We’re back!

and oh we’ve got stories to share! from overeating, overwalking, to almost missing our flight becos of a slutty receptionist (who probably moonlights as a prostitute) to having our flight delayed.

More to share in a later post. Gotta catch some snooze now. Zzzzzzzz

Filed under: Travel

13 things I learnt about Shanghai

Seems like a long time since I wrote the last entry. There has been much going on lately – site visits to the Nirwana Gardens in Bintan, weekend trips to JB, and a business trip to Shanghai.

I was very much looking forward to Shanghai (that was before I went) except the part that I have to sleep alone. I always have this thing about hotel rooms, and with sleeping alone. That’s when my mind is at its most creative and imaginative. As I do with most of my trips, I write a summary of it. It’s a pity I didnt have much time for photos this time. All photos are in my Facebook

1. I had to content with an irritating fellow passenger who kept talking to me. I pretended to either sleep or get engrossed in a movie I wasn’t interested in.
2. The 5-star hotel I stayed in was insanely luxurious. The bathroom could fit 1 king sized bed, no kidding. I totally regretted not taking pictures of my room
3. In Shanghai, don’t trust traffic lights. They are just decorations for the roads. You just have to pray for your life while crossing the road. ANY road.
4. There is no right-of-way on Shanghai roads. Everyone THINKS they have the right-of-way and they make sure they have their way.
5. It gets dark by 5pm during winter. And temperature changes are drastic
6. The 小笼包 at 预园 is a pilgrimage you have to make while in Shanghai. I swear I could have eaten another 2-3 baskets of those baos
7. 大闸蟹, a seasonal delicacy, is actually a small crab. And a very yummy one at that.
8. Don’t ever attempt to visit 科技馆 (the supposed haven for counterfeit goods) if you are a lone traveller. Chances are you’ll get conned by the shameless vendors there or get harassed by touts. I am living example
9. I’ve always complained about our MRT system, and the ettiquettes of the commuters. Well at least I see civilisation in our train commuters. In Shanghai, I see babarians. That’s that. Well-heeled men and women squeezing and pushing their way through. I’ve taken the train in most countries I’ve visited and I’ve never seen anything like this. Disgusting.
10. It’s so heartwarming to see a familiar face in a foreign place. The steamboat dinner I had with Rick & Lisa was the best meal I had in Shanghai
11. I was very lucky to meet a kindly taxi driver on my last day, who left a deep impression.
12. I survived sleeping alone in the hotel room. Even though I dreamt of a cheongsam-clad woman standing and staring at me at the edge of my bed on the first night. My friends think it might not be a dream afterall. tsk tsk
13. I probably won’t visit Shanghai again, unless I have company this time.

Filed under: Travel, Shanghai

12 things I learnt from the Bali trip

finally the Bali trip with my girls and their boys came and went. We’ve all been waiting excitedly for this trip, mainly because this is the first time 4 of us will be travelling together after knowing each other for 13 years. We’ve been through so many stages in my lives and I must say that the current stage we’re in, is the best stage I’ve seen us being in, through the many years. Of course, there are better things happening in the next few years to come, and we are definitely anticipating for those great things to happen.

Also, this trip has fostered a new bond between the 3 husbands, and as for the 4 of us, it has strengthened the already strong bonds we shared. And as I am typing this, we are already confirming the dates for our next trip! All pictures in my Facebook account

1. We only observe punctuality when there is an important occasion. I was really surprised when NONE was late at the airport, even when we arranged to meet at like 430AM.
2. We pollute the air, everywhere we go. Of course la, SEVEN smokers who must all smoke at the same time.
3. We can make big bucks if we start a restaurant. With Yan, Jacky and Rex being such good cooks, we can deffo make it big.
4. Edwin can improvise. He made swimming floats out of 7UP bottles just so that his lovely wife can swim. (Basically u just empty 2 7UP bottles and kiap under your armpit and you can be sure u wont drown)
5. Ling just cannot swim. Even with the 7UP bottles under her pits
6. Shan is the only female in the group who can play “Aqua Soccer” with the boys. Possibly cos she is the tallest thus can touch the floor of the pool
7. The boys cannot walk into the pool. They MUST jump in at any chance they get, and in the process they wet all our ciggies and broke all the wine glasses into peices
8. Rex and Jacky love ghost stories. Die die must talk about ghosts when already the villa is quite creepy at night.
9. We can have curry for supper when we had just polished off a seafood dinner few hours before. And then we eat chips after the curry supper
10. Yan is selfless. She cooked for us until she sprained her hand.
11. Rex is a good actor. Edwin can guess very well. Jacky can act like a lobster best.
12. We girls can really talk. We talk before the plane took off and until it landed in Singapore. Then Edwin reminded us we have been talking for 3 hours straight. And of course he eavesdropped on us for 3 hours

Filed under: Travel, Bali