the fact that they monopolised the trade and a staunch refusal to lower quoted rates that were significantly higher than what an airconditioned taxi would've cost in Bangkok can be rather exasperating to deal with. Travelling from Karon to Patong beach one-way cost SGD8 for a 10-minute ride and a return trip from and back to the airport would cost a party of 2 at least SGD50. Perhaps my sister was correct to point out that I shouldn't be using 2001 rates to extrapolate the current situation, but it made the cost of the trip more expensive than earlier anticipated. I suppose that's just one minor gripe, but if you're travelling in a party of 4 or more, it might be better if a car was rented on a daily basis to avoid unnecessary negotiations with the drivers for lower rates (which would inevitably prove to be futile anyway).

In any case, it was a good holiday to end my leave. Although it is painful to think about having to start work in 2 days' time, I shall refrain from whining which was a designated New Year resolution meant to be broken in a matter of time.

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` Monday, January 09, 2006

A bumpy 3.5 hour ride took us to the famed Halong Bay, named as one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites. The day trip was booked with Buffalo Tours at USD50 per person, which included a private junkboat, lunch and a very friendly and chirpy tour guide. It wasn't the clearest of skies on the day we visited, but I'm happy to report that it was well worth the experience cruising along the calm emerald waters. Unfortunately, the photos will never do justice to the sense of relaxation one feels when looking out to the surreal scenic coastline.

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` Monday, January 09, 2006

The decision to visit Hanoi rather than the more vibrant HCM was possibly part-based on the availability of redemption tickets on a certain airline that I travel frequently with for work. The potentially superficial reason was that we were in for a relaxing holiday that involved the appreciation of the wonders of nature.

(At this point, I sense smirks (and snorts) from those who were aware of the fact that I visited Vancouver and Toronto doing nothing but shop to my heart's content. This has always been my form of cultural immersion. Until now.)

Touching down at the airport was a Goa-like experience with the expansive surrounds of green fields and the modernesque airport situated awkwardly in the background. Transport to the city took a good 45 minutes and is a costly USD20 one-way.

The city itself was low-lying, with several French colonial-style buildings and tree-lined walkways. At first sight, it felt like what Singapore could have been in the 1960s or earlier. Until you get 10,000 scooters zipping along the roads in all directions and you finally understand how a deer feels in the headlights while trying to get across to the other side of a road.

The famous Hoan Kiem lake, where local lovebirds gather and schmooze along the sidewalks. The city's shops and eating places are concentrated along the circumference of the lake, making our trip a highly walkable experience.

I made a preliminary mental note not to shop during this trip for several reasons:

- I don't own a house. For that matter, I won't need plates, paintings, wall motifs or any manner of handicraft.

- I'm heading to Thailand, the mecca of cheap shopping in a couple of days' time.

- I don't need another frivolous bag even though it's made of silk and cost a mere SGD10.

I'm ashamed to say, I failed miserably on all accounts due to poor resolve, shopping for peanuts and peer pressure.

The only semblance of nightlife that was spotted along the lake. Believe it or not, this place seem to have closed at midnight on a New Year's eve!

A serene way to usher in the New Year; us sitting at a lovely nostalgic cafe-cum-bar (with friendly albeit linguistically challenged service staff) drinking local "poison" and raucously playing the Big 2. At the same time, taking in the sights and sounds of a city that time almost forgot. It was an immensely enjoyable trip and a most unique way to embrace 2006.

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` Monday, January 09, 2006

I attempted to total the number of business travelling weeks that had overwhelmed me last year and I have to sheepishly admit that it was a mere 38%, although it did seem much more but then I had forgotten to include the numerous leisure trips I'd taken in the same breadth of time.

It is hard not to admit that I enjoy travelling, even when I could have spent half of my 2-week annual leave spring-cleaning my sty-ish (note the missing 'l') room in anticipation of Chinese New Year and catching up with life back home. Instead, I chose to countdown the New Year in Hanoi and subsequently to trawl Phuket for some shopping, eating and spa-ing.

My parents have stopped questioning the numerous jaunts to and from the airport like they used to ("Who? When? Why? What?" has been reduced to "Where? When are you coming back?"). I've lost touch with so many people and the updates on their lives that it's going to be an uphill task trying to seek their forgiveness for my unavoidable nonchalence. Sometimes, I prefer curling up in bed with a really trashy gossip rag or napping than to pick up the phone to establish some human contact.

I've figured that choosing to accept one more year of travelling on the pretext of work and pleasure is possibly an extension of my reluctance to face the reality of life. Just for one more year.

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Tuesday, January 03, 2006

` Tuesday, January 03, 2006

1. Stop procrastinating.

2. Stop whining.

3. Stop shopping (too much and at Zara).

4. Stop getting exposed to rampant stupidity.

5. Start dreaming.

6. Start believing.

7. Keep the faith in the wonders of visual and physical inertia.

8. Keep philosophising about things that apparently don't matter.

9. Keep the wanderlust.

10. Keep smiling.

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