Period: 31st March 11 – 8th April 11

Season: Spring!

I am flying to Japan!!! (Land of the Rising Sun) To take a break? Yea...

Albeit all disasters thats going on in Japan, we are still going ahead with our trip.

Can't afford to miss the hanami season after our tiring effort in planning since last year!

Go Japan! Our hearts are with you.

Period: 1st – 7th December 09

Season: Winter!

Oh.... yea. I am finally flying to Japan!!! (Land of the Rising Sun) And I am feeling so excited. Can't wait...!!! =P

17-20 July 2009

It was our last day in the foreign land, therefore the girl and I decide to scramble for any last minute items.

Having heard of the R Burger that is due to open in Ion Orchard, we thought that we would like to try it out in Bangkok first, where it was first discovered by the Singapore actor who decided to open the franchise here back home. The bread was actually the man-tou bread! Special and healthy isn't it?

We would never have thought that we would actually catch a movie to mark the end of our trip. Harry Potter it was, and by sheer luck or misfortune, we actually chose the theatre that was like our very own GV Gold class. There was a mini blanket, with retractable seat! It was really quite an experience especially when we had to stand before the screening of the movie as all cinemas would play the national anthem of Thailand. Different yea...

Last but not least before we head on to airport, we treated ourselves to the long lost A&W where I had my root-beer float. Slurp slurp. Nice! =D

Again, it was nice and enjoyable shopping trip with the girl. =)

17-20 July 2009


We woke up to a beautiful Sunday and where are we heading to today? Chatuchuk Weekend Market! Yes, it's the hot and stuffy market, but the stuff sold there were cheap, with a huge variety too. However, both the girl and I still didn't manage to get much things there and we left after walking just 2 rounds round the market.

The girl had wanted to go to Siam Ocean World since the day we touched down. Since we were pretty free and tired after a round of shopping, we decided to go have a look. (One should see the girl's excitement as fish is her favorite seafood)


It is interesting how we did not see this attraction last year when we were there. And now, in less than half a year, Siam Paragon has another tourist attraction.


One thing to note is that the attraction does feature a fair bit of weird sea creatures. Deep sea creatures which looked like aliens, with a predator face! Oh ya, as part of our admission tickets, we were entitled to a glass bottom boat ride!

17-20 July 2009

It was an early start to our second day, having to wake up real early in the morning for our breakfast and our half day tour. International buffet, Blue Spice! See, got label one... Haa. Not to mention dining by the pool! Lovely isn't it? Too bad there's no pictures of me in swimming attire. Hahaha...

After breakfast, off we went for our river tour, accompanied by an English speaking local tour guide and our very own private transport, a limousine... (It's just a Volvo)


The ride was fairly interesting. We were brought around the river, Thailand's most famous river, Chao Phraya river, where we get to view temples and the living conditions of the people who lived in raised homes just above the river, by the river. The tour guide even joked about that we were at the Venice or even Amsterdam! =S

The ride ended off with a stopover at a reptile park which we didn't go in, before making a U-turn to the starting point. One sad thing is that we didn't get a chance to see the floating market. Well, it's still not so bad after all, for we have been to their most famous river. =)


The actual tour actually brought us to some other places like the jewellery shops and silk shops. Guess the girl wasn't interested in all these and so we hurriedly made our way from one shop to the other. That's where they brought us to another tailor shop - James Fashion International. Guess I already had enough shirt and pants so I gave it a miss. Perhaps, next time round when we return yea.

And so, it was more shopping for us after the tour followed with a nice MK steamboat dinner to reward our tired legs. (Go try it for those who didn't. The sauce was extremely nice!) Yummy... =) We wrapped up the night by heading to Sum Lum night market for a stroll, before heading back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

17-20 July 2009

Who would have thought of getting away for a trip during the flu pandemic, especially to a country where it's infested. Heck, Singapore was badly hit anyway.

So off we go to the airport early in the morning at like 4.30 am in the morning!

Well as usual, the girl was piggy in wherever she go! =P

When we first landed at the airport, we were greeted by a concierge who said that as part of some promotion, we were entitled to one of three free half day tours. All we had to do was to pay 250 baht per person as part of government tax. So we decided to just give it a try, especially when we chose the Chao Phraya River tour, of which starts 7.30am in the morning! I really missed the colourful taxis in Bangkok. Since there's no MTR service to the heart of the city, we hopped on to a colourful taxi to our hotel in Pratunam.

My colleague suggested me a very convenient service apartment located in the prime location in the city. And we decided to try it out. With us being too early to check in into our service apartment hotel Centre Point Petchburi, we were all set for our very first activity just across the street, the girl's favorite place – shopping at Platinum Mall!!

As I was back there with a mission this time, and that was to go tailoring for some shirts and pants, for it is much cheaper than making suits in Singapore. Our first stop was Savile Row, located near to Rose Hotel. There, I made 3 shirts and 1 pants. But that was not enough, I went on to another tailor, Pinky Tailor, where I tailored 1 more pants and shirt. Wahaha... By then, the sky turned dark and we decided to just proceed back to our cosy service apartment for a good rest and in preparation for our next early morning. =)

Period: 17-20 July 2009

Yeah! Bangkok once again! More polo tees to come...

Britain has some of the most spectacular, charming and gorgeous beaches in the world. So let's take a look at the top 10 beaches in Britain.

1. Bournemouth, Dorset
Bournemouth benefits from 7 miles of pure gold. One of the best city beaches in the UK , its soft sand and acres of space are perfect for families. It's won awards for cleanliness and on a clear day you can see out to the Needles on the Isle of Wight . True, it's not a deserted paradise, but you can't ask for much more so close to a major town. And with the building of Europe's first artificial surf reef, the beach is set to become one of the UK 's premier surfing spots.

2. West Wittering, West Sussex
West Wittering near Chichester manages to please all comers with expansive sands, superior water quality and a thriving dune ecosystem. The beach shelves gently towards the sea making it ideal for safe swimming and when the tide is out you can bask in shallow tidal pools warmed by the sun. If you feel restless you can walk around East Head, a sandy spit populated by absorbing coastal flora and fauna.

3. Croyde Bay , North Devon
Hammering surf and excellent surf schools and shops have sealed Croyde Bay 's reputation as North Devon 's best beach for catching waves. The village has retained an old world charm despite the influx of young surfers keen to party and the beach is big enough for sunbathers and swimmers, too.

4. Holy Island , Northumberland
One of the most haunting and beautiful places in Britain , Holy Island was an early centre of Christianity in the UK . Cut off from the mainland twice a day by the tide, it has a castle, an evocative ruined priory and mile upon mile of deserted sand. If you're in a reflective mood, this is the one for you. Watch out for grey seals and rare birds.

5. Holkham, Norfolk
Draped in dunes, Holkham is a deliciously secluded beach backed by scented pine forest. Sunbathe, horseride or explore 3 miles of seemingly measureless, creamy sands. And if you come to Holkham, you'll be in illustrious company. The Queen likes to walk her Corgis here and Gwyneth Paltrow strode across the sands for the final scene of Shakespeare in Love.

6. Great Bay , St Martin 's, Isles of Scilly
Short on Kiss Me Quick hats and sickly sticks of rock but with charm to spare, Great Bay is the best beach in the Scillys. You can only reach it on foot, so the holiday hordes generally stay away. It's only a 20 minute walk from the quay and the journey's certainly worth it. Offshore, kelp forests sheltering colourful fish wave lazily in a cobalt sea and the arcing white sands are distinctly tropical.

7. Blackpool, Lancashire
Ice creams, saucy postcards, fish ‘n' chips, rock, donkey rides and deckchairs – Blackpool beach is the essence of the traditional British seaside. Apart from miles of sand you'll find slot machines, shows and some of the biggest and scariest rollercoasters in the UK.

8. Abereiddi Blue Lagoon, Pembrokeshire
Not strictly a beach, the Blue Lagoon is actually an old quarry with a tidal channel to the sea. The quarry forms a satisfying circle, protecting and enclosing a disc of shimmering azure water. It's a romantic spot reached by walking passed ruined slate workers' cottages and quarry buildings. Surrounded by cliffs, it's popular with cliff jumpers and coasteerers.

9. Sinclair's Bay, Caithness
This all but deserted beach just south of John O'Groats has soft white sand that's lapped by waters tinged an otherworldly blue. It's hard to find a more atmospheric beach. This one's guarded by two 16 th -century castles and welcomes porpoises and whales. With 4 miles of uninterrupted sand you won't have any problems bagging a good spot.

10. Porthcurno, Cornwall
This glorious, unspoilt beach hugged by craggy cliffs has fine white sand made from sea shells. There are cliff-top paths, rock pools to discover and a stream trickling down the beach – ideal for paddling children. Nearby, the extraordinary Minnack Theatre hosts open-air plays with views of the ocean.

(Credits for the beautiful pictures)

17-18 May 2009
*Pics intensive*

After about one and a half hours coach ride, we finally arrived at the hotel. Capitol Hotel is the one we are staying at. Well, as one can expect, the room is certainly much bigger than the one at Genting. The bathroom, television are all much bigger and there's aircon too. Wahaha... =)

After putting down our luggage, we were off for our (or should I say my) shopping spree. Shopping was one of the reason why I wanted to visit KL. And so, our first stop, Berjaya Times Square. Gosh, it was really big inside, with about 8 storeys high and an indoor amusement park. I only managed to covered about half of it and my parents were already feeling tired, wanting to have a seat. After a short break, we continued on our brave journey to Sungei Wang Plaza, Bukit Bintang Plaza and Low Yat Plaza. We were dead tired after all these walking and decided to head back to the hotel for a cooling down session and some leg message. The weather in KL was just like Singapore, hot and humid...

And so after we got our rest, we headed out for our dinner and we proceed to Suria KLCC where KL's landmark, the Petronas Towers are located. It is a must visit place when you are in KL. The twin towers standing tall and sturdy from far. There, my shooting spree started once again. Thankfully, I finished my shooting spree as soon after, it was drizzling. And that's where we took a cab back to the hotel to have an early rest.

The next morning, we had our breakfast at the hotel. I would say the breakfast provided was pretty good. It was beyond my expectations. We had a short walk round KL, with me snapping street scenes along the way.

After which, we headed to another must visit place and that's the Central Market. It became a cultural and shopping destination for tourists and locals since 1987, showcasing and uniting the diversity of Malasia. There were stuff from Batik Emporium, Lorong Melayu, Little India and Straits Chinese all under the same roof. We couldn't cover more places due to the coach timing back to Singapore.

Soon after, it was time to bid farewell and head on back to our hometime. But still, it was a good experience for me, at least I got to see how Genting and KL is like. Who knows, I might be back shopping with the girl soon. =D

Ps: I had like 4 meals of fastfood in just 3 days! 2 meals of KFC, 1 Marybrown and 1 Macdonalds. Wahaha... Yummy... =P

16-17 May 2009
*Pics intensive*

It's been ages since I last traveled with my parents. Knowing that they wanted wouldn't mind touring Malaysia once again, I followed them to Genting and Kuala Lumpur for a short weekend getaway. It was my first time traveling up to Genting in my entire 27 years! A rare experience indeed... Taking the Five Stars coach service early in the morning, we took a quick breakfast and hurriedly made our way to the meeting point. The entire journey took us about 6 hours plus to reach our destination.

Along the way, there wasn't much interesting sights but I was impressed by the driving skills of the coach driver. They were like driving at about 120km per hour! Overtaking different vehicles was piece of cake for them. (Think they must have been practicing Daytona whenever they are free) When we reached the foot of the moutain route, I was intrigued by the steep winding roads leading to Genting. It was damm long and high! As we traveled higher, the fog started to drift towards us and the visibility was totally off. Next thing, it was raining in Genting! Wow, lucky me, only to be greeted by showers of rain for my first time in Genting!

Luckily for me, it stopped after sometime. So off we went to check in to our hotel, Hotel First World. The lobby looks good, but the room was way too small! There was no aircon too. People were saying it was due to the natural cool air up in the mountains, so there was no need for aircon. Oh well, wonder if that's true. Next, we were off to explore the place. For most of you people know, Genting was an entertainment centre, comprising of just a theme park and casinos. Basically, there was nothing much to do for me as I doesn't really gamble and that there was no one to take the thrill rides with me. The only ride which I had tried was the caterpillar ride which brought us round the amusment park.

So when night falls, I began to search for other activities to keep myself entertained. I went to the archery range and tried archery. It was again my first time and it was fun. Not too bad for a beginner like me as I had several arrows hitting the circle but not the bull's eye. Haha... Next, I went bowling with mum. It was my mum's first time trying bowling and my first after a very long period of time. Boy am I getting rusty after so long.

It was a nice game with mum, with the joy and laughter on her face even though our points are far too lousy, with me scoring about 100 plus points and mum lesser. =D After which, we were off to the casino, with me wanting to have a view on how Genting's casinos are like.

The next morning saw us searching for our breakfast and having a morning stroll together after that round the resort premises. The air was so refreshing and cooling... I was snapping away when I suddenly turned and saw this old ah peh cleaning his private part in the public area!!! I'm sure many others who have walked past the area, would have saw it too but he simply ignored the stare from others! What are you doing, ah peh!?!? I should have taken a picture of him. Wahaha... =P


With a little bit of window shopping to past time, we were off to take our laggage and catch our transit coach to Kuala Lumpur... Goodbye Genting... =)