My virgin cruise trip

This is a super overdue post on my cruise trip.
Was too lazy to upload so many photos.

Unbelievably, the cruise on Royal Caribbbean's Legends of the Seas is one of the best short trip
I had in since 2008.
Surprisingly. I never thot cruise cud be fun.
I was wrong.
4D3N trip...unforgettable.

It was so much more fun than my short trips to KL and BKK last year.
Prob becoz it was a brand new experience for me as I've never been on a cruise before.
N ppl say it is so so soooo much better than Star Cruise.
I dun like Star Cruise *bleugh*

It was a nice leisure relaxing cruise trip where we stopped over at the ports of call
- Penang and Port Klang (KL).
We disembarked at Penang for a short tour, but stayed on the ship when it arrived at KL on the 3rd day.
You can tell that it catered indeed more to the European market by the mere interior design of the ship,
the facilties and activities available,
and the ang mohs and different nationalities serving you.
The crew was a friendly, delightful and very hospitable 700 from 62 different countries.
I have never experienced such immense hospitality on my trips.
Would like to applaud the staff for doing their jobs so well, always brimming with energy and cheeriness,
making guests feel so so warm and at home.
They made every activity, no matter how simple/ordinary, seem so fun and exciting.

Oh and we met Baby's fren Darius on the ship!
What a coincidence! He was there with his gf Calista,
and it was pretty fun with them ard as we did some activities together.

Day 1: Took half day leave. Supposed to check in by 3pm, and depart by 4pm.

Our cabin room with window.
Altho small but not bad. Apparently much bigger than Star Cruise's.
Got bed, 2-seater sofa, small TV, dressing room, toilet and wardrobe.


Inside the ship near the main lounge hall.
Took pics outside the casino. We went gambling at the casino for all 3 nights!
Super fun but we lost everything by the 3rd night. Muahaha...expected though.
Casinos cheat ppl of their money lor. Dun ever think of winning there.
We took it as we paid money to have fun at the casino.


Went up to the highest open-air deck on the ship to witness the sail-off.
I feel like im on titanic. Wahaha!




Outdoor swimming pool.



Sailing off...




View of the sea with little boats.


Front of the ship.


Back of the ship.


I love the trail that the ship leaves behind on the waters. Looks nice.
Somehow it intrigues me.


Exploring the ship.



They've got paintings all around which they will put up for auction during one of the nights.
Im not that artsy fartsy, but i think the paintings are all super nice.
I actually do enjoy looking at them.




Glass ship model of one of Royal Caribbean's ships.


Baby and his stone head.
We thot it was Mozart.
But it turned out to be Schumann.


Me and Shakespeare!
I used to love shakespeare when I was studying literature and general paper back in sch.
Oh and the painting at the bottom right is one of my fave on the ship.
Not cos it is nude or wat, but I think it is very expressive.
Makes me think of protected, loyal, pure and passionate love.
N it is one of the few paintings on love on the ship.


Still exploring the ship. Some of the cool outdoor facilties available on the highest deck like miniature golf course, jogging track, rock climbing, outdoor pool and jacuzzi, pizza and drinks bar etc...


Wah, the wall is so high. Nvr gonna try this.
Think rock climbing is a dumb sport.



Roman-inspired naked statues near the indoor pool area.


Baby thinks his d**k is small. Pls lor, it is just a STATUE.


Some random photos taken at the deck. The sea is so chio!



It was super super windy!!!
My hair was flying all over the place! Check out this mad photo.


We went for formal dinner at the fine dining restaurant called "Romeo and Juliet".
The dress code for the first night was formal.
So Baby had to wear a suit with tie and I had to wear a cocktail dress.






Our appetisers lobster bisque and escargots,
and desserts low fat double strawberry cheesecake and some lemon coconut sponge cake.


Our steak and red wine. Delicious!




Next day, we disembarked at Penang!
Waiting to leave the ship.




Signed up for the Georgetown trishaw tour that covers Khoo Kongsi temple, Peranakan museum and high tea at Eastern & Oriental hotel.

Us on trishaw.
Me and somebody else's prettily decorated trishaw.


Our ugly trishaw.
Coz everyone rushed to choose their trishaw and we were too late =(





Khoo Kong Si Temple. Quite a cool history behind it.


Gold plated temple.


Smiling Nic and the smiling buddha.


Highlight of the day! Peranakan museum.
Guess what? It is Chen Xi's house in the show Little Nyonya!
The filmimg took place here and everything looks exactly the same as in the show!
I was so darn excited like mad, I went all ard taking photos.



A the gate of "Chen Xi's house". Find it familiar?


At the main doorstep.


The spices to make delicious and authentic Nyonya dishes!


The kitchen where Yueniang cooked for Chor Chor.


One of the posh rooms with westernised furniture.


The in-house ancestral hall where Zhenzhu married into Chen Xi's family.


The famous staircase in Chen Xi's house.







Cheki! The game that old nyonyas like to play.
Like Tua Ji in Little Nyonya, eating bettlenut and playing cheki.



Chen Xi's grandma, Chor Chor's bedroom!


Prenankan clothes.


Lelong lelong!



Old radio.


Old dresser table.


Sipping afternoon tea.
That is the table where Yueniang visited Chor Chor to break the news that she is getting married to Paul


More sarong kebaya.


Curtained door.


Dining room.
Where Chor Chor invited the shortlisted potential daughter-in-laws for lunch.


Peranakan porcelain china.


The famed beaded slippers.


Telephone booth outside the house


Last pose at the gate before leaving.
We were to last to leave and get on the trisahw!


Next was high tea buffet at E&O hotel (Eastern and Oriental).
It is smthg like our Raffles Hotel, with very colonial type of decor.
Had al fresco high tea facing the sea.
So romantic!

Door bitch.


Bellboy.


High tea with cold towels and refreshing ice lemon tea.


After that, instead of returning to the ship together with the tour group,
we still had 2-3 hours to spare b4 the ship sails off.
So we took a cab down to Gurney Drive for some hawker fare!
Made new frens with a mother and daughter pair from Australia
and shared the cab down as they did not have ringgit with them.
They wanted to go shopping but din know where to go.
So we asked them to follow us and brought them to Gurney plaza,
while we popped by Gurney drive to eat!
Gurney drive was like our Food Street or Lau Pa Sat or Glutton Street,
with super nice Penanag Hawker food!

We ate Penang Laksa, Oyster omelette, grilled cuttlefish, tow huay and chendol!
Yummy!
But i still prefer our local Laksa. More shiok with coconut milk.


Look who we found sitting on our bed when we got back to our room?
Origami towel dog!
So cute. Really creative n sweet of the crew to come up with smthg like that.
The next day they held classes to teach ppl how to use towels and fold into animals!


At night, we wondered around the ship.
Checked out Bingo, went for pool party with late night supper, and went to the casino for a few games.


Baby insisted that I take a pic of him with Mohammad Ali boxing pic.


Next day, we did not disembark at Port Kelang, KL.
Instead we stayed on the ship and played golf!
I love it!
We played 4 rounds and I won Baby in all rounds!
I think im quite talented in golf...hehehe.
Had wanted to take it up long time ago but no $$$.



After golf, we went to relax in the outdoor whirlpool.
Jacuzzi session! =)
But i think we soaked too long. Supposed to limit to 15 mins...
but we din know, happily soaked and chit chat for 45 mins.
When we got out, suddenly feel a bit giddy and weird for the next few hours.


I ate so much on the cruise that im so darn fat =(




We den met up with Baby's frens Darius and gf Calista for mahjong.
But the mahjong room was full!
All the aunties and uncle pros went super early and occupied all the tables liao.
So instead, we went to chill at Ben and Jerry's and played card games for 2 hours .
Super fun!
Then time's up fo our Bingo game!

I love playing Bingo!
Super fun and excting till I almost got heart attack.
But not lucky enuff, I din win anything although I was always very close,
only one number behind to completion.
Somehow someone always beat me to claim Bingo. =(
Nvr give me chance!


Last few photos taken indoors of the ship before gg to our last fine-dining dinner onboard.
This time round, we did not have to dress formal.
Dress code was smart casual.




Last few photos taken outdoors on the ship.


Capturing sunset.
It was breath-taking!
Esp with the strong sea breeze in your hair.
Wah...romantic.





I love the experience so much!

We end up losing all our money at the casino that night.
But it was ok, we expect to lose anyway.
We took it as we are paying to play.

Last night on the cruise...felt so sad. I din wanna go.
The crew put up a very nice final performance at the theatre that night.
The highlight was a acrobatic ang moh duo who did Cirque de Soleil type of stunts.
Absolutely stunning and it left me in awe.
Makes me wanna go Paris to watch the real Cirque de Soleil.
They also had a final song and dance.
Touching.
Loving it!

I bet on Star Cruise, it will be some stupid China cheena acrobatic act
which is not as fascinating as this.

Last surprise, there was a towel pig sitting on our bed when we went back.


Left the ship after breakfast the next day at 9am.I must say this cruise trip on Royal Caribbean really exceeded my expectations.

Can I not go home?

Valentine's with my BF, BFF, & BFF's BF

Spent a nice Valentine's day with my BF (Nic), BFF (Candy) and BFF's BF (Desmond).
In case you dunno what are all the BFs about (so duh!),
BF = BoyFren, BFF= Best Fren Forever.

Went to KTV in the afternoon.
Candy finally sang to someone else besides Desmond!
Congrats that you managed to take the first step out of your shyness!
N im honoured to be the first you sing to besides Desmond! =)

Had a super fun time singing and BFF was complaining that 4 hours for KTV was too short.

BF and me




BFF and BFF's BF


BFF and me.
By the way, BFF had hair extensions! Looks like part of her real hair!


Went to have Chongqing mala steamboat after KTV.
Best steamboat I have eaten in SG so far. Much better than Coca.
The chicken stock is so tasty and the mala is so shiok!
I LOVE it!
I wanna go back and eat it again soon!
No pics though...too busy eating. =)

The weekend of birthdays

This weekend has seen 2 significant birthdays in my extended family.
Friday, 13 Feb was my cousin WY's 21st birthday.
Celebration was at a chalet at east coast.
Went there with my family after work.

It seems like ages ago when I turned 21.
Attending other's 21st makes me feel really really old!

Im like Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Im damn scared of becoming old...as the clock ticks and the years zoom by.

My family and the 21 year old birthday girl.


My cousins! What a reunion. That's just about half of my cousins in the picture.
Im the oldest in the pic! -_-'


Why do guys like to wear black t-shirts and blue jeans? Uniform?



My relatives...uncles and aunties, plus mum and dad.
That's just a few of my relatives.
I have lots of uncles, aunties and cousins. Super big extended family.


The 1988 kids of the Lee family. All turning 21 this year, with WY
(extreme right being the first and the extreme left being the last).
My bro's next to turn 21!


My cousin's gf. Think she is 20 yrs old this year.
And a lot of my relatives say that she looks like me! Esp in pictures.
Kept calling us sisters/twins. Bleugh.
Look like meh?
I've seen her other photos. Maybe side view a bit.
I havent met anyone who looks like me! haha.


A very old pic of my cousins when they were young kids.
And now they were trying to do the same pose again!
It strucked me that they still look the same as when they were young!
No change lor!
Esp the one on the extreme right. Hairstyle still the same, 10 yrs nvr change man!


Sunday, 15 Feb was Damien's 1st birthday.
Aawwwww! So CUTE!
He is my nephew, and i love him coz he is so cute n handsome!
Was super cute as a baby:


Now super handsome as a 1yr old toddler.



My dad carrying him. Surprisingly he din cry!
My dad super act cute.



My cousins and I.
2 of the guys at the extreme left are my cousins' bfs.
All grow up alry, all got bf liao.


Cutting cake. Poor Damien got cranky after many photos.
When it was our turn to take with him, he started to cry =(



It was a pretty nice famly reunion weekend with 2 impt birthday celebrations.
Good catch up time =)

Freaking funny mad woman!

Check out this video on youtube.
Freaking funny!
It is about this woman who went all mad and insane when she missed her flight at the boarding gate at Hkg airport.
Wahahaha! Hilarious!

Update on the car accident

Sad, it has not been resolved yet.
Still waiting to see what happens next at the insurance side.
Whether heng heng we can renew the insurance for the year,
before claiming insurance for the accident,
so as to still enjoy the no-claim bonus for one more year.

Also waiting to see if the other parties in the accident are claimiing against us
and how much we are liable for.
So shitty.
One small accident = so much trouble.
I never expected that it cud be such a hassle.

The workshop called and advised that to replace the front bumper,
grill and license plate will cost a whopping $3,000 plus.
I guess coz it's a Volvo.
Sian. How to cough up so much money.
So sayang, $3K just gone lidat.

Worse still...
NO LUCK WITH 4D or TOTO!
SHIT.
Din win anything at all, shit also dun have.
Realised that gambling is not the way to go.
It is never the way to go.
Gambling is always not in my favour anyway.
People say beginners always have beginner's luck.
How come i no luck at all?
No luck at my first time in a casino onboard the cruise.
No luck in my first time buying 4D and Toto.

Read in the yesterday's Sunday Times newspapers on a featured article on "Putting the brakes on pile-ups"
that pile-ups, or what is also known as multiple car collisions,
often happen because of one of the following few reasons:
speeding, failing to keep a safe distance, not paying attention to road conditions, poor vision, illness and fatigue.

Im particularly worried about speeding, failing to keep a safe distance and fatigue
coz these are the factors that Baby usually commit/have.
Makes me very worried everytime he is driving on his own now. =(

Apparently there is this cab driver who was paralysed waist down
due to a 6-car collision on CTE 3 years back.
The 3 other drivers in the accident are now liable of a $800,000 compensation to him.

In another pile-up accident, a lady had to claim insurance amounting up to $11,000,
and her premium immediately went up from $600 to $1,600 annually.
She also had to pay $6K to the car she hit.
I quote her "Getting into a pile-up is a really troublesome and expensive affair."
So true.

I was unaware that insurance claims can be long drawn,
taking up to 2-3 years to resolve for a collision involving 5 or more cars.
Hope our minor accident wun take more than a month to resolve.
It doesnt feel good to live in wait and anticipation.

Now im trying to save up more by eating cheap.
Try not to engage in too much frivolous spending.

Im gg to give up my Kate Spade bag, and my Chanel diamond earrings.
Baby's bro is gg to US on a business trip in March.
He asked if I wanted him to help me get anything...and i asked him to help me get a Kate Spade.
Think now cannot already lor.
No more Kate Spade.
No more Chanel earrings.

Luckily we are safe.
It just proves that my slow and kiasee driving is still safer than fast and overconfident drivers!
Next time, Im not gg to bother if anyone asks me to "pick up speed" when im driving.
And yes baby, im talking about you.
Slow and steady wins the race!

You and I collide

Baby and I met up with a car accident yesterday evening at 5pm along PIE,
on the flyover after Paya Lebar exit.
We were heading to his house from my house,
with an intent to go jogging at East Coast Park.
He was the one driving.
But so suay, kenna car accident which held us back on the road for at least half an hour.

It was a three car collision.
Ours was the last car. Suay.
We were travelling on the right-most lane when we saw the front Honda Jazz suddenly jam-braked.
We jam-braked too...but it was kinda too late.
Coz the Honda in front really did an emergency brake.
We braked very hard den release a little to give the car behind us ample warning so that we will not be hit.
But unfortunately, even when we jam-braked again (the whole brake was stepped fully!), still cannot avoid hitting the car in front.
N apparently, the Honda Jazz crashed into a Honda Integra in front of it.
No wonder it jam-braked.
The Honda Integra said that the car in front of his jam-braked too...
But luckily he din hit the car in front but he kenna hit by the Honda Jazz and
our Volvo hit the Honda Jazz.

The back of both Hondas was all dented.
The Honda Jazz is the most suay, being the middle car, front and back all scratched n dented.
But not so serious la, luckily. All 3 cars still can be driven.

Our front bumper, grill were dented, but not as jialat as the two Hondas.
Our license plate also dented and dangling...gonna drop off liao lor.
An ambulance coincidentally passed by, and stopped to check if we were ok.
Luckily no one was hurt.
The traffic poilice came by too and took down our particulars.
But it was weird coz none of us called the traffic police.

When we started driving off, we realised why the traffic police came by
altho none of us called.
About less than 100m ahead of us at the end of the flyover, gg towards Eunos exit,
there was another accident.
A 4 car collision, which was much more serious than ours!!!
Wah such a coincidence, 2 traffic accidents on the same flyover along PIE,
less than 100m apart, around the same time, and on the right-most lane.

So should buy 4D right?
So me and Baby bought 4D today, of our car, the car we hit, and the date.
We also shun bian bought the 10million toto angbao draw. Haha.

Pls console my Baby if you guys see him or happen to talk to him.
He was quite upset yesterday as it was his first accident.
N we have to pay for the damages.
Dunno how much yet, but it may come up to quite a big sum.

We took half day leave today to lodge a report with the insurance company
and to have the car inspected.
The workshop is supposed to quote us before we decide to claim insurance anot.
See if claim or dun claim more worth it.
My baby has been feeling so sian since yesterday.
Poor Baby.
No worries, you have me to face everything with you!

Money is not a problem.
May we win the 4D or TOTO!!! =)

Luckily nothing happened to both of us.
N thanks for holding me back onto my seat so that I wun "fly" when we collided.
Love ya....

Im alright, not that scared.
Coz i kenna much worse and more serious accident before 4 years ago.
That was so bad that it left me super traumatised.
Till now, still haunts me sometimes.
So this kinda less serious accidents dun scared me anymore.
Coz at least we were still in control of the car, and the car din fly or slipped or get smashed.

Thank God.