The Alvera Court in North Yorkshire

Garden

I could so totally imagine the morning scent when I walk out of that door. The cool breezy air must be exhilarating!

Look at the reception!! It is oh-so-lovely!

Dining room

Ah…I would love to have breakfast there every morning. Imagine the aroma of a warm cup of coffee, a warm greeting from fellow residents, good conversation…fantastic!

Look at the rooms…I love the wallpaper! And the bed looks cosy..(my friend said that the beds are indeed wonderful)

Does it remind you of some romantic movie filming set?? I wish I could stay there and take heaps of picture. *I know..I started to sound very “bimbotic”*

Well, I hope it would be my next travel destination, would love to stay there for at least a week though.

I could literally “travelling” along the streets that were once familiar to me. So the first thing that I searched, was the street that I used to live on. Unfortunately, you could only visually see those roads that “Google van” has travelled. The estate that I lived at is not captured by the van. -_-

The place that I used to hang out during lunch break

So I “went around” the city, the route that I used to take from home to work/school. Surprisingly, Perth has not changed much since I left in 2005. I can still remember how to “go around” and the facade still remains recognizable.

I bought my first bed here..

I felt very good….may be because I know that the place that once captured my heart has not abandoned me. I hate the feeling of not able to feel the sense of belonging to a place that was once dear to me.

My summer job at this hotel – Seasons of Perth. I was hired just to talk to people everyday.:D

It’s funny that even after 4 years of living in Singapore, I could hardly know how to get around. I guess that’s the difference of NOT HAVING A CAR!

Will spend my Christmas there this year. Look forward to share my experience there when I get back.

Merry Christmas!!

One thing I hate the most though, is the bargaining. Whoever says that woman has the gift to bargain is a lie. I can’t bargain for nuts! The only thing that I made myself useful, was that I can at least converse with them with 1/2 Malay and 1/2 Indonesian.

Some tips and guides to find the good places for dining in Bali..

Top Places to EAT (A MUST REALLY)

1) Ku De Ta

This place does not need any introduction. Do a search on Google and you’ll find great recommendations from many many people. It is located at Seminyak, where many designer’s shops are located. It is about 20 minutes away from the airport.

What is so unique about this place is an open-concept restaurant that gives you unobstructed view of the beautiful endless beach and real good sunset!

The best time to go is at 5pm. I reached there at 5.15pm, just in time to grab the best seat with the bright orange sun setting in front of me. The place was filled pretty quick just after 5.15pm.

Of course, the food was great! Though it was a little pricey but the experience was worth it!

Squid ink pasta with Unagi / Cocktail that knocked me off before going to airport

The portion was pretty small, so that you can order and sample more! *smart*

Ku De Ta
Jalan Laksmana No. 9, Seminyak

2) Bebek Bengil

This restaurant is HUGE and I love the design very much! It has many huts to dine in and each is led by tiny paths accompanied by trees and ponds at both sides. Beautiful! I reached there at night and couldn’t really see the details of the design but the atmosphere was perfect and it was cooling – no need for air-con!

The signature dishes, really, are the Bebek Bengil Crispy Duck (bottom right) and Pork Ribs (top center).

To tell you truth, I hate duck meat. But this one was different! It was so tender that it just melted in my mouth! The skin and bones were crispy that I even chewed on them!

It is located at Ubud, my favourite district where you can see many artwork and handicraft. It is almost 1.5 hour drive from town (Kuta). But it is quieter, less busy and it is more cooling. I stayed at Ubud for 2 nights, which I will blog about my lovely accommodation in the next entry.

Bebek Bengil Restaurant
(Dirty Duck Dinner)
Telp. 62-361- 975 489
Padang Tegal – Ubud

3) Cafe Batu Jimbar

This is an arty cafe – from interior design to pepper and salt shaker. Too bad that I was so into eating that I forgot to take more pictures of the restaurant.

Wall made of corals and shells (right)

If only I have more people joining for this meal, then I can order more food for sampling.

This is melt-in-your-mouth wagyu beef burger. Though the burger is a little small (compared to Carl’s Junior’s) but oh boy!!!….*speechless* You know how tender wagyu beef could be…*awww…*

Steak wrap – looks ordinary but was very well balanced with fresh greens and mild sauces.

If you travel from Kuta (town) to Ubud, you will more likely to drive past Sanur. So good to plan your journey, else you will end up driving back and forth…worse when there is traffic jam in the evening

Cafe Batujimbar
Jalan Danau Tamblingan, Sanur

4) Flapjack’s

It sounds weird to eat crepes and pancakes in Bali but this place serves very GOOD crepes. It opens till late so it is best for supper.

Looking at the design, I thought I was in America for a split second.

Sausage crepe with cheese and garlic. The crepe is so thin and it just blends so well with the cheesy sauce..

It is located in the heart of Kuta, where shopping malls, Starbucks and Hardrock hotel are. Most shops close at 11pm.

Flapjack’s
Complex Dewi Sartika Plaza Street
Kuta

Next: How to find cheap deals; Fabulous hotel.

Over the long weekend, 9 of us took a flight (as early as 6.30am) to Bangkok (yeah..we were that desperate!). It is my 4th time in Bangkok since 2003 and I am still in love with Bangkok. My usual activities were always eating (x2), spa and shopping.

This time was slightly different.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
WE FISHED!

And it was not just an ordinary fishing…we fished giants!!

We headed to Bungsamran fishing village after we touched down.

I did have some reservation about fishing because my idea of fishing was just sit-and-wait kind of activity (it still is). So I brought some books to read.

While Daniel went to sort out our rods, I went around looking at some “hall of fame” photos on the wall..at least to get an idea what we were expecting…

And I saw THIS!!!

I was excited and worried at the same time – “You mean we have to jump into the water to fight the fish??!?!!!”

Since we were to fish for almost 6 hours, we booked a “chalet” for our comfort.

Our “chalet”..introduced by miss nilnaw.

Well, at least that was what the guide bluffed us.. -_-

And THIS, was the “chalet”. TA-DA!

The entrance to the chalet

It has a long corridor, 2 wooden beds, a TV, a fridge and a few fans.

Of course, it comes with a private toilet and shower too, right above the water. Mmmm…

(You can see from my outfit that I was totally unprepared to fish)

One of the many types of chalet available there

The fish bait – some sort of soy-blended product which used to feed the chicken. It was compressed into a huge ball before casting.

The first 2 hours were pretty boring. The fish came and go. My first fish swam so fast that it snapped my string. (also because of my poor fishing skill) We didn’t get to see the size of the fish and totally underestimated its strength. The last time I fished years ago, the size was the ordinary size which we served for dinner. -_-

I was more prepared the second time. The fishing guide, John taught me a “system” to fight the fish. It was like doing cha-cha – relax when the fish was swimming its heart out; and crank only when the fish stopped.

His words of wisdom:

“Do not fear the fish, fight it!”

“Do not let the fish lead you, lead the fish”

My second shot, I was more prepared.

The first 5 minutes fighting the fish – I “looked” steady right…

The next 5 minutes – struggling..losing my cool..

Almost there…

The last 2 minutes…I can’t feel my arms anymore, burnt and drenched.

And after fighting for 10 minutes, finally “it was out”. At this point, I can’t even hold the fish anymore. I had to support its 20kg weight on my thigh. My hands were trembling.

My friend took a video with me screaming and groaning. They said I looked like I was in labour. -_-

After fighting it twice, I decided to take a shower and took a nap in the room with my sore arms. However, all the screaming and and excitement happening outside “lured” me to go back to fish!

See..I changed to my comfort clothes already…in skirt. -_-

My last one. I didn’t want to hold the fish on my clean clothes.

All of us had muscle ache for the next few days but it was WORTH it!! My bicep on my right arm is now bigger than my left arm now.

I should end this entry with my favourite picture of the trip.

And by the way, I was “slapped” by the fish with its giant tail on my chest. If I was shorter by 10 cm, it would have “slapped” my face instead. HAH!

Yes, to answer your questions…1) We didn’t eat the fish. 2) I didn’t superimpose the fish on my picture

My colleagues and students didn’t believe that I caught these giants until I showed them pictures. Some joked that I superimposed the fish on my photos. Hahaha…

Thanks Daniel for all the pictures!

“For staff who have gone overseas in the 7 days, except Malaysia are advised not to work on Monday.”

“WHO has raised the pandemic alert level to 5 (out of 6 levels) and that correspondingly MOH has today raised the alert level to Orange (level 3 out of 5 levels).”

“Oh no!! What happen to Singapore in these 3 days while I was away??!!” We were told to get our students to bring thermometer to school and have their temperatures taken before class begins. After reading emails from work regarding the flu precautions, I started to feel worried.

My boss replied:“Don’t come to work till we received further notice from the meeting.”

So on Monday morning, I waited for my boss’ message to see if I should really be “quarantined”. My class started at 11am and if I didn’t make it to class, they would have missed several lessons.

At 11.05am, my boss called to ask me to get to work. First thing my colleagues responded when they saw me was..“HEY!!! I thought you were supposed to stay at home?” Some joked that they wanted to catch my sneeze or shared my food. HAH!

I went to my class late and my students had no idea what had just happened. It seemed like it was just another day for them. When I asked if any of them were not feeling well, 85% of them raised up their hands..*followed by fake cough and groaning* -_-

I am very grateful for all the measures and precautions that are taken now. It is just the beginning. I wonder how the world is going to fight this pandemic this time…

On a lighter node, I caught two huge mekong fish in Bangkok. The other one got away so fast and strong that my fishing string snapped.

This is mekong fish. Not my picture though, have yet to download them to computer. Most of the “me-in-action” shots are still with my friends. Will definitely put them up here this week!

And I came back with bigger bicep on my right arm!

This is one wicked toilet! You can sit or squat on it. Since our friend was “so kind” enough to demonstrate how you could use it, I must do him a favour in return to “blur” his face also.

To squat, just lift up the seat. Check out the widened and non-slip grip on the rim, man. If you prefer sitting, then bring down the toilet seat.

NO.2: The sway-and-shake toilet

This is found in the train. Of course, this is only for squatting. Note that the space between your legs is very narrow. You need a good control in aiming when the train sways and shakes. Swaying can cause you to lose balance while squatting.

So my advice to you is: Hold on to the pipe in front of you while you’re doing your business (you have to face the hole)

If you think the space between your legs is too small, you can place your feet outside the intended steps there but that also requires some skills to be able to keep our feet too-wide-apart.

No. 1..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
THE NATURE!

Nothing beats peeing in the bush.

Ya, and what’s the hut for you asked. I thought it was a toilet too but I didn’t see any “waste” inside. It was “too clean“. It was nothing there except sand.

I expected to see a big hole in the sand but NO! *OH wait! I just realised that it could be because people had buried their “waste” nicely.*

Anyway…

It was our first day working at the village. The villagers gathered since morning to get treatments from the medical team (us).

Queuing..and the curious kids on the left picture.

And I had to be the only one who had the “nature call”. So I conveniently asked the local for toilet. They gave me a blank face, followed by a long “er…….”. After 8 seconds of thinking real hard, he directed me to the wild.

So I called Stefie, my friend to walk me to the wild. The grass and branches were tall and I scratched myself a few times while walking through it. I must find a nice covered place right…

But because of the thorns and dry branches, I decided to look for a “clean” ground with no branches. I stood there for few minutes, and seriously doubt I could do it.

Still standing there deciding my faith, Stef shouted from far:“ARE YOU DONE YET???!!!”

“NO…I DON’T KNOW HOW!!!!” Then I walked back to her.

“WHAT?? What took you so long?”

“Sorry…I just can’t do it..there were goats behind me and the wind was blowing…just too ‘open’!” I felt so useless. *Man..it can’t be that hard right…*

I decided to hold my pee till we went back to our modern no.3 toilet. But 1 hour later, I decided to go back to the wild. I can’t hold it anymore. I brainwashed told myself to imagine that I was going to use a modern toilet, despite of goats “meh-ing” and wind blowing real hard.

Of course, mission accomplished. I know it is easy for guys. All my guy friends said it was nothing because YOU GUYS HAVE DONE IT SO MANY TIMES!

The subsequent “toilet visits” to different villages and slums were less frightening, though I still took a long time to “prep” myself. When I asked the local at the other village where she did her business, she conveniently pointed me to the river.

Guess what, it was the same river that Stef and I went for “fish spa“. -_-

Fish nibbling our feet – as recommended by the local’s must try.

When I first “announced” to my family that I wanted to go to India, a very expected response was:“Sure or not?? Don’t be crazy!! Make yourself suffer for what?”

My mom’s first concern was my safety. Then came the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. She was very worried. That was why I had to keep mum about where I was heading earlier. *In fact, for security reason, I will not reveal the places that we visited.*

Secondly, I can’t take hot food. Chili makes my lips swell like Angelina Jolie’s.

Thirdly, most warned me about having weak stomach. I was advised to brush my teeth and bathe with mineral water. Hahaha..

Perhaps, it would be less “frightening” if it was just a leisure trip by a travel agency.

Somehow, all these visuals didn’t come to mind. I left it blank intentionally. Eat whatever that is served and walk the path that is laid. No expectation, just go with an open-mind.

Though I have been the “minority” for most of my lives, it was more evident when we were there. We attracted attention wherever we went. The locals flocked around us, stood there and just watched our every move.

Waiting for our train. They watched us for as long as we were there.

Personally, the amazing experiences were countless! Let me start with the train rides.

When we arrived at a small town (4 hours car ride from the airport), we needed to take a 15-hour train ride to another even smaller town.

One thing about this train was that it only stopped for 2 mins max. So we carried our 20kg backpacks with us when we “felt” that the train was coming. When it came, the passengers ran like wild animals chasing after the train.*Not sure if there was an announcement, even if there was, don’t think we understand it either.

AC two tier – This is A class. Will explain what the “Two-tier” means later.

There was an AC (air-con) and non AC class (no bed). Of course we took the AC one!

NON AC.

This is 90-seater cabin. *no joke*

The non-AC one do not come with beds. So imagine having 90 people squeeze in a cabin with windows open for 15 hours. The mosquitoes are definitely your faithful companions.

And again, the locals will probably tell you – why not? It’s all about comfort zone and level of tolerance. I am sure if I take the train like this since I was born, it would be peanuts for me.

Before I enter the train, I had a very beautiful picture painted in my head – Nice beds in a personal room with a DOOR.

When I stepped into the train, I was dumbfounded. There was no room, only curtains. It took me 5 min to pull myself together. I even forgot to put down my 20kg backpack. The aisle was so narrow that it can only contain 1 person at a time.

Beds on both sides.

You see, having expectation is definitely not helpful here.

TWO-TIER

The passenger from lower tier actually expected the upper one to sit on his/her bed. It was weird for us because it seemed like we were intruding their private space by sitting on their “beds”.

The difference between TWO and THREE-TIER. TWO-TIER – you can comfortably SIT UP AND READ A BOOK. For the equal amount of height, now it is divided to 3 tiers. You do the maths.

The top 3 “coolest” toilet. *Will share the top 2 toilets in next post*

We were told that the train would reach our destination at 3.30am (after 15 hours). The attendant was asked to wake us up on time to “jump off” the train. *No announcement, just keep a lookout for the station*

At 3am in my half-sleeping mode, I felt the train was stopping. *my biological clock worked very well suddenly* I jumped out of my bed and woke everybody up. We were not sure if we missed the station. We (with messy hair and bad breaths) packed our bags frantically and squeezed our ways to the exit.

I know..my PINKY MINNIE MOUSE blanky. Mom bought it “specifically” for this trip.

In Singapore, no way you can open the door when the train is moving. But in India, you can stand at the entrance with the door wide open to admire the scenery – dark and peaceful.

Particles in the air reflected by camera flash

I can never forget the starry sky and the cool breeze brushed my hair against my face. We didn’t miss the station.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Where was our attendant who was supposed to wake us up?

We took the three-tier one back but after the first one, everything just seemed nice. And oh! The 3-tier class doesn’t come with curtains.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the train rides very much because of good company and I had good sleep (may be the train was constantly shaking – felt like sleeping on a rocking bed).

Our acquaintance and “local delights”.

Up next – the top 3 toilets.

1) I had buffalo milk for breakfast. It’s a “diluted version” of cow milk as it carries lighter taste than cow’s.

2) Crossed a railway track.

3) Peed in the bush…several times.

*No, that was not the place I did my no.1. It was too “clean” inside the hut. I went to the bush instead (red arrow)

4) Being “blocked” by a herd of goats when traveling on car.

5) Parents offered to give me their babies. Not once, but thrice!

6) Had curry EVERYDAY! *And I can’t take chilli*

7) On a train for 15 hours, twice. Once the space was so limited that I was not able to sit up when the bed was up.

*Triple-decker*

Pumped water

9) Taken 100 patients’ blood pressure

10) Visited and had meals at slums

*Yes, I watched Slumdog Millionaire*

But most importantly, I have fallen in love with India, especially the children.

I fell in love with Indian food. I fell in love with the simplicity and joy these people have despite of poverty, how hospitable and generous they were when giving us what they did not have.

I have fallen in love again and again with India. I wish I could stay there longer. I wish the time passes slower.

*More updates coming soon*

But I have the “commando” badge! Somehow it makes me feel “powerful”.

Went to do last minute shopping for my trip at the army market. Supposed to buy the tools and equipments that I need for the trip but I ended up “earning” these badges!

Just so you know, I’ve “earned” myself an airbourne parachute badge, commando (!!), Markmanship and Airforce badge. (Don’t play play)

I “earned” money to “buy” these badges.

So I will be “disappearing” from the virtual world for 1 week. Looking forward to share my experience with you next week!