1.02pm
hey hey so sorry for the super delay in my blogs. have been totally lazy and i just dont know what to blog about. completely lost...writers block hahahaha. but nevertheless, im just gonna talk about my christmas back home in kuala lumpur as well as here in singapore too.
i love taking pictures especially during christmas coz the decorations are so colorful and the feeling is somewhat magical too, dont you think so? but sadly, what's missing is that we dont have any snow here in asia! argghhhh...which of course, sucks! sigh what to do, have to live with it unless we spend christmas abroad.
well anyway, here are some photos that i took at my neighborhood mall, parkway parade and another one in orchard road, tanglin mall.
see how pretty it is! wonderful isnt it? thats parkway parade mall.
and this is tanglin mall main entrance. i was there during the day so the effect isnt that good. it would have been awesome in the evening when they turn on the lights. sorry i dont have any pictures of it. this would have to do.
and then we travel back to kl for our year end holiday and celebrated this festive period with family and friends. went in to the city centre to have a look see coz its been ages since my husband and i last went there. frankly these days, there's no point in heading to town coz almost every neighborhood has their huge malls and they've everything there. but just this once, we decided to check it out.
so, the above picture is at mid valley megamall, which is my neighborhood mall back in kl. i like to hang out at this mall coz it has everything, from high end to affordable stuff. its literally a one stop shopping mall. but a word of advice, if you're planning to go there, especially on weekends or public holidays, please go early! parking lots get filled up in record time! im not joking and there'll be traffic jam too! so dont say i didnt warn you!
gosh, the city was packed with people. malls were full and tourists were dime a dozen. i guess there's folks still with spending power. these days i dont really like being in crowded places, as makes me kinda claustrophobic plus it doesnt help when the weather is extremely hot and humid.
the photos above was at pavillion mall downtown city centre. i gotta admit that the mall was kinda beautifully decorated and swarovski made their own special christmas tree out of crystals! it was awesome. definitely one of a kind and bravo to them. oh and as i mentioned earlier, most of the malls were packed like sardines and it doesnt help much with sales happening everywhere. its shop shop shop buy buy buy!! seems like folks still have the spending power! (good for them, if thats the case!)
the last 3 photos above was spending christmas with my family. its all about good food, good fun, good company and remembering that jesus christ died for us. my mom tells me, "christmas its not about the gifts and presents, its about giving thanks and feeling blessed that we can be together as a family without all the drama and suffering!". well fact is, we've all had our fair share of our own ups and downs throughout the year im sure and this is the time to just chillout, relax and catch up with relatives and friends. i mean what more is there?
and on that note, i would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone of you a blessed 2016 . may 2016 bring us lots of joy, laughter, good health and more importantly, peace on earth! and to those who are suffering, grieving and going through tough times especially on occasions like these, may god keep you safe and calm and to see you though these dark times. be brave, be strong and keep moving forth! god bless and take care!
ttfn
2.34pm
p/s next blog of mine would prolly be before mid year! hahahhahaa...i may have some freelance work after the chinese new year so i wont have much time to blog and i gotta come up with something new to talk about :)
pp/s oh yeah i wanna wish all the chinese who are celebrating chinese new year - gong xi fa cai & may the year of the monkey bring you joy, laughter, good health and tons of wealth and prosperity! woop woop!!
11.38am
hows everyone today? i hope nobody is "missing" me too much..hahaha..i think i did mention before, long ago, that if i dont have anything to blog about, i wont blog. i dont like blogging for the sake of. i blog about relevant stuff that impacts me and my life (which can be anything and everything). as you know the saying - "if you have nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all".
anyway, lets move along, shall we. so on tuesday 10/11/15 indians around the world celebrated their new year which is called diwali or deepavali. it was a public holiday here in singapore and my husband and i decided to make a trip to sentosa island. sentosa is about less than half hour away from where we stay, and about 15 minutes away from the city centre (CBD). this small island (about 500 over hectares) is home to universal studios singapore, themed attractions, man made beaches, cafes, golf courses, luxury homes/condos, hotels, spas etc. its a nice short getaway for the entire family as there's lots to see and do.
there was a good deal for the South East Asia Aquarium (or s.e.a. aquarium) which was going for only $32 for 2 pax on every tuesdays. value for money right! and so happened, diwali fell on a tuesday, so thats why we decided to go.
the sea aquarium (fyi, voted traverllers choice 2015 and its ranked top 3 aquariums in asia) is located next to the maritime experimental museum. upon entering the museum, there's an area allocated for asia's maritime heritage and archaeology where folks can learn a bit about the rich history of sea exploration and trade done in asia a long time ago. its like stepping back in time.
after we were done passing thru all these artifacts, reading up on some history and whatnots, we were asked if we wanted to check out the typhoon theatre. we were then ushered into a big room and sat on benches. it felt as though we were at the front of an old ship ( well i guess thats what the people who created this, were trying to re-enact and it kinda worked). its actually a shipwreck simulation enhanced by some special effects. oh btw, that cost us $4 for 2 pax for a 5 minute experience (hey nothing is free ok!)
after that short "performance", we entered the ocean gallery followed by the shipwreck habitat and then the shark sea area. i'll be posting lots of photos that i took from my iphone (sorry if the images arent super clear, but it'll have to do).
right so now, im gonna drop it like its hot. time to check out them pix i took. to start of, im just gonna be plonking in some photos taken at the maritime museum. lets step back in time for a tiny bit ok!
a huge courtyard area filled with shops and eateries and lets not forget universal studios singapore (oh kindly excuse my finger, small boo boo here).
just outside of the maritime museum and SEA aquarium.
upon entering the museum, there's the admiral zheng he's exhibits and places he's visited during his exploration and the photos below are shots of the "souk" (which means a market place/bazaar) from different bustling ports along the maritime silk route (which admiral zheng he had visited during his travels), that has been recreated for folks to check out.
some statues in traditional costumes from indonesia.
a reconstruction of a 9th century omani dhow ( also known as jewel of the muscat) is an arab trading ship that sailed from oman to singapore. it was built using traditional materials. guess they were trying to make it as authentic as possible.
a map showing admiral zheng he's (asia's greatest explorer) trading route for each of his major ports of call, dealing with trading of spices, silk, animals, treasures etc from china to africa. fyi - admiral zheng he lived during the ming dynasty in the 15th century.
worn by vietnamese folks is their famous conical hat, which happens to be part of their national costume.
china tradional costumes.
that's the statue of marco polo, who was a famous italian merchant traveller who made an epic journey with his father and uncle for almost 24 years. he also wrote a book - the travels of marco polo - that introduced europeans to central asia and china.
spices, beans, cloths etc from india
muscat, oman.
tribal folks from malindi, kenya. i think those are their traditional drums and fans (hanging on the ceiling).
we've come to the end of our short but sweet, trip down memory lane. next im gonna be dropping some photos taken at the aquarium.
this is the shark sea area and that's the scalloped hammerhead shark, an endangered species. there's actually quite a few of them in the huge tank but i managed to only capture this one swimming by.
this is either the silvertip shark or the sandbar shark, not quite sure.
lovely corals and fishes with their vibrant colors. spectacular i think.
its ze puffer fish merrily swimming along.
dont know the name of this huge mother of a fish but man, i never want to see this type of fish when im snorkelling as it would freak me out! (that's why im not taking up diving although i love the sea plus i have a fear of sharks after watching the movie jaws when i was a kid!)
polkadot jellyfish (please look closer if you cant see them dots)
octopus anybody?
not quite sure what this is but i reckon its some sort of a sea snail. it was swimming by and i quickly took a shot of it.
lion fishes!
the alaskan king crab and a starfish.
i love dolphins! if i were to re-incarnate, i would love to be a dolphin, seriously! smart, funny, cool creatures of the sea.
these corals are spectacular looking and so colorful!
more lion fishes!
some lovely "reefy" looking sea horses. mother nature created that! simply amazing!
not quite sure what kinda fish this is but definitely unique with its long shaped body and orangey eyes.
love these vibrant yellow seahorses! aren't they just so cute, as if they are floating on air!
aha! living fossils found in singapore! imagine that! see if you can spot 2 of them!
after exiting from the sea aquarium area, we come to the "bao chuan" cutaway. it features some of the stuff carried by admiral zheng he during his voyage for trading purpose, from animals to precious cargo.
ok, im done. finally. you guys have a great weekend and until my next blog (which is whenever) - be nice and kind to one another! stay healthy! peace out!
ttfn
3.53pm
p/s happy belated deepavali to all indians around the world! here's to another great year with more happiness and less sadness.
3.59pm
just last week, my husband and i headed back to kuala lumpur for a short trip to do our tattoos. it was the SG50 weekend. if you guys dont know or havent heard of SG50, its actually singapore's 50th year of independence. i heard it was a blast! unfortunately, we werent around to see/experience this epic (not to mention historical) moment. but oh well, life goes on doesnt it?
you see, on our last trip back to KL which was in june, my husband decided to get a tattoo. for years i was teasing him mercilessly, calling him chicken shit coz he didnt have the guts to do a tattoo. well well well, he surprised me in june by telling me he's going to be doing one! hahahaha he'd finally plucked up his courage and decided to get inked! he had to make an appointment via email beforehand with the tattoo shop (that he found online which was popular and positive feedback). they rarely do walk ins because they already have their schedule with people who had already made their bookings with them (via email) and you know that doing a tattoo takes time, depending on how big the design is etc, so as i said, no walk ins.
well, obviously for this 2nd round, we had to make an appointment with the tattoo shop and ours was set once we got back to KL (which was the day after we'd arrived). long story short, i decided to get a small one done and my husband got like a japanese design which incorporated waves and cherry blossoms (full sleeve, which means the whole length of his arm). his isnt completed yet coz they cant do his whole arm in one sitting as it would "stress" his arm and the healing process would take ages! thats why he's gotta come back and do portion by portion. bit of a long process for him, god and the pain!! ugh! and like i mentioned earlier, you cant rush these artists otherwise they'd do a bad job, which trust me, isnt what anybody wants.
anyways, i was raring to go. i couldnt wait to get inked but yet at the same time i was terrified, terrified of the pain and if i could tolerate it! its as though i was jumping into the unknown. thats why the fear. my dear hubby told me that it wasnt painful (between both of us, my threshold of pain was more than his) and when he'd done his previous tattoo (on his forearm), i was watching him and his reaction when the guy started doing the tattoo, my husband didnt blink or even wince in pain. so i thought "ok, it cant be that bad then could it?" thank god i kept my cool but i'll be honest with you, we definitely felt the "pain", "sting" whatever you wanna call it. i cant really describe the feeling. certain parts were kinda painful and certain parts weren't as bad. overall i can safely say, its tolerable on my part.
now, i'd like to share with you (in my opinion) on what you need to think about/do before getting your first tattoo, if you're planning to get one that is..
1) do your homework. when i say do your homework i meant think very very carefully about your design or wordings (ie font, size etc), where you want it placed on your body, what colors you want etc. you get what i mean. both my husband and myself (more so my husband) did alot of online research on tattoos and designs. dont do for the sake of doing and then later regret. to be honest, i cant understand why some people would wanna do a tattoo of a piece of sushi or a bowl of rice (well i guess that meant something to them, who knows!) but honestly, i saw those images ok! go google if you dont believe me. in my humble opinion, your tattoo has got to be meaningful to you, not just some random picture. so yeah, do give it some serious thought about what your design is like.
2) its important that you do read up on the tattoo artist/parlour/shop and see if they are reputable or not. you do not want to go to some place that's "dirty" or unhygienic! oherwise its you who would be paying the price, not them!
3) remember, before you get your tattoo, make sure that you are 100% sure of it because its gonna be staying on your body forever (well unless you want to get it removed by laser then its your call) and you gotta love it.
4) if you are of the faint hearted, my suggestion is dont do it. i was asking the tattoo artist if it was painful if i did it on my forearm (apparently, its the least painful part of the body to do a tattoo) and she was honest with me and told me that it depends on each individual and their tolerance level of pain. if any tattoo artist tells you that its not painful at all well then, i think you'd better walk away, because he/she is lying.
now im going to share with you some photos that i managed to take at the tattoo shop.
the tattoo shop as you can see is quite colorful, friendly, inviting and its clean too. heck, its gotta be clean! they dont allow people to roam about the shop freely especially when there's people being tattooed because of hygiene purpose (there's a designated waiting area).
here's the design that i wanted initially, a cutesy angel holding a heart and smiling. yes, yes, i know its a bit cartoonish but i wanted a simple one to start off with coz i didnt know how "painful" it could be.
so here's my right hand, a clean "canvas". i was getting scared at that point in time and trying to be brave about it. bit too late to back out hahahaha
here's the stencilled on bit before the real work started. you will notice that the angel is not as cartoonish as the one i wanted in the beginning. my tattoo artist found that from somewhere and then she showed it to me and asked if i liked it, which i did of course and i wanted my name in korean/hangul (which i had emailed her when we made the appointment). so she incorporated both the angel and my name at the bottom. looks good right? it looks like a japanese/korean angel to me rather than that one i gave to her.
BOOM, the end result! not bad huh? that took less than half an hour to do. i told her i was satisfied with it. well thankfully i could take the "pain" and didnt black out! you know what else, i also wanted to add a cartoonish airplane but somehow it just didnt gel right with this angel, so i omitted it out. less is more in this case.
before we left, they gave us some cream to apply on our tattoos and told us to take care of it and not to scratch it as it may scar( it will get itchy at some point especially when its "peeling" stage, its as if you are shedding skin). and lastly, let me just say that its not cheap getting inked. be prepared to pay! there's no price tag and each tattoo varies in prices. like for my tattoo, i paid RM$200 and i think that once my husband's forearm is all done, it would probably cost him a few thousand bucks.
i found this general diagram (online) of the level of pain( as above) when doing a tattoo (depending on which part of the body you're gonna be doing it) although im not quite sure if its a generic one for both male and female or just for males. so lets just assume its for both sexes.
i found another diagram online which is for females that want to do tattoo and the pain level. please note that the area where i did my tattoo (around my wrist) has the most discomfort! wow imagine that! as i told you guys earlier only certain parts (around my wrist area) were kinda painful but generally its tolerable. im afraid i cant pin point exactly which part though, coz i wasnt brave enough to have a look . but a couple of times however, i would sneak very quick glances when it wasnt that painful, as the rest of the time, i was distracted just trying to breathe in and out and telling myself over and over again that it wasnt painful hahahahaha.
lastly remember this - its important to remain calm, cool and not panic. dont drink alcohol beforehand and dont do it if you are sick/ill. oh ya, if you are on blood thinners, then very sorry, dont think the tattoo artist will work on you (you should know why). so with that being said, i wish you all the best and be brave IF you want to take the plunge and get yourself inked!
ttfn
6.01pm
p/s here's my parents and mom in law's reaction to our tattoos -
my mom in law - "Eeeeeeeee ouch..not pain ah?" (closes her eyes and winces as if she was the one who did the tattoo and she hates any kind of pain inflicted upon her)
my dad - (grinning from ear to ear) "later when you go pick up your husband (as he was still doing his tattoo at the shop), i want to go along to see how a tattoo parlour looks like"
my mom - (after checking out the tattoo) "i want to do a peace sign but since im old and wrinkled, better not coz my skin is all saggy..so wont look nice!" (btw, my mom is very slim and only weighs around 50kg)
pp/s update on my tattoo (21/8/15)
picture above is when the tattoo was scabbing
this was when it was peeling off.
voila! done deal. a proper tattoo now. took approximately 2 weeks to scab, peel and heal. it was a bit itchy though throughout the process, just so you know.
