Short Getaway 2012 Part 1 - Batam (11-12th Feb 2012)

Having bought a deal from the online portal sometime in Nov 2011, we finally reached the day of our departure to Batam after a long awaited 3 months. On Saturday morning, 6:15am, we reached the ferry terminal waiting to collect our tickets for the first ride there. Thankfully it is at Harbourfront, just a short distance from my house.

Excitedly, we embarked on the journey. With prior arrangements, our massage palour, Isabella, arranged pickup for us from the terminal upon our arrival. Off we are chauffered to our destination at Nagoya for our massage. Excellent massage, excellent service. We decided to have our lunch and shopping done at Nagoya, but the shopping was so short that i can't find anything suitable and of interest to shop. our only memory from our first trip to batam were 50cents socks which were no longer available. Hence, we decided to check in to our hotel - Harris Batam Center. Excellently located so conveniently beside the ferry terminal and shopping center, it left a great impression on me. I realized the deal was a steal, inclusive of the ferry ride, the hotel stay, breakfast, lunch and tea. Nice hotel with their motto of 'simple, unique, friendly' to my liking. And of course, not to mention, the swimming pool :)

Deciding to give harbourfront bay seafood a try, we cab our way down. I can't remember much of golden prawn seafood from our first visit except that the food was good, but we wanted a different experience this time. Dinning by the seaside, it was a different experience. For the first time, we had a really romantic dinner, being able to watch sunset while enjoying seafood. Though the view is not excellent, all i wanted to do at that time was just to watch the sun setting. At that moment, i only remember how beautiful sunset is. Dinner was good and cheap, except that...i thought i didn't have much appetite and didn't eat much, only to have to order supper at night. such a pity when the chilli crab only cost approx S$8 for one. had we known that earlier, we would definately have more crabs.

Reaching back hotel by 7+ batam time, we were in time for Man U vs Liverpool match. Supper was JCo donuts and KFC when I realized i can't stop thinking of food. Sunday was a lazy food day, where we enjoyed breakfast and lunch at the hotel, nua-ing the rest of the time away.

After this trip, I realized why I enjoy going overseas, because it brings me to forget everything about work and routine. Going overseas could be tiring when you want to visit many places and explore, but i realize that is where the pleasure lies too. Definately hope i can apply this in all aspects of life, and strive not to be trapped in the daily routines and forget about the simplest pleasures in life.

Looking forward to the short getaway next - CEBU! With a private beach resort island to snokkel around as well as a day of photoshoot planned by a local, this is definately going to be more exciting. to our first trip to the philipines, this is going to be an eye opener! With a local photoshoot coming up nxt week, every week in Feb is passing with happiness. My brother commented that wedding photoshoots always look so poised, but this is definitely not true for us because each of the photoshoot we have together, it is riding on the opportunity of our travel log either in singapore or overseas. yes, this is our story and we are in the midst of writing it.

Recently, there were a lot of thoughts going on in my mind which got me thinking of the simple word of 'Yes'. The implictions are far and wide and i only gave it a serious thought recently. i was undeniable scared initally, scared of the commitement to come, the responsibility to bear and the future to think of. As each day drew closely, i grew more heavy hearted and scared. it was afterall a lifelong decision and the pacing back and forth is a matter of being part of the decision making process. i didn't know who to turn to, so most thoughts were kept within. But i realize, there is no definite reassurance we can ask for, except to believe in each other. after speaking my thoughts, my heart felt immediately relieved of the tension building within. And i know, the decision is final and i have chosen to believe in you. *smiles* hence, with no more questions, no more worries, i have made the final stamp to the decision. Like all other decisions i have made, i know, i will never regret this, regardless of the future to come.

it's going to be a short work week ahead. Feb and Mar is a building up for the preparation for year end closing, something I am looking forward to. haha i think i am too much of a workaholic as i am looking forward excitedly to pile of work ahead to be completed for year end within the short timeframe. weekends are likely to be burnt for 2-3 weeks, but this time, i am more confident of the work to be done =)

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2012
Started the celebration with our yearly reunion steamboat dinner at home.
Something different this year - Abalone Lao Yu Sheng

Happily lao-ing our yu sheng! HUAT AH! *smiles*
Our yummy steamboat :) it always tastes the best at home where we can eat to our heart's content :)

First day of cny
Visited our grandma's house and relative visiting.
the ladies and an aunty :)

Cousins gathering! :) haha reminds us of our younger days :)
Cousins went for late night movie - Jack Neo's movie at Tiong Bahru. Thought the show wasn't suitable for chinese new year, not my type of show.


Thank you for your generosity towards my cousins, sending them home past midnight from tiong bahru to bedok and travelling home to bukit batok. I realized how generous you are to not just the people you care, but also to the people I care. That is the greatest gift i can ever get from you and it really touched me deeply. Thank you for that gesture, this is one of your greatest virture that i appreciate and admire deeply of you :)

I can't wait for feb to come! Batam & Cebu :)

I can't wait for aug to come! Italy and Switzerland :)

Deep in thoughts. I can finally feel my parents' pain. They never explicitly says how much they love me, but I realize their every actions are filled with love. Yesterday I had a heart wrenching session before I realize how different things were from the past. I did not know the cause of the changes but I realized I never bother to find out. I am really sorry for my sensitivity earlier.

I thought I had grown up. But I am still far from growing up. I still live in a naive world. It all doesn't matter now, only my mum, my dad and my brothers matter to me now. Of course, I will still treat everyone else with a kind heart. Do not let how others mistreat you to be a reason to mistreat others. Let others know how to learn to be benevolent. I can do it.

On a side note, I went Chinatown with mummy yesterday evening. It felt great to see her face light up :) been quite reflective these few days, thinking how I can pack my mummy off with me to my new house. Haha I am such a lazy bum, having a mum who takes care of my every need. I would miss spending quality time with her nxt time, so I am learning to treasure such moments more :)

Drawing a close to another chapter - 2011

It is the time of the year to reflect on the year that past. 2011 had been a very different year - a year of changes. It is the year I made my first decision to switch career and made a to move on to a different stage of life. These are major decisions that will impact on the rest of my life.

Switching of career had been a much deliberated move, weighing the pros and cons carefully. Living audit much earlier than planned, deciding to place other priorities ahead of work. I value having control of my life and will be willing to compromise other things for this. I am way past the adapting stage in my new job. There are days I wish my job can be more exciting, instead of occassionally stoning off at my desk. Though I have some work to do, the last 2 weeks of Dec was a joyous month, with no mood to work. lolz. Somehow there are just some things I can't figure out, some things that I can't resolve for months. haha...oh wells...i need to hone my industry skills.

My life took a drastic change in May becoming from single to engaged. Our flat has been confirmed in a far away land. Like every girl, I have dreams of this special day, haha but ironically, it is hard for dreams to turn into reality. haha before i permanently erased my dreams, i shall jot it down. i dreamt of being in a garden with lovely flowers surrounding where i can jump and run around carefreely, such a scenaic view. I dreamt of staying in a high rise floor with windows that oversee greens...

Being in much more control of my life, i went on 2 short hikes, reliving of some distint memories of my love for outdoors. in these, i realize that it is not the destination that matters, it is the process of determination and perserverance that brings out the delightful smiles upon reaching the top.

2011 also marks my first attempt at studying part time while working full time. a new challenge to juggle studies with work, something i always thought is easy. how wrong i was, it requires much sacrifice of personal relax time and social circle.

i look back at my 2011 resolutions and realized the simplicity of the resolutions. All were achieved, except one. the one was to learn tennis. somehow the motivation wasn't strong and my weekends are often spent studying (except after exams where i just slack my weekends and nights away).

how about my resolutions for 2012? still in the process of finalization...haha :)

Christmas 2011

A most memorable Christmas this year, spend at gunung datuk and melacca. The decision to go was made just 2 days ago before. Thanks to dear who made all the arrangements to ensure our transport and accommodation are settled. With the fully booked rooms in melacca city, we could only settle for a hotel in the outskirts.

Christmas was spent on hiking up gunung datuk. A v steep start and 15min into the hike with my backpack, I was breathless and giddy. Thankfully for the energy bars, water and rest, I managed to continue my way up. Upon reaching the top after 2hrs, it felt really great! AWESOME! The feeling was great that my persistence paid off and we did not give up. The wind was so strong on top I was really timid of climbing to greater heights on the ladders. Safety first. After a short break of 30min, we started our descend. We were grossly wrong thinking that the descend would be faster. The steep slopes slowed us down quite a bit. Looking back, I can't belief I scaled those stones and steps.

It is indeed tiring to ascend and descend on the same day. Exercised so hard for a day, my legs ached a lot and seeing stairs seem like seeing stars. Haha, so glad we had proper accommodation for the night. Not the best but definitely comfortable to rest for the night. Too tired to explore the surroundings, we turned in at 8:30pm and slept till 8pm. It is a much needed rest.

The next day was own time own target exploring melacca town.

It was a very meaningful Christmas. Indeed, it is a Christmas filled with love. I never thought just the 2 of us could go alone for a hike, but we did it :) nagvigating our way up ourselves, encouraging each other and made it to the top together. Though we both grumbled a lot, it was a very good exercise. It reminded of our first trek where we encountered a leech on my again and you had to pull it out. Haha no short cut of lighter so you had to exercise your masculine act to pull it off.

All I want for christmas is you :) we did it together! :)

YEAHS! FEELING VERY HAPPY NOW!

it took many months of sourcing before this venue for solemnization is decided. For the last few months, there were really much headache thinking and considering the various locations. from outdoor locations such as fort canning to indoor locations like seb bistro, safra mount faber and nus, more than 10 places were researched upon. Kudos to dear for his persistence in researching for an ideal location. his persistence to find the type of view i would dream off within our tight budget is really amazing, never failed to caught me with surprises with his new options.

Somehow none actually caught my attention at first sight. Each has it's pros and cons. Though some of the places astonished me with their pretty view, it just didn't struck me as "the one". I dreamt of holding it in a location with beautiful natural scenary yet something simple not elaborated given that we are only working on a budget of 2k. to me, that was an almost impossible task.

finally, this location came up on wed. looking at the photo taken by dear when he sneaked out in the midst of studying. it looks normal. it was a move initiated to rank our options so far to allow us to eliminate the location. my top position was raffles house, his was a last minute addition to the list of competitors. up till today, i was almost convinced of holding it at raffles house, starting my preparation on the budgeting and planning required. but in the afternoon, we decided to take a look at his first choice for the last time to convince us of our final decision.

the first impression was good when i stepped into the carpark. stepping into the restaurant, i was stunned by the beauty. the intristic design of the interior was amazing. though it may not have the best of everything, what bought me over was ultimately the view from the balcony and the marble partitions. i have a weakness for marble. yes, this is love at first sight.

this addition to the competition was only announced for competition 3 days ago, yet i was so taken over by the place that it won first place in both our hearts. i knew this is the place and it did not take another session to decide. on the spot, the reservation was made for 03 March 2012.

in due course, this location will be revealed :)