So much for 31 July. I must have only slacked on Monday. When Tuesday rolled around, I was back in full force. I did not even have time for yoga, just clocking in one weekday session on Tuesday. I had meeting after meeting on Thursday and Friday, burning me out. Thursday was the crabby dinner in which 9 of us shared 6 crabs. It was a remarkable feast that should e repeated perhaps on a weekend night so that we have more time and perhaps I have more energy to be sociable. Sharonie’s last day at the work bee hive was a quiet affair as half the office was on leave, TOIL and even the usual MC and FC. She fed us Donut Factory donuts. We will miss her dearly. But of course she knows that so we will not indulge her that much yet. Saturday was Hot 1 with C and then work and running to see the fireworks around One Raffles Quay. I have not ran for a long time. Surprisingly, we went in around 4 something and time flew so fast that before I knew it, it was 9 something and I had to leave though I still had so much work undone.

Our dear dear Chiam informed me that she would be returning to our little island soon. I am so so so so so excited. I miss her so so so so so much.

So I am in Phuket. I was up last night last minute packing until 3am. As usual, I brought the most unnecessary items but it is my holiday and I bring whatever I want to. Random items include a yoga mat, The Laney’s mac book (to watch yoga podcasts on and there is wifi here, that is how I am blogging), pretty much that, the rest are essential. Like my Nitendo DS Lite, a mat (to lie on), 3 bikinis, my new hat (which I wore on the plane ride here), 5 magazines and 1 book (I read like a speeding bullet), a toiletry train case full of liquids (some not necessary) and my new Eastpak backpack. Heh.

The plane ride was surprisingly quick, though we sat in the row before the emergency exit which resulted in non reclining seats (that is SO Wrong). The dude that met us outside the airport spoke very good Mandarin but I was not as impressed by him as I was with the Korean tour guides who spoke mainland Chinese equivalent Mandarin because he keep trying to sell us the tours when all I wanted was to look outside the window in peace.

The resort Budasari is really unexpectedly luxurious (C did tell me about it, having stayed here 2 times previously). Nothing can beat Banyan Tree of course but this really comes in a good second, even beating the J.W. Marriott in Bangkok though the Bangkok one was not a resort. The bed is remarkably Big which is very good and the shower though not separate from the bathtub (that is how I rate hotels) has a rain shower head which is aligned to spa-like. There are rooms that have a little patio outside which opens into the pool which provides for easy lounging by the pool but not much privacy. Which is still very cool nevertheless and makes me wish we were staying in one.

We walked around Patong Beach after figuring out the safe deposit box (one instruction was missed out and we had to trial and error). This place is unlike Krabi, with Krabi being more peaceful and not so shark like touristy. Though I do like this place because there is all sorts of angmoh food (my love) and Thai food is like practically rare. We did manage to find a roadside stall that sold noodles. My bowl of pork ball, char siew and unidentified fish cake things with glass beehoon was yum yum in my tum tum. The soup had delicious garlic.

We followed that with a walk to this HUGE shopping mall called ….. er, I forget. Anyway, it had Carrefour inside so of course being ME, we went to get Thai Junk food (i.e. Thai flavoured Lays that you can only find in Thailand, Thai Cheetos, Thai Glico products). I Love Thailand for the pure fact that I can buy like 8 packets of various junk food and one bottle of water for 195 Baht. Part of Heaven should be like that.

We walked back and I wanted to eat again so we found another roadside stall. I ordered Phad Thai and was presented with those glass bee hoon instead of my favoured glass noodles (flat one). However, they gave little tiny prawns that The Laney likes. You can see the tiny eyes on them, I think it is akin to eating little aliens. But yummy ones. The peanuts were not finely diced but Whole Ground Nuts. Abit weird. We ordered Tom Yum Goong (spelling), they gave us this ambiguous soup thing with green vegetables, egg tofu and tang hoon, obviously NOT Tom Yum. I was quite disappointed.

We will go into the sun tomorrow to bake. I hope I last. A golden tan would be nice. Selftanners are too difficult for my little mind to work.

The heaviest thing in my suitcase when I travel is my toiletry bag. Which is pretty ironic because I do not wear any make up. Must be the Contact Lens Solution and all that saline that I have to lug around. Awful four eyes.

For the past few trips, I have been pretty good with bringing the bare minimum clothes on holiday. But that relates to not very exciting holiday outfits. So the question now is since the Phuket trip will be a short one and actually articles of clothing are quite light, should I just go overboard and throw caution to the minimum packing wind?

The question is for a 4 day and 3 night trip, should I bring:
* 3 bikinis (okay, I’ll just bring 2. One to dry if I do go swimming)
* 3 coverups?
* 2 hats and 1 cap? (my new hat is just pure vanity, it is too holey to be practical, so one proper hat and a cap?)

Haha, with the expanse of time I have now, I have very much time to dwell over such boliao decisions.

Finally I can get a break. I am going to KL for a short short getaway. Leaving on Saturday morning on the bus and returning Monday night by bus. I cannot wait.

I just want to sleep, rest and eat. And not go into office and look at those stupid blue files for One lousy day. Yoga helps but it exhausts me physically just like work drains me mentally and leaves me spent. It cleanses me, as the sweat drips off my body like skinny rivers, detoxifying my body inside and out. However, as I concentrate on breathing and holding the pose, tiny snippets of work that sit on the back of my mind, come to the front of my head and I remember so and so who’s e-mail I have not replied or outstanding information that I have not chased.

I can feel myself getting stronger and stronger, as I manage to hold in plank and chaturanga (spelling) long and better each time. I wonder whether my mind is getting as strong as my body. Sometimes Catherine and Christine remind us to dedicate our practice to someone in our lives, I wonder who do I dedicate it to. Like who I will dedicate my life to?

Everytime friends ask me why I was going to Krabi on a Sunday night and not taking advantage of the weekend, I have no reply. I do not have that much leave days left also. So, I always give them a blank look. The last time I went to a resort place was Bintan (ferries are scary) but taking the plane to Krabi, which incidentally is in Thailand for those who do not know (do not feel sad, I did not know before either), is also as scary. I do not feel sick on planes, as sick as on ferries and boats and anything that floats on the sea but being confined in such a small area in a tin can, is not on my list of favourite things to do. Therefore, even if it meant the promise of the end of the rainbow, I would arrive in some exciting new place, sometimes I would rather give it a miss. I do like sitting on bus, especially to KL, my favourite trips!

So we left for the airport on Sunday late afternoon, with Pinkie on my back (I swear the only reason I want to take a holiday is so that I can use my Pink Haversack.) We were pleasantly surprised that Tiger Airways, the only airline that flies to direct to Krabi was not like Europe’s RyanAir which practised free seating. Having allocated seats is a stressless beginning to the holiday that I was looking forward to. The budget terminal was a surprise. It was very quiet but new, The Laney remarked that it was quite shiok working in the shops at the budget terminal because there were few customers, virtually none.

The Laney playing Mama’s Cooking

We reached Krabi when it was dark and was sent to the resort. The mainland of Krabi which is the beach is called Aonang and there is a entire street along the beach. The hotel was smallish as there must be like thirty hotels on Aonang alone. The hotel room was full of bugs literally, figures of six legged insects all around, including the lamps at the side of the beds were bugged. I am not that squeamish but it was quite disconcerting to be in that room. We stepped out to get something to eat after dumping our bags in the hotel room. It was almost twelve but the streets were alive, alive with angmohs. We ate thai pancake (like very very crispy roti prata) topped with chocolate sauce, yum yum! And I also bought mini hashbrowns from Burger King because I am just like that.

The next days, Monday and Tuesday were spent lounging on the beaches and trying to cultivate a tan. Although in my case, it was a furtile attempt as having subjected myself to skin cancer scares articles in certain American magazines, I slathered everywhere possible with SPF (of the organic kind) and thus, turned out to be as chicken white as possible. Monday we walked along the Aonang beach, pass the outdoor open aired massage places that also did hair braiding. There would a patio and the customer would be massaged on the patio. We would wondering whether those big sized angmohs would get groans from the massage staff as there was so much area to cover. As we walked on the beach looking for a suitable place to bake ourselves, we realised that we were virtually the only Asians on the beach. Which lead me to bombard The laney with questions on where those Asians that came with us on the plane were. Tuesday, we took a long tail boat out to Ryelay (spelling) beach to bake again amongst the angmohs but the water was much clearer there.

Sunbathing essentials: sarong and magazine

We ate and ate and ate as usual. I ate like phad thai every single meal. Love it when they understand: no beansprouts. We had lunch at a roadside stall one day and ate there. The owners of the stall were chatty and very friendly. For dinner we ate seafood, tiger prawns here we come! And of course the thai pancake and other yummylicious goodies.

Roadside stall aunties, love it when you can point at the ingredients.
Thai Coke.
Greedy..

On the last day, we had to check out at noon but our flight was at 2100 hours so we went on a city tour provided by the tour agency in Krabi. We ate at this rustic roadside stall where there was a tin roof and they cleverly cooled the entire place by having sprinklers on the roof. We got to go to the tiny city centre. It so happened that it was the Thai King’s birthday on that day so there was a pasar malam of sorts in the city centre. I found my favourite bbqed pork balls and The laney got his very fried chicken. We just love all this questionable hygiene food..

Greedy at food stall..

Leaving tonight with my pink backpack. Will be back on Wednesday night.

I have in my carry on, my Birdie LeSportsac:
+ My Nitendo DS Lite
+ My iPod nano
+ My digicam
+ Kakfa on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (I need to read this or it would mean my brain has officially rotted into magazine mush)

All for a one hour half, two hour (?) flight? I know, I have ADD.

Everywhere is booked! Damn Singaporeans and their school holidays kiasu-ness. I should have followed Miss Addy to Taiwan. (Sorry babe.) But what I really want is R and R now. Somewhere I can sleep properly. Perhaps even do yoga outdoors. Such a luxury. I do not even want to go shopping.

Back from Rome. It was alright fun. Could have been much much much better but if I were to complain, would anyone care? No pictures though. First, my memory stick decided to let me only take 20 pictures maximum. Second, I forgot the connection for my digicam to the laptop. I could be sad about that too. I am actually quite upset. But I will not complain too much. Only I need to know how much this holiday has been spoilt.

Who needs 10 jackets, sweaters and more? Apparently, I do. I have been packing seriously yesterday and today, my mother schooling me in the art of rolling your clothes (also known as being able to squeeze more into your luggage then humanly possible) (Chiam! You are so right, it works!) Ironically, I only am only bringing 2 pairs of jeans which my weekend attires will be built around them (God please let my ass and thighs still fit into them after a month in angmoh land). 2 longchamps because they are foldable. Plenty of underwear. Just seven not working tops. Its the jackets but I do not want to be cold!

One reason why I need to be rich and be able to travel business class – because Awful cannot freaking travel light. Sigh. I really want to …. but I have all these worst case scenarios in my head. I am bringing like 30 plasters.

I do not want to go anymore. God knows how I am going to survive with only 3 bags and 5? 6? 7? pairs of shoes. I cannot function like that! Or can I? I can actually. Just that……..

I am going to miss some people so much. Especially when angmoh land is so freaking cold and miserable and angmohs are not that nice. And MacDonald’s not very cheap. And…………………… I do not want to start it here as I have verbally been tormenting most of the office girls with my complaints. For my sanity? I do not know. God wants to test me again? They think so many things. I have to count my blessings. Counting them one by one.

I am blessed. The laney will be flying with me to London on Tuesday. I have two days to decide on my outfit for sleeping on the plane. I am such an airhead. I want to be excited. But I know I sabotaged my holiday and I am spoiling things so bad. I do not know what is wrong with me.

Sunday:
+ Woke up to eat breakfast at cafe, scrambled eggs and bacon anyone?
+ Bri dropped us off at Market City, can you say shopping? The fun thing about shopping in Sydney is that the salespeople can mark down the clothes as they please.
+ Mission: to spend all the AUD I had. Not a difficult thing to do.
+ Walked through the city centre, QVC, shop, shop, shop.
+ Supre, Cotton On, Mambo, Mooks,
+ I bought a Tigerlily (my lovelove) pants, Emily the Strange top, Mooks top, slippers, Country Road yellow and white striped duffel
+ Ate AUD 5.25 cupcake at David Jones
+ Bri picked up us to go to Star City where we would not let me in because I did not bring my passport. Boo.
+ Ate at Oscars.
+ Ate at Gelatissimo – Death by Chocolate! Chocolate truffle. Yay!

Monday:
+ Dom’s mother brought us to eat at the Pavillion, sausage and hashbrowns
+ Last minute shopping at Chatswood
+ Back to sit on luggage
+ Off to airport
+ Bye bye Dominikki, I miss you!

Friday:
+ Went to the Westfield Chatswood, not as big compared to the Bondi one but big enough
+ Visited KMart (How I miss KMart and Target, one of the few happiest places around)
+ Bought a pair of Ugg-like Billabong boots for the cold, the salesboy was oh so cute! Can you say Hubba hubba?
+ Ate at sushi place, tried cooked beef sushi and katsu and cheese maki, tempura chef was Indian, culture shock
+ Took the bus to the city, using farecard (so long ago)
+ Went to DFS
+ Took million and one pictures of the Sydney Opera house from opposite the river and the right side because it was the touristy thing to do; Dominikki thinks its made up of bathroom tiles and it is yellow
+ Walked and walked to Veranda Bar where I got a glimpse of a non smoking place that sold alcohol
+ Walked and walked and walked to cheapo Italian place with delicious ‘stale’ (as if!) bread and schnitzel as big as my head (okok, as big as the place)
+ Ate chocolate and pistachio (no tiramisu, no pistachio, did I say pistachio? – Dom) on the sidewalk and froze while waiting for Bri to pick us up

Saturday
+ To Hunter Valley!
+ Bri drove and I did my usual sleep in the backseat (remember Jupes?) and watched black MTVs all the way, Bri has a lovely elegantly pimped ride
+ First stop, the chocolate factory and tasting some pink blush wine
+ Stopped for lunch and ate schnitzel again (but chicken this time round)
+ Visited Tempus Two – beautiful posh building, Audrey Wilkinson – wonderful view
+ Bri took pictures of me running around like headless chicken
+ Stopped on the way back to look at dog house
+ Went to dinner at Thai restaurant to meet a certain section of an Indonesia village