Friday 12 September 2008

Sleeping Face Down

Saffi has recently been highlighting the fact that she's got a flat face by sleeping er, flat on the face. I have no idea how she breathes, occassionally I do check that she's still breathing. The pictures here taken last night after she dozed off as I stroked her head (it went lower, lower, lower...) and then you can only see her ears.

You're So Vain... OK, So This Post Is About You

Thursday 4 September 2008

My Only Trip to Germany

Yes, the first and last time my ex airline would send me to Germany. That was in May, and the weather was fine. Me and the Koreans, armed with our fully charged cameras we set off to walk about and visited the Goethe Haus.



That may be something I miss - going places. But hell, if it's better off at work, plus I get to be home in Singapore with friends, family and cats... what more can I ask.

This post is for an album I should've posted months back so here it goes!

Monday 21 July 2008

Hello

I am well aware this blog hasn't been updated for a looong looooong time and as an act of self defense here are the low-downs:

- June is a crazy month. Believe me. I packed and left. I crashed and learned. I moved and pack (some more... packing is endless)
- Two trips in June, New York and Shanghai. I've lotsa photos to share, some very nice ones from Frankfurt especially visit to Goethe Haus
- Thank you Emirates but no, I don't miss Dubai
- I like my new home and it is back in Singapore. Cats are happy and so are their people
- Since 4th July I've been here in London and it won't be until 18th August when I return
- London has been loads of fun. Internet access is extremely limited but in my non-virtual life I made new friends who are really wonderful people
- My life will be back to normal when I return, with sticky weather, my favourite food, and Saffi by my side. New rosters I will put up - think I'll be out of town a lot

Oh, baby Nigel is here. Thank June and Kok Leong for that, well done folks. I can't wait to get myself some Nigel moments. I bought him a little boy swimmies.

Take good care and we'll catch up soon.

Wednesday 14 May 2008

Monday 5 May 2008

I Heart Japan



Japan never disappoints. There's always something good. So good you wish you stay longer and have more Yen. Japan can be bizarre or peaceful and zen; dirty in ways but mostly clean; fantastic food whether or not you deal with a vending machine; and needless to elaborate, the good, GOOD shopping.

It's been years since I last visited Japan in Tokyo. I wanted very much to return ever since but sadly it's not as easy said than done. This time I went to Nagoya, on a work flight. Layover's only 28hrs but oh man, enough Yen spent and food consumed.

I left Nagoya with bags full of made-in-Japan products, an O-Mamori (protection charm) from Osu Kannon Temple, tummy full of Katsu Kare, Ramen, Gyudon, Tako-Yaki and green tea.

Photos are here. Thanks to Karen for taking many pictures of me.... and my new Forever Friends brollie from flatmate!

Sunday 4 May 2008

Cooking Fun

Since I put up the last post I shall shamelessly direct you to a mini gallery of food pictures. Food I prepared over the last year. Some others were not as lucky to survive the photo taking and were consumed prematurely.

The joy of cooking is amplified when food is shared, even more satisfying when achieved good tasty results. I believe everyone can cook, doesn't have to serve a ballroom of fine-palette guests - the Thai lady I remember at a Sukhumvit roadside makes excellent food. Whether served in fine Chinaware or styrofoam takeout boxes, food is food - and great tastes hath no limits!

So, are you cooking yet?

Chocolate Base Mini Cupcakes



I made cupcakes for the first time today and am quite pleased with the result. Once I master the basics I shall move on to cupcakes with decorative colourful toppings (you know the kind that looks so pretty it doesn't matter if it tastes good?)

But these taste pretty darn good despite using less sugar and low fat cheese :)

They look so cute as they rise, guarantee to put a smile on your face!

Friday 2 May 2008

The May(be) Time of the Year

It's May. Last year this time there were big changes. I was busy packing and making arrangements to leave Singapore for Dubai.

This May is exciting too. I have good destinations coming up and (hopefully) a fat bonus to look forward to... Oh my calendar's updated. I have been so lucky with rosters this whole year, I shall not complain come June when I have to be on reserve.

Tuesday 8 April 2008

Go... Korea!

Finally I get to go to Seoul. One of the most popular destinations among the 'young and trendy' *ehem*, what with all that Korean drama influences these days, clothes and makeup, Kim Chis and Bibimbabs. Also a very popular flight to-have among cabin crew because of the easy sectors, beautiful hotel and attractive allowance.

There were 7 Korean crew on the flight and after about 8 hours stuck in a metal tube together the rest of us kinda figured out our itineraries. I was to eat and shop, likewise two other Asian girls. The non-Asians thought it more intriguing to do a tour visiting palaces and stuff (whom later totally regret not coming shopping with us heh).



And so there were the Korean salads and fresh lettuces making up for the fatty pork barbeque, bottles of Shoju to go with the meal, and great cosy ambience rather traditional i.e. totally NIL English words- thanks to our senior Korean crew who allowed us to tag-along, she translated and ordered everything for us.

Next morning we armed ourselves with a sharp eye and and a loose purse in the middle of Myeong-dong, the shopping district to be in the centre of Seoul. Though prices are definitely not as low as in the Namdaemun and Dongdaemun markets, it is a lovely place with plenty of shops and restaurants enough to distract ourselves for a good 5 hours. Languages are not a barrier when it comes to picking and paying. Services were good. I bought adorable makeup stuff in irresistable pink packaging - in a pink shop, Korean beauty products, cute pants, and pair of heels (very very disciplined there!). Would've gone on forever and inflict more damage but decided to take the hotel bus back to catch a quick nap before getting ready for the flight back.

Despite just a short stay, Seoul is surely good for the one who craves excellent food and shopping. Seoul for the soul, geddit?

Photos are here. Warning: 1) lotsa pork 2) will induce hunger.


Bye bye, Korean Won! You came and went oh-so quickly...

Monday 7 April 2008

One Day in Brazil

The crew flew 14 hours from Dubai to stay in Sao Paulo for no more than 30 hours. A shame, but then we got there for free and then some shopping money. So I don't complain.

The hotel is fantastic, rooms are beautiful. Location-wise, not exactly in town area instead a new business district. Outside I see highways and contemporary architecture. My Brazilian colleagues had earlier warned me not to go out alone at night, a bad turn and one might just end up in a slum. Brazil is like that, they say.

Weather was great the next morning - skies clear from rain, breezy in the sun light. As per concierge recommendation we went to Emporio Moema for breakfast. Moema, a district where we can find the famous Havaianas flip-flop store and other shops amidst upper-class residential buildings. Spent the whole morning idling in the area, in between making tough decisions over slippers and bikinis.




I would love to have visited Liberdade, the district of Japanese community, largest outside of Japan! I want to go to the markets, the majestic museums, run in the park, binge on churasco, sit at a cafe listen to bossa but they all seem quite unachievable within a short span of time.

From the little I see, the capital of Brazil is a beautiful place with beautiful people. Many interesting stuff you can find in the media, great advertising, lovely sounds. I had a fantasy of speaking Portuguese and living there.

More photos here.

Sunday 6 April 2008

Things You'd See in a Crew Bus...


I Miss Black Cat and Padang

It's a shame I have never been to Jakarta, it being a stone-throw away from Singapore. Until January this year. I have the greatest pleasure of hanging out with my dear friend Verrie who did a very good job showing me around. I wouldn't have savoured true Indonesian Padang and subject myself to hours of charm and Bintang Beer at Black Cat Jazz Bar otherwise.

Did you know that the very sedap Padang experience is such that a huge array of dishes are presented on the table? You get billed only for those you succomb to of course... but it's very hard to resist.

Thank you, Verrie!

Tuesday 18 March 2008

Very Venice lor



Venice happened in January. It was cold, windy and rainy but beautiful nonetheless. A whole bunch of us crew went out together which is great, like a tour group of multi-nationalities. Hotel rooms were pretty fabulous and it's an easy walk to the bus stop where we hop on to go Piazzale Roma. From there we took the public boat to Rialto.

A slow and distracting stroll (many shops along the way and places for pictures) later we find ourselves at the must-go St Mark's Square. It's a popular spot for tourists and pigeons, also the lowest point of Venice where floods can be a threat. On one side of the square you can see the 4 famous Saint Mark's Horses but those were replicas. The real deal is in the Basilica, sheltered and protected. We didn't enter the Basilica as it was getting late, and there was a queue and entrance fees involved.

Many photos later we wandered into the back alleys in search of something to eat. Herein lies many tourists traps - souvenir shops, over-priced Italian restaurants, McDonald's (but of course...). We settled for one of the said Italian restaurants and ordered various pasta, pizza and tiramisu items. Sucking up to the atmosphere I bought a Venetian mask - a rustic black and gold, cat-shaped mask.

Outing ended with a gelato, walk in the rain, the grand canal at night, and a visit to the supermarket on the way back to hotel.

More pictures here.

Wednesday 5 March 2008

Pictures from Dhaka



I've been meaning to put up the photos I took in Dhaka since 2 months back. My first stay in Bangladesh, went out with 2 girls, still slightly sore from the New Year's fall but managed to fall again on the steps of the bridge in Dhaka. Sore back and then buttock.

Bangladeshies are very hospitable, kind and full of smiles. They are very happy to have their pictures taken and even more thrilled see them on my camera display. Its city is full of life and colourful objects. Stay was good, nothing as bad as some crew make it out to be.

I had 2 Dhaka flights in January and flights like that require special skills like mind-reading and be effectively assertive without the use of English. Try that. Passengers on these flights don't travel often, don't know how to use the lavatories' locks and flush buttons, don't see the need to use seat belts, stare at you while you work, and man, they love their drinks. Still, despite these challenges, the one nasty Manchester flight in January beats all others hand down (and people on that flight are English-speaking, experienced travellers).

Please continue seeing this entry in my Dhaka album.

Thursday 21 February 2008

Save the Baby Seals

"An independent veterinary panel performed post-mortems on seal carcasses abandoned on the ice floes. Their report concluded that in 42 percent of cases, the seals did not show enough evidence of cranial injury to even guarantee unconsciousness at the time of skinning. Footage from the commercial seal hunt consistently shows conscious pups stabbed with boathooks and dragged across the ice, wounded pups left to choke on their own blood and conscious seal pups cut open. Video footage of the 2005 hunt can be viewed at http://www.protectseals.org/."

Go to http://www.hsicanada.ca/seals/ to read more, and pledge not to purchase Canadian seafood. Please, no fur products either!

Thursday 31 January 2008

When I'm Upset I Pick up the Kitchen Knife

It's been a frustrating morning that crept into the afternoon, having to deal with HR paperwork and rostering issues with the company that hires me. It is frustrating to get things done here. I suspect no one comes to Dubai to work. No one works. They just refer and redirect phone numbers.

So in an attempt to ease my mood and feed my soul, I cooked. Since I don't get to go back this CNY for Reunion Dinner - because it is in the sinister nature of the crew scheduling people to stick a Beijing flight for me on the 8th so that I can't rid of it because I'm a required language speaker - I prepare a nasty, sinful, gooey pot of Pork Belly Stew with mushrooms. At this very moment the whole apartment smells delicious. I am in touch with my Chinese roots, yes!

Tuesday 15 January 2008

First Flight of the Year

Zurich in Switzerland. I used to think it's in Germany. People there speak German (I was told by a Swiss passenger it's got its own version of German), French or Italian. It is one of the world's richest country and you can feel it there.



I would've gone out had it not been so cold and me so tired - yeah from the New Year fall and the alcohol binge. To the old town, the picturesque city as seen on TV. Instead I took the hotel shuttle to the Airport where I had breakfast and did some grocery shopping. Rosti, sausages, pasta, chocolates, etc.

Back in the hotel I hung out at the crew lounge for a bit and later had salad, fruits and bread in my room. Swiss bread deserves special mention. It is yummy (!) on its own. "So good you can eat it own its own" is NOT Gardenia.

Zurich would be a Designer's place. The airport is one of its kind, no tacky stickers and wall paints. The shuttle train that takes you from one part of the airport to the other is clean, egonomically designed and in that short journey it plays sounds of nature and farm animals in brilliant surround sound quality. Everything is in order. Perfect logos (I love the Swiss flag), appropriate typefaces, really neat signages and posters even the charts that tell you train schedules. Afterall we all love Helvetica.

Well, I will go out next time I'm in Zurich.

It Rains in Dubai

It is raining heavily outside. The past week has seen several occassions of rainy weather. Other crew say it didn't used to rain this much. It's a nice change, and probably one to be cherished since there'll likely be rainless the rest of the year. While my windows gets 'washed' most other areas are a mess, the ground is wet in a dirty-sandy-wet way.



BTW, while Bush was in the UAE, Dubai's main roads are closed for the most part of Monday. With no underground transport system to boot just yet, the whole city's shut down. It's been declared a 'public holiday' too.

Monday 14 January 2008

Beijing #3



As the last flight in 2007 it wasn't bad at all. This time I arranged with another Singaporean girl to go eat Peking Duck, and our Purser and First Officer came along too. It was good company, good food. We went to the famous Quan Ju De, XiuShui outlet.

A long lunch and some shopping later I was sipping my must-have hot soy milk and accompanied the rest to the cafe. Later we stood in the piercing cold wind waiting for taxi only to succomb to paying 3 times for one to take us back to the hotel.

Went to Carrefour to do my fresh food shopping and packed Fried Rice for dinner. It's prepared with very generous amount of veggies, some bacon and all wrapped in lotus leaf.

Shopping was great at Perth

...hence there was nothing much else to blog about. It was 21st December, pre-Christmas in great 25-degree weather, and it seems the best thing to do is shop.

But I had to stop for a break to listen to the singing Santarinas. They sang popular carols and each one accompanies different dance moves. The smallest girl (first row, right most) keeps getting the moves wrong in either directional or rhythmic ways, in perfect (read: hilarious) oblivion. At the end of the performance she was nudged by the girl behind her to march off first and though she did, the rest didn't follow! She was all frowning and upset as witnessed by all.

Wednesday 9 January 2008

Help! 5 Kitties for Adoption



My kind bestie Wendy took in 5 kittens and is seeking desperately to place them in good homes. 5 adorable kitties from the same litter, eyes barely opened, now at Bukit Timah, Singapore. Wendy has been feeding each one and taking care of their general wellbeing but she is unable to handle it for long. There are 3 resident cats in the house.

So please, if you can help her, or know someone who can, please contact her on her blog: http://fastandfurry.blogspot.com/

Update: 2 kittens adopted, 3 are still available in foster home!

Wednesday 2 January 2008

Fallen into 2008

Happy New Year everyone!

New Year's eve began with us girls (the boys - Rich is on the long-awaited Melbourne/Auckland trip; David had a turnaround and went for the bus at midnight what a shame) having coffee and cakes, followed by a quick shopping at the Carrefour, then to MMI, the toxic paradise of Dubai. Herein lies the magic potions of many kinds, at prices so affordable, anyone with an alcohol licence could afford to be drunk.



Some of you may already know that I had too much to drink at a house party we gate-crashed into, got my feet extremely dirty, attempted to wash them clean in my bath tub at 1 am, and fell out of it standing one-legged. I must've hit the side of the tub before hitting my head on the bathroom floor. Nasty, I know. Loud thud, I heard.

With my feet almost entirely clean I went to bed and woke up the next morning with a sore side. My concerned friends drove me to the EK Clinic and I was attended by a really kind doctor (unlike the uncaring one I saw the last time - that's for another story another time). Doctor performed a thorough check of my head, neck, spine and joints and confirmed that it's almost miraculous I have just a muscle sprain and am fit to fly to Zurich today. Yeepee. I was prescribed painkillers, muscle rub and a peace of mind.

My head started to hurt a little too but I guess it's just a superficial sore. I guess for what the fall could otherwise result in, I am lucky afterall. A careless fall, or a lucky drop?

Tip: don't enter the tub when you're drunk.