Diary of the Brainy Bombshell

Diving in Manado

2011-08-02T09:30:00.001-07:00

We've heard that Manado was a good diving destination. I asked fellow divers Ben and Jessica and they said it was great for macro stuff and for underwater photography. Since i just got my underwater case I though hmm...might as well give it a shot. As for Jose? He just wants to dive. Should find Dive-alholic Anonymous for him...

I didn't realise where Manando was until i got onto the plane. I was like wah! It's that far??

We left Jakarta after work (OK before i get flak for being dishonest, after Jose's work...i went shopping for granite and marble slabs..which is pretty tough work if you ask me but never mind that)...and arrived at about 11 plus at night. After getting out of the tiny airport, we rode in a taxi for about 45 minutes before arriving at Tasik Ria around midnight.

We got a welcome note from the Dive Centre..which was nice...then i saw the "Dear Mr. Jose Theodorus & Wife...WIFE?? Apparently i've been relegated to being called "Wife"... -_-

Next morning when we walked to the jetty to take our boat...the view was gorgeous...

Diving in Manado's pretty unique.. It seems like whatever underwater creatures you see, you get it in abundance. If it's there...you'll see plenty of it. Like this sea of sea-stars...hundreds and hundres of them...

And at a few dive sites there were thousands of Red-tooth Triggerfish...

it's pretty awesome looking away from the wall and seeing this...

There were so many turtles so much so that this American lady commented, "i never thought i'll actually like you know..see the day when i can like you know say "i'm sick of seeing turtles"...like ohmygod..there's so many of them"

this particular turtle was HUGE!

And there was an abundance of nudis...

ooh the colors of this one reminds me of the glow-in-the dark-paint i used to wear to raves at Gatecrasher a long time ago..

how cute is this Nudi?

i know this one is super common but i really like how it was resting on the soft coral. So colorful!

this one in particular is my favourite! Looks like a spotted pegasus to me.. :)

When we dived at Lembeh...there were so many puffer fish. Schools of them!
Each one was screaming out to us,"inflate me..inflate me!!"
So we did.

After our first dive when we got back onto the boat, Jose quietly slipped on his gloves. Didn't take a genius to figure out why..
There were some common fish that i really like...Its not just the appearance but the way they swim...sorta sideways with their fins propelling them...
If i had a saltwater aquarium i would so get this Spotted Boxfish...

and this Mimic File fish...

We came across a huge cluster of this soft, transparent jelly-like masses. I knew they were eggs of some kind. There was 1 tiny moving dot in each segment...but only after the dive guide popped one did i realize they were...

...super tiny little baby squids!!!!
(this pic has been magnified x10...it's actual size is about 5mm...)

Another strange coral I've never seen before. At first I thought it was a pink hair-scrunchie but when i approached it it sorta retracted...

We also spotted the tiniest juvenile lionfish...

It's so cool how something so tiny and fragile grows up to be so magnificent!..

Also our first time seeing hairy Orang Utan Crab...

Some creatures are AMAZING at camouflage...like this leaf fish..

...and this Pygmy Seahorse... super tiny...super cute!!!

...this tiny crab...

...and this Hairy Frog fish

There were some pretty ugly but fascinating fishes too...
like Stone fish

and these 2 were so cute! The way they tried to waddle away from my camera.
Yes they actually "walk" with their fins...

This juvenile white one.....wah check out this super fugly fish...

...finally managed to spot this yellow Frogfish

Another first for me was seeing Flying Gurnard.. This is it camouflaging...But once spotted...

it flies away...

We saw a few octopuses as well. Like this Mimic Octopus...

"Living in the tropical seas of South East Asia, it was not discovered officially until 1998, off the coast of Sulawesi. The octopus mimics the physical likeness and movements of more than fifteen different species, including sea snakes, lionfish, flatfish, brittle stars, giant crabs, sea shells, stingrays, flounders, jellyfish, sea anemones, and mantis shrimp. It accomplishes this by contorting its body and arms, and changing colour.

Although all octopuses can change colour and texture, and many can blend with the sea floor, appearing as rocks, the mimic octopus is the first octopus species ever observed to impersonate other animals."

Our dive guide tipped out the contents of a sprite bottle and found a super tiny baby coconut octopus

I know my picture quality is really bad...

Found a better pic showing how it disguises itself into a coconut...

i'll never grow tired of seahorses...: )

nor Nemos...

..and some of the tiniest creatures are so perfect...

Finally... i managed to spot something I've really really wanted to see...
A Cuttlefish...

it moves like a spaceship floating through space...very very cool...

Know what else i love about diving? The beautiful sunsets that greet us when we surface...

...the awesome service we get from dive guides,

(Edmund and Stanley from Tasik Ria)

the cool fellow divers we meet...
(Milanese Paulo and Luco)

...how we chill out in between dives by the poolside bar drinking ice cold beer...

...and playing my awesome guitar...

...and of course after all that hard work, the best part is rewarding ourselves with spa treatments!

When our holiday was finally over, we went to the airport a little early to eat "Klappertart"

(say "ke-la-pa-tart") it's a dutch dessert made up of layers of fresh cocnut flesh as its base, custard in the middle and topped with rum and cheese. Very decadent, very nicccceeee!

But then we were told that all flights were cancelled because one of the volcanoes were spewing ashes...uh-oh...we had no choice but to book a room at a hotel nearby...

the room had a very nice view...

...and open bath-bedroom concept...

..and what better way to spend the extra few days stuck in Manando then to dive again??
This time we went to Lembeh!

we went online to search for a dive operator and we found Dragonet...They provided us with 2 Guides, lunch, charter our own boat and 3 dives at the cost of Rp1.5 juta each...which is a pretty good deal considering it was so last minute...oh yea and they gave us goreng pisang too! : )

And at dinner that night, we were famished!

*gasp..so little!!*

that's better...
(Nad, see what i told you about the beer bintang singlets? U are not alone!!)

Awesome trip...thanks!! *muaacks*

xoxobombshelloxox

Pulau Kotok...revisited

2011-07-28T21:54:00.001-07:00

I ♥ diving. Jose ♥ diving. We live in Jakarta. Lucky for us there's a cluster of islands called Pulau Seribu nearby. All we had to do is choose an isalnd. I chose Pulau Kotok because we've been there before and the place is pretty decent. When i say "pretty decent" it means there's running water but no water heater, there's air-con but dirty unchanged-found-hair-and-tooth-floss-in-my-bed-what-the-hell-eww-fucking-gross bedsheets. I digress...okay so all we had to do was call the resort, pack our bags, drive for 15 minutes to Ancol (it's like driving from Kota Kemuning to Subang Jaya...really peeps i don't live that far away) pop one antimo each, get on the boat...sleep for 90 minutes and you're there!!!

For those of you who are not familiar with the wonderful drug that is antimo, it's an anti-motion-seasickness drug. Here's a demo of how well it works.

Subject A: wide awake and excited about the trip

...after 20 minutes of ingesting drug...feels drowsy...

...another 10 minutes...completely knocked out and oblivious to the rough choppy boat ride...

...wakes up completely refreshed and ready to holidaaaaay!
i was terribly excited too...then again according to some people i'm easily excitable anyway -_- Pulau Kotok is a really tiny island.
There's only one resort here and everythings kept very simple and eco-friendly. The cottages are built from trees found on the island itself. There's no electricity from 7am-7pm. (Did i mention there's also no clean bedsheets?). Very laidback, calm and quiet. A real respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

There's little cabannas along the water's edge...

perfect for reading or snoozing...

After checking in and gearing up it's time to DIVE!

(SELF-PORTRAIT...hehe)

It's pretty crazy the things people throw into the sea...

Like this toilet bowl...

...and this bus

then it was time for lunch...We ate outdoors by the sea. So chilled out having my post-lunch coffee, enjoying the breeze and the only sounds are the seagulls above and the waves crashing below...

...broken by Jose screaming cos this fat biawak shocked him from under his chair...

poor thing only wanted some table scraps...

...he freaked out and jumped onto the table..LOL!

Our guide this time round was Ade..

Very cool, friendly, fun, genuine sorta guy. I really liked him.

and he took lots of nice pics for us. And that is a major bonus when it comes to winning brownie points from me.

we paid a visit to the resident turtle...

saw lots of Nudis...

(comparing the size of this with my thumb)

i think now is a good time for me to start learning their names...

Nudibranch Phyllidia varicosa

(erm...ok, i'll just stick to Nudibranch for now)

Clownfish

Pink skunk clownfish or Pink anemonefish, Amphiprion perideraion

More Nemos...i really love them cos their so cute and fiesty.

I took this pic right under the jetty, Just
love the colours and light.

The rooms are quite a distance from the main reception/jetty/dive centre.

It's alrite to walk back alone when there's daylight. But definitely not at night. It's pitch black and there's just too many giant lizards lurking around. Our room...

the luxurious "balinese" outdoor shower...*note the sarcasm*

our cottage does come with a nice little porch though...

Before dinner there's really not much to do. The lights in our room are too dim to read...there's no TV...so we walked to the Jetty again to hang out...

hey look i'm using my recycable bag from NicNax! :)

All meals are included. It's buffet-style.

The dishes are simple but tasty and wholesome.

After dinner Ade showed us some really awesome underwater pics he's taken over the years.

He also shared some hilarious dive experiences... Then off we went to bed. For lack of things to do. LOL.
It rained the whole night. The next morning the weather didn't look very promising.
and there's a sense of something unsettling about the waters. Something foreboding yet very eerily calm that draws me to it.

soft corals...

more soft corals...so pretty rite...

reminds me of a fascinator

Nudibranch...

i'll never tire of taking pics of Nemos...

And Lionfish Pterois. This is my favourite pic of the trip.

Eh wait...i changed my mind. THIS is my fav pic!

Crocodilefish or Tentacled flathead (Papilloculiceps longiceps)

and finally...more nemos :)
When we've dived enough for the day...nothing beats a nice long nap...
or a dip in the calm, warm waters of the clear lagoon... A short but satisfying weekend break...Will definitely return. Let's just hope Ade will still be there.

xoxobombshelloxox

Bali with a Lobster, a Hippo and a Flamingo...Valentine's 2011

2011-07-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

Whenever i think of Bali i can't help smiling to myself... Sounds corny but i really do love that place. I asked Jose one day...how do you feel about Bali? He shouted in his usual retarded way "I LIKE!!! There's just something about the island...I'm not sure if it's the great dive sites... yummy Balinese food... friendly service... exotic culture...how walkable the place is...the sunny beach weather...that makes me wanna return again and again. Or maybe it's a combination of all these that makes it so special. Then again maybe it's just the magic mushrooms. Lol.

Kor wanted to bring Elaine somewhere nice as a Valentine's Day gift. Jose and I were itching to dive cos we haven't dived since Sipadan in November so we suggested we all meet in Bali for a holidaaaaaaay.

Jose and i flew from Jakarta to Denpasar after work. We were soooo excited!

(me knitting Xulin's scarf while waiting for plane)

Kor and Elaine were supposed to arrive earlier that morning from KL but when they checked in at KLIA Elaine realised her passport's expired. Big Oops! She had to rush to Damansara to renew it. When she got there she realised she didn't have enough money... And she didn't bring her ATM card...So she had to rush home to Mount Kiara...then alamak no photo...and the story goes on...hahaha...

Well she finally made it at 10pm...Just an hour before us.

We went diving the next day. We chose Tulamben's wreck dive. The wrecks were impressive but visibility wasn't too good. Still, i really enjoyed diving with Kor and Elaine ♥

Few days before this trip i was rushing all over town trying to buy a G12 camera. I really wanted that camera cos it's easy to use and i can buy an underwater casing for it. I did finally get it. I've got Carmen to thank (ya ya i know once again she's gonna say "what would you do without me??"). Even though i didn't take many pics of underwater life but luckily i still put my camera to good use.

With eager to pose subjects...
I swear Elaine looked so good underwater
she could pass off as modeling for Scubapro wetsuits *envious*
We had a quick lunch on the rocky beach...

Jose kept calling me monkey and offering me his banana..what a dork!
And the hippo found that really amusing...another dork.. -_-
and for some weird reason i started to feel tired and unwell. Must have exerted myself earlier trying to squeeze into my wetsuit..sigh...too much good food.Next day we hired a SUV and driver to bring us around. Time to do touristy stuff.
We went to the Monkey park in Ubud.

These monkeys really wanted to see what she's got under her skirt! haha..No wonder Kor's born in the year of the monkey...OMG damn funny!

Then we went shopping in the outdoor market. It was sooooo hot i tell you.
But somehow that never seems to put a damper on Jose's goofiness.

In the evening we went to Uluwatu for the Kecak dance.

It was my 3rd time (4th for Jose) and i still enjoyed it. To me it's just so spectacular and mesmerizing...watching and listening to the cacophonic interlocking sounds from 50 men representing the Ramayana story...overlooking the Indian Ocean. And when Hanuman comes out to fight the evil men...wahhh..especially when he kicks the embers out of the bonfire...brilliant...absolutely brilliant!

And the sunset you're rewarded with after the show...sigh...super gorgeous...

And like every good tourist...you must have seafood dinner on the beach in Jimbaran.

Jose and i have eaten here every trip but somehow this night felt really special. Nothing beats eating with family on holiday i guess.

After dinner Elaine wanted to eat jagung. The kid selling it to her was so cute. He can speak like ten languages...including Japanese (common rite?..), French (*gasp*), German (really now?) and beat this RUSSIAN! Lol.

We spent the next day just walking around shopping...eating...

...beaching...

Then got dressed up for our V Day dinner. I absolutely had to dine at Rossi. It's my favourite restaurant in Bali. The food is pretty good but it's the location and ambiance that i really like. Very relaxed, chilled out atmosphere with impeccable service. Plus it's right by the main road in Kuta facing the beach (although they've recently built a wall so can't see the beach anymore) so it's perfect for people watching.

Happy 1st Valentine's Day husband! ♥

On our last day we walked everywhere trying to find Elaine a painting she wanted for her house. We scoured the whole area...went into every single art shop and it was really really hot. I must say i was pretty impressed with how patient Kor was (no wonder she said yes...eh wait...maybe it's also got to do with the size of the rock ;P).

Yes Elaine...it is freaking HOT!!!!!

Finally it was time for lunch...
The two of them were obsessed with AngryBird... Non-stop i tell you.

You cannot imagine how good the ice-cold beer was...

Then it's back to our hotel pool for a refreshing swim...

(how awesome is my camera?)

And finally, no holiday is complete without going to the se-par.
Kor and Elaine went to the spa everyday. Actually they went twice a day. Seriously.

Jose impersonating beached whale...

my favorite pic!

Off to the airport to catch our respective flights back to Jakarta and KL.
Such an awesome holiday!

xoxo Bombshell oxox

Our First Home.

2011-07-23T10:05:00.002-07:00

After our wedding last November, I moved to Jakarta. Initially i thought we'd be living in Jose's home with his parents but somehow his mum insisted we get a place of our own...i'm sure she had her own valid reasons...you know with us being newlyweds and all... ; )

We found (well okay to be exact mum-in-law) found this absolutely wonderful condo in Kelapa Gading. It's location couldn't be better- it's connected to the mall (think Residences at Gardens) and it's down the road from Jose's house.

The driveway into the lobby...

The Lobby and reception areas...

There's little reception areas through out the Lobby. Fabulous for meeting people you don't really wanna invite up...and even better to keep people waiting (sorry la...need to blow my hair la...make-up la...choose handbags la..)

Conference room...

our place...
Our condo is a 2 (+ 1 maid's room) bedroom flat...we don't have a maid......cos with a condo this size you don't really get much privacy...
we just import one from Jose's house everyday...sorta like house-keeping :)

the kitchen...

Our place is small but cosy and it's great for entertaining guests. We invited Anita over for dinner and i cooked up a storm. Can't believe i've never cooked for her prior to this. It was really good having her over...wish i could see her more though!!

♥Nadipoo♥ stayed over in May. I had 3 whole days with her...super awesome !

and guests who makes me wholemeal pancakes in the morning...are always welcome!

the whole place is filled with our wedding pics...i loved them so much i kinda went mad printing them so now they're everywhere...

And of course we share our place with our adorable monster-bunny Tehpeng...

The living area has huge double-storey windows...very bright and airy...just the way i love it!

there's two balconies...one on each floor.

...that offers a spectacular city view...

...can even spot Jose's home from here...

...and is great for watching fireworks :)

The red building is the mall (just to show to Danny how close it is, here's a pic from the balcony to prove it...) It really is super convenient cos it means we can shop, eat out, watch movies and go to the gym without having to drive.

the guest bathroom...

Over the months we've really utilised the guest room. Ailin and Claire visited in December, Seankor and Elaine in January, Seankor in March, Nadipoo in May, Seankor and William in June.. Eleine and Danny will be coming next week...and my parents are coming the week after that!! YAY!!!

Jose came home from work one day with these...♥

the Materbedroom takes up the entire second floor...

(see what i mean about our pre-wedding pics...)

My dressing area...

the walk in closet...

the masterbathroom...

the view from upstairs...

...and his and hers shoe-racks...

what i love best about this place is the HUGE swimming pool...

...it stretches throughout the length of the condo...

...and there's even a pool-side cafe that does room-service...

...ooh and it even comes with a car should i need to drive out...actually it's more like should i need to go on a fun, heart-thumping crazy ride out on Jakarta roads...
Jakarta drivers are CRAZY, right Nad? hehe...

xoxo bombshell oxox

ICON magazine photo shoot and article.

2011-04-05T00:28:00.000-07:00

When I was asked to be featured in one of ICON magazine's article i was super happy to oblige. I mean, a day spent getting made-up by professional stylists, meeting the editorial team, getting dressed in fab designer clothes and hanging out with models and photographers...what's not to love? : )

I was the first to arrive at the studio the morning of the shoot...Mind you, beating peak hour traffic from Kota Kemuning to Damansara on a workday morning wasn't an easy feat...yawn!

Well-used and rustic...

And soon it was a flurry of hair and make-up styling...

...and i couldn't resist taking some before and after photos...

...a change of clothes...

...and i was fabulously ready to pose!

My first shot was with Matthew, an American model... And he is TALL.

Hence the bricks i'm balancing on... But i didn't feel shitty about my height for long...
Hudson had to use them too... Hehe...

Katy... Style director and bump-disguise extraordinaire.
I couldn't tell she was expecting till much later.

One of the many bling watches that were on loan to me that day...

Then a re-styling of hair and make-up. I really didn't like my hair all up...so woody wood pecker. But at least it'd add an inch to my height... ; )

...with Lee Khim. She's really wonderful.. Very patient and sweet and professional...

...with my purple haired make-up stylist...talk about funky hair man...

...i met Hudson Chang, another guy who's also being featured. He's the suave and charming celeb chef and owner of the restaurant IR1968 at Terrace Hock Choon.

...And Shaun Tan. I've met Shaun through mutual friends at clubs and events.
Fancy meeting him there!

Once i was done with my shoot, i had to take a quick pic with Jane the Editor -in-chief of ICON. Jane's one of the most amazing people i've met and will always remember. She's strong and independent yet exudes genuine warmth and kindness. Plus, a woman this capable is a force to be reckoned with.

A couple of weeks later... the magazine was published!
I couldn't wait to see how the photos turned out.

the cover...

I absolutely loved the article. ♥

I'm really grateful to Jane, Lee Khim and the wonderful team from ICON magazine for the awesome feature.

xoxo

Why am i the way i am...Family vacation in China, CNY '11

2011-03-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

My family decided to go on a trip to China. The flight to Pudong was pretty early.

Like i said it was pretty early...

I know i shouldn't get too excited about the police dog sniffing my luggage but he was cute.

We had to wait for an hour for our train to Hangzhou. Time to share the yummy CNY cookies Ailin gave me...Thanks babe!

And we got free mineral water... wow...free water...

It's always a joy travelling with my sis. She's such a silly girl...

And my parents? They're awesome too.
They even layan me by wearing the scarves i knitted them just for this trip..

...Cool super-speed train was er...fast...

Aah..Finally it was time for dinner...

(look Carmen, i'm wearing the gorgeous scarf you knitted me!)

We walked around a tourist shopping street and man...it was freezing!

We spent the better part of the hour running from shops to shops to prevent hypothermia.

i kid you not, it was minus 0 degrees...

Next day we rose early (tour guide forced us...definitely not by choice!)

And headed to the West Lake gardens...The scenery was so gorgeous...

Here's Derek our young National guide. He's funny, genuine, knowledgeable and entertains us with stories about his Uni days studying (or not studying) English. He also told us funny stuff about the Selangor MPs when he acted as their guide to the World Expo.

"Follow Derek!!!"

Our best imitation of goldfish at the goldfish pond..

On one of our toilet breaks we saw this guy fish out some turtles from the lake and took out a pair of scissors and deftly snipped off their heads! Lav was screaming her head off. Pansy.. okla it was quite gross...

Then we all boarded some ancient looking boat for a cruise...

Told you it's gonna be cold Dad!

We then went to a green tea plantation to see how they make them. This guy was demonstrating how the tea leaves were dried and my mum's so itchy hand..he actually smacked her hand away ! hahahah...

I swear i so wanted to break out into song here...

Finally, some nice green tea to thaw my frozen fingers..

Yes yes Kor, you are a big teapot...

And time for us to stretch before boarding the bus again...heeeeyah!!!

We went to this awesome buffet revolving restaurant at the top of a hotel.

Spectacular view and super awesome food.

And i get to do my own ice-cream cone! Little pleasures that makes me happy!

We travelled to Suzhou after that and at one of the rest stops we encountered our first (one of many) weird China toilets... You can't flush ya...every few minutes water will flow down automatically. How very environ-friendly.. eww...

I really liked Suzhou...there were lots of gorgeous old architecture...

...that were juxtaposed by amazing modern buildings like this 3D imax theatre. The fairy lights you see changes every few minutes.
(very similar to the birds nest in Beijing)

Actually on hindsight i observed that the Chinese are very fascinated by lights.
We're at a really fun bridge...

...cos the sides are lined with advert light boxes that are motion-detected...

we kept running up and down it like kids...weeee...

Chinese cuisine however, so not my taste...They have this must not waste anything attitude...

Chicken feet? Don't waste!
I mean i eat chicken feet at dim-sum but only if its steamed with lots of sauce...
this was simply booiled and served with salt and chilli.

Right outside our restaurant we watched tele on the "worlds largest LCD panel"

(see...lights again..)

(kindly take note that we never asks our Dad to pose with us ya...It's all on his own accord)

...And my Mum?? OMG...

She refused to get off the bench cos she kept waiting for the snopy show to be played again...

and again...

The next we visited a garden that was owned by this really rich guy a long time ago...

...my parents have a weird fascination for plants...

Dad: hey check out the pamelos...

..."look at those flowers...."

I guess when you're a trained horticulturist you can't really help it.
And my mum's given in to peer pressure

simple formula...
Vainpots (Lavinia + Cheryl ) x Gorgeous Garden = take pictures (x infinity)!

(my fav pic!)

Our national guide Derek told us that Suzhou women were known for their beauty (both looks and mannerism) and our local guide a living proof of that. Jessica spoke in a lyrical sing-song manner and her laughter (tho a bit annoying at first) was infectious...

we visited a silk factory...and all of us ended up buying duvets, bed sheets and quilt covers...
Apparently it will keep you cool at a comfortable 22 degrees... i have yet to try it out.

Then after all the shopping we were ushered into a room for a fashion show.

Lav: Cher, what's she wearing?

Cher: i think she's wearing a silk nightie

Lav: She is hor...OMG!

My dad travelled around with his thermos filled with hot tea. I kept teasing him, caling him old man...Until i was too cold and wanted a sip. He was like,"who's the old man now??"

We walked around to shop...Everyone was rushing cos it was CNY eve..

(look Carm, gorgeous lilac scarf AGAIN!)

People were selling baby rabbits EVERYWHERE! Reminded me so much of my Tehpeng...

Time to loh sang!

And buy huge-ass box of fireworks! : )

Travelling light is just not in the genetic make-up of the Lim family...

The pretty blue fairy lights in out hotel garden..

...BOOM...Aaaahhhh!!!!

...Or next city was Nanjing. Our local guide was this stern lady who's a curator from Nanjing Museum...Very no nonsense un-humurous woman.

Chairman Mao!

We visited the museum overlooking the Najing Yangtze River Bridge.. Pretty cool. They were very proud that it was funded by local and chinese overseas. And 100% Made in China!

...i was trying to figure out what meat this was...Frog i think...

Sean heating up his jacket...It was still sooooo cold...

At most rest stops they sell snacks like chips, cookies, candy, etc... In China?
They sold chicken feet...

...And preserved eggs...

...my dad's such a goofball sometimes...

I love this pic, reminds me of our visit to Taj Mahal...

Next we went to our Kungfu training ground...

Let's warm-up with some breathing....

...some sparring exercise...

...some Matrix moves...

...and learn from the Ancients...

...finally time to cool down...

Hai-yaaaaaahhh!!!

...came across this crushed peanut candy...

...yums!!

We visited this really pretty water-village...

...Chinese people really love dogs...Both on theirs plates and off them...

We split up cos Sean was hunting for a gift for Elaine...
and i followed him. I bought a back-scratcher for Jose. haha..

We kept coming across restaurants with aquiriums with puffer fish that they caught from the canal... gulp.

The last leg of our trip we went back to Shanghai...

We took lots of pics at the fountain in front of Shanghai City Hall

...The fountain comes on and off every few minutes...When the fountain was dormant my siblings dared me to run across it right to the other end... And of course i couldn't resist.

...It was terribly childish of them to egg me on. Tsk tsk! (But it was crazy fun!)

I love how the Chinese name their shops... Sucker drinks anyone?

We qued up for this famous xiao long bao. Boy what a disappointment! When i pierced the skin (mind you it was super thick) thick goeey fat spurt out! i threw mine away... : (

Lav took this pic...She found it hilarious...

We went up to the 468 meters high Pearl Tower to get a view of Shanghai's skyline.

But the highlight for the day was walking onto the oudoor observation deck..the floor was made of glass! At first it didn't sound like a big deal but when i looked down..Man, awfully daunting!
All of us were such chickens. But my mum just casually sauntered over and posed!

...next was my turn...

...family photo time!

Automatic massage? kekeke...

some random dude dancing ballet in the middle of nowhere...

Oooh...Sephora...Evil!!

On our free day my parents wanted to try more shanghainese cuisine..My siblings and i wanted KFC...guess who won...heheh

We took the river cruise on our last night. I loved the colorful lights and gorgeous old and new architecture...

gorgeous!!

The view from our room...

Lav, Cherry (our Msian tour guide), Bombshell, Dad, Derek, Wong Sir (bus driver), Sean.

Our final stop was a visit to the China World Expo. The que to get into the China pavillion was approxiamately 3 and half hours long so we gave it a miss.

Yay..Group picture time! Our tour consisted of groups of families (x 3), a group of 3 sisters, a few nice couples. We made friends with the older friendly auntys and uncles and enjoyed hanging out with the younger ones. : )

At the airport gift shop...Sean's such a retard...

...and so is his little sis!

Oh dad babysitting Turtle Oh. Must test his grandfathering skills first rite..

He got that for Elaine to remind her of him. See the resemblance? hahahaha...

xoxobombshell xoxo

Sangjit...What you MUST have before ur Wedding.

2011-03-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

Prior to my wedding the in-Laws told me that they had a custom of having Sangjit. I've never heard of Sangjit...none of my friends/relatives practised this chinese custom. Hantaran for malay weddings definitely but Sangjit for chinese? Never! Anyway, something that translates to "Gift-day" in hokkien must be good rite... : )

I loved how Dian decorated the Silver heart shaped boxes ♥

Here's a easy 10 step guide to having one.
Step 1: get a number of women from the grooms side (MUST be those who are happily married and/or have children...discriminatory i know, but customary it seems..)

Step 2: Line 'em up and send them to the bride's house bearing gifts... Gifts must come in 6 or 8 or 9 (i mean you can have up to 99...so long as its a good chinese number)
Step 3: Get the eldest (in this case was the Groom's eldest aunt) to present the gifts. Tante Connie said to my parents,"Kami sebagai wakil daripada keluarga Panganjaja ingin menawarkan sumbangan kami... Dengan harapan keluarga kami boleh bersatu dengan pernikahan di antara Jose dengan Cheryl. Setujukah?" (or something like that...My Indon isnt too great..still wokring on it dong)

My parents were thrilled and same time nervous (they've never done this before...poor things...) but they did just fine...nodding and smiling. Yup when in doubt, just smile and nod..

so Step 4: Nod and smile.

Then it was my turn to greet all the wonderful aunts...
(except Karina... she's too young to be called a tante...yet.)

Step 5: Eat!

...eat...

...eat.

Step 6: oooh take pictures!

Step 7: then it was time to return the favour...Give the Groom's representatives their presents.

Aunt Lingling passing the gift to Karina's mum-in-law...

Aunty LayIm passing hers to Karina...

Sylvia (socialite/my RPM buddy) passes hers to Tante Julian

Step 8: Send the Groom's representatives safely back to their side (in this case was a hotel)

Step 9: Pass the gifts to the Groom's parents...

Step 10: And we're done!!...Time to open the gifts! Yay!!

Okay, lemme share what my side got for Jose...
A Batik shirt (something traditional...since he's indon rite)

A nice zegna shirt...

...bally man-bag for his ipad..

...shoes and perfume set (very important...esp the deodorant...haha.)

...Bath and towel set...

...and some other boxes filled with accessories, food and sweets.

My mum filled one whole box with Chinese soup making ingredients...Dried scallops, mushrooms, cans of abalone, red dates, dried longans, and lots fruits like apples, pineapples (very "ong"), pomegranate (something about making sure the groom has lots of seeds...hilarious but embarrassing when your talks about your boyfriend's virility...ughh...)

Now, for myself i got... Bath set (it's sweet that it's got my name on it...very personalised)

...a fabulous pair of laboutins...Red and frou frou! Just my style. ♥

...a gorgeous birkin...which i super ♥

...make up set from estee lauder...

...fuschia herve leger dress...

...Which came in very handy for Xulin's wedding since the Jiemeis had to come in fuschia...

...And a fab set of jewelry! Who would have thought getting married could be so fun??

Now let's take a closer look at my fab shoes... ♥

xoxobombshell

Pre-wedding photography...

2011-03-05T01:06:00.000-08:00

I always knew how i wanted my wedding to be. (ok, I shall be more honest with myself)...I've always dreamt of my wedding. Yes this includes gown, hair, make up, clothes, flowers, reception, church, groom, and photos. And when it came to the last one i couldn't be luckier to have Jack as my friend! I wrote about Jack in my previous post hailing him as the best photographer i know. This post only reinforces that...

Since the groom could only spare a weekend I had to plan everything properly (think bridezilla) so that we could maximise his time in Malaysia. So the schedule was as such:
Friday 8pm- Groom arrives.
10pm- Mandarin Oriental to celebrate Anita's birthday.
1am- Petaling street with Ben for Siew yoke chao mien.
Saturday 5am-hair and make-up at Ken's.
8am- arrive at KTM station, start photoshoot.

When we arrived we were introduced by Jack to Teng Wei (a professional photographer) who wanted to tag along to help and contribute. Lucky me!

the first warm up photos...

Funny how this place has been used so many times and yet i still like it...

This is one of my top 20 pics (i love so many of them i had to pick 20! Not that i'm indecisive...)

It shows off my christian lacroix gown so beautifully...so dreamy...

Teng Wei captured this shot when Jack was trying to position the umbrella so that it would cast a beautiful pattern across my face.

It's amazing how such an ugly background like the car park could turn out great. All in the photographers' eyes...

An intimate shot by Teng Wei...

Next we proceeded to my church...The sun was rising fast and it was starting to get oh so bloody hot. Thank God Ken was there to touch up my make up and hair. He was such an angel helping us carry all our stuff, adjusting my gown, mopping up our sweat, holding an umbrella over me... And i didn't even ask him to come along with us. Amazing guy!

These photos taken at the very same spot in 2 totally different styles...

An ice-cream man came along on his motorbike and we all had to have a cone. I was sitting under the tree finishing it when the he decides to lick some off me when Teng Wei asked him to hold the pose and lift the veil over us. NICE!

This pic is breath-taking! I absolutely LOVE it! ♥ ♥ ♥

And Teng Wei took one in his style as well. My dad really likes this pic and he shows it to anyone who visits. Thanks Teng Wei for the pic. ♥

Then of course i had to take one looking oh-so-demure and siman...

This pic is super dramatic. The church is stunning. And Jack captured it.

After we wrapped up our morning shoot it was time for lunch. So we went to Ming Room in BSC for some dim sum.
3pm- back at Ken's place for change of hair and makeup
5pm- home to shower and change clothes
6pm- arrive at the Villas for evening shoot.

My gown was made in Jakarta by Albert Yanuar. I've always had a thing for turquoise...

The last photo taken outdoors as the sun had already set...

Spoon me please. ♥ Hence the promise on our weding day.

I wore my favourite red dress next.

a clandestine affair... love it!

We climbed along the ledge of the infinity pool to take this picture. Very fun, relaxed one by Teng Wei. Hmm.. a result of watching one too many cycles of ANTM perhaps.

He was exhausted after the super long day and Jack snapped this. Someone commented that he looks like he kena raped..LMAO

8pm- went to Tony Romas for another well-deserved meal!
10pm- went to Ecobar for Kokkin's birthday party
1am- arrived home, packed for Penang...

Sunday
5am- at Ken's doing hair and makeup
8am-Jose and Jack went for wantan mee whilst waiting for me
9am- Left home...I drove whilst Jose slept in the backseat. That was the agreement. Otherwise, no more photoshoot! *GASP!!*

12.30noon- arrived at Lorong Selamat for CharKwayTeow. It's a MUST okay. People were staring at me. ( i did look like a chinese wayang ghost. Whatever la.I wanna eat my ckt.)

3pm- start day 2 shoot.
I found this boutique hotel upon recommendation from Wee Nee (childhood friend-wedding planner-cakemaker extraordinaire!!). I mean if you need to know stuff about Penang, must ask Penangite rite? She was really helpful and gave me lots of tips. Thanks babe! I owe you one.

i was going for a 1920's Shanghainese look. A bit of old glamour you know what i'm sayin'?

Jack took some old school shots...

I'm wearing my old cheongsam..had it for years!

...some naughty ones...

...and some fun cheeky ones too!

...another one of my top 3 pics!

...Taken through the reflection of a mirror/menu outside a cafe...

Now this pic is a combination of skills, setting, lighting and luck!
Especially with the ah-pek cyling past us...picture perfect!

6pm- Jack very kindly told us to rest for a bit whilst he downloaded his pics. We flopped onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
8.30pm- OMG! We overslept!

Jack: erm guys... issit ok if we go for dinner? I'm kinda hungry...Oh no...POOR him!!! So we drove aound for some hawker food and went back to the hotel for a quick change and shoot...

time to work my red cheongsam...

This pic is in my top 3 list... Sooo gorgeous! He really did my cheongsam justice!

Sunday 11.30pm- end of day 2 shoot.
Before i showered and ruined my fabulous hair i had to take more pics of it. Ken, your work is FABULOUS! Your skills (natural/dramatic/period/wedding/couture make-up? Yup he can do them all), dedication (he painstakingly curled all my hair into tiny little rosettes before pinning them in waves), patience (3 hours just for the hair mind you...), care and initiative (always ready to help, never calculative unlike other make-up artists who complain if you ask them to change hair/make-up) is unbelievable! Ladies, if you ever need a stylist who's out of this world call KEN!!! (+6012-6654214)

Monday
9am- Wake up, shower...looked out the window...it was pouring!! *SOB SOB* 11am-still pouring...Was starting to worry coz day 3 was suppose to be the beach shoot 12noon- drove around for lunch.
Jack brought us to Gurney drive and we stumbled upon Perut Makan. The nyonya food was extremely yummy. After ordering I went to the loo...came back and those 2 almost finished all the food! Waaa... Order some more! Then Jack had an idea..Hey what if we took photos in here? We asked the owner and he said No.. cannot... So never mindla..Just enjoy the food. Then the owner approached us and said Ya...okay.. you guys can take photos in here... We were estatic! I ran to the car and grabbed my kebaya and curling thongs...ran back in and hurriedly made myself up. Scared he change his mind!

Then Jose came to pose next to me. His hair was an absolute mess so i tried to tidy it. Then the owner asked me to stop whatever i was tying to do. He ran upstairs to his home and brought down a comb and hair gel, and started styling Jose's hair...while haughtily exclaimed, 'i used to be a hairstylist you know!" What are the chances?

This pic went on to win Jack an award.

My kebaya was made in Jakarta. The silk batik was a gift from Jose's mum.
Super ♥ it!

We finished quite quikly. I still can't believe how lucky we were to be able to shoot there.

5PM-the rain finally stopped!! We quickly changed and ran down to the beach...

I like this pic cos its simple and endearing!

I'm wearing a white, grecian-inspired gown on loan to me by Caryn (one of my bridesmaids)...

...time to get down and dirrty...

7pm-end of day 3...We went for a HUGE seafood dinner and slept early that night.
I called my mum that night and told her how worried i was that it might rain again the next day. She said don't worry dear, i'll pray for you...
Tuesday 8am- its not raining! Hallelujah! Time for my dream photoshoot!

Jack shot a video of us exchanging personal vows. Jose said "Ny, you know how on our first date we saw a rainbow and you said, "There's a pot of gold at the end of it.."I thought to myself "What? the treasure's right next to me!" And over the years you know how you always get lost (ya, i got a crap sense of direction) but i want you to know that i'm the one who'll be lost if i don't have you.." Aw, so sweet right? I was so moved i actually teared! But i blinked it away. (must not ruin makeup..)

I told Jack i wanted to do some typical cliched shots but was worried if it'll look too cheesy. Ever the sweetheart he said "hey don't worry whether it's cheesy or not. If you wanna do it, just do it"

so we relaxed and had a lot of fun...

Then it was time for my romantic dream photo...After a few hiccups with the horse...The poor thing kept walking towards the beach when i wanted it to walk into the water...And at one point we almost gave up when it started bucking and running. Thank god we both can ride.

I absolutely love this pic... The horse finally calmed down and was easier to control...

And they lived happily ever after...

I'm super grateful to the following people:
Ken for being the best stylist...so accomodating with my demands and crazy hours.
Teng Wei for the beautiful shots and poster-sized photos.
Wee Nee for helping me plan the Penang shots and moral support.
Caryn for her gorgeous gown.
The owner of Perut Makan for his generosity and kind hospitality.
My mum for her prayers.
Jose for being my willing (most of the time anyway) co-model and partner.
Jack for his unwavering dedication, passion and devotion to giving me my dream photos.
He gave in to my every whim...and always smiling, always kind.
For all these and more, i am truly thankful to all of you.

Selangor Turf Club Annual Dinner

2011-02-25T01:30:00.000-08:00

It was that time again to attend Selangor Turf Club's Annual Dinner. This time it was held at Times Square. The fab thing about this event- everyone is always impeccably dressed! So had to find a gorgeous gown to wear...set hair...do make up...and wear killer heels. Hmm... not that i really mind...

I arrived ~~a little late~~ fashionably late...
Just in time to take one group pic before entering the ballroom... : )

The door gift for the night. I was more interested in the packaging than the gift itself. So chinese-takeaway...cute!

Lav and I sat at different tables this year...We thought we should separate and go meet new people... And lucky her, she got to sit next to the glamorous Datin Tania...

Our mum came over when she saw us posing and she's like wait..wait... I also wanna take! (like mother like daughters ya...)

The dinner started with a fun energetic performance by this violin playing trio.
They were hot...and i absolutely LURVE their pink violins!

They were pretty good. Made me feel like digging out my old (un-pretty brown colored) violin to play later that night. But alas all 4 strings were broken. And the bow was completely ruined! So i went and watched Glee instead. (Still within the musical genre wat).

Tun Mahathir and Tun Siti Hasmah were the guests of honor. So we went over to say hi...and to take pictures with them...

They're always so friendly and obliging to pose with us...

This was with Tun at some other event..See wat i mean?

Then Lav bump into some friend of hers from way back. Damn funny..She looks dwarfed here. She isn't exactly tall la but she's not short either. It's just this guy is sooo tall!

We got bored halfway through dinner. So what to do? Go outside and camwhore! : )

I chose a nice spot...Suck in tummy...angle face and struck my signature pose...

Only to have all my efforts wasted. Hmmph!

With my entertainer for the night...

and Sianzher...

And of course darling Adrian C. had to barge in...

Back in the ballroom the raffles draw was still ongoing...yawn...

ah...Marie's here finally! Gorgeous...as always...

the dessert was very yummy... Meringue with strawberries and chocolate sauce!

my other entertainer during dinner... sat next to this sweet sexy lady...

Sharon Yen showing off her fabulous shoes!

...Met Adeline outside on her way home...There were 100+ tables so it wasn't easy finding friends...

And i simply had to take a pic with chairman Dato Richard Cham... He looked super dapper in his pristine white suit. Actually he always looks stylo...Love his tux at my wedding!♥

Every year there's a competition for the best designed horse...This was my fav.

Hen Night...celebrating the end of an era.

2011-02-22T02:30:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to party with my girls before i turned into a boring ol' married woman... i know usually your girlfriends are suppose to organize it but since i'm such a control freak, i decided to take things into my hands. Hotel rooom? Check. Club reservations? Check. Wigs and costumes? Check. Invites? Check!

Carm suggested i send out e-invites. An awesome idea. But i've always liked receiving traditional old-fashioned invitation cards so i designed the invite, printed it, and stuck lots of black lace and ribbons to give it that sexy edge.

It was the best excuse to dress up like a tart for the very last time in my life. Well okay, maybe i shouldn't speak too soon...But that was my excuse anyway.
Hence the "Corsets, Fishnets & Garter Belts" Dress Code. : )

We checked in at the Westin, KL ...chilled out...

...and took stock of our props for the night! Eleine got me a black horny veil (because she said i wasn't exactly the sweet diamante tiara type of hen...whatever...i disagree) a hot pink Bachelorette sash, a "Buy the Hen a shot"-glass-necklace, Bad Girl garter and loads of games to play later.

Get off the bed Carm...time to get ready!

We treated ourselves to pizza and pasta from room-service...Well maybe i didn't eaxctly gorge myself... Must. Fit. *take deep breath* Corset!

....and washed it all down with some cold crisp white wine courtesy of Jiahui. ♥ Mmm...

Then it was time to get dressed for the party...

...grab my basket of trick and treats...

...and we're all set!

But of course we've to take some pictures first...

Thanks for the honeymoon luggage-tags and Annick Goutal perfume! I super ♥ them.

I was so happy she came despite the terrible flu anf fever she was suffering from...Very touched!

Our lame attempt at Lady Gaga pose...

We created quite a scene getting to the club. We got into the lift with this cute young guy and he asked if he could take a picture with us. Ya, of course can la! Just pay RM100... He was like," What?? That's too much!" So of course we were kind enough to lower it to RM50... with a thong thrown in for free. He was happy. So were we.

Ahh... finally at our table inside the club... Time to start the cam-whoring!

Thanks for the bringing the balloons all the way babe! ♥ them!

After settling down we had to start making money...

It was quite fun when the men were sporting and friendly... But it was a slow, ardous process!

Aha! Candy and Britney sneaked off to the loo to camwhore... tsk tsk!

Blondie came up wih a srategy to sell all our treats.
We were split up into 2 teams... Tight Pussy vs. Gogo Girls. Haha..

Okay, let's get serious...

How about we find a nice, clueless guy who's willing to part with all his money, drag him in here and relieve him of it? Lol.

And soon we found the perfect victim. Only 3 traits needed. 1.Super generous. 2.Non-creepy. And 3.must be willing to do whatever we want. Perfect!

Come on in and meet all the girls...

...sit down... He was a little apprehensive at first...

...and was downright uncomfortable with the lap dance...

...then he started to chill out...

...and then phwoar he was thoroughly enjoying himself!

okay okay...you can keep it...

Success! Yay!

Time to do what we love best... Drink, dance and take lots of photos...

Lol. The deer-caught-in-headlights look! Classic...

Then it was time to play my "Scrath a dare" game...

And do the usual naughty silly things... Funny part was the Bombshell is sooo thickskinned that completing the task was a breeze! Of course it also helped that we were in a club and it was quite late already so most people were too drnk to care what i did to them.

LMAO! ♥ this pic!

Did i mention we took lots of photos?...

Come on Lulu..Finish your shot!

Hilarious! You girls really made my night!

Towards to end of the night i couldn't really remember much because i was too ~~wasted~~ tired. Especially after playing the lat-tali-lat-tam-plom drinking game. But according to certain sources the Hen went on a biting rampage on the way back to the hotel and did some other crazy things that aren't worth mentioning here. Too bad i didnt stay up for the siew-yok-chow-mien (some super sweet boyfriends actually waited for their girlfriends to be done partying...bought them food from Petaling street and sent them back to Westin).

It was definitely the most memorable night of my clubbing history. Thanks to my wonderful girls who put up with my silly requests and plain silliness. ♥ all of you!

China...best trip ever with BFF!

2010-08-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Carmen and I went to China for work. We took a flight from KL to Hangzhou. It was my first trip to China and i was really excited about it.

We took the earliest possibe flight...
Luckily we could catch up on our snooze during the 5 hour flight there...

...Carm with her ever-faithful sleeping companion- her Ahmah blanket...

I'm a staunch believer in learning local customs and doing as the locals do. We landed at Hangzhou airport and we ran into the first Mcdonald's we saw...haha...So much for soaking up local culture!

Anyway, after that little detour, we were supposed to take the local bus to Yiwu, an industrial city an hour plus from the airport. So we (well ok, Carmen led us to the ticket booth, asked for the tickets and paid for them...in fact she did most of everything on this trip...oh she also paid RM100 for a CHINA SIM card from this little lady in a proper little uniform. But after making a 1 minute local phone call, the card ran out of credit. Poor Carm, kena conned!! ) So anyway, i digressed...we took the local bus to Yiwu...

...we pretended we were on the amazing race (which has always been our dream...sob!)...

I was so proud of ourselves for travelling just as the locals did...Looked out the bus window and did a double take...

WTF?? The houses looked strangely un-Cheena! I felt kinda cheated. I was expecting some rustic looking chinese architecture or at least some straw huts next to paddy fields...We alighted at the Bus terminal and suddenly we both felt really out of place. I mean it was in the middle of town and there were lots of shady looking characters eyeing us. Hmm...on second thoughts, i think they were actually eyeing my rather conspicuous looking PINK luggage...which i oh-so-love!

We were eventually rescued by Carmen's friends: Alice and Mr GrowlerChingchung. They were really kind, hospitable, ever patient and really polite. We made small talk over a spicy meal of Szechuan dishes. Well.. ok, i shall be honest: Carmen made the small talk. I just smiled and nodded repeatedly...and butted in occasionally (in my poor Mandarin) when i knew she was bitching about me!

There was a pasar malam near our hotel. Only about 10 minutes car ride away. We really enjoyed eating piping hot taiwanese sausages, buying little trinkets, bargaining with the vendors...

We were looking for a cab to take us back to our hotel when i saw this motorised trishaw waiting for passengers...I sooo wanted to ride in one.

And poor Carmen gave in (as usual!) to my persistent begging! The minute the trishaw-lady started pedalling i soooo regretted my petulant ways! The blustering wind was unbelievably cold! Our teeth wouldn't stop chattering and we couldn't feel our face after that! But what fun!!! LOL

...but can still take picture of ourselves...

...and the view as it passed us by...
(can see the trishaw lady wore faux leopard fur jacket...stylo man!)

Ahhh.. we finally reached our hotel!

What a comfort to be going back to our super cosy, spacious and comfy suite!

Good choice, Carm!

The best part about our room?

We love reading the "WARM HINT: CAREFULLY SLIP" sign everytime we took a bath!

We woke up really early each morning to get to work (REALLY!) and usually took a quick break in between to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city. It is a HUGE commercial city with little touristy things to do so when we came across this band outside a hotel, we got really excited!

Here comes the bride!!...

And we scouted the streets for good food!

this Egg Pancake was Carm's favourite. We came across a few vendors selling it all over town. Sometimes she would make us cross 4-lane crazy traffic just to check if that vendor was selling this.
It's cooked like a takoyaki except he cracks an egg into the middle of the batter. I always asked mine with extra chili! Super yumms!

Me in front of a HUGE trade centre...Note: i'm clutching the Egg Pancake again! : )

...and so is she!...

We noticed that the taxi drivers seat were covered with covers that had the name of the day of the week. We could only assume it was to encourage good hygiene..?

We went back to the pasar malam near our hotel every night since there wasn't much else to do and there were so many good hawkers there! Here we're tucking into hot beef noodles and some chicken yakitori. Carm always made sure she asked what type of meat they used...you know, you hear so many horror stories about dog meat, rat meat, etc.

Posing in some random hotel lobby which we sneaked in to borrow their toilet...

The local ladies that we met were intrigued by me. They kept asking Carm "ta shi she ma ren?" and pointed at me...At first Carm patiently answered i was Chinese, from Malaysia....bla bla..and they would *gasp!* So after a while she just flippantly replied i was american... LOL

Some of the factories we visited were okay...Like this one making pretty manequins...

And some were in the outskirts and were really...er.. "industrial" looking...

There was this particular visit to a factory one night that was the most memorable. Carm and I got a lift from Alice and for some crazy reason Growler was driving along the highway with the windows down! We were both clutching to each other cause it was sooo cold and we really needed to pee. After 2 hours of travel hell we finally reached the factory and Alice kindly brought us to the toilet. This toilet story really takes the cake. Never mind that there were no lights, (and mind you it was pitch black, Alice had to guide us in with her tiny Nokia handphone)...there were no doors... there was also no water so you can only imagine how bad it stank!!! We had to squat over what we thought was the hole. But as I squatted down to pee, i could vaguely make out the shape of a gunny sack right next to my face...and a shovel next to it! OMG... so we could only assume that was how their sanitation system worked! Wahhh... i rather pee outside by the road man...The funniest part was when it was Carm's turn after me, i asked her,"hey babe, it's so dark in here. What if something crawled up the hole and bite your pehpek?" She screamed! Muahahah...I'm evil.

Right after that harrowing toilet experience, Alice and Growler felt kinda guilty and wanted to make it up to us by bringing us to dinner. Carm kept telling them it's ok, we can have dinner ourselves later (pasar malam food again!) and that we weren't really hungry (a blatant lie!)...You know doing the pai-seh chinese thing. They said they wanted to bring us to a nice restaurant. Suddenly a thought crossed my mind and the following converstion ensued
Cher (de bombshell) : *whispers loudly* Babe! What if they brought us to a "game/exotic animals" restaurant?
Carm (de wonder-BFF) : *condescending tone* No-lah...Alice and Growler are civilised city people. They don't eat weird stuff.
Cher (de bombshell) :*sounding slightly alarmed* But we are in the middle of nowhere...*big beautiful eyes rolling around dramatically*... They just might bring us to some crazy weird restaurant. Please, please just ask them...*in annoying whiny high-pitched tone*
Carm (de wonder-BFF) : *firmly but gently* No. I'm not gonna offend them! Shhh!...
Then 5 minutes later Growler stopped his car and pulled up to this restaurant and guess what greeted us...

(Any restaurant with a bar at the front manned by a comrade Mao soldier must smell fishy)

...snakes...lots of them...ew!...

...fish...turtles...ok-la...

...eels...hmm.. I eat Unagi...

Then i spotted a "tudung saji" on top of a table and asked Carm to ask them to show us what was under it...

...hmm...wild boar perhaps?...

...It's dog meat! Huahuahuahahah! We both looked so stunned and were speechless. Alice and Growler quickly said, "Oh don't worry, we've already ordered that for you!" The look on our faces were priceless.

I just had to see how they cooked it so we paid the kitchen a visit and the cook proudly lifted out one paw for me to see...puke puke!

(check out the stunned look on Carmen's face)

An interesting dinner with Growler, Alice and Carmen...

We had deep-fried savoury dough balls that were sweet and sticky inside, tossed with crispy seaweed that gave it a salty tang! Very very yummy!

We also had a few other normal dishes like tofu, vegetables, etc...

And finally...the House specialty...Dog meat slowly cooked in double-boiled ginger soup chopped into bite-sized portions, served piping hot with a dash of black pepper!

Growler took a piece and plonked it onto my plate! It was a RIB! Eeekkk... I was overcome with a mixed feeling of nausea and intrigue...

But i guess curiousity got the better of me...and like i say all the time, "When in Rome..."

It wasn't too bad actually. It tasted a lot like mutton. I had 2 pieces just to be sure...But i just couldn't stomach the parts which were hairy or looked like the nose/lips...

We left the next day for Guangzhou...

We almost missed our domestic flight...(which wouldn't really come as a surprise to those who have had the pleasure of travelling with us) cause we got carried away potting outside here, enjoying the fresh cool air...

...and when we landed, we saw this sign outside Guangzhou airport...

After checking in Carm forced me to approach this group of chinese policemen to ask them in my newly *ahem* learned Mandarin where the nearest Mango Dessert Cafe was. He was surprisingly nice and actually walked us all the way there!

Fresh mango pureed and served with sago, pamelo, coconut cream... and Durian pancakes!

The dessert was to die for... Drools...We went back to the same cafe EVERY night!

"this ish shoooo goooood!!!"

The next day we got down to work again... Carm thought it funny to take photos of me working and looking so unglam...

So i childishly repaid her the favour...

And got my revenge by suggesting we took a motorbike-taxi! At first she was dead against it..dangerous-la... we carrying too many things-la...there's 2 of us so how to fit onto one-la... But after trying miserably to get a taxi, she caved in! The fun part was all 3 of us (driver included) squeezed into 1 and we had to hang on real tight as he weaved in and out of mid-day rush hour traffic! Woohooo!!!

And of course after all that hard work, we had to treat ourselves to some nice dim sum at the Hotel restaurant...

...more funny signs we tried deciphering...

More yummy beef noodles... with tender juicy succulent tripe! Sluurrrppp...

I liked this street a lot. Very quaint...

the original Lady Gaga...

Carm introduced me to this really yummy dessert!
Egg custard served with either gingko or red bean...

It looks kinda gross and gooey...but it's so delicious! The texture is smooth, light and airy...A little bit like soybean "tauhua" back home. But a hundreds better!

The menu was completely in mandarin and no one there could speak English.
So for the hundredth time i was sooo glad Carm was there!

walking along the Orchard road of Guangzhou...

...one of the very few photos we took together...

We wanted to try their BruceLee Fast Food...

Carm looked so much more convincing!

...hahahah...

It was quite yummy. The set meals even came with herbal soup...

...and we were reminded to "Watch Out for the Thief!"...

We had a really sumptious feast on one of the nights in Guangzhou. We went to this HUGE seafood restaurant that boasted it served thousands of dishes! We had so much fun checking out out the cool strange and bizarre foods they served!

...chocolates with Chinese Zodiac and shapes in Mah-jong tiles...

...a cute birthday cake!...all too pretty to eat!

...snakes and snake parts...

oh my sweetiepie sweet lips...muaahh!

...and what i would do to unfaithful lovers...

...lots of geoduck...
...crabs...

...soft shell turtles...so kesian... : (
..abalone...
...and really strange looking giant "worms"... ew...
our last photo together for the trip...
Finally, to Carm: I had so much fun and the memories we shared are simply priceless. You've been the best tour guide (yea, i know, even the locals believed you when you bluffed them that you were the local tour guide to this american tourist! LOL) I still can't believe you introduced me to your China contractor as "Lola Siew-che" just because i was bored. We did so many crazy things and we laughed so hard almost all day long! This was by far one of the BEST-EST trip ever with my Best-est friend. BFF! xoxo

The Wave House

2010-07-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing Bang tell me about this cool "sport" for a while and i was real keen to try it. So on my last trip to Singapore i allocated some time just for it. Bang and Chongyi picked me up from me hotel about 1 cos we planned to take the 2pm slot.

it costs s$30 for 1 hour...and s$50 for 2 hours... (since those 2 so hardcore, obviously we paid for 2 hours...not that i objected...
Until i saw the wave pool... OMG...almost pengsan...it looked terrifying!

The Flow Barrel...

"...100,000 gallons of water per minute flowing as fast as 30 mph (48 kmph) curl over a surface that looks like a section of a skateboard park. The result is a perfect, endlessly tubing six-foot wave that has similar power and challenge to many of the waves breaking along the reefs of Indonesia." Or just imagine throwing yourself into a giant washing machine- mid wash AND spin!

Lucky thing i was feeling *ahem* modest that day so i decided to go for the easier, less challenging Double Flowrider instead...but man.. there were so many people! A group of 20 guys booked up the entire left lane for a private session.. so they just had to witness how graceful i was gonna loook...hahahah

Lucky Bang and Chong Yi were hungry so we had lunch first. Phew... extra time to stall before making my grand debut... (and also praying fervently the party of 20 would leave by the time our turn came!!)

Ok, off to changing room...better take some last shots of myself still loooking...er...kissable...

Chong Yi and i posing in front of the kids wading pool...Well ok, i posed...she just looked cool in her boardshorts and all..(note to self...must buy a pair for a day like this)

Bang went first to demonstrate how its done...

He made it look sooo easy!

And Chong Yi looked sooo cool surfing!

After watching both of them i thought hmm.. Can't be that hard rite...

So it was my turn and the Flowrider taught me how to do it. He said stand on the board shoulder width apart, look straight and you've got to lean back...I started humming the FatJoe song Lean Back...that cracked both of us up! hahaha...

I used the rope to help me balance...the hard part was remembering to let go immediately when you fall (that is if you get to hann on for more than a second in the first place...) or else you kinda get yanked forward... Which happened to me a few times... ouch!!!

Wah... i think i tried about a dozen times before i finally managed to stay on for more than a couple of mere seconds!

...and even managed to look happy doing it! : )

Towards the end of our second hour i felt kinda tired and tried body surfing instead. This one was a lot easier and super fun...But of course doesn't look so cool la... Unless Bang's doing it...

The great part about the Wave House is that they open till late....

It looks even more awesome at night...

The Flow Rider and Flow Barrel is open till 11pm on weekdays and 2 am on weekends!

They have a beach bar right next to it as well... Apparently people have parties- drink, eat and surf at the same time...can't imagine doing that myself! Surfing drunk? Urgghh..

The restaurant's nice and cosy. Bang and Chong Yi says the food's alrite too. I liked how they incorporated bamboo elements throughout the place...

I had so much fun that day! I wish we had this in KL... Then i would secretly practise then phwoar! Bang and Chong Yi would be so impressed! heh... Really grateful to them both for bringing me there! : )

Doing his Yogi bear pose! : )

ShinChet and Keguang's Wedding in Singapore.

2010-05-25T02:32:00.000-07:00

I flew to Singapore last weekend to attend Shin Chet and Keguangs' wedding. It was at Inter-Continental Hotel, Bugis. Walking past the old-fashioned courtyard and entering the off-white lobby with black-and-white tile floors through French windows, the mix of classical-colonial and local lobby reminded me of the time i attended Gavin's 21st birthday there many many years ago...

I took the earliest possible flight (with barely 2 hours sleep the night before...) but sadly, i still couldn't make it for the "chip san leong" or "ragging of the Groom and Groomsmen"...
I sneaked into the bridal suite and saw the couple...aiya...so sweet....definitely worth the trip and lack of sleep!

When i first moved to Singapore more than 10 years ago, i was fortunate to have Chet as my roomie...she was a senior to a little innocent wide-eyed 12 year old me! Chet was in TKGS too so she very kindly took me under her care. She brought me to school on the first day- showed me where to wait for Bus No.33...where to buy school books...how to avoid Mrs. Foo's wrath...How to study for exams...(at your desk while twirling your hair and pulling out those wiry stubborn strands! LOL.) I'm not sure what was Mrs. Foo's intention by placing me in the same room as this TKGirl (and another Cedar Girl...) But i do know i couldn't have been happier! She wasn't exactly the best "role-model" when it came to adhering curfew, or any hostel rules for that matter... But she was a good role-model in school. A great all-rounder who excelled in basketball and got straight A's all the time! Chet was an excellent "big-sister" and one of the most fun room-mate ever!

Took the oppurtunity to congratulate the couple before they got swarmed by the crowd waiting downstairs...

The glowing bride browsing through her speech for the final time...

Her gorgeous evening gown...check out the long train!

Chet finetuning her good-wife habits...

The bridal party helped with the registration...

The ballroom was oh-so-pretty! I absolutely loved the chandeliers, mirrors, door frames...

...and the sweet tiffany blue and cream colored deco!

Cindy and i were in the hotel lobby changing money when we spotted this scrumptious guy... He was so drool-worthy. Yea, even at our age, we still drool... Then he suddenly appeared as one of Chet's guest! (not a very good pic of him here...but i didn't want to be too obvious..hahah)

The very very BIG wedding cake!

Cindy, Jo and I were seated at table No.1.. Closest to the stage... I mean, what was Chet thinking, putting us crazy 3 so near the stage?? But thanks, Chet, it was quite sweet of you not to banish us monkeys to the very far corner of the ballroom...

The delectable Tiffany blue box that held our favours...

Pretty favours in the form of cute little magnets...

Keguang attempts to pop the champagne without any incident...(or should i say "accident"... i heard about the previous wedding dinner they had when the cork hit an old uncle on his head...He was bald...And the cork left a nice red mark on his hiny head! Listening to Cindy tell that story was hilarious!!!) Luckily this time, it went very well!

We were busy chatting away at our table when this adorable little boy came up and presented a posey of white roses! So cute! : )

My date for the day, Cindy...who flew all the way back from USA to attend Chet's wedding...

so pretty...

with Cindy and Jo-lien...two of my closest presby friends...

our Bollywood-hide-behind-flower-stand pose...

Chet looked resplendent in her fushcia Cheongsam!

Can you imagine this is the very same girl who taught me how to survive and enjoy hostel life during my school days in Singapore...
I'll always appreciate how she taught me to get through the sabos at orientation... and to practice standing-broad-jump right above Mrs. Foo's bedroom whenever Mrs. Foo picked on us for being mischievious...LOL. Wow just look at her now.. all grown up and MARRIED!!!

Jo, Chet, Cindy and me...
MIA: the Twins and Yih Zi... It would have been really great if you 3 were there with us too!

We went back upstairs to our room and went a little bit crazy! No, we haven't been imbibing on alcohol.. not much anyway... We were just having fun with Jo's wigs...

Cindy being PCK... i don't really know how to interpret her tooth-picking pose...
It's just so darn funny!

Then Jo decided to send a message to Chet: It's your wedding night...
go ahead... nothing too sinful!!!

Sailor-Moon... (a very disturbing looking one!)

Ah-ha! the Bride walks in with shoking pink hair...

And throws her bouquet for the single ladies to catch!...
(check out my yellow mohawk, Jo's expression, and Cindy's super arms thrust!)

And.... Cindy gets it! : )

Finally, a nice group photo....

Congrats again, Chet and Keguang... Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this beautiful wedding day...May your marriage bring you more joy than you can imagine and i look forward to seeing what comes from you two! ; )

the Launch of the new BMW 5 series.

2010-05-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

I attended the launch party of the new BMW 5 series with my parents and some friends...It was held at KLCC. The huge ballroom was separated into smaller rooms with black fabric, somehow they managed to transform it into a gallery showcasing BMW's past and present models...

One room demonstrated the "kinetic art"... You stand on a square rubber mat and move your arms whichever way you fancy...Flap them up and down, wave it frantically...etc And hundreds of sensors will pick up the motion you create and will interpret it onto the white screen in front, giving you an image of the kind of car design you created...Pretty cool!

This is how my car design looked like with my left arm by my side, right hand holding camera to take picture...(Lost my parents hence no photographer!)

Finally, the the dining hall...I always liked dining at long tables...

Butter dish to hold the butter...Always reminds me of an episode of Mr. Bean when he wrongly orders Steak Tartare (only because it's the cheapest item on the menu), is absolutely disgusted by it and then tries to hide it by stuffing it under the dish, into the flower vase and hides some in the butter dish... Yea lame humour, but my Dad finds it hilarious! I'll laugh along because his guffaws are infectious!

Marie and her friend...

Dinner was created by Chef Chris Bauer...His name sounds so familiar.. I think he was executive chef at Frangipani's a while ago...

It was a unique and creative exploration of local flavours combined with established European cuisine...

Appetizer: Freshly shucked oysters with caviar, lemon pearls, and pickled Japanese cucumber...paired with Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Semillon 2008. I liked the lemon pearls..reminds me of Chef Adria of the famed elBulli's molecular gastronomy...

They actually bothered with the full set of cutlery and glasses!

2nd course: Tea smoked salmon with Echire creme fraiche, confit potatoes and salmon roe... paired with Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2007. It was tasty but what tiny portions!
Luckily the wine made up for it! : )

It was apparent SuanPin wasn't impressed with the portions!

But some photo-posing quickly restored her mood!

Sharon's appetite was whet!!

3rd course: Black rice risotto with grilled prawns, baby squid and mussels...Paired with Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2007...

Sharon with the Godfather...

The ladies loved my camera...I guess when life's good (with lots of wine) you can't help but glow...

I didn't wanna miss out cam-whoring...

My dad always layan my cam-whoring...
So can't really blame me for being the poseur i am!

Self-portrait...wah, see how ruddy the wine has made us both!!

(newly acquired)-Family portrait...with a kaypoh onlooker...

Mandarin Orange sorbet with confit zest to clean my palette...

Halfway through, i wandered off alone to search for more friends and was accosted by the photographer...
I unwillingly obliged him with my standard cannotgo-wrong-pose...sigh...ain't easy being a bombshell...

Main: Grilled betel leaf wrapped tenderloin with Savoy cabbage an Indonesian Nut sauce, paired with Cape Mentelle Zinfandel 2006.
When i first saw my dish i jabbed the mushroom on my plate.
My dad laughed at me: " HAHAHAH...Eh, you can't poke the keluak! Hahahah..." What i thought was a mushroom turned out to be keluak which brought back another flashback:
Eleine and I having dinner at a nyonya restaurant, Blue Ginger in Singapore during our college days where Siew Wai aka ("Trevor" then, aka "Desmond" now) was serving.
Ah, sweet memories!

Dessert: a trio of (left-right) French toast with roast apple and dulce de leche (darn fancy name for some sauce made of caramelised plain old milk!!), White chocolate cheesecake with dark chocolate sauce, and Chocolate terrine with pistachio mousse.

SuanPin watched how much she ate to maintain her (already very) svelte figure!

Marie was very pleased with her dessert...

But i guess anyone can tell what she craves next... : )

Nothing like a cup of coffee to wsh it all down...

With yummy pralines to sweeten the night!

The long dining hall's walls were lined with huge screens that reminded us why we were there...(BMW's very clever marketing strategy)

Deanna Yusof was the host for the night...She's gorgeous!

The new 5 series was finally unveiled!

"Never mind that car...lemme enjoy my cigar first!"

Everyone was jostling to get into the driver's seat to get a feel of the car.. But mummy dearest happily climbed into the rear seat, driver's side...hahahah....where she always rides!
Yea, she's retired from driving... I guess all those years of ferrying her 3 children to and fro music, ballet, swimming classes, basketball practices, birthday parties etc etc... she rightly deserves to be driven around...: )

Then it was my turn... When i posed next to the car, some kind dude scrambled to the front to close the hood...

And the other onlookers moved away...warning: serious posing in operation!

The car definitely had a nice facelift and yes the engine's even better than the previous generation. (Yea, i know otherwise they wouldn't bother building this, right?) I don't doubt that the handling and fuel efficacy would be even more superb as i'm a true beemer fan myself. The body however, was a little disappointing. Yes, the design is streamlined and sexier but i felt it was a little stingy on space (when compared to the previous 5). The driver's personal space would do very nicely for my petite frame but my mum complained that the rear seats was a little cramped...i think i'll stick with the 3, thank you very much...