New Year Eve 2007

Went with Slug to the countdown party held at a basketball court in Boon Lay. We arrived a little too late (alright, VERY late) at 11.55pm, and there was no way we could see what was going on on the stage because the basketball court and the pavements at the sides were packed. So they started counting down, and we were anxiously glancing around at the night sky waiting for the spectacular fireworks to appear any moment. Little did we expect that they would actually loom above us!

I was filled with shock and mesmerization as I stared at the fireworks close-up. Even when the little cascading sparks hit and pricked my skin, even when the noxious fumes were surrounding me, I could hardly move. Until Slug had to drag me away.

Fireworks bursting and hissing right above me!

After that, browsed around the pasar malam nearby, ate some snacks and was filled with disgust that the Banglas and the BLACK society people were making such a hoo-ha over the New Year and creating a din with their cheers and trumpet-blowing. What was most sickening, everyone was littering indiscriminately!

Walking freely on the road in front of Boon Lay Shopping Centre

Inconsiderate litterbugs!

Here's hoping for a smooth and happy year ahead.

Cycling Trip

Went on a mini cycling trip with Ah Tan today. First we rented a bike at a bicycle kiosk at East Coast, which was cheap because there was a promotion ($5 for an hour, plus an extra free hour and a free drink). Had some food at Subway before beginning our trip.

Cycled on the bicycle trail along the beach and chatted at the same time, before stopping at the dead-end at the heavy vehicle carpark near Kallang. After some hesitation, we decided to cycle all the way to City Hall. Deep down, I could not believe I was bringing the East Coast bike out of the East Coast territory.

We cycled along Tanjong Rhu Road, and I marvelled at the beauty and peacefulness of the Pebble Bay condo. After that, we crossed the bridge over to the Indoor Stadium.

Pebble Bay

Indoor Stadium

The small winding roads near the stadium were relatively empty, so it was a smooth ride for us. Got on the Nicoll Highway, and at last, we entered the CBD. It was cloudy, which we considered great weather. At this point, my singlet was already damp with sweat and my hipbones were hurting.

Rode down the quiet Marina Promenade, and saw an occasional Duck Tour boat-cum-vehicle cruising the Kallang Basin that we were cycling along. The Marina Promenade could have led us directly to the Esplanade, but a part of it was blocked off due to construction works, so we had to take another path which led us to Republic Boulevard and then Raffles Avenue. It was scary to be riding on Raffles Avenue. Because some of the pavements were blocked for some underground pipe excavations, we had to go on the road. We tried to ride as close to the kerb as we could, but we still feared being knocked down from behind.

We stopped at One Fullerton for an alfresco drink at Starbucks.

At Starbucks

Ah Tan and I!

After the drink, we were ready to return to East Coast. We wanted to explore another route that would take us along the Geylang Park Connector to Tanjong Katong, but not only was the park connector blocked off (for some stupid construction works again), we were not left with much time. We definitely exceeded the two hours that we had paid for, but in order not to exceed the next two hours that we had incurred, we had only 30 minutes to return to East Coast.

After a frantic ride back on the old route, we reached the bicycle kiosk just in time to return the bikes, pay another $5 for the extra 2 hours (luckily they did not demand $5 for each of the 2 hours) and claim our free drinks. As soon as we got off the bikes, we were exhausted, panting and could hardly walk steadily. Nevertheless, it was a good workout!

Ideal Wedding Bash

Still entranced in a lovey-dovey feel for weddings after last night's glamorous affair at posh Marriott, I remember coming across a Q&A article in a magazine. The reader was wondering if she could wear her wedding veil during the banquet dinner, and the column writer strongly told her to go ahead, reassuring her that it is her big day and who cares what others think? The writer then went on to state that she even wore combat boots when she did not have a good pair of shoes. I went on to dream about how to make my big day a HAPPY one.

1) Indulging in a hen party - Before the day that will make me tick 'Married' or 'Mrs' in future document forms (and make me feel old and auntie) arrives, I am going to throw a really wicked hen party for pals as decadent and lustful as me. Highlights include a purple room with dim lights, sexy music, lethal cocktails and a stripteasing hunk. I think the near-naked muscular hunk with a thick gold chain and tight briefs will be a crowd-pleaser. ("This is my beautiful bathroom, check out my matching pipes!")

2) Keeping my dolly bob - Don't the brides look gorgeous and neat with their long stick-straight tresses tied up into buns or chignon, or styled into pleats and curls etc? Forget those. I'm keeping my hair the way it is (or has been for the past 25 years) on my big day (and also save some dollars on hairstyling). It is neat, it is hassle-free, and it is ME. And that reminds me to look for a gown with pockets so that I can whip out my comb every 15 minutes to keep my coiffure in shape.

3) Let's have fun with English! - Isn't it fun putting the groom and friends through sheer torture with us girls dishing out all kinds of wacky tasks for them to accomplish before they can get past the door and the beautiful but tough bevy of sisters? It is even more fun to capture them in various states of disarray and distress on video, and then laughing at them about it a few days later. Packing a $8,888.88 ang pow, drinking soil water and stripping to the waist are too easy on them. My kind of games are purely educational. For starters, a grammar quiz and a spelling bee, with caning and writing lines meted out as punishments. It will be a good motivational video for my students to improve their command of English.

4) Hot wheels - I hope my man comes to pick me up on a scrambler. Never mind that the wind will blow away my veil. Never mind that soot particles will lodge themselves in my facial pores. Never mind that my pearl white satin dress will be airbrushed grey by exhaust fumes. Now it will be just me and him, on two wheels, taking a hell ride to marriage. Unconventional fun.

5) Slave to the music! - Thrash that Kitaro and other new age tunes that precede wedding dinners, and those servers making synchronised but dizzying parading just to serve the cold dish platter. Bring on the dance tunes! Throughout the whole dinner, my amateur DJ is going to spin a head-throbbing mix of techno, retro and trance. I doubt the older folks will appreciate (or even understand) Euro-techno, so I will have the 8815 album that may come in handy. At least they will know who Chen Weilian is.

6) Food fit for the bride - I am definitely deciding what goes on the menu according to what I like! Firstly, do away with the cold dish platter and make it a seafood platter (hello, would you rather eat crispy golden calamari rings or those soggy jellyfish strands)! And maybe some seafood pizza with triple cheese instead of the drab fried rice in lotus leaf? And for dessert, strawberry cheesecake instead of red bean soup? Definitely not a banquet for the health-conscious. Or the conservative.

7) Food available for the bride - I don't custom-make the menu according to my fancies for nothing, I want to eat the food too! But while I am away going through the drudgery of posing for pictures with my honoured guests (75% of whom I do not know), I do not think the folks at my table will be thoughtful enough to save some of the food for my man and me (unless they are all allergic to seafood or lactose-intolerant). A walkie-talkie will reside in the other pocket for me to make constant reminders to Mum and Dad to save some of the goodies for us.

8) My grand entrance with a powerful windy effect - The way the wispy white fumes of dry ice that floats out of the bucket and onto the aisle sure creates a mystical grand entrance for the couple, doesn't it? But it is so boring! Am wondering how to arrange for powerful jets of dry ice fumes like those at Zouk. Just to harmlessly tease my guests and temporarily blind them.

9) Meet my little tyke! - Why grimace whenever you hear well-meaning old folks wishing you "早生贵子" followed by a suggestive wink? Am considering hiring a budding child model to pose as my illegitimate kid in order to shut them up. Be more generous with the "青春永驻" wishes, please.

10) Be myself and be happy - I wonder how to after all those chaotic and frazzled months spent procuring the most stunning dress (with pockets), keeping within the budget, coming up with tricky words for the spelling bee, and even hiring the DJ and child model. But then again, wedding bells will not be ringing so soon for me. The only bells I can hear are school bells.

Wedding Dinner at Marriott

Attended Ah Guang's wedding dinner at Marriott Hotel. Good thing that Ah Guang had arranged for a bus to pick us up (all relatives staying in the East) and ferry us there. Was chatting with Wee along the way, and as usual, Kar Cheng was asking Hao Ling stupid questions about God.

So all of us were seated at one table, Ah Sir, Wee, Kar Cheng, Henglip, Haoling, Ah Xian, Anthony and his girlfriend, and me. Stupid Kar Cheng tried to embarrass me by getting the in-house Santa Claus to give me a present (supposedly meant for kids), and he actually did! Within minutes, everyone had torn open the present, and distributed the snacks, sweets and toys around.

We teased the two adorable kids, Brandon and Gordon, who were dressed smartly today. Brandon looked like Albert Einstein / Gatsby spokesman with that flyaway hair of his, while Gordon looked all sweet and pretty in a tuxedo and that smooth and soft bob. Very difficult to get Gordon to pose for pictures. Tried my best to grab him and keep him still on my lap, but he kept wriggling and making funny faces.

Haoling, me, Gordon, Wee, Brandon, Ah Sir, with Ah Xian at the back

Me with cute Brandon

Haoling with Brandon

I was quite disturbed by the speed at which the servers clear our drinking glasses. Even when I had not finished my Coke (say, about half-full), it would be taken away and I would be given a new glass of Coke. I would be stunned for two seconds because I was thinking, 'What a waste!'

The food was great, and I recalled with relish what we had: Cold plate combination, celery with scallops, fried prawns in taro balls, shark's fin soup with a generous amount of crab meat, roast chicken with prawn crackers, steamed pomfret Teo-chew style, vegetables with sea cucumber and abalone, and last but not least, mango pudding in the shape of a carp.

The emcee was very charming and entertaining, and we enjoyed how he made Ah Guang do those little dances and limericks, and the four mini skits depicting romance stories of different cultures. Very handsome too.

We took more pictures, this time with Kar Cheng, but AS USUAL, he would try to make a fool out of himself.

Don't you just feel like slapping him?

We got 3rd Aunt to help take pictures of all of us, and Kar Cheng finally displayed that trademark spastic grin of his (second picture). We figured out that Kar Cheng can never be normal, like us.

After the dinner, Kar Cheng, Henglip and Haoling made plans to go for drinks, and they tempted Wee and me to go. Wee had work the next day, while I was just feeling plain tired. We showered praises on a happy 1st Aunt because she looked exceptionally ravishing today - glitter on her permed hair, shimmery eyeshadow, a black floral tight-fitting cheongsam and a diamond necklace with a huge ruby pendant and a pair of ruby earrings to match. The same bus came and took us home, and the night ended with me wondering when I can have a wedding as grand and fun as this.

Christmas Eve Dinner at PRP

Had Christmas Eve dinner at our favourite restaurant, PRP. However, we were quite disappointed with the drop in standard of their cuisine. Fooled around with the Christmas party toys while waiting for our order to arrive.

We were like clowns

We particularly loved this plastic yellow hat with golden shimmery strips flowing down on one side, resembling blonde hair. A rare chance for me to act cute. Also a chance for me to feel Rapunzel-ish.

Waiting for 'hair' to grow out

The price of the ala-carte buffet was the same as last year's, but this time, they limited the much-lusted-after peking duck and suckling pig's skin with goose liver to a one-time serving (FREE FLOW last year!). We were quite dismayed to receive two tiny pieces of the former and one piece of the latter.

We enjoyed other dishes such as steamed sea bass Hong Kong-style with minced garlic, salad prawns, cereal prawns, soft shell crabs, fried ee-fu noodles, scallops on tofu with black bean sauce (VERY good) etc.

Prawns and fruits with thousand island dressing

Monk Jumps Over the Wall

Scallop on tofu in black bean sauce

Desserts - Christmas cookies, almond jelly, chocolate tarts, apple strudel

After that, went Mustafa Shopping Centre to window-shop and marvel at the wide variety of products there. At 12am, the 'Final Countdown' was played throughout the store, which sounded cheesy, but we still hummed along anyway.

Had supper of nasi briyani and prata at a nearby coffeeshop, before walking cautiously along Desker Road (and adjacent streets) to take a peek at the quiet and mysterious life lurking in those shophouses and those small dark alleys. The lesser-known evils of that area: Indian trannies and male 'escorts'.

At the coffeeshop

Initially saw three Indians in a brawl and about to get into a scuffle, and we hurriedly slid away before they started to involve us innocent passers-by. As we walked on, we espied hunky Indian trannies standing outside the shophouse gates looking bored. Heard one of them speaking in a manly tone, and we shuddered. Some were dressed elaborately (I shall not use the word 'sexily'), and there were interested patrons going up to them. Then an Asian-looking woman and an Indian man walked past us, giggling amongst themselves, and we knew what was going on (and would go on later). Saw a group of Indians huddled together in a corner, looking like they were having a picnic (of drugs, maybe?). Decided that we had seen enough and took a cab home, complaining to the taxi driver about the taxi fare hikes along the way.

My Birthday

From the woman who gave me life ...

And from the man who gave me love ...

And was really happy to receive many well wishes from friends!

Hong Kong 2007 (8)

Last day in Hong Kong. We were feeling partly gloomy (because that marked the end of our vacation and it was BACK TO WORK) and partly relieved (back to the bosom of clean and warm Singapore despite food price hikes and taxi fare hikes). Flight was scheduled at 8.10pm, so had plenty of time to do some last-minute shopping.

As we came out of our apartment block and reached the streets in the morning, we saw this roadside booth promoting awareness of the local 'SPCA' - Lok Hong Social Service Association. The very enthusiastic promoter (who is actually the President of this voluntary organisation) handed us a booklet (and a DVD) detailing the various efforts and initiatives towards caring for abused animals. What they do is they will house abandoned animals (due to lack of permanent premises, the animals are actually housed temporarily in volunteers' homes) and arrange for adoption with kind-hearted parties. If the animals are in various states of abuse (from what we saw from the booklet (and the pictures were really graphic), there was a dog with inflamed gums, a paralysed rabbit with inflamed eyes, and even a chinchilla with an inflamed uterus (but it died in the end)), they will treat them till they recover. Besides putting these animals up for adoption, they also bring the animals to old folks' homes to let the lonely elderly play with them, in what they call 'animal therapy'.

We were utterly touched by the work that they do, and we made a small donation. The adorable animals at the booth were pulling at our heart strings too, especially a ginger-coloured cat which looked like Garfield.

The booth

We wanted to have our last meal in Hong Kong at 冬菇亭 (the humble-looking cafe that captured our hearts with their simple yet tasty cuisine), but it had a mystery - when we intended to dine there, we would never be able to locate the cafe; when we did not have that intention, we would come across it. Yeah, it was that hard to find places in complex Hong Kong. Gave up finding after walking for half an hour, and instead, had lunch at the 'pork chop bun' cafe where Slug could have his favourite pork chop bun for the last time.

Our lunch

After lunch, we took a walk in Wan Chai and Slug clamoured to visit the Park'n'Shop and buy the cup noodles which we bought and ate on our first night here. I could not believe he bought six of them and I just groaned in exasperation thinking about how those bulky bowls were going to add on to our baggage. "But you cannot find these in Singapore!" he protested, and with a gleeful smile, he added, "And they come with an braised egg!"

Wan Chai

Fire engine coming out of Wan Chai Fire Station

We found it weird that despite having Sogo at our doorstep (not literally), we only visited it on our last day. The variety of Japanese goodies at their supermarket really peeled open our eyes, and I nearly went berserk sweeping whatever delectable snacks and candies I laid my eyes on into my trolley (luckily I had Slug to help me filter out things that I did not need (and should not need), or else I would have busted my debit card). In addition, bought some local pastries and confectioneries for the folks back home. My favourite buy was this box of strawberry-flavoured daifuku filled with chocolate, wrapped in beautiful Japanese paper and cost a whopping HKD80.

The supermarket at Sogo

We returned to our apartment to repack our baggage, and while resting our feet, we snacked on a packet of smoked duck breast that we bought from Sogo. Highly salty but tasted good.

Smoked duck breast sprinkled with black pepper bits

Slug enjoying the snack

When it was 5.30pm, we walked to the bus-stop to catch the A11 bus to the airport. Hong Kong's transport system is really as complicated as its streets - both A11 and E11 go to the airport but the latter does not allow luggage on board and the former does. And you are wrong if you think that since we arrived at a bus-stop in Causeway Bay by A11 from the airport, so it means that to return to the airport we will need to take the same A11 from the opposite bus-stop. It is weird, but the bus-stop to take A11 back to the airport is hidden on another road 300 metres from where we arrived. It took us 20 minutes to finally locate the bus-stop after consulting a clueless Sogo receptionist, a helpful but inaccurate policeman and a handsome hotel concierge.

Relaxed on the one-hour journey to the airport and watched Hong Kong light up amidst the falling darkness. Checked-in for our flight at 7pm. Flight was supposed to depart at 8.10pm, but due to some traffic delay, ended up flying off at 8.30pm and reaching Singapore at slightly past midnight.

Hong Kong Airport Terminal 2

The customs officer signalled for us to let him check our baggage, but we lied that we wanted to do some shopping at the DFS, before mixing into a crowd of passengers exiting the baggage hall and managed to escape without him knowing. Whew, we managed to save the bubble gum.

Till our next trip.

Hong Kong 2007 (7)

Was rudely awakened by loud slams of the door and gate created by the absurd roommates, but at least woke up just in time to have lunch. We were getting increasingly exhausted with every passing day, and on our fourth day, we were already missing home. For once, we were even grateful for being Singaporeans.

Had lunch at a roadside cafe, where we ordered this Four Treasures Rice. Four Treasures namely pork chop, char siew, omelette and luncheon meat (When will we ever have Ma Ling luncheon meat in Singapore again!).

Took the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui, where we took a walk along Avenue of Stars. Nothing spectacular. Wind was chilly. Skyline of Hong Kong Island was blurred by the haze.

At MTR station

Walking around near Salisbury Road

Hazy skyline

Me and Slug against Hong Kong skyline

Slug and I fooling around at Avenue of Stars

Icons of Hong Kong showbiz

We agreed that his handprints were the most beautiful and detailed

We were surprised to see her handprints here because we did not feel that she deserved a spot at Avenue of Stars. In terms of number of albums and movies, compare her with famous, productive, or sensational stars like Sammi, Beyond, Twins, Wang Jie and Ekin! You get what I mean.

Left feeling a tad disappointed with what this tiny promenade had to offer. It did not even have a spot for Ekin! Trudged on to the Science Centre further inwards near Chatham Road South. Today was Wednesday, so admission was free (HKD25 for all other days)!

Watched an hour-long National Geographic documentary on prehistoric crocodiles in their theatre (nope, nothing like our own Omnimax). It was so boring that I nearly fell asleep.

In the theatre waiting for the show to start

Then proceeded to play around with the limited exhibits, mainly revolving around topics like electricity, transport, food science and psychology. We did not feel that those exhibits effectively conveyed the various aspects of science. There was even a House of Mirrors.

Me and Slug inflated in front of a convex mirror

Eerie white frog at an exhibit

Exhibits at Science Centre

Huge plane model

Slug testing his hands' steadiness

Left the Science Centre pretty disappointed because the variety and fun factor there did not match up to those of the Science Centre back home. We returned to Temple Street with the intention of spending our last night in Hong Kong there. It was dinnertime so we had dinner at one of the tze char-style seafood restaurants there. Ordered mantis shrimps (which were disappointingly small) fried in salt and pepper, fish in black bean sauce and scrambled eggs with prawns and spring onions. Not cheap and not exactly sumptuous. I missed Sai Kung for its seafood.

At the tze char restaurant

Don't these look like fried bleached cockroaches?

An unpeeled mantis shrimp

We did the same again - walked around the stalls, browsed through the junk that collected dust from the nearby vehicles, and finally felt thirsty and had dessert. This time we tried taro with coconut milk, and fruits with jelly.

After that, out of curiosity, took a walk along Portland Street, hoping to catch a glimpse of the local sex workers. The street was dark and sinister, and the shops were mainly closed except for the mahjong parlours. We did not see any, and realised it was not as hyped-up as it seemed to be in movies. Or maybe it had been 'cleaned' rigorously over the years. However, we did see a sleazy joint hidden in a corner, that offered "free previews" of girls of various nationalities. In fact, from what we could see from a signboard, their Russian girls commanded three times the amount of what the local girls commanded. One thing we could not understand was, why would Russians work here and in such professions?

Dark sleazy establishment

Returned to our apartment early to start packing. Went through a lot of fuss packing all those tiny paraphernalia - cotton pads, earrings, keys, pills and all our travel toiletries. Finally we were going home!