Snaps from the road.

Something spurred me to check back on my very old travel blog to relive my globetrotting days. I wonder how I got the moolah and courage to go to some of the places I did, but I don't regret the seven years I've spent feeding my wanderlust.

The decision to re-ground myself – make more money-wise travel choices, that is! – is one that I've put off for long enough, and a necessary (albeit rather painful) one. I'll live with the restrictions when the time comes, but for now, I've got two epic trips to keep me going until 2012 comes around (with luck and planning I should be ushering it
in India).

I've definitely been slacking off the travel blogging, but here are my favourite snaps from the past nine months.

Christmas in Tokyo

Soy crazy with Ran

New Year prayer for my family

Kyoto in December

Nippon spirit

Lost in translation: Strangers on a train

Always good to have a friend on foreign land. :)

Ichiro-san, who's proof that chivalry is not dead.

Celestial sunset - Koh Klang, Mar '11

Work acquaintances turned friends in Krabi, Mar '11

Junjungan sunset, Apr '11

Bali roadtrip

Made's piglets

Inside Ketut's Ubud home

Georgetown in Penang, Jun '11

Why do I like such mambo jumbo?

The 60-year-old mountain climbing uncle from Penang

Bintan, Jul '11

The week of disappointing dinners. Or how curiosity killed the cats.

I was scrolling through my iPhone in search of an emblematic picture of my week and surprise, surprise - I have nothing but pictures of food, chefs and hastily-taken shots in various supermarkets. I shall not risk an overdose of food porn here and content with words, for now.

It's 5:41 on a slightly rainy Friday evening and I've just wrapped up yet another session in the kitchen. Cooking, an activity usually reserved for special occasions, has become a staple part of my weekends. It is time-consuming and all that supermarketing sometimes makes me feel like I'm morphing beyond my years into a messy homemaker, but I quite enjoy it. And my kitchen skills are improving at a rate that would make my Saffron instructors rather proud. That's not to say that I wouldn't like to spend a day doing absolutely nothing food-related while curled up on the couch reading a non-food-related book... but that will have to wait till we groove through the bumpy start-ups!

But I digress. This post was meant to be a rant on my supremely unsatisfying dinners out this week. Two were pretty horrid, the third unmemorable. I shan't go into details - let's just say it involved, against better logic, a timer and horribly substandard fare. It will definitely be awhile before I let my curiosity get the better of me. I'm sticking to tried-and-tested favourites for now! Actually, I might just go on a pre-Krabi detox while I'm at it.

Tofu and veggies, anyone?

Off to the shower and then to the East to feed the babes with today's creations. Let's hope they like it!

I'll write you another time.

I wonder if this obssession with food is an occupational hazard?

Bright colors grow weary from years of neglect.

Bright colors grow weary from years of neglect.

The somewhat slow-moving break culminated in a weekend jam-packed with lots of writing and brainstorming. After sitting on our behinds for a good part of the break (despite having a morning presentation first thing Monday and a one-pager outline to hand up), my International Public Relations team sprang into action so efficiently we nailed both in under two days. I'm a huge fan of efficiency - why would you want to work hard if you can work smart? - and I've been riding on the high of our turbo-charged turnaround progress these two days.

It felt like polytechnic all over again.

I'll be honest here. The project work groups I've been in throughout my university education rarely (though not never) possess the group chemistry I have been spoilt with during my poly days, and I have indeed missed working with like-minded people. So this, you see, is quite a treat and a breath of fresh air especially after the year-long drag of FYP (which does not even classify as project due to its sheer scale and resultant complexities).

On an entirely different note, I managed to see quite a bit on Saturday evening, under the pretext of food research.

 

Two late nights, a morning presentation, two meetings and a tennis game later, I'm officially pooped. I'm gonna snuggle and go on a quick armchair vacation with Simon Majumdar before caving in to sleep. Good night world. It's been quite the day. Ooof.

Warning: Don't read this when hungry.

Warning: Don't read this when hungry.

I've been out and about quite a bit this week. Ironical really, as I'd expected to be stuck at home churning out articles and project essays, but I'm not complaining. I finally got around to checking out four foodie joints I've been meaning to for awhile now, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

P.s. I've developed a crazy obsession with this Polaroid application, so please bear with me for awhile.

Hungry yet? :)

Snapshot Saturday.

Snapshot Saturday.

 

  

  

  

  

  

It was a Saturday well spent in good company, thigh smacking laughs and great food; and the first of several weekends I actually had time to enjoy a beautiful Saturday evening without having to worry about rushing off to some other place.

It was my first stand-up comedy experience (Seinfield aside) and Jonathan Atherton's localized humor was ideal for spending an afternoon over Brewerkz beer. Later on, I finally got around to checking out Wild Honey over at the Mandarin Gallery as well. The food was fresh and wholesome, and the restaurant had me indulging in one of my "Ahhh I'd love to own something like that" moments.

It was nice, this free and easy Saturday. The coming one spells lou hei and shabu shabu with the princess and the bear, and the long-awaited Sunday flea where I'm hoping to make some money out of my trash. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Heard that?

Secret sunset weekend.

Secret sunset weekend.




Drunk on laughter, raindrops and twilight's rainbow.

Spring fever.

Spring fever.

I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm
picture from inmagine.com

Just another rainy day.

Just another rainy day.





For the umpteenth time, I am waiting for the rains to ease before heading out. This time for a hawker lunch with Jinli and a session with our books. We're so exchanging coffee for margaritas the minute our exams are over mi amiga!