Trip to Melaka (22nd~23rd July)

View from the hotel room.... the round thing is Palawan mega-mall. far out is the Straits of Melacca.

On the road...

We set off at 7am on a drizzling Sunday morning. It's my 1st driving trip to M'sia. Felt kinda excited. off to Tuas checkpoint... 1st embarrasing incident. I didn't slow down in time when approaching the custom albeit Allan's constant "Slow down" reminder. The next moment I know, my right side-mirror scratched along some metal thing. argh! For the rest of whatever custom/toll, I super slow like a tortoise. I realised I realli got problem on gauging on slowing down.

I was like an excited school-girl going on her 1st excursion trip. Admiring the scenary while driving along.... seeing the tall tall hills with mist floating on top. And most of the time, you can see the sky right in front of you cos there's no building to obstruct it. Some parts... its an up-slope and u can't see beyong that. It just felt real good. Drizzling throughout the whole journey there thou. And best of it... can speed arh! think average about 120~140km/hr. So i finally get a chance to drive to 120km/h. Maximum I went up to 160km/hr. shiok...

Although it's just a 2D1N trip, I felt I can elaborate and go on and on and on. Let me summarise general overview of Melaka and spill the geeze which is what I wanna capture in my memory!

Melaka is a small town where things seem to move in a slow pace and people are generally friendly. The Jonker Street is a nice place to just stroll slowly and you will be amazed by the number of antique shops there... Where on earth did they get so much old junks? And the baba laksa that I had. aW....it's delicious and it's really cooked by the baba auntie! the buildings there are really old. Unlike Spore where our "old" shophouse are restored. Those there are really old yet tastefully decorated.

Here comes the geeze:

#1: Equatorial Club Room

Hubby booked the Club room which is pretty spacious and has personalised services. such as check-in at the business lounge. here we could have free drinks & snacks 24hrs round the clock. It's pretty worth it. I could see the Melaka city and the Straits of Melacca from the room! If you are gg there, Equatorial Hotel is very convenient. Most of the tourist sites are within walking distances.

Erm... my birthday celebration. pai sei to display this pic. rushed out from bathroom in bathrobe. not prepared.

#2: Surprise birthday celebration from Hubby

This one, I must capture cos surprises like these occur once in a blue moon. hee...

I was just finishing my bathtub soak... around 12midnight, he asked me to quickly come out. Then he presented me with a bouquet of sunflower while singing my b-day song... and a black-forest cake! I was so touched! Then he took out a ring-box... opened it and that was a ruby ring with little diamonds around it. Ruby is my birthstone... I didn't expect this as the gucci wallet was actually my advanced b-day gift! I just felt so sweet inside. like i drunk a tub of honey... later on, I told him it's as if he's proposing to me on my birthday.... haha... realized that must really enjoy this "honeymoon" period for as long as it lasts...

Thanks honey for everything!

Shots in the room...

The spacious bathroom...Seafood dinner at Umbai... this is their rice (nasi lemak). U can choose white rice alternatively.Fried KangkongThis is yummy... Sotong cooked with tepung (aka calamari)Grilled prawns (so-so)Ultimate dish! Deep-fried grouper with sambal belachan sauce. slurp... regret didn't order a bigger one. haha...Baba laksa. so delicious till it's toxic. At the old fort....This is their police's horse used for patrolling. This horse is getting too close for my liking cos it's trying to get fresh with me. see below.no...no... no.... u r too close to me! the camera cannot capture my left face!

Actually there's about 200+ pics in total. if got a chance to upload, will attach link here. =) I have decided i'm gonna develop the hardcopies out!

Looking Forward to the weekend

It's gonna be a weekend of celebrationsz...! hee...
Moi's 27th birthday is coming around the corner. on 23rd-July which is next Monday.

Hubby and I will head to Melacca and stay for a night there! Made a reservation at Equatorial hotel and he booked a Equator Club room. hmm... looking forward to it.
Allan says he will let me drive to Melacca...! gosh! feeling excited. It's my 1st long-distance trip! Definitely can try driving beyond 120km/hr on the NS highway. can go there and makan peranakan, malay, portugese food.

Gonna meet moi galfriends this Saturday. looking forward to it too.

One sad thing that dampens my spirit ... I'm gonna fall sick soon. starting to have sore throat today and splitting headaches. took a panadol to soothe it. that really made me feel abit down. =(

Praying hard that i won't fall ill. Y-_-Y (Crossing my fingers) God bless this poor little girl and let her enjoy her celebrationz okie?

Pic with MIL at Vivo...

Taken this at Vivo 2 weekends ago at Vivo with MIL. Brought her to Corduroy Cafe for our own Hi-Tea... order the anti-pasta platter... something light. And Cafe mocha. She likes the cafe mocha alot!

GIFTS from Nature....

Couldn't fall asleep after waking up at 6.30am on a Sunday morn. Think this is my 1st time blogging at 7am in the morn. ;-)

Last night was such a relaxing night by the beach at ECP. The moment we came out of the car, we could felt the strong breeze. There isn't much wind usually. We strolled along the busy bazzar till we got to Gelare. I like this outlet here compared to the Siglap one. Over there, it's always too crowded and the tables are too close for comfort to one another. Here in East Coast, you get more privacy and sea breeze(if there is).

After ordering, we sat down waiting for our order and just enjoyed the strong wind... when the waffle came, we ate very slowly and enjoyed it thoroughly. Able to do that partly because the waffle was well-made. It didn't get soggy too fast.

There already was this group of people sitting diagonally from us talking, etc. Not that I bothered. Suddenly I heard them kinda exclaimed, so I turned around and saw this guy that looked like Tay Ping Hui (TPH) just arrived. I looked harder and confirm it's him. Told Allan and he was abit doubtful. Cos over there, the area is poorly lit, you see. haha... But I confirmed it's him. Allan was sitting in a position that can see TPH when he just look straight ahead. And I need to turn left if I want to take a glimpse. Haiz... i should change seat with him right? keke... just kidding, I'm not so ba-gua. But actually he doesn't look as masculine as he does on TV. I tot he's the most "MAN" guy in Mediacorp. looks too metro-sexual in my opinion. Allan jio-jio me go and ask if he's TPH and take a pic with him. No way man... Ok, so this was the "highlight" at the Gelare on my Sat night. =)

We walked along the path near the coast, embraced by the continuous strong sea breeze. We felt like we were back to Desaru. Felt so shiok! Over there, the breeze is even stronger than this. But it's because it's out right facing the Pan Pacific ocean. The waves are really strong. It was at this point last night when I got the inspiration to blog about Gifts from Nature... the Wind, Sun, Sand and Sea. All these are free gifts from nature which cannot be bought. And I want to capture the memory of enjoying the windy night at ECP by writing this down. Especially when we sat down at a concrete block thing very near to the sea. We have the sea right in front of us... waves hitting below our legs repetitively. We talked freely. We like to poke fun at each other. MOSTLY, HIM at me. asking me questions to get me mad. although i know he doesn't mean it. hehe... guys never seem to grow up lei.

Actually wanted to go out for a jog at 7am... to enjoy the morning fresh air. but hubby is still sleeping away. so stick around and what best to do than to blog my thoughts while I have the time. Going to Vivo for Marche brunch buffet later at 10am with MIL. FIL don wanna go. it's been 5 years since I ate Marche. haha... looking forward to it thou.

My Saturday

Woke up at 5.45am this morning! went to the Guan Yin temple at Bugis to pray since it's the 1st day of the Lunar Calendar. gosh... it was pretty crowded.

Then we went to somewhere I've never been before although I have heard of the area umpteen times... Dempsey Hills! Early in the morning, there isn't much life. but the four of us (including my parents-in-law) walked around seeing the eateries, shops. Hey, I think it's definitely a very cool area at night... hmm... wanna go there to chill out sometime soon. =) Erm.. there's lotsa places I wanna go but not yet. Off my mind. this Dempsey Hill and also The Secret Gardens. Heard it's a very romantic and cosy place... :*)

After which, we went to Botanic Gardens for a jog.... by the time we came home for breakfast, one word can describe how I feel. Er nope, it's actually 2 words ----> DAMN SHAG. but glad I made it nonetheless.

Took a 2 hours nap in the afternoon. woke up so fresh and rejuvenated! started doing some of my work in the late evening and continue after dinner while hubby watch the "Shen Tiao Xia Lu" final episode. I'm not a fan(I just don't get it)... but kinda good as well. at least i got the time to do my bloody email archiving and what-nots. I get very pissed off whenever my inbox/outbox gets stuck due to the enormous blah blah blah message. It irritates me greatly especially when I got an important or ugent email to flush out....

Gonna head down to ECP for my Gelare waffles in a minute.

To all my friends who are reading this, have a Great Sat night & weekend yah!

Muackz....

Carol

North Indian Food Rest => Khansama

For those who fancy North Indian food, you can try Khansama at Norris Road. Somewhere near Little India... There's where I had my supper just now. There's also a branch at Science Park area. Ambience@ Norris Road not bad...

This is the Mix Vegetable Pakoras. Yummy!

This is the Reshami Tikka (boneless chicken marinated with yoghurt, spices...) Yummy!This is the Navratnan Kurma... (mixed vegetable with cream)... had to order this else no sauce to go with my Naan.

Needless to say. Naan of the day.... delicious too....This is Masala Papok or something like that. Do NOT order this. oily and not nice!

Such a heavy supper.... Beau fell asleep liao. I think it's been 2 hours for my digestion... will be turning in soon. Cya!

Picture Updates (HP, Natalie, ECP)

Took this shot while Allan and I went picnic last week at East Coast Park. I was lying there when I felt the scenary looks great from ground level. so quickly whipped out O2 to snap...

Baby Natalie... my little niece smiling so happily away while I was playing with her. so glad my O2 is within my reach to capture this. =)
Our team had a "Take a Break and Celebrate" session at Carnivore (Vivo).
A group shot.
Hubby with Tiffany posing.

Realization...

Hmm... came back from my heavy North Indian supper an hour ago. Decided to go online since it's not healthy to sleep right away...

These days, I have been busy with work.... Worked till 8plus, 7plus in the office. but feels the sense of accomplishment after completing various tasks! For the project that I'm handling, it's about 30plus ~ 40% done. During those few days I stayed late.... it's like the more I stay and complete more things, the momentum keeps me going. the sense of satisfaction gets higher. I think the communication within the team is getting better this time round. During the initial stage, I find that the communication is really difficult. Coupled with me doing the higher-level coordination for the 1st time round. These days, I feel that I'm able to handle situations better and with more confidence. Perhaps I have gotten the hang of it. The realization of it happened to make me aware of changes within and around me. What I need to do to make my work, my life better...

Skills such as collaboration, being assertive, listening to one another.. when to do what is important. Sometimes I feel that I'm not a very assertive person. I must learn to be assertive when it is needed. Else, things might not move smoothly. Sometimes, I think it's needed to set the record straight.

It seems like alot of things are going through my mind each day. I must open my eyes and observe things going on daily. At the moment, feel great work-wise. I must keep the momentum UP and make sure this build goes smoothly for things within my control.

Jogged 4km plus in the evening. felt a great sense of accomplishment as this is my 1st time running so far at one shot. I was going for 5km if not for....

Running 5km is my next exercise goal!

p/s: I'm just blabbering whatever that comes to my head. feeling abit tired...

Feeling the Wind....

I have a secret wish these days.... that is to own a convertible! haha... Main reason is to be able to enjoy the wind outright.

There was this day when I went back to my mum's place by myself. While driving back home, I didn't turn on the airconditioner. Instead, wind down the windows and blast the music while speeding on the highway.... After a while, I wind down the passenger window too. I really had to turn the music loudly, else I couldn't hear it. I kept daring myself to drive to 120km/hr. But I didn't have the guts to do it. Somehow it seems hard to step up to 120km/hr when the wind is just howling in your face. Step...don step... I ding-dong and finally decided not to. lest getting caught by TP. though I kept glancing at the rear mirror. just in case.

Overall, really enjoyed the experience! Simply Shiok! If beau is beside me, he will most probably turn-on the aircon = that is a signal for me to wind up my windows.

Suddenly I realised a convertible would be a dream car for me! haha...

I used to think that those who drive convertible is kinda crazy. but right now, i think I kinda understand....

hmm...... a convertible which can still seats 5 person will be nice... ;-)

This one.... forgot the name already. looks nice though.

BMW Coupe Convertibe

Audi TT