Getting to Nikoi Island

I spent some time in Nikoi Island. It's an island off Bintan. Getting there isn't the most pleasant of journeys.
It starts at Tenah Merah Ferry Terminal

Where it's a 1 hour ferry ride to Bintan.

Next is a 1 hour jeep ride. Bumpy and winding, this was the worst part of the journey.

Then we are greeted by this sign!

Following that is a half hour speed boat ride.

Then finally - Nikoi Island!

Weekday afternoon at PS cafe

Dessert is pudding with toffee sauce.

The restaurant is scented by fresh flowers everywhere!

Pictures of the restaurant and their drinks & dessert counter.

Welcome to the world!

Baby Gil came into the world on 24 May02:23am, weighting 2.88kg.

as light as air

I bought myself a new toy.

It's for the sole purpose for me to surf the net and watch movies while I am lying on bed.

It's extravagant, I know. But the feeling is shiok!

something's changed

Lately, I find that I am not attracted to desserts any longer.

I used to love my sweets - cakes, ice-cream, pies... I can have cravings! But now, their appeal is no longer there.

To round up my meal, I think I prefer something light, like cheng teng or perhaps a good cup of coffee.

Is it a sign of getting old??

This chocolate cake from PS cafe, swimming in chocolate syrup and served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream doesn't rock my boat anymore!

Surprise!

It was a long and tiring and very hot (temperature) week and my colleague couldn't take it and disappeared for almost an hour on Friday afternoon.

She return with these! Fried junk food and ice cold beer. What a way to round up the week!

a life is growing!

My good friends are expecting. My prayer and thoughts are constantly with them and their unborn child!

that's hot

Weather has been scorching hot. Had to resort to wearing short sleeves to stay cool.

the jolly season is over

Mr Snowman left all alone after the party.

December just whizzed by. Parties, trips, celebrations, weddings, dinners.... So much activity that I need a holiday from the holidays. I'm not ready for work!

A good cause I guess

While waiting for my cousin to arrive for lunch, I spotted this lady dressed in lettuce leaves, raising awareness about meat eating. Loved the expression of the old men's faces as they walked past her.

EJT's 2nd

Elizabeth Joy Tham is 2! For her birthday, she presented mommy with a present too - walking! But it was a fun day at Marina Barrage even though whenever we tried to fly the kites, the wind decided to stop blowing.

The happy family!

Party goers!

The kids!

At night, I became the official balloon blower.

it's sunny outside!

See the weather outside the MRT window? It's BRIGHT and sunny! So why is this gentleman wearing a leather jacket with a knitted lining? Beats me.

Nice things that are no longer

Nothing describes the joy when you discover a product that works for you or a nice brand that make nice shoes.

And nothing is more painful when after you have found it, cruely snatched away from you. And it has happened to me with these 3 items.

Number 1 is the Lab Series Clay Mask. It is EXCELLENT! Pores are tightened, skin is radiant and visibly clearer after use. Alas... it's discontinued.

Item 2 is the La Roche-Posay oil control toner - their oil control series works for me and it's at a confortable price point. Now, the toner is discontinued. Sigh...

Item 3 is Hogan shoes. Hogan makes the best casual shoes ever! Their shoes are crafted from the best materials and are so comfortable! The only silver lining is that they only have pulled out of Singapore. I can still fly outside of the country to get my fix.

Toonpaint

US$1.99 buys me this app. Gives great looking comic style portraits of people! Very tempting...

One man's trash

I was walking to Amoy Market one day for lunch. I would pass by a stretch of shop houses. Normally I wouldn't walk in the sheltered pavement because it's narrow. But that particular day was extremely hot so I walked in the pavement to avoid the blazing sun. That's what I noticed this little shop along Telok Ayer Street.

What first caught my eye was some vintage posters displayed along the pavement. Then I looked in the shop and it was packed to the brim with vintage stuff! Photographs, clocks, lamps, menus, teapots, telephones... you name it, they probably have it!
But these things don't come cheap. A poster cost $200. I didn't have time to really explore the shop but I think it's hiding a lot of treasure, just waiting to be discovered!

buy low drink high

Love their slogan!

Concept is innovative but be prepared to be surprised.

Think stock market. In the bar, there are screens with prices of drinks on it. Prices change with time, depending on how popular they are. For some drinks, prices go up as more people buy it. For others, prices go down as more people buy it. Fun concept! But not so fun when we received a bill of $18.50 for a pint of Heineken. The owner saw our surprised faces and acknowledged that it was an aberration in the system. So the manipulated the computer system and then the price went down to $10.50.
In the real world, that would be wrong at so many levels. But in beer market, it's just another night!

doing my part

It's been AGES since I last donated blood. So when I saw the mobile blood bank at Raffles Place, I told myself to go for it! It helps that my colleague and I did it during office hours too. Time off work! Actually, it wasn't really time off work coz I stayed late that day to finish up some stuff. And I digress again......

Apparently, we are not allowed to take videos of the blood donation process. But I could take pictures. The whole thing was over in a 15 minutes. The painful part was the queueing before the blood donation. And I don't know if it was psychological or because I didn't get much sleep that night or because of me losing 1 pint of blood. But the next day at the gym, I had trouble finishing my routine! But it's not stopping me from donating! Next appointment - September!

when life throws you lemons

We were traveling to Prakrow village in Takeo province. To reach the village, we got to cross this vast rice field where the fields stretch as far as the eye can see. (ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit) But the point is the field is freaking far from the nearest town/petrol station/mechanic.

So you can imagine our faces when the van we were traveling in suddenly stalled and refused to start up. We looked at each other, look at the vast paddy fields, then burst out laughing!
Coz when life throws lemons at you, well, it's best to have a good laugh! Well, that laugh really did us good! Thank God we had someone in our team with some engineering background (no it's not me). He suggested we all got off and push start the van!
So that's exactly what we did. If you watched Little Miss Sunshine, you kinda get the idea what entails in a van push start. The push start worked, we all rejoiced and jumped on the van and made our way to the village!

Pink!

Spotted at the Clarke Quay multi-story carpark. A pink motorbike complete with a Hello Kitty sticker on the seat. OTT? You bet it is!

1 Y O

The Godson turned 1!

Wow! Time flies.

Happy Birthday Glen!

Gwyn also smiles for the camera that day.