Saturday, September 25, 2010

Day 14 / 14

Back in Singapore and blogging from home...

Krabi went well!
Went out to sea with Jingle and Richard the diving instructor, really excited to see him make his first dive and then surface safely after 1 hour! I got to do some snorkelling and enjoy the sun and sand too, which was good..

Speaking of which, that was actually my first snorkelling experience and I did it all on my own! While they dived, I just put on the snorkelling gear and jumped in! It was easier cos Richard kindly lent me a pair of fins in my size, which made swimming much easier.. Sure it actually took me half an hour before I gathered enough courage to jump into the sea and another 5mins floating in the water to convince myself it's ok to put my head in the water and breathe through the snorkel but I did it!!

Once I saw the fishies, I managed to psyche myself up enough to swim away from the longtail boat and venture further where I can see corals..

So there I was, finally snorkelling away admiring the little fishies when suddenly, I was surrounded by a whole lot of jellyfish! A whole swarm of them, big, small and minute jellies! I didn't even see them at first until I felt a stinging sensation on my arm, and then suddenly, many small pricks on my legs, and that's when I started to notice the little buggers swimming around me.. So immediately, I had to turn back and swim towards the boat and got out of the water as fast as I could..

But overall the day went really well.. End result- jelly stings, a happily grinning Jingle and a sunburn haha!


In a valiant attempt to save my skin (literally), I indulged in a luxurious aloe vera body wrap the next day and spent the day lazing in the shade reading a book while he finishes up his SSI OWD course.

So then that's it, end of compliance leave..

Back to reality..

I'll be moving from Credit products to structured derivatives come next week, so many many more learning coming up.. I can only hope it's going to be good for me I guess..

Back to stark reality, guess I should remote check my emails to clear them now... Heinnnn...


------ Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Day 11 / 14

Wow time flies!!

We don't have free wifi in hotel in Krabi, so I can only update bits and pieces in restos that we eat at..

Krabi so far, ok bah. Ao Nang beach itself is not with white sands so it takes the "pristine" image off a bit but it is more laid back and quiet, not so touristic. Our resort hotel is great too, about a 10min slow walk to the beach, which is nice actually.

Yesterday while strolling along the sidewalk, we came across a dive school, so being the silly girl with tons of false bravado, I decided to go ahead and sign up for dive classes with Jingle (thou yes, I'm scared of water) lol.. Today we had the theory class and pool lessons and I think, really, water is not my thing. It's so unnatural and difficult for me to breathe thru the tank even after at least 3 hrs in the pool.

So! Tmr, I'm gonna head out with them and enjoy the ride and maybe snorkel a bit while Jingle does his first dive maybe. Depends on my mood tmr bah.
Maybe next time when I get some bravado and feel more prepared, I'll have a second go at diving classes hehe..

Meanwhile, my false bravado gets called and retreats into yet another glass of Singha........


------ Monday, September 20, 2010

Day 8 / 14

Bangkok is great great Great! Forgot how good things are in Bkk..
Things are fine here, the Red Shirts held a rally today at Central World but it was peaceful and there weren't any resulting riots. In fact things felt safe enough that we braved the walk from our hotel near Platinum Mall to Chit Lom BTS station.. There were loud cheerings and whistling and waving of red flags once in a while but it was pretty orderly.. So that's gd..

Anws quick summary of our 3 days in BKK so far-

Day 1: Landed in the late morning, then took the very new, fast and still very cheap airport express train in to town- 15 baht only! S$0.65! Cheaper than my ride from Boon Keng to Dhoby Ghaut haha!
In the aftnn, it rained pretty heavily so we headed to the nearest mall- Platinum Mall! Yay! Then to Panthip Mall for electronic browsing, and A&W for dinner yummy.. Ice cream waffle, curly fries and root beer float =)
And to round up the nite, we had green mangoes and went for a 1-hr long foot massage (well deserved after all that walking and climbing in Cambodia and of cos, 1 day of shopping!)

Day 2: After a good hearty breakfast in the hotel, we headed to Chatuchak where I surprisingly bot quite a few stuffs! The quality of goods there has improved quite a fair bit I must say! Bot aroma therapy oil, some tshirts and singlets, shorts, a bag. He bot quite a few tshirts too, was a fruitful trip! All while drinking ice cold watermelon juice and eating grilled sausages as we strolled in Chatuchak =)
We managed to leave Chatuchak justttt before it started pouring and we made our way to a tailor at Nana. He got 2 shirts tailored, so that's another aim of the trip fulfilled.. Then I went lingerie shopping at Siam Paragon while he idled around. The haul was good!! There was a sale and I got some really good quality stuffs at a really gd price! Happy!!
Then we headed to a resto for some really good Thai food, and after dinner, I went to do a manicure (200 baht only for a French manicure with some really cute flowers!)

Day 3: After a breakfast which included a small portion of pad-thai, we walked around near our hotel in the morning, then braved that walk to the BTS station and took it downwards to the pier, then took the local boat upwards towards Khao San.. Today we basically just chilled in Khao San the whole day.. Had nice pad-Thai from one of the many roadside stalls for lunch (30baht cheap and gd!) then just walked around Khao San eating mango sticky rice and drinking fruit juices and beer in 1 bar after another.. Even managed to watch the first half of Man Utd vs Liverpool before the stomachs start growling again! Went for skewers and more roadside pad-Thai..
I realised, I had pad-Thai for brekkie, lunch AND dinner! It's so nice!

So that's it, 3 days in Bangkok over! So fast!! Tmr we will be going back to the tailor for a fitting, then maybe to MBK or back to Platinum for some shopping to round up what we wanna buy.. Then it will be 4 days of relaxation in Krabi.. Hmmmm looks like we might need to change more Thai baht!! =)


------ Friday, September 17, 2010

Day 6 / 14

Phnom Penh was ok.. We felt somewhat "cheated" when we reached the hotel cos the pictures looked quite nice on the Internet! Check out The Billabong Hotel- but in fact when we reached the hotel, it was quite ulu and the room was really small for such a price! Thou now after 2 nites, it's quite ok bah.. Has a pretty chillax dining area by the pool, that's the saving grace hehe =)

Let's see.. We arrived in Phnom Penh in the afternoon after a 6 hr bus ride.. Then went to check out the Russian Market and had a walk down Sisowath Quay. Dinner at "Happy Phnom Penh Pizza", which was really quite good! The crowd there was loke expats I think who have been in PP for some time.. Then had a wine by the pool at nite..

2nd day we went to Tuol Sleng S21 Genocide Museum, the Cheoung Ek Killing Fields and the National Museum..

So that's it, done with Cambodia. Catching our flight to Bangkok in 2 hrs!
Yeah we heard about the possible rally, fingers crossed that it's peaceful!

See u in BKK!! =p


------ Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Day 3 / 13

Hmmm u gotta love smartphones and free wifi, they make a powerful combination when put together- blogging all the way from Siem Reap! :D

Part 1 of our trip is almost over.. Blink of an eye, we have spent 3 days in SR, visiting a UNESCO World Heritage site just almost next door to us- the temples of Angkor.

Day 1: We went to Kompong Kleang (stilted and floating village), Beng Mealea and Bakong
Day 2: Started off with Bayon, then it rained so we rested a bit, break for lunch then continued with Ta Promh, Preah Khan and finally, Angkor Wat
Day 3: Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean, Banteay Samre and Pre Lup

The amazing thing about these temples is really the construction and the carvings. They are HUUUGE! And the workers had to carry the stones from the quarry, which can be about 60km away. Then they had to smoothen the rocks so they can stack them together to build a temple, find a way to build it to so high a height, and then carve it! At such a great height! Just imagine the technical aspects of the construction.. The Angkorians must have been really smart, scientific and artistic!

And I think, what makes the Angkor experience different from other temples and museums is that you can go right up to the temple, walk in its grounds, climb it's huge stone steps and look at the amazing carvings up close. They are incredibly detailed- a devil with 1000 heads and arms really looks like it has 1000 heads and arms, Chinese businessmen look different from the Khmer Cambodians, the gods and their many incarnations all look different. Amazing.

So there we went, climbing up and down inside the temples.. Climbing onto collapsed rocks at Beng Mealea, weaving in and out of all the temples, climbing the steep steps up to the high temple in Angkor Wat, walking 1500m upslope to the Kbal Spean riverbed, walking on the ledges around Banteay Samre and scaling the steep rock steps at Pre Rup. At the end of it all, tired, sweaty, aching thighs and knees and sore ankles, but happy to have explored Angkor Wat. And so, that's also the reason why we are collapsing into bed and falling asleep at 10plus at night!

Anws, just for the record, my fave is still Beng Mealea, collapsed temple and roots of trees growing onto the temple and all, prob cos it was my first impression of the Angkorian temples. His fave was also Beng Mealea until we got to Banteay Samre with it's intricate carvings and unique building plan. I think that's his fave now.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Phnom Penh via a 6-hour bus ride. We got our tickets, so we are good to go!
I'll check back again if there's free wifi in Phnom Penh, elsewise, see you in Bangkok on 17Sep! =D


------ Saturday, September 11, 2010

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

Flying early tomorrow morning at 6am, so gotta be at airport at 5am, and gotta leave house at 4.30am, meaning gotta wake up at 3.45am! Early night tonight then.. Can't not sleep cos tomorrow's activities begin as soon as we land in Siem Reap!

Speaking of which, what a bummer, saw the news yesterday that the Thai govy has issued a warning of possible unrest in the next 2 weeks. Security has been stepped up at important locations, financial district and shopping areas.
Warning of violence after bombs found in Bangkok
Fingers crossed for a smooth trip!

Gonna have a nice family dinner now, before Jingle comes to pick me up later!
Bon appetit!


------ Monday, September 06, 2010

Hmmmmm!
1 more week of work and then we are off for compliance leave!

2 words- Can't Wait!!!


------ Thursday, September 02, 2010

I was tired, but somehow I can't get to sleep now.

This monthend, pretty smooth so far, but fingers crossed. Pondering about some stuffs, but not quite sure if I'll go ahead yet. Maybe think about it and talk through it more.

Outside of work wise.. Upcoming things to look forward to!

1. Compliance leave! Yes! Settled the flights and hotels, heading to the following places-
12 - 14 Sep: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
15 - 16 Sep: Phnom Penh
17 - 20 Sep: Bangkok
21 - 24 Sep: Krabi
SR & PP itinerary pretty much settled, we know what we wanna do and see when we get there. BKK and Krabi pretty open.. 8 days in Thailand, the main aim is to just rest and relax and enjoy. No rushing anywhere or shopping with a vengeance (I promise! No shopping budget! No shoe shopping!), wake up when we want to, go where we feel like, eat whatever we fancy, come back recharged! That's the aim!

2. Golf! Yes, gonna re-learn the basics again. Got a pretty decent deal, so gonna have another shot at taking lessons again! Target starting in Oct..

3. Bainie coming back! (Hopefully, fingers crossed for this one)

4. Gonna pick up my books again.. Continue learning, don't let the (already disappearing) knowledge die!


Life wise on the whole, really good right now despite falling sick and getting eczema. Look past that, I still have a job, a loving family and a loved one. Couldn't possibly ask for more.
I realise, less and less "me" time, but I'm not complaining, I think I don't need it so much anymore.. :)


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