The Week before Christmas

Before I'm into the main topic, just wondering who, in Singapore, isn't affected by the breakdown of internet connection for the past 2 days?

Below was meant to be posted on 27th....

Busy week that started last Tue night… busy shopping for presents.

Wed, rushed to get the remaining presents as we knew we wouldn't have much time to do so. Within 4 hrs, we'd been to Orchard (a short visit to Justina, shopped @ NAC/Wisma & dined in @ FEP), then back to Parco to shop for another 1 hr+. Reached home near 11pm. Still had a couple of things to do before I called it a day. Sewed the crystals on my dress & did my nails (on the same day only managed to do pedi @ Parco during lunch as 3 of my toenails cracked near the base! So had to let the experts handle my problematic toenails). Slept at 2am.

Thurs evening, attended Gerald's wedding & reached home around 11.30pm. How we wished it's on a Fri night instead so we could have more rest. After shower, wrapped some presents for the next day - hubby's gift exchange during the Christmas party & for my colleague.

@ Gerald's wedding dinner

Fri evening, went to Millenia Walk to get some chocolates for the kids before going back to the same hotel (as Gerald's) for our pre-Christmas dinner. As usual, had a great time.

We thought Sat would be a more relaxing day without agenda. Last minute sis suggested lunching together. Only had about an hour after fetching mum from market & before going to Thomson Plaza of which I made use to wrap some presents.. so the whole morning was gone like this. Had a sumptuous dim sum lunch & reached home just in time for our shower set delivery. We’d ordered 1 that comes with a rain shower (yeah!).. there’s promotion in price + free installation.

After taking 2 hours+ to wrap more presents & the kids’ Christmas goodie bags, rushed to Sembawang Shopping Centre & got almost all the ingredients for the next 2 days’ potluck. Then went back to pick mum up for dinner with bro & family @ Vista Point. During lunch with sis & family, we received a call from bro inviting us for dinner (for Zoe’s birthday & 冬至 which’s the previous day). Reached home around 9pm & there went our Sat.

Early morning of Christmas Eve, got the remaining stuff from the market & back home to settle some of the preps… then went to fetch mum from church. Visited daddy before rushing home again. I made my signature fried rice (hubby’s fav) & some yasai tempura for the evening’s Christmas party at Constance’s. It’s fun & we enjoyed a generous spread as every1 tried to bring the tastiest food there. Yummy!

After we'd filled up our stomach, June & I took quite a few pix with different poses to kill time.

Constance's beautiful home.

After the gathering, we sent my inlaws home & again, went to fetch mum from church as she attended the evening’s Christmas gathering. After sending her home, we went to get some cocktails & drinks… also cooked the popiah fillings (decided to prepare this as we bought lotsa Vietnamese rice paper back during our last trip) for tomorrow.

Then it's Christmas Day! After we got up, only had time to settle the rest of food preps (incl. frying the remaining yasai tempura). Spent the day at sis’ place, indulging in lotsa good food. It’s literally food, chats, food, chats & more food! Exchanged presents & before we could unwrap (which’s the tradition), mum urged to go back. She’s totally exhausted. It’s good actually.. it’s already 9pm+ by then & we gotta work the next day.

What a hectic & 100% family-orientated Christmas holidays for us.

A funny crown! Haha!

On the 1st day back to work, we supposed to return home almost immediately after work for an early rest but on both Tue & Wed, we couldn’t resist the post-Christmas sale we saw wherever we went. Also took the chance to buy some nice winter wear. Hehe..

Dress

Was wearing this sweet turquoise empire tie-back tube dress. Quite interesting as it's like tying a piece of long shawl over the bust... I can either do a big ribbon at the back or just a knot to let it flow to the hem of the skirt. I sewed some crystals on the 'shawl' so it'll appear glittery at the back. Have also self-invented another method of wearing.. which is to wrap it around my ribcage like an obi belt with the crystals nicely spread across the front part above my waist.

Me in my turquoise dress & rocking/reclining chair.

Can't see from these 2 pix eh?

ECP last sunday

OK I shall not wait for June's pix to post this.

Last Sun, we're all @ East Coast Park. Hubby & June's husband, Kelvin, took part in the run/jog. Given that he hasn't been exercising (the week before he could only run 2km @ East Coast Park), I thought he'd not be able to complete the 5km distance. Perhaps Kelvin would be better than him as he does play tennis every now & then. But to my pleasant surprise, my honey came in 4th or 5th (we didn't check it out) by taking 16:xx mins, Kelvin not bad too.. only about 10 secs behind hubby. The 1st 3 went to 3 young NS guys. Hubby knew they're unbeatable the instant he saw them. But then I really admire my honey's will-power! Hehe.

And it's a bad bad day for any outdoor event.. in fact so are most of the days in this month. It's drizzling when we arrived, then started to rain from around 11am. Thank God we found a shelter before the rain. It rained, stopped, rained, stopped... & finally a very heavy downpour with strong wind that didn't seem to cease.

Slightly after lunch, we left 1st & returned to our home sweet home. When it's raining like this, the happiest thing to do is to stay at home & zzz. This was exactly what we did for the rest of the afternoon after a very comfy hot shower.

My honey looking good before the run

Dearest hubby,

Having said I'm happily married yesterday, it's still kind of an understatement. I'm actually thanking God everyday for having you as my husband.

It's not easy to find someone who's 100% devoted to me. But I've found one who so loves me + takes very good care of my mum too, it's more than what I've asked for. It's natural to love your partner, but to extend a huge amount of love to your parents-in-law... not every1 can do it.

I can't think of what you wouldn't do for me.
- You sew for me (especially when I'm upset over some wear & tear to my fav pieces, you'll console me by saying "honey sew back for you ok?"... & with that, all my 'heart-pains' are literally gone).
- You wholly take charge of Tubby. Only after we bought him, we realise I've sensitive skin. I can still play with him but you'll do all the clearing & washing. I feel very lousy as, in the 1st place, we bought Tubby solely because I love cats. However, you said the day you decided to bring Tubby home, you're prepared to take care of him for me no matter what. And yes, you truly treat our meow meow very well & I can see you've grown to love him too.
- Every single morning, you change & pack my handbag for me. You want me to have the optimum time to prepare. Everything is so neatly placed... ashame to say that I don't even do that myself.. I used to just dump everything in because I was always in such a rush!.

Well the above are the more extreme ones out of the many, many things you do for me every day. Not only do I feel so pampered... sometimes I think I'm too spoilt by you! But your all-time philosophy enlightens me & really melts my heart - "it's not because I can't do all these chores, just that this is your way of loving me... to make sure that I can relax & need not worry about anything when you're around."

The interesting part is, I always feel that you love me more than I love you & you, on the other hand, feel that I love you more than you love me! I guess this the reason why we both have been striving to treat each other better huh.

Of course, we do have some squabbles at times mainly because you've a bad-tempered wife. But it'll never go beyond a few hours. Even when we quarrel, you still call me "baobei" or even "baobei da ren", so how can I bear to hold my anger for long? And I gotta admit it's usually my fault especially lately I'm a lil too edgy (& yep... hormonal changes seem to be a very convincing & valid reason at all time! Hee...). Yet you've never ever got angry with me before, from the 1st day we're together! Whenever I think about how you're loving me, I'll be overwhelmed with guilt. I have to always remind myself, NOT TO TAKE MY HUBBY FOR GRANTED. Never.

And thank you honey for always having faith in me that I'll change for the better. Muakz.

With lots & lots of love,
your Baobei wife

EX

What would you do if your ex prompt you on MSN ?
(A) Chat
(B) Ignore
(C) Block him

Yesterday out of the blue, CK came online. So far I'd only seen him on MSN for.. maybe 2 or 3 times? And we didn't chat at all. But last afternoon, he sent me a pre Christmas & New Year greeting. So I replied "thanks" which triggered a chat from there. He said he's travelling to Singapore often... he's in talks with Singapore's biggest investment company (not gonna name it) about a JV ~yawn~ ... not again..... Then, there he started once more... said things like - whatever I ever told him still wowed him & stayed in his mind / he tried to forget me now that I'm happily married but sometimes can sometimes can't......

I chose to not continue with the conversation. But I'm glad at least he still knows I'm now happily married.

Last time I'd drill him for more loving words & I barely got it... now when it's unwelcome, he could be out with it so easily?! When you've it, you don't cherish. And now that it's gone, you think it's desirable? Man ......... !

Now I've an answer to my own question. Option C.

Dance

For the whole of last week, been thinking whether I should sign up for a dance class. Eh... not those in-line dancing, but those like belly-dance/salsa/ballroom/.... Had taken up hip-hop several years ago, not too bad. Very tempted to try something else.. as a form of exercise too. Few years back me & Eric nearly joined a ballroom dance class. But if now I take up, my partner must definitely be my hubby. So wait till I've successfully convinced my beloved... Hehe..

Another gift from hubby

We must have run out of items to get for our house. Know what we bought 2 days ago? A rocking chair. Ok, stop laughing.

It's never been in our shopping list & I also don't believe we've spent a couple of hundred dollars on it.

Anyway, the very comfy rocking chair + recliner will be delivered tomorrow. Looking forward to it! Hee...

Hubby said he's gonna make an official announcement: "When my baobei is around, no1 can sit on this chair!". Aww......

Changes!

It's quite final. After lotsa discussion & consideration between ourselves, hubby & I have decided to withdraw from the family holiday next Feb, to separately bring her else where. Sis & I have our own way of planning for a holiday... there'd be no problem if we join a tour group but we both prefer F&E (yes.. this the only thing in-common we've).

We look at it this way.. if we split into 2 groups, mum gets to go to 2 different places, instead of putting all eggs in 1 basket & risk having clashes (fights) & damages (to sisterhood)...

But we're worried how mum & sis would react to our suggestion. Surprisingly they took it very well. In fact sis did worry about the same thing too. We're starting to plan for our own trip with mum & I'm happy. Australia has never been in my list of countries to visit. I thought we can make use of the 2 public holidays during New Year so as to save 2 days' leave. We're now looking at Seoul or Spain. Seoul - mum's favourite. Spain - I suggested because I know she's always been interested to tour Europe, not necessarily Spain. But during this period, the temperature in Korea & Europe is way too cold for her (I'd love it tho!)... except perhaps Spain or Portugal or the South part of France. The weather there is comparatively warmer...10 over degrees?

But mum is still very hesitant... she's afraid she'd catch a cold & not in time to be ready for her Melbourne trip in Feb. But I'll have to let her know that if not in Jan, she'll most likely need to wait till after July as I'll be busy starting from April for another big mission in June.

And wait.. just had a tele-conversation with sis (while typing this). Now sis said she doesn't mind bringing mum to Seoul. So we may all end up going to Korea together? We also have to pay the $75/pax penalty for the e-tix booked for Melbourne trip.

What else in store for this month?

- A walkathon this Sunday (only my honey & also June’s hubby are taking part…but we’ll all go & support as it’s organized by my dad-in-law’s association & he’s in the committee) + picnic. Gonna cheer on for my hubby dearest too. Once upon a time, he’s 1 of the fastest runners during NS.. he’s always proud of his record – 2.4km in 8:44 8:22 (corrected by my honey)! Eh.. but now… hehehe… Hey actually me too.. also 1 of the fastest during school days.. 2.4km in 11+mins. Now? I don’t even dare to think about it… Haiz... Lazy lazy....
- Gathering @ my eldest SIL’s place on Christmas Eve
- Gathering @ my sis’ on Christmas Day
- Separate meet-ups with Victor & James
- Also another wedding dinner on 29Dec.. but for this our only mission is to accompany my parents-in-law. No choice… we’re being named by my dad-in-law to be the escorts of the night. Requests like this is difficult to siam. Just take it as a free dinner.. a super prolonged 1 though.

Have nearly forgotten still gotta shop for Christmas presents. Fortunately we’d bought some souvenirs back from HCMC, with some add-ons & voilà!

It's a month of celebration

Summoned by the groom-2b, last Fri evening was marked out for hubby's buddies.... a coffee session at J8. Except the absence of the 2 girls, it's nearly a complete reunion for the group. Just that it's a bigger crowd now with the addition of the Significant Other of some members.

That evening, only 1 in the group whom I met for the 1st time & for hubby, it's been a few years as well since he last met Jian Ming. He & his wife-2b would (also) be celebrating their solemnisation in less than 2 days (yesterday morning). We thought we could make it but was unable to change our appointment in the last minute. The newlywed Thomas & his lovely wife were the latest to arrive. He's a real funny beng who shocked every1 of us with his striking blond hair! No1 would believe that he used to be the school's Head Prefect... Haha! And what a combi.. the truly beng & the police officer Sam were sitting side by side.
Had great fun cracking loads of jokes, some real crappy ones though.

Received the "red bomb" from Gerald... his big day's on a Thurs. Ouccchh... broke big time! 1 wedding + 1 solemnisation + 2 birthdays + Christmas... All in a month!

Good for her

Last Sat, went out with cousin Ann & her boyfriend... for a ktv session @ Marina Sq, some window shopping & dinner @ Outram Rd. I'm happy for her as I can see that she's blissfully in love. When she's with her ex, I didn't get to meet him at all for she's not keen at all to introduce him to us (maybe she's afraid his boring self would affect every1... anyway they're the 2 extreme ends, my adorable cousin is talkative & playful & he, a super introvert), & not keen at all to make any future plans.

And whenever we see them, we'll be reminded of the amazing stunt on our wedding day. Had I mentioned it before? The bouquet tossing moment? What happened was - my lovely ladies (all those in our wedding entourage) were reluctantly (or rather, shyly) standing some distance behind me when I tossed my bridal bouquet. It followed by an uproar from our guests as I turned around and just in time to see the bouquet landed in Ann's hands! Every1 was greatly amused! When we got our wedding video, we managed to watch what actually happened in slow motion: The bouquet flew out from my hands, hit a slab on the ceiling & dropped straight down..... right in front of Ann who was standing like this 444 .... & by not missing an inch, it slipped nicely into her inter-locking fingers. She didn't move a step to chase nor avoid because everything was too fast for her to react. Haha! Amazing right? So, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be huh? And aren't you impressed with the thrower? Hehe....

That's Life

Last evening, hubby & I went to a wake of my colleague's friend's dad. It's a lil distant ya.. honestly I don't know her very well though met her once few years ago. Earlier this year, her dad was diagnosed as having lung cancer too... only then we MSN chatted a few times.

Saw her yesterday, I didn't know what to say.. needless to talk about hubby who only met her once, with me. Other than giving her moral support by showing up (honey, thanks for making the effort), don't think I could help much. I can identify with the pain. But she's a strong girl.. being the only child, she has to shoulder all the responsibilities.

I didn't sleep well... especially the initial part of the night. Everything about daddy re-ran in my mind. How I miss him... still dream of him very frequently. And all I can do now is to visit him as often as we're able to & take good care of mum. Whichever country hubby & I have been to, we always bring back a souvenir for him.

Friday

I wasn't in a mood to do any thing last Fri...

Supposed to meet TM for afternoon tea as he's having a lunch meeting in town & I needed to discuss some work matters with him. But I cancelled it, didn't feel like talking. Also supposed to go for the appointment with my skin doctor (rashes broke out after my Vietnam trip!). Cancelled it too, didn't feel like moving. Wondered what happened to me on a beautiful Fri.

Finally, I survived the seemingly extra loong & slow working hours & flew to meet hubby who's already waiting downstairs. Went to Great World City with the intention of catching a movie. We've 2 pairs of complimentary GV tix that'll expire end of this month. But somehow not a single show caught our eyes. So just dinner & some shopping in the agenda.

Was so happy that I could have my fav cheng-teng @ the food centre opp GWC. But very disappointingly it's closed on a Fri night! Anyway we've long suspected the cool (read: with attitude problem) cheng-teng uncle doesn't need to earn a living out of the business.. otherwise how can he be closed as & when he likes, sometimes even for a few days?

The good part was... still got to enjoy the other great food which're also in my fav list. That's why I love this food centre where we visit rather frequently. After dinner, we walked around GWC & met 1 of Vince's colleagues. Then when we're relaxing on a bench while I enjoyed my durian ice-cream cone, we saw Vince's former discipline master. There's something when the teacher whom you haven't met for more than 9 years can remember you by name... either you're so notorious that you leave a deep impression or you used to be 1 of his fav students. In this case, I believe it's the latter because Vince was his vice-head & he affectionately introduced him to his wife. We chatted for a while & he suddenly turned to me & said I looked familiar & asked whether I was from the same school as well. Upon hearing that, I nearly choked on my ice-cream. Hehe... a bit over-reacting but no, we're definitely not from the same school nor batch!

When we parted with Mr & Mrs Lim & about to get moving, hubby saw another familiar face. This time, someone from his ex church.. Evan. As it's quite a distance away, hubby decided not to approach him. Wat a night.. bumping into 3 different groups in less than 1 hr. Had every1 who knows hubby decided to go to GWC on 01.12.06?

Breeze

Had dinner with James (hubby's frd) last evening @ The Scarlet Hotel's Breeze.

Hubby & I had a tour of the hotel about a month ago & liked this rooftop Mediterranean grill. Since we're meeting James, we decided to dine in there together.

When we arrived slightly past 7pm, the place was still empty & because it's very cloudy with occasional thunder, we chose a table in the pavilion instead of the lush outdoor.

Food was good.

Bar in the pavilion

Difficult to take the night scene with my mobile phone. The circled is supposed to be a marquee.

The marquees. This & the next pix not taken by us.

By the time we left, around 9.30pm, it's still empty in the pavilion because every1's seated outdoor. So we're the only ones being conned by the thundery red sky.

Hubby suggested that we go back for a drink on 1 of these fridays.

simple question ?

Last week, PY said in an sms - "let's catch up week one of dec".

As we usually meet on weekends (mostly Fri), my interpretation of that is - perhaps this Friday which is 1 Dec. But to hubby, it means next week because this week is considered as last week of nov. But no.. tis Fri is already into dec.. so can't be last week of nov rite?

Watz ya take?

The Boys of Summer

This has been 1 of my fav songs... SammyDJ's version most preferred. Recently had it in a CD so currently it's the most played song in our car audio.

1st heard it (by Don Henley) many many years ago & there's a lil story behind... 1 of those "BGR" most of us had gone through during our school days.

When I was in pre-u, it's a common thing to stay back after school to study, especially when nearing exams. Then in 1 of the evenings, someone suggested a break by playing hide & seek. So about 20 of us... most of whom we already knew by then (the regulars who stayed late) - a few of my classmates & the rest from other classes including from the science faculty (mine's commerce). Lotsa crazy acts & we'd so much fun. As the running track was just in front of the cafeteria, 2 of my classmates & I ran to the other side of the track (pitch dark as no lights at night) & lied down. That's a pretty smart move indeed as no1'd have thought that'd be a hiding place too. Couldn't stop giggling while from afar watching them running around in search of the rest & those who hid sneaking around. Hehe.

During 1 of the rounds, met L.L. who's from the science faculty. We hit it off since then.. spent more & more time chatting during the stay-back-&-study session. He's intelligent but deviant & confided in me about his family problems. From how he sounded, they're rich but he just couldn't see eye to eye with his dad mum. And soon, he grew very attached to me. He'd reserve a seat in the library (where it's always full-house) for me to join him in-between my tutorials/lectures. As he's quite popular in school, many came & asked me whether we're an item. And our relationship had never gone beyond sitting shoulder-to-shoulder.... I wouldn't even allow him to hold my hand!

But slowly, guess I grew out of the novelty & infatuation. I so missed being with my sisters whom I behaved silly with, also the bantering moments with guy classmates... while he'd been very nice & devoted. Then 1 day, I told him that I wanted us to go slow.. he agreed though he said he did feel something's amiss. From that very day on, my suggestion of "go slow" turned out to be avoiding him completely. Didn't know why all of a sudden I simply found the sight of him loathsome. And yep... every1 around wanted to know what's going on.

I still stayed back & study, so did he. But I made sure I was at least 10m away from him. In 1 of the afternoons, as usual we're in the same classroom. LL brought a player & had this song on loudly.. The group was puzzled about the sudden loud music but didn't dare to ask him as he'd since become very aloof. It's my 1st time hearing Boys of Summer & somehow I knew he'd the intention to let me hear it. Only later that I gotta know the song better.

His buddies hated me for turning him into an even more closed-up person. Yet he's so nice to forgive me... about a year later, we're back on talking terms & he asked me out again. I agreed to the date which's nothing but freaky. Why? When I was walking to meet him who's like less than 100m away (just a turn at the corner), I bumped into my classmate. Then when we're on the way to the cinema, we met 2 of his classmates & another schoolmate we both knew after the movie! So wasn't that freaky, or wat? Since then, we didn't meet again.

Now whenever I think about it, I wonder would I have handled it in a better way. Was I wrong to completely push him away in a snap of fingers?

Did run into him again after a few years we left school. He's attached. When catching up, he's so proud to tell me that his girlfriend's very beautiful & he's happy to be with her. Good for him!


P.S. Not too long ago during a chat, da-jie jokingly said it's disappointing that I didn't marry L.L. otherwise she'd not need to join the long Q to buy BBQ pork during CNY. Hmmm...

Uncover

It's meant to be a surprise for her but hubby & I got our fair share of shock last evening & went home with lotsa WHYs. So nothing's really changed... Wat the...???

Here it goes

A complete set of fotos (not too many though).

All the outdoor pix were taken with our mobile phone.

additional notes

Alain P, the Port's Area Manager. He's a very funny & easygoing French man.. I find his actions a lil like Mr Bean. Haha..
Pic taken at a coffee house in Hanoi's Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

This the room where I spent a night in Hanoi. Don't ask me "how come there's a pillar in the middle of nowhere??"... I was asking myself that too once I stepped into the room. It's a small hotel - Majestic Salute Hotel in the old quarters of Hanoi.

The toilet was clean... believe they'd refurbished the rooms recently. The bathtub looked nice rite? It's actually plastic (or perhaps some kind of acrylic fibre?) & not attached to the walls, ie. there's a gap between the tub & the walls. It's a lil shaky whenever I got in & after I showered, water would go through the gap & flowed underneath the tub then out to the drainage that's near the door. Hmm... for that I'm not very comfortable as it'd mean there's a possibility that bugs might breed in damp & hidden areas... the creature that I fear most in my life - cockroach!! It'd be the scariest nightmare if I were to see a huge roach crawling out from under the tub! Yeeeekzz! A mere thought of it gives me goose bumps..

Though they'd tried to renovate the room & at least kept it clean, the whole place looked drab & weathered.

I've Alain to thank for where I got myself in. Unlike his predecessor who's a lady & (like me) preferred to stay in good hotels, he's 1 who loves experiencing the true local way of living, as close to it as possible, & doesn't mind where he rest his feet... well guess the latter is a man's nature?

Oh yes... there's a lil prelude before our flight took off @ HCMC airport on Sunday. There's a bit of commotion as Presdient George Bush was at the taxiway... or so our fellow passengers at the windows exclaimed. Hubby did see a car next to our aircraft but I didn't bother to look as there're too many heads in front of me wanting to catch a glimpse. But based on the traces of events - APEC meeting in Hanoi & when we're back I did read on papers about President Bush arriving in HCMC around the same time, I'd no doubts about what they said. So we're in the same country as many important leaders & diplomats at the same time huh... hmm...

OK, as for those stuff I bought in HCMC... I'm carrying/wearing these to office today!

My pretty turquoise bag

My matching clogs

Our Trip

Having a mal-start, my poor hubby traveled the distance against all odds to be reunited with his wife :
Being careful with the number of credit cards to bring, the one he used to pay for his e-ticket happened to be deselected for the trip & he’s not allowed to check-in without his card. After all the hoo-ha, the only solution was to treat it as a new transaction, made another payment with another card & then had the previous payment reverted. As a result of it, an additional S$50 as a “walk-in” customer. Thank God he left his office early & could afford some time in sorting this out.
As I’d a meeting during the time he arrived at the airport, I’d made prior arrangement with the hotel for an airport pick-up for him. But the driver did not show up (according to the hotel there’s traffic congestion) & hubby waited for about 15mins at the airport. He ended up taking a taxi to the hotel @ the same price & that’s after a 40% bargain. I was fed up. To appease my anger, they offered us a free ride to the other hotel that we’re supposed to check into the following day. To me it’s negligible as the hotel wasn’t too far away so even if we took a cab it wouldn’t cost more than a few dollars. But I was in such good mood that even if they didn’t offer anything, I wouldn’t pursue the matter... as long as hubby reached hotel safely. Furthermore the reservation was made by our sister company in HCMC & I definitely didn’t wanna blow up a small matter like this.

Finally got to see my hubby dearest after nearly an hour’s wait. After settling down & some catching up, we went for a short walk before dining out at the hotel’s Rooftop Garden, which is a famous restaurant among tourists.

Some snapshots @ the Rooftop Garden

When dinner’s done, we walked to the open-air Ben Thanh night market. This was also the place we visited most during our stay in HCMC. Not that it’d got lotsa interesting stuff to buy but as the biggest & oldest market in HCMC, that’s the best place to shop/walk around for both day (in a premise) & night (pasar malam on the road outside the premise). Visited their shopping mall & believe me, nothing worth a 2nd look in terms of the fashion as well as the prices.

Hubby was completely bowled over by the throngs of motorcycles, the "laissez-faire " traffic, the noise, the super hot & humid weather…. I wasn’t feeling any better neither but was more than contented having hubby with me especially after those few stressful days. One problem though… I was drenched with perspiration after a few rounds at the market!

I didn’t wish to return to the hotel too early but there wasn’t much of a choice for us. Take a look at our Rex Hotel... you may like it ya?

Next morning, we’re woken up by the ringing of the hotel phone. The manager-on-duty again apologized for what happened the previous day & said they’d be sending up a fruit basket for Mr Soh in a minute. They’re so apologetic that all in all we’re compensated with :
- a free ride to the other hotel
- a fruit basket
- a waive-off of US$10 originally charged for double-occupancy

After the morning call

We carried the fruit basket (actually not us but the bellboys from both hotels.. think we’d look funny to be carrying a fruit basket around) to Park Hyatt Hotel but left behind the bouquet of flowers I received from Saigon Port during the last meeting. Otherwise we’d look like some VIPs… haha. Nah, actually it’s because I didn’t really like the flowers.. hee...

my bouquet of orange-yellow orchids & yellow lilies combi

June had asked us to get for her some rice paper for Vietnamese spring rolls & its sauce. The rice paper was not very difficult to get but the sauce as there’re actually a few types & we didn’t understand what they’re trying to tell us. Thank God we happened to meet a very friendly & helpful couple. The girl, Amy, was American-Vietnamese & her boyfriend, Viet, was a French-Vietnamese. They even helped us pay for the 2 bottles of sauce & brought us around the market. Amy has her own beauty salon in the US & would bring in supplies from this particular shop. And thanks to her that I found some great buys... like OPI nail polish selling from S$5 – S$7.50 (hubby's female colleagues were so envious when he related to them as they said OPI nail polish priced around $40+ per bottle)! Other brands ranging from S$0.30 – S$2.50. In total I got 7 bottles of nail polish, 2 packs of Shiseido Naturgo ocean mineral clay mask @ S$0.20/pack, 2 brushes which Amy said were of good quality as they came from the same factories of some famous brands. I hope she’s right as I paid S$15 for the face/cheek brush & S$5 for the concealer/eyeshadow brush. Previously I was so tempted to buy a Shu Uemura face brush but had to pay about S$90! So no, I didn’t get it.

They also invited us to go for a bite with them but we declined. They’re very nice people... if only we stayed longer, we’d have suggested dinner with them.

When they knew where we’re staying, we could see their eyes nearly popped out. Amy said they stayed in a nice guesthouse @ US$10 & she recommended it to us. Out of politeness I told them we’d consider for our next trip to Saigon. But I know I can’t do it... I’ve got this stupid fetish about hotel rooms. How I wish I could be like many others who could make-do with a budget hotel. I tried before but was in misery & really defeat the purpose of going on a holiday. I’d rather scrimp on meals or other things than on the accommodation. So poor hubby has to pay much more to travel with his baobei wife.

The wardrobe that can be accessed from the bathroom & from the passageway to the maindoor

So to speak, I’m really happy that we stayed in a very nice hotel as this trip was comparatively a very different 1 for us. Our “energy span” was 3 hours the max, after which we’d have to head back to the hotel to take a rest. We’re not used at all to the noise, the heat, the aggressiveness in crossing the roads & keeping a watchful eye in case at any time a motorcyclist wculd ramp onto us. When I was in Ben Thanh market on the 1st morning, I was so thoroughly soaked with perspiration that I nearly finished 1 packet of 3-ply tissue by myself. & I looked awful. As for the night market, we got very tired of watching over our shoulders for any oncoming bikes as they’d endlessly stream through in-between the stalls & sounding their honks... it could get real distracting & frustrating rather than enjoying the shopping stroll from stall to stall. Hence it felt really good to return to our haven after all the hustles & bustles.

Grand entrance of the slightly more than 1 year old Park Hyatt

Nice pool

The best perk-you-up after a tiring day... a hot rain shower!

Nevertheless, we still enjoyed our trip, indulging in some delicious Vietnamese food, jap food @ an interesting Jap restaurant full of Doraemon & chilling out @ coffee houses. They have this coffee joint - Highlands Coffee that's like the higher end of Starbucks. And it's interesting... many parts look very French, as if we're back in Paris again (but of course, they're once under French occupation) & then put us in a confused state of mind upon seeing the people & their motorbikes.

Sipping my fav ice lotus tea

Lunching @ a very good Vietnamese restaurant near Notre Dame Cathedral - Nha Hang Com Ngon

Breakfast @ Highlands Coffee @ the Opera House

Taking a break at the chic Mojo @ Sheraton Saigon

The very French Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon, built by the French in 1870s - 1880s

The Opera House built end of 19th century, also by the French. Nice... can you see Vince in the background? No??

When I tell you there wasn’t much to shop, we could still come back with all our luggages full! And hubby who loves shopping, only bought 2 pathetic items – a tie & a Vietnamese shirt. So what did we lug back then? - (atop those mentioned above) 2 bags, 2 thongs (clogs), 1 Vietnamese top, 1 brooch, 2 hairpins with lines of crystals for ME, packs of local snacks/tidbits for ourselves & colleagues & lotsa souvenirs for almost every1 in the family. I especially love the Vietnamese lotus tea which I bought 2 packs for ourselves. Oh yes, not forgetting the 2 super huggable bears.. 1 for me & 1 for Zoe! Hehe!

My cutie bear in BLUE dress! The 1 in pink dress for Zoe

Vacuum-packed by Vincent & Soh Services. Ha!

Having a drink before leaving for airport @ Park Hyatt lobby

As if we'd to end the trip like how it started (more for hubby), we’d a frustrating encounter at HCMC airport. Was told by my travel agent who took care of all my flight bookings that my airport tax from HCMC airport back was already prepaid. So we bought hubby’s at the airport. To be safe, I reconfirmed with the immigration staff that mine’s already paid. Then they also checked hubby’s & said his had also been prepaid & told us to ask for a refund at a certain counter. So we had our money back after they verified his ticket. Then at the boarding mall, they stopped hubby saying that his was actually not paid. Goodness! It’s really annoying! To make it worse, we couldn’t get our seats next to each other (1 front 1 back, for this gotta blame it on me as I’d totally forgotten to choose our seats in advance) PLUS no entertainment on board as the system was down! So when everything decided to go wrong, even my fav airline failed me too. Perhaps the flight attendant noticed that I’d been turning my head back to talk with hubby for almost throughout the 2 hrs flight, while we’re waiting to leave the aircraft, he interrupted our conversation & handed us an SQ carrier while whispering some soothing words about the inconvenience we had. There’re some onlookers around us & we’re quite taken by surprise. Why only us? There’re definitely some other couples who’re being separated like there’re 2 in front who’re worse than us, diagonally seated. We peeped into the carrier after disembarking & saw 2 sets of in-flight toys! We looked like kids meh? Ha! Every passenger was also given an SIA wallet at the exit as a gesture of apology for being deprived of 2-hr in-flight entertainment. So… that’s the difference between the Dutch carrier & our national airline.

And yes… I’d another great buy at HCMC DFS. Bought a pack of TWO Touche Eclat… saved S$16 on each so that makes a total saving of S$32 for 2! Not bad not bad…

2nd night in hcmc

Today ended early & it's free & ez time! Just came back from a massage session but it's lousy. USD5 for 1 hr though. But I believe there're even cheaper outside (had it in the hotel). Maybe this lady hasn't taken her dinner, so no strength. & it's much shorter than 1 hr! Furthermore I gotta give tips!

Can't wait to having hubby here & move out of this hotel which happens to be my boss' fav! He & many others love this 100-year old hotel. I admire it but not staying in 1 please. They literally retain all the old vietnamese decor. And the place's so big & many areas look forsaken. Nope... definitely not my cup of tea. But thank God they've the rooms renovated.

Hasn't been sleeping well. Last night was slightly better than the night in Hanoi but the noise was near unbearable. Just when I was falling asleep, the loud honk on the street would wake me up & my hand's to be on my ear perpetually. So much of retaining the old fixtures & fittings (window). Gotta go, some persistent vietnamese mosquitoes are going all out to suck my blood!!!!!!

Another 22hrs.

In Hanoi now

The meeting was cancelled last minute so waiting to go for the next 1.

An interesting & very noisy city. I just can't understand why they have to honk every few seconds. And the traffic condition is in total chaos. The education of road-crossing in Singapore doesn't work here at all, otherwise you'll never be able to reach the opposite side of the road. 6 years ago when I was in HCMC, it's my 1st time there & I was totally overwhelmed by the continuous stream of bicycles & bikes, some cars in the midst too. I waited for about 5 mins for the traffic to be cleared before a group of bike riders behind me who're there waiting for passengers could stand it no more & 1 of them got up to lead me through! That's embarrassing.

Will be taking a domestic flight of 2hrs to HCMC @ 8pm tonight after the last meeting.

Counting down to finishing my work & seeing my hubby on Thurs evening. Another 50hrs.... Sigh...

I can smell Christmas in the air.... Ho Ho Ho.....

Days of Celebration (more pix uploaded)

View Slideshow

Bz bz Thursday.

Had a speedy shopping @ Seiyu during lunch... was a last min 1. The day before had made a mani&pedi appointment for thurs evening. Then Thurs morning, only after I was on the way to office that I realised my shoes were not appropriate to do pedi. Sans pedi or get new shoes? Finally chose the latter. So I splurged on my 1st pair of stiletto with 3½" heels. Yep... my 1st pair because I never dare to wear such slim heels though I've always loved its sexy silhouette. To think that I ever broke the heels of :
- 1 platform (those wooden chunky heels long time ago)
- 1 clog
- 1 normal-heeled
& fyi, they're not cheap shoes! Also:
- the sole of a boot (can you imagine I was walking the Paris streets for the very 1st time & the stupid sole of my boots decided to completely desert me)... I purposely bought these boots to France & paid nearly $200~!
- several pairs of flats & mules with straps snapping... including once when I was shopping @ KLCC & I found my foot so cold on the ground. When I looked down, 1 of my feet was bare & I turned back to find 1 side of my flats as the flap suddenly gave way.

So now you know why my reservation in getting expensive shoes? I know it's my way of walking... can you imagine me in stilettos?? Anyway, I still bought it because.......... I am vain.

The 2nd item in my 1-hr shopping list - belt. I've not decided what to wear to the wedding dinner which's also our wedding anniv dinner. Wanted to get a nice, cheap belt & then see which dress could match well with it. Had a lil bit of time to browse in this boutique where they sell nice clothes & belts. I ended up getting 2 instead of 1. Had an eye on a brown belt too that could go so nicely with the brown dress I wore (coincidentally also from the same boutique.. hubby bought for me for Valentine's). It looked normal but the moment I wore it, the combi attracted lotsa attention from the shoppers... even a few outside the boutique! A lady who's also browsing in the boutique walked up to me & complimented that my dress went so well with the belt that she couldn't help but to get one for herself too. Hee... And it's not exl... only @ $23!

Also rushed to get vitC as I was still having the flu bugs. On the way, went to reconfirm my mani/pedi appointment & good that I did because found out that it'd take about 2 hrs to get it done. I couldn't afford to spend 2 hrs there because I'd my driving lesson @ 8.50pm. Just when I was frowning, the very nice & helpful lady arranged that 2 manicurists to attend to me so I could be out in an hour or so. Great service.

Left office a bit early... hubby was already waiting downstairs. Had my hands & feet done in slightly more than an hour. Very happy with their service... would definitely go back.

Only turned in slightly before 3am, after settling all the stuff.


Blissful Friday.

Yepyep! It's our 1st Anniversary!

Had a laid-back morning catching up on zZz.

Then we went to Justina's. I'd a haircut & last minute did color too. The new colors were just too alluring to resist! After that, it's shopping again because Mr Soh's dear wife was not very satisfied with the belt she bought the previous day ~duh~. It looks nice but certainly is a normal-looking 1 with a round buckle which can be found @ any other boutiques & shops in FEP, etc. Usual days would be fine with me but I didn't want to be spotted wearing the same piece with other guests at a wedding dinner. Don't ask me why I bought it then. Boy... sometimes I pity my hubby who's to deal with a very fickle-minded wife & he really has all the patience on earth! Initially hubby was a bit confused as he didn't know what I wanted to get. Thought of getting a new dress for the dinner (hey it's not a normal wedding dinner... it's our own celebration too, which's why I took it so seriously), but also knew the low possibility of getting 1 in such short hours.. then intended to get a nice choker to match but again couldn't find 1... also looking for a brooch to modify the belt. Told hubby that any 1 of the above would do. At long last, managed to find a nice brooch. But that's not the end... I was in the mood to try out the smoky eyes look for the evening. Hadn't done it by myself before & decided to give it a try. So also shopped around for eyeliner & eyeshadow. Bought a Bobbi Brown Creamy Eye Pencil & Bourjois Eyeshadow Trio in black & grey. Hubby's so sweet to be combing the shops & choosing every single item with me. If I were him, I would've asked :"why you've to wait till the last hour then get all these!?" I really have no idea... just couldn't seem to think of it way before the dinner. Sigh...

Then I'd a gift from hubby - 1-night accomodation @ Swissotel The Stamford! While checking in, I'd another surprise when the receptionist brought out a huge bouquet of orange tulips! Wow! That's very very nice...

At the wedding dinner

The lovely bouquet

Us on the 50th storey

Love my stiletto. But don't think I'll wear it often.

The modified belt. My black Fossil watch. Glittered brown nails to match with my bag.

Nice bird's eye view of the skycrapers & boat quay

Peninsula Plaza & Clarke Quay

Romantic Saturday.

Skycrapers & Boat Quay in the day. Looked hazy.

Kallang view & The Esplanade

@ Ritz lobby, waiting to check in

It just felt so wonderful to be back to where we got wedded... reminiscing the every lil detail along the way.

My fav place out of the whole suite

The walk-in wardrobe & separate WC as part of the bathroom

My lovely tulips all bloomed!

Simply love the room, in particular the bathtub. Bought snacks back as tunch (had a late & big breakfast @ Swissotel before checking out) & dinner... very simple but fulfilling4 cup noodle, dim sum, crackers, a pint of my fav Haagen Dazs macadamia ice-cream, honey's Erdinger& soft drinks. At the same time enjoyed our vcds of korean serials (yes... we're addicted to yet another 1 now) in the living room. It's literally a luxurious exclusive movie theatre with beautiful night view of the kallang bay & Esplanade.

Romantic Kallang view

J'adore!

Relaxing - Family Sunday.

R&R in the morning. Checked out slightly past noon. Brother & family came shortly after we reached home. Followed by sis & Rachel (BIL in Bkk). Phoned & ordered dinner. Enjoyed the family time together... all of them left close to 10pm.

Prepared mentally to be back @ work. Sian.