purejournal

13 Dec 2010

2010-12-13T14:28:00.022+08:00

Trying very hard to keep this blog alive.

Anyway, it's the school holidays! Some events:

2 Dec (Thu): Snow City CIP with care corner.

Probably the last time this year that I will be going there. :( Went for some ice cream workshop before entering the cold room (the place with artificial snow). It was so so freezing cold (temp was -sth deg C)! Had fun with the kids anyway, though my shoes were wet when we came out afterwards.

4/ 5 Dec (Sat, Sun): SCMS volunteering!

Had to report at like 12 midnight for the briefing and stuff, when our duty only started at 4 plus am. The location I was situated had a great view of the Singapore skyline! :) The runners (some of them) were really friendly and gave me high-fives when they whisked past. :) Left at about 3 pm before reaching home tired.

6 Dec (Mon): CRUISE! :D day 1

A case of bad packing experience (haha probably cos I was very busy for the previous days). We didn't pack our toothbrushes and toothpaste as we thought the cruise would provide them. In the end, we had to go to the ship's store to buy them. All prices on board the ship were in US$ so each brush cost US$3 and toothpaste was US$6 = total US$18 on oral hygiene products. =.=

That aside, living onboard the magnificent Legend of the Seas for 4 nights was a great experience. :D Had lunch at Windjammer Cafe, where food was abundant in supply. They had western, chinese, and even indian food.

Went for muster drill, to unpack and then explore the ship, and it was dinner soon. Our dinner every night was at the Romeo and Juliet restaurant, and we had 2 waiters (Justin frm Peru and Guanghua frm China), who would serve us every night. They were friendly and amiable, and we chatted a lot with them on the first night where they weren't many ppl.

Went to Optix, the teen lounge at night, but it was rather empty...

7 Dec (Tue): cruise day 2

Ship arrived at Port Klang (KL), but we didn't intend to travel far into KL city. We had a late breakfast, which was where we met Sahin, another waiter from Turkey at the Windjammer cafe. LOL we made friends with so many waiters. haha.

We explored the port before lunch, but there wasn't much at the port, so yeah went back to the ship to have late lunch. Shopped around the stores (they have duty free onboard!), then started to prepare for formal night.

Formal night was quite cool, better than starcruises' one where no one bothered to dress up. Our 2 waiters were dressed in a cool gold vest that night too! Dinner was western (as always), and we then viewed the night's performance.

8 Dec (Wed): cruise day 3

Ship anchored off Phuket at around noon, and we had to take tender boats out to Patong Beach. I miss Phuket! It's been a long time since we've been there. yup, so we went on our own to Junceylon for shopping. Bought stuff from Boots (!!), Carrefour, Robinsons, etc. At the end of our shopping trip, we carried our bulk to Ocean Plaza to buy more things, and of course bargained for souvenirs on the way back.

Reached the ship at around 8pm, so it was past dinner time at R&J, so we went for the poolside dinner/ party instead. Watched Twilight Eclipse as a late night movie at the theater.

9 Dec (Thu): cruise day 4

Out at sea. Nothing much except for the activities onboard. Watched Toy story 3 in the lounge, talked/ took pics to Sahin (the waiter), watched Inception in the room, and hung out at Optix.

Dinner was great, partly because of the performance put up by all the restaurant staff. We even took pictures with Justin & Guanghua, and some random waiter for fun. HAHA.

10 Dec (Fri): cruise day 5

Ate breakfast at Windjammer, and met Guanghua there who was doing his shift. Went to take a few pictures, packed up our luggages. Oh yah I forgot to mention that our room attendant, Guoxing, was very nice as to fold towels of different animal shapes every night on our bed. :D

Disembarking was a breeze, no queue, no nothing, and shopped at the cruise center's duty free before arriving in Sg.

I really enjoyed this cruise trip, and apart from the toothbrush/ paste issue, Royal Caribbean is a great way to sail!

Can't wait for Thursday! :))

7 October 2010

2010-10-07T21:07:00.003+08:00

Long long time since I last posted.

Jealous of someone receiving her pay-out... *winks* *winks*

It has been a hectic few months, but certainly fulfilling.

Can't wait for the holidays to come soon.

19 March 2010

2010-03-19T09:56:00.002+08:00

My enjoyable holidays! (besides the fact that I had to complete so much holiday homework )

Saturday: Class BBQ
Got to know my classmates better :) I really enjoyed myself!

Sunday: Chinatown + IT Show at Suntec :D
I miss Chinatown!! Anyway, we went to a dimsum restaurant for dimsum and then to a dessert place for mango pomelo sago. :D Everytime we visit Chinatown, I enjoy myself very much. Ah I miss Chinatown already. HAHA
After Chinatown, we went to Suntec City for the IT show. We had something in mind to buy before going there so it was easy going through the many stores/ booths before choosing which to purchase. Went to Carrefour, etc before heading home.

Thursday (yesterday): outing with Sioksther!
Haha went to Wheelock, Ion, and Far East. Esther spent the most money -rich girl. :D Too bad Melissa couldn't come or it would have been a gathering of the C2 corner/ wonder warriors. haha anyway we talked about school most of the time, and the laughter came from the funny classmates/ experiences.

Going out later to savour what's left of the holidays. :)

11 March 2010

2010-03-11T12:18:00.001+08:00

失去了才懂得珍惜？

15 Feb 2010

2010-02-15T21:45:00.009+08:00

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL! :D

School has been relatively okay so far, but I have a feeling that life will be tougher than sec sch life (of course) soon...

Friday: Went to Tanglin Mall with 2 of my OG people before heading to Bishan J8 to meet up with Liwei! I miss Liwei! She was in her cool AJC uniform! Haha. We then headed to pizza hut to have lunch before browsing through some stores, including the huge 'pasar malam' outside J8 where there were stores selling cny goodies. During lunch we talked about our school life, and I found out that their school's math topics taught so far are so much easier than ours! :S

Saturday: CNY eve was spent doing last minute preparation/ clean-up, and I was trying very hard to figure out how to do my math tutorial (so difficult!).. Our uncle (father's side), together with his family, came over to our house to have reunion dinner. Haha the only hilarious (or maybe not) thing was that our dining table was too small to fit all 8 of us so we had to lift up our rice bowls to eat. Went to the temple at 11+pm to pray.

Sunday: First day of CNY + Valentine's! Breakfast was a vegetarian dish with rice. We went to our uncle's (father's side) house for steamboat lunch and yusheng before heading to our aunt's (father's side) house. Met some other people at our aunt's house so we had extra red packets, just like last year. Uncle then came to our house for about 30 min before leaving, and my family went to our babysitter's house to visit I miss the food that my babysitter cooks! :( She gave us red packets that were too much in amount, in my opinion. :S :S Went home after that, and Shirin's friend(s) came over for a while. Dinner and blah blah after that.
i have no idea what else to type, so for more info:
http://www.th-unknownpath.blogspot.com/

Monday: Today, second day of CNY. Visited first uncle (mum's side) first at like 1045am where we had pineapple tarts, chicken+scallop+abalone+mushroom stew, etc while watching a scary + funny(?!) vampire movie. Left for first aunt's (mum's side) house together with first uncle at 1230pm where we had yusheng and lunch. Haha my mum has 9 siblings (10 children in total), but only 6 (excl mum) are married so i look forward to the day when another uncle gets married! :) HAHA kidding. My little baby cousins are sooo cute! Left at around 345pm and my family went to sembawang shopping centre. Most shops weren't open, but stores like daiso and giant were open... Went home after that for dinner.

15 Jan 2010

2010-01-15T21:44:00.007+08:00

First post in the year 2010.

After much consideration and discussion, I have finally submitted my jae form online today at precisely 9.56am. Not much comments on my choices though because I will accept whatever school moe posts me to :/

Anyway after submitting the jae form, I went out with my mum (who is on leave today) to shop at the Orchard area. We went to Hermès first, along Orchard road, first to send my parents' watches for repair (or sth like that). We then went to 313 @ somerset, Orchard Central and The Centrepoint to shop, where most things were bought at Robinsons (actually no clothes but mostly toiletries and cooking utensils bought instead). In the end, we had to lug a huge claypot back home :S At Robinsons, we met my cousin, who is working there temporarily. We meet her almost everytime we shop at Robinsons so yeah, chatted a while before heading to Wheelock place (Borders!) and then to Hermès to collect the watches.
Then headed home in bus 105. I will certainly miss that route home from cgs...

I want to say that I enjoy having Thursday lunches with Shirin! :D
AH I LOVE YOU DEAR SISTER. <3

31 Dec 2009

2009-12-31T10:17:00.001+08:00

It's the last day of 2009.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
新年快乐！

Osaka Japan

2009-12-27T16:18:00.010+08:00

Back from Japan!

Went to mainly these few places in Kansai Japan:
1. Osaka Namba/ Dotonbori/ Shinsaibashi area + Universal Studios Japan
2. Nara (experienced snow!)
3. Kyoto

Stayed at the Dotonbori Hotel throughout. The hotel was quite okay, rooms were clean, they had my fave type of toilet bowls (!), and they even gave each female guest Shiseido amenities, and the toiletries were all from Shiseido. The toilets are a little bigger than those on the cruise.

Learnt/ noticed a few things:
1. Osaka's people stand to their right, not left (like in Tokyo) in train stations' escalators
2. Though Kansai's train lines are less complicated than Tokyo's, we could still get lost HAHA
3. Their bus is like China's, enter from the back, exit by the front
4. The people there are extremely polite and helpful. :D :D
5. The people there walk extremely FAST! VERY VERY FAST!
6. The young women there have a standard way of dressing- leggings with high heels and a huge overcoat.
7. They have so many Uniqlo stores there
8. Many cosmetic stores there too!! (With shelves of beauty products costing so much cheaper than in Sg)

Things that I love(in no particular order):
1. The polite people
2. Their high-tech toilet bowls HAHAHAHA
3. Shopping for souvenirs at the Glico shop and the Universal Studios store
4. Rides in Universal Studios
5. Their cool vegetable drinks and chocolate bread!

Unexpected rewards:
1. Experienced snow in Nara
2. Bought boxes of Shiroi Koibito from Kansai Int Airport!!!
3. Bought some Shiseido toiletries from the one of the cosmetic stores
4. Experienced a unique farewell at the Kansai Int Airport from the JAL crew. (Since it was Christmas eve when we left) They even stood at the runway to bid us goodbye!
5. Some bird pooped on Shirin's umbrella at Nara. HAHA :) I was laughing all the way.

Not so good points:
1. Their cold windy weather.. (The wind was so strong in Nara that we had to wear masks)
2. Our feet hurt from all the walking
3. We were kind of lost in the fast paced life in Osaka (since the people walked so fast that we had to try not to block their way esp in train stations)

Universal Studios Japan

At the Kyoto Tower

Our hotel- the Dotonbori Hotel

More pictures some other time. They take so long to be uploaded. :(
Bye

Oh yeah, a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance! :D

15 Dec 2009

2009-12-15T10:59:00.005+08:00

A very meaningful song, in my opinion. This song, "Little Wonders" is from a Disney movie, "Meet the Robinsons" and the ultimate message of the movie is 'Keep Moving Forward'.
Some of us indeed hold on to the past for certain reasons such that we do not allow ourselves to turn the next page of our lives..
The song lyrics, to me, mean that it is some of these 'little moments' in our lives that make up who we are, and it is hard to let go of these special moments. As such, keep moving forward is the message, and though letting go is hard, it is the only way we can move forward.

Little Wonders by Rob Thomas

Let it go,
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in,
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

Let it slide,
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine
Until you feel it all around you
And i don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away some how
But i can not forget
The way i feel right now

In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away but these small hours
These small hours, still remain,
Still remain
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These little wonders still remain

9 Dec 2009

2009-12-09T21:34:00.010+08:00

Yesterday (8 Dec):
-Went to Velocity/ Novena Sq for lunch with mum. I tried Mos Burger for the first time yesterday! (quite hard to believe)
-Bought our favourite Chocolate Bowl bread from the bakery at Square2. :)

Today (9 Dec):
-Took a long long bus ride with Shirin (about 1 hr) from home all the way to IMM to meet dad for lunch. Ate at wan zai before visiting Best and Challenger in our attempt to purchase our spare camera battery, but sadly both places didn't have them.
-Shopped at Giant to buy some things before dad sent us to the Singapore Science Centre. It was raining really heavily that time, but fortunately our dad sent us there! :)
-Tickets to Body Worlds + Science Centre cost $13 each (total 26) so we kinda paid $4 in coins and the remaining were in notes, but the counter staff was so friendly! HAHA
-Body Worlds was great, amazing, and it really opened my eyes! :D It was like a very detailed Bio lesson, haha. Shirin was trying to rush through the whole exhibit, but I took my time to read the explanation and observe the exhibits.
-Pictures not allowed in there, so we could only use our eyes.. I especially loved the plastinated giraffe and horse exhibits! :D
-The exhibits are plastinated, so they aren't really made of real human/ animal water & fats, but the bodies are from people who are willing to donate their bodies for such research purposes.. Besides if the exhibits were real flesh it would be decaying... More info on plastination: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastination
-The Science Centre exhibits were not as interesting as the Body Worlds one, but we could take pictures there.
-Time flew past in a whizz, and it was soon 5.30pm.
-Dad picked us up after work (his office is nearby), and we met mum at Thomson Plaza where we had our dinner. Bought some groceries before heading home..

Can't wait for next week, when dad will be on another week's leave!! Haha, he has to clear his "leftover" leave days which are brought forward from last year.. We will surely be going to Chinatown again!!! HAHA ilovechinatown
Then it'll be Osaka soon! :D

P.S. I feel guilty for spending so much money.. :( :S :S

1 Dec 2009

2009-12-01T18:38:00.002+08:00

My (new) favourite song!
CHOCO LATE!!

:D

29 November 2009

2009-11-29T20:33:00.008+08:00

Haven't blogged for a long time. Haha.

Well, I went for a cruise to KL & Langkawi. Nothing much to say about the cruise, but it took my mind off things in Singapore for a few days with the food, activities and the rocky seas haha. When we reached home I was still feeling the ground swaying and that feeling only went off after the Sentosa trip on Sunday. HAHA I love that feeling

Oh and my dad seems to be making friends with every taxi driver, no matter in Singapore or in Malaysia. He has three new friends now. HAHA.

For the record-

Saturday night (21 Nov): Reached Singapore, had some food at the Cruise Centre before heading home.

Sunday (22 Nov): Family day at Sentosa and we went to take the Cineblast ride, but I felt that the ride was too short :( I am looking forward to the rides in Universal Studios Japan! Left for Chinatown (our fave place) to check some exchange rates and bought some things there before heading home to rest.

Monday (23 Nov): Went to the Botanical Gardens to walk with dad (since he was on another week's leave) in the morning. Lunch was at ToaPayoh Central's Pizza Hut, and we collected the Windows 7 package from the post office.

Tuesday (24 Nov): Badminton (& lunch) with dad and sister at club.

Wednesday (25 Nov): Morning walk at botanical gardens, then to Tiong Bahru Market for breakfast. To Chinatown (again) to change currency before buying lunch home.

Thursday (26 Nov): Had lunch at Novena Square/ Square 2 and tea at Donut Factory.

Friday (27 Nov, Public Hol): Morning walk at Botanical Gardens with the whole family today, and went for breakfast nearby. Met up with some primary school classmates at the steamboat buffet restaurant at Novena, gossipped and talked about each other. :D

Saturday (28 Nov): Went to Dian Xiao Er at AMK Hub for dinner and dad finally changed his phone!

Sunday (29 Nov): Centrepoint, Orchard Central, Novena Square/ Velocity, Revenue House (dinner at 日本村)

I feel guilty for spending so much money :S :S :S
This post has been about what I have been doing for the past week. (Quite boring post, actually)

18 Nov 2009

2009-11-18T07:48:00.003+08:00

Prom was a blast! :) It's amazing to see how mature your classmates look.
Woke up at 5.30am yesterday to go to the botanical gardens, and I feel like joining the groups there for taiji now (or every morning) haha.

I'll be M.I.A. for the time being till Sunday/ Monday so here's Hey jude by The Beatles! It's a very nice (but long song. You have to listen it all the way through till the end of the song! :D

17 Nov 2009

2009-11-17T10:51:00.000+08:00

I BOUGHT A NEW PILLOW.
I can sleep well now. :D

18 September 2009

2009-09-18T21:41:00.007+08:00

Haven't updated for so long. :] Prelims are finally over, and here are two pictures (since pictures paint a thousand words). Haha, I know I'm boring. :S

No idea what to say here. I kinda planned what to say here, but when I'm in blogger, I just forget what I wanted to say. Call that blogging-phobia (or STM).

I love this song by M.J., so here's the music video of 'Man in the Mirror'. Enjoy this touching beautiful song. :) This song inspires me, and touches me deeply...

7 July 2009

2009-07-07T17:04:00.002+08:00

Hello!!
I am Shirin, blogging for Cindi. ;D

Yesterday was her birthday. :D :D Happy Sweet Sixteen!
Cindi has nothing much to say. Her mid-year exam has just finished.
:)

*this is a super short post..*

GO TO MY BLOGG!! ;D
THANKS.
AHAHAH
*taking this opportunity to advertise.*

http://th-unknownpath.blogspot.com/

BYEBYE!! ;D

31 May 2009 international museum day

2009-06-01T10:35:00.005+08:00

Yesterday was International Museum Day (IMD)! We went to the National Museum of Singapore and the Peranakan Museum. The National Museum of S'pore was much interesting as compared to the Peranakan Museum (in my opinion). :) Too bad we couldn't go to the Ancient Civiliations Museum (ACM). Haha

Pictures:

照片时间吧！

All pictures taken with the Nikon D60

所有照片是使用Nikon D60拍的

Pictures (MacRitchie)

2009-06-01T10:00:00.000+08:00

Taken at MacRitchie reservoir. :D

17 April 2009

2009-04-17T16:55:00.011+08:00

Dim Sum! (Haha, random)

Haha, I haven't updated since February. :D It's Speech day tomorrow.

Anyway, i received a package/ parcel from Ruiqi in Hangzhou last week! (I'm so thrilled!) She sent me some local products, like a tin of Long Jing tea leaves (Dragon Well tea), which was the first grade type, some walnut snack,which tasted quite good [my family has finished the entire packet already:( ]. It must have cost a bomb!

My uncle came back from Suzhou the week before last (for Qingming) and he helped me to send some of Singapore's local products (like Bak Kwa and Tiger Balm) to both Dora and Ruiqi. :D The tiger balm was extremely bulky/ heavy and plus the Bak Kwa, the parcel weighed at least 300g.
It only cost 12RMB for each parcel, and a total of about 25 RMB for both parcels to be sent from Suzhou to Hangzhou, which is equivalent to about less than s$5. If I had sent it from Singapore, it would have cost more than S$20 for each parcel (enquired about this when I went to the post office to collect my parcel).
In addition, the courier service in China is extremely efficient! My uncle reached SZ on Tuesday, sent the parcels on Wednesday, and both of them received their parcels on Thursday. China's post service is indeed more efficeint than ours. Shan't elaborate on my unpleasant experience with them. :)

Some people may say that I am being lame as to send Tiger Balm, but they really want it okay! HAHA

My uncle's coming back during the June holidays so I can ponder further on what to send to both of them! :D

Till then.

The parcel from Ruiqi :D

Dragon Kiln that we visited some time ago

(in Singapore)

Dragon Kiln

27 Feb 2009

2009-02-27T21:20:00.004+08:00

It's been forever since I've updated. :D

I received a greeting card from Ruiqi a few days before Valentine's Day! :) I am so excited about sending maybe a package to her via my uncle (working in Suzhou) who's coming back in April.

On the very same day, I received a note from speedpost saying that I have an article from China too(!). However, I could only collect it on Friday (1 day before Vday) because of some transaction problem with Singpost.

Guess what, the article was sent by Jiang Hui (Dora)! She kinda sent a gift for my mum, younger sister and me. The speed delivery cost like 138RMB (about S$27+), which is rather expensive. :S She sent it just on time, as she wanted to wish me a Happy Valentine's Day! :D

(I'm so touched. She received my Xmas card which I sent a long long time ago too)

I hope that my uncle will be able to help me send the items to both of them when he comes back to Singapore. :D

The contents in both cards are touching... and private too. :D
sssshhh...

Although we're worlds apart, our friendship will last...

24 Jan 2008

2009-01-24T21:43:00.007+08:00

Sorry for not updating. Have been busy lately.

Went to Chinatown yesterday. Here are some photographs. :D

December 31 2008

2008-12-31T11:16:00.003+08:00

It's the last day of year 2008! We'll be counting down later at some bowling alley..

The pictures from the cruise have not been uploaded yet as I really have no time to upload them one by one.

Just want to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone. :)

Superstar Libra pictures

2008-12-25T13:49:00.008+08:00

Gala Dinner dessert

Crew Extravaganza (This is suitable for all ages)

Thailand Phuket

Cashew Nut factory

Patong Beach

I like this life.

Quiet game of scrabble, looking at the scenery. :)

Port Klang

Superstar Libra

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:52:00.013+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! :D I haven't been updating lately. :)

TUESDAY 16 DEC
Went to Sentosa with my dad and sister. Mum couldn't apply for leave. :(

Well, we went to Images of Singapore, The Merlion (they gave free souvenirs!), Sentosa 4d Magix (Fun, wet, filled with screams of students from another country HA), Underwater world, Skyride (no luge, I won't to take that because of that time..), Cable car to Mt Faber. Mt Faber's Jewel Box was so quiet, just what I like. :) From the cable car, we could see the new ship "Azamara", smaller than Libra, but just what I like! (I like small, quiet peaceful places..:))

At night, we went to Thomson Plaza then to the Night SAfari. Took the tram ride across the cold dark muddy area to view nocturnal animals. The animals were up close (esp the deers, tapirs) and the hyenas looked scary, way scary. The place was all dark, so we couldn't take pictures (no flash photography allowed, coz it'll disturb the nocturnal animals).

Overall, it was a great day, tiring but unforgettable. :D

WEDNESDAY 17 DEC
We went to Vivocity for lunch at Marche, then walked across the bridge to Tiger LIVE, a place where they explained the history about Tiger Beer.. Well, we couldn't exactly drink the Tiger Beer they served, so Shirin and I could drink Coke. :) Haha (Entrance fees have to be paid. Adults: $21 Minors(under 18): $15)

After that, we went to the Mint Toy Museum located near Bras Brasah. The toy collection included some of my favourite characters like Mickey (!), Popeye, etc. :D

We then visited the Singapore Flyer. :) We could see th view of Singapore from in there, but I thought it was too low.. 165m only. Well, the experience lasted from only 30mins and we got some postcards.
The flyer stopped on Tuesday for like more than 6hours and 173 people were stuck up there! I can only say that I'm lucky to be able to ride the flyer this year. :) The flyer is closed until next year, I think.

MONDAY 22 DEC
Went back to school for sec 1 campfire orientation. Things went smoothly so we could go back earlier :)

Shall end here. Pictures up in the next post. :D

Dec 23 2008

2008-12-22T16:39:00.004+08:00

Song Cheng
Song Cheng

Dora's house

Yue Wang Temple

Morning exercise in HZ 14 Middle Sch

Tea Plantation

He Fang Street

More updates later!

December 5 2008

2008-12-05T09:47:00.003+08:00

Attending the wedding dinner tonight (the solemnization ceremony is tonight too), and before that, we will be going to Plaza Singapura and Park Mall to check in for the cruise tomorrow and buy some last minute things.

Oh yeah, my mum brought home 2 boxes of Shiroi Koibito. They taste great! :) They cost about s$20 for one box, so mum paid $40 to her colleague's wife who bought them from Narita airport. :S Haha, pictures later.

Bye :D

December 1 2008

2008-12-01T11:54:00.013+08:00

Some pictures of the trip to Hangzhou and Shanghai are here:

Bio-chemistry lab in Hangzhou No. 14 Middle Sch

Their recording studio for morning assembly

Xi Hu scenery

Group photo at Xi Hu

Yue Fei Temple

Shanghai bund night scene

More pictures next time! :D

SATURDAY

Went to EXPO after tuition and it as extremely crowded! Anyway, we bought a Nikon camera that cost over $1000 :S Well, I must make good use of this dslr camera! :)

SUNDAY

Went to Thomson Plaza for dinner and grocery shopping. I found a suitable pair of shoes for the wedding dinner on Friday. :)

Plans for this week:

Monday to Thursday: At home for homework, last minute shopping for cruise trip
Friday: Attending wedding dinner
Saturday to next Wednesday: Off for family cruise :D

Till we meet again. :)

Back from China

2008-11-23T13:35:00.003+08:00

Hi, I'm back from Hangzhou and Shanghai. I have lots of things to complete, so I'll update about the trip some time later. The trip was relatively fun, but quite a few people fell sick half way during the trip.

Meal portions are large, and I miss the rice in China. The rice grains are like pearl rice, and they are rounded and fragrant, good enough to be eaten alone!

My host's name is Dora, and she has like.. 3 houses, but I only went to 2 of them. Her dad is the boss of a bedlinen factory company, 好梦来, and I went to one of their outlets. It was simply.. amazing! :D Their bed sheets are like made of 100% silk and cost at least 300rmb (more than S$60). Dora's house uses her dad's company's bed sheets and they are like.. free! That's so cool, imagine yourself stepping into the shop and selecting whichever bed sheet you want every night! Haha, just kidding.

Anyway, more details and photographs about the trip in later posts! :D I have lots of uncompleted homework. Oh no.

November 10 2008

2008-11-10T11:12:00.007+08:00

Saturday:

1. Went to Park Royal for the buffet lunch and the total bill was like $120++. I still prefer the buffet dinner, where more choices are available. Nevertheless, I think this would be the last time (besides on cruises) for us to have buffets. The reason? Simple, because we can't eat that much :D. Haha, other families were like taking and taking continuous flows of food!

2. Went the temple at Si Ma Lu to pray, then to OG to grab some last minute stuff.

3. Went to Marina Barage, but it was very warm there. More trees, please. Here are some pictures.

Sunday:

1. Went to the zoo and viewed some animals like the white tiger, probiscous monkey, etc. It was very crowded, so we left at around 12.30pm.

2. Went to Causeway Point to have a light lunch.

3. Visited my cousin, because he just had an eye surgery. Quite scary.

I will be going off to China (Shanghai and Hangzhou ) tomorrow, so I will not be updating this blog until I'm back on the 20th. Till then, do check out Shirin's blog! :D

Quiz from Shirin

2008-11-10T11:00:00.002+08:00

Write 10 things about yourself (& pass it on to 10 other people: I won't do that part.)

I have a little sister!
I enjoy family dinners.
I love travelling.
I am going to China tomorrow.
I have lots of holiday homework left undone.
I used to play the harmonica.
I used to like crossword puzzles.
I miss Blue Mountains, Sydney.
I have been to Laos.
I treasure what I have now!

Nov 6 2008

2008-11-06T22:59:00.002+08:00

O level Chinese is finally over (surprisingly so quickly)! But sadly, I couldn't make it to the class party because I had to stay back for like 4 hours+ after O's to do some video stuff, was so tired then... :(

I can finally take a good rest, then continue with my holiday homework before I'm off to Hangzhou next Tuesday.

Things to look forard to this/ next week:
1. Friday: Dinner with family, last minute shopping for trip.
2. Saturday: Buffet lunch/ dinner at Park Royal Hotel! Second time there, and this time it is to celebrate a belated wedding anniversary for my parents. :D Looking forward to this day.
3. Sunday: Family day at the Singapore Zoo. :D

Then it's off to Shanghai for the Hangzhou exchange trip on Tuesday.

TODAY: Went to Shaw House to catch "Sing to the dawn" with Shirin, then went to Borders/ Marks and Spencer at Wheelock to buy some stuff, before having some food at the Isetan supermarket.

I shall end here. Bye!

20 October 2008

2008-10-20T17:06:00.003+08:00

Latest update on the F1 grand prix in Shanghai, China.

Lewis Hamilton won, followed by Massa! Shirin/ Xinlin is so excited over Hamilton's win, and she thinks his brother looks so much like him. HAHA.

My uncle working in Shanghai has tickets from his company (free, I think) and was there yesterday to view the race! He could have taken like 3 tickets more but no one was there to watch the race with him in China. Haha. I watched it live with Shirin/ Xinlin yesterday and she claims to have seen my uncle on TV (sitting at the grandstand), but of course you can't see him. =.=

Oh, last Monday 12 October 2008.

20 of us went to HCI for some ICT forum where we had a discussion with pupils from HCI and JSS.

I have no pictures to upload, so this will do. :D

WOW

2008-10-10T22:17:00.006+08:00

Interesting facts

I watched a documentary on Discovery channel today about the construction of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge. It took like 10 years of planning and building because of considerations like strong sea currents and winds. The bridge has opened recently this year in May and it is the longest sea-crossing bridge in the world, standing at around 36km long. It links from Shanghai to Ningbo, shortening the distance by about 120km. Whoa, isn't that amazing or what!
For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangzhou_Bay_Bridge

Another programme on National Geographic channel was about the moving of a 3000 year ancient Egyptian temple- the Abul Simbel temple. They had to move the temple as the River Nile would flood and cause this ancient temple to disappear forever. Achitects across the world came up with several ideas, like building a dome around the temple and tourists can take an underwater elevator to visit the temple, but this idea was rejected. In the end, they had to cut the temple up into about 1050 blocks and shift it to another site to assemble it. I think it took about 9 months in 1964 to cut and shift the blocks, but more time to assemble the blocks. Fortunately, the Abul Simbel temple stands safe now.
For more info and pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_simbel

These are so interesting! :D Hope you find it cool too!

9 October 2008

2008-10-09T08:41:00.008+08:00

The Final Year Exams are over.
I think I'll do horribly. Stuck between the choice to be happy and worried for the results.
所谓“失败是成功之母”, if I fail this time (OH NO), I'll learn from the mistakes...
.
After our last paper (Physics) yesterday, some of us went for a briefing. We'll be going to HCI on Monday(?!) Though being exhausted after the exam, our class had to stay back to do the vein scan thing. We have to scan our veins every morning from Monday to take attendance- Everyone expects a long queue, but it should be okay as I arrive quite early every morning.
.

Shirin is in school taking her very last paper today, so good luck to her(although it's quite late).
Starhub cable TV is changing some channels to digital format, including CH54! My parents are going to change the whole TV set really soon, if not I wouldn't be able to watch CH54's 食尚玩家. HAHA. :D

CAN YOU GUESS WHERE THIS IS?

(Xinlin, please don't answer uh.)

30 September 2008

2008-09-30T16:31:00.007+08:00

Haha, last update until end of exams.

Alonso received first for the first F1 night race in history held in Singapore. Poor Massa, expected Ferrari to win but sadly.. Hamilton: 3rd, not bad too. :)

Photograph: AP

The pit crew falls while fuel splashes after they failed to get fueling hose off the Ferrari of Felipe Massa of Brazil as he speeds away after a pit stop during the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.

Oooh, poor guy (both Massa and pit crew)

Tomorrow's Hari Raya.

Till then, bye :D

7 September 2008

2008-09-07T15:36:00.003+08:00

School's starting tomorrow. It means more work and exams. Oh well, till then.

GOOD BYE, blog, and people who read this blog (I think only 1 person reads it).
HAHA.

31 August 2008

2008-08-31T18:14:00.009+08:00

Tuesday 26 August

Visited "Tea Chapter" after school. Pictures!

Tea Chapter

Friday 29 August

Went back to FTPPS after school ended. Saw several teachers and of course ex-classmates. :) Met Ximian and Kah huan at FTPPS, I was rather shocked.

Saturday 30 August

After tuition,we went to HSO to take a bus to the F1 racing circuit at Marina Bay. We had to go through security checks to get to the racing track. Nothing much interesting there, except for the podium and some photo-taking opportunities. Haha.

Headed for dinner at Ri Ben Cun @ IRAS and reached home at about 9.30pm.

F1 podium

F1 girls (:

School holidays: Have to return to school everyday- how sad is that...?

Well, I hope everyone has enjoyed this post, bye! :D

23 August 2008

2008-08-23T09:34:00.005+08:00

SPA is over! :) But I think they were all kind of bad, especially for Chemistry where almost everyone had different readings..

Well, Rachel tagged me! I miss her so much, it has been such a long time since I have seen her. She migrated when she was in sec one, so I really look forward to the day she will come back to visit again. :D

We'll be going to Tea Chapter on Tuesday for tea appreciation(?!) Haha, so.. I don't know.

2008 Olympics update:
- Singapore has her first Olympic medal in 48 years, thanks to the women table tennis group. It is a silver medal, and of course everyone is proud of that. (: (This happened rather long ago so it is not the 'latest' update. haha)
- It is also quite weird when you see your primary school classmate on TV accepting an interview (regarding the olympics)，真的好怪. (I think many would not know what I am talking about)

告辞了，大家！(I sound so ancient)
:D

15 August 2008

2008-08-15T16:05:00.008+08:00

Common tests are finally over! :D However the Science SPA exams (O level) are next week. :(

I am currently watching the table tennis match of Singapore against (North or South) Korea doubles. It's such a pity that Li Jiawei lost of Kim Kyung Ah of Korea just now. Singapore won 2 rounds, but unfortunatey at the fifth and deciding match, Korea won. It was certainly a tough match! But it's okay :D

It's the women doubles now and I hope that Singapore will win! :D GOOD LUCK!

8 August 2008

2008-08-08T13:06:00.005+08:00

It's 080808! Common tests are next week, so here's a short post.

Saturday 2 Aug: After tuition, we went to Park Royal Hotel for their buffet dinner. The variety of food there was wow! Haha, for example there was prata (plain, egg, banana, sardine, durian, etc), chocolate fondue, sashimi, etc.. /we had the buffet dinner there together with our uncle who just came back from China.

Sunday 3 Aug: Nothing much, except my dad went to Malaysia for fruit picking? he came back with like 12 durians, 1 big bag of mangosteens, 1 bag of rambutans, 2 bunches of bananas and 3 jackfruits. We gave haf of the durians, some mangosteens and rambutans to other people, so we still have like 2 jackfruits and 1 bunch of bananas left. I am NOT exaggerating. :D

Monday to Thursday 4 Aug to 7 Aug: School, school, school. My mum came back on Thursday with 2 boxes of Secret Recipe brownies (they were on offer i think). There's only 1 box left- guess where the other box went...? (No, we didn't eat it. It's so much!)

(today) Friday 8 Aug: National Day celebration in school, with the concert and stuff then AVA gathering. Oh yeah, it's the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening today too! :D National Day tomorrow!

Till then, bye :)

01-08-08

2008-08-01T19:26:00.003+08:00

It's finally Friday!
My uncle is back from China, ShangHai, Suzhou. We will be meeting him tomorrow after tuition for dinner.
I have somuch homework to do, plus common tests are coming up real soon.
I guess I won't have much time to update my blog anymore. (She doesn't even update it! By: Shirin)

BYE BYE!
P.S I love yuyuan! :D

26 July 2008

2008-07-26T21:41:00.004+08:00

I AM TIRED!

26/7- Learning Fest and Speech day today: I had to come to school at 7.15am in the morning and stayed till 3+pm. Dinner at 日本村(IRAS) then grocery shopping at square2. Tired day.

25/7(Friday)- For dinner, we went to Bugis Junction to enjoy the Taiwan food fair, since I miss my yuyuan so much. :D There was yuyuan, but the serving was little and the queue was long. Tasted okay, but not as good as those in Jiufen. GJ says I keep repeating yuyuan in my posts, but I really do miss them! :)

20/7 (Sunday)- Went to Changi Airport T1 to send Ruiqi off, but before that we went around the different terminals. I will miss her, but she still keeps in contact with me I look foward to visiting 西湖，杭州 soon. Goodbye and I hope you have enjoyed your stay in Singapore. :D

The backview of the Hangzhou students.

(Better not put their faces up here)

18 July 2008

2008-07-18T23:00:00.003+08:00

EMath and English test today. EMath was okay but English, I don't know... :(

For the first period of school, the Hangzhou exchange student, Ruiqi, followed me to class. :D
After school, I brought her to Buigs Junction, Bugis Street and to a food centre for dinner. She wasn't that interested in buying any clothes (more expensive than in China) so she bought some souvenirs and packaged food for her family.
She loves kids, I tell you. Seriously. Haha, but she's nice. :D She'll be returning soon, so I'll miss her. :)

Till then.

P.S. The yuyuan picture is making me hungry. :(

12 July 2008

2008-07-12T21:30:00.005+08:00

This blog is really dead..

Anyway, had elearning for 3 days from Wednesday to Friday at home. We didn't need to go back to school, but homework was sure more than usual!

I just came back from Downtown East and you may be wondering what I was there for. Well, I don't quite know why I was there for except for dinner. (I wanted to go to United Square!) Downtown East has changed a lot, starting from that indoor ferris wheel. I had a HUGE craving for yuyuan (芋圆!)there for no reason.(no joke: I was complaining to my dad all the way until I reached home)

We will be going to Hort Park (however you spell that) tomorrow for a walk to explore that wondrous(?) place in which I have not been to before. :)

BYE. :D

P.S. My yuyuan craving is back. HAHA
P.S. Shout out to Shirin Toh: You are so cute when you blow into the metal bottle! :D

7 July 2008

2008-07-07T11:49:00.006+08:00

Saturday: (Sir Stamford Raffles died 1 day before his 45th birthday)
Shirin went to the Esplanade for some performance after tuition, so my parents and I went to Suntec Convention Centre and Marina Square for shopping/ viewing of exhibitions/ dinner. Fetched Shirin at 9.30pm+ and went home. 很多收获! :D

Sunday: (my 15th birthday, Youth Day and coincidentally Sir Stamford Raffles' Birthday)
Breakfast-cum-lunch (brunch) at 幸福饮茶 (Fortunate Restaurant). The Dim-Sum was great and I remember we went there for my 14th birthday too (but for dinner)! Birthday cake from emicakes and so on...

Monday: (Today)
School holiday because of Youth Day. Dad is on leave, well actually he has to clear his leave for working on the past two Sundays (because of the World Water Summit). Having lunch outside somewhere later. :)

Random fact: I miss my yuyuan (again). This want will continue to haunt me unless I get the satisfaction of chewing the purple yam balls! :(

Yuyuan: picture from TVBS show (HAHA)

6 July 2008

2008-07-06T00:03:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday to me! :D

4 July

2008-07-04T20:06:00.003+08:00

O水准口试实在是...无话可说 :(
我的生日快到了! 多两天.. 7月6日. :D
时光一去不回...

My birthday is in 2 days time! 6 July- Youth Day too!
I don't want to grow up. How I wish I would remain young forever.

Oh, I only have to go to school on Tuesday next week!
Monday: Youth Day holiday
Wednesday to Friday: elearning @ home

去看"时尚玩家"了!

Last day of holidays

2008-06-22T14:28:00.002+08:00

School's starting tomorrow so I will not have much time to blog. :D

Anyway, went to The Grand Cathay on Wednesday to watch our free movie- Kungfu Panda. Shopped at Plaza Singapura, The Centrepoint, etc.

Yesterday: Saturday
Went to aunt's house for lunch. She went to Batam to attend a wedding dinner yesterday afternoon and is coming back today. After tuition, we had dinner at Square2 and shopped at Novena Square.

I am so sorry that I won't be updating much. :D

再见了！

15 June Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T21:44:00.011+08:00

To my dearest Dad:

Happy Father's Day!

父亲节快乐！谢谢您为这个家默默地付出。:D

Went to Botanical Gardens for a morning walk, then headed off to Chinatown for a Dim Sum brunch (breakfast-cum-lunch). Shirin had her bandage on her toe removed and it was erm... indescribable? Anyway, just came back from Toa Payoh Central and there was this Turkish kebab stall selling well, kebab. It looks quite nice and many people were queueing up to buy the kebabs, 1 for 4 dollars. :D

Till then, goodbye!

P.S. I still miss Taiwan Jiufen!

P.S. 我还是非常想念台湾的九份！芋圆啊，我的芋圆！

Taiwan, Jiufen

Friday the 13th of June 2008

2008-06-13T22:04:00.009+08:00

I really have nothing to blog about!

Thursday

Dinner at Thomson Plaza Sushi Tei yesterday, looked around then went home.

Today

Did nothing much, only tuition homework, etc.

我好怀念出国旅行的日子! 尤其是台湾的九份.

我非常怀念那里的芋圆- 它是用芋头做的, 和面粉搅拌, 然后弄成象似汤圆的形状来煮. 煮了之后, 配上姜汤或红豆吃, 实在棒! 记得那里也有卖番薯和药材的口味, 也不错! :D

我好想念九份的芋圆啊! 那种味道...

可惜新加坡找不到... :(

台湾野柳: 女王石

June 11 2008

2008-06-11T23:20:00.005+08:00

Back blogging! :D

Sunday

Went to my uncle's house for lunch. He just came back from Suzhou, Shanghai on Tuesday/ Wednesday and left on Monday. (He works there) He gave us some gifts from China, namely dinosaur stuffed toys from the dinosaur park in Nanjing and food stuff from Suzhou and Nanjing. He also showed us pictures of the Olympic torch relay which took place in Suzhou near his apartment.

Went to the nearby Novena Square. Shopped at the Body Shop (the cupboard is filled with at least 5 bottles of body shop's soap now!) and took a break at the Donut Factory cafe.

Monday

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian @ The Grand Cathay was great! The show was delayed for one hour, so the manager decided to give us another movie free-of-charge within the next two weeks if we show the ticket stubs! Now we have 4 FOC movie tickets, and can be used on weekends. :D haha

Watching either "The Incredible Hulk" or "Kungfu Panda". (I think I prefer Hulk)

Nothing much these days, except waking up late and sleeping late. :D

I miss travelling! Shanghai, Tokyo, Taiwan, Cruising- GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES...

June 9 2008

2008-06-09T14:13:00.005+08:00

Watching 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian' later at The Grand Cathay! :D Nothing else to say, other than I miss cruise.

Oh yah, I still prefer Superstar Gemini to Aquarius and Virgo. Gemini is still smaller (better), more slow-paced compared to Aquarius and Virgo. :D

Bye! :D

Cruise!

2008-06-07T22:55:00.032+08:00

I'm back and finally updating!

I really miss taking the cruise. Once I got back, the first thing I thought about was HOMEWORK! I am really stressed up!

Well, the itinery for the cruise.

1st day: Reported at Harbourfront to board Superstar Aquarius, had lunch at Dynasty restaurant (table 62!). Walked around the ship taking pictures of the scenery around Harbourfront and attended some tour talk for the next day. Dinner was at Spices restaurant, a buffet styled restaurant. Entertainment at the Stardust lounge, showing "The Journey of Cheng Ho" and boy it was great! :D Had a drink at the Aquarius lounge, then light supper at Mariners' before going to bed.

The Aquarius Lounge

2nd day: Breakfast at Mariners' and went for a talk "Port Pointers for the trip to Penang and phuket". Lunch was at Dynasty again (table 62 again!) and we soon set off for the Penang "Shopping Galore" tour. We had to take a tender boat from the ship to Penang's port as the ship was too big to dock there. the tour brought us to Gurney Plaza, a local product shop and Prangin Mall, all for shopping! Went back to the ship before dinner at Oceana BBQ buffet. Entertainment at night was "Music Ensemble" by the musicians onboard.

Gurney Plaza

3rd day: Breakfast at Mariners' and we prepared for the trip to Phuket. The ship docked at Phuket's port this time so it as much easier to transfer to the city. We went to Wang Talang, a shop specialising in jewellery and souvenirs, before heading to Patong Beach. Upon reaching Patong beach, my family took a tuk-tuk to Junceylon, a megamall, to shop and have lunch. There was a Robinson's, Carrefour, etc there and there was a Boot's store(haha!)! After shopping there, we went to Ocean plaza for last shopping moments before heading back to the ship. Dinner at Oceana BBQ again, and entertainment at night was "Crew Extravaganza", where the crew performed. I hav to say that the performance as really... disturbing. HAHA. The thought of that particular performance still irks me. HAHAHA

Phuket Patong Beach

4th day: Did nothing much particularly on this day, only went to the activity centre onboard, played UNO, sudoku, and surfed the net. Lunch was at Blue Lagoon, and I love watermelon juice! :D There were more entertainment shows that day, like "Movie Mayhem" (love The Mask), "The weakest Link", etc. We stopped at Port Klang that night but didn't go down the ship. Dinner was at Dynasty with Chinese food served.

5th day: Breakfast at Dynasty (Chinese and Western menu) before walking around the ship, and we disembarked at around 12+pm. :D

Something I find really amusing
5 funniest questions asked onboard:

5. Does the ship generate its own electricity?
REPLY: "No, there is a giant plug in Singapore and the ship follows the wires back from Phuket to Singapore" :D haha

4. Do the crew stay onboard?
REPLY: "Haha, no, they take a boat back when you are sleeping and come back in the morning.":D

3. *Guest points at watermelon asking chef* "Is this vegetarian?" (THIS IS FUNNY).

2. (Forgotten)

1. Does the toilet bowl water taste salty and do you use seawater for flushing?
REPLY: "Why don't you dip your tongue in to try?" HAHAHA

Superstar Aquarius (Picture taken on the tender boat to Penang)

Excited!

2008-05-31T21:25:00.003+08:00

The long awaited cruise is finally tomorrow! I know it will be over in a flash, but I'll try to enjoy myself to the fullest by not doing any homework for the short period and enjoying the facilities on board. I can also see that Shirin is very excited. I haven't actually finished packing yet, so see everyone in five days time!

Adios, Amigos

Take care, everyone! :D

May 28

2008-05-28T21:23:00.002+08:00

DNA wokshop was alright. Two more days to go!

Watch this! "Chewing gum is really gross, Chewing I hate the most"

May 27

2008-05-27T21:53:00.006+08:00

MO was one word: DIFFICULT
I think I can only score.. 1 out of 40? haha, it's okay. :D The competition was held at NUS LT 25 so I had to find my way out (not in, as my dad showed me the way in). The campus was big, at least 5 times bigger than our school!

Sec 3 enrichment course is tomorrow! DNA workshop- At least it will not be as stressful as today- the mind-gruelling, brain cell-killing test!

Can't wait for Sunday!

Nothing else,
Ta.

May 26

2008-05-26T19:23:00.003+08:00

I have to complete my homework asap!
Too much homework.... Killing me...
I have to go for make up lessons on other days because I am not going to school tomorrow! More days spent in school during holidays! I only reached home today at about 6.30pm because I had to stay back for mo lessons till 5+pm. :(

I am looking forward to the cruise on Sunday! :D

I just looked through the list for the sec 3 enrichment course and guess what? Half the cohort signed up for the DNA workshop, which yours truly is also joining. Is that a good thing?

shall end here.
:D

Finally.

2008-05-22T17:53:00.007+08:00

It's been quite a while since I last posted. Results have been revealed, and I shan't talk much about it. On the other hand, we have loads of holiday homework! I really mean LOADS of them. Tomorrow will be a half-day: school ends at 9.45am as the teachers have to attend some IT seminar. I have nothing much else to say, so I shall end here!
P.S. Do tag if you are at my blog! :D
Thanks.

If only, this was paradise...

China earthquake

2008-05-18T16:58:00.006+08:00

When I came back from OBS, my sister told me about the 7.8 major earthquake that happened on Monday at Si Chuan (四川) after the cyclone in Myanmar. The news was really shocking, but it really shows how unpredictable life and everything, especially Mother Nature, can be, making us reflect on how to cherish life. It also has shown how warm-hearted the society is, with donations and aid from other countries not directly involved. Even celebrities donated money.

I would like to say that even though some people may not have that much money, many small donations can make up a large sum of money, as the chinese saying goes, 积少成多. I was during OBS that time and I really realise that what I have gone through is nothing compared to children who have lost their parents, wives who have lost their husbands, and survivors with no home. Looking at the pictures on The Straits Times, I can't help but feel bitter. People are homeless and losing their family. If I were them, I really don't know what would happen.

Fight hard to survive!

Saturday

2008-05-18T08:44:00.002+08:00

Went for tuition and then to Marina Square after that. My mum went to John Little for some sale and she bought quite a lot of stuff. Dinner was at the Imperial Treasure La Mian Xiao Long Bao restaurant. Nothing much else, shopped for a while more then we went home.

:D
Cindi

Back from OBS!

2008-05-17T23:18:00.007+08:00

I am back from OBS and I am proud to say I have survived! HAHA
Here's a summary of what happened over the 5 days 4 nights. (12.05.06 to 16.05.08)

Day 1:
Took a boat from Punggol jetty to Pulau Ubin with fellow group mates (Cousteau) and to meet our instructor, Elton. We also learnt how to belay, and pack the things needed from the store for the next day's 3 day 2 night trip to other campsites. Bathed in the not-so-clean toilet and had to set up our tents to sleep and fanned myself with Isabella's fan. :D
Tent mates: Huiyan, Isabella, Kah Huan and Qian Ning.

Day 2:
Trekked over to Camp 1 and we rock-climbed to earn ourselves the catered dinner. I was so surprised that I could reach the top! :D We then had kayaking lessons to practise capsizing and rescuing. (Thanks to Huiyan, kayaking partner, for encouraging me!) Had the greatest dinner during this whole camp by the caterer in the cookhouse and slept in our tents.

Day 3:
Sea Expedition day. Kayaked along half way, but there was a storm and we had to stop half way along some coast. The experience was really scary, like being really helpless and if not for the encouragement and help of our team mates, I am sure we couldn't have survived. Cousteau hugged to keep warm and under the ponchos, it felt warm and comfy. :) The campsite for that night was on an island with no bathroom, so we couldn't bathe! Slept in an unstable tent for that night. :S

Day 4:
Trekked all the way to Chek Jawa and then back to Camp 2 with a 10kg++ backpack which caused a bad shoulder ache. It was a great sense of achievement when we finally reached our destination and the huge relief from the heavy backpack as indescribable! Had a special farewell dinner and then slept in our tents after searching for tent pegs.

Day 5:
Last day of camp. Wrote some well-wishes for the team-mates and bought souvenirs from the souvenir shop. We stepped onto the boat for mainland Singapore and almost everyone as buying soft drinks from this stall uncle! Reached school at 3pm and cabbed back home with Huizhen.

I found out that my DEAR sister had missed me so much that she fell sick! I love her so much! :D
Haha, and before I end, I would like to say that Cousteau made me feel so at home, so warm. May the Cousteau spirit live forever! Cousteau Cousteau, go go!

Cindi.

I have survived OBS! :D

Crezawards

2008-05-10T12:03:00.005+08:00

Crezawards on 9 May!

Had ava duty so I had to stay back till 10.30pm! It was a busy busy day- I didn't even have time to go home to change. Well, the winner for the solo category was Ariel! She sang really really well. The champion group for the dance was the NCC group and their dance was unique. :D Jeanette Aw came too, for prize giving.

Nothing much to say, other than I was really tired.

.Good times, good times...

May 7

2008-05-07T02:52:00.003+08:00

Since my sister has deleted the previous blog, I have decided to set up a new blog, although I am sure that this blog will soon be dead (again).

The Mid-years are finally over! BUT, I am worried about the results.

The (quite) good news- My dad has finally finally got the star cruise package after looking hard for it. We are going on superstar Aquarius this time! I just enjoy cruises, they are so relaxing. You just stay onboard to enjoy the amenities and think about nothing. I specially requested for this trip. :D The cruise will be a 4-night one on 1 June, and we will be going to Phuket, Thailand.

Oh no, I am suddenly feeling very worried. My exam results. Oh no.

Learning journey tomorrow.

Bye.

P.S. I have to recover those posts on that old blog. My hard work!

Dec 18

2007-12-19T12:44:00.001+08:00

This is my first post here, and I am going to write about last week's trip to Taiwan. I loved it there! Enjoy the detailed itinery! :D
.
1st day: 4th Dec 2007Daddy, Mummy, Shirin and I left the house at around 12pm to catch the 3.15pm flight to Taipei Taoyuan airport. We met our uncles ,aunties and cousins.There were a total of 12 of us and 22 people in our tour group. This is more than half of the tour group! We boarded our flight CI-662 to Taipei at around 3.40pm and reached at around 8pm. We found our local tour guide and went off to check-in to our hotel for the first night, Paradise Hotel, which was located near the Xi Men Ding （西门盯）area. We had some shopping there at night and went to the hotel. Both of us could not sleep that night and woke up at 4am!
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2nd day: 5th Dec 2007We went to 中正纪念堂, at that time we took a picture with the 大中至正sign. However, a few days later it was changed to 自由广场.We were very lucky! Woohoo! There were even reporters! Next, we went to 野柳(Yeliu), where they had cool stones that are being shaped through years of waves, wind, etc. The most fascinating and significant stone is the Queen's stone, where it looked like a queen with the nose, hair, etc. Then the exciting part came. We went to a hot spring hotel where there were different hot springs. For example, the HOT HOT spring, the freezing cold spring, rosemary hot spring, greentea (my favourite), pepper hot spring, mixed fruit, etc. The place was near 阳明山: magnificent splendid view! :) These places are at 宜蘭(Yilan), and we went to 九份(Jiu Fen) next. We tried their famous fishball noodles. Their fishballs are bigger than ping-pong balls! We also tried their 芋圆which were fabulous! Too bad Singapore doesn't have them. I miss it now! We then stayed at 香格里拉(Shangrila) hotel for the night. Cool place but lots of mosquitoes. End of day 2.
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3rd day: 6th Dec 2007Looked around the Shangrila Leisure Framing the morning then proceeded to Taipei city again. We went to Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan. Shopped in Taipei 101 then went to the Discovery Center of Taipei (台北探索馆). It talks about the history and developments of Taiwan. We then went to Taichung (台中) Tofu Street and tried their famous 串烧臭豆腐. It was nice: not so smelly. We then had a 'Tofu feast' for lunch. Next, we went to Fengjia night market to shop, then had dinner at a 'personal steamboat' shop/ restaurant. We stayed overnight at Jinhua hotel, where Shirin and I each had a double Queen-sized bed to sleep in. There was even a sauna in our room! Slept perfectly for the night.
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4th day: 7th Dec 2007
Left for Nantou(南投）in the morning for the famous sun moon lake（日月潭）and wenwu temple(文武廟). The scenary there was great! One of the islands at 日月潭 submerged below because of the 921 Earthquake. 文武廟 was also damaged and hence with the help of the tourist,the government, etc, the new 文武廟 was rebuilt. Next, we went to 埔里, where wine-making was famous for. We even tried alcohol/wine ice-cream and pancakes! Lunch was at a restaurant in 埔里, serving up their famous dishes like the 埔里面. After lunch, we went to a very modernised temple called the 中台禅寺, where Taiwan and China opened to build a 'special' temple. We then went back to our super big rooms in Jinhua Hotel and rested for a while till the night. We then went to 中正road where there were many stalls, and tried their smelly tofu. We wanted to walk to Sogo department stall, but it was too far away. Hence, we went zhong yong(中友) shopping center to shop and have some food. We then went back to our cool hotel rooms to sleep!
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5th day: 8th Dec 2007
The tour guide (wanted to earn extra income I guess) brought us to center where they sold huge Lingzhi, royal jelly, deer's dead baby, etc, which are from the 原住民 living up in the mountains (A-li shan to be exact). However, they were really EXPENSIVE!! Well, we spent the morning there, and went to 点水楼 to have lunch which was their famous 小笼包. Next we went to the Martyr's Shrine, where they commemorated 烈士, or people who sacrificed their lives for the country. There were four guards, actually the navy(海军) people, and they could not move as they had to stand on guard! We took photographs with them and observed the guard change-over(every hour). It was quite boring actually... Haha. We went to 淡水 Fisherman's Wharf and the "couples bridge". I think Daddy caught a cold here. Next up was shopping at 淡水老街 then shopping at 士林夜市. The snacks and shopping at 士林 were great! The famous 鸡排stall had a very very long queue! Anyway, we checked-in at the Taoyuan Chuto hotel for the night.
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6th day:9th Dec 2007
In the morning, we went to Gugong Museum then to a fengshui place where they talked about names, life, country, etc. We then went to Miramar Entertianment Center for lunch. After lunch, we went to vigor bakery for shopping/buying pastry. We then went to check-in to Gala hotel where there was a business room for us to discuss where to go. We then went to Mirammar Entertianment Center again and the surrounding area with Carrefour and Geant, both hypermarts to shop. We bought stationery, books, stickers and various items cheaper or cannot be found in Singapore. Lastly, we went back to Gala hotel to sleep.
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7th day: 10th Dec 2007
After waking up, we checked in to Paradise Hotel, and walked to XiMen station to take the train to the Taipei Main Station. Lunch was chicken rice for me, noodles and others for Daddy, Mummy and Shirin. We then shopped in the surrounding malls and went to their Daiso stall. As 9 as the 12 of us felt tired, they went back to the hotel to rest awhile. Mummy, my uncle and I went to 五分埔 to shop. We took a train to Hou Shan Pi and shopped there. Sad to say, we only bought a cap and a long sleeved top for me. The clothes there are quite unsuitable for us as most are for winter. Hence, we went to the nearby Raohe night market to shop and snack. We bought a 胡椒饼 and it was freshly made.We also bought two bags at NT100 each so each bag cost around $5 (Even lesser!) and total it was less than $10. Worth-it buy! After that, we took a train back to Xi Men station and rested in Paradise Hotel before dinner. We left after resting for dinner at the Xi Men Ding area. It was our last dinner there. Haha. Well, bought another 2 bags, one for Shirin and the other for me. I chose it for her and she liked it! Haha. We then spent our last night in Taipei sleeping.
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8th and last day: 11th Dec 2007
This was a fast day. Shirin and I woke up at 5.30am, and we went to seven eleven located next to our hotel to do some last minute shopping. [Did I mention that the seven elevens there are all so cool? They even have cafes in there!] At 6.15 am, we(the 12 of us) took a 20 seater bus to the airport. Breakfast was prepared by the hotel so that we could eat it on the bus. Upon reaching the Taoyuan airport, we found out that our flight had been delayed till 10.10am due to the foggy weather. Hence, we shopped around the airport, trying to finish our Taiwan currency. I bought a Swatch watch and Shirin bought two cute dancing toys of Chip and Dale. :D We practically shopped the whole place till we didn't want to shop anymore. Well, we boarded the plane CI-661 to Singapore and reached Singapore at around 2.45pm.
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This trip to Taiwan has made me realise:
I love 芋圆 so much! Too bad Singapore doesn't sell it. :(
I am in love with Liu Ding too! (These are small oranges)
I bought too little gifts- Should have bought more!
I love love love the book stores there! They are MEGA BIG and sell lots of notebooks [my favourite!]
I miss Taiwan's weather.
I miss Taiwan's people.
I miss Taiwan's shopping.
I miss Taiwan's night markets.
I miss Taiwan's sceneries.
But most of all,
I miss Taiwan's serenity.
How great would it be.. if I could live in the not-so-stressful life in Taiwan.
This has been a very long post. Enjoy! :D
Cindi