Feeling the Difference

It is day 4 since hubby and I came back from our 3.5-week break to S.E. Asia. From the moment I step out of the Brisbane domestic terminal (we flew Jetstar and transited at Darwin), the cool-cold air in the environment and breathing it, reminds me of the similar smells and environment that I encountered during all those times when I visited Australia for vacation - from the hot and humid Singapore to the cool weather of winter in Australia. Breathing in (accidentally) the combination of car fumes and cool air also reminded me of that!

I cannot fully explain that feeling... but as I was thinking why I felt so (this being my 4th trip to Singapore ever since I moved to Australia), I realised that it was summer in Australia when we made the first 3 trips. Hence the weather between the 2 countries did not differ too much. I think another reason was the duration of my time away - we went away for close to 4 weeks when the previous trips range from 10 to 16 days.

So much for this discovery...

Now that I am back, my thoughts are still very much with my friends and family in Singapore and all the things that have happened in their lives. But at the same time, I have to get accustomed back to my routine and also enjoying the cool weather here. God also provided me with family and friends in Australia that I care for (or should care for). Hence I should be thankful and not be 'stressed', thinking how to manage keeping up with all (most of) my friends in both countries and praying for them actively at the same time.

Friendly Thais?

I arrived at Phuket International Airport today and my first experience of a Thai was very unwelcoming. The Thai people are known to be very hospitable and friendly. That is also why they are known to be the “Land of Smiles”.

At the immigration, hubby and I walked and approach the counter together. Now, so far, most other countries allow you to get through immigration together, especially if you are travelling together as a family. The lady immigration officer at the counter immediately asked hubby (who was just a little behind but beside me) to step back and only 1 person could be there at one time. Next, she gave me a very unhappy look and stare and a few seconds later, asked me to step back and stand on the red square indicated on the ground and look into the little camera at the counter. Apparently, everyone is supposed to do that. I stood there and stared into the camera for about 3-5 seconds and then turned around and kinda made a facial expression to hubby that she was quite rude. When I turned back, I saw my passport left on the counter. I stepped ahead and asked her if I could take my passport and go. She did not look at me in the eye but held a very impatient and frustrated look on her face for 2-3 seconds and then she waved and signalled for me to go. Gosh! I was quite surprised at what ‘greeted’ me when I arrive at the airport for my holidays! There was no “sawadeeka” or a single smile from the lady. I hope she doesn’t ‘greet’ all the tourists like that. Phuket is a place where every economic dollar comes from tourists and I didn’t expect airport crew to be not understanding of an innocent me who have not gone to Thailand before and did not see the little sign they put on the counter to step on the red square and look into the camera. I thought she could have kindly asked hubby to step back and wait and also kindly asked me to step back and stand into the red square and look into the camera, or even point to me the sign about the regulation.


Most other Thais are still quite friendly... and even though this spoils my first impression, I will try not be bias with the Thais we will meet for the coming week...

Singapore Trip

Now that I live in Oz, going back to SG is a holiday to me... especially when my 11-day trip is jam-packed with appointments and meetings, mostly over food.

This trip was specially made to attend my sister's wedding. Thank God that she is now married to a very decent, honest, down-to-earth, steady and reliable man (just like hubby too ;p) When he said his vows to her (with a really sincere and earnest look), I had to hold back my tears. (not vice versa though... because my sister was probably nervous and was kinda half giggling/smiling away. That is the usual her...) The wedding was nice and went through smoothly. Had the entire day to catch up with my extended family as well... which made me pretty tired (emotionally and physically), especially when some of them said some unhelpful words to me.

A few "firsts" during this trip:

1. Going to Orchard Road to see the new big (and decadent) shopping malls - Ion Orchard and 313@Somerset. It has changed the 'feel' of Orchard shopping. 313@Somerset has taken over/changed the familiar buildings and landscape I have known when I was studying nearby and had to walk through that area to take a bus home everyday. I realised as much as more luxury goods were available and all the new shops for shopping (which I like), but I do not like my familiar buildings removed and ruined my childhood memories...
2. Colouring my hair - I have highlighted my hair before but not coloured it. I figure out that colouring takes a shorter time and costs a bit less... and this time, I decided to be bold and try some reddish tone (instead of previously brownish tones) which will become brown when the red wears off. I think the colour went down really well on me :) 
3. Painting nail art on my big toes - I used to go for pedicure every 2-3 months when I was single. It helped improve my in-grown toe nails condition. I have not done it in Oz because it is more expensive and also because people here are more simple and cannot care about beautifying themselves :p I went with my sister on the eve of her wedding and the nail art was included in the package that she bought. My manicure costs S$15 (under A$12).

Fuschia pink to match my dress :)
4. Flying with Emirates - we were intending to fly budget Jetstar but dad kindly offered to pay the difference for us to fly Emirates so that we could be more comfortable and able to carry more baggage (standard allowance is 30kg per person). The inflight entertainment was fantastic with VOD and touch-screen selection. I could watch 3-4 movies with the time I had because I can start watching the moment I sat down (before the flight takes off). My only complaint was that the service provided by the stewardesses were not consistent and the pocket in front of the seats were not exactly cleaned and tidied up for the next flight. 

Impressive inflight entertainment system (notice that it even tells you that you are at seat 19E)

I really had a good time catching up with friends. I have mixed feelings knowing various good and not-so-good experiences that my friends went through... especially those whom I am closer to. I rejoice with thanksgiving to the Lord with news of pregnancies, kids, improved health conditions and those who persevere in the Lord during tough times. I wish I had more time/chance to talk to and pray with those going through major life decision-making, borderline breaking up of a relationship, marital problems, parenting trials, health issues. I shall be making some phone calls to 3 of them (that I have committed to) to do a little more in-depth catch-up. Knowing these issues that my friends are going through, helps me to pray for them. In some way, I feel burden-some but also privileged to have 2 sets of people - in SG and Oz to minister to and pray for. Maybe God is teaching me to pray... and I must when I tell people that I will pray for them.

Many people!

My favourite food during this trip?

1. Cumi Bali Indonesian
2. Spice Peranakan
3. Kuru Kuru Japanese (buffet is really good price and good quality! Children below height of 1.1m eats for free)
4. Bali Seafood Village (sells 'zi char' (stir-fry) Chinese food)

To my friends in Singapore: see you again in June!

H1N1 Tally Update

The H1N1 flu is a widespread pandemic now.

According to Wikipedia, there are 5,298 cases of H1n1 in Australia, of which 857 cases are in Queensland. Queensland is a big state and Brisbane is the city of the state. Supposing most of the cases are concentrated in or near Brisbane, there are still lesser cases of H1N1 infection in Brisbane as compared with the 1,055 cases in Singapore (to date).

Just in case anyone in Singapore is hesitating to visit Brisbane/Gold Coast for holidays, consider that there are more infection in SG than in Brissy. It is less crowded in many places in Brissy than SG, hence decreasing the chances of infection. So don't let this stop you from visiting! :)

A Really Short But Needed Getaway

A week ago last Friday, we drove to Coffs Harbour for a short vacation, although the real reason was to attend M&L's wedding. It was a good excuse to be there since I have not been there (except passing by) before.

A pano shot of the harbour

Coffs is a small town of about 70,000. I was wondering if I should call it a beach town as it is home to about 3-4 beaches and people like to go there to surf. Hubby and I are not into water sports in general (I have only probably ever tried kayaking) and hence that does not appeal to me. At most what I like to do is to walk along the beach and enjoy the sound of the waves and the view of the horizon. But we did not go to the beaches at all this time...

We did not have much time to do our own vacation activities... arrived there late on Friday, only in time to sleep. Most of Saturday was the wedding. We left 12.30pm on Sunday to drive back to Brisbane so that we could have dinner with my brother and his friends. With that Sunday morning, we had a little of a sleep in and head off to the market at Jetty Village Shopping Centre (which was just an "okay" market) and then to Mutton Bird Island, in the hope of catching the sight of some humpback whales. As we walked from the jetty area to the island (it is walking distance away), we stopped by a seafood shop (with heaps of fresh seafood) to buy some fish and chips and calarmari for our brunch. Really like that feeling of eating fresh seafood near the waters, with everything in Brisbane cast aside and to enjoy that relaxing moment with hubby. The walk along the jetty to the island was also a nerve calmer, with chips and calarmari in our hands, munching away... I finally made the way to the island and back (requires quite some physical workout) but did not see any whales... but we definitely took a lot of photos!

Thank God for this short but timely vacation so that we could relax, chill out a bit and be a bit more refreshed to face Brisbane (which by now, I am tired again... :p).

Flight Back on Air Asia

Just arrive back to Brisbane early this morning. Hubby and I took an overnight plane from SG via KL. Our journey to SG 2 weeks ago was fairly okay. However the return leg was not fantastic...

1) We had to pay for excess baggage. When we booked the KL-GC leg, we could select and pay for the baggage that we want to bring across. We booked for 25kg each worth of baggage, knowing that we will have many things to bring back. The KL-SG leg, however could only allow 15kg of baggage max and you cannot purchase more baggage except to pay for the excess baggage of S$7.50 per kg. As we packed 50kg worth of baggage and turn up to check in at SG airport, we were told that we have to pay for excess. In the end, we decide not bring over a box of belongings but will arrange for it to be sent over another time at S$4+ per kg.

2) At the KL LCCT (low cost carrier terminal), we waited ages at the immigration to get our passports stamped. After we finally went through the gates, we were one of the last few to obtain our baggages at the conveyer belt. At the belt, we realised that our largest suitcase was held up somewhere along the belt. 1-2 of the other suitcases have caused the others to get stuck along the moving belt. 1 guy (someone looking for his suitcase) attempted to resolve the stuck suitcases but couldn't do it. Hubby then went in to help. He even went behind the walls and disappeared into the back to try to sort out the stuck suitcases. During all this time, non of the ground airport crew helpe nor seemed to realise the problem. I informed the ground crew guy at the Lost and Found counter just beside our belt. He then came out to have a look but by then hubby has just resolved the problem. The suitcases then all got rolled out and hubby came out along on the conveyor belt too, only to realised that he cut his finger in the process. I can't believe that we had to sort out the conveyor belt problem ourselves and without any ground crew's help!

3) When we had to check in for our KL-GC flight, we took such a long time to find our counter... It was because there was no where that tells us which counter number we should check in. We finally found it when one of the security man asked us where we were flying to. (We almost got past this security guy without scanning our baggages... he was sleeping on his job and he didn't even realised I simply just walked past!)

4) Finally we were late for boarding. Our names got called up. After all the saga above, we were hungry and went for a bite before we boarded. When we presented our passport and boarding pass to board, the guy there scanned through my passport carefully looking at my photo, information, my Aussie visa and even took out his UV light to look through my passport. After wasting those time, we had to then walk 5 minutes on the tarmac to get onto our plane.

After all that, I still would like to praise Air Asia for their meals on board. The quality of the international and local food was really not too bad for a budget travel. Well, another thing that I was happy about was to be able to get a bottle of Cointreau liquor at GC airport for only A$29! The listed price was A$39 but I'm not sure why the price came down. Hmm, the Cointreau will come in handy when we make our turkey this Christmas... :)

Air Asia flight

Here I am in KL LCC terminal, waiting to board my plane to Singapore. Hubby and I decided to try out taking Air Asia from Gold Coast to KL and then to SG. This gave us savings of 50% of the normal price we would have paid for a direct flight on an international flight.

What kept me awake during the 2 hours at KL LCC terminal

At the GC airport, I felt like I was in Malaysia already – the Malaysian staff at Air Asia, duty free shopping and many Malay Malaysians and Chinese who seemed to be taking the same flight as us. There were few Aussie Caucasians on the flight. It took us 8 hours and 20 minutes from GC to KL (which was a bit long, we thought). The boeing seemed like an old (possibly MAS) air plane, even though it was supposed to be a no-frills flight. The seats were old, numbering of our seats was old, our overhead lights didn't work, there was no curtains for the crew gallery (although a curtain track was visible), there were completely no tv screens, the engine sounds were really loud and sounding abormal when the plane was taking off (we felt a bit dodgy about it...). Well you definitely know that it is an old plane. The plane that I took 10 years ago was definitely newer than this. We prayed as the plane took off... Thank God that we landed safely :) We now have to wait another 4+ hours for our next flight to SG.

Pre-ordered meals on board the flight. Roast chicken an potatoes (international meal) and mutton rendang (asian meal). They were both yummy! (to my pleasant surprise)

2 things that I have noticed so far: (1) toilets in MY and AUS (at least at the airports) are remarkably different. One is clean and the other is really quite dirty. You go figure out which is which... (2) In AUS, people are generally more polite and aware of people around them, being careful not to be selfish and are generous and giving. The very moment I arrived at GC airport with more Malaysians (possibly Singaporeans too), I felt people pushing and rushing ahead of me, with their bags poking me and wanting to get ahead. The 'kia su' (afraid to lose out) syndrome is showing up. I suppose this also reflects the pace of life – AUS being slower and relaxed, while Singapore and Malaysia being faster, tense and rushing around. I know I am the latter (having grown up in Singapore), but I know that having lived in AUS for some time, I am now slower. Having said that, I am still probably faster than the typical Australian. To them, I am probably the 'kia su' one.

Bored, sleepy and tired hubby at MacDonald's

Let's see if my friends and family could tell if I had changed in any way. I am certain that I still have the singlish side of me. I was surprised when a friend's brother in Sydney commented that I don't have a strong singlish accent! Hmm....

An Anniversary & An Enriched Weekend

About 3 weeks ago, we celebrated our "proposal anniversary" - the day that W asked me for my hand in marriage. A year later, here I am in Brisbane. Its amazing how much can happen in the space of 12 months...

I cooked a special meal for us to enjoy and celebrate the occasion.

Pork chop with mashed potatoes, mushrooms and veggies

One year on...

It was also timely that we went off for a short getaway down at the Gold Coast last week. Thank God for the special promotion that we got for our 4D/3N accommodation at Surfer's Paradise. Hubby had bought this as a Valentine's Day gift for us to enjoy and we picked last week with Anzac Day public holiday to enjoy the gift :) We spent time relaxing, cooking (in the seld-contained apartment), watching DVDs, taking walks, eating and visited the casino :p (we only went in to look and did not play. I was flattered when the security asked for my ID because he think that I could be younger than 25 years old!)

In the queue for buffet dinner at Conrad Jupiters. A nice Aussie lady offered to take this for us.

Right after our break, we checked out and drove 2 beaches down to check ourselves in to a marriage enrichment retreat. This MER was organised by Chinese Families for Christ. There, we spent 3D/2N with 12 other couples, learning to enrich our marriages in Christ.

Everyone who has been to the retreat left with a "Wow" and an enriched marriage. But of course we have to put into practice what we have learnt thereafter. To begin with, it was a rather challenging task because the retreat was conducted in Mandarin (there was only either Mandarin or Cantonese to choose from). Hubby had a little more difficulty than me but he eventually understood more than 90% of it. My parents-in-law had gone for this MER years ago and their marriage was transformed thereafter and hence they felt burdened enough to serve in the ministry to facilitate the retreats. Having personally witnessed the transformation, hubby and his sister decided to sign up with their spouses respectively.

Many of the things that were taught were not too new to me and hubby. But what was very helpful was the genuine and honest sharing of experiences from the facilitating couples. We also got to put into practice, how to do certain things, like effective communication, how to build up each other's emotional banks, how to share our feelings especially our negative feelings. The practical lessons helped us a lot. Being put in the environment of 12 other couples with varying years of marriage and everyone were there with a humble heart of learning, we walked away feeling really recharged to work on our marriage.

After our romantic dinner: words that read literally "We love because God first loved us. How God love us, we also love each other in the same manner"

Do not be mistakened that MER is meant for those whose marriages are on the rocks. It is to enrich our marriages. Although we are only married for 5 months+, the past attendees would tell you that it is better to attend the MER when you are younger in marriage, than later in marriage. Indeed like one couple said, we could be involved in setting up a good family of origin and background for our children and their marriages. Like it or not, our mindset of marriage and family come from our own family with our parents. So it is crucial that we begin now for our future generations... and by God's grace, our marriage, our children and their marriages will honour Christ.

MER made us better understand that marriage is tough, but it is a good thing that God instituted. We learnt practical methods on how to work through our marriage, to build in the romance factor into it and also how to practically love each other in Christ - to love and respect each other. It is not easy for husbands to love their wives just as Christ love and sacrifice for the church. It is also not easy for wives to submit to their husbands. But we all learn and progress together in this journey and I think this is the beauty of it all :)

I thank God for the gift of His love, the gift of marriage and the gift of my hubby.

The Last..... Tears....

No 1: The Last Meal

Spent most of my past 2 weeks in Brissie. Auntie gave thanks to God for the lunch that she prepared before we enjoyed it together. This was 2 hours before my scheduled departure flight. She gave thanks for me being able to be spending time over there to know the family, friends and him. She prayed for journey mercies for me. Simple content, simple words by a simple her over a simple meal... I found my nose to be slightly sniffing and holding back the water that began to wet my contact lenses. I am also filled with thankfulness for the opportunity and time that I am able to spend there. Uncle and auntie have shown me great love and hospitality. Their humility and love has touched me.

No 2: The Last Look

I looked out of the window as the Boeing 777 was reversing from gate 82. I was sure that I was not thinking much in my mind... I do not even remember what I was thinking about. For some reason, my eyes were wet once again. Sniffing away, I held most of it back as I was a little embarrassed and mindful, in case the passenger beside me realised what was happening to me... No words, no reasons and not feeling any particular emotion. I only know that I was wiping the drops off my face.

No 3: The Last Movie

Channel-surfed the many choices made available to me on the flight. I watched 3 movies at the same time, switching from one to another every few minutes. After they were completed, I watched the last 3/4 of the Singapore-made movie "I Not Stupid Too" as I was snacking and served dinner.

“When was the last time you praised someone? When was the last time someone praised you?” These two questions set the audience thinking at the start of Jack Neo’s latest film, I Not Stupid Too.

I Not Stupid Too is a comedy that probes into the difficult relationships parents have with their children. Like its predecessor, I Not Stupid Too is set in fast-paced Singapore, with the world seen through the eyes of Jerry, Tom’s brother and the baby of the family. Although their family is considerably wealthy, the brothers often face immense pressures from school and their parents, played by Jack Neo and Xiang Yun. On the other side of the spectrum, we also have Cheng Cai who is often misunderstood and has an abusive father who does not know how to express his love and concern for his son.

The movie strikes a chord as it showcases how parents often only see and focus on their children’s weaknesses, albeit with good intentions of wanting them to be the best they can be. However, many a times, parents lose focus and often forget that praise itself is a form of fuel to propel improvements. Such is the case in the movie as Mr Fu, a conservative Mother Tongue teacher, only began to worm his way into his students’ hearts after he began to focus on their positive side and more importantly, starts dishing out the praises.

Jack Neo still relies heavily on his successful model of directing whereby social issues and governmental policies in Singapore are all given their due exposure. Cast-wise, both Shawn Lee and Joshua Ang, who remain from the movie’s prequel, I Not Stupid, have grown up tremendously and matured after four years, clearly displaying depth to their acting. The introduction of 8-year-old Jerry, played by Ashley Leong, also adds another dimension to the movie. His innocence and naivety successfully splashes humour into the movie, lightening up the sometimes somber atmosphere.

Although some parts of the show were obviously done up to create tear-jerking moments but with cheeky animations and antics right after those moments, I Not Stupid Too had me burst out laughing even when my tears were still drying. Indeed, this is a commendable effort by Jack Neo that points to the clear lack of the showing of appreciation in our society today.

- from Nanyang Technological University Students' Union E-Tribune

For a 3rd and 4th time on the same day, the tear ducts of my eyes were working. There were a few touching moments when you see how the parent-child relationship was worsen and later reconciled... moments of reconcilation, understanding and love. I can't really describe very well. You have to see the movie for yourself. Part 1 "I Not Stupid" was also a good movie but perhaps I kinda prefer this sequel.

INST reminded me that in our communication with others, we should learn to accenturate the positive. Instead of looking at the negative side of things, learn to encourage others positively. Appreciate the little things given and done (by God and by people). Say a word of praise. Give a word of encouragement. It serves to improve our relationships with one another... It doesn't cost you much to say a "thank you" but it can possibly mean a big deal to the person whom you thanked. I think everyone needs to learn this skill... but do so genuinely and sincerely, not artificially.


All the tears aside, I was delighted to be able to see snow flakes once again. The reason why I got a window seat was to be able to see and snap photos of them. Silly me used to think that those were little cracks of the glass due to the air pressure. But I didn't realise that they were God's creation :) Someone said "Man made ice cubes. God made snow flakes". Snow flakes cannot be man-made right?? Each snow flake is uniquely different and there are no 2 same flake. Sounds like human beings ay? God created us as individuals. Identical twins may look similiar but their personalities would be different. We are all uniquely created.

Snow flakes!! :)

Other nice photos from my trip:

Sunset at Currimandi Lake, Sunshine Coast

Shadows

Clouds at an open-air shopping centre

Sunset at Mount Cootha. See the reflection of sunset on the mirrored walls? Can you spot me in the mirror?? ;)

4th Trip to Sydney

Its more than half way through my holiday... I spent the weekend in Sydney meeting up with many people.

This isn't my first trip to the most crowded city of Oz. But I always like to visit some places which I like in Sydney. A pity that I was only there for 4 days and hence I could not go many places this time. However I was happy to have breathe the air and view the scenery at Coogee Beach and to be walking around in the city a couple of times. I love the cold air at beaches in winter Australia. I love walking in the streets of Sydney, being in the midst of the many office and shopping buildings that looks completely different from Singapore's Orchard Road and Shenton Way.

Blue skies and waters at Coogee Beach

In Sydney city, I couldn't help to snap photos which I have taken before. Sitting down at "Passionflower" having ice cream and waffles in the cool winter breeze and looking out to dusk at Darling Harbour... I am contented to just relax there the entire afternoon (I did not manage to do so :P) It was also a nice experience too, to be sipping hot chocolate from Lindt Chocolate Shop at Martin Place. This is the first and only Lindt Chocolate Shop in Australia. I was so tempted to buy loads of chocolate back. But thinking of how fattening it can be... and I can get Lindt chocolates off the shelves in Singapore anyway... so I didn't buy any.

Places in Sydney

The main reason why I went Sydney was to attend TWIST music conference. John Dickson spoke at the conference. I attended workshop electives which had to do with leading songs and singing. Although I think I didn't learn anything very new, I thought that it was a different experience to be hearing from a community of God's people from a different country. Unexpectedly, I got to meet a few other people who used to be attending my church in Singapore. It was a good time to catch up with them and mutually encouraging one another.

TWIST photos

Also got to meet up with W's friends in Sydney and catching up with DK, MH and the Fongs over dinner. For the 4 days, quality time was spent. God created us as relational beings. I am thankful for the time and fellowship I had in Sydney :)

Old Old Friend

We have not met for 4 years... Y's daughter is already 5 years old! W and I went to meet Y for dinner in the city. Thereafter I spent the night at Y's. The next day, Y and I had a girls' time out together since she has the day off. We had lunch and shopped around Paddington. One of Y's favourite hangout when she was a student was Paddington. Her favourite place is Sassazar's which she had brought me there the last time I visited her in 2002. This time, we went back there for lunch again.

We also walked around some shops in that area - antique house, flower shop/cafe, chocolate shop and shops which sells interesting assessories, homeware, jellewery, etc. It was a leisure time for the 2 of us to spent, before we did the homemaker thing - grocery shopping and picking up kid from school.

True old friends really don't change. They are always there in your life. But surely circumstances in life has moulded all of us. My only prayer is that Y and family will come to know Christ...

Flower Shop Cafe has fresh beautiful flowers and paintings of them

Food and shopping at Paddington

Leisure lunch and great weather!

I Love the Weather!

I don't mean the weather in Singapore. I mean the weather in Australia! Its winter time and where I am, its bright, sunny and breezy in the day and cold with shivers at night. Maybe I have been the cold-deprived Singaporean so I have always love winters in Aussieland. It was so nice to be walking around the vicinity where I am living, with the bright sun and cool/cold breeze. The air smells extremely fresh!

In the backyard where I live, there are many fruits and vegetables that are grown. Being a city dweller, I derived cheap thrill from plucking the fresh fruits off the tree/plant and eating those that I picked from the garden. I admit I don't have green fingers. I doubt I can ever grow such a garden. But its really nice to be able to reap from the 'harvest' without growing them myself :P There are pomelo, cherry tomato, guava, papaya, snow peas, passion fruit, lemon, lime, chako (I have never seen nor eaten such vegetable. Its like some gourd and usually stir fried with other vegetables) and all other vegetables that I don't know the names of :P

And here is a collage of some food I have been eating for the last few days.... Eating out here is more expensive than Singapore...

Shall update more another time! :)

Rested (but not for long...)

Just came back from a short holiday. Went to Pulai Desaru to chill out with no specific agenda but to rest. Ended up only eating (2 meals a day), sleeping, napping and lots of chatting! This is probably my first holiday where we did not plan what we were going to do. Everything was thought of at the last minute and based on what we felt like doing at that time, which is none other than REST.

Was amazed how HY and I have so much to talk about... from the time we met in the cab, to the ferry, to the hotel, during meal times, on the bed before we sleep, on the bed when we wake up, during our spa massage, watching tv, bible study... Thankful for the time we have to know each other more... about our past experiences, present lives and what lies ahead of us! This is probably the first and last time we can do such thing before she gets married in July. Like what HY sms me before "... when we reach heaven, we can fellowship until we peng san! (hokkien word meaning 'fall over' or 'tired out' in this context)" Hopefully I won't get bored of her when I see her in heaven ;)