After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

I haven't written for a week since the last post because I pretty much lost the inspiration/will to get up in the morning, much less blog or write. No prizes for guessing why - I am the champion of wallowing - I could hit rock bottom and scrabble for some time there instead of bouncing up.

A friend of mine who had met my CEB told me to go hang out with my CEB because that "Bag of Nonsense" would make me laugh again. And indeed, despite my best efforts to bemoan my current situation, my CEB cheered me up considerably in no time at all, enough for me to burst out laughing even. We also went to Kong Kong Taison Seafood Restoran and needless to say, the RMB164 meal revived my spirits. Nothing to put a person in a better mood than food! We had 2 large crabs (more than 1 kg each) cooked in 2 different styles

Chilli sauce:


Black pepper:

And for once, we were allowed to sit in the air-conditioned area because we had breached the RM150 mark with all that food - crabs, lala and kangkong

After lunch, it was off to his favourite hotel in JB and despite us vowing not to have dinner at all after all the "pigging-out", we ended up driving out still about 8.30pm, at his behest, to have porridge at Tang Shifu at Sutera Mall. I wanted something different so I ordered the Shi Quan Mee Suah with Ginseng and Fish Maw (RM 16.90) and that, was pretty good!

Because they forgot his order, we waited a full half hour more for the food to be served, and by that time it was too late to get my craving for the white chocolate macademia nut cake fulfilled. Believe it or not, Secret Recipe would not sell me any cakes at 9.50pm on a Sat night because they said the cashier had gone home. So, we decided to head back and when we tried to start the engine, we found the batt was flat. I'm not kidding. There we were in an open-air carpark in a foreign land (without the same standard of public transportation as SG) with a car that wouldn't start. And oh yeah, it was raining to boot. My CEB found a guy who had the one of those jump-start cables but the cables were too weak (wrong voltage). Thankfully my CEB had the presence of mind to run into Carrefour just when they were closing and buy a pair of jump-start cables with the right voltage. The next morning, I was praying that somehow the batt would start up but no such luck. And, the brand new cables didnt work - the car batt was so low that the usual beep sound when I click the unlock doors button didn't even sound! I suggested asking the hotel for help and one of the staff found a cab driver who drove over and using that same set of cables, he managed to jump start my car by pulling on the trottle bit of the old cab's engine. Apparently the cables didn't work with the first two cars we tried with because the air con in the cars were turned on while they were revving the engine. After that, I drove to the Autobac place and paid RM250 for the battery to be replaced - it was a particularly nasty experience, esp when the batt first went flat in the night - but I think that my CEB and I are getting slightly better at handing stressful situations together after laying down some basic ground rules.

So when I read the book After Ever After a few nights ago , a book which was obviously meant for a different target audience (teens), one part of the book stuck with me. Ok, context first - the book is told through the eys of a young teen who is a cancer survivor (Jeff). Jeff has a best friend at school who isnt past the 5 year mark for cancer (Tad). When Tad has a relapse (and yes, he eventually dies), Jeff beats himself up for it and his school's guidance teacher asks him for his application form. Jeff is suitably puzzled (as was I). The teacher explains that the application form is the one he filled up to get cancer. Obviously there isn't such a form. The teacher then explains to Jeff that one doesn't always get to choose the cards one is dealt with by a higher power - one just has to play one's cards as best as one can, even if one is dealt a lousy hand. (As my friend, The Slug (not The Slog, mind!) would say "Go down fighting always rather than roll over and show your belly").

So this timely reminder that life is indeed a series of accidents and choices (both of which can be either good or bad), together with my CEB and my beloved boss's advice/plan, has set me right back up on my feet again instead of scrabbling at rock bottom. :)

I am The Slog, hear me roar...:D

Day 3 at Langkawi on 5 November 2010 (Eagle Square at Langkawi)

As I'd said in my earlier post, the advert of Eagle Square was the reason for us flying from Penang to Langkawi and so we decided to drop by Dataran Lang located just opposite Langkawi Fair (which incidentally is not worth visiting as a shopping center) while at Kuah Town. My CEB was worried about getting a fine for parking at those lots which require a coupon (which of course, were not provided in the rented car) but we figured that we would just take the risk anyway. Thankfully the sun wasn't out in full force so walking across the square to get to the Eagle statue wasn't too painful an exercise.

A tablet at the entrance of the Square (or rather, the long walk) explains to those who bother to read, that Langkawi means reddish brown eagle. The tablet also states that the majestic statue is strategically placed to welcome visitors to the island. And I have to agree that the statue really does look rather majestic and makes for a good couple of shots.

However, other than taking various shots of the statue, and avoiding a man soliciting tourists to take pictures with one of the snakes around his neck, there is nothing else to do at Eagle Square. Unless taking in the views of the jetty and sea counts (see pic below).

Nonetheless, if one has a spare bit of time in Langkawi and is at the Kuah Town area in a rented car, I would say that Eagle Square is worth a visit at least for some photos. (I especially like the shot of the Eagle Statue I took below heh) The Kuah Ferry Terminal is within walking distance from Eagle Square and there are several shops at Jetty Point (like Watsons, Guardian etc).

There is also a garden, called Lagenda Park on the other side of the statue...according to a similar looking tablet, this is a 20hectare landscaped theme park which stretches from the jetty to Kuah Town. The weather had gotten rather hot and I am not into horticulture so we gave that a miss.

Day 3 in Langkawi on 5 November 2010 (Temurun Waterfall)

The Datai gave us a late checkout on the last day of our stay there which gave us only a couple of hours in the evening before dinner to visit an attraction in Langkawi.

So we decided to make a stop at Temurun Waterfalls. Temurun Waterfalls is allegedly (that is what 1 of the signboards there says but I'm not too sure about the truth of that) the highest man-made waterfall in Asia and is located along the road to the Datai, about a 15min drive from Taman Buaya in the direction of the Datai Bay.

There is a relatively small parking area (for about 5 cars max) near the entrance to the waterfall but one would do well to keep the doors of one's cars securely locked, and the windows wound tightly because of the fearless monkeys around! If one minds having monkey prints over one's windscreen or having to shoo a bold monkey off one's car, then it is worth the trouble of parking on the opposite side of the road instead (near the wooden hut in the pic below).

As I said, there are loads of monkeys at the Datai Area. Within mins of walking along the trail to the waterfall, we were treated to a display of monkey business per the pic below.

There were various signboards in English around the attraction, like the one below. 1 of them claimed that the water had healing properties...but this is strongly doubt given the lack of pp queuing to bathe in or take home bottles of water from the falls.

One must be warned that the path up to the waterfall can be treacherous and one would do well to hold tight to the handrails. The steps are uneven, high and haphazardly placed. It is certainly not advisable for the very young, very old or those carrying infants to navigate the steps up the the highest point which is where the yellow hut is in the pic below. And there is even less reason for one to climb those steps if one is into taking photos because the magnificence of the watefall is best viewed from its base as per my pic taken below.

However if one insists, and one is bent on having a dip at the very base of the waterfall, then one would be treated to a view similar to that in my picture below. One should also note the treacherous steps I'd talked about on the right of the picture.

There were surprisingly few tourists at the waterfalls - only one group of 3 actually who had a local friend so I would think this attraction is one of those that should only be visited if one has absolutely nothing else to do in Langkawi.

Day 2 in Langkawi on 4 November 2010 (Nasi Haji Kandar and Wonderland Seafood Restaurant)

Having seen the crowds there while eating at GLK restaurant the last trip (click here), and having read so many good reviews about the plc, we decided to have dinner at Wonderland (despite the rave experience I had at GLK).

As I'd forgotten the location of the restaurant, we stopped to ask for directions at the petrol station at Kuah Town. The pump attendant didn't know where it was but a very friendly Malay chappie on a spanking new BMW motorbike did, and also suggested that we try out the nasi kandar at this Malay coffeeshop nearby called Nasi Haji Kandar. The coffeeshop is easy enough to spot, being near the traffic junction and having a prominent signboard. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. Maybe we were starving, but in any case, my CEB proclaimed that this was one of the best nasi kandars he ever had. I thought it was pretty good grub BUT I thought that RM16 for our meal (see below) and a diet coke was a bit of a rip off - that's almost SG price or more like, tourist price. It's hard to conceive the locals having to pay that amount for such a simple meal. In any case, the coffeeshop was pretty packed, even at 4pm in the evening.

Now, I wish to set the record straight about Wonderland at Langkawi, even if the rest of the world may disagree. Wonderland sucks big time. It doesn't deserve the reputation that it has the least. I'm not talking about the service which was just slightly below mediocre, but about the entire experience there. The Slog Reviews: 3/10. Go spend your money at GLK which is just next door. Y?

We were the second group of customers at Wonderland (about 6pm) and although there were some staff standing around, none made the effort to show us to a table or make us feel welcome. So we took an empty table under the fan, waited a good ten mins for the lone server who was taking the orders from the first group to come over, and well, waited some more because she never came over to give us the menus after she was done with the first group. I had to get up, go the kitchen (where the rest of the staff who were equally customer-oriented NOT ignored me) and ask her to switch on the fan and give us the menus. As I didn't want any spit or dirt in my food, my tone was polite (despite my first negative impression of the place) and she came over in a bit with the menu, quite apologetic about the delay.

As I do not eat oyster or squid, our seafood options were limited to fish, prawns, crabs and clams. And being a fisherman, I'm pretty adverse to having pay for fish that has been dead for a while since my own catch is always fresh and tastiest heh. (Wonderland does not have ANY fresh seafood at all - no tanks of lively prawns/fishes or struggling bound-up crabs). So we asked for crabs and were told they only had soft shell crab. Eeks. I asked if I could order crabs from GLK to bring over and the server was okay with that but sadly, GLK was out of crabs too. Crap. So we ordered lala and were told that they didn't have any of that either. So it was down to just prawns and fish. My CEB ordered assam prawns at the server's recommendation and kangkong per the pic below. The Slog Reviews: 5/10. Both veg and prawns were disappointingly mediocre and bland. The assam prawns tasted nothing like the ones I always have at this restaurant in Muar (click here), being cooked in a thick soy like sauce. Eeks.

My CEB also ordered a red snapper. The Slog Reviews: 5/10. We had the fish steamed per the server's recommendation and the result = a waste of a good fish. The meat was tender and fresh (as fresh can be for a fish dead and kept in a freezer) but the cooking was so bad that there was hardly enough gravy to go over the flesh and sauce was not absorbed by the fish meat. Disappointing.

And so, that's our RM60 first and last time experience at Wonderland food store at Langkawi. If you want good FRESH seafood in Langkawi that doesn't include oysters and squid, this restaurant is definitely not the place to go to.

Day 2 in Langkawi on 4 November 2010 - (Oriental Village, Langkawi Cable Car and The Datai Resort)

I'd raved about the Langkawi Cable Car and Sky Bridge attraction when I was there in Feb this year (click here) and needless to say, that was the first place my CEB and I visited the next day after breakfast. I've written enough about the Langkawi Cable Car which is located within the Oriental Village so I'll just review the latter. The Slog Reviews: 5/10 as a tourist attraction. Although there are many shops within the compound, a large majority of them sell nothing but overpriced touristy stuff (think fridge magnets, cheap clothing, mineral water). Despite its cheerful appearance (see pic below), I wouldn't advise anyone to waste more than a couple of hours of one's precious holiday time in Langkawi walking about the Oriental Village.

Unlike my previous visit, the sky was overcast (see pic below) because it was the monsoon season and I was disappointed that my CEB did not manage to catch the amazing blend of the bright blue sky and the sparkling blue sea. However, we had a really great time together climbing down to and up from the sky bridge (as I might have said before, one should put on a good pair of track shoes and be in decent physical shape as the climb up may be challenging). We also climbed the steps to the two highest points of the Cable Car attraction, which unfortunately offered pretty much the same view as from the sky bridge. Asit was rather cloudy, we sat and waited for about half an hour to see if the wind would blow the clouds further out. And true enough, the sky cleared....somewhat...for us to take a photo.One thing I should mention though is that although this attraction is a must-go at least once when one is in Langkawi, one needs to note that one is not allowed to carry one's bottled waters past the entrance turnstiles. The only reason I can think of for this strange rule (given how hot the weather is at Langkawi and a cable car isn't really an aircraft) is that the attraction's owners are seeking to hold tourists hostage to the ridiculously priced drinks sold at the various stations near the top. And talk about being held hostage brings me to the next part of my entry - a review of our stay at The Datai, Langkawi (click here for the hotel's homepage). We had read some really good reviews of the hotel which is currently rated as the #2 hotel in Langkawi on Tripadvisor and since the price of a deluxe room at The Datai is about the same as that for a room at our local six star hotel Capella where I'd stayed last year, I had moderately high expectations for our stay at The Datai and it certainly measured up. Right from the moment we parked our rented Nissan Latio and walked to the lobby (see pic above), we were ushered to seats overlooking the adults only pool, given two cool face towels and served cool juices in those tall glasses complete with a flower. No standing in line at the reception or even having to stand at a counter to register. The staff took our passports and credit card from us to process at a separate section while we enjoyed the view and the drinks. After registration was complete, a friendly staff took us to our room in the West Wing. The staff also showed us the facilities in the room and told us abt the various popular activities that The Datai offers - the culinary cooking class (at RM180 per pax) and the complimentary morning and evening guided walks through the rainforest that surrounds The Datai. A very useful print out of the Things to Do in Langkawi can be found in one of the table drawers. Here are a couple of pics of our room.

In the cupboard near the left of the windows is the mini-bar and in the cupboard near the right is the safe. We had a rainforest view and were advised by the staff to keep the windows shut at all times so that the monkeys in the rainforest would not be able to get into the room and wreck havoc! The balcony outside the windows was clean but the thought of monkeys and mosquitoes quite detered me from sitting there to enjoy the sounds and sight of the rainforest. The toilet was extremely spacious with a rain shower area, a WC area and a large bathtub. Separate sinks for him and her, as well as separate wardrobes behind each sink. Very nice! What I liked more than anything else though about The Datai (including the complimentary juices and soft drinks available in the mini bar) was the quality of toiletries provided - Molton Brown shampoo, condition, bath gel and body lotion! We went for a stroll at The Datai's private (stretch of) beach and I have to say that the hotel puts a great deal of effort keeping its beach clean! No litter at all, and lots of beach chairs strategically placed for one to enjoy a view of the ocean/hear the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach. The children/family pool is located at the beach level and seems rather basic and unimpressive for a hotel like The Datai (see pic below) - I would have expected at least a waterslide. Maybe The Datai's target crowd isn't families with young kids. One can either call for a buggy at the lobby to take one to the beach or walk the 10min way down several flight of stairs (not recommended for the elderly and weak) and through the rain-forest. The same options apply for getting back to the hotel. For us, we took the buggy to the beach as it was still drizzling and walked back up the path to the hotel. The walk took us through the rainforest and past some of the villas, the Datai's spa and a little creek. Thankfully we didn't spot any monkeys (the Datai area seems to be teaming with them). The Slog Reviews of The Datai: 9.5/10 for luxury and comfort but 5/10 for location esp if one is into visiting attractions and popular restaurants. Definitely rent a car from the airport or even town, if one is going to stay at the Datai given its location and exorbitant car rental prices (RM280 for a 24hr rental of a Myvi from the hotel). As for internet connection, there is free wifi throughout the hotel but the signal at our room was really weak and we kept geting disconnected. The American buffet breakfast for one person at The Datai is RM96++ and so we decided to put our rental car to good use and have our daily breakfast at The Loaf instead. The Loaf which opens at 8am daily has a breakfast menu and a breakfast set is approximately RM30+ per pax. However, one also has the option of selecting the bread items that one wants from the wide spread available. And that is what we did. The friendly staff at The Loaf who recognised us from last night's dinner, cut the various pieces of bread nicely and served them on a plate to us. My CEB was aghast though that all that bread cost RM30 but well, as I said in my earlier entry, at The Loaf, one pays a price for the ambiance and service.

Day 1 in Langkawi on 3 November 2010 (Penang Airport, flying in from Penang, Car Rental and The Loaf)

I never thought I would return to Langkawi again this year after having been there in Feb this year for 4 days. The tickets which we had purchased for this trip were for Penang but my CEB suggested going to Langkawi for a few days because the advert for Eagle Square at Langkawi on the back of one of our local buses had caught his eye. So just a couple of weeks before the trip, I checked airasia, mas and firefly for the available flights and flight timings and there happened to be some sort of a promo for return tickets (penang-langkawi) on firefly at RM150 per pax (inclusive of taxes) which was pretty reasonable. So here's to my first time boarding a propeller plane.
At Langkawi airport, we headed for the car rental counter which I'd used the last time. The idea was to rent the Mitsubishi Colt again at RM 90 per day for 2 and a 1/2 days (RM225) but we were told that it had already been rented out. Also, they claimed that this was the high season because of the public holiday (Deepavali) and tried to charge us an arm and leg (RM180 per day for a vios). After some hard bargaining (well, bargaining as best as I could in my elementary Malay hah!), we got to drive away a less than one year old Nissan Latio at RM300. What irked me though was that the petrol tank was almost empty and our first stop had to be a petrol kiosk. After filling up, we went for dinner at The Loaf (see my previous entry here) as we were in a rather celebratory mood (the 3rd of Nov (or thereabouts) marks our 4th month together). My CEB was in the mood for beef and he ordered the medium rare beef flank (RM52):

The Slog Reviews: 7/10. My CEB who loves his beef raw enjoyed the meal thoroughly. He said it reminded him of the beef he had in France regularly when he was there for work. However, I who like my beef medium-welldone felt that the beef was far too raw and rubbery for my liking. So I guess whether one feels the RM55 for the dish above is well spent would be highly dependent on how one likes one's beef. Oh, and the two buns on the plate are the complimentary starters (bread) that The Loaf serves.

As for myself, I ordered what I had the last time - the smoked salmon twist (RM34) in soy sauce. I'd reviewed it as 9/10 before and the dish this time round didn't disappoint in terms of presentation or taste.

We also ordered a couple of cheesecakes from the considerable variety available for our dessert. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. The cheesecakes are too sweet and even the nutty one tastes like rock sugar instead of nuts. Only for those who love sinfully rich cakes.

My CEB who was seeing The Loaf through a fresh pair of eyes liked the place considerably for its ambiance. There is of course, a price to pay for the ambiance but I would recommend the restaurant if one is looking to have a nice dinner in Langkawi. Not a perfectly romantic place but decent enough if one is with a date. There is a selection of wine available at the restaurant and the service staff are courteous and able to communicate fluently in English. There are many other restarants located at Telega Harbor at Pantai Kok but all of them appeared to be bereth of guests as opposed to The Loaf. So if one has just time for one dinner at Telega Harbor, and one wants to be safe than sorry, this is the place to eat. Click here for the full menu.

Death Mask by Graham Masterton

I've just completed yet another horror novel, and by one of my favourite authors, Graham Masteron. I've never forgotten his first novel, Tengu, which I read in my teens (oh dear, and where did time go?) and reading Death Mask made me recall how good Graham is at writing novels with lots of random senseless violence.

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. Death Mask is about a woman who is sodemised against her will with a vodka bottle by a man who takes a fancy to her at a conference. The man who appears to be remoseless about what he has done to her, sends her flowers every week with a note referring to what he had done to her. One day, she kills him by slashing him to death in an elevator with a knife and then sticks the knife into the gap between the elevator doors so as to inflict deep slash wounds on herself. She tells the police that a red faced man with slits for eyes was the assailant and the police engage a sketch artist to draw a pic of the so called assailant based on the description. Little do they know that the sketch artist is experiening a phenomenon where things she draws come to life because of a ring by Van Gogh hung on a necklace around her neck that she bought from some flea market. So when she draws the picture of the assailant, the picture does come to life, borne of the spirit of the sodomised woman's vengeance and commits mass murder of men, women and children all around the city using two choppers. The sketch artist eventually manages to put an end to this unnatural creature by drawing (and therefore bringing to life) a picture of her late father in law who was a superb detective. A horror novel that is a good bedtime read.

Day 3 at Langkawi - Before the flight back to Penang - thots on the blackberry

5.26am now and I can't sleep on our last night (or should I say morning) here in Langkawi. Our flight back to Penang is about 9am and we have to return the rented car by 830am at the airport. The alarm on my blackberry is set for 615am so I guess I have all of the next 45mins to write this before my CEB wakes.

This time I am writing here using my sony ericsson w950 webbrowser function because his netbook has run out of power. And unlike in Bangkok where entering an entry was a breeze because I had been using this phone exclusively, I am having problems with the cursor button and keypad functions because of my recent intensive use of the blackberry. Speaking of which my CEB has mentioned more than a couple of times during the past couple of days tt he is going to ask my boss to take the blackberry back because I am giving it more attention than him. Ok I kinda made tt last bit up but I think tt tt is the real reason, and not as he claims, tt he does not want to see me working on a holiday.

That being said I have to admit tt carrying around 3 mobile devices this holiday has been quite a hassle but I can't load my blog/ blogger or take nice pics on my blackberry and I can't access my office email through my sony ericsson. The other phone, a nokia is used for the prepaid sim card which is an infinitely cheaper option to msg or make calls with when in Msia/Thailand.

I suppose for future holidays what I could do is to divert all incoming calls and sms to the blackberry since under the plan the co bought, all incoming calls are free. And then I'll use the prepaid sim card on the sony ericsson to call/msg back. This would mean just carrying 2 phones like I do now in SG. Okay, now that I've typed this out and sorted out the arrangement I feel more at ease.

Time to start packing for the flight back to Penang.

Lure Fishing at Boon Mar and Bait Fishing at BSR (again)

When I went to Bangkok (BKK) last year with my mum, we enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to repeat the experience again this year. So off we went on a Wed night till late Sun night end Oct for a "Mother-Daughter fishing, eating, shopping cum beauty" trip. Boosted my experience lure fishing in Langkawi (which I will be flying off to tomorrow!), I decided to go to Boon Mar pond which stocks exclusively, barramundis (Barras), also known as Sea Bass or Kim Bak Lor (Kims). Boon Mar is located 80km east of Bangkok in the Bangpakong district of the Chachoengsao province and we took about 40mins to get there from a hotel near the airport area. The air there is amazingly fresh given the country side location of the pond but the amenities provided at Boon Mar are horrifyingly basic. It might therefore not be a good idea to bring non anglers or ladies to Boon Mar - the toilet is located in a shack which is a good 10 mins walk (on a dirt path) from the fishing pond and the only shade/shelter at the ponds is a couple of umbrellas on rickety stands. Fortunately it didn't rain (or shine too brightly) and neither mum nor I had to use the toilet at all. I started out with a yellow bright surface minnow lure. After two or three casts, I got my first hook up at Boon Mar, a 2+kg Kim 

The next 4-5 cast netted nothing and the wind was blowing rather strongly which meant that the lure did not land where I had aimed. So I changed to a heavier lure, also a surface one with the all too familiar red and white body. Cast, retrieve, cast retrieve, and then TUG! Next fish on put up a bit more fight but given its size, it was no match against The Slog or rather, a 3olb leader hehe. Pic below of the second Kim. Because I knew that the pond was full of nothing but Barras (Kims), the only one variable which I could play with (without changing line poundage or reel) was the type of lure I used. So I decided to change lure every two barras. After the third barra on the red and white surface action lure, I changed to a green diving action lure with slow motion retrieve. I didn't have much faith in this lure at first but green is my favourite (and lucky) color so I figured why not. And it turned out that I never changed any more lures after using this one. I landed the second biggest Kim of this trip on the first cast. And then it was Kim and more Kim. It got to the point where I didn't mind failing to land two kims becaused they had tossed the hook. Kims put up a pretty good fight when snagged...that is what makes barras good fighting fishes. Unlike Pacus which jerk and try to break the line, groupers which dart down to make for its holes, and stupid catfishes which make long runs (for structures etc), Kims actually surface from the water shaking their entire body to dislodge the hook from their mouths. However, even if one failed to set the hook properly (which I have never forgotten to do since I lost that fishing competition in KK last year), a greedy Kim which takes the entire lure like this one below, is a goner. Talk about deep throat.

Anyway, between 9am to 11.30am, I landed 12 Kims, lost about 4 and got pretty bored/tired of fishing Kims. Variety is really the spice of life. Pic below shows the final and largest Kim I caught at Boon Mar estimated to be about 4-5Kg. Oh yes, one more important thing about going to Boon Mar - wear covered sandals. See my sandals above? Those are NOT good for going to Boon Mar with. I got at least 4 huge insect bites, 2 of which caused my right big toe to swell up and make walking difficult. After I sprayed insect repellant, I still got 3 huge mosquito bites. I don't know how true it is that certain blood types are more prone to mosquito bites but it seems that I get more bites that my CEB every time, and this time, more than my mum too!

Well, as I said, it got really boring hooking up Kim after Kim and I decided to go to Bungsamran (BSR) in the afternoon after lunch to relive last year's thrill of reeling in large mekong catfishes. Sadly and unfortunately, after having landed a 35kg catfish last year, nothing I caught this trip compared or gave me the same buzz. There is no way one can use light tackle at BSR because some of the catfishes there are over 100kg and you never know which fish may take your line (the minimum/standard reel is 6000 unless you are prepared to run the risk of your expensive/treasured reel breaking if you catch a large one). On hindsight, maybe I should have just gone for even lighter tackle at Boon Mar to up the thrill of catching Kims but oh well. Pic below shows No 6 of the 6 catfishes I caught at BSR in the space of almost 3 hours. And I think it is time to hit the gym again - didn't have the stamina I had last year...meh.

After fishing, mum and I went for dinner at the Thai restaurant on the second floor of Ploenchit Shopping Center. The food there is pretty steep for BKK standards but the crispy fish and prawn ball appetisers are superb. However, although I wouldn't say this is a Must-Eat-At restaurant in BKK, it sure beats the other alternatives at the basement of the shopping center.

And oh yes, even if BKK is no longer good for pond fishing (at least for me), there is always good food and one should try out the immensely popular local Jap restaurant. Zen is higher end than Fuji but Fuji is so reasonably priced with a huge variety of Jap food that it is worth a visit at least once when one is in Thailand. We had Fuji twice when we were in Phuket, my CEB and me, and this time in BKK, I had Fuji twice too. Below is a pic of just some of the many food items on Fuji's menu.

Blackberry Bold 9700 Smartphone

"Christmas came early for me this year huh"...that was the first thing I said to my beloved boss when I got this yesterday because of her (requested for on an urgent basis at that). The next thing was "Thank you" of course!

Having a smartphone with unlimited data usage along with a company line would have come in really useful last year when I was shuttling between China,HKG and SG for the China project, and also working insane hours at times. I remember having to borrow my colleagues' blackberry(s) to make urgent phone calls back to my boss most of the time. That, or present my private phone bill to be reimbursed, both of which was a inconvenience and hassle. Not to mention having to check my work mail from home most nights just to be ready for the next day. However, I assumed that I wasn't given a phone or company line last year (despite the promotion in July then) because of my level (even legal counsels have grades/ranks in a company) - afterall, my colleagues on the project were all deputy directors at least (hence, the entitlement to a phone).

So when I got the phone yesterday I assumed it was due to the promotion this year to my current grade but when I tried to add some colleagues of the same grade, I could not find them. A call confirmed that the grade/rank isn't what determines whether one is given a smart phone, company line and data plan.

This can only mean one thing. Put together with all the other nuggets of information/hints dropped along the way, I am pretty sure of it. And this holiday-filled, happy-go-where-I-please life of mine looks like it may well come to an end. Oh well, Merci Boss (if you are reading this) - you have my word (now written even!) that I am your woman to the end. Nothing but my 110% for the projects we are going to do together!