Thank u 2009

Okay so just one more quick entry before 2009 ENDS!!! The time really has zoomed away and even thou I'm not "as" busy as I mite be in say Singapore with more parties and stuff to attend, I have to say that December has come to an alarmingly FAST end.

To be honest, I'm more excited about my winter holiday than the looming New Year Eve tonight (but I'll get to that). Yes I feel that it's a significant time when it comes to farewelling a year gone by and embracing 2010...but it won't be a huge "hoo-ha" here in Brunei without the crowds, parties & fireworks. I've spent part of the arvo dropping emails to old friends in an effort to just remember them. Wishing them Happy New Year is a great time to touch base. I miss my friends!

But most of my energy has been channeled into planning our itinerary for Beijing. Can't believe we're flying off next week! yippeee! I just love jumping online to read about the new hip spots that make this city even more awesome than it already is. Found this website called localnoodles.com.cn that offers useful restaurant reviews & updates on the latest new places.

Not only can we be immersed in chinese history & culture (it'll be like the 3rd time in e Imperial Palace for me) but we can also indulge in some incredible restaurants and range of cuisines available....e'thing from hot pots, muslim lamb skewers & of course "kaoya" (peking duck). So stay tuned for my return and I can't wait to share my fave picks here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Bring on 2010!

Birthday in Miri

Whew! The birthday has come & gone. Not that I was dreading turning a year older cos that just makes no difference to me whatsoever. A number is a number! I think I was just feeling a tad alone tis year initially. Birthdays are traditionally a time one would be celebrated, by her dearest friends and family around her. It's a silly romantic notion stuck in my head.

But my mum was way Down Under and dad was also on another island. And over the years, the extended family are too busy with their own lives...and reserve birthday celebrations for kids only. Close friends were scattered globally while new friends in Brunei.....well... it's still early :P

So I had to see jin as kinda my family, friend and boyfriend, all rolled into one. And that meant eating a whole birthday cake by ourselves too! As it turned out, we were driving to M'sia the next day and had to give 90% of the cake away to his brother and my housemate (whom were both unaware of e bday occasion!).

Anyway our roadtrip to Miri was a lovely little holiday & what better excuse for a holiday than a bday (that plus my tourist visa was expiring!!). I fully appreciated having my bf drop everything to take time off for me mid-week hehe! The Marriot was a bargain at only $100 p/n wif huge buffet breakfast spread included - my favourite part hehe! We sat by e pool & read all day (finished e Lost Symbol by Dan Brown & thot it was only average btw).

Not to forget - a dozen red roses & champagne waiting for us when we checked in.

A table was also booked for dinner which was a yummilious Rack of Lamb. And it wouldn't be a bday without e house "band" embarrassing me wif a rendition of Happy Birthday for all the restaurant to see! And when I thot it was over... they threw in an extra serenade (the song "You look Wonderful Tonight") & said it was requested by Jin. But it wasn't! HAHA! It was typical asian cheesy but we had a gd laugh.

And totally random - some shots of the abundant wildlife in Miri that kept us company. Plus a take-home souvenir of over 30 sandfly bites. ITCHY!!!!

Well I'm officially older now...and hopefully a touch wiser, as the intimate celebration gave me a new perspective on birthdays! I miss my friends & family but I wasn't really alone.

No power to do anything.

Waiting for the power to come back on....you can't help but realise how much electricity is taken for granted. There is seriously so so little you can do to kill time. We had a black out last night and this morning on two separate occasions. Night time is definitely the worst of the two... no internet, no tv, no air conditioning plus extra heat from candles cos there's no light.... no reading, nothing to do to pass the time but maybe go to bed really early....after 2 cold showers trying to cool down. hehe! The first couple of blackouts were rather a novelty for me. I thot it was fun lighting e candles & just sitting ard the living rm chatting with family - watching the kids have nothing to do :P

Now it's gotten to the stage where the novelty has definitely worn off, they're a lot more common than I thot was possible. It's just a way of life here....and no amount of "feedback" to the govt will change this. The infrastructure is perhaps not coping with the growing demands of power?!? Who knows. Normally e blackouts occur during a storm, but yesterday it was a perfectly clear night. Thank goodness dinner was already cooked....so we all had a romantic meal with candlelight.

This morning...it unexpectedly went out again just after we woke up. I was all prepared to sit by the window and read all day if need be. At least there was light to do that. But I thought about all the businesses that were at a standstill cos there were no computers to work with. And cafes with customers in them...but unable to finish cooking or collect the bill cos the cash register was out of action. eeks! So disruptive!

Kids at the Gym

Something that's been bothering me.....should kids be allowed in the gym? I can't help but think of all the things that could go really wrong. Yesterday I found myself running on the treadmill next to a kid also on his treadmill half bending over and leaning on the front handbar while running. He looked like he was so tired...he would trip and fall any minute! But kept going. I was more than worried. Those treadmills always warn ppl not to hold the "heart beat" rail thing (u noe the one with sensors that measure ur heart beat...watever its called) while running and yet this kid was grabbing on for dear life. Did he not know when to stop? ...when to call it a day cos your body is tired? Didn't look like it.

Okay I admit, maybe I'm just bias and slightly annoyed cos the gym was overrun by high school kids that took up all the machines and were also sitting around the stretching area - which is already small enough...leaving no space for those that actually needed e space to stretch. They were sitting there chatting - nothing to do with working out. A bit inconsiderate I thought.

But they're kids. They generally didn't seem to have the same levels of courtesy and etiquette needed in a gym. Lately I keep seeing really young kids jumping on and off treadmills like a new toy they're mucking around with. What if they really did slip and hurt themselves? Those machines can go pretty fast.

And weight machines are worse - if not used properly...obviously. You could do way worse than pull a muscle on those things. And yet the gym is taking the chance. Could they get sued if someone got injured? Hmmm I wonder. Is it really worth that small amount in membership fees? Kids don't even pay full price.

Anyway... I guess I just needed to vent. To my surprise, when I checked out some of the other well known gyms overseas, I found that they now have "youth" memberships as well. I never saw a kid in the gym over the 4 years in Spore. I kinda like it tat way.

Brunei Dinners

Life in Brunei - let me mention the challenges first! There is seriously a major lack of good restaurants here. I'm not even looking for excellent - I'm merely hoping for "some" good food. And basically we have exhausted our options. We only eat out on weekends (thank God) which works out to be maybe 2 or 3 restaurant dinners a week. So we rotate... between a little jap place in Kiarong called Kaizen, or a yummy steak at Deals, Sheraton Hotel (we even know the waiter now hehe!) and pastas & pizzas at Villa Mauri. Those are our top 3.

[For those living here.... any other suggestions????]

Soooo anyhow the lack of variety here leads us to cook our own yummy dinners once in awhile and did I mention how great a cook my bf happens to be?! hehe! On saturday nite, he was in charge of the menu and I was to create the desired ambience :P That's another thing u kinda don't find here. The local restaurants love to stick a plasma tv to the wall...as the entertainment for the night. If I wanted to watch tv, I would just get take away and eat in the comfort of my own home. If u don't get a tv, then you're likely to get soppy soppy ol 90's lovesongs playin in the background.

My personal choice of ambience music would be more a mix of Nat King Cole & Michael Buble....jazzy, classic tunes playing gently in the background. Then the candles... a very simple way to create some mood.... and soft lighting. That's it!

Another bonus about eating in.... it's totally private dining. hehe! Don't have to pay for that luxury. AND AND AND... we can have wine with our dinner. No corkage! yeah! That's better than all the restaurants in Melbourne & Spore (that I noe of... cos e'body charges corkage there!)

It was a simple, romantic night of some wine, double brie, steak & aiglio olio pasta for dinner. Only thing really missing was dessert - which we were a little too full for. Satisfied :)

Travel ideas

I honestly hope that this will be useful to people who happen to chance upon this blog. Recently I've had the exciting task of planning our next holiday in January. Tight budget of course but always fun to pick and choose from the world...a new destination. God certainly created it to be amazing and my mum passed on the travel bug to me at a young age. I love exploring new places, and experiencing other country cultures. Sometimes u read about cultures that are dying out...pretty sad.

Anyway I've already gone thru some ideas and thought if you're in the region and in need of some inspiration - then allow me to share these wif u :)

(i) LIJIANG - CHINA

It's main attraction that would lure me there....is the Banyan Tree. hehe! Honestly it's beautiful and going in the winter time would mean soaking in a nice hot tub with a view of the majestic snow capped Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. This is the stuff of fairytales. And at a price tag of approx SGD$250 a nite. That's not far off the cost of some hotels in Spore....with no view and definitely no hot

tub!!

Lijiang has a quaint Old Town to explore and is officially a UNESCO World Heritage site. Thank goodness China is protecting some of its history and traditions in these small towns for the rest of the world to see. The photos I came across really make me wanna check the place out. Oh and the other famous site near Lijiang is the Tiger Leaping Gorge - sounds like something out of that Chinese movie..."Crouching tiger, Hidden dragon".

Noted it's not the easiest place to get to. Silk Air flies to Kunming fr Spore and then u have to transfer to a domestic flight to Lijiang. So far, have not had much luck searching for the domestic airfares...cos some of the info is in chinese and I can't read it. And the other website I found quoted prices in USD that sounded way too much! But still reckon tis would be so worth the journey there.

(ii) BEIJING - CHINA

Yes this is a more common destination I noe and I've already been to this awesome city twice (one time I stayed for 6 months even :). It's just that Singapore Airlines is having a great deal on the flight from Brunei...$820 incl of tax. And after the Olympics, this city has changed heaps...some of the stuff I found on the web - I can't even recognise anymore. The number of boutique hotels that have popped up are incredible and so cool....but ummm not cheap :(

Am just gonna list a few that appealed to me:

(a) The Opposite House www.oppositehouse.com Modern & free mini bar in every room.

(b) 3 + 1 Bedrooms www.3plus1bedrooms.com Very sml - literally 3 rooms & 1 suite.

Old converted hutong - where u get to experience the real old Beijing.

(c) The Emperor www.theemperor.com.cn Real close to Forbidden City so great views they say.

And saving the best til last.... there's been some talk about this place. It's located in one of the very best places u could want in China....right next to the Great Wall. Cool huh! It's called COMMUNE BY THE GREAT WALL. It's not only accommodation but a huge architectural project in itself - created by 12 high profile Asian architects...with private access to The Great Wall as your playground. I was just blown away by the whole concept. The pricetag doesn't help either, rooms start at SGD$500 each. Ouch!

Oh well.... a girl can dream can't she! Just imagine a full Beijing itinerary of historical chinese sites which can tire anyone out and then unwinding at the end of the trip with a night at this place. What a great way to enjoy the Great Wall. hehe!

So still have some way to go in terms of research before making a decision on where to go for our next holiday. Sri Lanka was also on the list but unable to find any good flight deals. Plus my bf and I are keen for a winter holiday for a nice change. I will likely freeze my butt off in Beijing as it's coldest in January but at least I know where to go to pick up some appropriate winter attire. Tell me that's not the best excuse for some shopping. haha! Okay tat's it for today.

P.S For those who know me.... think u'll start to notice that all of the above is a result of the sweet influence of my darling architect boyfriend who's dream is to one day design and build his own boutique hotel. Meanwhile as part of the research, we have no choice but to stay in some of the best... in order to create something just as good. hehe! Some of our personal holiday pics have already been used in his presentations to his clients. How good is it to be working & doing something u love! yeah!