When he comes to you with a bag of cashew nuts and went -
"Baby, here’s something for you to add to your cooking. Think of something to cook that can make use of my favourite nuts, ya"
- followed by a kiss.
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Cissss…I haven’t even gotten the itch to cook this weekend. Suddenly, now I am pressured to think of something to cook coz my Sweetheart wants to eat a dish that’s cooked with his favourite nuts.
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Time to crack my head and try new dishes again this weekend.
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Oh well, it’s always fun - itch or no itch.
Archive for February, 2008
29
Feb
Pampered
28
Feb
Happy 3rd Anniversary
Slightly more than 3 years ago, our eyes met across the dance floor.
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Something happened that night.
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Something that stole our hearts and breaths away. Something that we thought was a fleeting high. Something that went way beyond our expectations. Something that exceeded our wildest dreams.
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Despite our many differences, our stars aligned that night…and for many, many nights afterwards. Freshly out of an intense relationship that was going to Hell, my attitude then was devil-may-care. No man on earth was able to get close to my heart. Men to me then were to be used and then discarded. You changed that in me.
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As we spent more time together, we began to realise that it was steadily going towards a direction that both of us were not ready to face. Yet, despite all the warning bells in my head, I did not toss you out like how I tossed out the rest of the guys. Why? I still have no answer to that today.
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We shared many laughters, many tears - and many precious moments. There were many times I wanted to turn my back and walk the other direction. But your tears and pleas tore at my heart.
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Time flew by and before we know it, we found ourselves deep into this. Will it last forever? I do not know and I cannot promise you that. All I can say for now is…
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Happy 3rd Anniversary. Lots of love.
27
Feb
HD vs BR
*Disclaimer - This post may be offensive to some ice cream lovers*
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Ok, I don’t get it. Haagen Dazs costs an arm and a leg more than Baskin Robbins (BR) but it doesn’t taste half as good as BR. Well, not to me anyways.
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Since I had almost $100 credit to my cafeteria card (from time away in Austin and Tokyo), I decided to spend them by getting a few stuff from the office cafeteria. Considering that I almost never eat there (why should I when there are yummy and inexpensive food all over Penang?!?), I had a hard time deciding on what to spend the credit on.
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Then I remembered that we have a Haagen Dazs corner. So, I ended up spending more than $50 on 3 bars and 2 100ml cups of Haagen Dazs ice cream. That same amount could get me ALOT of ice cream from BR.
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Tonight, I was feelin’ crappy … exhausted from work and annoyed from missing gym. So in an attempt to cheer myself up, I had one of the 3 bars. Its taste is very rich but darn, it’s so dissatisfying! Doesn’t come close to what BR could do for me.
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Looks like I am gonna get to know Mr Beaver better tonight.
27
Feb
Enervation
You know how you sometimes get so tired that you cross the threshold of no return, and you find yourself in a struggle between consciousness and lethargy?
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Worse if it’s mental exhaustion. Even worse if it’s bundled with work stress.
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Physical exhaustion is always easier to bounce out of. Not mental exhaustion. Especially if there is so much sh!t cramped into your head that you feel like it’s about to explode.
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That is how I feel today. And it was made worse by the fact that I was deprived of my destressing opportunity - working out at the gym.
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Arrgggh. I need sleep. Real bad. And I need you-know-what.
26
Feb
Happy Birthday, Yogeeta!
My first impression of her was - "What a bitch!"
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She has got to be one of the most unfriendly person I have ever met in my years in Dell. Her unfriendly attitude coupled with her unsmiling face was a sure-fire way to keep folks out of her way. Never mind the fact that I recognised her as my senior from high school. She kept on her unfriendly mask every time I see her.
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Then, I got a promotion. To her team. As her peer.
So, there was no escaping her. She was not just my workmate, she was also my cubemate.
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Surprisingly, over time, I soon discovered a different side of this lady. A part that she kept hidden so well that folks who did not have the opportunity to get close to her will never know exists.
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Things I discovered about this great lady.
- Totally selfless - Will easily hand over the keys to her car if I so much as whinge about needing transportation to run an errand during lunch time.
- Great teamwork - Perfect partner in crime when it comes to planning teambuilding events.
- Resourceful - She is always the brain behind getting more out of the limited resource we have. Gotta just love her ability to think out-of-the-box.
- Master at the Art of Goreng-ing. I am constantly amazed by this ability of hers. I struggle when it comes to ‘goreng-ing’ stuff for corporate needs while she does it without even blinking an eye!
- Wise - She is the only galfriend I know who advised me "Never, ever, ever place your kids (when you do have kids one day) above your husband. Your kids may be your Life but without your hubby, you have no Life!".
She also became my unofficial saree provider. For Indian parties, Indian weddings, Indian engagements, or whenever I feel like dressing up in the sexy saree. Here’s a picture of the 2 of us dressed up for her cousin’s wedding last June.
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Recently, our business trips intertwined and we ended up spending 3 days in Tokyo together. It was her stopover before her trip to Casablanca while I was making a stopover on my way back from Austin. It was very short but we still managed to have some fun together.
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Happy birthday, cubemate!
25
Feb
Good Bush, Bad Bush
*This post is 18-SX. Proceed only if you can handle VERY candid comments about the nether region*
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After dinner last night, the topic of discussion amongst my friends went to the recent Edison Chen scandal. The guys were very candid about Cecilia Cheung’s lack of respect for the Art of Brazillian Waxing (BW).
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"Eyyerrrr! Such a turn-off!"
"Does she not know that a full bush is so-not-sexy?!?!"
"Look at how overgrown her bush is! All the way to the back! Eyuck!"
"Reminds me of werewolf."
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Of coz I agreed with them all. I am *very* thankful that my Sweetheart is not a very hairy man. And I absolutely love it that he enjoys the BW pampering I give him every month. In fact, he asks for it if I forget. 
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Now, the part where I shocked the guys last night.
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"Hey guys, Edison Chen oso very hairy ler. How come you guys are only condemning the gal, and not the guy too, for not keeping his bush neat???"
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Silence.
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Then one brave guy volunteered - "Aiyah, guy never mind lah but girl must keep it trimmed mah."
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Of coz I was not gonna let that one slide past.
So, I pushed it further - "How can guys get off the hook but not girls??? For your info, we girls like you guys to keep it trimmed and neat too."
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All guys (except my Sweetheart) exchanged surprised looks, then proceeded to change the topic.
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Avoid it all you want, guys…but trust me on this one :-
We don’t enjoy extra dental floss service too. Really.
24
Feb
To scratch an Itch
Dunno why…dunno how…but I got the itch today.
An itch that needed to be scratched real bad.
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After a satisfying shopping trip to the MH Travel Fair where we got some super good deal for Firefly tickets from Penang to KT, we decided to get my itch scratched.
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Headed to the afternoon market at Batu Lanchang (the only market I know in Penang that opens in the afternoon - my fav kind! No need to get up early in the morning to buy fresh stuff for my cooking. Hehe…)
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Instead of my usual Italian dishes, I decided to cook Eastern dishes today.
- Japanese beef curry with loads of potato (special request from Ham and Amirt)
- Stir-fried brocolli (everyone’s fav vege) with orchid mushrooms
- Omellete with onions (Sweetheart’s fav)
- Assam prawns (easiest prawn dish to whip out, thanks mom for the recipe!)
Here’s the look on Sweetheart’s face when dinner was ready.
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And here’s the look on his face when told that he can’t have all the food to himself. Must share with friends.
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I think I spoil him too much. Tsk…
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Just as the last few morsels were being polished off the plates, Drey and Kenny called. "Any more food ah? Can we come over now?" "Whoops! No more food dee. So sorry!" I felt bad that I didn’t cook more but then again, even if I did, the extra food would still be polished off by the folks at my dinner table tonight. Sorry, Drey and Ken! *phai seh*
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After dinner, it was chillin’ time. Since it’s a Sunday night, we went easy on the drinks. Just some beer, some light cocktails…no shots and no dancing with the green fairy.
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Then, ’someone’ got all excited about my Mr Beaver. Due to popular demand, I had to post this pic…although I had to cover up the eyes.
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They tell me it’s useless. His tongue and his hairy chest are dead giveaways but hey, at least I did my part and covered his eyes! 
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Sunday came to an end too soon. Tomorrow, the battle starts again. Oh well, at least I had a great weekend. Thanks folks! You know who you are. *muax*
22
Feb
Malu-ation
A fellow Pro Tour competitor who was in KL recently blogged about this.
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My favourite story from Kuala Lumpur doeesn’t involve a topdeck, a sequence of plays, nor even Magical cards. Two nights before the Pro Tour, Marcio Carvalho, Nuno Costa, and I decided to go out for the night, and we paid a relatively expensive admission fee for entrance fee into a nightclub. The inside was quite nice…there were some fine looking women, and a live band were performing (and they sounded pretty cool). After a while, the band announced they would be calling it a night, but the music would continue to be provided by a DJ. One of the band pointed in the direction of the DJ cabin, where a middle aged man wearing a plain polo shirt - who looked absolutely nothing like a DJ - was standing.
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Our suspicions concerning his falsehood grew thanks to the lame sentences he spewed every time a new record came on. There was another thing we found suspicious….while this was going on, many of the girls left the place via the back door.
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Suddenly, elements of the Police and the Army invaded the club and blocked all the exits. The DJ pulled out a police badge and started barking orders through the DJ mic….Locals to one side, foreigners to the other, women on the left, men on the right.
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After a long wait, it was finally our turn to get our passports checked. Marcio has left his passport at the hotel, so the troopers confiscated Nuno’s passport and made him go back to the hotel to fetch Marcio’s passport. After this, the troopers split us up. I was taken by the arm into another room. I was then manhandled from pillar to post by a variety of guys until I wound up in some back alley surrounded by guys who didn’t look like cops at all…at least, they didn’t have uniforms or arm bands or any other identifying marks.
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Apparently, I was there for a drugs test. I’ve heard that drugs equals to death in Malaysia…while I’m sure I’m clean, I do hope they don’t mix and or swap those urine pots. No matter how crappy my life is at the moment, I do not relish the alternative.
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Nice city….but who’s to blame for Pro Tour in Malaysia???
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# 1 : Talk about soei-ness.
Probably their first clubbing experience in KL and they picked a lousy spot that got raided by the blardy cops! Sweetheart insisted that it was during the same night we were out at Aloha before we moved on to Rum Jungle and Poppy Garden. Well, if it was the same night, we were darn lucky to walk out of Aloha when we did!
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#2 : Talk about having our local eyes pried open by foreigners.
In our own raid experiences, we have kinda accepted how the ‘officers’ were seldom in uniforms and also, how rude and condescending their attitudes were. Not to mention their ‘Holier than thou’ attitude. For folks like us who are only into clean fun, why should we tolerate such BS from the so-called authorities?!?!?
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I don’t know about you folks but we sure ain’t gonna be singing to the tunes of "Saya Anak Malaysia" when folks read/talk about this article.
21
Feb
A promise
To quote someone, "An achingly beautiful song"
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I don’t know what it is that makes me love you so
I only know I never wanna let you go
‘Cos you started something, can’t you see
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me
It happens to be true
I only wanna be with you
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It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do
I wanna spend each moment of the day with you
Look what has happened with just one kiss
I never knew that I could be in love like this
It’s crazy but it’s true
I only wanna be with you
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You stop and smile at me
Asked me if I cared to dance
I fell into your open arms and I didn’t stand a chance
Now listen honey, I just wanna be beside you everywhere
As long as we’re together, honey, I don’t care
‘Cos you started something, can’t you see
That ever since we’ve met you’ve had a hold on me
No matter what you do
I only wanna be with you
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No matter what you do
I only wanna be with you
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- by Vonda Shepard (I only wanna be with you)
Listen to it here.
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Maybe in another lifetime, ya…
And I promise you that next time, I will not let go!
20
Feb
Was it real…???
"Is it just me or is the sun extra merciless these past few days?" - she wondered as she quickly ran out of the scorching sun and into the comfort of the air-con’d building.
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"Ahhhh…how nice to be out of that horrible sun! Oh well, a few more hours to clear some stuff and then, it’s off to an early class at the gym"
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As she turned to walk towards her cubicle, she saw a bunch of folks standing around chit-chatting. To avoid having to walk in-between them (and seem rude), she decided to walk around the next cube space to get to her own cube. As she started walking away from the chit-chat gang, her eyes caught hold of a face.
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"Huh??? Is that……??? No…it can’t be! But it sure looks like him…OMG!"
Her heart started beating hard, so hard that she was afraid it’ll burst right out of her chest. Her mind screamed out to her to turn around and confirm what she thought she saw but her body somehow refused to listen. In the end, all she could physically muster was to walk back to her cube, unlock her laptop and mechanically threw herself into her work.
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All the while as she ploughed through her work, one part of her mind was wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her earlier or if it was really him standing there…and suddenly, she was struck with a familiar thought and emotion - "So near yet so far". Her heart twisted painfully but she pushed the emotion away and threw herself into her work again.
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By mid-afternoon, she found that she had managed to finish all her tasks for the day. Her thoughts automatically flew back to the earlier afternoon encounter. "Was it really him? Or were my eyes playing tricks on me?"
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She decided to pack her stuff and call it a day. As she walked out of the office, the last thought in her mind was "Maybe it was just a figment of my imagination…but even if it wasn’t, so what?!? He is, after all, Untouchable."
19
Feb
My Bain-Marie
A trip to KL ain’t really a trip to KL if one does not pay a visit to IKEA. I am sure a lot of folks agree with me.
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So, although I didn’t have anything in particular to buy from there, I still drove all the way to Mutiara Damansara from our hotel in downtown KL. Totally pleased with myself that I didn’t get lost at all. I really am a PJ girl at heart. 
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Skipped the bedroom and living room section coz I wasn’t interested to add any more stuff to my rooms. Headed straight to the kitchen section. Saw some nice lookin’ shot glasses but nope, no need to get any more since I got a dozen from Austin and another 2 dozens from Bangkok (enough for EVERYONE to have at least one shot for all my parties! hehe). Browsed around and finally saw what I wanted to add to my cooking collection : my very own bain-marie!
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Too lazy to take a picture to post it here. So, will just get one from the Net. The one I got from from our nation’s only Swedish store which ‘always try to do more with less’ looks a lot like this.
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Nice, leh?
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Dunno when I will get to use it. Most folks use it to melt chocolates and since I seldom make my own desserts (not when ice cream is sooo readily available at any BR stores!), I cannot think of any need for it - for now.
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Oh well, never mind that I cannot think of any immediate need for it, yet. After all, for RM 19 apiece, it was too good a price to pass!
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Chocolate-melting session, anyone?
19
Feb
ALOHA no more!
Oh, I forgot one more update from last weekend.
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If you find yourself in downtown KL and looking for a spot to go clubbing, do not - I repeat - DO NOT, be tempted to walk into ALOHA. They have really interesting promotions like ‘5 gals get 1 bottle of Black Label free’ on ladies night and a bunch of other good stuff.
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If you are like us and prefer good music and good crowd, then this is *not* the place for you. We walked in there, ordered a drink (ladies walk in free) and planted ourselves next to the bar. The DJ was playing some ok music and shortly after, the band came on.
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Now, picture this.
- Malay rock band (long hair, tight jeans…the whole package lah!)
- Malay rock band singing Canto pop.
- Malay rock band singing Thai pop.
- Super Ah Beng crowd dancing to Malay rock band music.
‘Nuff said.
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Instead of subjecting our ears to more torture, we quickly hopped out of that place and walked down the road to Rum Jungle and Poppy Garden, where we stayed for the rest of the night.
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And there we stayed till 3am when all the lights came on and the crowd poured out into Jalan Pinang and Jalan P. Ramlee.
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Loved it that we didn’t have to worry about getting stuck in the 3am-after-clubbing traffic jam at KL’s Golden Triangle. Our hotel was just a 5-minute walk away.
18
Feb
Tales of Fulfillment
Myth : 4-day extended weekend is a long enough time to do lotsa stuff.
Truth : "Time flies when one’s having fun" - I’m putting all my money on this one! There just wasn’t enough time to juggle shopping, eating, chilling with good friends, visiting family, and spending quality time with my man. That is alot to be done in 4 short days, agree?
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Highlights of the weekend are :-
- CNY yee sang dinner with some very dear friends at Chow Yang, PJ. Menu for the night as below. Yummilious!
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. - We discovered a new place in Section 13 that offers an impressive selection of wine - and inexpensive too! Name of the building is Jaya33 and name of the place is The Vintry Cellar. It’s located on the ground floor facing the main road, a few doors away from Coffee Bean. Great ambience for cigar, wine and chilling with friends.
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Housemates, ex-es and best buddies - all posing for a picture, for old times’ sake.
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There will never be the likes of us again, I’m sure. After all that we have gone through - from friends to romantic partners and back to best buddies - there is so much we have gone through and yet, our friendship bond was so tight that it kept us together all these years. I heart you folks very mucho! *muax*
. - Galfriend time at the Spa. Finally got to check out KL Pavillion’s famous Fish Spa. Was it a bizarre experience? YES! Would I go back for another? NO! Didn’t like the fish nibbling at my feet and especially my calves. All my life, I’ve never been ticklish at my feet and thought I’ll actually enjoy the experience but I was sorely disappointed. It was a weird experience but hey, if you’ve never done anything like it before, you should at least go for the experience but I personally will never pay another RM35 to have those fishes exfoliate my feet. Gimme the pumice stone anytime.
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Here’s a picture of customers getting their feet exfoliated by the Turkish fishes.
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And here’s a picture of my galfriend’s feet with her exfoliators.
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They even have private rooms with small tubs for customers who wish for a full-body exfoliation. Urgh. I cannot imagine getting every single inch of my body nibbled by those fishes. I personally wouldn’t do it if they pay me for the treatment!
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This service is still new and not yet open to the public. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the private rooms. Notice that the fishes inside the tub are relatively smaller ones. They are still baby fishes and put in there to test the water. Once the water is ready, the big ones will be put in. Again, Urgh.
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What I loved was the 30 mins of reflexology treatment prior to dunking our feet into the aquarium for the exfoliating process. The guys were damn good at pressing all the right points of our feet and I for one was oooh-ing and aaah-ing in pleasure as my very tired shopping feet were being rejuvenated for - what else - MORE shopping!
. - Shopping. Oh, the shopping. I won’t even attempt to capture the details of the retail therapy we did over the weekend. Let’s just leave it that our credit cards were still burning hot in our wallets as we started our drive back to Penang. Yes, it was that mad! Books, bags, shoes, clothes, accessories - you name it, we shopped for it! :\
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Ok, one picture. I will share one picture of one item in my shopping list.
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Sexy, eh?
What made it totally irresistable was the fact that it was 50% off! *gleeful grin*
. - Getting an unlimited supply of drinks from some nice guys at Hard Rock while my galfriend expertly put her flirting skills to good use. I just sat there and watched in amusement as she twisted the guys around her little finger. Hehee…. The priceless look on the guys’ faces when they saw our men walk up to us a couple of hours later (they were tied up earlier in the evening. Hence, the gals were all alone at the bar - alone but not loney! *wink*)
. - More pampering session at Urban Retreat Spa at The Curve. Got their mini spa package for RM 218 which covered a full body aromatherapy massage, a full body exfoliating scrub and a bath. Was it enjoyable? Yes. Did it have the WOW factor? Nope. Would I go back there? Nope - not because it’s that bad but becos one is spoilt for Spa choices in KL and I’ll definitely want to try new ones.
. - Oh, Sweetheart didn’t win the USD 40K for the Pro Tour but he did win the biggest prize of it all - quality time with his woman! ;))))
Overall, it was fulfilling, very fulfilling.
I came back to Penang recharged. Is that good? You bet!
17
Feb
Whoppin’ Weekend
Got loads of updates about our extended V-day weekend but too tired to update them all tonight. Just drove 300+ km direct from KL to Penang. Damn tiring. My hats off to those who drive long distance regularly for work and/or family. I know I won’t be able to survive that kinda travelling on a regular basis.
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One interesting update that simply cannot wait - A big, fat, juicy piece of gossip.
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Last night, I was chillin’ by the side bar with my man, grooving to the music at one of our favourite clubs in downtown KL, Poppy Garden, when a couple at the other end of the side bar caught my attention. They were heating up the bar area with some serious snogging. What held my attention was the fact that they were at it for a super loooonnng time and for an unexplained reason, the guy looked like I have seen him somewhere, sometime.
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Here’s the conversation between Sweetheart and I on the snogging partners.
Me : Baby, those 2 seem to be burning up this area eh..
He : Biasa-lah. Hot chick mah.
Me : Hmmmm..something about the guy is awfully familar lah…
He : Why? U know him?
Me : Dunno laaa. He looks really familiar.
*me continue to stare rudely at the snogging couple*
Me : Oh! I think I know why he looks familiar to me. He looks like our local blog celebrity, Kenny Sia. What do you think, baby?
He : Hmmm…yeahor. Now that you mention it, he does looks like Kenny Sia. But he is an East Malaysian, right? Shouldn’t be in KL.
Me : So what? He cannot travel wan meh?????
He : True oso. So, all we need to do is check out his latest blog to see if he has been travelling and if he’s anywhere in KL this weekend. If he is, then that guy snogging that hot chick may be him loh.
Me : Ya’know…the more I look at him, the more I think it’s him lah! Short and cute-cute…abit ‘bak-bak’….really like him lerrr…
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Got back to Penang, logged online to check my emails, FS, FB and whatever else I do online (totally no time to logon over the weekend) …. and suddenly remembered my conversation with Sweetheart last night. So, I decided to check out Kenny’s blog and what I read made me forget the lethargy of the long drive earlier. Immediately called Sweetheart and he went "Hmmm…maybe it was him last night after all. Hehe…ok, enough of kaypoh-ing and go get some rest. It’s back to the grind tomorrow."
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I guess there will be many, many perks for being one of the 2 male judges for our country’s first reality model search - Malaysian Dreamgirl. And what we saw last night (IF it was indeed the man himself), was one of them.
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Will end this post with 2 pictures. More pictures will be shared in later updates on the weekend that was.
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Taken last night at the club. Both of us were fairly high after a few glasses of *very* strong vodka redbull.
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The other picture was taken with the massive Magic sculpture, minutes before we started the drive from KL.
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Sigh…like what Sweetheart said, it’s back to the grind again.
13
Feb
Happy V-Day!
The images on my laptop screen blurred out here and there. I was begining to feel that my eyes were playing games with me.
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After what seemed like an eternity, I glanced up at the clock - WoW, I’ve been on this call for more than 2 hours already. How long more, I wondered. Finally, it ended. But not for long. Another one scheduled at 5am Penang time. Wohooo. Looks like I will not be sleeping tonight.
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Never mind. Just a little price to pay for a BIG prize later on. What’s one long night of work vs 4 full days of free-to-do-what-makes-Eleen-happy stuffs in KL???
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Yes, I pick my battles and this is one battle I am willing to lose. Besides, I am winning the war.
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*beep*
Who would be texting me at this hour? It’s past midnight and I just got off the phone with my workmates. So, cannot be them again (I hope!).
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"Happy Valentine’s, baby. Muax. Luv ya! Seeya in the morning"
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The text made me grin and I forgot about work for a full minute. Then…with recharged enthusiasm, I soldiered on into the night.
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Other women may need chocolates, roses and/or expensive gifts to warm their hearts but mine is warmed enough knowing that I am loved. :)))
13
Feb
4-day Weekend
"Yoh! Shot off to Bangkok days after getting back from Austin and Tokyo. Now pulak going for a 4-day V-Day weekend in KL! Make me jealous lah!!!" - a galfriend lashed out at me this morning.
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Weiiiiii….not fair leh. I was working my butt off in Austin and Tokyo. Then only got the 5-day birthday break in Bangkok. This KL trip was actually planned months ago. It was pure coincidence that all those trips are so close to one another - totally not planned that way. I swear!
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Anyway, we decided to take a 4-day weekend for 2 main reasons.
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Reason # 1 :
It’s V-Day! We wanted to do something different and be somewhere different for a change. Sorta like time away to ourselves. Enough alone time in Bangkok? Never!
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Reason # 2 :
Sweetheart got himself into Pro Tour KL! He’s one of the very few representing Malaysia, playing with world reknowned pros. *kembang* Like many of the other trips in the past, I will be there to provide my support (of coz it doesn’t kill to squeeze in some catch up time with KL friends and shopping!)
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So far, agenda lined up for the 4-day weekend are :
- BW appointment with my favourite beauty saloon in Bangsar.
- Romantic V-day dinner.
- Pampering session at the Spa (still can’t decide between the Damansara or the Bangsar ones - may go for both! Hehe)
- Feet pampering at The Fish Spa. Heard many stories about this newly opened spa in KL Pavillion and just HAVE to check it out! Imagine Turkish fishes exfoliating your feet. An interesting alternative to the pumice stone. Can’t wait!
- ‘Lou Sang’ dinner with my bestest KL friends.
- Catching up with MORE friends and family.
- And…lots of clubbing!!! :)))
Will try to update this space from KL since I will be travelling with my laptop. Yup, work can never be too far away.
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Oh well, as long as we know how to keep a good WLB, that’s what matters the most, eh?
12
Feb
Scary Sh!t
He doesn’t buy her expensive gifts,
He forgets his gentlemanly ways,
He annoys her with his many quirks,
He forgets birthdays and anniversaries.
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She throws illogical tantrums,
She turns the control knob a tad too high,
She gets emotionally draining,
She shops for impracftical items.
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Yet,
They cannot imagine Life without each other,
They feel incomplete without one another,
They suffer tremendously with miles between them,
Their hearts break into a thousand pieces at a single tear.
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It is then, that they knew - that they belong. To each other.
For this lifetime. And the next, and the next, and the next…
11
Feb
The Dance
As promised (and after LOADS of work editing the video), here is the YouTube file taken last Saturday night when we all danced with the Green Fairy.
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Check it out here.
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T’will be a night to remember - for a long, long time.
*huge grin*
10
Feb
3-in-1
CNY is always fun. Great food, great booze, great friends, no curfew and no rules. Other than the usual clubbing downtown, there’s always the private parties. For our party this year, we decided to throw a 3-in-1. A homecoming-birthday-CNY party.
- Homecoming coz I just got back from a biz trip that tired me out tremendously, and made me miss my friends a whole bunch.
- Birthday coz my friends insisted I celebrate my birthday with them even though I already celebrated it with Sweetheart in Bangkok last weekend (one more belated celebration coming up in KL next weekend!).
- CNY coz it’s CNY!!!
As promised, jelly shots were prepared for the celebration. This time round, we decided to go for colored shots.
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Our creation : The Traffic Light Shots
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Tier 1 - Absinthe
Tier 2 - Butterscotch Schnapps
Tier 3 - Vodka jelly
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Finally, topped with Everclear to flame them.
Will share the ‘yum seng’ video once it’s ready. Yet another great YouTube moment.
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After the first round, the blur look sets in.
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And after a few more rounds of dancing with the green fairy…
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Cake was homemade tiramisu and the speciality for the celebration was the candles Sheryl got for me from Singapore. "Blow, Eleen…blow!" had a whole new meaning to it.
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Friends who made the celebration so much more enjoyable…
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…and unforgettable…
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Of coz CNY will never be CNY without this…
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Dan caught in the act of digging through his angpows to support his CNY habit.
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Serious business, leh…
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By the time the last friend left, it was 6am.
What a party, what a night!
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P/S - Thanks folks for the great birthday prezzies. I love them all!!! Especially the ‘useful’ ones. *wink wink*
07
Feb
To Love & To Share
There are 3 bottles of ‘treasures’ waiting to be shared with friends this weekend. Remember this in my earlier post?
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#1 : Everclear - someone recommended this for Sweetheart’s famous jello shots. He be happy man tonight. I got him what he needed to give his jello shots more ‘ooommphhh!’ in our next party.
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#2 : Dos Tiranos Mezcal - this is said to be the most potent tequila ever introduced by the Mexicans. Some refered to it as The Insanity Juice. I knew I just HAVE to get a bottle for my beloved friends back home. You folks know who you are! Don’t have to fight over the worm. There’s TWO of them at the bottom of the bottle. ;))))
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We have a 3rd ‘treasure’ to share with our friends. Something we discovered at the Bangkok International Airport. Most folks know it as The Green Fairy.
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We just call it Happiness.
In fact, 3 bottles of them to go around.
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it’s gonna be an ass-kickin’ party this Saturday night!!!
06
Feb
Thief!!!
Sending a heartwarming smile my way - he asked shyly.
"Hi, my name is Kieran. What is yours?"
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Amused, I gave him my biggest smile.
"Hi there, Kieran. My name is Eleen."
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"Hi Eleen. Can I hug you?"
"Sure you can."
"You are so hugwable! Hmmmmmm…..Eleen?"
"Yeah?"
"I wwurrrrvveeeee you!"
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Within those few seconds, he stole my heart.
And right there and then…
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I knew that it will be his for a long, long time.
05
Feb
Royal Affair
For every king that Thailand crowned, they built a new palace. Their current king is # 9, so there are 9 palaces standing today. The one palace that serves as the main tourist attraction in Bangkok is the palace of King # 1. The Emerald Buddha, which is made of jade, is also located inside the grounds of this palace.
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Important notes to remember when visiting Bangkok’s Grand Palace :
- No sleeveless tops (no spaghettti straps or tubes) for females and singlets (not even those basketball jerseys) for males
- All skirts must be below knee level
- All pants must be long (no shorts or 3-quarter pants)
I found it weird that all the brochures printed for this main tourist attraction in Bangkok did not put a note to all tourists that they must be ‘decently dressed’ before entering the palace grounds.
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The palace authorities did come up with a solution for that issue though. Each clothing item is rented out for 100 ฿ but it is 100% redeemable. One just needs to put some cash or ID as deposit for the rented items. This is just in case some loony decides to run away with the rented clothing as souvenir.
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Here’s the sign posted outside the dressing room. Interesting how they even warned tourists of cons in the city.
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Although I brought along a shawl to cover my bare shoulders, the guards still insisted that I line-up at the dressing room and get myself a borrowed shirt. "No need to button up. Just need to wear it to cover your shoulders."
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Once inside, we totally forgot about the clothing hassle and was soon caught up in the majestic beauty of the palace. Although we took some shots of the place, no words nor pictures could describe what we saw through our eyes.
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It’s one of those things in the world that one has got to see and experience in real Life.
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Admittedly, I am never one to get all excited about temples. I will be rolling my eyes every time my mom and aunts gush about this and that temple in this and that country.
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As seen in these pictures, the temples in the palace grounds rendered me speechless.
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We were totally blown away by the beauty of it all.
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They even have an Angkor Wat replica inside the palace grounds.
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Not surprisingly, security was super tight at all times.
Ancient guards, modern guards - they were all over the place all the time.
Here’s a picture of Sweetheart posing with the ancient guards, striking their pose.
Me likey this picture.
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And then, there are the modern palace guards. Standing there regally in their white uniforms. Kinda reminded me of the guards at the Buckingham Palace except that the ones at Buckingham Palace had red uniforms.
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Of coz I couldn’t resist posing for a picture with one of them.
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As we were heading out of the palace grounds, a group of marching guards came towards us and we took a quick, short video of them as they marched past. Check them out here.
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A trip worth putting time aside for if you find yourself in the capital city of Thailand. For a minimal entrance fee of 250 ฿ (about RM25) per person, it’s definitely worth it.
04
Feb
Asia’s City of Sin
We pushed work and everything else to the back of our minds and gave ourselves up to each other - and to Bangkok. It was the best decision we have made in a long, long time.
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With schedules thrown out of the window and nothing but Love and Life on our agenda, we did nothing but…
- If we feel like eating, we go looking for food. Flashy restaurants or roadside hawkers - whichever that strikes our fancies (or stomachs) for that moment.
- If we feel like shopping, we go spend money like there is no tomorrow.
- If we feel like sleeping in, forget breakfast and lunch.
- If we feel like clubbing, we dance away the night…and the next morning.
We forgot about the big, bad world and got totally lost in each other’s company. I couldn’t ask for a better birthday celebration than this. *happy, happy smile*
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It is impossible to cramp all the Bangkok updates in one post. So, here’s what I will do. Post a summary, then upload separate posts on those that I think are worth sharing in details. So bear with me as I pick them from the corners of my mind, k?
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Day 1
- Wow! What an impressive airport. Looks extremely futuristic and puts our KLIA to shame. Suvarnabhumi Airport is about 2 years old.
- Had the best beef noodles @ The Sun Lum Night Bazaar. Sweetheart was still going on and on about it on the plane ride back to Penang. Did some shopping at the night bazaar which is like a bigger version of our ‘pasar malam’ in Batu Feringghi.
- Got ourselves a body massage for 500 ฿ (250 ฿ x 2).
- Headed to Patpong for clubbing. Found more ‘pasar malam’ stalls. Shopped some more before clubbing.
- Got pissed off at one of the A-Go-Go Bar for trying to con our 1500 ฿ for some ugly, naked women with some lame attempts at pole-dancing. Told them to fark off and walked out without paying them.
- Found a really nice pub which plays great music (similar to the music played at our clubs back home). They have a live band too. Nice. Stayed there for the rest of the night.
- Had our lives flash before our eyes on a Tuk-Tuk ride. Had to do some camwhoring to take our minds off our anxiety whilst our tuk-tuk driver rode like a madman through the Bangkok streets at 4am that morning. Madness. We swore never to do it again.
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Day 2
- Had to drag our tired selves out of bed early for our day trip to the ancient city of Ayutthaya. The ruins are beautiful but I will be completely frank that the sights I saw there are no match for what I saw in Cambodia. But then again, no ruins in this world can beat Angkor Wat. Not for me anyway. I was totally blown away by the magnificent remains of the Khmer civilization.
- We explored The Grand Palace and realised just how ‘rich’ Thailand truly is. Will upload a separate post on the Grand Palace. It’s too majestic and great a story to be shared with other updates.
- Had a romantic dinner @ River Bar Cafe by the Chao Phraya River.
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- Went clubbing with the locals in the RCA area - away from other tourists. Discovered how HUGE the clubs at Bangkok are. Ours back home seem puny in comparison. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves @ Route 66. It is soooo huge that it has different North, South, East and West areas. Also, there is no dance floor at all. Every available space is fully utilised with tables to cater to the thousands of local clubbers who flock there every weekend. Sweetheart and I lurrvvee the music DJ Buddah was spinning out.
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Day 3
- Went shopping @ the King of all markets - Chatuchak. Spent a bundle of money there. Will update a separate post on this alone. The stuff sold there completely blew our minds away. From food to art to household stuff to pets to clothes and to a thousand other things!
- Had my birthday dinner at the tallest hotel in Bangkok - Baiyoke Sky. Food was so-so, view was excellent from the 82nd floor, company and love was fantabulous! :)))
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- Some taxi drivers recommended another clubbing area. Most famous club being the Hollywood Bangkok Club. There are a few others in the area but we didn’t like it there. The crowd is rather Ah Beng and Ah Lian-ish. The entire area reminded us of the likes of Amazon and Rock World back home. Urgh.
- Went back to Patpong for clubbing. We seemed hooked on Trilow. Clubbed till the wee hours of the morning.
Day 4
- Shopping day! We decided to allocate this day to nothing but shopping. :)))
- Went to the largest shopping centre in South East Asia - Central World.
- Discovered that the Thais are totally into Japanese food. I think more than 50% of the restaurants inside the mall are Japanese restaurants. Sweetheart and I ended up at Fuji Restaurant for lunch. It was rather decent. Sweetheart enjoyed it but I had been spoilt by Tokyo. So, to me - the food was mediocre.
- Decided to check out Pratunam as recommended by some locals. Did more shopping. Had a pedicure and foot massage to ease our tired legs. Bought a new laptop/overnight luggage bag for 1500 ฿. Dirt cheap compared to what I would have to pay back home.
- More DVD shopping @ Patpong. Yes, we were addicted to that place.
- Went back to Trilow for one last night of clubbing before we had to head home the next day.
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Day 5
- Last day before we go back to the stressful world.
- Slept in and cuddled a whole bunch - not willing to admit that our vacation was coming to an end.
- Packed and checked out of hotel.
- Had lunch @ airport.
- Decided to do some last minute DFS shopping and guess what?!? We found a TREASURE!!! Will post a separate one on this special treasure we found at the airport. *wink wink*
End of summary post on Bangkok.
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