We were there for 4 days 3 nights and it was chilly, tiring but extremely yummy due to the good food we ate. I think I was kind of a wet blanket, as I was having backaches and kept insisting that we sit down to rest (and to play the Logo game).

In Hong Kong, we shopped non-stop. Or rather, XY and I did. They said that I’m the one who always enters a shop and leaves with a new shopping bag. Oh well, I did buy some facial products to try out, and maybe some gifts here and there. Not that much, really. But even I myself couldn’t believe that I managed to buy an aromatherapy diffuser from the airport. That’s totally unexpected.

We ate famous Hong Kong dim sum (Tim Ho Wan; which is coming to Singapore) and roast goose (Yung Kee; which might close its doors soon). We also ate lots of delicious Hong Kong breakfast (think noodle soup, macaroni, toasts) and typical Hong Kong cafe meals (rice, dishes, milk tea). At Harbour City, we also ate Itacho Sushi, though we think Singapore’s outlets do it better.

We cam-whored non-stop, took the scary inclined tram up to Victoria’s Peak, sat on a ferry between islands and stayed in a nice little hotel (next to a cemetery) which provides free shuttle services to Times Square, a shopping haven.

We did sheet masks, lazed around and traded secrets.

It’s fun, and I think I need to have more trips with girlfriends! Good for the soul

In early November last year, J and I went to Phuket for a holiday! It’s not our first time there, but we still managed to gather some new and exciting experiences. Here’s a gallery of some selected  photos:

We stayed in a resort which we have stayed in when we first visited Phuket. It’s clean, centralized and has a very Thai-resort feel, unlike typical hotel rooms. This time round, we ordered a lot of room service, simply because it’s delicious and cheap! Thai food is YUMS!

Our biggest splurge was a full day trip to Coral Island, but it’s super worth the price. The island is so beautiful and serene that we just wanted to stay there for longer. At Coral Island, we tried deep sea walking and parasailing. Deep sea walking involves wearing an astronaut-like helmet to enable you to sink and breathe in water. The fishes we saw were colourful and pretty, just how we imagined it. However, there were too many fishes, and they nibbled at our hands and legs, especially when we held our pieces of bread. It’s kind of scary if you don’t like to be that up-close to marine life. Parasailing was wonderful; I can’t wait to do it again at another location. Initially, while queuing up for it, I was pretty apprehensive as I saw some people being dragged in the sand by the motorboats. Ouch. I was also worried that my technique for landing isn’t good, and I will somehow get cuts and scratches. But whee! My experience was perfect! It’s definitely a less dangerous experience than sky diving, and the view of Coral Island from the parachute was awesome. A top-of-the-world feel.

We also went shopping in Phuket, at the Central Mall and Tesco. The mall was pretty normal, but we ate at Fuji Japanese Restaurant – a cheap Japanese food place. I also bought some body products like massage oil and natural soaps from the mall. Tesco, on the other hand, was a place we found bargains. However, we didn’t manage to find the very soft tees which we bought a couple of years ago. We also bought an insane amount of KFC back to the resort! *Taxis were super hard to get at Tesco, so it’s recommended that you arrange with your resort.*

On other days, we also indulged in massages (went for 2) and lazy swims in the resort’s pool. We watched tv, soaked in the big tub, and drank wine. We also walked around the Kata region and ventured to great and affordable restaurants, such as Two Chefs (at Kata Centre). We also made reservations at the highly recommended Boat House, but unfortunately, we were too tired and lazy to actually go there for a nice dinner. Perhaps the next time!

It’s a super relaxing trip, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely with very little money spent! Phuket really has lots of hidden gems and treasures just waiting to be discovered.

I haven’t been blogging – excuses being having writer’s block, being too busy spending my free time with those I love, going on holidays. But really, I haven’t been writing because I just simply don’t feel up to it. I want to record my life, so that I can read back years later, and appreciate everything that I have gone through. But I just don’t have the energy and the motivation to do it.

Maybe the start of the new year will be a good time to set my resolutions, as well as catch up with the writing on this blog -

{1} Sleep – I hope to sleep before midnight, and to achieve a healthy sleeping pattern with minimal oversleeping. Working weird hours in 2012 made me sleep at weird hours (2-3 am) and wake up at unhealthy timings (10-11 am). I hate this sluggish-ness, and I hope that both J and I can get some quality sleep hours (between 10-2 am) everyday!

{2} Eat – Eat better, that’s my resolution almost every year. I make baby steps improvement, so I hope to keep this up! I aim to eat more fresh veggies, fruits and yogurt / milk. Eating healthy makes me happy. Of course, I also hope that I can learn to whip up more delicious and healthy dishes, to prepare myself as a wife.

{3} Sweat – This year, I really need to exercise more. I aim to exercise at least twice a week, one time to focus on cardio, and the other to focus on toning. Regular exercise will not only make me slimmer, but also give me the much needed health!

{4} Work – I hope to be really committed to my students this year. There may be big decisions which may waver my commitment, but I still hope to see them all through till the end of this year.

{5} Write – In 2013, I hope to blog closer to the heart. I have already reduced my sponsorship posts as I want to make this blog more personal, something of greater substance to my own life. However, this space will still feature a couple of sponsored products once in a while.

{6} Love – This will be a huge year for us. I want to be able to love with all my heart, to be the one who will always be there for J, as well as all my other loved ones. I hope to treat each day as though it is the last, so that I can properly and truly cherish each and every moment with my loved ones.

{7} Discover – Last year has been wonderful. I went on a total of 6 holiday trips overseas, and also took a staycation in Singapore. I worked hard, and enjoyed hard. A true blue Hwa Chong-ian. This year, because of my commitments and J’s schedule, we wouldn’t be traveling as extensively. Hence, I hope that we can maximize our holidays by going to new places, so that we can continuing exploring new spaces and ideas!

{8} Zen – I know this will not be an easy year with huge changes in our lives, and the easily-stressed up me will feel very very pushed to the edge. I hope that I can learn to be more zen, to apply more relaxation techniques in my life. By sleeping, eating and exercising well, I know I will be able to manage stress better. As we are starting to get very into aromatherapy, I also hope to incorporate that more into our lives!

Hope that 2013 will be amazing!

Last night, J and I were talking about the special date 12-12-12.

A long time ago, we thought we would be registering our marriage on this date, and then have a huge Chinese banquet on 01-03-14. (Read date 1-3-14 in Mandarin.) 

We got engaged in early March this year, and I guessed we could have followed the plans to register today. But well, somehow, we got carried away by life. This has been a quick year for us, but also a big one. We just didn’t have the time and energy to plan for a ROM.

So now, we would only be getting married next year, in June. It’s going to be a small and private affair, even though we have been increasing the table-count bit by bit.

Will we regret not sticking with the 12-12-12 and 01-03-14 dates? I doubt so.

Because we know that we would be just as happy, and just as xin fu.

Have been feeding the soul.

Last trip of this year – Hong Kong. Departing today.

It was wonderful strolling the streets with J, trying out different restaurants and attempting to bargain with cabbies.

But most of all, I’m missing the time under the sun, soaking it up and then worrying about getting a sun burn.

Oh, those carefree moments by the beach. Miss you so.

My sista and I. Awesome makeup on her, right?

Photobooth!

My parents, sista and I

J, my sista and I

My aunt with my sista

US! 

My cousins and cousin-in-law

The pretty bride!

Hotel Re! ballroom - photo credits to cousin junwei

My family - photo credits to cousin junwei

J and I - photo credits to cousin junwei

First march in - photo credits to cousin junwei

Champagne pouring - photo credits to cousin junwei

Weddings never fail to make me reaffirm my belief in true love. They also make me very happy and dreamy.

Dear cousin JH and cousin-in-law YJ, I wish you both a very, very loving and caring marriage. May both of you be always happy and fulfilled. May you both build a lovely home together.

Psst… on a side note,  I will be having mine next year!

For our Korea trip, we only went to Seoul (first leg), and then Jeju Island (second leg). Our Jeju trip was short, but we were all pretty wow-ed over by that beautiful island.

Lovely sunset spotted! 

Flowers and harbour, and a perfect weather. What not to love?

Trendy clothes?

The beautiful harbour just opposite the inn we stayed in.

On the first day, I think we went to the Teddy Bear Museum. It was… quite a let-down. Or perhaps we held high expectations? There’re many museums on Jeju-do, and I think they might fare better than this. 

Outside the museum.

Tiny us! 

Travel buddies

Cute elephant in the TEDDY museum! LOVE!

The scary bear. It was moved by the staff, and we thought it walked on its own!

Lots of photo opportunities in the museum. 

I remember getting stomach cramps there on the second day, so J and I didn’t get to really explore the place. Instead,  we only did some trekking near our inn (there’s a famous waterfall there).

We needed to walk through this park to get to the waterfall. 

It’s beautiful.

Spot aunty me!

Ponds, wildlife, it’s wonderful. 

Fatty bird spotted! Penguin’s relative. 

After a long walk, we manage to see the waterfall from a high view.

Like a secret enclave!

We continued walking, and eventually, we reached the bottom of the fall. It’s filled with tourists, unlike the quiet and serene park.

Looking pale.

Mr J.

Waterfall!

And again.

In Jeju-do, we also ate some very good food. We ate black pig, egg in a pot, BBQ, and you-name-it. Now that I think of it, I miss the Korean BBQ a lot!

A table filled with yummy food. Sides are free-flow!

Hot favourite – egg in a pot!

Doggy outside the restaurant. 

We don’t know if it bites. But it sure is handsome!

Travel buddies in the restaurant recommended by our inn’s hostess. 

Some other memorable places in Seoul:

Cheonggyecheon Stream – romantic place for an after-dinner stroll

The start of the stream. 

Can you spot the 5 of us?

Our travel mates yet again! 

Gyeongbok Palace – huge palace ground with some performances and lots of cute squirrels

Lovely backdrop! 

Dong Dae Mun – the cheap shopping district which never sleeps

Some historical site at Dong Dae Mun. Lovely shot, isn’t it?

N Seoul Tower – viewpoint; lovely city lights

Looking out towards Singapore! 

Ewha Women’s University – daebak university, which is like a dreamland; great shopping nearby

Stone-bricked college. Wow-ed!

Hello Kitty Cafe! – my home?

Squint.

Too cute to be consumed…

A girl’s dream house. 

The Hello Kitty Cafe (near Hongik University?)

Pretty sight.

Even airplanes have the famous cat now! 

DMZ – walk the tunnel and try to peer into North Korea

Too bad the rail is not in use anymore. 

To sum it up, Korea is daebak. I didn’t go with expectations (in fact, I thought I would hate it), and so, I was very very surprised by it. I fell in love with this country. It’s going to be one of my ‘let’s go again’ country. Hopefully, I can travel there with family, because I think my mum and dad will LOVE Jeju-do.

Oh, and did I mention that I am so hooked onto Running Man again?

Read {Part 1} / Read {Part 2} / Read {Part 3}

We just got back from a 5-day vacation, and I am going to share the trip and some holy grail makeup soon!

Till then, enjoy life, for it’s NOVEMBER already!

This is my grandma, with my aunt, my sis and I, during my cousin’s wedding. 

I have 2 grandmas, one from my mum’s side of the family, and the other from my dad’s side. Honestly, I love them both, but I doubt I ever properly express it.

You know how specials grandmas are? They have the ability to make every single of their grandchildren feel as though they are the most loved one. At least, I felt this way.

Cherish them, love them, and spend time with them, before it’s too late.

Ma Ma (‘grandmother’ in Canto), I hope you get well soon.