To Shahira, with love from your family

We took this photo just for you. Papa made us do that thumbs-up pose. Dorky, I know but it felt like a good idea at that time. Haha.

Everyone's been asking about you. They miss you. And they all know about your 11th hour mad hunt for your missing passport and how it ended up in Papa's car when it was Mama's car we drove to Johor. Cik Wang says you are hopelessly careless, just like him. We agree.

Nur/ul's very excited about the London/Manchester/Santorini, Greece trip. She can't wait to visit you and Un/cle A/li has been asking lots of questions. Cik Wa/ng wants to come too, just to London. He says he only has 4 days of leave but wants to take unpaid leave or get this, CHILD CARE leave. We suggested he takes maternity leave as well. 4 months.

Shah/rir's on page 124 of Manja's October issue. Mama thinks he looks like a handsome Korean star there and Mak Zi/zah agrees. *choke* We will scan the page and email a copy to you.

Kak Na/na says too bad you missed their satay goreng and layang-layang AGAIN. Better luck next year.

Ba/ba thinks you've been enjoying life and travelling plenty. He asked about our Cambodia trip. Everyone just keeps asking questions about you.

The only question they ask me repeatedly is: When are you getting married? So, this year I'm wiser. I have a prepared answer: End of 2011 after Yaya's graduation and once our Livia house is ready, I will send you an invite. Good answer, no? Satisfaction guaranteed.

Datuk says HI!

Love,
Kakak

Siem Reap, Cambodia: Day 5 & 6

Sorry for going MIA. Been caught up with work and stuff.

So, finally, this is the last post on our trip to Siem Reap. I have a backlog of other posts and my uncle in KL says my entries are too picture heavy, so I'll keep this one short. Besides I'm typing this entry lying down with my laptop on my lap. Not the best of postures and I can't do it for long but I'm lazy like that.

We spent the remainder of our time in Cambodia on the Tonle Sap river.

We sat in a small boat as it sailed through the floating village with its mobile homes which can be pulled either up or down the river, schools, churches and a mosque, restaurants, the Gecko Environment information center and snake, crocodile and fish farms.





The Tonle Sap river is definitely a must-visit, if anything, to get a feel of how living on a river is like. A couple of years back children died from drinking polluted, unclean river water and every now and then, you hear of people being hurt in encounters with wild crocodiles.

And then, there's the politics of having different communities in one place: with North Korean refugees encroaching in living space thought of traditionally as being reserved for local Cambodians.



We took the tour run by the Tara River Boat Company.







We had a traditional Khmer lunch on the huge Tara boat anchored in the middle of nowhere.









We swung on hammocks all afternoon, rocked by the gentle breeze, munching on fresh fruit and sipping ice cold drinks.





On our way back to town, we stopped by a lotus farm. The air was filled with the heady scents of flowers in bloom.



Hungry again, we found a Mexican restaurant back in town.



And had a cheap and delicious Mexican lunch: fish on hotplate eaten rolled into soft tacos, a juicy beef burger with a side of thick cut fries and a spicy seafood pasta.





We happily washed down our meal with sweet punches and shakes.





And then, we headed home the next morning.

Siem Reap, Cambodia: Day 4

We woke up to a fourth breakfast spread in Siem Reap, but could not eat much as my sister and I were feeling a bit apprehensive about our spontaneous decision to donate blood later that day.



Aidil as usual was not bothered about anything and happily tucked in to his favourite banana bread and pancakes drenched in syrup. And I forced him to eat some greens. Haha.



We lazed about in our hotel rooms after breakfast and watched some cable before heading to the hospital.

My sister was damn nervous about donating blood and in her state of high anxiety, could not shut up. She claimed she did not even know her blood type, that she tried donating once back home and the nurses could not find her vein, how she was turned into a human pin cushion, how she was afraid she would pass out, yada yada yada bla bla bla.



She kept up this constant stream of worries all way to the hospital and right up to the point where the young,pretty good-looking and very much amused doctor on duty took her blood pressure.



Aidil took really funny photos of her face all scrunched up with worry and fright. But she's probably kill me if I upload the photos online.



The guys were cool about giving blood, having done so a couple of times before. My bag of blood took the longest time to fill up completely and the doctor observed amiably that I was quite slow.



The hospital's aides were very curious but happy to see us young tourists dropping by the hospital on a quiet Saturday. They gave us each an ice-cold can of Coke, a white t-shirt with the hospital's logo, a blood donation sticker and some iron tablets which we were instructed to take daily after meals. Awesome.



After that, we headed to Madam Sachiko's cookie shop which was down the road opposite the hospital for some nibbles. I had read online reviews about the tasty Angkor cookies at the shop and wanted to buy some for our family.



The cookies were really yummy and crisp. And the shop assistants let us sample all the different varieties: green tea, coffee, lotus, honey, butter and served us cold lotus tea.

I bought a box each of the honey and lotus cookies for my mom and butter cookies shaped like the Angkor Wat temple. I also bought a bag of black pepper banana crisps and the assistants gave us small packets of brown sugar in colourful fabric bags.



Right next to Madam Sachiko's was Cafe Puka Puka which I had also read about online. Some travellers had raved about the fantastic fruit shakes served at the cafe and we decided to try some.

We shared a lychee freeze, a mixed tropical fruit shake and a mango smoothie. Delicious. The drinks were thick and rich with fresh fruit pulp and bits.



Back at the hotel, we heaved ourselves into our beds, trying to conserve energy for our ATV tour later in the evening.

Aidil nipped to the fruit shop around the corner for durian. Of all things! And also ordered room service: a juicy beef burger with crispy fries and salad on the side.

That's what happens when we go on holiday: we pig out like calories don't exist.



And so the late Saturday afternoon in Siem Reap saw us gearing up for an ATV ride across the Cambodian countryside to catch the sunset.



Our guide was a Frenchman who had married a local and who knew his way well through the remote villages.



I felt a dart of excitement as we kicked off the tour. I love the countryside: the wild green grass, the endless sky, the sounds of animals, the fresh air, the feel of the wind caressing your skin.



My sister led the pack and to my horror, went speeding like a crazy roadster through the narrow back lanes and over potholes and large mud patches.



We saw plenty: villages with traditional Cambodian homes, friendly villagers, bunches of happy kids waving merrily at us, water buffaloes and cows, birds, monkeys, paddy fields, corn fields, monks hard at work mending roads.



I would have loved to stop every now and then to take photographs but everyone else was whizzing along the mud roads, so I had to keep up the pace.



Wan, trailing behind me, remarked that I was quite slow. Haha!



But I couldn't help myself. The countryside was really gorgeous.



A feast for my tired 'city' eyes.



Everything was fresh and quietly thriving.



Happily, we stopped for a bit to catch the sun setting on the paddy fields. But sadly, the late afternoon shower meant that the sky was slightly overcast and what would have been a pretty sunset eluded us.



Nonetheless, the ATV tour was terrific and I would sign up for another in a heartbeat. A must-try if ever you happen to be in Siem Reap.



Famished after the tour, Aidil coaxed us into having KFC. Fried chicken! Again!



And so we dragged our mud-covered asses to KFC.



Since Aidil defined our KFC meal a 'snack', back at the hotel, we showered and got dressed for dinner at...The Dead Fish Tower!



The food was not great but the ambience was one-of-a-kind. This 3-dimensional restaurant was a showcase of everything eclectic and whimsical. Small dining spaces were built into the restaurant at different heights and one had to do all sorts of climbing to get to the upper 'floors'. It's like being on the set of some weird Western adventure movie.

And there was a live performance by Apsara dancers standing on a raised platform in the middle of the restaurant inches from where we sat and sampled traditional Cambodian dishes with rice and smoothies and Shirley temple mocktails.

The Dead Fish Tower is worth a short visit.

Siem Reap, Cambodia: Day 3

We woke up in Siem Reap on the third morning clueless as to the day's itinerary. Free and easy, slow and steady, we figured. I recall snuggling deeper under the covers of my bed that morning, delaying the moment I'd have to get up and hop into the shower. Happily, my sister was still asleep.

Alas, the guys rang soon after, forcing us to dress and go down for breakfast.



As usual, the breakfast spread was good.



We ate a lot, intending to start off the day right.



But we ended up back in our rooms right after breakfast, feeling absolutely stuffed, idly flicking through the cable channels before finally deciding, on Wan's suggestion, to check out Siem Reap's one and only War Museum.



Wan declared this visit to be the highlight of his trip.



To enter, this open air, museum-in-a-garden, we had to pay USD3 each but it was money well-spent, we thought. The items on display were collected from various parts of Cambodia and painstakingly transferred to the museum.



We were led on a free tour of the grounds by Alvin - my sister claims that's his name- who is a local farmer-turned-guide. He had lost his left arm stepping on a landmine when he was a young boy working on his father's farm. Bits of the metal from the landmine remained embedded in his chest and when the weather gets cold, his chest will hurt. Alvin cannot afford the surgery needed to remove the pieces of metal in his chest.



Alvin's life story and family history is truly tragic (and I hope he was not bullshitting us) and we really felt for him. His whole family died from a land mine blast as they were farming their land. Later, his aunt and her family took over his father's farm and chased him out. Alvin went to live with monks in a monastery where he learned basic English.



As Alvin explained, life's difficult for the average Cambodian, living with the legacy of war and the Khmer Rouge regime.



Alvin showed us the cornucopia of weapons used during the war of 1975 -1979 which saw a targeted genocide of certain ethnic minorities and the intellectual class.



We examined AK47s, pistols, rockets, bombs, tanks supplied by the Russians and Americans, knives and steel blades, and an endless array of 'boy toys'.



Being firmly anti-war, I refused to touch anything, noting that many of the items like the knives and old uniforms still had obvious bloodstains.



There is a great deal of history in the place and ghosts too. Alvin claims to have seen ghosts of soldiers past lingering in the museum at night fall.



It's very sad, looking at man's capacity for destruction on display. We saw rusted bombshells and hand grenades stacked up wall-to-wall and thought about the lives that were lost.



We saw landmine casings planted in the ground and Alvin demonstrated how easy it was to accidentally step on one and be scarred for life in an instant.



And to think that just as Cambodia is struggling to rid herself of 3 million live and active landmines (a very dangerous job performed by specialist landmine removers, mostly women), countries (including ours) are designing and manufacturing more sophisticated models.



After the very informative tour, we made a donation to the museum and thanked Alvin, wishing him all the very best.



Still a little shaken, I suggested we head to Blue Pumpkin for some comfort food. The fruit shakes and beef burgers served there are delicious.



And I love the ice-creams as well. For lunch that day, I had caramel and rocky road, both sweet and rich.



And Aidil polished off a slice of moist pineapple cake.



We headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the free concert held every Saturday by Dr. Beat Richner in aid of the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Siem Reap.



Titled "Beatocello", the concert has been a permanent fixture at the auditorium next to the children's hospital for the last 4 years, I think.

In between playing and performing, Dr Beat Richner explained the dire healthcare situation in Cambodia: the lack of medical funding, facilities and basic health education and awareness. Children were dying of common diseases like flu / cold, dengue, malnutrition, simply because the average Cambodian parent could not afford basic medical treatment for their child.

He also showed us a video documentary of the efforts made by him and his team to improve conditions. Watching it, we decided to donate some money and blood to Kantha Bopha's blood bank the next day.



After the concert, we headed to the Pub Street for dinner. The area was colourful and noisy, with plenty of small, beautifully decorated cafes offering good and cheap food.



We settled down at Le Tigre de la Papier for some fruit shakes and local dishes.



My sis and I shared a fresh shrimp salad with plenty of crunchy greens and dressed with a homemade sweet/spicy sauce.



Wan, Shahira and I had rice with stir-fried beef, fish or squid.



Our meals were quite tasty. I quite like Cambodian cooking.



Aidil was more adventurous. He wanted to try the local BBQ and so ordered a platter of fresh meat with vegetables for grilling, which turned out to be pretty satisfying.



And so at the close of our third day in Siem Reap, we had good food, great company and a deeper insight into the country's past and present, having been told inspiring, heart-wrenching, real life stories of tragedy, triumph and survival.

Siem Reap, Cambodia: Day 2

We woke up early on Friday to make full use of our one day pass to the Angkor Wat temple. Mind you, this ancient site is gargantuan and one actually needs a driver and vehicle to take you to the various complexes and temples. Walking from temple to temple is NOT an option.

But first things first, whack the breakfast buffet!



I prefer most things oriental, so while everyone else was tucking into hotcakes with maple syrup, croissants, toast and cereal, I was happily spooning mouthfuls of plain porridge with spicy cabbage kimchi and fish sauce. Heh.



And then we were back to Angkor Wat, very excited to start exploring.



We stopped first to buy an Angkor Wat guide book from a bunch of Khmer kids who ripped me off of USD5. I had to fight my way down from an initial selling price of USD27 to USD10. Wan later got his from another vendor for USD5 without having to bargain. %@$^!*@&!!



We headed first, past the moat, to the central Angkor Wat complex with its North, South, East and West Galleries and four basins.



A roaming fortune teller was holding court that day, very convincingly telling some poor Western soul his life's fortunes.



We were more interested though in posing for pictures amongst the ruins dating back to as early as the 12th century.



Angkor Wat is essentially a city of temples and palaces for the generations of Khmer kings. The architecture is grand, very detailed and combined many techniques and building materials.



The temples are in the main multi-level pyramids with surrounding galleries, pavilions and towers. There are special annexes serving as libraries and chambers for the kings.



There were even swimming pools constructed for the kings.



I was mostly impressed with the size of the temples and palaces and the amount of careful thought and planning which undoubtedly went into constructing buildings of that scale.



Plus, the structures held religious symbolic value and many served a higher purpose. For example, the stairs up to the pyramid temples were intentionally made steep to symbolize the effort one would have to put in to ascent the heavens.

And the intricate carvings on the walls of the temples depict the varied history of the Khmer people. Nothing was built as an afterthought.




The ancient Khmers must have been very brilliant architects, craftsmen and planners. I have been to the pyramids in Egypt in 2005 and I think ancient Angkor Wat is as impressive.



To date, Angkor Wat serves as a place of worship for the Khmers.



Monks, both young and old, are a common sight.



From the main complex, our driver took us to Bayon, the State Temple of King Jayavarman VI and his successors.



Built in the late 12th to 13th centuries, Bayon is a crowded and somewhat confusing complex of 'face' towers.



Bayon's complexity is largely attributed to the fact that the site has gone through several architectural changes, with additions made by the later kings who chose to adopt Bayon as their own State Temple.



Personally, I liked Bayon because of the 'crowded' towers, especially towards the centre of the temple.



The deeper we wandered into the heart of Bayon and the higher we climbed, the more interesting the temple became.



Inwards and upwards, Bayon is rich in detail, regal and quietly beautiful.



When we were there, we saw people just sitting quietly amongst the ruins, taking in the pleasure of being surrounded by beauty. I am not kidding.



But the temple complex was so confusing, that Aidil and I got separated from Shahira and Wan halfway through our exploration.



We tried calling out for them but gave up. Haha.



The ancient Khmers must have had some superb navigational skills.



Imagine getting lost just trying to find the library or worst, the toilet especially when you needed to go very badly. But then again, maybe they simply peed in the surrounding jungle.



My next favourite site was Ta Phrom.



Once a major temple in the late 12th to 13th centuries, the temple now stands in a partly collapsed state.



Much of nature has taken over from the bricks, wood and stone.



The strangler fig and silk-cotton tress grow intertwined amongst the ruins and the decision was made to leave Ta Phrom in this 'natural' state.



Spectacular, don't you think?



It felt surreal walking around the compound of galleries, towers and secret pathways.



And everything was supersized.



We felt so tiny and insignificant.



Truly.



You have got to see Ta Phrom for yourself up close.



The feeling is indescribable. I'm glad the four of us made this trip.



After a hot and sticky day of exploring, we headed back to our hotel for a dip in one of the few if not the only saltwater swimming pool in Siem Reap.



I think I like this concept.

Saltwater's good for the skin, makes one more buoyant and does not dry out your hair with chemicals.



Feeling famished, we googled for a halal restaurant in Siem Reap and found the address for the Family Muslim Restaurant in the Cham Muslim neighbourhood. Our tuk-tuk driver was a little lost in getting there but we found the restaurant right next to the mosque. The restaurant was run by Ustaz Haji Musa (a Cham Cambodian who spoke fluent Malay) and his wife, and was only opened as and when there were Muslim travellers who wanted to sample local cooking.



Over dinner, the ustaz was a gracious host and told us of the life, hardships and joys of the Cham Muslim community in Cambodia. In particular, he spoke of the lack of jobs for the young and able, the lack of support from the government and how the community needed to turn to neighbouring Muslim countries, namely Singapore and Malaysia (but not arrogant Brunei), for financial aid.



We empathised with him, resolving to do more in our personal capacity and not to forget our Muslim relations overseas.



Dinner was a home-cooked meal of lightly stir-fried vegetables, tender beef, seafood soup and omelette - simple dishes put together based on whatever ingredients were available in the ustaz's kitchen.



Personally, this was one of the best home-cooked meals I've had in a while. We even ordered extra plates of the vegetables and omeletter. Dinner was so tasty that Wan declared he would pay any price for it. Haha!

After dinner, the ustaz was kind enough to drive us back to town! He also gave us his namecard. So if you are planning to travel to Siem Reap and wish to look up the Cham Muslim community there, ask us. We will give you the details.

=)

Siem Reap, Cambodia: Day 1

We had an unpredictable 5 days in Cambodia. Departed at 6 am on Thursday and arrived in Siem Reap International Airport at about 9 am.





We started off aiming for a relaxing holiday, planning only to eat well and take in the historic sites at a leisurely pace.



Hence, Aidil booked us rooms at a four star hotel - Prince D'Angkor - which turned out be beautifully furnished with great amenities (pool, free wireless internet, 84 channels of cable TV), conveniently located on Sivatha Boulevard and which had one of the best, most genuine services by any hotel staff I have met thus far.



And the hotel had an excellent daily breakfast buffet.



I loved the spread: fresh salads, an omelette station, congee, noodles and rice, hot soups, cold cuts and meats, grilled and stir fried vegetables, breads and cakes, cereals, yoghurt and fruit.



Yummy! Aidil and I whacked the breakfast buffet every morning.



But the trip evolved into something more than the usual rest-and-relax. In the days to come, we had interesting encounters and experiences and I feel so enriched by what I have seen and done. Shall tell you more as we go along.

After checking in, resting and stuffing our faces with breakfast, we headed out to the Center Market and Old Market.



Getting around was easy with tuk-tuks aplenty. We were there during the low travel season and there weren't many tourists around so the tuk-tuk drivers had to fight for every tourist dollar. But the Cambodians are friendly and not very pushy (with the exception of those at Angkor Wat). And they speak English fluently!



Each tuk-tuk ride out to town or back was a standard USD1 - 2. Of course, Siem Reap town being small, it was very possible to walk from our hotel to town but we took the tuk-tuk most of the time because we were simply too lazy.



Back to the first day. After some walking around and checking out the traditional Cambodian wares and crafts, we decided to eat again!



Lunch was at the Cambodian Soup Restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet.



Very colourful and cosy. The decor was bright and fun.



In fact, many of the restaurants and cafes were uniquely decorated. Makes for an interesting dining experience every time.



Aidil and I had amok chicken and fish with white rice for USD3.25 each.



Tender pieces of chicken and fish cooked in a mild curry with vegetables and a dollop of coconut cream.



Cambodian food tends to be slightly sweet, less spicy than Thai food, featuring ingredients found also in Chinese cooking but flavourful all the same. I thought our dishes at the Cambodian Soup Restaurant were pretty good and the servings were quite big.



Shahira and Wan shared a plate of seafood noodles with egg, vegetables and some gravy.



And our set lunches came with a free drink each.



After lunch, we headed to the fruit stalls for ripe, red lychees bursting with juice and sweet mangosteens and walked back slowly to our hotel to watch cable TV. OMG. Time passed by really, really slowly in Siem Reap. We managed to do all the above in one morning.



So in the late afternoon, we decided to take a tuk-tuk ride out to Angkor Wat to catch the sunset.



We bought a USD20 day pass for the next day which entitled us to enter part of the grounds for free after 5 pm the day before.



Angkor Wat is supremely gorgeous.







Very impressive - from the grand scale to the fine details, the Khmers thought through every piece of architecture.







The place where time takes a backseat.









And the weather that early evening was just right.

















A mild setting sun, a light breeze and the air abuzz with the happy sounds of children and tourists just having a really good time on the grounds.







Tourists mostly from the West, India, China, Japan and Korea were milling about snapping photos with their DSLRs - almost everyone had a DSLR - picnicking and drinking beer or interacting with the super friendly local kids.









Sadly though, the weather turned cloudy and the sun setting behind the trees was hardly visible.





But no matter. We were contented having gotten our first look at the magnificence of Angkor Wat.

Our tuk-tuk driver took us back to town for more grub.



Had delicious cakes, ice-creams with interesting flavours (marshmallow & licorice, banana & galangal, ginger & black sesame) and shrimp spring rolls at The Blue Pumpkin which was done up quite like the Bed Supperclub in Bangkok - the second level was lined on two sides with big white daybeds and soft pillows.







The desserts at The Blue Pumpkin turned out to be so good that we came back every other day for more.



Then we ended the day with a bucket of 19 pieces of Kentucky fried chicken from the only KFC outlet in Siem Reap which (1) was halal (2) was a 5 minute walk from our hotel and (3) accepted visa. Hahaha.

Awesome.

I love/hate Bangkok

Last month, we saw some drama in the workplace as my favourite people tendered their resignation. To end May on a sweet note, we packed our bags and headed off to Bangkok for some retail therapy and quality time together.



The trip was crazy.



We stayed at "Take a Nap" guesthouse on Rama IV which unfortunately, no taxi driver has heard of. Haha. We took the room for 6 persons (the biggest available) with a pretty ocean theme. Yes, every room came with a different theme. We had to share one bathroom between the 6 of us so we came up with a shower schedule. Inez, the director of showers, would be the first to wake up each morning and direct us, her 'troops' to wake up and take turns to bathe for not more than 5-10 minutes. I'd be the first to bathe, then Liza or Adi, next Ding (the slowest) or Sam if she beats Ding to it, and finally Inez. By the end of it, I'd be back in bed asleep.

Breakfast was provided and the guesthouse was set up / furnished well, with free internet services at the reception area. And damn, there was a particularly hot, sensitive new age, Daniel Henney-like male employee who worked the night shift at the reception area. Needless to say, we were always hovering around the reception, badgering him with our random questions.

And at night, we'd blast club music and strut around in our new clothes and things. Damn fun.



We were very nearly conned by scheming tuk-tuk drivers who insisted that the Bo Bae market we wanted to visit was closed and insisted on taking us to some dodgy tourist traps so they could earn commissions. One driver did not even let my friends get off the bloody tuk tuk! Boy, I was not amused.



Then there was a strange, strange taxi driver who kept staring at my friends' legs. I tapped him hard on his shoulder and demanded to know why he was staring at us. The ass just gave some weird answer forcing me to call the Thai Passenger Protection Hotline (while still in the cab) to complain very loudly about his odd antics. He then turned off his car's engine and we had to alight in the middle of a traffic jam. I was so incensed I stood by the roadside and gave him a full introduction to my middle finger.

Shopping, however, was fantastic. Initially, I told myself I absolutely must refrain from excessive shopping because I want to, need to, must save money. How ambitious was my resolution not to shop in Bangkok, for feck's sake? I ended by buying lots of chic dresses for work for anything between $6 to $12, a big, off-shoulder tee and some tops, pretty floral day dresses for less than $12, 4 bags, 5 pairs of shoes and accessories including 30 fabric bangles.



Food was not too bad. Tasty but some meals were pricey in some 24-hour cafes or came in such small servings I wasn't very satisfied. I could eat their small-assed pad thais in 6 bites.



Halal food was not difficult to find though, from sidewalk cafes to stalls at the foodcourt in the bigger malls.



We had good local halal fare at Saman Islam stall right beside the clock tower at Chatuchak Weekend market.



Of course, the street food did not disappoint. Cheap, varied and good. From banana pancakes drizzled with sugar:







To hot cups of corn with a whole lot of salt, sugar and sweet condensed milk:





And deep fried everything.



AND DELICIOUS THAI TEAS!



I drink mostly plain water (and almost nothing else daily save for milk at night and the occasional sweet drink) but on this trip, I switched plain water for iced thai tea at every meal. OMG.





We bought fleshy thai durian and devoured them sitting cross-legged on the floor in our room. So good.

The ice-creams were also awesome. We had large scoops of Baskin Robbins for SGD2 per scoop. Yummy.



And more sweet treats:



Homemade ice-cream and crepes from Platinum's food court.



And popsicles on a blistering hot day in Chatuchak Weekend market.



Plus, we booked a 3-hour, white-table cloth dinner cruise on a yacht which sailed up and down the Chao Phraya River! The weather that night was beautiful as we cruised past the Royal Palace, the tall buildings of the city and the magnificent, well-lit bridges. We had a buffet dinner of continental and thai dishes including fresh salads, seafood, steaks, pasta, soups and desserts. There was also live music and so WE DANCED LIKE A BUNCH OF CRAZY PEOPLE.

In a city which needs no introduction (I mean, c'mon, which Singaporean has not been to Bangkok? haha), I found new adventures with the girls.

Diving Weekend in Tioman

We departed Singapore at around 7.30pm in two vans and sped on the dark back country road to the Mersing Ferry Terminal so as not to miss the 11.30pm ferry.


The ride to Mersing to catch the ferry to Tioman was nothing less than violent. I wish we had flown instead.

But for all that it was worth, our first trip to Tioman was fantastic. It was my first time in Tioman and the waters were as clear as I thought them to be, though Shaz claims that Rawa waters are much clearer. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be going to Rawa anytime soon since it does not have any diving facilities.

We were housed at Paya Beach Resort in quad-sharing kampung huts which made it like a camping experience. I believe that it is the only resort on that particular beach. The nightly BBQs, restaurants and shops contributed to the lively atmosphere - not to mention the many divers, snorklers and holidaymakers milling about in the village and on the beach.




You could see the many live corals that littered the seabed near the shore. And oh by the way, we did not edit these pictures.







































But the most exciting and eventful experience was what we were there for - Diving! As part of the PADI Open Water course, we had to log a minimum of 4 dives. We planned for 5 dives - 3 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.

We started our Saturday at 9.45am with a hearty breakfast (BIG MISTAKE!!) before setting off to our first dive site, Renggis. The waters were rather choppy and the dive boat was rolling and pitching. We regretted not consuming the anti-motion sickness pills. I was getting quite sea sick and had some trouble rigging up my equipment properly. But Shaz... Shaz was just incapacitated. When she got round to rigging up her equipment and getting into her wetsuit, so far so good - she even got round to carrying the dive tank on her back and getting ready to jump into the clear beautiful azure waters of Renggis for her first dive. Then, the inevitable happened.

Shaz puked her breakfast, which consisted of omelette with tomatoes and mushrooms and other stuff, out before she jumped into the waters.

Then, she jumped into the water that she just puked into. How gross, right? Can't get any worst, right? Wrong.

Shaz puked again.

Everyone else on the boat was just stunned. Thank God, I jumped in first and was floating away from the boat. Apparently, to add salt to the wound, fishes raced to the boat to feed on her puke! The divemaster said "And here come the fishes". I really feel for the rest of the newbie divers who had to dive in after her. LOL.

Lesson #1: Consume your anti-motion sickness pills and do not have a big breakfast before your dive.

Lesson #2: Go into the water before Shaz does.








And so we all got into the water (relatively) safely. During our first dive, we were required to perform some basic underwater tasks like clearing a partially flooded mask and recovering a loose regulator (that thing you breathe air from). However, before all that, you have to descend into the water. During the descent, you would need to equalize your ears as the pressure on your ears increases as you descend further. This is rather essential and basic to your diving safety. However, you would not be able to equalize if you have blocked nose - say, from a cold or SINUS.

Guess what? Shaz conveniently forgot that she has sinus. So she had to descend VERY SLOWLY into the water trying her best to clear her ears. She took a good 10 mins to descend - holding up people on the surface (since we had to descend two-by-two with our buddy). She took so long that the instructor asked me to descend first, and I took only 1 minute to torpedo to the seabed. Haha. After 10 minutes, she finally equalized and completed her tasks - the rest of us waiting for her at the seabed almost ran out of air. LOL.

Lesson #3: If you have sinus, make sure you bring a decongestant during your dive!

As fate has it, she will suffer this problem for the rest of the 5 dives even to the point of having to abort the 5th non-compulsory dive.


(Credits: Sunny Cove LLP)


(Credits: Sunny Cove LLP)

But she could finally equalize, she was like a fish underwater - swimming about gaily and happily pointing out shoals of fishes, sea urchins and the lush marine life. She has much better buoyancy than I do! I must admit that I had no less trouble - in fact, my diving issues are more dangerous - even to the point of amusing.

I am big. Let's admit that. Therefore, big things displace more water and they tend to float better. I float too well. I had to put on 5 2kg weight belts in order to sink properly. Even after I descended into the water, I have this tendency of floating back up like a balloon. Throughout the dives, we had to regularly account for our buddies and to report if we lose our buddies.

While others look for their buddies by looking horizontally across the underwater horizon, Shaz will have to look up to find me and she will, almost always, find me floating away upwards to the surface. A few too many times the instructor had swim up to drag me down. I must give credit to Shaz for being a fantastic buddy in that she knows where I would naturally be (i.e. floating away like a balloon). During my last dive, I was buddied up with someone else as Shaz had to abort it. Again, I floated away. My buddy almost reported me as lost until the instructor spotted me floating upwards and away (due to strong current).

That's not the end of the problem with buoyancy! When I finally manage to descend, I torpedo and, quite a few times, almost landed onto beds of sea urchins (which would send you to hospital straight away) only to be alerted by my fellow divers. Argh, I really do need to perfect my buoyancy control techniques.

Lesson #4: If you are big, put on more weights so that you will not float away like a balloon underwater.



(Credits: Sunny Cove LLP)

Diving requires you to breathe in a mixture of compressed air that consists of about 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. This means that if you dive deeper than 20 metres, you would be pushing it abit too far with that mixture as the oxygen is just insufficient and your body would start to consume the increasingly soluble nitrogen.

Fact: Nitrogen is bad for you and your body. It causes mental impairment akin to being intoxicated by alcohol.

According to the instructor, that happened to me at 12 metres during the 3rd dive. We were supposed to do a simple underwater navigation but visibility was rather bad as some people torpedoed into the seabed causing the sand and mud to reduce the visibility. The idea was simple: the instructor will give me the bearing and I will have to take the bearing from my watch compass and proceed in that direction.

When my turn came and Shaz was waiting to follow me, the instructor gave me a bearing of ZERO degrees which looked like an "OK" sign underwater. For some reason, I had no idea what the freak he was saying. He started pointing to his wrist, and for the life of me I thought he was asking me for the time since I was wearing my watch. I was wondering why was he asking me for the time. I kept looking at the compass and my watch. I finally figured out that he was giving me a bearing but I forgot that I was supposed to proceed. So there I was, confused 12 metres kneeling underwater with a few people wondering what the hell I was doing by not proceeding. The instructor started gesturing to the direction but his gesture looked like he was asking me to exhale. So there I was, looking at my compass and following his 'instruction' to exhale - still not moving. The instructor got so frustrated he started grabbing his hair underwater - with hindsight I found that scene very amusing. Only after 5 minutes, I got the idea and started swimming away with Shaz in tow.

Lesson #5: I have no idea how... but try to keep a clear head underwater and focus on the instructions! If not, make sure you have a buddy who would smack you on the head underwater.





Outside the dives, the waters at Tioman are simply gorgeous - lush with marine life and fishes that come in shoals. Totally fascinating. There were shoals of anchovies milling about in the waters at the jetty, and the occasional teams of barracudas preying on them.







Oh yes, before I forget. Please make sure that you bring loads of sunscreen. The morning, midday and evening sun is just simply too much for me to take. Shaz and I were baked, though not as bad as the pale Chinese and Caucasians who looked like lobsters.











For all the trouble and physical exertions required by this activity, diving, I must admit, is quite addictive. I am longing to go underwater again. I can't wait to attend the PADI Advanced Open Water course in July or August with Shaz, and this time, with my friends.

Phuket, anyone?


(Credits: Sunny Cove LLP)

First Step to Diving: Passing the Theory Exam

Aidil and I sat for our dive theory paper today, not having properly studied the textbook which our dive operator, Sunny Cove, had sent us 3 months back. Aidil claims he studied his text by perusing only the pictures and diagrams in the book last night. I studied mine intermittently on days I was bored on the train commuting to
and from work.

To pass the exam we could only afford to get 12 out of 50 multiple choice questions - ranging from basic physics / science to challenging calculations of residual nitrogen time, actual bottom time and total bottom time - wrong.

Aidil did not even bring along his own pocket-sized copy of the Recreational Dive Planner (the table which calculates maximum allowable dive times based on dive depth and pressure) and had to borrow mine (very annoying!) until I told him to refer instead to Sunny Cove's big-assed A5-sized planner which they use to teach the class.

So expectedly, we both nearly just passed with scores of 38/50 (for Aidil) and 42/50 (for me, only because Aidil helped me with 4 qns, haha!) What a joke, the two of us. We fidgeted and nudged our way through the paper like a bunch of cheating teenagers.

Tomorrow we have our 5-hour confined pool session with our dive instructor. Wonderful. Soaking in chlorine for hours in the midday sun means coming out of the pool looking like sun-dried raisins.

Evidently we are off to a good start. Haha!

No, seriously, diving is going to be awesome. Because diving works on the buddy system, it's a great activity for those looking to strengthen their relationship with their partners and find new adventures along the way. It's no wonder then that the others who sat for the test today were couples going on the same dive trip with us and they looked like the fun and outgoing type.

After 4 years together, it's time to spice up our lives, yes? Once we've obtained our diving certificates and even as we continue diving, Aidil plans to get a boating licence next because yes, the dude wants us to buy some type of boat somewhere in the near future. *tsk tsk tskk* (I have severe sea-sickness.)

Anyway, I can't wait for this coming weekend!

April's only post

Hi All!

I am sorry I have not be keeping in touch. I just cannot find the time to blog plus I have nothing to write about! Work is crazy. My social life is at an all time low. My extended family and friends text me and I do not reply, I read personal emails 1 week too late and I had to bail out on the last dinner date with my girlfriends because I landed myself with a new, urgent case.

I think my friends have given up on me. These days, the only time I get to catch up with some of them is when we see each other in court or when we are opposing counsels.

I do not know how other professional women manage to juggle multiple responsibilities but I can only manage one big thing on my plate right now: work / the law.

I just need more time. The first 3-5 years is always the hardest but it's all part of the necessary training. (I know, I am repeating this ad nauseum but I need to keep motivating myself to shoulder on.)

So I guess I'll see you guys next month. In May I am going to take a couple of breathers. After all, I'm turning 25! I can't wait.


Cheers
Shaz

Picnic, one time!

Hello again! I'm back and better now. Have decided to stick it out in my firm for this year because they are taking a new approach and I generally enjoy the work.

Anyways! I've been spending a lot of time with a bunch of insane people from the office.

Apart from shared office drama and gossips, we been living it up with themed dressing on Casual Fridays, spontaneous movie-watching (Slumdog Millionaire, Benjamin Button, He's just not that into you, Departures), random sleepovers, karaoke sessions, pigging out / stuffing face, late night drives and early morning dips in the swimming pool.




Today we had a picnic. Hey ladies, because there are so many photos, I'm just going to caption them okay?



Today was damn fun.



A welcome change from the messes and stresses of the office.



We planned a potluck.



Everyone chipped in.



Xann bought apple tart from Carrefour.



Xueting's hotdogs.



Inez's homemade sushi.



And red konnyaku jelly.



Xueting's balls. Sotong balls.



My seafood bee hoon.



Dinosaur nuggets! Courtesy of Xueting again.



Everyone save for Liza and I were complaining about the heat.



"Puteri lilin"s all of them.



We played charades.



It ended in a tie.



Then Sam came along with Twister.



And we played in our dresses, undies and all on display.



Posed a lot for the camera.



Meet my insane friends.



Me trying to smile in a non-retarded way.



I love the colour green.



Momok.



Pretty.



Adibah the emo.



Picture perfect.



Spastic.



And natural.



Liza the brat.



You can put this girl in a nice dress but not take the tomboy out of her.



Jump.



Squidward.



Muthusamy says, "let's go up there!"



I'll miss her when she leaves the firm to start uni.



"Look, no hands!"



=)



Haha!



Supergay and Squidward. Inside joke, sorry!



Flowergirl.



Inez's dress is so pretty.



And then it started pouring and we ran for shelter, got really wet and went home.

=)

Dear Friends

I am so sorry I have not been online in a while. Thank you for your messages on facebook and the chatterbox. I really appreciate your concern.

I am experiencing a bit of turmoil at work and it has taken up all my time and energy. I am at the crossroads and I need to make a firm decision soon.

I am grateful for friends and family and I pray all of you are doing well.

I will update as soon as I have bounced back okay!

Cheers,
Shaz

P.S. No posts from Aidil currently because he is happily busy in school and all that jazz, and also because he still thinks blogging is 'gay'. Haha.