3 Week Travelogue In Summary

Concluding Leg - Siem Reap Cambodia

Siem Reap, the famed Angkor Wat! After much bargaining with our tuk tuk driver, we finally reached a package price for the 3days of transport. Not cheap i tell ya, but what to do...USD29 for 3 days, transport to & from temples, include sunrise & sunset, include far away temples (like Beng Melea which is 2hrs away, Kbal Spean & Banteay Srei). Bloody expensive but well, what to do as i said..At least we don have to worry abt where to go, when to go etc..a driver will always be there to pick us from point to point...

Me@ Angkor Wat with my pass

Angkor Wat at dawn

Me with the face of Bayon

Our 3day Angkor wat tour started the next day with an early morning trip out for the sunrise. Had to wake up at 430am, left guesthouse at 515am for the sunrise. Paid USD40 for the 3day pass, complete with our photos taken digitally on the spot for the pass. We thought we could just submit a photo but well it's the age of IT! Ended up taking a really ugly photo with BAD lighting (cos it was too early, no sunlight, they used flourescent light to shine on our faces) Looked ghostly in the photo & i wasn't even looking straight at the camera! Well, as expected, it was a sunless sunrise (rainy season, so sky was damn cloudy) Disappointed but expected. So begun the 1st day. With tired body & mind, we embarked on the tour of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom & the other great temples...

It is really amazing how they managed to build these temples, & yes how free they were! Plenty of time at hand during their time to spend tens of years to build the temples & carve the walls! Lots of restoration & renovation have been done to the temples to keep them intact but still retaining the traditional look & method of building..

1st day ended by 2pm cos we started out early. Took a short nap & ventured out for dinner near our hotel area. Ended up eating along the rows of hawker stalls selling the same thing. Yes, there were at least 10stalls & they all sell the same thing! Fried noodles or rice or soup noodles.. We ended up settling our dinner for the next 3 nights at the same place..

2nd day started our longer travelling to the further away temples. Worth mentioning is Kbal Spean. The road to this temple is so damn memorable for its bumpiness! Yes it was dirt road all the way, worse than the road to Phnom Penh. At the end of the ride, we both had sore bums... But also, Kbal Spean was nice! It was a forest walk uphill to the riverbed where carvings are made on the river beds... Amazing!

Carvings @ Kbal Spean

Ta Prohm

On our 2nd day, we were starting to feel burnt out by temple overdose. Hahha. Went for sunset viewing up a hilltop temple, but as expected it was a sunless sunset as well... But the view from atop was amazing!!

Me @ Beng Melea

Ruins @ Beng Melea

3rd day, we went to Beng Melea (not included in the pass but worth a visit). 2hr motor ride to reach. With 2 of us behind the driver, it was not a comfy ride, esp under the HOT HOT sun. Yes, it was HOT (whatever happened to the rainy season prediction). We wanted to save USD5 per pax, so opted for motorbike. Entrance fee of USD5 is required to enter but it was worth it. I like it very much! A different experience from the other temples cos this one is really inside the forest, left untouched. We could see all the ruins of the temples & had to climb up & down the stones & fallen temples to explore the insides of the temple. The temple was destroyed by mines (which have been cleared). We were fortunate to be guided through the temple with the help of a local police. It was an interesting visit & I highly recommend it!

On our way back, our motor broke down, & had to wait for abt 1-2hrs for it to be fixed. And so ends our 3day tour of Angkor Wat! It was alot of climbing & walking. The stairs up the temples are bloody steep & tiny in width. Not easy to climb up & even more difficult on the way down! And lots of sunblock is needed! You're on the move all the time & exposed to the harmful effects of the sun! Yes, the result of my 3wk travelogue was the slipper tan...Terrible..Trying to tan it away now...

My Slipper tan

Our last full day in Siem Reap was spent doing nth much. Shopping a little for souvenirs & massaging our tired feet... Then just lazed in our hotel room, watching tv & reading until the evening for our last dinner at our usual stall...

Our dinner spot!

A final packing of our bags & off to the airport on the next morning for our flight home... Guess what? My bag now weighs 16kg! Double the original weight!! Yes, all thanks to those tailored clothes. With my twice as heavy backpack & darker skintone, we flew back home...Back to civilisation, back to familiar home terrain, bye to our 3weeks of adventure!!

Me with my 16kg backpack @ airport

More pictures on my online album (& note that I only uploaded half of my total pictures. 300+ out of 600+ taken)...

Well, didnt meet many pple most prob cos this period is not the period of travelling for students from other countries (summer holidays over) so most pple we saw were couples or families. Hai, no 艳遇 so sad....But it was a great experience & eye opener. Vietnam is really very interesting, I will go back again! Every city is so different! Cambodia? Hmm maybe not so... But maybe i have not really researched into places in Cambodia...

When will be my next adventure? I have no idea!!!!

3 Week Travelogue In Summary

The Concluding Episode - Cambodia

Yes, after 3hr boat ride & 2hrs of Really Bumpy bus ride, we finally reached Phnom Penh city (1hr later than scheduled). Checked into our really cool & hip guesthouse (Top Banana Guesthouse) & went for a quiet dinner & slept... The guesthouse is really cool, with a hip chill out area at the top floor, & the owners are really cool pple! They don't look like typical guesthouse owners, & i actually thot our pickup driver was just a driver! Turned out he's the owner. Yes, he's the owner, pickup driver, city tour driver, chillout buddy etc all rolled into one!

2nd day started our tour of Phnom Penh - Killing fields, Toul Sleng Museum, Royal Palace & Silver Palace.

It was an emotional journey visiting the Killing Fields & Toul Sleng Museum. Learning abt such atrocities & monstrous acts by the Khmer Regime - just undescribable feeling inside me. Of the 7 million Cambodians, 2mil were killed during the 5yr (1975-1959). It's just plain crazy to comprehend the rationale behind the massacre & the communist thinking.. To totally wipe out the whole country! Totally unforgivable!

Memorial Stupa @ Killing Fields

Thousands of skulls housed in the Stupa

Toul Sleng Museum

After a really depressing morning, we proceeded to some market shopping & palace sightseeing under the tortuous sorching sun.. Bloody hell HOT HOT HOT! Talking abt the palace...USD6.25 per entry to just see palaces (ok they are royal palaces) but that's just plain exorbitant! In addition, they impose a strict attire rule - No sleeveless, no shorts. Yes, anything above the knee = unacceptable, anything that does not flow over the shoulder line = unacceptable. And unfortch, I was at the mercy of such rule. Well it was bloody hot, I can't be wrapping myself in clothes! Ended up having to rent a sarong & t-shirt just for the visit. I look like a Malay...Evidence as below:

Me in the sarong. It was killing me under the heat!

Point to note - It rains at exactly 5pm in Phnom Penh every evening, at least for the rainy season. And we witnessed it happend 2 nights in a row. Torential rains at 5pm.

3rd day - 6hr Bus ride to Battambang

Phnom Penh - Well it's really very city like, not unlike Vietnam & things are not so cheap as what we would have expected. Comparable to Vietnam & some even more expensive! Water is an expensive expense in Cambodia compared to Vietnam... Food wise, expensive. Granted, we ate at cafes, but in Vietnam, food in cafes is not that much expensive. So misconception to think Cambodia = Cheap! Maybe cos it's such a touristy plc. ANyway PHnom penh really doesnt have much to offer. 1 day was sufficient for us, & i think for most pple too!

After a 6hr bus ride (that's s'posed to be just 4hrs), we reached Battambang. Yes, we have learnt not to trust any form of time estimation in these countries. You always have to add at least 1hr to the estimate. They are never on time! Once we reached the bus station, we were confronted by hordes & hordes of motor drivers, trying to sell their services & hotels they're affiliated to. Luckily we made arrangements with our hotel to pick us up, or else it would have been chaotic! Yes, this is a very impt travel tip, to arrange for transport (if it's free or if the price does not differ much from the normal way) so that u would not be swamped.

Battambang. Probably an unfamiliar name to most of us. It's a small (really small) town in Cambodia, somewhere between PP & Siem Reap. The town is so small that after 1hr of walking, we've seen the town. Nth much in the town itself. Very quiet town, not many bars in sight as well & the town sleeps pretty early! By 6pm, the night has fallen (yes, sun sets really early in Cambodia & vietnam as well) & the streets are sorta deserted. Luckily we have TV to keep us entertained at night with pretty great channels like HBO, star movies etc...

2nd day begins our tour of Battambang. We went to the Killing caves, Wat Banan (Pre-Angkorian temples), tour of villages & fruit farm (where we had fruits feast for USD1). Final stop a ride on the famed bamboo train! We had to pay USD2 each for a 15min ride on that thing, a great discount from USD5 per pax! Though it was still rather expensive, we went for it (well it's famed, so must try). It is faster than a train!! & it's quite interesting watching them dismantle the train when met with oncoming train to allow them to pass through. Videotaped them in action:

& the speed of the bamboo train - Really really fast i tell u!

Us with Ally, fellow backpacker on bamboo train

3rd day begins our 7hr boat ride along the Tonle Sap Lake to Siem Reap. Boat ride was great & interesting! Glad we chose this instead of bus (heard the roads are really terrible) but of cos, don't try this method during dry season, it could take whole day!

Floating houses along Tonle Sap Lake

Balancing loads of stuff on that miserable boat

Our boat met with an accident, bumped into an oncoming boat & caused pple to fall off the other boat. Drama drama! Spent some time at the water traffic police because of this. It was also interesting watching the locals on board the boat & how they literally bought the whole market back to their homes (floating houses)! Yes, they live on the lake & they really carried loads & loads of stuff from Battambang. Vegetables, tins of biscuits, styrofoam boxes (yes no idea y) etc...I s'pose it's the supply for the whole village for days or even weeks to come cos it's really far from the city (at least 4-5hrs by boat).

As usual, we arrived in Siem Reap 1hr later than the stipulated time, but hey at least it's not tat bad! We would have thought it was going to take much much longer! Argh...Siem Reap, the ultimate last stop of our trip! No more repacking & unpacking!

More on Siem Reap in the ultimate concluding episode....

3 Week Travelogue In Summary

Concluding Vietnam - Part 2

Next stop - HCM city. Reached & checked in our hostel around 11+ and after a short break, we embarked on our city tour to the reunification palace & war remnants museum. There was a free palace tour which was educational. Next stop was the depressing war remnants museum, where we were presented with pictures after pictures of the atrocities of the American soldiers during the Vietnam war. Damn terrible the things that were done. The bomb, which caused severe after-effects & the inhumane tortures carried out to the prisoners. Deeply disturbing.

Next day was a tour of Cu Chi tunnel where we were brought to a channel of tunnel networks built by the Viet Comm (Communists) during the war time. It is amazing how they came up with such a wide network of tunnels, linking anywhere & everywhere, with traps & escape channels here & there! They were simply smart! The tunnels are really small & cramp & stuffy! Imagine the VCs living inside the tunnels! We experienced the feeling of walking through the tunnel for 140m, & it was quite terrible. Really cramp, & had to walk squatting throughout, with limited lights (almost pitch black most of the time). It can be quite scary esp for people who are afraid of the dark cos at times, u seriously cannot see wat's in front of u or wat u'r going to face in front! Thumbs-up, must go visit! Our tour guide - Mr Bin was a former American soldier during the war. He's vietnamese but worked for the Americans & he was pretty emotional when he talked about the past. Apparently, he's helped quite a number of authors & directors by providing information for their work! Must go search for his recommendations...

Emerging sweaty & hot from the Cu Chi tunnel

Street side food - Some noodle in dono wat soup Nice & cheap at S$1.20

HCM city - Seriously nth much to explore. Well of cos we had Pho (Vietnamese noodles) & actually the food is not too ex there! What's the best is - Fruit Shakes!!! For abt S$0.50, u get a big cup of freshly blended fruit shake! Nope they don't use milk, it's just fresh fruits + shaved ice + evaporated milk & wala! U have the delicious & thick fruit shake! Worth every cent! Highly recommended! Any street side stall will do!!

Gloomy weather @ Mekong

Us & the French, acting as Cham minorities

Our last stop in Vietnam was the Mekong Delta. We joined a 2D1N Mekong trip that'll cover our cross-over to Cambodia (Phnom Penh). The 1st day started out great but ended up raining heavily when we boarded our boat trip. Unlucky but the rain stopped after a while.. Our guide was great & funny, cracking jokes at us tourists (yaya trying to 'match make' us tourists). Our group consisted of Us, 2 french guys, an american lady & 2 aussie aunties. We separated after the 2nd day morning rowing boat ride as the french are continuing on the Mekong trip while us ladies headed off to Cambodia.

Custom wait was the worst... 1hr stuck at the custom waiting for the visas & checking to be done. Once done, we had to endure a 3hr boat ride to Cambodia & 2hr BUMPY bus ride to Phnom Penh. Yes, it was really bumpy, like rollar coaster without the ups & downs! Amazing... We splitted ways with the 2 aussie aunties in Phnom Penh. Abt the 2 aunties, amazing! They're on a long & adventurous trip in Vietnam. After cambodia, they're going back to Hanoi & travelling down south, doing abit of biking trip & camping in between! Imagine aunties backpacking, camping & biking! So happening right!!

Stay tuned for more on Cambodia...

3 Week Travelogue In Summary

Concluding Vietnam - Part 1

After Sapa it was back to Hanoi & onto Hoi An (The ancient old town). As i mentioned in the previous post, we were in the same compartment as the cute honeymoon couple from Europe! This time round, we learnt a few poker games from Robert which are pretty interesting & intellectual! Must teach u guys these games soon in case I forget...

Reached Hanoi at ard 4.30am & got the 'morning call' only 5mins b4 we were to alight. Best rite! Once out of the train station, chaos broke out with hordes of motor drivers & cabbies rushing at us, trying to earn our money... Clueless abt where we wanted to head at 1st, we loitered for quite some time b4 settling on 2 motors to our previous hostel for a short rest till our afternoon flight to Hoi An. & tat was how it all happened. Ting Mei was robbed! Yes, the idiotic motor driver stole her mp3 & passport when she was fumbling over her bag to pay. Unfortch, we only discovered like 30mins later when she was trying to sort her things.. Passport gone! Damn we were all so damn panicky ok.. Passport is damn impt & we had a flight to catch. I mean mp3 is expensive but not as impt as passport. Luckily, when the hostel opened, some sweeper found her passport & returned! What luck! At least the stupid thief realised how impt the passport is to us & returned, if not i dono wat will happen.. I mean it was only 4days into our 3week travel! Going by how slow things work in Vietnam, it was highly possible she might be stuck in Hanoi... Really heng ar! And i suspect my sunglasses was also stolen then, although i only found out when i reach Hoi An...After dragging our tired, zombie-like souls along the old quarter shops for hours, we headed to the airport & flew to Danang, and a 45min cab ride later, we reached Hoi An, checked in & just slept!

This is our hotel in Hoi An very ancient design

2nd day, brand new day, refreshed from our long peaceful sleep, we embarked on our tour of the ancient old town. Cars are not allowed into the town (only motor & bicycles) 75,000VND (~S$7.50) buys us the tickets to visit 4 places of ancient historical value. Walking down the streets of old town, the feeling is so totally different from Hanoi or Sapa. Everything is like so peaceful & old..& quiet with the exception of the lion dance troupes. Yes, we were there during the Mid Autumn Festival (which is apparently a BIG thing for HOi An) and the lion dance troupes were EVERYWHERE!! It just seems like every kid in town is a lion dancer. Every corner u turn to, u see them practising & the drums 'BomBomBom'. Noisy as it is, quite an interesting sight to see, cos in Singapore, only during Chinese New Year do u get this & not in such a BIG scale!

They have the Festival Night on 14th day of Lunar Aug and it was bloody hell chaotic!! Damn crowded & noisy. It was really damn difficult to pass through the streets. And the lion dance troupes are everywhere, intruding into every single shops for a short performance in return for some money... Quite irritating & u can see some shop owners trying to bar them from entering...

Lion dance! It's their Festival night on 14th day of Lunar Aug

It was quite a pleasant walk, weather was not too hot. The places we went were the museum of ceramics trade, hokkien association, Tan Ky old house, Japanese bridge to name a few. Tan Ky old house was interesting. The owner of the house (the 6th generation living there) explained the history of the house and brought us for a short tour of the house, explaining the various sculptures on the walls.

Then of cos, our main highlight of the Hoi An stop - Clothes Tailoring!! Yes, Hoi An is famed for tailoring & it is evident from the rows & rows of shophouses specialising in tailoring! So many that u realli have no idea which one to choose from. So we just chose one we had a connection with (haha okok we saw positive comments hung outside the shop). We thought it would just be a 1hr affair choosing what we want to be made, but we were WRONG!!! Once we entered, 3 thick books were thrown to us & we started flipping to choose the designs...Pages after pages & b4 u know it, we had already shortlisted loads of designs. I had abt 15 pieces made (each piece = 1 top or 1 bottom or 1 dress) & we were there for at least 3hrs!!! Yes, shopping is TIRING!!! This is the place where i spent the most. I think I spent USD280 making all those clothes. Quite worth it & am satisfied with the outcome. Seriously they can make anything & everything from the pictures! & it was all done in 1day! We collected them the next evening. Mass production! & the owner was very attention to our needs & requests. Highly recommended! Anyone interested in going to Hoi An, I can recommend this tailor!

The 3rd day was a tour of My Son, old temples made of bricks, sth like Angkor wat but on a smaller scale... It was quite interesting but of cos, compared to Angkor Wat, it's really minor...

Me @ My Son

Armed with the new clothes, repacking was a serious problem. Ended up just hand carrying most of the new clothes..Next stop - Ho Chi Minh!

p/s: I discovered my sleeveless T-Shirt tan in Hoi An, a result of the sun exposure in Sapa... It was realli terrible. I was shocked beyond words. Imagine the sleeveless T-shirt tan!! Eeks.. I was horrified! Luckily now, it has gone off quite alot, thanks to subsequent days' suntanning...

3 Week Travelogue In Summary

The Beginning

Carrying my 8-9Kg Green Backpack, I embarked on my long-awaited 3 week travel to Vietnam & Cambodia with my new found travel kaki - Meei Ting Aka Ting Mei. 1st Stop - Vietnam Hanoi.

After a 3hr flight (Tiger), 45mins bus ride and a short walk, we finally checked into our hostel and laid our beds for night and prepare ourselves for Halong Bay tour the next morning.

The Tour started at 830am. After a 3hr bus ride, we reached the bay and boarded our ship for the tour ard the beautiful Halong Bay. The weather was great - Bright & Sunny. Cruised ard and made a stop at the local floating fishing village & was greeted a loads of live seafood! Then it was a mediocre lunch on board the ship. Funny way of serving our food. The rice came only after we had finished the 1st 3 dishes. Then after a few mins, the next dish was served, then a while later, another dish served. After we had almost finished the dishes, came the veggies. Then the fish and tofu. How funny....

Me on Halong Ship

Then came the visit to the caves where we saw amazing stone formations. I must praise the people who came up with all those descriptions for the stone formations. How the hell did they manage to liken the stone to lions, dragons or fish? Maybe i'm just not imaginative enough...

Stairway to heaven..Inside the cave

Our next major stop in Hanoi was the Ho Chi Minh complex... The Mausoleum! Yes, the other time i missed the opening hours, now I redeemed myself! The Vietnamese really LOVE Uncle Ho! There were more locals than tourists! It just seems like it has become their daily ritual to pay Uncle Ho their respect whenever they can... Anyway, it's so not as stress an environment as compared to when I went to visit Lenin. It was noisy inside the Mausoleum & the guards are not as stern.

We went for the water puppet show. It was great entertainment! The puppet masters had to stand in water to control the puppets. Abt S$4 for the 1hr show, worth it!

We tried local street food as well. Some fried dough with stuffings inside which they eat by dipping in some sweet sauce. Interesting way. Ok they really LOVE mint leave. They put it in EVERYTHING! Noodles, springrolls and as side dish & i hate it!

THen it was back to our hostel to wait for the time to head to the train station for our overnight train to Sapa. We met a lovely couple on their honeymoon (Robert & Juliet) from UK. They were really cute & the wife really had the traits of a French (yes she's French, he's Scotish). N They were really very lovely dovely ekekke... It was entertaining to talk to them during the train journey.. & the coincidence -- We were in the same bunk as them on our return train ride!!

Ar Sapa... Nice plc with great scenery. Majority of my memory card was spent taking pictures in Sapa...

Reached Lao Cai ard 5am & took a 1hr bus to Sapa. Checked into our USD10 per night hotel & took a short nap.

Refreshed from our short rest, we embarked on our 1st stop - The Silver waterfall. After a 20mins motor ride, we finally reached. Though not majestic, it was nonetheless an amazing sight. Then another 20min motor ride back to hotel (by the time our faces are masked in sand). After a light snack of local bbq, we headed off for a trek to the Cat Cat village for more waterfall. Keke.. The hike was not easy..esp the return, but we did it! 1 thing to point out -- Thinking that Sapa is s'posed to be cooling, we were decked in Long Sleeves & Jeans. BIG MISTAKE!! It was HOT HOT HOT!! & with all those trekking, we were all perspiring underneath those warm attire!! We learnt our lesson. THis is summer time. Sapa has 4 seasons in 1 day - Summer in the afternoon & winter at night. If only we had known earlier...

Me on the bike..Stylo ya

Silver waterfall

2nd day embarked on a guided trek to 3 local tribes. Having learnt our lessons, we were dressed more appropriately - shorts & t-shirt. Luckily we did tat cos it was a long trek under the BIG BRIGHT SUN. We were 'escorted' throughout our journey by the tribes pple, right from the start to the mid point lunch break which was at least 2hrs! Their aim is to ultimately get us to buy things from them... but i feel sad for them to have to endure the trouble...& ultimately we might not buy anything from them (ok at least i didnt...cos i just don't see anything i fancy). & they can speak pretty good english! All from just talking to tourists after tourists...

Scenery of Sapa

Me with the Lao Chai girls

Back to the trek. The view was AMAZING!!! The rice fields, rivers & streams.. Just simply amazing! Mountains, mountains & more mountains...Any shot can be a postcard shot! I think the amount of greenery I saw in one day there equals to the entire amt of greenery I get in touch with in Singapore in a year!

Ban Ho Waterfalls. Acting cool here (like the temperature of water)

One our last day, we went to Ban Ho village, an almost 1hr motor ride to get there (and more sand dusk mask on our face). The place is so much more quiet, undisturbed by tourists & no 'buy for me buy for me' pleas by the villagers. We went for a dip in the waterfalls (ok we only dipped our feet in the water) and rested in the hut of one of the villagers. Then it was back to Hanoi at night.

Interesting point to note. We had TV in our room in Sapa but unfortch, there was no english channel. Only vietnameses shows. So we ended up watching snippets of vietnamese dubbed shows. & the thing is, they don't have professional voice-overs. Yes, the same person does the voice over for EVERYONE (yes, guys, girls, uncle, auntie) in the show, & emotionless. Absolutely no ups & downs or expression in their voices. Well at least it makes for interesting laughs... Luckily we got better tv shows in other hotels we stayed in...

To be continued... More to come - Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh, Mekong Delta & Cambodia...

And I'm BACK!!!!!

Miss me? Gone 3weeks without blogging cos i was on a holiday! Yeah my Vietnam & Cambodia Rendevous.. IT was so great!!! Always wanted to do like an epic trip (well it's miniscule as compared to what the westerners have done) & now i have sorta fulfilled tat dream! 3weeks of non-stop travelling. It was SHIOK!! N i so dig it!

Now I'm back! Yes, even tanner than ever. Ok some pple say i'm already v dark, how dark can I get...Well it's really darker but not burnt.

There is just so much to blog abt & i just realise this is the 98th entry! 2 more & i'll have broken the 100 mark! Yeah! Way to go!

Summary of what I have learnt during the trip:

1) Motorbike, tuk tuk?
2) Buy for me buy for me?
These 2 phrases (or questions) kept following us in Vietnam. Whereever we went, motordup drivers kept 'harrassing' us. IN Sapa where the minority tribes live, we were harrassed by them to buy their handmade things. Well it gets really irritating...

3) Lady of a thousand faces - Zoe Tay (千面女郎）can just step aside! I'm the new successor! When I was in M'sia, I look like M'sian, look like Thai in Thailand, look like Vietnamese in Vietnam, look like Cambodian in Cambodia. Multi-nationality face! Someone even thought I was from San Diego when I was travelling there..Imagine!

Well..I am still busy uploading my pictures so my blog will have to wait just a bit. It is tough job trying to upload pictures, & even tougher to label the pictures! So to all my faithful readers, pls bear with me. I know u'll aching for things to read but give me some time ok.. I promise I'll fill u up with loads more of stories & pictures! Very busy busy busy kekeke...Hope to finish loading pictures by tmr then I can start on writing my blog.

Just did a calculation. My total damage fore the 3weeks trip is S$1,640. Ok, not so much off my initial budget of USD1K so i'm happy. At least S$300K of the total expenditure went to tailoring of clothes expenses which did get a little out of control (out of my initial budget). But I'm glad i did those clothes. Air tickets also made up a bulk of the expenditure (took 2 internal flights in Vietnam) so well, still pleased with myself.

Ok..Gota stop here...Promise I'll continue with my travelogue in a couple of days.. Stay tuned....

Car Practice...Gone Crazy

4 years after I passed my driving test, I finally get to practice behind the wheels again today! Courtesy of Superhose (a.k.a. uncle). His bright red madza cool! N it's auto car somemore! Wow auto car is reali amazing! No clutch, only brake & accelerator & they will automatically move w/o u stepping on the accelerator! How cool is that! Haha sorrie ar, I drove manual car the last time, nvr had contact with auto car b4, so it's an eye opener for me...So cool, u don't have to keep changing gear, just accelerate or brake..hahah auto car is so so so convenient...

We started off fine circling around the carpark area at my place, then ventured out to the main roads also around my estate. As i said, I have faith in my driving and yes, I'm quite steady on the roads! Superhose can attest to it ok... Only thing is I don't realli dare to step full on the accelerator, but hey it's the 1st time, i'm sure everyone is like that on the 1st try. But after a while, i can step on the accelerator quite confidently. Went all the way to JP and back home & to NTU!

Driving through the winding rounds & slopes was quite cool but I managed, until........ I did a Flying Mount Kerb!!!!! Yes, till now i am still not quite sure what happened & why i suddenly lost concentration & did the incredible! I have nvr in my entire driving life mount kerb, n now my maiden mounting kerb! N it was quite a BIG one! THe car just went up the roadside & down in a BANG!!! It was like 'Bang Bung Bong', up & down flying! THe car seriously flew up a little! We were both stunned & shocked! Luckily the car is intact & no damages else my head will roll... SEriously apologise Superhost... I realli didn't mean it & had no idea what went on in my mind b4 all tat happened. It was reali reali reali v v v v sudden... But u can trust me! No nextime ok...

Lesson 2 will still exist ya? When i come back ok...I promise nth will go wrong, & maybe the nextime i can drive to orchard! I still need to practice parking a car....U need to bring pole leh..

Crabbing, crapping, whatever

The much anticipated, long overdue crabbing session was finally materialised on Wednesday! Initial location was Still Road, but unfortch, it was closed! Note to all crab lovers, the Crab Restaurant at STill Road is CLOSED on Wednesdays so DO NOT attempt to go on Wednesday! Our strategy - Proceed to the next best alternative, which is Ang Mo Kio! STill a popular & famous location.

We were lucky. Reached ard 630pm n crowd had not form yet. By the time we placed our orders & sat down, the long Q started to form! Just a matter of minutes! Heng ar..

Our orders - 2 butter crabs, 1 crab bee hoon, 1 kangkong, 1 tofu, 1 meat.

After abt half hour, our crabs arrived! Ooo, they were HUGE!! With huge pinchers which i like keke... Easier to eat.

Point to note, I have not eaten crabs for a v long time! Reason being - I hate to de-shell them for the meat. I just hate it. So troublesome & dirties my fingers which make it uncomfy to eat other dishes. So i choose NOT to eat crabs or prawns. However, if someone is willing to do the dirty job for me, i'll eat! Hahah, that's the only condition. This time is exception cos the whole point is to EAT CRAB, so i allow myself this time to do the dirty work myself. Which is really quite a task! Ur entire hand & even wrist will be messed up & it does not feel good... But the crabs were nice! Really tasty, juicy, tender & lotsa meat! Look at the picture! The shell is the size of my hand!

The bee hoon was good too! The soup is very creamy & rich but i think alot of MSG went into it cos it makes u feel rather thirsty.

How popular is this place? Evident from the fact that even when we were done at past 830pm, there was still a Q outside. N it was Wednesday, not wkend..

Our total damage for 5 of us, around $175! The 2 butter crabs + crab bee hoon cost $135. Bloody expensive but well..i guess that's the price u pay for good food. Will i go back again? Probably not, cos i'm just too lazy to travel so far for food haha...

On another note, i went for another image revamp! Yes, another one in 2 months! Hahah... Starting to go havock. Trimmed my hair shorter, with a more defined slope at the back, while still retaining the length of my fringe &... Walau, a new hair colour! Only highlighting certain parts of my fringe to a bright red! Yes bright cos the last time i tried red, it didn't quite absorb the colour so decided to just go for it!

Can see? Hmm think too dark a background to clearly c the brightness but it is really bright. And no photoshop! This is original, un-edited photo..(i'm not Xiaxue, i don't do photoshop)The next day when i went back office, my colleagues got a shock. N that's when i got the nick - Flaming Flamingo. It is especially evident under the sun. Haha, even my client is shocked. Ok i'm daring.. Ok maybe it doesn't look professional, given the nature of my job but don't care! Haha anyway it'll tone down to brown in 2-3weeks. Just let me enjoy it while I can. Next time maybe i wun dye it..or i'll choose a darker colour.

Ok, i'm going to be MIA for the next 3weeks at least, cos i'm going for my annual trip! Vietnam (Hanoi - HCM) & Cambodia all in 3 weeks. Sounds long but in fact, not enough to cover some interesting places, but well have to compromise alittle... Excited. Flying off this Sun 16th Sept. Shall blog about it when i'm back... In the meantime, don't miss me ok... Do stay tuned for my bloggings on my trip! Pictures promised!

And The Federer Express Cruised On...

And it is No 12 for the All-time greatest! Ok, soon to be all time greatest cos he still has 2 more to equal Pete Sampras' record. Yes, by 7.30am SG time, Roger Federer claimed his 4th US Open title, bringing his Grand Slam haul to 12, 2 short of Pete's record 14. Also, he has managed to clinch all but one grand slams in 2 consecutive years. The only one eluding him is French Open, the big obstacle of Rafael Nadal in the way. That is how great he is! Imagine for the past 2 years, only 2 Grand Slam champions - Him & Nadal.

Some figures for you to understand the great Swiss:

5 consecutive Wimbledon titles

3 Australia Open titles

4 consecutive US Open titles

161 consecutive weeks as world number one (a record)

That is only the more prominent achievements by the great Swiss. Granted he is not invincible, he has lost in some matches & tournaments, but when it comes to what matters most, he is at his tip top performance! Cool & calm & collected during matches. It is just so effortless to watch him play! It's like a walk in the park when he plays while the opponents are panting & running & grunting all over... Just a genius... Amazing player! Just like Pete Sampras but I think he can do much better. N he is only 1 yr my senior!!! He is still THE player to beat. It is just so amazing to hear some players losing in every match to him tournament after tournament. Case in point, Andy Roddick. He has lost to Federer in all but one of their meetings! Wow! And Andy is a talented player, but against the genius, what can u do...

Enough raving over Federer.. Maybe next yr is going to be THE year when he completes the Grand Slam (i.e. 4 slams in a yr)

Moving on..Justin Henin. The female world no1, collected her 7th Slam this yr with US Open win. That lady is also a wonder. Just looking at her, u wouldn't think she's tat powerful or capable cos compared to Williams sisters or Sharapova, she's not tat tall or muscular! But she is a hellavu good player! Tennis is not all about strength (though it is an impt aspect) but also abt ur tactics & technic. Justin is smart! Another thing is she's likeable! Not someone u will outright hate or have sth against (like the Williams sisters). She just looks harmless! Like Steffi Graff!

I used to quite like Martina Hingis (tho she can seem alittle arrogant at times when she was at her peak). That woman, doesnt seem to fit in the power play era. Strength wise, she's not powerful, n she's short. But she played smart, which led to her claiming several Grand Slam titles before she retired temporarily. But now, she is not able to reclaim her glory days... But Martina is short tempered and used to be unable to accept defeat gracefully.. So my preference is still Justin!

Who do i hate? Williams sisters! They are too damn muscular & look like men on steroids! Hahha...Also v v arrogant & just can't seem to give credits to players who defeat them! Think they're so great that any defeat is their own fault instead of better players. Yes, u made a sorta comeback this year, but u still lost to better players so admit it!! Their father is even more irritating!! Hate them... Power players they are, but lack the EQ.

Sounds v pro ya? Haha but i dono how to play tennis, which is a pity. Someday i will pick it up & play! Some day... ANy coaches out there???

NTM Fever!

For those who do not yet know, NTM = Next Top Model. It all started with ANTM = America's Next Top Model. The one & only original series hosted & created by Tyra Banks (FYI supermodel) which spawned the many many different versions all over the world, from Britain to Germany to even Thailand!

What makes this so interesting is the bitchyness of the contestants & also to ogle at those chio bus (well some not so chio) & the different themes of pictures they take on every week. Really quite cool & impressed by some amazing talents who can just become drop dead gorgeous in front of the camera!!! Of cos the hosts & judges make for interesting TV show - "Smile with ur eyes!". "Connect with the camera", "Fierce eyes", "Show me model"... Oo la la! So bitchy yet entertaining! I can say i'm an expect with modelling now hahaha... Ok maybe more of looking & analysing others than myself being one...But hey, maybe i have got potential... Judge for urself:

Moody feel to the picture..sexy pose ya

Attitude pose

Haha okok, maybe i shld take more front view shots..Ok i'll try but it's just tat i'm not used to taking full frontal shots hahaha..alwz feel abit weird..

Talking abt NTm craze, I've watched all NTMs english version. Yes, from America, canada to British to Australia! Every NTMs that is in English, i've watched, not just 1 season but ALL seasons! I have even watched Germany NTM with english subtitles! Yes some are great, some just suck big time. Case in point, Germany NTM is fantastic! The contestants r really professional & even greater than ANTM!! They are just so BEAUTIFUL & the tests & training given on GNTM are so much better! They even get to go on real job assignments that expose them to the real fashion world! Prizes & rewards are so much better as well! They also get more training (like catwalk training etc) throughout the whole show. Not like in ANTM, u only see like 1 or 2 trainings & that's it! U can really see the contestants grow in GNTM! N i agree that they are so much better in quality. They really have the kinda star quality & air to them! Great!

My favourite contestant on GNTM - Hana! She is a sexy babe who is both editorial & commercial & great catwalker! look at how hot she is in the photos! I mean imagine! Too bad she came in 3rd.. Yes GNTM standard is HIGH!! This quality came in 3rd..just imagine!

Worse - British NTM. Really sucky. U would have thought the place where Kate Moss or Sophie Dahl came from should be full of good potentials. But u are so WRONG!!! The contestants suck BIG TIME!!! Really BIG TIME!!! I really do not understand y the contestants r so sucky!!! They cannot model, cannot walk, no personality! UGLY even! What shit! IT's like after so many episodes & training, u would expect them to improve vastly but NONONO, alot of pictures still suck big time! N alot of them don't even have the MODEL look or even figure. I really don't understand. U watch & u really cannot tell or even believe any of them can be a model! Imagine how bad that is! The latest season is much more improved but still bad. Contestants suck big time & the only better one is a plus size model (she looks really good in picture but with a bad attitude) & the rest is just blar..... Seriously eeks eeks eeks...

Canada NTM - season 1 sucks BIG TIME!! the 2 finalists - what the fuck! Both can't walk, both r ugly, no quality...Not sure y they were there in the 1st plc! Anyway the other contestants r not any much better. SEason 2 - Much better! The winner so deserves it cos she is a model! Editorial more than commercial but she is good! Look at the pictures::

Xiaomianyang: This is called vogue! Look at the fierce eyes & expression!

But still, on a whole not a good season cos alot of the contestants CMI!!

Australia NTM - Not bad actually. But the latest season 3, the winner is so damn obvious. She just stands out from the rest & led all the way from the beginning. But not bad la..

Alice winner of Aus NTM 3. So editorial again!

Now, ANTM cycle 9 is coming out soon..Yeah hope it'll be good cos cycle 8 wasn't really tat great... Waiting for GNTM 3 as well but tat's going to take some time...

Oh man i just LOVE NTM. How crazy am i? I can just stick to my comp & watch YouTube whole day!!! My record is finishing the whole season in less than 2 days. Yes, non-stop watching & watching & doing nothing else...Now i have british NTM 3 to keep me company till ANTM 9 comes along...

& not to forget, the host makes a hella difference! Tyra Banks is what makes ANTM so interesting. The other versions, i must say i kinda like australia NTM host for season 1 & 2 cos she's bitchy enuff. The others...bland!!!!! Heidi was great! She was really good as a host & mentor to the contestants, alwz there guiding them for the shoots...I must say she's the best (of cos Tyra is the original so no contest there)

Wana be on top?????? can't wait for cycle 9!!!!! Another endless chase to the finale!!!

Last full day in LA...What was the plan? Universal Studios of cos! Woke up at 6am sharp, and left the hotel b4 7am to catch the bus to Univseral Studios. As I have said b4, airport is near nowhere... It took me almost 2hrs to finally reach Universal Studios so i managed to be there just b4 it officially opens. It was rather cool cos they have like an opening speech and a countdown to 9am, the opening time!

1st stop - The Universal Studio tour that lasts 45mins. Cool way to start the day. There was no Q, so it was fast fast fast. Next off, to 'Back to the Future' ride. Yes, the last time u get to see this ride cos they're tearing it down by the time u read this! Replacing with 'Simpsons' ride. Wonder how that is going to be like... I mean Simpsons is a family cartoon... Maybe a donut ride??

Then it's off to the lower lot for the fun rides! Mummy ride 1st!! It was the greatest ride!! I met a little Mexican girl who was to go on the ride alone. So i ended up accompanying her to the ride 4 times! Yes, we went on the ride 4times! I enjoyed it every time! It was so fun! LIke a rollar coaster ride. Now i understand y some pple say they went on it 10times... The little Mexican girl did it 10 time b4! Then we went to the Jurassic Park ride, which got us really wet...A great relief from the terrible hot weather! Yes it was real HOT that day! AFter the ride, I parted way with the Mexican girl and went on alone to all the other rides n shows.

Next up backdraft where i got 'fired' up... Hhaha literally. Cos it's a show abt fire! Then it was on to special effects. After i'm done with the lower lot, back to the main arena for more fun!

Went for the waterworld show. Wow, the 'actors' in the show were all from some famed TV shows like the girl from Heroes, CSI casts etc... Nvr knew that! But the show was good... Makes one wonder why the movie itself tanked real bad. Went for the Shrek ride next...Well kiddie ride it was hahahah

Went for a scare in the 'House of Horrors'. Truth be told, i hate being suddenly approached by pple hiding in the dark, esp when i'm walking the house alone with no1 beside me. Nextime i must get some1 with me, that'll be more fun.

Met lots of characters and took pictures with them... marilyn monroe, spidey, flash, shrek, simpsons..... Of cos, the thing abt being by myself is no1 to take picts for u, so u had to ask others to help...But who cares!

Me & Spidey & The Green Goblin. Spidey really is good..he keeps posing!

Like i said...Spidey kept posing! He posed just for me to take this picture

Me & Marilyn & gang...Sexy

Moving on, I went to almost all the shows n rides, except for the 'The Blue Brothers' show. Cannot understand what that is abt so forget it hahahah... Went for the animal actors show, terminator 3D show n fear factor live! Yes, they do have fear factor live show! Contestants will have to volunteer and attend an audition on that day so it's real!! They grossest thing they did was to drink a concoction of eeky things..I don't even wana mention what those were... That was the last show b4 i left Universal Studio and endured another 1.5hrs ride back to hotel. That night, I was too lazy to buy back from downtown so ended up ordering room service which totalled to USD50! I ordered a plate of linguini, salad & soup... How extravagant! But it was my last night, so just order! (Anyway can charge n claim back kekeek) Of cos, had to watch tennis as i ate... damn exciting match it was!

The next morning, back to SG..another 18hrs flight home...

Overall, an enjoyable trip..though a little short (if only i had a few more days)... Wish i have more of that...Cross my fingers n hope that my next business trip works out fine n i'll get to go San Francisco n San Jose!

Continued from previous post...

Yes, the night i returned from SD to LA. Met up with Winston after checking in to my hostel (more on that later) and walked along Hollywood Blvd. Yes, it's THE place where u have all those stars, it's the Walk of Fame! We walked to the Chinese Theater, where u will get to see all the imprints of stars' signature like John Woo, John Travolta, Harry Potter stars, even donald duck! Nope, no sign of Mickey Mouse tho... N of cos, my aim was Tom Cruise which I finally managed to find! N Jack Sparrow was there...or his impersonator. Cost me USD1 to take a picture with him! We had dinner at BK, which was a wise choice cos i got a USD15 discount coupon there for Universal Studios! Yes, how lucky!

The Chinese Theater

Me stepping on Donald Duck

That's Tom Cruise!!!

My $1 picture with 'Jack Sparrow'. He's really good

Walk of fame

Well, the street is actually not happening at all! N it was only like 9pm. I had expected it to be noiser n more happening but it was rather quiet n all the shops were like almost closed. No crowds on the streets, except for the Chinese Theater area. That plc was full of tourists. It was like dark n quiet all the way, then suddenly a clutter of lights & noise in that small area... Well, after dinner walked all the way back to my hostel.

Yes my hostel - Banana Bungalows Hollywood. Quite a nice & interesting hostel. Bathroom & kitchen attached to the dorm rooms n the room is quite big n cosy. They have a courtyard at the entrance. I had fun roomies. An Indian English (Raj) and Irish (Comase). Interesting persons to talk with. We had a long long long interesting conversation through the night, talking abt our lives, what was up, what was our plans blar blar... Then the next room traveller from Germany walked in n chatted up with us! He had been on tour since June 2007 and will continue till June 2008! That's 1 full year of travelling! His aim - To find himself n what he wants to be! Wow! That's very admirable! He wants to find out if being a photog is what he reali wants to be, so this trip is a trip to discover himself! Hope he will eventually figure out what he really wants. His next stops would be Australia, NZ, and SEA. Wow! About the Irish (Comase), he was on attachment with a marketing firm in California for the past 3 months n it was time for him to go back home. N Raj was in LA en route to his friend's wedding a few days later... Interesting bunch of pple. Because all of us were at least in our mid 20s, our topics were much more on track n interesting than talking to young teenages. Oh, n they actually thought i was an actress wanabe in LA seeking for fame! Hahah... goes to show that i have the acting chops to make it! It was during this conversation that I learnt that Irish is a language! Hahha...sorry but i seriously did not know Irish as a language actually existed. Our conversation lasted till the next morning abt 5am.. I did not go back to sleep cos I had to meet Winston at 840am to go hiking up the Hollywood sign. So a sleepless night for me... Which affected me in the late afternoon during my stock take.

Me with the HOllywood Sign

Took the Dash Bus to the foot of the Hollywood sign hill and hiked all the way up. Took us abt half an hour to get to the halfway point. Nope u cannot hike up to the sign, but we got close enough to get some pictures. After the hike, i packed up and moved to the hotel (yes, time for some luxury). It was near the airport, hence close to nowhere... Took me almost 2hrs to travel there... N at 3pm, time for my stock take to start! Cos of the sleepless night b4, i seriously had to try real hard to keep myself awake! After 4.5hrs, it finally ended and i just headed straight back to hotel n slept for 12hrs. Room service came knocking on my door twice the next morning to clean my room! Ha, forgot to put the 'do not disturb' sign, made the lady came in twice.

Finally i got up at 1130am and headed to Venice Beach. My walking day begins once again! I walked from Venice beach to Santa Monica and back, n onwards to Muscle Beach. Venice beach, an interesting plc, with a unique quality to itself. Loud music, streets shops and performances... has a hippy quality and characteristic. Onwards to Santa Monica, the music dies off, and everything becomes quieter & more family. There's even an amusement park right at the end of Santa Monica. Onwards to Muscle Beach, where yes, there was a gym by the beach n u can see pple working out there... What a crazy idea! Nice walk along the beach, nice scenery... had wanted to stay for the sunset but decided agt it cos my hotel was too far away...so i went back b4 the sunset. Pity though, cos i think it would have been a great sunset that day...but well....

Venice Beach

Santa Monica, with the amusement park

Beach goers

Near the muscle beach

Anyway, went back to hotel in time for part of the Federer match agt some unknown tennis player.. Yes it's the US Open! N he was great in that match! I could have been stuck to the TV just watching tennis match if I had nothing better to do!