Gotham Penthouse Night Out

The long awaited girls' night out to the much known Gotham Penthouse! Gotham Penthouse, well-known and famous for its fun, sexy n maybe kinky dance performances at night, that's bordering on alittle strip-teasing (but not to the last strand). 4 pretty, sexy ladies on their 1st night out! Well, it's sth to be excited about!

The ticket to entry!

A brief history, it was part of an NUS alumni event, courtesy of Cindy, the 4 of us said 'Yes' quite immediately! N so begun the countdown to the date 4th July (coincidentally US national day).

Finally the friday came n we all gathered at Danlin's house to wash up & doll up! Hehe, well party night of cos must doll ourselves up (not too extreme though). N off we went for makan then Gotham!

Us gals by the Poster of Gotham!

We arrived close to 10pm n entered the much awaited clubhouse, anticipating more fun, music & party. However, much to our dismay, the atmosphere inside seemed alittle quiet & peaceful for a club!!!! E'ryone was quietly drinking at their own corner, no one on the dance floor, no mingling ard of any sort. N there wasnt even a crowd to start with!! Sparsely populated for such a well-known night club!! Must have been due to this NUS alumni night event that caused the dip in atmosphere n party.

We came juz in time for the 1st dance performance by the Odyssey. In the past, it used to be all male dancers, now they changed to be 3 males n 3 females. Well, it was only an opening performance so it was nothing too HOT or raunchy, slightly disappointing cos we were expecting MORE. Well, it's Gotham Penthouse for god's sake! All over the papers for its raunchy dance routines & hot bods! Somemore, the female dancers were rather FAT & not fit.. a GREAT disappointment! Imagine watching a professional performance with jiggling bods eeks...

Dancers at work..Look at the fat one on the right

The performance ended quite soon, think it was only like 15mins, n it was back to sad, quiet drinking. Even the performers were disappointed with the lack of responsed that they had to request for some applause n cheers!!

Anyway, we stayed there for 1hr more, talking abt raunchy subjects then left. We were too bored to wait for the 2nd performance, which i think would have started ard 1230am. That was like another 1hr+ wait in the quiet n boring place so we just left. Point to note though, they started allowing entrance to outsiders after 11pm, which sorta brightened up the atmosphere alittle with pple on the dance floor n the place becoming more like a clubhouse. So we concluded, it was cos of the NUS Alumni Night thingy that drenched the whole place! So moral of the story -- Can still visit, but on normal nights, n preferably after 12am for more raunchy performances.

The night ended ard 1230am at coffee club where we juz sipped coffee and talked. And not to mention the fiesca we had in search of Danlin's car!!! Who knew M3 meant somewhere between level 3 and 4! We searched thr' levels 3,4,5,6,7 but cldnt find her car and panicked until i saw M3 and clicked in my mind that 'hey, I think it's M3'! Well who could blame us! I mean M3 sounds more like somewhere below level 1 n in our minds, we rem we went from up to down and NOT vice versa...Anyway, we spent almost 30mins trying to find our car before we ended the night, happy but tired...

p/s: I just got a letter from IRAS cos i forgot to pay my taxes n its overdued!! Haha been busy travelling the whole of June that I totally forgot i've got taxes to pay! Anyway, I've been granted pardon for the moment so fine will not be imposed if I pay them by next week. N i'm so going to be a law abiding citizen now!

I have been told that my blog is becoming BORRRRRING...n outdated..

Well truth be told, I agree it's slightly outdated since the last post was done in May 2008 which is abt 2 months ago.

What to do when your life now is so much better, more relaxing, less bitchy, less stress n complaints to moan n grumble about!! Maybe my life has been so peaceful that it's bordering on..OMIGOD, i'm so NOT going to describe that word.. It's just me happily living a peaceful life after those 3+ years of hectic lifestyle, slaving away free time & wkends at work.

Now I'm a happy internal auditor, in an almost stressfree (there's nothing known as total stress-free, I have to give myself some credits) company n job nature, surrounded by great & furnie colleagues to keep my mood so high up! I knock off on time (at 6pm) or even slightly earlier when i'm in SIngapore, and that just means that i'm able to hit the gym & sweat it out almost everyday! But of cos, i don't do tat e'ryday, maybe abt 4-5 times a week, including wkends.

Staying in Singapore means our field work is completed, n just left with the admin things & tidying up like writing the final report, tidying up workpapers etc etc n some admin admin work. SO our real WORK is performed when we're overseas! That's y sometimes we seem less busy in Singapore. But the fact is we worked hard overseas! Ok, not so hard as to drive round the clock till 1 or 2am but hard enuff to sniff out issues!

I like my current situation. Though SOME PPLE say my blog has become BORRING cos i don't have much to complain about! Isnt tat great!!! N my life has been pretty normal, no winning of 5mil TOTO, or striking an oil field or meeting TOm Cruise, or hitting on some rich, gorgeous man on the road... Well any of the above would DEFINITELY guarantee a full page report on my PRESTIGIOUS blog. What is laughing about some silly gossips in the office pantry, or chatting up with old friends, or discussing abt upcoming weddings? Not so major as to grace to pages of my blog! Oh talking abt weddings, i attended 2 in June alone, damn it, pple are juz flocking to get married nowadays... In the fashion world, u have VOGUE magazine being the pristine magazine, hard to get one cover. My blog has the same criteria. Only talks about really really interesting happenings, or trips or news! Something i like to talk abt, anyway it's MY BLOG!! I get to choose n decide! So for now, i think my life has been pretty stable, no serious ups or downs, so not going to blog abt something which isnt too exciting!

I can give u fervent readers an update though... SInce May 2008, i had only been to SHanghai for biz trip for 3weeks n boy was the audit interesting n tough. Lotsa happenings which included a potential fraud incident (but that person resigned b4 the case was unearthed). Not going into much details, we discovered loads of 'holes' in the design of their controls n operations which led to whatever happened. Quite shiok to dig n dig their dirty laundry. 1st time in SHanghai but not going to be the last. Still had not have enuff time to walk ard n visit places...Now back in Singapore (no more travelling till august) to tidy up n write report...

Juicy update..I may post a blog next week due to the up and coming GIRLS' NIGHT OUT this friday! Yeah! We're going to GOTHAM PENTHOUSE!! In clarke quay. Where there's a SHOW at night, teasing show... Excited? Blood boiling?? Me too!! Hehe, we're so going to have a good time out (hopefully) Can't wait for Friday to come. Maybe after that, I'll give u pple an update on the blog.. Going to be my best on the night! Party people!!

Redang Diveologue 2008

There is Travelogue, and then there is Diveologue! Mine is obviously Diveologue cos my main purpose of Redang Trip is to Dive!! My 1st dive in 2008, yes & i have fulfilled my wishlist of at least 1 dive a year! The difference is --- I have my own equipment!! Masks, booties & fins (and snorkel which was lost on my 1st dive in the water angry angry angry). What a great feeling to dive with own equipments! No more leaking masks, perfect fit & nice fins!! So shiok ar!

Of cos, the planning was terrible. It was a case of almost NOT happening trip after Tingmei & I had been so looking forward to the holiday (planned our leave & booked, really to go). 3wks b4 the date, we started to look ard the resorts & calling them to ask for availability. To our horror, all resorts (those we wanted) were FULL!!!!! Jialat! Then, a glimmer of hope appeared with 1 particular resort with 1 unit still available. Without thinking, we juz booked it. After which, we decided to book coach ticket & to our horror AGAIN, NO COACHES to redang during that period of time from Singapore!!!!! Jialat, no bus to go will DIE!! So we decided on Plan B - Go Johore buy ticket, depart ffrom Johore. So Dearest Tingmei went to JB to buy, luckily GOT TICKET!!! So heng ar! So this is our plan:


Depart 30th April Night from JB Larkin Terminal 1030pm
Duration: 10hours
Arrive Kuala Terrengganu 8am the following morning
Duration of stay in Redang: 4D3N
Return 4th May From KT to Singapore 9am bus


Given that my home is at the far end of Singapore (Jurong), I did not go home on 30th April (mind you i had to work on that day). So instead, i went to the gym n worked out haha to prepare my body for the 3 days of diving!! Perspiration, wash up & rush to the bus terminal to take bus to cross JB. Bloody bus damn slow & running late, so i ended up taking the cab to the causeway & hafway there kena JAM!!! Stupid buses & lorries choking up the roads, ended up i had to alight the cab a distance away from the causeway & ran my crazy arse all the way over (it was abt 15mins of extreme running). By the time i crossed over Singapore custom, i was soaking wet & panting!! Luckily all those gym work did me some good in building up my stamina! With the heavy backpack & diving gear, it is not easy task running the long long distance!


So instead of 845pm, i reached at 930pm. Poor Tingmei had to wait for me there. Panic raised as we had to reach Larkin Terminal by 1030pm. By the time we boarded the bloody bus 170 to cross the causeway, it was almost 945pm. Heart racing & clock ticking, we sat in the bus waiting anxiously as the bus maneuvered slowly out of the packed SG custom & onto a smooth ride across! Double lucky again! by 10pm, we made our way past the JB custom, surprisingly no Q no jam given that the following day is a holiday! So quickly, we boarded the bus to Larkin Terminal. By 1020pm, we reached the terminal & survived the scare! Super duper HENG AR!!! The bus left at 1040pm quite promptly i must say. Imagine if i was still stuck in the bus & not taken the cab, super LATE!!

After boarding, it was the start of the gruelling 10hours ride all the way to Kuala Terrengganu. Gruelling is not exaggerating! The bus was FREAKING COLD! The seats not so comfy & quite a bumpy ride. Felt so damn tired but too cold to really sleep properly! N the bus driver didnt bother to turn down the air con (maybe the language barrier was a prob too) So had to endure the freezer bus! Made sleeping really really hard cos u'r freezing but u wana sleep...Haiz


8am next morning, we reached KT terminal! Quite on the dot! Walked a short 5min to the jetty for our boat ride to Redang. Yeah we can smell the beach! But alas! All was not rosy! At the jetty by 830am, but the bloody 9am boat did not come for us! Ended up we waited till 1130am, wasted a good 3hrs of our time! We could have gone for an extra dive or extra hours of sunning by the beach! By the time we reached Redang it was 130pm (the boat ride was more than 1hr). So our dive had to be specially arranged at 430pm. The 2 of us joined a super big group (also from Singapore) of 16pax, means a total of abt 18 of us out to dive with 2 dive masters along - Robert & Zuki. 1st dive was only so-so, juz a starter. The rest of the day went on without anymore trouble. Dinner followed (buffet style) and nothing to rave about and by 9+pm, we were dead tired (lack of sleep) & so juz conked out on the bed till the next morning!

Redang Beach REsort!! Finally

View of Redang Beach!

During the break, Tingmei & I went to explore the island. We stayed at the "Xia Re Mo MO Cha" stretch of beach so we visited the More More Tea Inn, which has been rebuilt to a gift shop. So of cos, being the tourists that we are, we HAD to take pictures with the Inn & anything related to it!!!

Coffee, More More Tea or Me?!?!?!

With Love From Redang, Muaks!!!!

Just to mention, they have this really cute way of announcing the snorkelling trips! Cos pple go Redang mostly on snorkelling packages so every day there are 2 trips out. So at 10am and 3pm, they will play the Hawaii music & annouce: "It is time for snorkelling. please get really your masks & livejackets! We will see u at the beach". So furnie!! N Interesting!! haha... We laugh e'rytime the announcement comes on!

2nd day begun with a 830am dive, 1130am dive and 245pm dive. 3 dives in a day. SOunds xiong but i think it was still manageable! We changed group & Divemaster. Robert 'abandoned' us to follow the big grp of divers, while we followed Dolloa with 4 more guys from KL. Good, cos we prefer a smaller grp of divers. We were joined by another grp with John as the Divemaster. The 2nd day's dive sites were much much better! We saw more fishes & things like big stingrays, shrimps & crabs. Did some suntanning as well!

Took some posy photos then we walked to another part of the beach to REdang Bay resort, where there's a really quiet & secluded area of beach to R&R! There were some rocks far out, so we decided to climb & conquer! Both of us did mountaineering b4 so this is small case la! Up Up and Away! Our mini mountaineering expedition in Redang!! We made it all the wayout to the high point & once again, our holiday demon came out & possessed us! We started cam-whoring!! Haha, our fun inner self all exposed! Poses after poses of modelesque look, click click click! Hahah we will only selectively post some of the photos the rest r for our own eyes only! Well, we are 2 tourists to Redang where noone knows us & probably nvr will! So who cares!!! Hahaha!! Shall only pose those that can be seen by pple here..haha the rest r for my eyes (n selected few) only:

Moody feel pose on top of the rocks!

Yippie! Doing some crazy poses for the camera!

Oh not to forget, we went to get spray-on tattoos done! For the fun of it! I got mine on my lower back, nice picture! With colours. Tingmei got a small butterfly on her ankle! Well if i can't get a real one, a fake one is good enuff.

Can see? The airbrush tattoo!! Nice nice

After our fun moments we retreated back for our shower. Enroute back to our resort, we saw the Great Redang Workout! Haha, some resort was having this dancing workout and a group of holiday makers were following instructions & dancing their hearts out with the music. Looks like fun!

Come on everybody, dance to the beat of the music!!

After dinner, we stayed for a while waiting for the so-called liveband at SUmmer Point Bar. We were invited for drinks by the KL guys we dived with during the day. Sat down & chatted for quite sometime. 1 is a chef while the other is a horse keeper, training to be jockey! How interesting!!! They are quite fun guys. The liveband -- SUCKS!! Especially the 2 guy singers. Omigod! Cannot stand a second of their singing. Sing as though they think they're so good but in fact sucks BIG TIME. The female singer is still not tat bad.

Me in the Redang Beach Dive suit outside Dive center

3rd day & last day in Redang. We completed 3 dives again! We followed John most of the time & enjoyed our dive very much! Only downside was that the 3rd day was a gloomy day. Cloudy & not much sun. Waves were damn BIG! Lousy weather! Was hoping for more sun so i could do a bit more sunning. U noe, must have evidence to show u actually had been to the beach! What better way than a nice tan!

So we ended our diving with 7 days for the whole duration! I got a total of 25 dives! That's silver status! By my own record la keke, calls for some celebration right! N on our last day in Redang, time for more cam-whoring! To commemorate our last moments in Redang! Cam-whoring with Redang beach, with the Dive center Divemasters!

Pretty Redang beach babes!! ahahha

Us with dive frens from KL

Leaving my mark in Redang! Redang walk of fame!!

That's our divemaster (who abandoned us after 1st day). He looks so slutty!!!

At night, wanted to just go for the disco for a while but ended up not staying cos the music not so nice & the lighting not so nice. We were also super tired...Next morning had to get up at 5am to catch the 630am boat over. Our bus departs KT terminal at 9am. This time no delays & promptly reached the bus on time! Another 10hrs bus ride home, this time WORSE cos during the day, u don't really sleep much!

After much counting counting & counting down, finally!!! The custom! No jam, only hordes of people. By the time i reached home it was almost 930pm.

Epilogue

Redang diving, so-so la. Perhentian is still SO MUCH BETTER!!! But not to say Redang is nothing la, it is still nice but cannot compare to Perhentian. Redang also is too commercialised for liking. It's a good place for families though. I may go back again..who knows but the bloody trip there is torturous! 10hrs to 10hrs back. Will die!!! OF cos i got a tan! Not so much as Perhentian but still a tan!

Learnt more abt diving from the instructors. U learn more with each dives! How to breathe, how to control bouyancy. Instructors and divemasters are nice! Well they always are! They are so carefree people! This John, he used to work in computer line for 10yrs b4 becoming a dive instructor & has been for the past 10yrs! Interesting characters u meet on dive trips!

Also, met an NTU mate there! He was with the big grp of Singapore divers. What a coincidence!

So the next question is -- What next? Where next? And When next? hahaha.........

For the sake of my faithful beloved readers, here is the link to the entire REdang photo album... See i so nice...
Redang Diveologue 2008

Stockholm Wonders!

What another blog on travels? Not done with travel blogs yet?

Ok that is just my presumption of what my blog readers MIGHT think (which I hope is not true...is it??) Cos this is my 2nd blog, n coincidentally, it's abt travel. Well, it's not that i don't wana write about other things, but travelling (to some places at least) is sorta the Main highlights of my live now! Too peaceful in my new job nowadays.. No backstabbing or grunges about stupid managers or boring late nights...

Anyways, back to the topic in question, my 1st trip to Stockholm, of cos muz blog! I've been to Bangkok & Melbourne so far but i did not blog about those cos nothing much was done or happened. Stockholm, 1st time visit of cos muz talk abit abt it! It wouldnt be long (nothing compared to the Gunung Stong blog).

Some background info abt the trip:

Dates: 3-11April 2008

Purpose: Global conference (at least once a year)

Weather: Cold or cooling (snowed one day!)

Flight time: 12 + 3hrs in transit

Take away: Weight gain from the good food (this is not good!) & of cos knowledge!

Let's start... From Day 1 to Day 9! Haha kidding i'm not going day by day, it'll be boring!

Anyways, set off by THai Airways to Stockholm via Bangkok (3hrs transit in the wee hours is a terrible thing). Once i boarded the 2nd leg of the flight, it was immediate concuss & sleep...

Central station (just a train station)

Reached Stockholm in the early morning @7am & checked into hotel & off to office. Well since i was already awake, might as well just start the day! Our headoffice has a realli nice building, whole of 8 floors to themselves so cool! There's a gym & a big cafeteria inside where all employees take their lunch. It's not cheap though (for us maybe). It's buffet style & u pay 70SEK (~$16.70) each. Imagine having ur lunch e'ryday that costs u that much! But well, e'rything is expensive there. 1st day in Stockholm, weather is still fine, not THAT cold actually, just cooling with wind, manageable. 1st 2 days, nothing much, more of working in office & meeting the pple from my dept.

Sightseeing started on day 3 (the weekends). After a late breakfast, we headed off to walk ard the city enroute to our 1st stop - Old Town. I like the buildings in Stockholm. Very authentic & olden feel, really a town feeling!

Fruits galore!! Strawberries r damn sweet

Scenery of Old Town. Nice sky!

The gate of Old Town!

Beautiful clouds!!It was a 'great day' in Stockholm!

Old Town - Even older building, all very small shop houses that just looked like they're lifted from the fairytale stories! The walkways are also rather narrow! We went to walk through the narrowest lane (only 35inches apart!).

The narrowest lane in Old Town

Me@ the narrowest lane!I wana stretch my legs!!

Royal Palace was up next. This is nothing compared to Palaces I've seen elsewhere. It doesnt really have the very grand feel to it (maybe I should have gone inside to take a look??) but it doesnt offer a great view of the archipelago!

Royal Palace, not as royal as I had hoped

We continued just walking around Old Town (it's situated on a separate island from the main city) and off to another island and another. I walked a total of 3 islands! Along the coast, and viewing the scenery from opposite, gives a very calm & relaxing feeling. How great it would be during the summer to just walk along the coastal area & lazing the day away. (Abit too cold this time of the year with the wind blowing to njoy)

Katarina Lift. A great bird's view of the surrounding!

Saluhall, a Swedish market but it was not open when we went

Day 2 of sight seeing (Sunday) we went to Skansen, another big island. It's another serene island with lots of trees & nature & u c families bringing kids out for a walk! very relaxed mood. Good plc for families to spend on a Sunday morning!

Overlooking Djurgarden

Map of Djurgarden

Stockholm city from Djurgarden

Along the coast of Djurgarden
Hungry Hungry Yinkait devouring hotdog bread
Skansen!It's actually a museum
Memorabilias from Sweden

Map of Vasa Museum

Coast of Djurgarden

After Djurgarden, we went for a nice lunch at a good Swedish restaurant. Great food there! Seafood gratin (that costs bloody S$60 each bowl which is almost the size of my palm) soup. All of us were so damn full! Then we went for a stroll along the streets (saw cherry blossom!! No need for Japan haha) and the new town for a change in environment! THe buildings in new town are really futuristic & fantastic, by the harbour with a nice quiet ambience! Very modern design which is so different from what u get in Stockholm city!

What we had for lunch:

Starter, shrimp salad

Mushroom soup! Definitely home made!

The seafood gratin! Very nice but cldnt finish!

Cherry blossom in Stockholm!

The new town!

THe following week, the conference started! N it was a whole day of training & talks in the meeting room from morning till evening. Tiring but some topics were rather interesting & useful. Let me sum up a typical day:

Breakfast-Conference-TeaBreak-Conference-Lunch-Conference-TeaBreak-Conference-Dinner-Hotel

That's how a typical day went. Sounds boring rite.. Alittle haha! It's all eat listen eat listen eat sleep.. That's how the story of my weight gain arose! No time to exercise, n sitting ard whole day after food contributed to FATS!!! So now, i'm on HIgh Alert Damage Control!

We had 2 nights of group outing with the global team. Night 1, we went Sports Center for a night of games & fun! We were split into group s& competed on 5 games: Shooting, Golf, Soccer, Darts & Bowling. All of which I don't excel in, except Shooting which I shot 5 outa 8! But in the end, my team was the overall Champion! No prize though...But good fun!

Us with Inger (Secretary) @ bowling center

Aftermath of snow!!!

Snow on trees!

Night 2, came the more fun games! We set out onboard a cruise ship along the archipelago (with the Group CFO somemore) to a fort! After 1hr of cruising & snacking (another contributor to weight gain), we reached the fort & got ready for 1.5hrs of games & fun! We were split into 2 groups & competed in 6 rounds of physcial & mental games: Puzzle, Crosswords, Pinballs, Memory, Shooting etc. It was great fun but my team lost in the end. Well, it's all in the name of fun! After that, we had dinner (fine dining somemore).

Cruise boat along archipelago

MASA APAC team

Scene from cruise of archipelago

Along the river

MASA APAC @ fort Vaxholms Kastell

Starter - Lobster soup

Main course - Ravioli!

Dessert! Sorbet (right) is nicer!

It was a long long dinner stretching from 830 to almost 1130pm. By the time the main course came, we were already tired! By the time we reached hotel, it was past midnight! And the next day i was leaving Stockholm! Dragging my tired self back to the room, I had to rack up all energy i had to pack my bag & tidy up. By the time i was done, it was 2am in the morn & we had a morn session the next day!

Day of departure, dragging my tired self & bulging eyes, I went to office for my last session & said 'Bye' to the Global team by noon & off to airport! Another 15hrs of flight (+Transit time) & it was home sweet home & more sleep!

It was a fruitful trip & I enjoyed it! For the company (my team is the greatest! with jokes & more corny jokes) & the place & the fun!

What I have to do now: Catch up on my sleep (still sleep deprived from lack of slp on plane & not sleeping properly now), Lose weight (with help from my PT i think this will be acheived easily), & heal my eyes (doc say allergic reaction prob from the weather there..Weird though). Plan my next trip to Bangkok (for work) & diving trip in 2weeks' time! Yea leisure! So must lose even more weight b4 I don my bikini!!!

Now, that's not a long blog right! I told u so.... My live is too peaceful for me to rumble & grumble about things now.. hahahha So i may not update my blog as often! Oh wait, I have a diving trip coming up! That'll be my next blog entry! Oops..Another travel blog! Hahaha Well I didnt promise NOT to write abt travel.. It's a diving trip!

Till Next time.. This is Dian Shan, signing off......