Journey to Rio

I now know why I gain weight after almost every business trip.

I left for the GAC 2011 4 days earlier so I could spend 3 days by myself in Rio before the work week started. And as usual, I flew on my company's preferred airline, SQ for the 26 hr flight into Sao Paulo where I would then take a flight on TAM to Rio.

The flight to Sao Paulo was some time after midnight and the almost non-stop feeding started soon after we were airborne. Courtesy of the Supper Menu (yes, at that hour) or the SG to Barcelona leg, I had one of the best crabmeat cocktail I'd ever had in my life.

This was followed by the main course. I had the recommended "Veal Grenadin with crystallised tomatoes, eggplant cavier, button mushrooms and black olives". Now, despite how it turned out on picture, I would strongly recommend this dish to anyone on a SQ flight if the dish is available. The eggplant cavier did not taste the least mushy or "vegetable-tasting" but was a rich flavorful concoction that had me ThisClose to licking the plate clean.

The Supper Menu ended with the selection of gourmet cheeses, by which time I was satiated and sleepy. So I watched a couple of movies and then folded down the seat to sleep.

I was awakened by a pretty stewardess in time for breakfast which I'd pre-ordered before falling into slumber. And I ate every single bit of the "scrambled egg with chopped chives, grilled chicken sausages, sauteed mushrooms and hashbrown potatoes". Because it was that good.

Anyway, after abt 11+hrs, we landed in Spain where those of us going on to Sao Paulo were hustled off to the transit area. The shops beyond the glass window of the sala VIP lounge beckoned invitingly but I was told expressly that I was not allowed to help the Spanish economy with my tourist dollars. Oh well, their loss....and mine too, I might add, given how expensive everything turned out to be in Brazil. The transit in Spain was about one and a half hours, and we were delayed another hour because of some (idiot) passenger's luggage issues. As WIFI access was chargeable in the VIP lounge, I ended up using the lounge's computers to write about the movies I'd watched on board and of course, stuffing my face with the complimentary food in the lounge. Nothing like an opportunity to eat Spanish food for free. Yay for the waistline right? Right. So after stumbling rounded-belly back to the plane for the next leg of the trip which would last about 10hours, I was served with the Lunch Menu for Barcelona to Sao Paulo. As if I'd never eaten all that Spanish chow, I downed the Prelude which was 3 sticks of satay, followed by the Starter, smoked ham with roasted capsicum and mesclun.

I ordered the "Roasted duck breast, ginger bread sauce, carmelised pear, parsnip and leek" as the main course. The duck breast was not very tender or tasty but ate it all I did, rationalizing that it would be a waste of good food otherwise.

And then after the plates and all were cleared, I watched some more movies sprawled in the seat. Before sleeping again. I mean, come on, how could I possibly have thought that I could get away with not gaining any weight? It certainly didn't occur to me on the flight how much I was eating and how little I was exercising (do trips to the bathroom count?) in the 26 hours to Sau Paulo but as I write this blog entry with the aid of the pics I'd taken en route to Rio, I now realize how much I'd gorged just on the way there!

Oh, and before we reached Sao Paulo, there was one more meal to be served. Dinner! Yes, because of all the time differences between Singapore, Barcelona and Brazil. I can't remember what the starter was and I didn't take any pics of the menu this time round but it was beautifully presented and extremely tasty,

However, I do remember being disappointed by the cod fish which while well cooked and tender, had this strange taste to it. I guess I should have ordered the beef and was almost minded to ask for a replacement of my current main course which I'm sure they would have willingly given until I realized that the button of my jeans was biting into my belly. Not good.

I was glad when we finally reached Sao Paulo and the 26 hours of movies, sleep and food was over. The sight of the city of more than 39million people laid out below me got me all excited (the pic below is the first pic I took of the city from the plane) and I kind of forgotten how much I'd eaten on board.

Till I got up and the button of my only pair of jeans popped off when I reached up to get my laptop bag down. Way to start a holiday. After a short walk around the duty free at Sao Paulo airport in the hope of buying some pants, (Trust me, everything there is hideously more expensive than if purchased in Singapore or USA), I collected my check in luggage and made my way to the TAM counter for my flight to Rio.

My flight out to Rio was supposed to be at 9.40pm - I'd decided against booking the 7pm flight despite my arrival time being 5pm because the ticket was a lot more expensive. However, because the 5pm flight was relatively empty, the counter staff put my name on the standby list for that flight and I found myself rushing ticket in hand to the departure gate 5 mins before the take-off time.

The flight from Sao Paulo to Rio took an hour and because I'd stupidly forgotten to charge my blackberry on board the plane, it was dead after the 26hours of travelling. I was pretty much resigned to having to wait at Rio's airport (which had all of one cafe at the arrival area) for my airport transfer to come get me at 11pm (I'd arranged this based on my earlier flight time of 9.40pm) but a very kind stewardess helped me call the airport transfer 24hr hotline and the driver came at 8pm to send me to my hotel in Rio.

And that was how after almost 30 hours of travelling and feasting, I found myself in the city I'd always wanted to be in since watching Fast and Furious - Rio De Janerio.

Saudade

After 20+ days or work and leisure in South America, I'm finally back in Singapore.

Getting used to the humidity and time difference (Brazil and Peru are like 11 and 13 hrs behind SG time) is a real challenge for us.

Stepping back into, or rather, finding a routine/semblance of a life after I left, is going to be a challenge too, but only for me and not my CEB.

In Brazil (the work bit), I learnt a word that accurately describes how I feel right now - Saudade. (Click here for the definition).

When all along I thought that word was "Lost" or "Restless".

Mad World

Finally the GAC 2011 is over and I am done with the presentations and sumptuous meals. As well as riding around in armored bullet-proof vehicles and being surrounded by security wherever we go. I wanted to go to church this morning, the only church in this city that has gregorian chants but I was strongly discouraged to by the security folks. 

So here I am in this luxurious downtown hotel waiting for checkout before I go to the airport to meet my CEB who is coming in for our honeymoon. Coming here has been an experience in itself. I've never felt so caged before. No shopping, no church even...and sitting inside the armored vehicle and having 1 big tough security guy climb in and ensure the windows were bullet proof...what can I say. I'm so glad I live in Singapore. I'm so grateful to LKY and the present government we have for making Singapore safe. Safety so many of us have taken forgranted but so many here do not have. Car jacking, 1 of the world's highest homicide rates, a city of more than 39million which means it is easy to disappear, the favelas (slums), the horrific traffic jams, the astronomical cost of living...I can't thank God enough for just the simple fortune of being born in Singapore at the time I was. 

 It's a Mad World we live in...and talking about Mad World, while cooped up in the hotel room last night with only the TV to accompany me, I watched the Glee Project and they had this song which is so hauntingly sad, so disturbingly true. Mad World, yes it is.

Conan (2011) Movie, Last Night (2011) Movie, Bridesmaid (2011) Movie, and Something Borrowed (2011) Movie

After watching a violent movie over the weekend at Batu Pahat Mall with my CEB, I decided to indulge in 3 chick flicks on board the plane from SG to Barcelona. So, because I am going to scarf my face with Spanish food right after this entry, I am going to just write about each movie I watched very briefly.

Conan ~3/10. My CEB would disagree but I found the movie overly violent, unimpressive and predictable. The whole movie is essentially about a barbarian boy whose father is tortured and slain by a dark lord in search of a missing piece of a mask which would make him invincible. The boy grows up and goes in search of this dark lord to takes his revenge. It happens the dark lord is searching with his witch daughter, for a descendent of the house of some ancient king. The blood of his descendent would activate the power of the mask and give the dark lord the power to raise his witch wife who was burnt to death at the stake. Anyway, Conan manages to save the descendent who of course happens to be a pretty nubile young lady and defeat the dark lord. Yay right? Sorry but this movie is so lame.

Last Night ~7/10. The movie leaves the audience wondering whether the couple will eventually tell each other or find out the truth about the night before when each of them slept with someone else. While on a business trip, the man slept with a colleague whom he was attracted to, and who was of course very attracted to him too. And on the same weekend, the lady bumped into an ex boyfriend and they ended up in his hotel room. The only thing I took away from the show is that affairs by women are usually led by the heart and that affairs by men are led by their eyes and well, d!ck.

Bridesmaid 8/10.~I get why this show was such an unexpected hit. It was hilarious but with so many cringeworthy moments that I had to shut my eyes at certain bits when Annie (best friend and maid of honor of the bride Lillian) wrecked the bridal party, and when Annie got drunk othe plane. Do people like her even exist? Ok, maybe they do so the question is, are people like her even allowed out with a free pass from the asylum. Eek. This movie is strictly for females and those who are like...females.

Something Borrowed ~8/10. I confess I have not finished wastching the last 10 mins of the show but the show really is nothing more than a lady having an affair with her best friend´s fiance. After they both discover they love each other just 60 days before the big day. The stuff that my CEB would shake his head at and call a big waste of time.

I guess my CEB and I are going to be watching very different movies on our way back from Sao Paolo. I can´t wait till he gets to SP but before that I have a gruelling week of presentations and meetings. Bah.

Our last night in Bali - Matahari Guest House

Because of all the work-related travel, I'd hesitated buying our return tickets from Bali back to SG till the very last minute. With the price of the tickets being therefore exponentially more expensive, I bought the cheapest tickets on the day we had to come back, which meant a 9am flight.

 

Since being a SPG gold member meant that we could get a late checkout from our very nice hotel the day before, I decided to find 1 of the cheapest possible lodgings to spend our last night in Bali (Tune Hotel was fully booked). The reviews of Matahari Guest House on Agoda (about SGD48) were pretty mixed so we decided to bite the bullet and give MGH a go.

Now, getting to the hotel is a story in itself. We made the mistake of hailing a cab from DFS about 7pm and going by meter instead of agreeing on a fixed fare. The traffic towards Kuta was just simply awful at that hour, the kind that makes you want to get out of your car and walk because traffic wasn't moving. And that is what we did when we were one street away - thankfully we both were travelling light without any check-in luggage.

The receptionist at MGH spoke some basic English but despite me producing the Agoda voucher, she claimed that there was no reservation under my name. She asked me if I was Fifi twice. I said no, and she asked me then if I was some other person which I really couldn't be, even if I tried. Anyway, despite not locating the reservation, she showed us to a room on the 2nd floor (all stairs, no lift) which she said was a deluxe room as I'd booked.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the room - I think I was too tired from all the walking to the hotel to whip out the camera. But it was clean and decently sized. No toiletries of course, and no cupboard to hang up clothes (just a basic clothes rack on the wall), It definitely isn't a place to stay for too long or to stay in during the day - it is, all in all, a good base to shower and crash after being out the whole day for day tours. There is a "restaurant" within walking distance from the guest house called Satsuma which sells basic Jap food. And I mean really basic as in no sushi or sashimi, just ramen and rice dishes.

Anyway, because we were starving from the long walk to the hotel, we were easily lured in to Satsuma by the pictures and promise of bowls of steaming tasty ramen. Well, the ramen took some time coming, and while it was steaming, it certainly was not tasty - more like instant noodles cooked in some weak gravy. This eatery while decent, is not a must-eat-at in Bali, esp if one is there for a limited amount of time.

We walked to Kartika Discovery Mall after dinner (a 10-15min slow walk) and with Mark and Spencers, Top Shop etc as some of the Mall's tenants, I think this has to be 1 of the larger malls in Bali if one is to do some shopping. After dinner, we walked back to MGH where I spent the remainder of the night hearing the phrase "We are going to crush them" said in a menacing tone at least 102 times while my CEB played his iphone game, oblivious to his wife's misery in the stark room.

We checked out about 6am the next day and while the staff at the counter took ages (to the extent that we just walked off after 7 mins of just standing there and waiting), there wasn't any problem with the checking out process at MGH (and how could there be if there was nothing worth taking from the room which had no fridge/mini-bar, safe or even hairdryer).

My CEB absolutely became my hero when he took me into the airport lounge with his premier card and we had a really nice breakfast of eggs, noodles and croissants before our flight out back home to Singapore.

Rise of Planet of the Apes (2011) Movie

Definitely 1 of the better movies around with a fast paced story line and good acting by primates and humans alike.:)

Ape alone weak, Apes together strong.

Well "said", Caesar.

Time to come home

This song has been playing in my head, or rather, just the very catchy opening lines:



In a matter of hours, I will be dragging my huge (and v likely "overweight") luggage once more across the tired concourse of the airport, presenting my huge (and most likely "overweight") self at the check-in counter, clearing customs and then boarding the plane back to Singapore. Despite my stated pref for an aisle seat, I've ended up with a middle seat this time. Bummer.

The novelty of travelling has quite worn off. Except for the month I got married, I've been away from home for a stretch of 5 days or more, once a month, since I joined this new company. Not that I am complaining about all the travel which has been such an eye-opener and an opportunity for growth. It is the hassle of getting to the airport, checking in and waiting around to board the plane which I have grown to dread. Add that to lugging around my laptop for work (thou shall never let the co's laptop be parted from oneself), a handbag and a suitcase that weighs a ton, travelling for work is a far cry from travelling for pleasure.

But since work can be combined with whatever little pleasure that one can afford, I almost extended my stay over the weekend at my own expense because of a very attractive hotel promotion I received in the email. I say almost because...

Me "Eh dear, I think this weekend I am not coming back"
My CEB (long silence)
Me "Sale still going on and there is a hotel promotion"
My CEB "Grrrrr"
Me (ignores my CEB)

1 day later
My CEB "Me sick...caught a cold"
Me "Okay, take care"
My CEB "When are you coming home to take care of your husband?"
Me (ignores my CEB)

And sometime later the same day
My CEB "My wife don't love me"
Me "Your wife loves you very much"
My CEB "Sick...need TLC"
Me "In short you want me to come back asap without extending right"
My CEB *grinz

Yes, my CEB is the Manja-King indeed :P
It is time to come home, and home is in this case, where the heart is.

46 and going strong

Happy 46th National Day, Singapore!



I'm in a foreign land working on what is a public holiday in Singapore. A public holiday to celebrate the day Singapore declared itself as an independent nation, a different country from this very same foreign land I am in.

And being here makes me so proud to be Singaporean, and so grateful to all the people who brought Singapore to where we are today. Long Live Singapore!

Madam Kwan's @ Suria KLCC

Many of my fellow countrymen have recommended that I have at least one meal at Madam Kwan and until the last trip, despite my frequently pausing before its restaurant's entrance, I've resisted having a meal at the restaurant because of its "zi cha" menu. Stuff like Otah, Nasi Lemak, Assam Prawns, all these I've eaten all too often, whether locally or in JB.

However, simply because we've never eaten at Madam Kwan before, we decided to join the crowd in the restaurant and have at least one meal there.

So we did. And a rather expensive and unremarkable affair it turned out to be. Good enough food but definitely overpriced given the quality and type of food served. I'll tell you how much the meal above turned out to be - RM111 - and the only item not shown is my longan drink which cost RM5. The nasi lemak was RM15+, the nasi bojari RM 22.90, kangkong (small) RM14.50 and the plate of assam prawns (large) was RM 37.50.

It was more than enough food for the both of us, and the food was decent enough without being extraordinary BUT I would definitely not recommend this restaurant to my fellow countrymen given the prices, unremarkable service and interior decor, and the type of food served.

Iketeru @ Hilton Hotel KL Sentral

At the recommendation of a friend who is a Jap-food lover and because we were staying at Meridien which is just next to, and conveniently connected to Hilton Hotel (they share the same swimming pools), my CEB and I decided to have dinner and lunch at Iketeru last month. My CEB had flown in on a Fri afternoon and was starving because he hadn't had a chance to grab a bite before his flight. However, the prices on the menu certainly gave pause to his appetite. And mine as well. As it was one of the rare times I was feeling healthy, I ordered the black cod from the teppenyaki menu. It came done excellently but the portion wasn't very much for RM50. I also ordered a plate of shitake mushrooms from the teppenyaki menu for us to share and that was amore reasonably priced at RM17. I would definitely recommend this delicious dish with its crisp garlic chips at the side. My CEB ordered the gyu katsu curry which he proclaimed delicious after a few mouthfuls. This again was reasonably priced (as compared to the rest of the menu) at just RM60. Even with the complimentary green tea (free flow), the bill for dinner came up to almost RM160. I don't think I'll be in a hurry to go back to Iketeru until I have deeper pockets!

The next day, we went back for the recommended Sunday buffet lunch and despite the cost RM131.10 per pax (inclusive of tax), the restaurant was pretty fully booked. Lunch started at 12 and ended about 2.30pm, and unlike the normal buffets where the food is laid out, most of the food had to be ordered off the menu alacarte style. There was quite a nice variety with teppenyaki, noodles, rice and even some soups on the menu. Sashimi on the other hand, as well as the makis had to be ordered from the chefs behind the glass-covered counters. From a websearch of the restaurant, it seems that Iketeru is one of the more famous Japanese restaurants in KL, and indeed the quality of each dish we had testifies to that. Do not expect quantity though (even for the buffets where each order means just enough and not in excess).

Eat Pray Love (2010) Movie

I finally got to watch the whole movie after buying the DVD eons ago. The book was widely popular in the bookstores then, and the movie came out shortly after but I hadn't made an effort to get either. Until my beloved ex-boss told me that she thought of me when she was reading the book, and recommended that I read it too.

So because my CEB wasn’t home early last night, I took the opportunity to pop the DVD in the player and catch the movie on my own. (My CEB hates this sort of movies). Briefly, JR’s character leaves her first marriage, a husband who loves her, to find herself. She then gets together with an aspiring actor, with whom she was wildly infatuated with, and then desperately and unhappily out of love. She goes to Italy to find herself, to do nothing but enjoy life. And then to India for spirituality and finally to Bali where she finds love again.

And I could relate to each of her relationships. Probably that is why my beloved ex-boss who knows me so well, thought of me when she read the book.

There is a scene where JR’s character said “The only thing more impossible than staying was leaving” as she realized the extent of her discontent and unhappiness with her husband and her marriage. Despite all the wonderful memories that they had, and the home they created together. And despite how much the husband still loved her as was evident when he refused to sign the divorce papers “I’ll wait for you…all I want is you”.

It reminded me of how I felt when I left men who had loved me– a combination of feeling just awful and guilty but still saying goodbye. Not to be true to myself, not to find myself, not just because I didn’t love them anymore, but because staying another day was unbearable and no matter how hard I tried and looked, I couldn’t see a future with them. The idea of waking up, coming home to, sleeping with them every single day and night of the rest of my life had become so abhorrent that I felt physically ill, mentally broken, spiritually desolate.

But like JR’s character, I need time to forgive myself. I doubt they have fully forgiven me either. Or rather, I know they have not forgiven or forgotten me. Esp the one whom I doubted loved me. It breaks my heart now to realize that all I do for my CEB out of love now, is what he had done for me all the time. And which I had thought as calculated acts to win my heart. Only now do I realize how very much effort he made, and how very much he had loved and cherished me. Something I could not ever reciprocate.

And if you asked me now, even without my CEB, what would I do with this realization, my answer would still be the same – I could never go back to a ruined relationship. You only cut your fingers picking up the broken pieces.

So, I want to end this post with a quote from the movie. "To have broken heart means you have tried for something.” I hope this comforts you as it had comforted me in some strange way.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Movie

The Slog Reviews: 3/10. It was that bad. The only good bits were what was in the trailer and nothing more. I didn't expect the ending though - that Capt A would only wake up 70 years later. Pretty sure there will be a sequel, and I've a hunch his love interest would somehow be "immortalized" as well.

The only thing in the movie that triggered some thoughts was the scene where Capt A was tested as a recruit - his superior threw a "grenade" among the squad members and Capt A was the only one who didn't duck/run for cover. Instead, he hugged the grenade to his chest and shouted for his team mates to take cover. That's courage, and as the bible goes, the man who is prepared to lay down/lose his life for his fellow men will be the one who has eternal life.

It also reminded me of some msn link that I'd read about a man who died of cancer recently and left letters to his two young children, asking them to have these 3 values which he believes will carry them far.

1) Integrity - Do what you say you will do. Don't lie - especially to yourself.

2) Moral Courage - Do what is right, even if you are hated/persecuted/octracised.

3) Loyalty - Be devoted, be faithful.

Lao Beijing @ Novena Square

Last Sunday, my mum suggested Lao Beijing because of a prior pleasant experience we had there before. The "8 Treasures" Tea (in Chinese, "Ba Bao Cha") we had for about SGD3 each was very sweet and refreshing, something I would recommend instead of the usual kind of teas like pu-er and ju-hua.

Because it was about 2.20pm when we reached there, we weren't quite so hungry any more and decided to order dim sum. But Lao Beijing doesn't have a dim sum menu at all. So we ordered the Xiao Long Bao which came in a basket of 8 for about SGD12. The Slog Reviews: No complaints at all about the quality or quantity. The skin was soft but firm, as was the meat but it isn't an exceptionally tasty dish.

We also decided to order another "dim-sum" like dish which was some bamboo shoots wrapped in the same skin as the xiao long bao. The Slog Reviews: These were far less tender and a bit dry compared to the xiao long bao dish. And, they were more expensive too. Definitely would not recommend this dish below over the xiao long baos!

My CEB was in the mood for toufu and he ordered the hot plate spicy beancurd with seafood which turned out to be a most excellent choice. The small scallops and shrimps in the dish went very well with the soft fresh quivering cubes of toufu, and the sauce was too die far. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Definitely would recommend this dish to anyone going to Lao Beijing!

1 of my ex-suitors had brought me to Lao Beijing for its duck dish and so I thought the braised duck would be a good choice but alas. It was the furthest thing from good. The Slog Reviews: 1/10. This half a duck below which cost SGD19 was a pure waste of money and was not only pathetic in quantity but quality. The meat was tough and tasteless, the skin too dry and the sauce horrible. To tell you the truth, I was embarrassed for Lao Beijing that a restaurant of its standing would actually serve such an awful tasting dish!

I would recommend the pork trotters dish instead which we had the last time (See pic below) - it was a million times better than the duck dish above!

We ended the meal with a plate of red bean sesame pancake per the pic below. Like the prior experience, it was very good and devoured quickly by both my CEB and my mother. :)

I would have really liked the mango and coconut mousse dessert that we had the last time but my CEB claims to hate mango and so we gave this dessert a miss. Which is a mistake because I actually have a craving for the same, just by looking at the picture below. The mango inside was sweet and soft and the crisp flaky coconut on the outside was a perfect complement.

Address: Velocity@Novena Square #02-11/12 238 Thomson Road Singapore 307683 Tel : +65 6358 4466

Shark Fin at Thai Village

Over lunch on Sunday, my mum had raved so much about the Shark Fin Soup she had at Thai Village @ Goodwood Park that my CEB decided that he would take me there to celebrate our 2nd Monthiversary.

So I checked out Thai Village Restaurant's webpage and there was a listing for a branch at Changi. However when I called the tel number, I was told it was a residential number. So I called Goodwood Park and the staff confirmed that the Changi branch was closed. So rather than try to make it to town, we decided to go to the one at Stadium Walk and I made reservations at 7.30pm.

We only got there at 8.15pm because the restaurant was not where it was listed on the webpage - Oasis building! It was actually located on the first floor of Kallang Leisure Park. When I called the restaurant at 7.45pm looking for directions, the staff confirmed the address was at Stadium Walk which was where Oasis Building is. It was most frustrating and I had a telecon with the US at 9pm which I had to postpone. Bah - Thai Village needs to update its webpage!

Anyway because I was busy on my BB trying to postpone my telecon call, I left it to my CEB to select the dishes and place our order. We started with a medium sized bowl of shark fin soup, the cost of which was about SGD90. As per the picture below, the size of the shark fin in the soup was rather sizable and the texture was amazingly soft and chewy against the mushy texture of the soup.

I have to confess that although the bowl of soup was meant to be shared, my CEB gave me the lion's share of the shark fin. This is the last time I will be eating shark fin though. Even though I am an avid angler, I don't like fishing for sport and thinking about the inhumane way sharks are killed just for their fins, which are in fact tasteless, makes me quite ill. So while I am grateful for my CEB's generosity this time, no more shark fin. The pic below marks the last bowl of shark fin I will be ordering.

My CEB also ordered a plate of roast duck breast at my request. The Slog Reviews: 10/10. This must be one of the best duck meat dishes I've ever had! The sauce was nothing to shout about, being too tangy but the meat...the meat! How tender and soft it was with just the right amount of seasoning and fats. A must try for all duck meat lovers!

My CEB had a strange craving for beancurd in XO sauce which turned out to be a really good choice because it was a simple dish yet tasty enough because of the sauce.

I think the bill for just these 3 dishes came up to about S$140 and it was worth every cent!

Le Meridien Hotel at KL

Less than a week after coming back from Joburg to be with my CEB, it was time to travel for work again. There was a difference this time though - my CEB decided to pack his bags and join me. Firstly because the plane journey was an hour only (as compared to more than 10hrs for Joburg) and secondly because this biz trip spanned the weekend.

I chose to stay at Le Meridien Hotel this time instead of The Westin again, and the long short of the experience is that despite the not-too-fabulous experience at The Westin the last time, I would still pick The Westin over Le Meridien for my next business trip. Although I was upgraded to a premier room with a stunning view per the picture below, the long short is that Le Meridien is a far less luxurious hotel than its sister hotel.

For starters, my corner premier room (and corners are supposed to be bigger no?) looked like this below - cozy and clean at best but nothing spacious or fancy like the deluxe room at The Westin.

The bathroom was not too bad though - one could double soak - soak in the bath tub and soak in the stunning view with a beer in hand. Toiletries provided were decent but not the kind that one would to take back home.

My CEB being the more easy going of us two was happy enough with Le Meridien because of its decent enough room and location. Being connected to KL Sentral (via the taxi area of the top most floor of KL Sentral building) means that it is really easy to get about KL if one is dependent on public transport. It cost just RM13 for us to take a cab from KL Sentral to Bukit Bintang (one has to buy a ticket at the budget taxi counter at Bukt Bintang), and less than RM2 each to take a train from KL Sentral to KLCC. There is also the option of walking about 10mins to the LRT station from KL Sentral to take the LRT around the Bukit Bintang area.

My CEB left earlier than I did and when I got back a couple of days later, there he was at the airport with a box of durian puffs in hand.I have to admit that I was very surprised - my CEB has always been rather against my eating durians because my voracious consumption ("once start can't stop") of the said fruit had been giving me nosebleeds. Since it couldn't be the case that my CEB wanted his (insert pet name) to keel over early, I figured out that it was my CEB's way of showing me some love :) As I said, he is King Unromantic, so little gestures like this one are all the more meaningful.

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Escape from harsh reality is easy when one loves books. I can see why this book was named best novel of the year (2005) by Times Magazine - I was sick when I started picking up and had intended to read till I got sleepy enough but instead, it was such an engaging page turner that I could not put the book down till I got to the very last page.

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. The book, written in the first narrative, is made for easy reading yet the author manages to convey and deal with many difficult issues from cloning to the angst of growing up and relationships with all its hopes, fulfilment and pain.

There are 3 main characters - Kathy, the character through whom the story is told, Tommy and Ruth. For a really good summary of the story, click here. All are clones who are expected to give donations and brought up in a house called Hailsham. There, they are encouraged to engage in artwork and poetry. Tommy and Ruth becomes a couple despite there being an unmistakable bond between Tommy and Kathy. This bond however remains that of friendship and respect and never does Kathy think of entering into a relationship with her close friend's (Ruth) boyfriend. Years later when their paths seperate, Kathy looks for Ruth to become her carer after Ruth's second donation which apparently did not go well. Before Ruth goes for her next donation, she apologises to Kathy for keeping her and Tommy apart. Kathy looks for Tommy and they become a couple but Tommy is scheduled for his fourth and final donation. Ruth urges them to look for the Madame at Hailsham where she believes Tommy can get a deferral if Kathy and Tommy can show they are in love. Ruth even convinces them that the artwork was used to gauge the depth of Kathy and Tommy's souls, and judge their true love. So filled with hope, Kathy and Tommy goes, but only to find out that Hailsham was a failed experiment to prove to the world that clones had souls - the artwork was used for that purpose but Madame did not managed to convince the world and starved of funding, Hailsham was closed and clones brought up in worse environments. Kathy asks Madame why she had tears in her eyes long ago when she watched Kathy hugging a pillow as if it were a baby and singing Never Let Me Go. Kathy thought that Madame had felt sorry for her knowing that Kathy would never have a baby, being a clone. Madame replied that she saw a child asking the old kinder world she knew never to let her go in face of a new and cruel world (using clones). I didn't understand the ending though - when Kathy and Tommy parted for the last time and Kathy saw a fence with all the things she lost washed up against them and Tommy now 1 of them. It was just sad, but significant in a way that needs to be explained to a denser mind. :P

I kind of liked the book in that...if 2 people are meant to be together, they will be, in the end. Even someone else trying to keep them apart can only succeed for some period of time. It isn't true love prevailing I think, I think it's fate, all written in the stars and somehow we will find our way back to the one we were meant to be with. The years in between (whether alone or someone else) aren't lost or wasted, but necessary as a lesson and experience.

It isn't the length of time we had or will have together that mattered, it is the quality of that time, the moments lived, to be had. :P

And on never letting a person go? There is nothing to stop a person from leaving - you can cage the body but never the heart, the mind, the soul, the spirit.

Downside to flying business class

One would have thought that there were none right?

WRONG - flying business class means I can't change flights to get back home 1 day earlier. Because there are just so many biz class seats compared to economy seats.

BAH. What a bad joke. I miss my CEB so very very much :( And now it looks like I have to stay one day more despite my boss giving the green light for me to go back 3 hours before this regional meeting ends.

Home is indeed where the heart is and I never ever thought I'll be happy to fly back to SG right after a working trip given how I've always extended as long as I could at my own expense to do some shopping or sightseeing.

I better do a better job of planning my Brazil trip which is coming up in slightly over 2 months. It's incredible how fast the weeks and months fly by!

Freezing in Joburg

The weather here has been bitterly cold the past few days and your truely is therefore not only jet-lagged from the time difference (South Africa is 6 hours behind Singapore time) but freezing. To the extent that I asked my HR if I could use my corporate credit card to exercise my winter clothes allowance here.

Now I've never gone ga-ga over winter clothes which are of the most part, bulky and not camera-friendly. However, while shopping at Sandton City Mall for something warm to wear, I found this most lovely and plush winter coat by Caterpillar. Not only is it camera-friendly with a most flattering cut, but it truely is the softest and most "plushy" item I've ever owned. Thank you (insert name of my co) for this!

I also found a pretty nice black sweater by Polo and together with the coat, the chill here is almost bearable. I say almost because I still can't wait to get back to sunny humid Singapore, nice coat or not. The cold is truely debilitating - one's mind is totally focused on how damn cold it is and how to keep just that little bit warmer. I'm so glad I'm not going for the safari after this trip!

Soul Surfer (2011) Movie

This movie was the first I watched on board the 10hr+ flight to Joburg. Unlike the previous trip to US (click here), I didn't enjoy the trip on SQ despite it being on biz class as well. Firstly, the biz class lounge at T2 was far more crowded and far less luxurious than the one at T3. Secondly, the seats of the aircraft were not the pale plushy ones but the dark blue ones which were not as comfortable. (The food was good though - the beef in the beef noodles was surprisingly tender.) However, I enjoyed Soul Surfer- its title is telling - this inspirational story (based on a true story) is about the courage and will of an individual to, with faith in God and in herself, rise above a crippling accident and embrace life. I think I have never choked up so many times or teared during a movie. I would rate the movie 10/10 easily and encourage anyone who has lost perspective, motivation, purpose and courage in life to take a couple of hours and watch Soul Surfer. Imagine a surfer, an athlete losing her left arm in a shark attack, the stump too short to attach a prosthetic arm. I'm not an athlete, and am guessing that you too do not depend on the condition of your body for a living. Yet neither of us would ever want to lose a limb. Imagine then what losing an arm means to an athlete whose field involves the use of all 4 limbs. And yet Bethany went back to surfing 1 month from the accident and competed competitively within a year. 

Because she had Faith, Perspective and Will. With these 3, as what she says "I don't need easy, I just need possible." Although in moments of utter frustration (of having 1 arm) she asked why God would allow this to happen to her, she never stopped believing in God, that God had plans for her and that something good would come out of the accident. This same faith led her to participate in a mission trip to Thailand after the tsunami and this trip was the turning point for her. She realised she had lost an arm but she had more than these pp had - they had lost loved ones, some, their entire families, and their home and possessions. And that was when she decided to embrace life to the fullest despite her own loss - and it wasn't just a decision - she devoted hours to training and conditioning her body so she would be in the best possible form to compete. 

 Indeed in life, often what we think is our greatest loss or defeat is just an opportunity for God to give us more, give us better. And what differentiates a winner from a loser is nothing more than having the will and determination to hang in there, or rather, get back up when knocked down. Since I am in Africa, I will end with a fitting quote from the movie Invictus where Nelson Mandela says "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul".

Big Eater

In case you thought that this blog has gone off on a "domestic" tangent altogether, I thought I'll write about a pretty good crab restaurant that my CEB and I chanced upon a couple of weeks ago. Or rather, one that my CEB had heard about and thought would satisfy his peckish wife who was demanding to go to somewhere different for dinner instead of the usual haunts.

The name of the restaurant sounded pretty awful - like a direct translation of a pretty decent Chinese word/phrase to English without thought to how it would turn out in a different language. And the location of the restaurant, near some large factory building and among a row of shophouses with extremely limited parking (we had to park at the back of the restaurant at the residential area) wasn't the most, well, asthetically pleasing.

All that aside, we had a good enough experience there which prompted talk of going back for a second time. As per the pic above, the restaurant menu has a page devoted to listing just its specialities to make for easy ordering.

My CEB ordered the Hokkien Noodles which turned out to be unlike the yellow/white noodles that we were expecting. While the dish was not easy on the eye - coiled wet worm-like noodles heaped in very dark looking liquid, the aroma wafting from the dish sent both of us digging in without second thoughts. We agreed this dish was yummy - not too salty despite the sauce, but tasty and wet as good hokkien mee should be. I would definitely recommend this dish to folks going to the restaurant.

I was debating between 2 of the chef's recommendation - the Claypot Herbal Mutton or the salted egg crabs. My CEB was pretty firm about not trying the latter, having had an unpleasant experience at another restaurant before with this dish but when the server told us they were out of the mutton soup, my CEB surprised me by ordering a crab cooked in salted egg (My CEB seems to be less fixed in his ways and more open to trying, and to giving in since the EE course).

The Slog Reviews: The salted egg crab was not the least bit too salty and the dressing (salted egg) surprisingly did not detract from the sweetness of the crab which was as fresh and "meat-packed" as the one we had in Malacca. This dish was extremely well done - the salted flavor of the sauce was a subtle contrast and brought out the full flavor of thecrab's natural flavor. A must try!

The total bill came to about SGD50+ for the noodles and the crab (abt 900gm) which was lower than what we had expected (too much of eating in Malaysia I guess!).

Address: No. 34 Jalan Pari Burong (Upper Changi Road) Singapore 488700.
Tel: +65 6245-7268