The Venetian Macau: Back from MIA

Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a while, a long, long while since I last updated my blog. How's life? Mine's occupied with nothing but more and more work and sleep these days. LOL. I wonder if this has become a "standard" prologue for me to start my blog post already. Well, seems like it.

I went to Macau and Hong Kong last month. Yeah, it actually took me a month to dig out this picture below taken at the Venetian Macau. So grand and splendent that place, I wish I could spend the coming Christmas holiday rotting in there. Oops, not rotting, just rolling on the hotel's bed perhaps =p

Back to April: Sydney Once Again

Just touched down from "The Pearl of Orient" and landed on another "Pearl of Orient" two days ago. To clear up your confusion, I'm actually referring to Hong Kong which I revisited after 3 years and Penang where I lay my sore, tired body in my home sweet home right now.

Travelling can be pretty addictive. Each time it comes to the end of a trip, I would always secretly hope for another one to take place soon, like as soon as I unpacked and repacked my luggage xD.

In this instance, I wish I could fly myself down under to soak up the warm rays and enjoy the last nip of spring air before summer. How I've missed Australia, how I've missed you.

Cameron Highlands: Lavender Garden and Time Tunnel Museum (金马仑时光隧道)

Hello October! *gasps air* Is it normal for one to wake up in the middle of the night with a mind full of work-related issues or even dream about work in one's dreams? Well, the answer is clearly a big NO! It is not normal at all!!! I fear that I may be slowly slipping into depression, eventually loose my sanity and...

Don't be silly, Christina! *double face slap* Stop the negativity. That's not my intention of creating today's blog post really. Instead, Imma spread you guys some love and positivism.

Keep smiling, no matter how hard the situation is =)

One Night in French Themed Village(法国村)

First of all, thousand apologies for not being active in the blogosphere lately. I can hear my blog screaming for an update already since my last blog post in the beginning of September.

I was diagnosed with dengue and got admitted in the hospital for one and a half week after that. Too cruel to be true huh? How can a person get dengue twice within just twelve months?!!! I know, I'm super "lucky" =x

Looking at the bright side, I've had plenty of sleep and rested my body well enough (could hardly see a red vessel in my eyes the day I discharged). My skin is so moisture now, thanks to the intravenous therapy with high sodium chloride inputs and I lost weight! Hahaha!!! All the pain and suffering were at least worth something, right? I wouldn't say it was worthwhile 'cuz there is no way on this Earth I will ever wanna endure the same painful experience for more than twice.

Anyways, let's have a look at my one night in French Themed Village. I'm sorry for the poor quality images. Wish I had a better camera with me that time.

Colmar Tropicale (French Themed Village) Bukit Tinggi

Revisiting Bukit Tinggi after almost a decade yielded me different feelings and joys. First time was with fam, second with friends. Nothing much has changed to Colmar Tropical, the french themed resort in Bukit Tinggi except the cold weather. It sure did get hotter over the years.

Cameron Highlands: MARDI Agro Park

Thursday, the busiest and most hectic day out of the week. While waiting for my sis to come home and go for baddy, I decided to write up a quick post about our MARDI Agro Park visit at the Cameron Highlands.

Good time management huh? Time is never enough when you need it most, so better use it wisely.

It was out of the blue that one of us suggested to come by here in the afternoon. Baked in the sun and sweated like a pig. Minus the sweat and sunburn, it's nevertheless a tranquil family-friendly park for people of all ages to enjoy.

Cameron Highlands: Strawberry Moment Dessert Cafe and Strawberry Farm

It's officially one week since I started this new job of mine. Everyday of my working life is filled with nothing but more and more unfamiliar terms and abbreviations. Lots of self-studying going on for sure, and I'm fighting hard to load them all into my brain at once.

Working life is never easy, so is starting over from rock bottom, venturing myself into the world of EMS or CM they call it. New job, new life, new challenges.

As the quote goes, “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” I have lost my freedom and the luxury to travel in my case. What could I possibly gain? White hair and wrinkles  -____________-  Let's hope not!

On the way driving up Cameron Highlands, we stopped by at the Strawberry Moment Dessert Cafe for some sweet treats. Here's pictures of me while my hair is still brown. They better stay brown.

Cameron Highlands: Gossip Corner Restaurant and Desa Anthurium Apartment

My head is as heavy as a bowling ball now. Headache, sore throat and stuffy nose please, please, go away! I don't wanna be haunted by sickness throughout the entire Hungry Ghost Month.

I kinda miss the weather up the hills already. It was unusually cold and windy on the first day of our arrival. We checked-in into our accommodation, washed up, then headed out straight for a very late lunch in Tanah Rata. My poor tummy was screaming for food =s

Cameron Bharat Tea Plantations and Cameron Valley Tea House

Waking up to fresh cold air, dressing up pretty and wearing a warm smile on my face. Everything was exceptionally beautiful in my eyes that morning.

With flat and empty tummy, we were keen to have an abundance of breakfast delights at the Uncle Chow Kopitiam to kick start our day, but who would have guessed that the coffee shop could be so packed with customers lining up for tables? We switched to Sakura Kopitiam at last, and the waiting time was FOREVER!

Skip the unpleasant breakfast experience. The next destination on our schedule was tea plantations. Yay!!! We settled for Cameron Bharat Tea Plantations since the traffic condition towards and in Brinchang was absolutely terrible.

Ipoh Old Town: Sekeping Kong Heng and Plan B Cafe

Ipoh Old Town is as happening as ever, specially now during public holidays and long weekends. With its ideal location situated in the heart of most major cities and tourist attractions, it would be a good call to stop by to taste some local specialties and to do a little bit of sight-seeing before traveling further up or down the peninsular.

We were heading down south that day, in our case, from Penang to Cameron Highlands for a 3D2N trip. Speaking of Ipoh, we'll be there again tomorrow for dim sum breakfast, feel free to wave and say hi if you happen to bump into me =)

Bali in June: Taman Ayun Royal Temple of Mengwi Empire

Yet another temple visit! Our 4th day in Bali was pretty much about visiting temples. There were three on the schedule: Ulun Danu Beratan Water Temple, Tanah Lot Temple (the most beautiful during sunset) and Taman Ayun Royal Temple which I am now going to take you on a virtual tour.

Bali in June: Ulun Danu Beratan Water Temple and Wild Animal Encounters

The Ulun Danu Beratan Water Temple is about 26.8 kilometres away from Lovina Beach, where our dolphin watching tour took place. After a not-so-appetizing breakfast, I reluctantly dragged my feet into the car and slept like a baby until the chilly air forced me awake. The climate was completely opposite to what we have experienced near the beach, very cold and refreshing.

Entrance fee: Rp 30,000 per person.

Bali in June: Dolphin Watching Tour at Lovina Beach

Having to have to wake up at 2 a.m in the morning was a little ruthless to our bodies that day. We barely rested enough with just a few hours of sleep. I had 3 and a half. Crashed like a pig after washing up and blow drying my hair.

Around 2.30 a.m, our tour guide came to pick us up from Villa Mimpi Manis. Everyone was looking so beat up including the driver (our tour guide), "Kicap" who drove us through two hours of steep and winding mountain roads covered in thick fog. A round of applause to the pro F1 racer and myself for still being alive. It's a celebration! Haha. Tthe drifts could have swallowed us whole, you know.

Okay guys, you'll be surprised by our adventurous ride of the day...

Bali in June: Tegallalang Rice Terrace and Bebek Tepi Sawah Restaurant

Growing up in a small town on the border of Thailand and Malaysia, it's not uncommon to see a sea of paddy fields on the sides of road in the Rice Bowl State.

When I was briefed about our schedule of visiting Tegalalang Rice Terrace on day 3, the picture that first came into my mind was mountains and mountains of terraced rice fields which I imagined would be spectacular to be looked at.

So after almost an hour drive from Tirta Empul Temple, we eventually reached Tegallalang Village located on the north of Ubud. It was a huge blessing to have a tour guide to drive us around in Bali, honestly speaking. The roads are so narrow and winding that it was exhausting to even just sit in the car doing nothing.

And in the end, we settled for a scenery not so spectacular yet nice enough to click some snaps.

Bali in June: Telaga Dewata White Water Rafting

Approximately 15 km.

Bali in June: Tirta Empul Temple

Tirta Empul Temple, better known as Pura Tirta Empul by the locals was built in 962 A.D. during the Warmadewa dynasty. Which was more than a thousand years ago, if you do the math. It's surprisingly well-maintained for a sacred place that old. Even more shocking to learn the fact that an enormous 80 percent of Balinese are Hindus, intensely religious Hindus.

Bali in June: Water Sports at Tanjung Benoa

So many "first time" in my first travel trip to Bali. First parasailing and white water rafting experience, first interaction with turtles and other wild lives, I even rode flying fish and banana boat for the first time of my life!

As mentioned in my Tanjung Benoa post, the water sports cost us US $105 in total with free soft drinks, mineral waters and plain loaves of bread provided. The weather was perfectly fine for beach activities that day, sunny but not too hot. We brought what's necessary like sunscreen, sunnies, towel, clothes to change, and enough cash to pay and donate on the turtle island.

Bali in June: Civet Coffee / Kopi Luwak at Sai Land Cafe Luwak

“猫屎咖啡” aka Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee doesn't sound appetizing at all just by hearing its name alone. I've always heard of it in the movies, the TV series, and people praising about it until our recent Kintamini Tour on the third day in Bali. We finally got a taste of this special coffee and it was eye opening.

Btw, that's our Kicap on my left in the background. "Kicap" literally means soy sauce in Indonesian or "tao eu" in Hokkien which has similar pronunciation as tour guide in Mandarin Chinese. We kinda nicknamed him and he liked it too, I presume. LOL.

Shout out to the kindest and friendliest tour guide in Bali! We missed ya, Kicap =)

Sunday Hike: Youth Park to Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera)

The last time I hiked up to Penang Hill was almost a decade ago, when I was hmm *clears throat* like a flower in bloom. I still am, alright? After all these years =p

As a casual jogger who hasn't jogged in a long while, I did not intend to go full force or try to accomplish anything at all. It was wholly about having a good sweat and friendship bonding with my fellow friends on a lovely Sunday morning.

Breakfast is important. A good breakfast fuels you up and gets you ready for the day. Our master plan, therefore, was to have a quick fix at Sunrise McDonald's prior heading to the departure point in Youth Park. I got no appetite really, with just 4 hours of sleep on the night before.

Bali in June: Blue Ocean Seafood on Jimbaran Bay

Jimbaran Bay was mesmerizing. It was the most beautiful that we encountered in Bali thus far.

Initially, there were more places such as Nusa Dua Beach and Blue Point Bay to visit on the second day of our schedule, but it just seemed like mission impossible considering the average time we spent to travel from one place to another and the road and traffic conditions during this festive season.

We gave up the rest just to be here to witness the sunset that everyone claims to praise and one of the must-dos in Bali. The experience, nevertheless, was very much worth it.

Bali in June: GWK Cultural Park and Iiga Warung Special BBQ Ribs House

What our tour guide heard me grumble the most throughout the entire trip was, "Saya sudah lapar" literally means "I'm hungry". LOL. Can't blame me as most activities on our schedule were really energy-consuming. Even laughing burns calories, let alone the continuous partake of several water sports and beach actitivies in Tanjung Benoa.

Bali in June: Tanjung Benoa and Deluang Sari Turtle Farm

Hello, guys! My 5D4N Bali trip was nothing but fun, fun, fun and more fun!!! Gotta say that although I'm physically back in Penang, but mentally, my mind is still far from where I am now. Just a few more days or perhaps weeks, for it to crawl back into my head. LOL.

I've been suffering from severe lack of sleep since day 1 of our trip. There were seven of us who took midnight bus down to KL. As crazy as it sounds, we arrived KL Sentral around 5-ish, had breakfast and napped in McDonald's at the bus station, then hopped on the bus again (roughly an hour plus journey) to KLIA 2.

I napped in the bus, napped in Starbucks at the airport, napped wherever and whenever possible. It was plain EXHAUSTING not being able to have a good night sleep! Like a walking dead I was before catching the afternoon flight to Bali. Thank God I slept well in the plane.

At nightfall, we touched down at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali to be picked up by Pasek (our friendly tour guide), followed by yummilicous dinner at Ayam Tulang Lunak Malioboro (the chicken was fried to crispy so you could eat the bones and all), checked-in to our cozy villa, and that's pretty much it about day 1.

My Birthday aka Rose Valentine’s Day

Nothing big or fancy for my birthday celebration this year. Just a decent Japanese cuisine I had with siblings on the actual day of my birthday. Sis gave me a few options: Spanish, Japanese, Italian or Western and I picked Miraku Restaurant in G Hotel.

Thank you, guys. Thanks everyone of you for the greetings and birthday wishes. =)

Captain Cook Cruise on Sydney Harbour: Anniversary Dinner

April 27th, a memorable day marked on our calender. It's been amazing 9 years. Faith brought us together, yet now, we're far apart from each other. But I believe distance doesn't count if there is love in between. True love never fades away.

It was drizzling a little that night when we drove to the city to take cab to Circular Quay. Some of you must be wondering why the hassle? The reason being, Mr. Choo thought that parking might be an issue since he's not familiar with that area.

After all the hustling and rustling, we arrived just in time to go on board and were warmly led to a window seat by the cruise members on top deck. All my worries vanished, like a flip of a switch as soon as the vessel started cruising.

Sydney Harbour's night view is enchanting ♥♡ Can't help falling for it over and over again.

Manly Beach and In Situ Manly

I woke up with a bleeding throat this morning. Ouch. It's hurting so bad that I secretly regretted all the Korean barbecued meat and whatever fried and grilled food (well, not the barbecued crabs) I gulped down since I touched down in Penang.

Can't blame my gluttonous mouth for missing all the yummies. I'm already serving my punishment now with sore-throat and mild fever =( *replays Officially Missing You by Jayesslee for the 285th times*

Sydney Harbour National Park: Watson Bay Cliff Walk and Robertson Park

Sad to tell that I'm leaving for Penang again tomorrow after spending three leisure weeks here in Sydney. Not much sight-seeing was done this trip. Mr. Choo had to work on most days and I got stuck at home playing and running around like mad with Bella. LOL. Just kidding. We were just bonding like mother and daughter, a really spoiled one.

Last Monday, we took Bella out for another short walk. She's literally outgoing. And The Gap Park was what we've chosen.  

Easter Sunday: Rose Bay and Bayview Hill Sydney

First and foremost, Happy Easter to everyone who is celebrating! *tosses Easter eggs into the air* Hope you guys had a great time catching up with family and friends over the long weekend.

We took Bella out for a walk yesterday. The weather was simply lovely, so sunny and breezy that we couldn't resist sunbathing ourselves in a park located on the Sydney Harbour foreshore at Rose Bay. With clothes on, apparently =p

First Autumn in Sydney: Food Indulgence

Hello Sydney! Hello Aussies! Excuse me if I freaked out any of you with my close-up. LOL. Things are sailing smooth here down under, despite the excessive amount of rain we're getting during the change of season. Honestly, it's far more colder than I imagined it would be. Or perhaps, I'm already acclimatized to the heat and stifling humidity in Malaysia that I almost forgot how chilly it can be in the autumn days.

Sydney in April

Sorry guys, I feel terribly sorry for contributing only 2-3 posts in the past two months. That's like the amount of post I used to write in a week -__________-

Life has been grateful and miserable at the same time. So much thoughts and feelings overflowing, yet I can't put them in words. #TypicalTaurus Have faith, Christina. Have faith. There will be sunshine after the rain.

Speaking of rain, I kinda brought it all the way from Penang to Sydney. Hahaha!

Bangkok Trip: Wat Na Phra Men and Wat Lokayasutharam in Ayutthaya

Finally, I made time to conclude my Bangkok Trip happened back in October last year. What an effort! It's been almost half a year away from now already. Time really does fly huh? I'm trying very hard to recall what we did within our four days in Bangkok. Pictures are scattered everywhere, in my iPhone, my sis and brother-in-law's cameras. So, here we go guys! A summary of our tours and activities after some serious digging.

Day 1:
- Arrived in Bangkok after spending 23 hours on the train from Butterworth.
- Checked-in Baiyoke Sky Hotel.
- Lunch at Koh-I-Noor Restaurant.
- Visited Chatuchak Weekend Market.
- Buffet dinner at the Bangkok Balcony Crystal Grill on the 82nd floor of Baiyoke Sky Hote.
- Visited Observation Deck on the 77th floor and The Bangkok's 360° Revolving Roof Deck on the 84th floor of Baiyoke Sky Hotel. 

Day 2:
- Buffet breakfast at Baiyoke Sky Hotel.
- Visited Palm Sugar Making and Orchid Farm.
- Lunch at Chao Phraya Floating Market.
- Shopped at Platinum Fashion Mall.
- Had hawkers for dinner on a street near the Pathum Wan Police Area.
- Shopped at the night market.

Day 3:
- Buffet breakfast at Baiyoke Sky Hotel.
- Visited Bang Pa-In Palace (Summer Palace).
- Visited Wat Maha That (Monastery of the Great Reli).
- Visited Wat Na Phra Mane and Wat Lokayasutharam.
- Buffet lunch on River Sun Cruise.
- Shopped at CentralWorld.
- Visited Than Toa Mahaprom (Erawan Shrine).
- Thai food for dinner in MBK Center.

Day 4:
- Buffet breakfast at Baiyoke Sky Hotel.
- Shopped at the Day Market.
- Lunch at the Don Mueang Internation Airport.
- Flight from Bangkok to Penang.

Next, you'll get to witness the last two temples we visited in Ayutthaya Province. One of them was Wat Na Phra Men aka the "Monastery in Front of the Funeral Pyre" which sometimes also referred as Wat Na Phra Meru, located off the city island in the northern area of Ayutthaya in Tha Wasukri sub-district.

Made In Penang Interactive Museum (美因槟廊)

On one of the weekends during Chinese New Year, we visited Made In Penang Interactive Museum, located right next to VIA.PRE Italian Restaurant in Pengkalan Weld. It was after breakfast when we came with a huge crowd of people gushing in and out with their cameras.

Entrance fees as following:

• RM10 for kids, students (with student card) and senior citizens (60 and above).
• RM15 for mykad holders.
• RM30 for non mykad holders.

Crystals in Orient Cave, Jenolan Caves

We drove 180 kilometres from where we stayed in Sydney to Jenolan Caves that morning. The exact same day we visited the Echo Point Lookout. Same outfit, same everything. I'm glad I wore crocs as there's quite a lot of walking involved.

Art is Rubbish / Rubbish is Art by Ernest Zacharevic

We paid a visit to Ernest Zacharevic, the famous Lithuanian street artist's first solo art exhibition, "Art is Rubbish, Rubbish is Art" yesterday. Yes, we were in luck to still be able to witness part of his amazing artwork with our own eyes. No admission fee necessary.

Venue: Hin Company Bus Depot, Jalan Gurdwara, George Town, Penang.

(Opposite the Hotel Continental)

Date: Jan 17, 2014 to Feb 14, 2014

Time: 12pm to 8pm daily

Feel Fresh with Air Wick Filter & Fresh and Multicolor Black Edition Candle

First of all, "Gong Xi Fa Cai" and "Happy Chinese New Year" to everyone who's celebrating CNY out there!!! It was 年初七 aka 人日 (literally means Human Day) yesterday. How's everyone going? Still in holiday mood and feeling reluctant to go back to where you're supposed to be doing I guess.

I pigged out a lot recently. Not because of the new year cookies or snacks I tried hard to avoid, but during my two-week stay in Sydney. Mr. Choo fed me too much potatoes, way too much potatoes!!! Damn those delicious potatoes =______________=

Sydney was awesome! I could image myself settling down in a city like that. Bondi Junction, Darling Harbour... Not to mention, Bella. I missed that little furball a lot *sniff sniff* She makes me wanna keep a pet dog even more.

When I was in Sydney, I received a parcel from Air Wick Australia a couple of days just after my arrival. Surprise, surprise! It's the newly launched Air Wick Filter & Fresh air freshener and Multicolor Black Edition candle which I will talk about in my blog post today.

Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge

Just got back from SOH (Sydney Opera House) not long ago, tired, tired. I'm all flat out after touring the city all day by foot. My gorgeous pair of new boots definitely ain't helping at all. Well, I should be thankful actually, because despite their weight, they were not hurting my feet when walking.

*Looks at the system time on desktop* Oh crap, it's 12.39 already and I still haven't taken my shower yet!!! Sorry guys, I'm gonna make this a real quick one. Shall I just skip to the pictures and let them speak for themselves? Hehe, enjoy =)

Echo Point Lookout, The Three Sisters and Blue Mountains

We made a quick stop at Echo Point after visiting Jenolan Caves the other day, the very same day that Adelaide confirmed as the hottest city on the planet Earth.

It was a devilish hot day indeed here in New South Wales. We woke up super early in the morning, 6 a.m. to be precise (3 a.m. MYT) to get ourselves ready for the almost 3 hours road trip. With barely 5 hours sleep I survived, but tired to the max!

On Ramen Haymarket and Ichi-ban Boshi Bondi Junction

Been actively blogging these few days. Yeah, I'm trying my best to write as much while the memory is still fresh in my mind, and before the photos start piling up on my hard drive.

When I was in Malaysia, I tend to skip breakfast to have brunch instead in the afternoon. It's a bad habit, I know, but I just couldn't help sleeping late at night and waking up late the next morning. I was struggling... Blame my sleeping disorder.

Miraculously, I sort of getting back into the habit of having breakfast again since I came back to Australia. I would say it's the environment and weather which affect me. Our room has plenty of sunlight, specially now in the summer when days are longer than nights. It wakes me up early every morning like an alarm clock without fail.

For breakfast, I've been making toast and fruits (bananas / strawberries / blueberries / mangoes) and vanilla yogurt for myself after workout. Sounds healthy huh?

There are times we cook lunch or dinner at home, grilled chicken, barramundi, salmon, banana prawns, pork belly and oven-baked veggies like sweet corns, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes with olive oil and herbs. But there are also times we enjoy dining out in the local restaurants. Well, most times actually. Below are just two out of the many we visited in a week.

Bondi Beach Sydney: Beachwalking Bella

So, we revisited Bondi Beach again this afternoon, took Bella out for a beachwalk. The little white fur ball was all over the moon when Mr. Choo hooked her up with a dog leash. She looked absolutely adorable standing by the front door, ears up, tail wagging, patiently waited for our instruction. "Come on, Bella! Let's go!!!" we cheered, and there she went rushing down the stairway and into the car.

Bondi Beach / Bondi Bay Sydney

Woohoo, I made it to Bondi Beach, F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!!! How exciting!!! *hops around the room*

We got there a quarter to 5 in the afternoon (yesterday's afternoon). Everything was heavenly beautiful by the beach. Blue skies, white sandy beaches and turquoise sea under the wonderful warm and breezy summer weather.

Guys, if you're expecting to see me in sexy two-piece bikinis, then I'm sorry to disappoint you. Hahaha~ I've got nothing flashy on but a cheap piece of casual dress I picked up from Darling Harbor the day before. Only $9.99 that cheap! =p

A Walk to Darling Harbour Sydney

Hey, hey! How's everyone been doing in the past two weeks? As most of you know, I'm in Sydney and it's my 5th day here already. Jetlagged. It was plain exhausting and I didn't sleep well although the time difference between Sydney and Malaysia is only three hours, three hours ahead of Malaysia time.

Anyway, my intention today is just to make a quick post to update you on the happenings yesterday. Nothing wordy or too fabulous. Despite the fact that it is summer now down under, it still gets a bit chilly in the evening and at night when the temperature drops.

Gift Exchange Christmas Dinner 2013

Weeeeeeee, first post of 2014!!! Times flies, it sure does. Glad that I had been enjoying my freedom to the fullest since the very day I touched down in Malaysia. No regrets. Life's too short to live with any regrets.

I spent my emotional past few days reviewing my old blog entries, only 72 in total for year 2013. Yeah, a lot less productive compared to the year before. So much ups and downs to endure in the journey of finding myself and what I wanna do with my life. Forgive me, for not being able to share every single detail with you.

 2013 was a nightmare yet full of excitements and wonders.

• February: Dyed my hair brown for the first time.
• April: First golf experience.
• May: A luxurious birthday celebration in Brisbane.
• May: Had Dequervains Tenosynovitis aka repetitive injury on my left thumb.
• June: First whale watching experience on the Gold Coast.
• July: Farewell-ed friends in Queensland, moved down to Sydney.
• August: Family road trip to Tioman Island.
• September: Started using WeChat and got hooked up ever since. 
• October: Diagnosed with dengue and admitted days in the hospital.
• October: Met up with an old "new friend" and attended friend's wedding in KL.
• October: 23 hours train voyage to Bangkok.
• November: Experienced the worst food poisoning that lasted days with abdominal cramps.
• Months of never-ending exploring the Pearl of Orient.

I had three gift-exchange Christmas dinner last year. LOL, "last year" sounds far, far way but it was merely less than two weeks ago. One with newly met friends, one with family, one with badminton buddies. Gift exchange with family was indeed the most unforgettable as it was never our tradition to celebrate Christmas.