Friday, April 24, 2009

Oh.My.God.


I could barely drag myself to work today.


Landed in Singapore yesterday morning, slept at 3am.


And I woke up 15 hours later. Talk about jet-lag man.


How was New York?


Absolutely amazing. A million times more amazing than when I first went nearly a decade ago.


Perhaps seeing the Big Apple through more mature lenses made me appreciate the vibrancy and joy all the more acutely. Also, I suppose we were a lot more lavish during this trip.


3-michelin star restaurant, shopping at big labels, eating at all the cool new york digs...


Simply brilliant. Doubt I would have enjoyed it as much if we weren't living the high life.


Pics soon.


I hate working.


Sigh.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Hong Kong through my lenses


So I promised to upload the Hong Kong photos... not many, cos the pics are scattered across 5 cameras and it appears that no one else has uploaded theirs.


Oh well.



Took the very painful 6.40am Jetstar flight... entered a ghostly Changi Airport.



See, everyone is still half asleep.



The only good thing about Jetstar... the view.



We touched down, dumped our bags, and headed out to score some dim sum.



Charlotte's friend Celia came to meet up and show us around.



My pitiful room which I shared with Peiwen.



Did a whole lotta praying.



Went to watch the Symphony of Lights at the HK Harbour. What a piece of crap, waste of money and utter futility. It's just a bunch of buildings lighting up and switching off in tune to some cheesy tune. A lot of tourists turned up, probably because we all read about bogus reviews in guidebooks. But really, it's a waste of time.



Only cool thing at the harbour.. the colonial clock tower.



Crap hotel, crap breakfast. Sheesh.



Sigh, when I take photos with the 2 tall ones, they have to squat. How humiliating.



Taking a cablecar to see the Giant Buddha. Or more specifically, the world's largest, OUTDOOR, BRONZE, SITTING buddha. Yes, it holds the record for having a very specific record.



I call this "ascending through heaven" to reach Buddha. A 28-minute ride from HK to Lantau Island. Crosses miles and miles of greenery. Super fly.



Walk through a tourist trap "village" to reach Buddha.



See what I mean?



Buddha demands devotion... through the climbing of a bazillion steps. We decided to do it at one go, resulting in us huffing and puffing VerY unglamourously at the top.


But our reward?



Buddha!


The whole place is overrun by tourist, FYI. Go early.


Next, it's off to Macau!


Which, sad to say, is either incredibly tacky (casinos-side), or depressingly run-down (the original town which has fallen into disarray thanks to the influx of casinos which have driven rent so high that everything is mostly closed).



The tacky Fisherman's Wharf with various hokey buildings.



We call this "Ana Guan Yin", aka the anorexic, size 0, Guan Yin. Apparantly brought in during the time of the Portugese. Hence, the slightly ang moh features.



Random pic at MGM.



The insanely crazy show which Wynn Casino puts on every half an hour. A real tree comes out from the ground, and a chandelier comes down from the ceiling. And both spin and glitter for 3 whole minutes. Insanity.



St Paul's Ruins. Only the facade is left of the once great Church, after being decimated by 3 fires over the centuries.



Largos de Senados. Was a bit apprehensive when our guide told us repeatedly to guide our belongings as the place is teeming with pickpockets. Hmm.



The most amazing thing ever!! Pork Chop bun. Sinfully mindblowing!



Rounded off with a visit to the Venetian, which is the largest, blown up, tacky impression of Venice. Not even close. Here, tourists ogle at a replica of a gondola.



We also went to the Peak, where our asses froze off. Note to self : don't wear short skirts that blow every which way!



Had to head to Lan Kwai Fong. Which was okkaayyy..... Went to Insomnia, which has live music. Some Filipino dude was hitting on these China girls, this Black dude was groping this White woman's boobs, guys were ugly...


but hey! the bar food was good and there was happy hour!



Oh yeah, how could I forget about this? Sweet steamed egg. Absolutely scrumptious! Had it almost twice a day.


So we ate...




And we shopped a lot!

Ok, off to New York tonight. Big Apple time!

Monday, April 06, 2009

Can't Complain...


My camera hasn't had time to rest and regroup, but it's off to my next va-cay!


Before you people start yelling DISGUSTING!!!, erm erm erm...


Nah, I have no defense. Yeah, I know, it's good to be me.


Hong Kong was quite the downer (asides from the fabulous food), so hopefully this place will perk me up.


Speaking of Hong Kong, I wonder if it was a killjoy because Hong Kong is well, Hong Kong, dirty, grimy, rude and all that.


Or was the holiday made grimmer due to certain wet blankets who swung from hot to cold in one shrill, unreasonable snap. Hmmmmmm.... maybe I should give HK another chance, but pick better travel companions next time. Certainly, the city has it's shortcomings. But I wonder how many of those shortcomings were magnified by the tension that often filled the air.


It's amazing what 11 years of friendship can make you turn a blind eye towards...


Anyway, where am I off next, you scream?


Here's some clues...


Bryant Park, MTV, Broadway and Museum of Modern Art! Also Times Square, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, and SATC!


Yup, I'm off to New York City with the family. Can't, can't, can't wait!! Have been to NYC once to visit Cheryl when she was studying in the US and I must say, NYC has remained one of my fondest vacation spots.


What can I say... it's energetic, English is widely spoken (sorry Tokyo!), vibrant, cultural, a shopping delight, gastronomic wonder, walkable and just OH SO AMAZING.


Vacation courtesy of lots of leave, shorter work week, and mother's largesse.


Guess I'd post the HK photos when I get the energy. Hopefully over the next few days. Have a 4 days of "off" ahead.


Yup, life is good.