the roads are getting nearer

Monday, December 25, 2006

` Monday, December 25, 2006

Krabi: 3 Days in December

1. and 2. The only airline that flies direct to Krabi from our tiny island. At least for now.
I never seem to learn my lesson from catching way too early flights.
We were down and out on the beds the moment we reached the hotel.

3. A deluxe room at the Pavillion Queen's Bay hotel on Ao Nang.
Highly recommended for those who prefer to be far from the maddening crowd.
Yet near enough to stroll for 10 minutes to get to the heart of the action.
Pity about the surrounding lack of scenery though.

4. The hotel's 3-tier infinity pool was gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
We could've lazed there on the deck chairs by the pool like forever.

5-7. Unpredictable weather bugged us throughout the trip.
It was excruciatingly hot in the daytime where it would've been great to visit the neighbouring islands.
Unfortunately, our so-called AAA-rated travel agent bungled our plans for a day trip to Phi Phi.
No amount of cussing could've helped our mood that one afternoon.
Yet, exactly after 4pm, the skies would start to open up, only to clear up in the later part of the evening lending to a very cool (or rather cold) night-time for browsing the long line of shops at Ao Nang.

8-9. We chose an alternative half-day kayaking trip on a lake which was about an hour away from Ao Nang. It truly reminded me of Halong Bay sans junkboats.
Great idea. Our hapless arms were flailing like crazy trying to steer the kayak into the right direction. Only to be saved by the gentlemanly guide and a young Danish hottie who offered their partnership for the hour-long 'arm exercise'.
By the way, monkeys are scary when they're too close for comfort in their natural habitat.

10-12. Back at Ao Nang for a truly gastronomic dinner at the Blue Mango cafe which was a true gem of a chill-out place with great food and great service.
A sirloin steak cooked almost to perfection set us back a mere SGD15.
We were in foodie heaven and returned for our last lunch which wasn't disappointing at all.
Nothing beats Singha beer drank in its locality in beach country. Drool.
Then off for some calorie-busting pasar malam style shopping which brought substantial wallet damage (what is new).

13-15. Another potential find of a place to stay in Krabi is the rather newly built

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` Monday, December 25, 2006

Time to stop sleeping on strange beds.

Just a recap of just some of the many hotel rooms that have graced my presence for the past 4 years of business and leisure travelling. I'm already itching to go on my next holiday. Heh.

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Sunday, December 24, 2006

` Sunday, December 24, 2006

Ti$ the $ea$on to be $pending

There's something about Christmas time that makes my wallet tingle.

There's something about the rainy weather that forces everyone into the malls for some retail therapy.

There's something about Christmas that makes the shops all go a-discounting even though the sales aren't supposed to start until after the festivities have ended.

There's something about the need to get yourself into a frenzy and start buying this and that during the MNG and Topshop sales.

I'm staring at the sheer numbers of shopping bags strewn all over my room and I'm rendered helpless.

Did I mention that my wardrobe collapsed just yesterday from the sheer volume of clothes?

Falalalala Lalalala.

Merry X'mas!

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Thursday, December 21, 2006

` Thursday, December 21, 2006

Chuckle

While surfing the Internet for some Hong Kong travel tips for my brother who was heading there for a family vacation, my 3-year-old nephew plonked himself onto my lap and gamely tried to wrestle the mouse from my control.

I was trying to present the wonders of YouTube to him by streaming a Hokkien video version of the James Bond movie. Amazingly, he got extremely amused at the MGM lion roaring at the opening credits. He continued chuckling when he heard James Bond spouting the strange but funny language.

Of course, his parents weren't too happy that I was exposing him to the riotous verbal exchange. So I switched to a Hossan Leong video hoping to get him to listen to some proper English.

He was so not amused this time round.

"Why is he speaking in proper English? Not funny." he grumbled and threatened a tantrum.

I relented and replayed the earlier clip. He laughed himself silly again.

It's amazing how the powers of that language can impact a kid at such a young age.

I was so proud of him.

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

` Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Counting down to the 3rd official ORD.

2 more days to the finale of my life as a cost centre management irritant.

3 more days to watching Sandy Lam belt out the lovely hits of years past.

4 more days to Krabi for sun, sand and slacking.

8 more days to starting work at another unfamiliar office.

19 more days to the festive season (judging from the Orchard Road lights, it has already started).

26 more days before telling the world that I'm approaching 30 in 2008.

3 more hours to shopping at Vivocity.

Now that's something I've been looking forward to. I've always been a person who indulges in instant gratification. Hurhurhur.

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Friday, December 01, 2006

` Friday, December 01, 2006

Turn down the volume. Please.

I've been listening to alot of really loud music these days. My Chemical Romance, The Killers and my current on-reply-blast-it-all-I-can favourite: Nickelback. It must be some sort of a rehash of my angmoh muzak days. Indeed, a very drastic switch from the chingchong lovey-dovey songs I used to belt out relentlessly with friends at PartyWorld. I still do, just that I can't cover any of the newer songs these days. Damn. No thanks to the recently concluded Singapore Idol.

During the Brit-invasion times of my youth, I used to be a huge, HUGE fan of the band Suede. Ok, more that I thought Brett Andersen was the sexiest man ever ever ever to exist in the face of this planet. When they were playing Singapore on their second tour, I bought front-row standing tickets together with a friend and my sister. We braved pellets of sweat from stark-crazy fans, manic feet-stomping and body-surfing just to catch a glimpse of the man, decked simply in a black skinny singlet and jeans, seducing his microphone and belting out hit after hit in his trademark nasal nonchalance. It was surreal and best described as one of the most outstanding concerts ever to hit our tiny island. Then they started churning out commercially viable tunes and I gradually lost interest.

I switched momentarily to different genres as I grew up, not being particularly biased to any band or singer. My choice of song at any point in time was probably driven more by the exposure to a certain type of music rather than by the looks or style of the singer. Strangely, I used to think Nickelback and the punk-rock groups were all about noise. And more noise. Now, the "noise" accompanies me on my long bus and train rides home from work on my iPod. I've started to skip the soppy love song tracks and choose to put Helena, Dance Dance and Saving Me on replay mode.

Probably sums up my current state of mind. Or more like the inverse of it. For some strange reason, I'm feeling dead calm these days.

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