A Mind of My Own

Spring cleaning is useless when it comes once a year. I am trying to understand why it’s a huge amount of stuff to be gotten rid of only when it comes to the new year. If daily cleaning has been done, why must there be a huge amount of stuff to be thrown then?

It is then always a frustration when the stuff you have thrown during spring cleaning, that you realise that you should have kept them. The law of stuff thrown and to be used weeks later somehow is cruel. The year of the ox had been a rather hardworking year with mad rushes to the temples and whatever Godly places to pray that the stocks and whatever is going up except for inflation. Perhaps, we have been shown ways but it doesn’t come in the package that we have imagined.

We are just being shown that not all the prayers will be answered in the way we want since it is beyond our control except our feelings towards it. I spent quite some time to make a base for a bag only for it to be thrown away just when I was at the end of finishing it. Utterly lost my temper right there and then since it’s my hard work. How can someone just dump it away? Only the person who has done everything and only to discover the work being treated as trash will one understand the anger and frustrations.

Dwelling on this, I ask myself if it’s worth wasting angry moments. I believe that it could have been my suppression for holding on to my temper for a long time. Not that I want to be angry but it was really a few days of hard work and those cardboards aren’t easy to find, especially that size that I like. I have often thrown away stuff only to be sorted out by the person who ask me whether I truly want to throw. For crying out loud, I am throwing away stuff that I am requested to, why am I being asked that question?

This year, Chinese New Year falls on Valentine’s Day. It’s my first time, I think. Since I have no recollections of previous years falling on which day. The tigers are coming and the oxen will have to give way. May this tiger year be the year whereby things that are to be thrown, will be thrown away at the right time.

This is great! GeckoGo is holding a contest for bloggers and non bloggers alike! A cool amount of US$900 travel vouchers for me to travel anywhere! I like Intrepid Travel because the travel itinerary is different from other travel agencies that I have seen.

Even if you are not a blogger, fear not! You still get a chance when you sign up at GeckoGo. You get an extra entry when you leave your GeckoGo profile URL at this blog post too!

So, hurry and join in before the contest ends on 1st Mar 2009. Winner will be announced on 9th Mar. I think there is a typo at the site as it states 9th Feb when the contest ends on 1st Mar. It’s confusing since I doubt it’ll take a year to choose the winner.

Having played Geo Challenge with a vengeance because I was dethroned by my friends, one of them a couple on the same day, I decided to play it more. Now I know how high I can get. However, my poor mouse is being abused from all my left clicking.

I think I need a new mouse again soon. Perhaps for my birthday if it can last that long. I have this urge to visit a lot of places like Las Vegas for its strip of lights, Tokyo for its Sakura blossoms, England for its bridges, Moscow for its famous colourful buildings, Switzerland for its alps, Hawaii for its beaches, Phuket for its beach, Maldives for its beaches, etc.

Looks like I need to earn a lot more than I am trying to now or I have to be thick-skinned and asked for sponsors. Anyone? So far, I fail in my itinerary planning since my geographic skills still need some improvements.

Frankly speaking, it’s expensive just to take flights to anywhere in the world. So, I do like the idea of travelling around the world in 80 days just like what Phileas Fogg and his trusty assistant, Passepartout, had done. Maybe I need to plan out more in detail and then see where I would like to end up with first.

The next question is, am I able to go without 3 months of Internet if I were to travel via trains, buses and airplanes?

The year of the rat has gone and it came with Obama’s victory to the presidential post. Not an easy one since the whole world is watching him trying to let the finances going again. Bush’s takeover was certainly a bearish year. A quick slide to the bottom when one company after another announced their bankruptcy affecting pretty much the whole world since every trade is interwined with another.

Here, politics come into play since it is a great loss of face to announce one’s ability to handle the finances poorly to one’s spouse and another to the whole wide world. From what I gather, the Bush family haven’t been great in finances, otherwise, useless wars wouldn’t have been created in order to creat such morbid jobs to save the desperately injured.

Not that I should be the judge. It is hoped that in the year of the ox, the graphs will shoot up again so that jobs can be maintained and perhaps new ones for the fast changing economy. Money makes the world go round and that’s why trading is still a hot job but it is not an easy one either.

I have been trying various ways to earn some money while being online and it is a long road ahead. Those who have been successful have at least taken a year due to their commitment to their day jobs before quitting and joining in the foray of the digital world.

I hope that something positive will come along and I can go for holidays without worries. Sometimes, I hate it when money is the root of all evil. May the bull help us all.

Arranging my own holidays is fun when I get to choose my preferred accommodation. Here, Arrange Your Vacation comes into place. I like the neat sections where Latest Rentals and Featured Rentals are placed prominently so that I can just click and check out the best prices.

What’s even better is that RSS is available so that I don’t have to check the site everyday. I can just read from my RSS Reader and be updated when there are new rental rates being updated. The blog gives out tips on renting vacation homes too. A bonus since most sites on accommodation rarely give out tips.

In addition, you can view the lodging in various countries just by viewing the regions available such as, Asia, South America, Saint Helena and more. As an added bonus, you can even search for your preferred lodging by type, location and rental categories.

Site Rocks

• Various options for choosing the accommodations: Rental type, Rental Location, Rental Categories, Region, Countries.
• Clearly marked sections by using different colours.
• RSS options for rental updates.
• Newsletter subscription option available for those without RSS readers.

Site Improvements

• Scrolling down just to know that there are other search options available. Viewing by Rental Regions can be placed as a sidebar.
• Newsletter subscription option is placed too near the footer.

This review was done for this contest. Join before Feb 28, 2009.

[via Blog Contests on The Net]

Image via Wikipedia

Christmas is coming and I am so excited! That is if I can ever clear the mountain of papers sitting on my desk. I managed to dump all the bills that have been paid for more than 10 months. The only thing that went through my mind as I tore them up was that I want a shredder.

Shredders remind me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because Shredder was the bad guy and he could shred anyone into pieces. Well, not really since he has two sidekicks, Bebop and Rock Steady. I was thinking if it would be great that I could shred those bills into tiny pieces.

You won’t know which thief would still your personal data and use it their advantages. Therefore, since I couldn’t tear them into really tiny pieces, I had to add water to the bag so that the paper will rot faster. Nice tip from Mom. Mothers are there for a reason.

Meanwhile, besides my NaNoWriMo, I’ve also been busy with building up the online stores for the holidays shopping. Here’s what you can find below.

• Shopping with Cheri Divas is now so much fun with more clothes and jewellery.
• Gadget Lovers has a wide variety of printers, handhelds, games and anything that is related to technology for sale.
• For those preparing for their weddings, check out Lovely Gifts for gifts, beauty, lingerie and more.

Now, it’s time for my Christmas shopping.

After watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen, I have only one conclusion to make. Spain is vivacious. The people are passionate about art and enjoying the finer aspects of life. The beautiful buildings, streets and the lovely houses have made me want to visit Spain.

The movie is about Vicky and Cristina who were in Barcelona for a 2-month vacation. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) was to complete her thesis in Barcelona while Cristina (Scarlet Johansson) would tour by herself at times. During the art exhibition, both girls met Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) who was recently divorced from a violent marriage. Cristina was instantly attracted to him and couldn’t help looking at him most of the time.

During dinner, Antonio approached them and proposed a weekend stay with just the three of them. Vicky was apprehensive but Cristina was raring to go. During the stay, Vicky was slowly charmed by Antonio but quickly regretted her passion.

As time went on, Cristina started to see more of Antonio and chaos began when the ex-wife, Marie Elena (Penelope Cruz) sought refuge with Antonio. The trio had problems at first as they were living in the same house but soon warmed up to each other.

I like the cute song that is being played during the start.

Trailer is embedded.

This would not have been made possible without Blog Aloud.

I like to travel. To visit as many places as possible while I’m still able to run, climb and walk. I have visited Bangkok, Bali, Batam, Brisbane and Genting Highlands. Ah ha! Finally a place where it doesn’t start with the letter B. Sounds like Sesame Street to me.

Living in Singapore, we may be exposed to various cultures but the atmosphere is different when you attend the Songkrat in Thailand, Mardi Gras in Brazil or buffalo fighting in Vietnam. Experiencing the festivals is a way to see how they live and enjoy life.

Watching buildings and sceneries is another reason why I like to travel. The skies seem to be bluer than in Singapore. The animals seem to have more land space to roam in the zoo. Trying to understand the language can be tricky as some of the places I have been to, the people may not understand English but it’s part of the fun.

I have yet to see the pink blossoms in Japan, swim with the dolphins, touch the Great Barrier Reef (unfortunately, it’s out of bounds due to pollution) and many more. Planning for holidays is half the fun. It’s the visiting and looking at the structures and experiencing festivals that completes it.

If traveling with tour guides isn’t your cup of tea, why not try Tiger Airways after you have planned your itinerary?

Tiger Airways is currently celebrating its 4th anniversary by having a special birthday fares starting from S$0.04 to various destinations.

Tiger Airways is Asia Pacific’s true low fare airline. It offers passengers not only one of the lowest possible airfares in the market, but safe, reliable and convenient point-to-point air travel as well. Tiger Airways now flies to more than 27 destinations across 9 countries in Asia-Pacific on a fleet of brand new Airbus A320 aircraft.

This trip was a long one in the making. Originally, there was supposed to be 4 girls, NL, ES, HF and me. Unfortunately, the delay took more than a year to get to this trip. NL couldn’t take any leaves at all in August. We asked RK if she would be interested in a massage trip in Batam and she nodded her head immediately.

With 4 girls confirming the trip, we looked around for hotels that included the spa package with accommodation. Finally, we settled on Harris Resort Batam even though Holiday Inn had a package. It just didn’t feel worth the price for a 2D1N stay. RK’s beloved offered to help us book. Sweet!

After the calling back and forth with RK and the Five Stars Tour, we managed to get a spa slot at 11am, Batam time. It was freaking early as we had to take the 9.20am ferry. That meant meeting at 7.30am for breakfast before collecting our tickets.

I went with RK since she lived nearby and we were the first to reach followed by ES and her dear hubby who took the effort to wake up early to send her off. Aww. HF was the last to arrive as her alarm failed. We settled out ferry tickets and proceeded to the gate.

Although the crowd was choking the gate, we managed to find seats in the air conditioned portion and talked all the way until we reached Water Front City terminal. There, we queued up at the wrong counter as the Harris counter sign was hidden by the queue. They need a bigger sign board.

With our passports settled, we queued up for the free shuttle bus. When the bus arrived, the crowd moved and an auntie with 2 of her family members rushed from behind us to board the bus. They were obviously late for some appointment.

We took the small van as they only have a bus or a van. The ride was short as we didn’t realise that the resort is so near to the ferry terminal. Since our rooms weren’t ready, we went to our spa after requesting that we wanted 2 connecting rooms. With the request completed and our room numbers confirmed, we headed across the pools to the spa.

The spas were located on the rooftop and I liked the nature feel to it. It wasn’t a good idea to request for a room for 4 as it didn’t come with an attached shower. We ain’t gonna walk around wrapped in sarongs when there were so many guys having their spa and male workers too! We stuck with 2 per room.

Image via Wikipedia

The body scrub did smooth our skins. I was the only one who chose Hot Stones massage while the rest did the aromatherapy massages. During the scrubbing, I fell asleep. It was that comfortable. RK and I showered off the scrub and waited for the massage. My massage was good as the masseur did a lot of massaging my shoulder ache away. When the hot stones came, it was a little warm. By the 3rd time, my skin felt as if I was on fire. I thought my arm hair was being burned!

However, it was worth it as I would inform her that it was hot. After it was over, we proceeded to the bath tub for our milk bath but it didn’t look like milk bath. More like herbal bath as we saw some black leaves. The water spurts were at intervals and it didn’t feel like being in a jacuzzi at all. It was also horrifying to see the water level being drained away the longer we stay in the tub and it wasn’t even overflowing either!

Image via Wikipedia

When I finally stood up to shower off, the water level was less than half of the tub. My body felt oily all over but smooth despite my attempts to use the given shower foam. RK and I asked if ES and HF had the same experience with their milk bath but they didn’t have the water level being lowered.

We went to check in since we needed our lunch. The room was fantastic. It was spacious and we opened the connecting doors. There was also a balcony over looking the pool. After admiring the room, we went on to have our lunch at 3pm, Batam time.

Thinking that the pizza was big enough, that was from the way the waiter used his hands to mimic how huge it was, we ordered 2 pizzas using our entitled vouchers. When the pizzas arrived, the pan was huge but the pizzas weren’t that big. The dough base was think, and crispy almost to the point of biting down on a biscuit.

The waiter asked if the pizza was big enough when we were done, we replied, “Too small.” He was helpless as he couldn’t do much about it. We ordered drinks and felt the soft drinks were way over priced. There wasn’t any need as they provided iced water too!

Since there wasn’t much else to do, we decided to play in the pool with the free ball. It was fun using the ball to splash water onto each other using as much force as possible. It was like dodge ball only, using water. The game lasted about an hour before HF decided that she was hungry.

We proceeded to wash off and ordered room service as we felt that the BBQ and buffet dinner was too expensive since none of us eat much. Dinner arrived just as all of us had completed our baths. ES loved the Cabonara Spaghetti and the fish chilly sauce. The omelette was too salty but the salad that came with it was great. Thankfully, the carrot soup was bland enough to balance the salty omelette.

ES suggested Mahjong to spend the night but the set and table weren’t available, so we request for confirmation from the reception who never got back on the availability because the person renting it was happily using it through the night. There is only one Mahjong set and one Mahjong table for rental.

We tried again after breakfast while waiting to kill the time but only the set was available. The table wasn’t. We couldn’t even borrow the Mahjong paper because the person didn’t seem to understand. Ultimately, we didn’t get to play Mahjong to pass the time, we played Big 2, Dai Dee. The night before, it was more exciting as we had forfeits. RK was the one who suggested a change of the forfeit and she was the 1st one to do it. Evil, ES took photos as proof. And NO! None of you will get to see them!

After checking out, we had about an hour plus to kill the time. Thus, we used the vouchers for a free bowling game per person. The game was way cheaper than playing one game in Singapore. We played 2 games but kept having troubles with the bowling balls being stuck in the gears. The guy had to sort it out for us more than 5 times.

Finally, we changed lanes in the middle of the second game. The monitor for one of the lanes was spoilt while the lane’s TV screen had too much flickering. We continued our games while I didn’t score any strikes, I did get a couple of spares. We kept hitting the pins to display goal posts too. The bowling balls got stuck a few times in the new lanes too.

I think the bowling lanes were under utilised and hence, the problems. We didn’t even have to wait for anyone to complete their games either. The guy was kept busying with our cries for help with the stuck bowling balls and pins.

It was time to leave Batam for Singapore. We had a great time being crazy in Batam, especially in our rooms.

Usually, I prefer 3D2N trips as it allows me to have a goo rest on the 1st day of arrival. However, Batam isn’t really a place where you would like to stay for more than 2 days. It’s mostly known for its massage services, just like Thailand. Batam was hot and sexy.

We boarded the ferry at 10am and reached Batam at around 11am. It was still 10am, Batam time. It doesn’t matter how early we reached the place. The hotel rooms weren’t ready. We reached the hotel, Pacific Palace, at 12 noon but were told that the rooms weren’t ready. So, we had to walk around to entertain ourselves until 1pm. By a stroke of luck, one of the rooms was ready just before we decided our next course of action.

Thus, we dumped our bags into the room and went out. However, we realised that we had left out something during our haste for lunch. Thus, we went back to take it. On our way out, the receptionist or some manager looked for DD. Thankfully, we went back because the manager actually went to the room to look for us.

Since we had the keys, DD and I decided to check out the rooms. We chose the room on the left and scared the lights out of the guy who was attempting to do something with the lights. So sorry. Then we went to check out the other room. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone to frighten.

Since I felt that the 2nd room was better, I chose that room and left with the other choice to the other couple. I was right in choosing that room. The overall displeasure about that hotel is that it had no bath tub. It’s a 4-star hotel but no bath tubs for deluxe, superior and executive rooms. What sort of designer decided it to be that way?

The toilet was large, larger than the ones in Hard Rock Hotel Bali and Ritz Carlton Bali. So I can’t get it out of my mind that it doesn’t have any bath tubs except for Junior and Classic suites.

We went for a massage at Miracle Aesthetic Clinic which had quite a professional decoration. However, I found it odd that their jacuzzi had this vacuum like object that had a pipe to emit the jets. It felt that the bath tub had shrunk due to that extra object. The staff was rather nice to switch off the aircon after discovering that I was cold.

While the massage was average, the jacuzzi was superb. 2 hours of Strawberry spa includes body massage, body scrub, steam, jacuzzi and some refreshments. The package cost Rp 300, 000 excluding tax. Sweet deal, right?

Thus, our 1st day in Batam ended with dinner at some food court. I can’t remember the place but I think it was in Nagoya, with more than 10 stalls selling seafood. Apparently, Bali and Batam are known for their seafood.

The next morning, which is this morning, the couple that got the 2nd room, reported that their bathroom had flooded. The pipe was clogged. The 1st couple joked about letting the water level rise so that they had a standing bath tub. However, in reality, the shower door had opening between the fixed glass and the door. It wouldn’t have really flooded that high.

Naturally, we went to the Mega Mall opposite the ferry terminal before departing for Singapore. I bought nothing except J. Co donuts that Kris had introduced. It does taste different from those bought in the cake shops. The donut was light and easily bitten into. However, my favourite snack still isn’t donut as I am not fond of sweet stuff.

I won’t be booking Pacific Palace but will book another hotel for my next trip to Batam. There’s another option, I can just go for a 1-day trip in Batam. Another lesson lesson learnt, any change in the package meant more money for the locals as they would state a charge of a certain amount per person before you take up their service. The utter horrors of holidays that I dislike very much.