Happy Ollieday

I don't think I've ever been surrounded by so many kids at a party before. Everywhere I turned, I was treated with sights of kids running around screaming and babies being carried by their parent..kids being fed..more screaming kids...kids randomly doing weird kid stuffz...just pandemonium.

It was an event well thought out and kudos to the mum for really putting all those effort into the party. She had door gifts, flags painfully made over the period of a month..cups and paper plates that were themed...straws were personalized..entertainment for the kids all organized and arranged to keep them occupied and even a pirate ship cake..I'm sure even though Ollie wont remember it, he will have plenty of photos to remind him when he's older just how must effort his parents put in for him because they wanted it to be special for him.

From the first minute, until now..we have accumulated thousands of photos of him and countless videos and updates to his Facebook and Twitter account. I'm not sure how he might react to finding out that he already has those accounts by the time he's old enough to understand but oh well, I still think it's a good way for him (and his gf) to review his growth and see how much we did for him..This would be great to score some points for during the lonely years at the old folk's home. I am sure I will need someone to supply me with contrabands...Can get me porn and Milo..coz apparently Milo is very good for when you're hungry, sick and old.


Measured him today and he is now 75.3cm tall...he's just growing so fast. I can still remember seeing him for the first time at the clinic...and now he's quickly catching up. Soon he'll be standing tall and calling us Uncle and wondering why the hell this bunch of uncles and aunties like to hang out at his house like they have nothing better to do...Ahh, you young people will get it soon enough. Enjoy the school days my young friends..you will soon regret never having enough fun during college and your Uni life. Soon you will be coughing your lungs out, and throwing your back every time you misjudge your step and accidentally perform some weird assed pose. It's a depressing thought.

The New Start

So here goes..the prerequisite blog post regarding the changing of the year and I dunno...resolutions and all that mumbo jumbo. Resolutions have long been ignored  by me and though this year saw me quit smoking even though it wasn't in the plan. Guess I'll tick that off my list. What I have is more of a list of things I want to get done and things I need purchased...a wish list.

The countdown was a (surprise surprise) BBQ over at S6 and we sat around in good company, slowly enjoying the meal and looking forward to the whole 5....4....3....TWOOOO...ONEEEEE YAYYYYY segment of the night but I didn't know how slow 4 hours could crawl by....by 10pm we were all so full we could hardly move and so we sat around the table chatting the night away..except midnight came really really slowly...by 1115pm we were all looking at one another..yawning...spacing out..and wondering why back when we younger, we didn't have this problem. We used to almost miss the countdown because we were having too much fun...now, it seems like time could not move quickly enough. At one point we were all looking at our watches and phones and thinking..gawdddd only 5 minutes have passed since we last checked the time? By midnight, Kevin shouted (well not really shout..but just said out loudly...)Happy New Year Everyone! and wishes were share amongst ourselves and then we listened to the sound of fireworks going off all over JB as if it was the most legal thing in the whole world.

Everywhere else, parties were being rocked...Melbournes were being shuffled, drinks were being wasted, high fives were being thrown, hugs exchanged and more than the legal amount of crotch grinding were probably being dished out on mad foam filled dance floor while I reminisced on lost youth. I wanna party like I was 21 again...oh wait..when I was 21, I had side parting , wore cordroys and I think Alien Workshop T's. That can't be good. Lets's take that back.

...I wanna party like I was 27 again. And this weekend will find us enjoying a party that is somewhat different that any of the parties we have ever attended. It will be Ollie's first b'day and it is so surreal that it has been a year since we all stood around the maternity ward looking at the little prune. The parents have put in an incredible effort for the party this weekend and it's gonna be fun I'm sure. Once the baby's asleep, I'm thinking we should drag out the turntable and foam machine...fill up the inflatable pool with foam and have ourselves a wet t-shirt contest. I have a feeling mum wont approve. You know you're old when the word 'parties' and 'one year old kids' existed in the same sentence?

Hair Drama

Glam...that's the name of the shop I now go to to have my hair cut..and on my first visit there, I was pretty impressed by Eugene's cut and made up my mind that he'd be my new stylist...

A month later, when I went back there with R, N and Ollie to have my hair cut, he was busy so, I decided neh mind...I'll try this other lady ..who kinda fucked up my hair but according to the rest, it looked pretty ok so that was comforting and I soon forgot about it. Fast forward another month to last Monday and as I was told by N before, Eugene only works on weekends..so before I went over to Glam, I SMS'ed Nell to ask her who should I ask for since Eugene won't be there and she said "James..try him...." and I thought ok..that sounds pretty convincing since she was so sure about it......until...she said "I think he quite handsome...."

Now, I should have taken that as a sign but No...I thought to myself, how bad can it be right? I usually only hate my hair when it's too short and I end up looking like a retard. So I walked into Glam and asked for James. He waved and said he'll need 20 minutes before he can cut my hair so I walked to the chair and sat my ass down to wait. In the midst of me trying to kill time, I looked around to check out the other customers and who do I see standing a few chairs away cutting someone's hair? Eu-fucking-Gene! I was like WHAT THE?! So I shouted out to him "Wei! I thought you don't work on weekdays???" and that was when I found out that No, he now works all day and just to fuck things up even more, he was done with the cut and was just sweeping the floor...

Now, here's where I made my other mistake...I....did...not...ask for him to cut my hair...and why?? Because I felt bad for James the Hair Rapist...because freaking social ethics demands that I do not change my mind after requesting for James to rape my head. So I just sat there...staring at Eugene...casually sweeping the floor...like he had nothing else in the world to do..like he..was..so..free...to..cut..my..hair....and then I looked over at James..you know, to evaluate the situation..do I hurt his feelings? Will he mind? Will they fight? Will a brawl ensue? Will scissors and combs end up flying all over the shop as screams or utter horror and blood fill the room?...Will he be too busy to...oh wait, hang on...he's done! FUCK!

And he walked over..and apologized for the wait...and with that...my fate was sealed. I was about to be violated. The shears were out..the electric shaver...and the evil glint in his eyes made brighter by his bleached blonde hair. He commented to me.."So how you want it cut?" I replied slowly and clearly..."Not..so..short..please..." and he nodded and said "So, you mean like last time?" Without batting an eyelid, I said "yeah lo...."

Now, lets pause for a minute..."why..for the love of all things, did I just fucking say that?" To be honest, again, I did not want to hurt James ...I thought, hei, he thought he knew me..I shouldn't disappoint him..I should just let him think he knows me..who am I hurting by doing that right? No one...that's right...not a single soul! And so we went on with the charade...him pretending like he knew and remembered me..and me, pretending like he was the best hair stylist in the whole wide world..cutting my hair like he has done so for the past 30 years....

And bzzzt....bzzzt...bzzzt...he went on shaving..and I got worried when he started doing some funky ass shit with my sideburns so I twitched and asked him "err..why 'this time' so short ah?" and he started explaining to me why it had to be short in order to....bla bla bla...I stopped listening because I was just staring at my ever-shortening hair..and I looked around in desperation for Eugene..but he had gone upstairs...and I was alone..with Jason the I Can't Stop Shaving Your Head Stylist.

We then stopped for a while to have my hair washed and I comforted myself by saying...ok ok ..maybe with the wet look it wont be that bad..maybe, just maybe, it might even look good.....but alas...fate was not so kind. I am now officially a member of the Coneheads....I swear I will call ahead next time to check to see if Eugene's there or not before driving my stupid ass over. I paid up, thanked him for the hair cut...walked to my car to find, a parking summon stuck to the windscreen of my car...What a lovely way to end this ordeal.

For now, the plan is to minimize any outdoor activities and avoid all friends and co-workers. And pray that my hair grows enough by this weekend when I head over to D's place for his house warming party where I get to meet up with everyone. Happy days ahead

Time for Change

Every week or so, I get reminded just how retarded this country is. Being in this place sucks up your life and makes you think that mediocrity is just plain fucking great. We excel at being underachievers. As I have always had an issue with this, I was just talking to DC about the current broadband services in Singapore and apparently it's only costing him SGD80 for a 200MB line while in Malaysia, I'm expected to pay more than RM100 for my 1MB broadband line...now, mind you there is no typo there. It is ONE MB....that's it...that's all most Malaysians will have to be content with.

We will never go anywhere at this rate nor will we be able to come close to experiencing any decent amount of broa....You know what? I dont even fucking know why they call it broadband speed? Someone truly needs to step up to the plate and just take their hands out of their pockets and stop counting the cash they've ripped off of us and just do their job for once. We are putting uneducated dickheads incapable of knowing the difference between a RAM and a ROM as the Head of Telecommunications while they pretend like they know what they're doing for the good of our country...in the mean time, we have people laughing at us for still being stuck with shit lines and having to pay through our asses for rubbish services.

Another great example would be the prices of our 3G services. Our neighbors are paying peanuts for 5-10GB plans while we have to fork out more than RM100 just for a measely 1-2GB plan...WHILE paying RM1000-RM2000 for our handsets...for fuck sake, they are giving away Iphones and Android phones for a mere SGD200! Are we that blind to not realize that our telcos are taking us for a ride? They have their hands so far up our asses that when they wriggle their fingers, our ears move!

I have been staying at my house for about 7 years or more..and since I first applied for the broadband services back then, the line has only been upgraded once...I think from 500kbps to 1Mbps...so in 7 years, that's how much progress we have made. It's really amazing how proud we can be with rubbish sometimes. I guess it'll take another 10 years before we even seen 2-4Mbps lines at my place.  A friend of mine has just upgraded to a 20MBps line at his house because oh, lucky him, he has coverage but here's the catch.. He has to pay RM250 a month for that...and we have been brainwashed enough to think to ourselves..hei..RM250's not too shabby eh? We'll be getting 20MB man..that's top of the line ultra mothaeffing fast that it'll freeze your brain when you think about it...Reality check guys! People are paying 30 bucks for that shit across the bridge and they're complaining about how slow that crap is...

I was considering, over the weekend, to get myself a media player for my home and then it struck me..what the fuck do I need a media player for when I can't even stream fucking youtube videos on my TV without having to first load the video and then waiting another 10 minutes for that shit to download enough before I can watch it without any interruption? My friends, living you know where, are opting not to get cable at home because they can watch everything from their media boxes any time they want to.

I have also just setup my TV to receive channels from both countries and I bet most Malaysians do not realize that Johorians can receive HD broadcasts for Channel 5 and 8 from Singapore's broadcasting company while the cavemen running our Ministry of Information can't even begin to comprehend the need to move with the times. Instead, we need to subscribe to a 'premium' service from our cable company, Astro just to get shit other countries are doing for free. Frustrating isn't it?

Of JM's Wedding and My KK Trip

It was a beautiful venue...the simple restaurant turned into a cozy room for the couple by the self made decorations.There's no way this is going to come out sounding right but I love the blue balls hanging from the ceiling and the cute bow-tie shaped napkins. jm look more than just gorgeous that night and jc with his lego heart pinned to his suit..we could tell just how happy they are together.

We had a wonderful time playing at the photobooth and while the food was below my expectations, it didn't stop us from having a great time that night. We were surrounded by friends and it was a very different experience compared to the typical Chinese weddings we are accustomed to attending.

We booked a room at a nearby hotel to shower and for some of the girls to get ready so after the wedding dinner, we figured we shouldn't waste the room so Nell, E and I stayed over night. We raided the nearby convenience store and went back to the room with korean instant noodles, some drinks and snacks but not before hanging around downstairs for a bit to use their wifi and so there we were, a common sight nowadays, standing around the lobby looking at our phones as we checked our whatsapp, twitter, facebook and other apps.

Made our way home the next day and I had to pack for my trip the next day to KK where I was to oversee the annual stock take process. It was gonna be a tiring week and as it turned out..it sure was.

I got to KK by noon on the Sunday and immediately after checking in, decided to have a look around City Mall. My colleagues have booked me a room located in the mall so that I would not die from boredom but as it would be clear to me soon enough, City Mall wasn't one of the most happening malls in KK and after roaming for about an hour. I was bored and so ended up walking around Giant looking for things to buy back to the room. As luck would have it, the hotel equipped the room with a DVD player so I popped by the DVD shop and bought me a couple of movies that help keep me entertained and for the rest of the trip, I would rely on that DVD player greatly.


Hung around in the room to watch some TV and soon enough my colleague popped by to bring me out for dinner and I watched Planet of the Apes that night. I like how the movie went into the whole rage against the people mode..kinda took away some of the sadness you kinda knew was coming at the beginning of the movie. Monday was messed up as we spent the entire day with the stock take and by the time I got back to the room, I was shagged as hell but knew I had to drop by Giant to get more snacks and drinks and as backup (which I eventually had to resort to that night) instant noodles. Also grabbed a few more DVDs in case the other movie I bought sucked. Watched Kung Fu Panda on Night 2 after dinner with my colleague. Now that movie was alright!







I didn't managed to watch anything on Night 3 because after work, my colleagues brought me out for seafood and then we checked out some really atas looking place to see if we could catch a good band playing but the crowd was bad so we moved to another pub which turned out to be really good. The Indonesian band consisted of 3 girls who were scantily-clad with push up bras that could have even given me some cleavages and 4 other band members.

They sounded really good and of course the gyrating and crawling around on the floor on all fours to the tunes of Beyonce kinda helped I'm sure. From there, they decided to move on to a club and so there I was..thinking..what? on a Tuesday freaking night? Sure anot?? And boy was I wrong...We walked into this club called The Bed and holy f I was greeted by some crazy bass thumping that literally shook my hair and jeans and the entire club was filled with people...on..a....freaking...Tuesday...night! Damnit, am I that old? This place was so happening it wasn't even funny. We met up with one of the colleague's BF there who had a bottle opened so we hit the booze and soon it was 2am and they decided it was time to get me some food because I was making a big deal about being hungry..and we headed out to check out some transvestites before heading to some market with food vans and stalls randomly placed in the quiet night and had supper. Apparently mamaks are hard to come by in KK so I had fried noodles and chinese tea.





Called it a night after that and got to work groggy as hell the next day to wait the day off till it was time to fly back home. Flight was delayed and I got back at about 845 and as I write this, am still trying to catch up on sleep and rest.

A Wet ROM

Attended the ROM for jinxminx and Jason over at Fort Canning a couple of days back and it was a really funny day as they arrived slightly delay from the heavy rain and while waiting for the in-laws and parents to arrive from the restaurant a few minutes away, she registered herself and was soon ushered into the room a wee bit too early for our liking but Singapore being Singapore, they didn't allow jinxminx and Jason to wait and before we knew it, were met with an auntie who preceeded over the ROM with great urgency. She was mumbling away in a hurried manner and we didn't really have time to take in the whole solemness of the event and 3 minutes later.."you may now kiss the bride.."

Major WTF moment but still, it managed to squeeze a couple of tears from both the newly married couple and some of us in the room. Mrs Auntie in a Hurry pressed the button and a sliding door opened on the opposite end of the room just in time for the in-laws and parents to walk into the room and out through that door. We took a few photos with Mr and Mrs Jinxminx and then headed over the Brewerkz for some food and drinks before heading back into JB. Seeing that we were already in Singapore, we decided to drop by jinxminx's place to pick up the precious cargo we had to somehow bring back through customs into JB. It was loaded into the car boot and we all drove carefully through the jam, avoiding any pot holes and bumps as gingerly as we could and confidently looked at the officer and said.."Kosong bang..." and with that, we were through!

High fives were exchanged and focus turned back onto the roads as we all know just how wonderful roads are in our perfect little country and we couldn't risk the car going into any pot holes. Thankfully, the precious cargo worked well upon inspection at home and I am happy.

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The 10km Goal

I had wanted to write about my run for the longest time but I suppose I never did get around to doing it. It has been a goal of mine to ultimately attempt to complete a full marathon..but for obvious reasons, I decided to just start slow and try the mini 10km run first. This opportunity appeared when Auntie told me she's doing the Marina run in Spore and since she was going to fly down here I thought I might as well join her and so the training began....rather slowly indeed.

First couple of weeks ( I had 6 weeks I think) were spent "looking for shoes" and "reading up on running techniques" which I persuaded myself was essential to the success of my endeavor. After realizing I was fast running out of time, I immediately bought myself a pair of running shoes and started the first run. As you all know, Hensem and I have our route..and we have measured it to be around 3km and so my first mission was to complete that route without dying. And as you all also know, I nearly died during our first attempt a few years back. So I was apprehensive even though I know we did complete the 2nd run without any problems but that was during a time when I was still playing badminton quite consistently over the weekends.

To my surprise, I did not fare poorly and with that boost to my confidence, I shared my time with Hensem and apparently it was.."quite...ok la..." so now I know I needed to improve my time so over the week I attempted to run better and over a further distance..and to my surprise, at one attempt, I managed to complete 7km without dying. Now that was quite a feat considering how I haven't exercised in ages.

And as the days dwindled down and the BIG day approached, I was advised to just not run anymore and just rest the body and load up on carbs which I gladly did...and made my way into Singapore feeling nervous as hell. Met up with Auntie and was introduced to MC, her good friend..and we changed in the hotel room and looking like some lost runner, made our way through a crowded mall to the MRT station where I nervously asked them if we looked funny...the answer came when we spotted a shit load of other runners at the station and all looking very pro...some even have their bib pinned up already...I..still haven't collected mine.

Auntie and MC had running pouch and they even offered me a banana flavoured energy bar which I tried earnestly to stuff down my face but damnit..it looked and tasted like what minced cardboard would probably taste like. But I did it because I had to grab whatever advantages I could if I were to have any chance of making it to the end. When we arrived at the starting line, there was a carnival-like feeling in the air..everyone were doing stretches...and I just joined in because it seemed like the appropriate thing to do...music were blasting away and the DJ pumping everyone up with loud screams and shouts of ''ARE YOU LEADY!!!!" and since the girls were the first to go, I was left alone but I joined in and screamed out YEAHHHHH ...felt stupid but hei, what else was there do? I warmed up a little when I noticed everyone around me were doing the same..so I just stretched a little as if that would make a difference...and then the countdown began...

I plugged in my earphones...started my Techno music which sounded more suitable for an ahbeng in a club high on E and just ..jogged.....and..jogged....ignoring everyone else...and trying to get into my own pace...until of course I got distracted by the sight of this chubby dude standing at the side of the road watering the grass with his puke...I mean, we were literally minutes into the run...and there he was...puking his guts out as we all ran by. Now, I doubt he's gonna make it to the finish line..and that got me worried. Was it that bad? I pushed that lovely image out of my mind and told myself..ok I'll just try to make it to the first water station....lets do that for a start eh?

A few kms in...things were looking ok...I was in my own rhythm...the music was blasting away and I was tempted to do the shuffle..and I spotted the long queue of runners trying to grab drinks...fail...everyone just running in place waiting for water...that's not gonna work for me, I thought to myself...then I spotted another runner running really quickly towards the station...wow..he must be thirss...t...oh wait..he's not heading for the water station...he was heading to the toilet...Mr Joe ran straight into the Port-a-loo and slammed the door shut...Ok..maybe I will ignore this water station...I dont want to be the next Mr Joe.

At the 4km mark (I think), I saw a sight that made my jaw drop....this ang moh dude and some asian lady was running towards us and it was clear that they already did the U-turn and was heading back to the finish line. I groaned and in my head shouted WTH?!?! Need anot wor?!

These distractions are annoying...I will muster up all the will power I have and try to make it to the U-turn without stopping. That was my goal. Running across grass and uneven grounds amongst hundreds of other runners isn't easy. But a few minutes after the U-turn, I spotted Auntie and asked her where MC was. She said oh wayyy ahead! So we walked a while together as we gathered our energy..and just continued on...By now, I have lost track of the distance. The markers have long since gone missing..and I didn't know if I was 7km in or 8km or..hell...I didn't know..didn't care. I was dying. I slowed down and tried brisk walking....and I thought ok..I still have a ways to go...I will try to make it till that turn and then its all the way to the finish line...as I was thinking that, I heard loud music and wondered...huh? I am there already? Apparently the return route was nearer than the path we took out of the starting line and I was just 2 corners away from the end. WHOA! I quickly straightened my hair...wiped the sweat off of my tired face and starting running like a boss! I threw the slouch off my back and took the last turn like I just did a casual 1km jog around the park and as the photographers and steam of well wishers and pretty ladies ...well, they pretty much ignored me because I was alone. I crossed the line relieved and glad it was over and that I made it. This was it. I achieved my goal I did it...now where the fuck's the water station?!

We made our way back smelling like a bunch of wet sweaty towels...through the same mall...this time, proudly displaying our bib and beaming. Hei, smell that you on-lookers? That's the smell of success ok!

Mamee Mail

I wrote this mail to Mamee recently and hopefully we will see some change soon. How long must we put up with kid sized Mamee snacks? How long must we put up with having to eat 2-3 packets just to feel satisfied? It's time for Viva La Revolución! Kthxbai

Dear Mamee,

I would like bring up an important issue which I feel you should all think about. Most of us have grown up eating Mamee and through the many many years, we have seen the Mamee packet shrinking and I would think the size of the current snack is almost half of what we used to eat when we were kids. I think many of us aren't really concerned about paying that little extra just to have an enjoyable time eating it. Instead, we now have to open a few packets just to feel a at least little sense of satisfaction.

What I am suggesting here is to come out with a Blast to the Past Mamee packet which is basically a jumbo pack which a Mamee snack that is twice to three times what you guys sell now. That will definitely go down pleasantly with many people I am sure. Believe me, I am not the only person who thinks that your current packaging is microscopic at best.

Anyways, glad to be able to share this with you and hopefully this won't go down the Junk Mail drain and I am definitely looking forward to hearing from you.


Regards,
Henry| Mamee Fan

Dream the Day Away

I have been thirsting for more long weekends lately...this can't be a good sign. I yearn to be away on a holiday somewhere cold where I can enjoy a glass of whatever warm just staring at my imaginary tablet...enjoying the view of something soothing and just..spacing the day away.

Work has been mundane for the most part as the weekends drift by as quickly as they come but I crave for more. For some reason, I have been visiting several houses of friends and it was quite depressing to see just now nice their homes are. I think for me, the ideal would be to just move out of this dead town and find new lease of life in Singapore. For all the faults Singaporeans seem to think their country have, it is a far cry from that rubbish we have to put up with back home. The list of what I feel is wrong with this place would be pages long if I were to write them down. Many friends up North find it hard to understand why I share this sentiment but being in a special position where we are closer to the border than the rest are, we have the special privilege of seeing just how different both cities are even though we are separated by just a short bridge. I have to do all I can to get out of this life sucking place we are stuck calling home.

On a less whingeing note, Kaitlyn has been feeling a little unwell lately and she really had us worried...there were traces of blood in her stool and at one point last week, it got quite serious looking that we had to send her to Han to have her looked at. But he cannot find anything wrong with her so we're just monitoring her now and hopefully she gets better soon. Her stool seems to be starting to look more normal now and she is regaining her appetite...it's just hard to see that little monster looking all lethargic and moody. We are so used to seeing her tearing up the house and I'll be honest, I miss that. I told her she can tear a 10 dollar note if she gets better really soon.

I also stumbled upon kennysia's recent blog and it has really inspired me to aim to do something similar next year. It's exactly the kind of thing I think I would enjoy doing and have so far gotten Hensem on board although she does have an extremely fussy disposition towards the choices of accommodation. She had once told me that as long as she cannot wheel her Samsonite bag into the lobby she will cry but I am sure she was exaggerating..I hope. But I really want her to join me coz I know we'll have loads of fun. We now have the tough task of training Evelyn to cycle in time for this little adventure. Note to self: Must go Giant source for a cyclable bicycle, with training wheels.

If you're wondering, Kenny Sia cycled alone in Taiwan and from the photos that he posted, it really looks like an amazing trip, the dodgy motels included. It's just the sorta thing you want to experience first hand. I will need to find out more about this and remind myself to start learning to speak more Mandarin. A banana like me will probably end up cycling in circles for days.

Post-Raya Blues

So far so good. Managed to survive the first half of the day without much dramas and as expected, waking up today proved to be a challenge. I fell asleep on the sofa last night only to wake up at 630am by the sound of both Tammie and Kaitlyn's bells as they ran down to look for me. All that sofa sleeping didn't help when it was time to prepare for work of course as I reluctantly dragged my sleepy butt out of bed.

The things I would do for another 9 days worth of holidays. Only break in the monotony would be David's wedding dinner this weekend then a long weekend the week after which I have yet to plan on how to kill those 3 days.

Bored as help at work and really trying to motivate myself to be productive but everyone else is still on Raya mode so it's pretty quiet in office. maybe some online shopping will help guide the day along. I have even resorted to installing an app for blogging, which will explain why there is a post at this hour. Oh I know, I will post a photo. That might possibly help keep this otherwise random and pointless rant, interesting.

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Pondans at Phuket

Finally back from our Phuket trip which turned out to be rather....normal. I suppose it is rather boring to go to an island getaway when it's just the two of us. Even more so when the town of Phuket is filled with bars and activities that are meant to be done in a group. Now the one thing that impressed me throughout the trip was just the fact that there were bars EVERYWHERE...quite literally at every turn of your eye, you'd be able to see bars, bars and..more bars.

Alcohol were sold at roadsides too...just outside our hotel, there were wooden stalls setup with a large assortment of alcohol bottles lined up with signboards advertising cheap cocktails. For the alcoholic..heaven. Cocktails were going for 30 baht and one can get beer at 60 baht. On some streets, there were hundreds of pubs and bars tucked into any corner of the street they can fit one in. It's just amazing how much alcohol is being consumed every single night.

Due to the incredible amount of foreigners there, prices of food has naturally ballooned and nothing (except for alcohol I guess) comes cheap anymore. Typical road side snacks where one would usually expect to pay, I dunno, RM2-3 are around RM5. Massages are cheap but with a massage shop set up every 10 meter, the quality of these massages had begun to take a steep descent and what you end up with was basically the oiling of your body and that's pretty much it, most of the time. Sick of that kind of massages, E decided to splurge a little by forking out RM250 for an almost 3 hour long massage and scrub package at some spa place. And since I could not bring myself to spend that much on something I would not appreciate, I decided instead to just "make do" with a 2 hour cheaper version of an oiling up session and since I had an hour to kill after that, I walked to the nearest hypermarket and bought me some instant noodles and snacks to bring back to the hotel.