Phuket 23-27 Jan

Was dying for a short break and got a good offer for flight tickets so went to Phuket last week. We stayed at Patong Cottage Hotel for the first 2 nights. It is a hotel set on a hill, was not affected during the Tsunami. Service and room was good and view was great. There was a shuttle that brings us to and from the hotel to the beach area which made travelling easier. We were welcomed in the room with rose petals forming 2 hearts on the bed and fruit platter. How nice!

The view from the balcony of our room was awesome. Oh, and we actually saw Star Cruise there too.

Here's sunset at Patong beach, the most happening beach at Phuket:

We went on a day trip to Phang Nga bay area, at the northern part of Phuket. The islands are made of limestone rocks, thus the water is milky and not fit for swimming, snorkeling or diving. Its more for canoeing.

We travelled on long tail boat, had good food and great crew to entertain and take care of us. There were free flow of drinks, biscuits and fruits throughout the day too.

First stop was at James Bond island where the movie was filmed in 1972. We visited the caves in the area too. Second stop was Hong island where we saw bats in the dark caves. Third stop was at Panak Island where we canoed through dark caves to see limestone formations of different shapes resembling waterfall, ice cream float etc. We were supposed to see a lagoon but due to high tide, we couldn't enter.

For both Hong island and Panak island, we had to lie down in the canoe at certain points due to high tide and low ceiling from the caves. This was the reason why we were expected to have a canoe expert on board to help us since he is aware of the tide conditions and cave conditions.

Finally, we went to Lawa island to have time to canoe, swim and then went back onboard to have coconut drink enroute back to the hotel.
The next 2 nights, we stayed at Baan Karon Hotel. The hotel isn't as great and wonderful as the first in terms of the room condition and service. However, it had a good location. It was in between both Karon and Kata beach, within walking distance. We wanted to try out other beaches that were more quiet and laid back than to spend the whole trip at the popular and touristic Patong beach. In the end, this hotel didn't prove too bad. They also decorated our bed with nice flowers, had a nice swimming pool where we swam and also provided us with a room for shower on the last night FOC due to our late flight even though we checked out in the afternoon.

Sunset at Karon Beach:

On the way to Kata Beach:

We also went on a day trip to the area of Phi Phi, Maya Bay and Khai island. The water in this area is clear, there are white sandy beaches and the scenary is simply awesome. Good for snorkeling as there are lots of fishes and clear water. We were travelling around by speed boat.

At Maya Bay, where the movie "The Beach" was filmed.

Snorkeling at Khai Nok island: Chilling out at Khai Nok island:

Overall, the trip was a relaxing one. Had good food, great Thai and foot massages, experienced water sports, awesome scenary....hmmmm......holidays are never enough :)

Hosting Friends...

On 20th Jan, i planned for my cg to have a gathering at my place. I love to have friends gathering at my place. Love the feeling of playing host.

Coincidentally, an aquaintance i got to know from the Israel trip back in 2005 contacted me days before. She is from Switzerland, going to work in Malaysia and dropping by Singapore for the weekend. I offered to host her and she came to stay at my place. It was timely as she could join the gathering with my cg and then go to church with me.

Picture with Susanne at Thai Express, Siglap for lunch:

The gathering at my place was fun. We bought some food and mum cooked some food. We had a competitive game of taboo, Guys Vs Gals and guess what? Gals won!!! Yippeee!!!! We then played Pictionary. Quite a rough game with so many people playing together. We all had great fun and got to know one another better. I was particularly glad that Shian joined in the gathering with my cg friends and had fun together as well.

Thanks Dear, for making an effort to join in the fun with my friends and helping to host them :).

Here's a group shot - not the best taken one cos we had to do auto photo taking in order to ensure that everyone is included.

Here's a shot of the guys:

Here's a shot of the gals:

The Wedding of Jeslyn & Gerald

This is a super back-dated entry.

My good friend, Jeslyn got married on 1 Jan. I've been so busy with work since then that I haven't got time to update.

I was one of the jiemeis for her wedding. Was so desperately looking around for a pink dress before that since it was the dress code for the day. There was mostly black and other dull colours during the year end autumn-winter collection and i was so glad to have found a pink dress that is nice and decently priced. Thanks dear for helping me to reserve that dress in time!

Didn't know the rest of the jiemeis before hand. Jeslyn treated us to a day of spa experience at Andana Orchard. We had a therapeutic body massage, an afternoon relaxing at the lounge watching in-house movies and having free flow of food and drinks. Got to know the jiemeis better.

On the actual day, we had a great time tekaning the groom and his 10 bros. Not that we enjoy tekaning them, but it was heartwarming to see how much the groom is willing to go through great lengths to marry his bride.

Here's the beautiful bride and the jiemeis :




Dinner was at The Fullerton. It was a simple yet classic affair. Everyone was very well-dressed. There was even a wedding singer that sang jazzy songs. Shian joined me as well. I was asked to deliver a speech on the couple. Was actually having sore throat and feeling tired and nervous. Am glad i plucked up the courage and went ahead.

Best wishes to Jeslyn and Gerald on your marriage! :)