Happy Birthday Voz!

A high intake of caffeine at once can cause caffeine-induced mental disorder. The symptoms include restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, stomach upset, muscle twitching, incoherent speech, heart palpitations and excessive alertness.

Does Voz care?

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Obviously not! :D

Anyway, whether she's on coffee or not also still very hyper.







Happy birthday babe! -hugs-

Ipoh

Nowadays no time to blog and no energy either. Let the pictures do the talking!

Food

Famous Ipoh Hor Fun... Very Q


Some fish thing


Ipoh version of ice kachang


Excellent food at Nonya restaurant


Caving

Unfortunately, there aren't any other pictures cos we didn't want our cameras to get wet. Anyway, it was quite fun and most of us got pretty wet while coming out via the underground river. Some old granny knocked her head on the cave rock and 头破血流！

Cameron Highlands











At Home
Mama Chew and her yummy cooking. Thanks KK for the good food, fun, hospitality and company!

Lab Outing

I suck at bowling! Clockwise from top left: Soheila (from London but originally Iran), Junxiang (UROPS), Huapeng, Donglai, Jianhua, Ke, Lan Tian, Jinghui, Prof Ge, me, Xiaorui, Grace (UROPS). Everyone else is from China hehe.

来自台湾的爱心礼物 I

St James Power Station

I've gone to St. James Power Station! Just to look-see look-see...

Anyway, its just opposite from Vivocity as I'm sure you all know. When we first walked up to the building, we had no idea where anything was (there are 9 establishments there excluding the restaurants). Here's a short review on each of them:

Movida
Movida means 'party' in Cuban street slang, and its supposed to play world music. When we went there their band from Parauay was playing and singing, and though they were good it was deafening. Too loud. Heineken costs $9.

Bellini Room (2nd floor)
Like this the best because its a chill-out kinda place. Supposed to have performances too but there weren't any going on when we there. They serve really addictive tapioca chips and the Bellini ($20) tastes really good! Recommended.

Gallery Bar (2nd floor)
This can be accessed via Bellini Room or via its own entrance on the first floor (a bit hard to find). Anyway, its named as such because it provides a good view of Powerhouse, Movida and Dragonfly. Good for taking a look at what's going on down below. Friendly staff.

Dragonfly
This place gets super super crowded. Think squeezing through a crush of bodies, and people with leery eyes. Haha. Was very smoky. Couldn't see anything so we cleared out quick. But its draw is the live band and dancers who perform Chinese pop songs.

Powerhouse (1st floor)
Club with big dance floor. This place was really entertaining. The waiter at the Gallery Bar told us its for "youths" and "yuppies" but when we went there we found lots of old people. Think 30s to 40s (and above?)!!! Some of them were actually dancing on a raised platform. When I say dancing, I mean clapping and bad gyrating movements. There was also an old guy wearing sunglasses and dancing with an old lady. Not for the faint-hearted.

Mono
Not to be overly scientific, but doesn't this make you think of infectious mononucleosis aka kissing disease? Or, er, people singing in a monotone? Ok, the correct interpretation is that the place is designed to a monocromatic theme. Who would've known...This is on the 3rd floor and can be accessed by climbing a staircase inside Dragonfly or by taking the elevator from outside. Horrifying singing can be heard here (the main area is like one of those big karaoke areas, meaning you subject your ears to possible aural torture). There are private rooms also but I think this might not be the best place for karaoke :p Forgot to check out the prices. The singing kinda scared us away.

Peppermint Park
Doesn't look exciting, its an outdoor bar with swings and hammocks. But wear nice nice how to sit in hammock?

The Lobby
Saddest of all, there's no signboard and we could barely locate the place. Nobody there.

The Boiler Room
Not open yet but going to be open very soon!

If you're intending to go, remember to get a stamp on your hand at the first place you go to because it can be used to enter all the other 8 places, no matter what they are. Especially useful for Dragonfly because the queue gets really long... but of course it was a Saturday night which I'd assume means a bigger crowd.

Lastly, we had supper at the Station Kitchen. This comprises of a japanese Charcoal barbecue restaurant, What You Do Prata (not typo, dunno how they name one) and Din Tai Fung noodle bar. The charcoal place looked really pretty good and we were expecting prices to be sky high (think japanese style restaurant with the low tables and wagyu beef) but it was quite reasonable. Beef/Alaskan Crab was about/slightly over $10 each. They bring this pail with charcoal to your table and place it under your own smoke-sucking hob. Hehe. Beef was very good. Alaskan crab was good but of course it tastes better in Alaska!

Point to note: the staff in the restaurant can be quite sticky. Of course being a japanese resturant they shout "Irrashaimase!" and "Arigatou gozaimashita!" in a deafening chorus, but that's only the beginning. While we were there, there were quite few people so we had like 4 people milling around our super small 2 person table. And this other guy kept hanging around! Kept asking me to try beef tongue, and when I grudgingly agreed, I asked "are you gonna stand here and wait for me to eat?" So he moved like 5 steps away and flew right back once I had eaten the thing to ask how it was. When I asked where the toilet was he insisted on walking me there and asked "Should I wait for you here?" Haha I was so freaked out...

But all in all, the food is good and value for money. Try it out ok? And if anyone wants to go listen to some jazz and have a Berllini I want to go again! Haiyoh really heading for bankruptcy...

Readings

Forgot to add,　I decided to subscribe to this cool magazine called Action Asia! Super cool holiday recommendations for those searching for that adrenaline rush. Just look at this month's cover! Designed to attract me. Already did Alaska, Antarctica is left. I think there's a lot less infrastructure though. Imagine going on an icebreaker cruise... -drool-


"Action Asia is dedicated to bringing you the very latest on the most unusual and interesting destinations from around the region, and the most exciting things to do when you are there. Whether it is scuba diving in the Maldives, trekking in Nepal or soaking up the culture in Laos Action Asia uses a vast network of world-renowned contributors to bring you the latest travel tips and practical information on how to make the most out of your next trip.

Alongside this practical travel information readers also enjoy a mix of lifestyle, cultural and environmental features that reflect and celebrate the rich diversity of Asia. Action Asia also provides readers with heart stopping-accounts of adventures and adventurers throughout the region, often providing a rare insight into what it is like to push personal, physical and natural limits.

Action Asia uses award winning photography and exciting design to bring the information alive, and ensure that each issue of Action Asia is as inspirational as it is aspirational."


I also bought Lonely Planet's "A Year of Adventures".



"A Year of Adventures is the inspirational planning tool to take you all around the world in pursuit of adventure. Discover a whole range of extraordinary experiences, including hiking in New Zealand, diving with sharks in South Africa, ballooning in Switzerland and storm watching in Alaska. Choose from over 100 activities in 130 countries, some to challenge you, some to enjoy at a leisurely pace, and catering to all fitness levels. After all, adventure does'nt need to mean hardship. Be inspired and plan a year to remember!

* Organised by month and week to allow you to plan the best adventure at the best time of year
* Country and Activity indexes provide easy access search by the destination of your next holiday, or by the adventure you want to experience
* Includes links for further information on adventure events throughout the book "

Die man. My mind is so not on studies anymore. Always waiting for the next adventure to happen. I should work for Lonely Planet!

Holiday~

So yes, I have been a tourist for the past 5 days. Friday and Saturday saw me pretending to be one in Singapore and I hit some of the usual spots with my friend. I know, not very interesting but this is more for me to remember what I did.

Fri: Airport-home-Orchard-Vivocity-Chinatown (only for dessert, but that was closed so we walked around and went to the Rooftop Bar

Sat: Chongpang for breakfast-Asian Civilisations Museum-Fullerton-Merlion (haha)-Esplanade-Raffles City-Chijmes-City Space-Night Safari

Sun, Mon and Tues: Bintan!

Now for pictures :)

Cute snack at Taka Cold Storage!

Dinner at 黑社会，a newly opened restaurant at Vivocity. The view is not bad, interesting decor, complete with menus hidden in mahjong-table-like recesses. They give a free appetiser of fried dough sticks and cucumber/carrot strips. Haha. We had XO seafood fried rice, shimeji mushroom noodle and rose tea. Good! PS the teapot can be refilled with hot water. Also, the staff are habitual liars so if they say something comes in very small portions don't believe them!






By the way, the Asian Civilisations Museum is really not bad and you all can consider visiting if you need a cultural fix. Be sure to time your visit when there's a free tour going on to get the most out of it. Interestingly, most of the exhibits are not about Singapore (maybe that's why its not bad?)

Here are some cute cats by the Singapore River, our very own Merlion (smirk!) and the Esplanade, otherwise known as Durians or Housefly Eyes.



Dinner at Chijmes - Hog's Breath Cafe. Fries were very good... bet they were fried in animal fat :p Vegetable oil doesn't give that kind of taste.



After dinner drinks at City Space:



Peach Schnapps not nice. Singapore Sling is as usual, way too sweet and cough-mixture-like. If you have the chance, go on a Sat night at 9 to listen to the jazz singer. Love her voice! Puts me into dreamy mode (the alcohol helps)

Next up, the Night Safari. Hasn't changed much, and I still like the capybaras best. It was terribly crowded on a Saturday night. During the animal show, the compere was looking for volunteers and asked "Do we have anyone from India?" -loud uproar of patriotic voices-. She then asked "Do we have anyone from China?" -madly waving hands- Seems like a good indication of where our tourists come from. Haha. Took a picture of a very cute little girl - I think she's pretty enough to take part in those kid pageants.








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Sun and onwards was spent at Bintan! Departed from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. Food scene/entertainment options there are dismal so you might really consider lunching somewhere else or bringing a book to read while waiting. Lots of construction going on too.



We got picked up and driven to our resort - Mayang Sari Beach Resort. Price-wise it was pretty similar to Bintan Lagoon but a lot more expensive than Nirwana Gardens, about $60 difference. The reception area was simple with some tacky Christmas decorations, but we were served some yummy pineapple juice while waiting to check in. We got the Seaturtle No. 1 chalet! Got the sea-facing chalet which, in my opinion, is worth the money if you are going to a beach resort. Better than I thought it would be...















Spent the afternoon lying in a hammock with a book, but I never got down to reading the book cos lying there and looking at the blue sky and listening to the waves was already intoxicating :) Some interesting sights on the beach:





Dinner was at the Kelong restaurant, which lies on stilts. We had Gong Gong (sea snails) and crispy sotong for dinner. After dinner drinks at the Calypso Bar. The bartender, named Jesse, was very nice. Had really sparkling white teeth too.











Next day, we had a massage at Pasar Oleh Oleh, some tourist town outside the resort area. Got picked up in a nice SUV (I love SUVs!) and were subjected to some fantastic contortionistic moves. They also did the spine and neck cracking thing which is super scary!!! Finished off with a nice hair wash. Shops were nothing to rave about though. All of them selling variations of each other with high prices to boot. Lots of them are owned by the same company too. BAD shopping.



Here are some pictures of Nirwana Gardens, the sister resort:

Verdict: Nice, with lots more facilities than Mayang Sari, but also lots more screaming kids. Mayang Sari has no pool so if you wanna swim in one you need to take the bus over here. Don't really see the need for a pool when you have the beach right in front though. The beach at Mayang Sari is way bigger and nicer.







Dinner was at Mana Mana Beach Club. This is the cheapest of the lot but I didn't get to see the actual cabanas which are not so near the beach, I think. Listed the prices for water sports in case any of you are interested. They did serve a yummy thin-crusted pizza which is made on the spot by their own chef. Recommended!







Wasn't long before it was time to pack up and go :( Got driven to the ferry terminal, and the hotel's service was really good cos they found out I left my camera charger behind and got someone to rush it over before the ferry left. The resort guy also told me to try out the Indra Maya villas next time, and I'd get a discount for being a repeat customer. The villas have their own private pool and come with the use of a buggy so you can drive around on your own. Shiok leh! He said it costs about $500+ a night, which, when divided among 4-5 people, is even cheaper than Mayang Sari. Next time must go! A-L gang interested or not??

Back to Singapore and then saw my friend off at the airport. 姚蓉姐姐要好好照顾自己,睁开眼睛看路! 相信阿玲会好好看着你的...嘻. 下次再来玩.谢谢你千里迢迢的飞来看我!

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The mundane life begins again. Bah!