enirrac

why oh why, does time pass by so quickly?

didn't we just cross over to year 2012? i'm still attempting to pen down my new year resolutions, but hey, january is already over! jan had hurried by, thanks to chinese new year with all its buzz as well as the craze at work.

i had a good time catching up with friends over cny :) i think i had a record-breaking number of lo-hei this year - 11 or 12 rounds? i really love lo-heis, but i'm glad the cny festivities is finally going to be over, so i can finally start my diet. haha. mostly, i can't wait for 19 feb to be over, so that i can take a short short break at work (i hope!). ironic how i wish time will slow down a bit but at the same time wish the tough time can fast forward. 

cruise vacation has never appealed to me. i mean, what a waste of money to get yourself confined on a ship. with that kind of money, i'd rather make a trip to SEA anytime. when yk & ky asked us on a cruise trip, we thought we'd give it a try, at least once in a lifetime. but guess what, i'm a total convert now!

i enjoyed simply lazing by the pool & doing nothing the whole day. only gripe was that the pool was way too puny lah. but really, there were plenty to do. all the activities, talks etc which we didn't bother to participate in. we stuffed our face full with food the whole time, i swear i gained like 2 kilos onboard. i especially enjoyed breakfast at our balcony! we also enjoyed the daily evening shows, as well as the performing bands. it definitely helped that booze was surprisingly affordable, though not inclusive, onboard too :p in fact, 3D3N wasn't enough at all that we decided to skip malacca & to spend more time onboard instead.

conclusion: we had a relaxing break and are already looking forward to the next cruise vacation!






cest la vie! 

(royal carribean cruise to penang & malacca, 6-9 jan 2012)

it's only two weeks into 2012 and already it looks like my resolutions are not going to have much fruition. believe it or not, one of them says 'To write more', but i really haven't got the time! on some days, i really feel like i'm going to snap. clearly it seems (paradoxical, yea i know), i haven't taken the right path. highly unlikely, but i hope i'll have some time this weekend to finetune my plans for the year. 

just felt the need to download some tension. out of here for now!

talking about picking the blog up, i'm going to reminisce parts of the macau/hongkong trip... *gasps* a year ago!

i absolutely absolutely miss this macaunese dish - shrimp floss noodles!


taken on 9th jan 2011, macau

nights world, i'm going to drool in my dreams thinking of this awesome noodles!

the speed each day flies by truly scares me. we're into a brand new year and it's been so many months i lost track that i haven't posted an entry. i know i did say i'd update more often, but i've been so consumed by the rest of life. stepping into 2012, please allow me to say that i hope to pick up this space again and document memories in my life which i want to remember. for now, this will be my resolution for year 2012. i actually haven't done my resolutions though some are permanently recurring (hint: to do with kiloes, haha). am very much looking forward to this friday because we are going for our first cruise trip! not only is it a much-needed break, i also hope to use this time to do some reflection.

to a fantabulous 2012! 

8 jan 2011 - the city area of macau is not that huge, and one can practically walk to most of the important attractions. furthermore, the cool weather made walking around really enjoyable. that day was not too cold either, in fact by noontime as we climbed up the slope of the fortress next to st paul's ruins, we were perspiring and had to remove our coat. 

what began as a not-so-great day turned out eventually to be one of the most enjoyable days of our trip :)



enroute to senado square, we passed by the nezha temple.



some of the beautiful street sightings.



wall graffiti adds a touch of character to a place.



snacking is the best part of roaming around!



the famous st paul's ruins



loved the serenity of the garden next to st paul's ruin. i could sit here all afternoon!



the crowded lanes of senado square.



pretty alley along senado square.



and finally at the famous wong kei kai for lunch break!

(to be continued...)

 the room was still not available after our walk at guia hill. it was afterall only 7am. time is not to be wasted, so we decided, heck, we were going all out there to explore the place!

we trawled through the backlanes next to our hotel located at the foot of guia hill and located many shophouses and streetside foodstalls. i would love to try one of those roadside stalls but the day was too cold for comfort. so we walked into one of the nondescript breakfast shops and enjoyed a very hearty breakfast amongst the locals.

the shop was very small and cosy. it was easily filled with customers and from the way the customers walked in, exchanged greetings with the lady boss and shouted their orders without even consulting the menu, they must be regulars. they'd have their breakfast while chitchatting with their friends or the lady boss. and it felt really nice to be sitting in the bustling little shop with a wonderful atmosphere. i'd really love to have one of these breakfast shops in singapore near my home too!



the boy absolutely loves his polo bun - he had it for almost every single meal in macau!



pork chop bun is a local must-try. and i must say it was pretty yummy! 



rejuvenated after breakfast



vai kei was the name of the breakfast shop.

8 jan 2011 - at 4.30am, we arrived at royal hotel. not surprising, we were denied early check-in. after hanging around on the lobby couch for about half an hour, i became extremely restless and decided that there was no way i could spend the next four or five hours sitting on the couch!  we thought perhaps we would wander about and see if we could find some cheap accommodation to take an eye-shut. rather reluctantly, we dragged ourselves back into the freezing pre-dawn coldness again.

okay it's our first time in macau. at 5am, it was dark all around. we had no idea where to go. but we saw a light beam in the night sky and thought that meant civilisation and went in that direction - up the slope. we did see one hotel, but the price quoted was over our budget. by then, we had realised that we were climbing up the steep slope of guia hill and the light beam must have been from the guia lighthouse up there. around us, activity had started. people were climbing up the hill, and we thought we would follow suit.

up the hill, there were already throngs of people, jogging, practising taichi. hand in hand, the boy and i took a walk around the hill. we were totally out of place in our coat and scarf, in comparison to the rest in their exercise attire. despite the cold, there were even a few men running half naked! as the joggers ran past one another, they would exchange greetings. a few even smiled and said hi to us. how warm! my impression of macau had improved already! taking in the amazing view of macau from on top the hill, the day then had become better. the morning walk had made me feel so much better :)




(image source: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/shaun87/1/1296823736/116_macau.jpg/tpod.html)

we should be there now.

till last night we were in a dilemma to go or not to go, until the 11pm news came on that the flood situation in krabi had yet to improve. it was a sign, we thought. so we forfeited what we paid for the tickets (budget). the only lucky thing was we hadn't booked accommodation yet.

oh well, better safe than sorry. see you next time, krabi! 

8th january 2011 - we arrived at macau at 2am on a cold winter night. the tiny macau airport was freezing cold and i was shivering as i queued up to go through the customs. out of the customs, i loitered at the airport area, afraid to go out in the open which must be about 7 degrees. when i mustered enough courage to step out of the airport and join the taxi queue which had only one couple before us, a group of PRCs dashed out of the airport. the queue they most definitely did not join. instead, they stood on the road and clambered quickly into every cab that came along. the amazing thing was, then their peers would come along from nowhere and hop into the cab with them! at 2am in the morning, there weren't a lot of cabs around. at the rate these boors were sprouting, i wasn't about to get into a cab soon. i was freezing, and very very frustrated. we exchanged conversation with the couple before us who looked equally bewildered, found out they were too singaporeans and were also heading to the venetian. heck the queue, we decided we would do as the romes do - hop onto the road, grab a cab and head to our destination together.  

we parted ways with our newfound friends at the lobby of the venetian. nope, we were not staying at the venetian (although i wished i were!). gungho us thought, hey we're going to be macau, the city that never sleeps - we should just play through the night! we were very soon finding ourselves to regret our decision majorly. we headed to the casino and immediately found ourselves detesting the place a lot. the place was so highly polluted by cigarette smoke we felt like we could not breathe. we walked around and found no non-smoking area existent. we decided to fill our stomache at the restaurant situated in the casino. mistake. it was worse there - people just smoked everywhere around us. and we soon discovered that the people spit on the floor, yes, carpetted floor no less! no points for guessing where these casino patrons came from - not locals, not exactly anyway.


(just one picture before the staff told us no cameras allowed in the casino area)

after the not-very-comfortable dining experience, we walked around the casino some more, hoping to find some games which would excite us. we had, afterall, many hours to go till the next morning. however, we simply couldn't muster any excitement to try our luck at the table. we also felt quite uncomfortable, like we were being watched. the boy claimed that a man followed him into the washroom. so finally, at 4am, we were defeated and hailed a cab to our hotel.

so there you have, our first impressions of macau were absolutely horrid and already, i was not liking my holiday very much.