Sunshine, freedom and a little flower

I Miss...

2009-07-18T01:44:00.002+08:00

... this blog. My thoughts are so blocked these days; the mind has not the time to twitch. I keep thinking of $$$. And Facebook is so invasive.

... my Geekdom too. Stopped when my then new Ixus's macro shots did not measure up compared to my old, original, world's first Ixus - and the service crew insisted it was due to my photo taking skills. New, is not necessarily good. But reminiscing the good old days is always a part of our lives.

I am newly armed again, so I'm rubbing my hands in glee.

Hopefully. Because I really miss. But am lazy. *smiles*

02 Men From Singapore in Top 50 List for Best Job in the World

2009-03-23T12:35:00.003+08:00

Lierliar: Why are you not shortlisted?? :(

Mr. Gecko: I asked them if I could bring my loggie doggie along, they say cannot. So I opted out.

Happee *18th Burpday To Me!!!

2008-04-28T16:28:00.000+08:00

This *18th burpday, I've gotten a "P" from Mr. Gecko.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Nope, it's neither a pressie nor proposal.

It's only a promise I wanted from him this year. And this promise means a lot to me - much more than a marriage proposal. That said, a Missus Gecko is still very much desired of course! *heehee~~*

This year, I wish for both good health and contentment for myself. And... *Cheers to Forever 18!!!

Thanks to everyone for your love, well wishes and your time to have burpday dinners with me!

DO THIS FOR ME THIS LONG WEEKEND!!!!

2008-03-26T18:58:00.003+08:00

Date: 12 April 2006
Sender: lierliar
Receiver: Mr. Gecko

HEY "Mr. Gecko",

do something interesting for me this weekend by completing the sentences. I saw some bloggers do it and was surprised by so so so many perspectives everyone has. I wanna post yours and mine also lah... on my blog lah! where else... DO FOR ME HUH THIS WEEKEND!!!!

________________________________

Date: 10 February 2008 (lierliar: what the f*ck!)
Sender: Mr. Gecko
Receiver: lierliar

hello qiu qiu, (refers to "lierliar" - as fondly nicked by Mr. Gecko)

finally reply my fat kid!
almost one year later
:)

1. My ex is: none
2. Maybe I should: quit and go someplace else to lead a quiet simple life with qiu qiu
3. I love: qiu qiu and having nothing to do
4. I don't understand: how the universe came to be and what the purpose of life is
5. I lose:, you lose, better for all to win together
6. People say I'm: quiet and boring
7. Love is: when u are ready to get married!
8. Somewhere, someone is: earning money by doing seemingly senseless stuff (eg. bartering paperclip for house)
9. I will always: love you is one of Whitney's classics
10. Forever is: until we die lor
11. I never want to: go through NUS computer engineering again
12. I think the current US President: is good with words
13. When I wake up in the morning: i like to turn over and sniff qiu qiu's head
14. My past was: ok lar
15. I get annoyed when: they are too many things going on
16. Parties are for: getting drunk
17. My dog is: n.a.
18. My cat is: n.a.
19. Kisses are the best when: they are unexpected
20. Tomorrow: is Monday
21. I really want: to retire soon
22. I have low tolerance for people who: are rude/unreasonable

________________________________

Date: 11 February 2008
Sender: lierliar
Receiver: Mr. Gecko

1. My ex is: Quite a jerk.

2. Maybe I should: exercise more!!

3. I love: YOU!

4. I don't understand: why i am finding difficulty completing the sentences here

5. I lose: I throw tantrums, I'm quite a sore loser.

6. People say I'm: sweet.

7. Love is: something I really cannot define in words

8. Somewhere, someone is: really hating me to the core?

9. I will always: want to stay together with you

10. Forever is: not applicable to anything in life

11. I never want to: not have "Mr. Gecko" by my side

12. I think the current US President: was voted in based solely on his family's name

13. When I wake up in the morning: I wonder if I can sleep in another 5 mins esp. on working days

14. My past was: not exactly exemplary but I credit my street savviness to it

15. I get annoyed when: things are not going the way i had planned

16. Parties are for: fun! Especially if i had hermit-fied myself for some time

17. My dog is: dead 23 years ago. Choked on a fish bone

18. My cat is: probably adpoted, if any, by YOU! I don't like cats

19. Kisses are the best when: the lips are moist and your heart is warm

20. Tomorrow: I have to go to work!

21. I really want: to have millions sitting in our joint account

22. I have low tolerance for people who: are snobs or are inconsiderate generally

Well, at least I finally did get a response from Mr. Gecko nearly after 2 years!!! Not 1 year huh, Mr. Gecko *Grrrs...*

I don't quite remember what others had posted - where I gleaned this meme from though I did remember being quite impressed by some of the answers I read and had wanted to know then how would Mr. Gecko respond to it.

My conclusion after I read ours? I think both of us are really quite boring people leh (Read: Mr. Gecko's Qn. 6).

Quite sad huh? :l

Mr Gecko's A Most Sought After Employee?

2008-01-31T19:08:00.000+08:00

Yeah... he had gotten employers' praises too good for me to ignore; again~~~

This time round, he's remembered fondly by his previous employer from his first job upon graduation. *He's only into his second job while I had changed jobs like 6 times liao?!*

Ahh~~, praises are best savoured without conscious expectations...

Mr. Gecko, way to go for the new year ahead for you! Now, share your bonus with me please~~~!

A Christmas Carol

2007-12-23T23:31:00.000+08:00

Aaahhh~~~ don't we all love the dreamy, wistful Christmas mood...

DORAEMON

2007-11-19T17:42:00.000+08:00

Was looking forward to book myself the Doraemon movie ticket last Friday. I was in the midst of confirming the ticket details online when I decided to be on the safe side and check the movie language; and was both relieved and *mock* incensed when I realised ... there is only the Mandarin version AND only Cathay is showing the Doraemon animation in the whole of Singapore!!

Like all my true blue Singaporean compatriots (I hold a blue S'pore I/C leh!), I launched a *polite* complain to Cathay immediately loh! How can like this hoh??

Was crossing my fingers that Cathay would realise what they are missing from my complaint and will quickly put out the animation in Jap when...

:( Well... at least Cathay replied promptly. No choice, I will wait for the DVD then. No, no, no. No way I will catch the animation in Mandarin.

________________________________

Mr. Gecko: I can't believe you are so free to do these things. *shakes his head*

Happee Burpday, Dear Mr. Gecko!

2007-11-01T20:30:00.000+08:00

Happee Burpday, my dear Mr. Gecko!

The State of His Hair-y Being: The Before & After

2007-10-10T19:08:00.000+08:00

BEFORE:

AFTER: a win what I imagine should be by a hair's margin
(Read: Mr. Gecko's Hair-y Glory!!)

AND ALL THANKS TO:

haha... his prized stash of $100 worth of GATSBY'S hamper

月亮帶走了我的心

2007-09-26T15:20:00.000+08:00

最近, 他的时间一直很紧迫, 我也了解这不是他所愿.
百忙之中他坚持这天要有所安排, 我为他的疲惫反而有所不愿.

这一好小段的时间, 偷来得不容易.

那晚, 月亮帶走了我的心.

沉醉在若隱若现的暗光里, 我有一点捨不得离开...

二零零七年的中秋

I Actually Found My Fave Ditty - Paperboy On Youtube

2007-09-18T17:52:00.001+08:00

Oh my goodness... I have been trying to find this single / album at every CD shop in Singapore but to no avail... was just trying my luck here. Too bad, there's no MTV version *was there one? Coz' I dun remember* and the volume is way low for a good, old school listening relish.

Ditty by Paperboy was the very first rap song I really like. Ice Ice Baby's not counted huh. It's fake anyway.

I still remember my big bro and I used to play this single on repeated loop in the early nineties. Anybody remember this ditty??

I say bring back the 1990s! *flooding reminiscences~~*

Mr. Gecko's Hair-y Glory!!

2007-09-08T16:57:00.000+08:00

Mr. Gecko bought 2 Gatsby Moving Rubber Hair Styling Gel from Watson's sometime last month. Along with this purchase was a contest form inviting anyone who had bought at least 2 of the said hair gel to send in their photo in a bid to win the honor of having the trendiest hairstyle.

Now, I am a sucker for any kind of contest especially those that requires no talent and little efforts. Mr. Gecko knows and when he showed me the contest form - I was already running through mentally all our photos that possibly showed the Mr. Gecko in all his hair-y glory.

Hmm... I think Mr. Gecko is a good looking fello all right... but trendy??? One word - hardly.

His style and fashion sense are somewhat conservative and he is definitely not one who bothers to keep up with trends anyway. He only has 2 hairstyles in my opinion - natural or gelled with centre parting. *Hahahahahahahahaha~~ Sorry huh... but this statment had me laughing very hard*

Anyway, as we always have a load of photos taken in good fun, we sent in a photo of Mr. Gecko out of curiousity without really expecting anything.

And he received an email 3 days' ago...

Congratulations Mr. Gecko!! You had been chosen having the trendiest hairstyle in the recent Watson's Trendiest Hairstyling Competition! You have won for yourself $100.00 worth of Gatsby Hamper!

We were truly flabbergasted, mightily pleased and highly amused by this unexpected win! Because the winning shot...

... was taken when we were goofing about in our hotel room during a moment's dull while we were holidaying in Hong Kong 3 years ago!

____________________________________

Mr. Gecko *in a serious tone*: Do you think I should cut my hair before I go and collect my hamper??

Our Tale Of The Second City: Beep Beep Bop Bop Ho Chi Minh

2007-08-06T16:48:00.000+08:00

*Wow~~*... it's been some time since the last entry on Angkor Wat. I was and am still busy with a project on hand but I don't want to procrastinate further - it's time to post Our Tale Of The Second City - Beep Beep Bop Bop Ho Chi Minh (HCM); before I forget what it was like immersing perpetually in an audio sea of motorbikes' beeping.

At HCM, motobikes and scooters rule and jam pack the road and traffic lights are non-existent. The 2 tyres steel-stallions weaved in and out from everywhere-anywhere-everytime-anytime. The beep beep bop bop start very early at the crack of dawn till way past midnight. You can imagine the beepings are so part of everyday's life, the locals are literally "deaf" to it. Bring ear plugs to HCM if:

1) You are a light sleeper
2) Your hotel room is facing the main road
3) Your hotel is one of the many those undergoing extensive renovations

No joke man. HCM is one noisy city all right. Hehehe...

But I must say the traffic anarchy in HCM was quite a memorable travelling experience for us. On our first day there, we were really at a loss and so desperate on the big streets that we took to shadow the locals closely while crossing the streets. By the 2.5 day there, we had learned that the trick is to just cross, the vehicles look out for pedestrains and not the other way round in HCM. By then, we could just shut our eyes and cross with the utmost ease and we were quite proud of our new road pluckiness.

*Beep! Beep! Bop! Bop!*

The streets at District 1 (HCM's City / Tourist Area) are always so abuzz and chokeful with bikes and people

The 1 Day City Tour

The first thing we did after we dumped our luggages at our hotel upon arrival was to locate Sinh Cafe - a popular local tour agency in HCM. Despite the explicit cafe name tag, Sinh Cafe's main business activity is far from serving coffee to the tourists - most who depended on their daily group tours to HCM's most popular but remote tourist destinations like Cu Chi Tunnel and Mekong Delta. This agency is highly recommended and clearly enjoys a sound reputation. We saw alot of similar agencies dotting District 1... but none as packed with tourists as Sinh Cafe. And make sure you get to the right Sinh Cafe, we also heard there were alot of counterfeit agencies using their name - even for websites!

We had only wanted to book a half day trip to Cu Chi Tunnel with Sinh Cafe initially but eventually ended up booking another one day trip around HCM's main city for ourselves. We were probably physically tired from the temple visits in Siem Reap and we deemed it safer to sit on a tour coach than exploring HCM on foot, what with HCM's chaotic traffic. Either way, the rates was most attractive to give us an excuse to be lazy - it was only US$6 per person anyway.

Thien Hau Temple

Chinese temples look the same everywhere

At HCM's War Crime Museum - There were a lot of graphic photos and war weapons used during the Vietnam war on display. Mr. Gecko and I felt for those civilians who had to go through these cruel wars. Often, those who waged wars always remain safe and sound at the expenses of innocent civilians and brave men at the frontlines.

And you find the war didn't and couldn't end even when peace is made and weapons ceased. The people had to deal with war-torn poverty, physical disabilities; and for generations to come, babies were born deformed - and if survived, they had to deal with the psychological implications of chemical and biological war weapons - even if they didn't go through the war. Sad huh.

Reunification Hall - Essentially the President's Palace during Saigon's past democratic era

Trivia: When we took this picture, the tourists around us were so amused with our toys that they even took their pictures with our toys in it.

We also stopped by the HCM's General Post Office - An old but grand remnant of HCM's French colonial past

At the Notre Dame Cathedral just diagonally opposite the General Post Office

Going to Ben Tranh Market - Bargain is the word there

Cu Chi Tunnel

No decent tourist in HCM will give this famous network of narrow tunnels, lauded for contributing big time to Vietnam War's victory, a miss. We booked a half day trip over there and took almost 2 hours from the city to reach the remote underground fortress.

History lesson before the trek in the jungle

Very, very small entrance to the depths of the tunnel. Clearly built for Asian body size only.

Ok lah, unless you count in Kate Moss.

Also need a bit of arm strength for support as one immersed the whole body vertically into the narrow depth

Booby traps everywhere in the jungle. Most were man-made and primitive but just as deadly as modern metal weapons

These days, the jungle is packed with friendly tourists instead

Mr. Gecko gunning for a weasel experience. That Mr. Gecko actually took his time to bask himself in the dark and dankness of the tunnel - even took pictures of himself without using the flash.

Trivia: Lotsa ang mohs retreated halfway into the tunnel because they were afraid they would either get stuck or lose their way in the dark. Everybody made a concerted effort to headcount within their group after they climbed out even though it was just 15 mins of tunneling.

One of the many bomb craters scattered around

Miscellaneous Stuffs In HCM

Our "suite" at Indochine Hotel for only US$45.00 per night. Nothing exciting about it but at least all essentials were available. Worth a stay because it's affordable and clean. Most of the French colonial-style hotels in HCM were undergoing extensive renovations the time we were there.

Vietnamese coffee is an acquired taste. One enjoys it only if you learned to put in the right proportions of sugar and milk. I felt like I was drinking the vilest traditional chinese herbal concoction the first time I tried it. Of course, the coffee addict me soon learns how best to enjoy the Viet coffee - lotsa milk needed!

Mr. Gecko artistically manifested HCM in ink while writing his thoughts on a postcard for me

We couldn't help snooping a shot at this ang moh guy trying to chat up with the Viet woman on duty in the War Musuem repeatedly; while she try to reciprocate his friendliness by nodding her head endlessly with enthusiatic smiles. Hahaha~~... I am not implying anything huh!!

We were waiting for our coach to Cu Chi Tunnel early in the morning at Sinh Cafe when we saw this old couple waiting too. I rarely see old couple opting for free and easy package while travelling. So adventurous and so sweet huh. I want to go on adventurous trips with Mr. Gecko still when we are as old too!

While Siem Reap was an eye opener to ancient ruins, HCM was an unassuming trip in my opinion. I was quite disappointed with the chaos and lack of attractions in HCM initally But I gradually warmed up to the local flavor and made unexpected discoveries along the way. Be it street cussings at motorbike drivers, the paper rice gourmet that failed to delight our palates and the aimless wanderings - it's all about laughing in the face of bad travel experiences taken in good stead.

Our Tale Of The 2 Cities - The End

Our Tale Of The First City: Angkor Wat Wat Wat

2007-08-02T17:39:00.000+08:00

We love to go a-wandering

Along Angkor Wat track

And as we go, we love to sing

With our knapsacks on our back

Angkor Wat! Angkor Wat!

Angkor Wat~~!!

Angkor Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat Wat
Angkor Wat! Angkor Wat!

With our knapsacks on our back...

- Song sung from the tune of The Happy Wanderer -

*You know the Valderi Valdera song?

Us, taking the first few steps on the dirt track to the gateway of Angkor Wat - which is semi-obscured by foliage but highlighted by the perfect blue sky in the middle of the picture

Angkor Wat is only one of the vast ancient temples in Siem Reap. But Siem Reap is almost all about Angkor Wat. From pictures that showed Angkor Wat in all her colossal grey stones and sculptures - intricate wall impressions - green woodland rusticity, one almost gets the idea of being in an Indiana Jones movie set.

But in reality, there is no grand adventure when one explores the temple grounds unless you are an avid photographer. One truly enjoys Angkor Wat in all her ancient splendour only if you care to delve deep into her history. So, you either read up big time on Angkor Wat's history before you set out or get a good local guide to fill you in the details and trivials. Getting "templed-out" is a common phrase for tourists who ain't interested enough in history and may get bored exploring temples ruins which all look about the same by the second day there.

Mr. Gecko & I were lucky we got an excellent value-for-money private tour package with our accomodation and even luckier to be guided by a seasoned & patient local guide - so I can tell our tale of the first city well enough through my eyes. Warning first, long entry ahead and it's pretty picture intensive.

Angkor Thom was our very first temple we explored in Siem Reap. Above shows the very magnificent gateway to Angkor Thom which is big and wide enough even for heavy vehicles to pass through

I usually became bored & restless by the 15th minute from the history lesson my guide often conducted due to my short attention span and walked around with the camera in hand.

I love this picture as it shows the perfect connection Mr. Gecko and the guide shared throughout the trip. Mr. Gecko was really interested and cared to listen.

Are you ready to set off now??!!

(Pic shows another shot of the gateway to Angkor Thom with the road fringed by ancient statues)

Stony Stories

Discounting the luscious backdrop of nature elements' colors, the ancient temples are a semblance of boredom with just greyish pieces of stones / statues set upon hard brown mud, very unlike the reddish-goldish gaudiness of Chinese temples. Look closely enough though and the thousands of etchings on the stones and statues tell vast and elaborate stories from the long gone Khmer period which you will never be able to finish even if you have a few days to spare.

It also translates to me the commitment to art quality on such a grand scale and the creativity of past artisans - how their work manage to survive and appreciated today after more than 10 centuries had passed. I posted some stony stories I personally like and thought intersting to share.

I thought the square face statue quite out-of-the ordinary among all the other statues and jestingly commented to Mr. Gecko, "Look, a nerd!" . In truth, the square face is notches above in value in terms of antiquity than the 2 statues behind as cleaner and lighter grey slab of stones meant they are newly constructed to replace those pillaged.

A wall impression of a deity dancing. I like how one can still admire the intricacies despite the layers of lichen and moss covering the wall over the centuries - and give the etching a somewhat soft carpety look.

These 3 stone men is what I meant previously about an artisan's committment & creativity. If you look carefully at their tops, you will notice that all the 3 men wore tops of different patterns!

Hey! You realise they cared about guards depicting individualistic fashion sense even then! And I took this picture of these 3 men from a grand wall of hundreds of such men. *phew~~*

A group of men enjoying a game of cock fight. What arrested my amusement was that the right group of men were ancient Chinese (hair buns on top of their head) and the left group was probably local Khmer themselves (long extended ear lobes). Chinese really go places huh?

We didn't really see much quality ancient statues in Siem Reap. Those good ones were all being looted even at these days as security over at the temples is lax esp. at night. Our guide will tell us, "I saw the statue's face just a few months' ago and now it's gone."

Just like the the picture above, I bet the face was probably sold to some collector. It's saddening but the people there are poor, they have a ready supply of ancient treasures and I guess there are lots of willing buyers.

Board games were probably a pastime reserved for the nobility. Look, I thought the settings were somewhat more fanciful and there were 2 henchmen behind the players. But I may be wrong, they could be just spectators. Hehe...

Need I say more? Looks like it wasn't the Khmers who invented sashimi.

I like this piece of stone slab just for just its realistic family of monkeys playing-dallying on a tree.

Our guide told us the fonts on the wall came from a language known today as Pali. It's a very strange language as there is apparently no verbal sounds to the words, it's just purely for read. Mr. Gecko was puzzled and asked how then is the language being taught since Pali is still passed down to this day and the guide said they just know it.

Well, I was more smart-alecky as usual when our guide asked if we know what kind of langauge it was and I answered straight-out-of-the-mouth "I know, Sanskrit!" Duh...

Now, tis's interesting. It clearly shows a form of torture or death sentence used in ancient Khmer period with a man skewered on a long stick. I took this picture from a very long wall that shows hundreds and hundreds of human torturings taking place in hell.

What's interesting was our guide telling us that during the Cambodia's Pol Pot's regime, the militia actually referred and used similar torture methods found on the very same slabs of stones; and this human skewering was also apparently one of the methods they used to kill and instilled fear.

Hahaha... this is so fascinating that I am using it to close my section of Stony Stories. An even more ancient stegosaurus-like dinosuar in ancient Khmer period? Totally swept us off our feet man when our guide pointed it out to us.

There is only 1 such dino wall carving that our guide showed us and upon further research on the internet when I came back, there is no real claims from experts if the carving is real or a hoax. Talk about things turning up in the most unlikely places huh?

It's quite a common but nevertheless spectacular scene to see huge and broad tree trunks with roots thicker than a python bursting through temple roofs. We felt so tiny standing under the tree.

Woh, I totally dig this picture. Took me lotsa tries to get it only OK as I was on much higher ground. I had to lie almost flat on my stomach to get Mr. Gecko and guide; and the faraway glimspe of Angkor Wat at the end of the dirt track - all in one.

I wanted that Indiana Jones feel, like as if Mr. Gecko and guide were discussing about strategies with the map in hand to break into forbidden grounds. Please excuse my occassional personal achievement claims.

That said, our guide is the only one who bothered to bring a map and explained the vastness and history behind the geographical location of temples dotting Angkor Wat. Dedicated huh?

We were passing through one of the few gateways to Angkor Wat's main compound.

When We Reached Angkor Wat

Unless you are into abseiling, the steps up to the top of Angkor Wat was freakingly scary, for us. Esp. the time when we turned around to face our guide to take photos. The moment we saw how STEEP the ascent was, our bravery plummeted as low as our heart.

You can see from the first pic on the left that we were not climbing, we were crawling up on all fours as the steps were narrow and sandy so one could hardly get a proper grip on hand or foot. The middle pic shows Mr. Gecko gripping me protectively as we turned around for a shot. The last pic? I wished you can see our shaking like jelly legs for the last few steps up.

Really. A mis-slip is definitely fatal.
*I apologise to a few friends who had been been there and whom I had doubted inwardly when they claimed how scary the ascent was. I thought they were just being wussy and all.

But the view that greeted us at the top made it a bit worthwhile. We could see the whole stretch of Angkor Wat surrounded by lush woodland.

Trivia: I must say it was a hazardous ascent and will not recommend to children & the elderly. However, to my utter surprise, I saw ang moh kids as young as ten up there too! I can only say they are daredevil parents, the ang mohs...

It is local belief that if you stand on this same spot we were standing at when the sun shone down, one will get blessed. Tourists waited for their turns to take their pictures here. Our guide was quite shy to take his photos with us and I guessed he didn't want to share our blessings but we would hear nothing of it.

Trivia: Our guide himself comes with a pretty neat personal life story. His father, a prof in the university was murdered during the Pol Pot regime because he was considered an intellectual. For his own safety, his mother told him to escape to Thailand where he became a monk for 10 years. He's now in his early fifties but his comrades call him a lady-killer for his still chiselled good looks with greyish-green eyes.

The Sunrise @ Angkor Wat

We woke up at around 4 am-ish to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. A good guide will take you to a few vantage points around Angkor Wat to view the rising moment at Angkor Wat's main compound.

Going to Siem Reap and not catching the sunrise or sunset at Angkor Wat is akin to going Hong Kong and not eating the dim sum or going to Phuket and not indulging in body massage - you can considered your trip kinda wasted.

We waited in the dark

Awww~~... Awesome...

Mr. Gecko: I thought you wouldn't be able to wake up in time! But we did it!!!

Tonle Sap @ Siem Reap

Tonle Sap is the biggest freshwater lake in S.E. Asia and located about 2 hours away from Siem Reap's central area. We had a rather bumpy ride as there are no proper roads but mostly mud or stone tracks to get to the remote floating village at Tonle Sap. What I saw when I arrived was a long wide stretch of brown river with lotsa floating homes built closely together on both banks of the river. And the sight was pretty grim.

Most of the families populating the floating village are poor and they live in home conditions much like the boat people in Hong Kong in the early 70s. Some live on big floating sampans while some had grander floating homes built on wide planks with even a kitchen & living room built in. A consolation for us when we passed by floating schools with separated floating facilities (the schools come with separate floating basketball court, how cool!) set up by NGOs from rich countries like Korea and Belgian.

I saw a woman and a little girl in a small and thin sampan trying their darnest to row toward our ferry when our ferry reached the end of the stretch that leads to the boundless sea and we were preparing to turn back. The little girl was paddling furiously to reach us. Their small sampan looked really dangerous and out-of-place in the big open sea - I actually wondered initially if their sampan had problems and they were trying to save themselves and climb onboard our ferry instead. Turned out that the little girl only wanted us to buy her canned soft drinks for US$2 per can. When we declined and gave her some money instead, the mother-daughter pair rowed their small sampan hurriedly to the next tourist ferry. The little girl looked less than 7 years old...

The stretch of brown river with floating homes at both sides

The sampan is a common travel mode for the villagers

A small floating shack and sampan are what some familes have only

Relaxing and gossiping at the kitchen area

A group of resolute child peddlers-beggars. We stopped by a floating souvenir shop for about half an hour and these group of children had never stop their verbal pleas to buy their merchandise even though all the tourists were blatantly ignoring them. They stopped only when most tourists left.

This little girl was the most determined amongst all. She was the last to leave and eventually had Mr. Gecko's US$1. She was trying to sell us bananas but when she received the money, she didn't offer us the bananas but gamely posed for Mr. Gecko when she saw him taking her picture.

These kids are seasoned *a pity*. They know tourists' behaviour.

A good picture Mr. Gecko took of a little girl we passed by who happened to look into our camera lens curiously while lunching on a sampan.

Our room @ HanumanAlaya Boutique Hotel.
We had a very good package deal with everything (3 days private temple tours, guide, driver and temple passes) threw in for only US$370 per person - accomodation for 4 nights inclusive.

Relaxing at the hotel's second level lounge. We even requested and had our lunch there!

Our Last Day @ Siem Reap

We rented bikes for a full day and cycled around the small central / old market area and had lots of thrills while cycling-exploring the central and most of Siem Reap's notable hotels. We had the most fun that day.

One of our many thirst quenching stops on that day

Hotel De La Paix - One of the notable hotels we stopped by to explore (Angelina Jolie stayed there while filming Lara Croft).
We eventually had our brunch there and booked a body massage package with the hotel's spa for the evening.

Their masseuse were really good and gave the rub down with just the right pressure.

Mr. Gecko was content with his rub-rub while I was pleased with my very first pedicure!

We had a mini accident while on our way to the airport. A drunk motorcyclist banged against our car and punctured our tyre. While the driver stopped by the roadside to change the tyre, some small curious onlookers also came by and gawked at the mini drama happening right in front of their makeshift stalls.

Bye Angkor Wat! Hello Ho Chi Minh!!

Our Tale Of 2 Cities

2007-07-27T10:32:00.000+08:00

We Started With Serene & Ancient Angkor Wat

Mr. Gecko & I took a week long break in Siem Reap & Ho Chi Minh (locals prefer the more exotic sounding old name - Saigon) earlier this month. We came back almost 2 weeks ago... and I would have written our travel entries out by last week if not that I am still recovering from a bout of dengue fever.

Yeah... we think I got bitten by mozzies in Siem Reap. It was fortunate for us that the onslaught of the dreaded disease hit me only when I came back to Singapore. Fortunate because I needed the energy for the next half of our Saigon trip and I couldn't imagine seeking professional medical help either in Siem Reap or Saigon - both cities still a long way to recover from post civil war poverty.

In a lot of ways, the physical characteriestics of the 2 cities are very similar - not surprising as both are communist countries emerging out of their genocide through booming tourism; especially Siem Reap. Gosh...! I shall write about my experience getting through the Vietnam custom upon arrival at Saigon later.

Being economically poor, there are hardly any common modern infrastructures in both Siem Reap and Saigon. There're absolutely no skyscrapers, proper tar roads are limited to the city / tourist areas, there's not even a decent shopping centre anywhere in both cities.... even public transport's a big hassle for the locals themselves since most own and get around easily by motorcycles anyway.

In a way, it's a kinda travel blessing *for me lah* coz for the first time anywhere other than my own homeland - Malaysia, I didn't have to navigate around train stations and got around in either a hired car or cabs. For our usual travel standards, tis's luxury to us.

But the more physically comfortable I was, the more uncomfortable and guilty I felt inwardly as we took in all the extreme poverty we saw around us silently. Like how everytime the moment we got out of our sedan to new temple grounds in Siem Reap, we would be surrounded by local children begging us to buy souvenirs from them... we never buy or give money to children in groups as there was no end to such toutings so we really have to bear with the determined children in dirty and tattered clothings who would even walked some distance with us just for that US$1. Same goes for Saigon when the children roamed the streets and begged all the foreigners in sight to buy their wares and their parents just watched them from a near distance.

It was heart wrenching to know that adults often make use of children to gain tourists' sympathies just to put dinner on the table. I mean, there are such child beggers everywhere... but never that staggering amount of child beggers I had encountered over there! Mr. Gecko told me India has it far worse... I really cannot imagine. That kinda feelings hit me real bad when I was visiting Tonle Sap river at Siem Reap. But that's how poor they are...

Despite these close similarities, I was more surprised and mildly amused by the vastly different tourist treatments / social interactions we encountered between the 2 cities - their service disparities really could not be more distinctive. The Cambodians in Siem Reap are all heart into the tourism business - very eager to please and their locals friendly and polite - we gave alot of service tips in Siem Reap but hadn't bother to dispense any in Saigon. Though they were never rude, the locals in Saigon seemed somehow indifferent to foreigners - like how they don't really bother to smile or how we would sometimes be pushed aside suddenly from behind just because we were blocking their way. Oh, their indifferences certainly don't stop the ang mohs from chatting up with the local women at any opportune moments... hahaha... there must be something about Viet woman that ang moh men really like.

Between Siem Reap and Saigon, we certainly enjoyed our temple sightseeings at Angkor Wat slightly more than our stay at Saigon. Maybe it was because we had a really knowledgeable guide, maybe it was pure comfort to be chauffeured between temple sites but certainly big credits to the Cambodians who made me feel like a VIP anywhere...

But at the same time, we were gratified that we were not swamped by must-go touristy places of interests in Saigon and could take our time to experience a raw city relatively untouched by mass tourism hypocrisy common almost everywhere - yet.

We went and came back; and our tale of the 2 cities?? We hope we will never have to live through any war.

And We Ended With Busy & Noisy Saigon

P/S: More pics & travel sentiments to come in the next 2 entries

Introducing... Jawsie & The Buggytrap

2007-06-25T17:31:00.000+08:00

Random weekday lunches with Mr. Gecko often led me wandering aimlessly around China Square Central when he left me for work after lunch hour. It was then and there I chanced upon this just-established outlet selling quaint English countryside garden & living-lifestyle merchandise where I saw this little pot of plant I only read about in my Science textbook. So overwhelmed I was with this discovery, I obviously wasted no time and brought Mr. Gecko with me to the shop and showed it to him.

And... Mr. Gecko really surprised me with the little pot of exotic green when we met up for lunch last week. Look! It's my little pot of Venus Flytrap - which we named Jawsie!

Jawsie

I was quite drawn to the morbid nature of Jawsie, I mean - look, have you ever kept any carnivorous plant? Ironically, with such a mean streak for a plant, they are named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty! Perhaps, the person when naming this plant had just been married to a beautiful woman. Hee.

Some fast facts I had wikipediaed over the weekend so I can better care for Jawsie:

✺ They are not houseplants and should be grown in pots under conditions that mimic those in their natural habitat - they have a large reputation for being difficult to grow. *me glups~~*

✺ Venus Flytraps ideally should not be watered with tap water as accumulated salts in tap water may kill carnivorous plants. Both distilled water or clean rain water are ideal. *I run down 7 flights of stairs these and every rainy days to collect rainwater just for Jawsie.*

✺ The temptation to trigger the traps manually should be resisted. *Opps~~* Venus flytraps are entirely capable of catching their own food; thus, feeding them manually is not necessary... *That said, Mr. Gecko was apalled and strictly warned me against it when I first suggested I will catch some bugs to feed Jawsie :/*

✺ The trap rarely catches more than three insects in its lifetime *So much for looking forward to alot of live action - what was I thinking about man....*

Eating Up Poor Laybbit - Jawsie Wasted No Time Satiating Her Lust For Red Meat

Domestic Humour: Stock Supply

2007-05-13T21:50:00.000+08:00

Mr. Gecko caught the flu bug from me early this week; the day I popped the last Panandol (For Cold Relief) pill into a recovering me.

He was also suffering from flatulence and had slight tummy pains. I remembered that my mom had taken away with her my Tiger Balm after her last visit.

I felt guilty as I watched a sick, sniffling Mr. Gecko trying to sleep that night.

The next day saw me marching into a pharmacy and buying emergency medical supplies for the household worth over $45.

Mr. Gecko: Wah! Are we stocking up for war?

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It was a lazy Sunday mid afternoon. Both of us were inclined to breakfast indoors.

I was contented with 2 pieces of bread from yesterday's breakfast leftovers. Mr. Gecko wanted his weekend staple - instant noodles.

I told him that his mom slurped up the last packet of instant noodles last week. Hence, he had to go and buy fresh supply from the provision shop downstairs.

Me: Wah! Are we stocking up for war?

P/S: There're only 2 of us living together.

Kawaii Desu Ne ~~~~ In My Mock Jepun Voice Tone

2007-05-10T11:44:00.000+08:00

Hiragana Never So Delightful Before!!!

Felt like indulging in some giggling schoolgirl whims. Hehe... couldn't resist shelling out money to buy the stickers though I don't foresee myself using it - I can't bear to use it anyway!

I take out the sheet of sticker once in a while to get a feel of the characters' contour by pressing my fingers on them and relishing it all in its pretty primary poster colors.

Would have bought a few more sheets if it wasn't so exorbitant for a sheet of stickers. Selling at Daiso (Vivocity) at $2.00 apiece.

BAH............

2007-05-09T14:03:00.000+08:00

It's been nine months since I volunteered to tutor my cleaner auntie's 2 daughters. (Read: Stumped...... And Embarrassingly So) One of the ways I have been trying to improve my now Primary 5 kid's English is by expanding her vocabulary. And I believe(d?) vocabulary is best learned in context.

My conventional method is to task the student to find the meaning of a word in the dictionary and make a structured sentence out of it. You know, making sentence? In fact, it does not matter to me if my this kid's sentence structure is grammatically incorrect as long as I could see that she understood the gist of the word. I understand her English proficiency is really substandard compared to peers in her level.

With the already low expectations, I was nevertheless shocked into near catatonic state when I marked her homework [making sentences] last week. The mind blower ones as below:

Blaring (Blare) - When the wind blow, the leaves on the ground make a blaring sound.

Instinct - All humans even animals had their own instinct.

The moment I read those sentences, I had only one classic mentor's grouse in my mind: I don't know whether to laugh or cry...

Bah. She makes me feel I'm lousy at my job .

Mecha *18th Burpday

2007-04-28T16:28:00.000+08:00

Ah~~~... it's the time of the year again when Mr. Gecko lavished extra, extra, extra lub and pamperings just on me.

While April is my fave month of the year for one obvious reason, I also like all the self-generated, very visible anticipation and hype in the weeks leading to my burpday, making one very. stressed. Mr. Gecko outta it.

It's strange to know thereafter on the day itself that I always feel more than a slight tinge of guilt when I eventually receive my burpday pressie from him. I guess it's the same as when I am more excited to see him guessing, unwrapping and eventually appreciating his burpday pressie from me - while he felt bad I spent money.

Not that I'll return the pressie out of guilt anytime soon though. Hehe...

Receiving Pressie!!!

A Relaxing Round of Drinks After Dinner @ Giraffe

Also, not forgetting my most sincere thanks to my family and friends who remembered too. For all the pressies, well wishes and lub. Thanks! Thanks!

*Cheers to Forever 18!!!

Mr. X - The Office's Farthole Saga (Part II)

2007-04-16T15:46:00.000+08:00

Remember my friend, Mr. X - the one who farts in office? Seems like this poor guy's farting-in-office woe is not a one-time thingy.

His online messages to me sometime last week:

Mr X: I farted 4 - 5 times today

Mr. X: Smelly ones - I seem to be doing that frequently

Mr. X: Dunno whether they [office colleagues] paiseh to say

I asked him why he cannot step outside the office to fart, he said he really could not anticipate the urge to fart - comes like the wind. *suppressing my laughter*

Simply Attracts

2007-02-28T22:30:00.000+08:00

Mr. Gecko simply pulls my heartstrings when he is at his simple best.

Like while lunching at Hans, I asked him to take a stirrer for my mug of coffee, he gave me the normal-sized spoon without thinking twice. So looking at how he just plopped down the spoon in my coffee mug I just laughed and said, "You made me look so kampung!"

Or just simply contended to snack on cream crackers with a hot cup of milo on a cold, rainy day. Ahh... *tugs tugs*

I like it. Being simple yet still a dreamer. By the way, he was browsing FHM while indulging in his milo time.

Find A Way Home

2007-01-31T17:25:00.000+08:00

These days, Mr. Gecko acutely felt the sense to divert his financial resources for our house rental to something more tangible and that can be used as future collateral - yeah, you read it here first, we are at the infancy of searching-for-our-homey project, to the extent that everyday when he came back home from work, he'd ask for my homey research progress *yeah, it's my job to do research for anything-everything since he's the busier and richer one :/*

Nay, it’s not what you are thinking now - marriage is not on the cards. *There MUST be a proposal huh!* It's pure financial sensibility at work here.

We're pleased with the flat we are renting-living in currently, our Mrs. Landlord (mother of a close friend) charges us rental very charitably and thanks to her kindness, Mr. Gecko and me managed to scrap a living while living it out in a spacious 5 room flat - especially the time when we had just graduated. Just that we know it's about time we do something.

We only just started and because we don’t owe a car, we hadn’t managed to scout around much. We had been to a few private property launches and their prices-future bank loan repayments turned our knees to jelly.

Some online conversations on our find-homey-project:

Mr. Gecko: WHERE IS YOUR HOMEY LIST??

Piggee: Piggee look for homey huh... it'll be easier if we can shortlist the areas we want to stay in - or the areas we definitely dun want to stay in.

Mr. Gecko: Look forward to decorating / designing our own homey. Build a cell to lock u up.

Piggee: Oh! i wanna my own workshop to do my toy projects and painting. You know I have my own easel... if we have a 3 + 1, that corner will be piggee's own little corner!!

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Mr. Gecko: Watcha been reading Tiong Bahru thread during lunchtime. Think we should get an agent who specialises in Tiong Bahru old flats!!!!!!

Piggee: :) You like Tiong Bahru too?? We’re so alike; what's the Tiong Bahru thread? Send the link to me?

So far, one of the areas that touched both our hearts is the quaint post-war Tiong Bahru flats. I’m glad Mr. Gecko shared the same sentiments.

It’s really only the beginning huh.

Those Were The Rainy Days

2006-12-26T18:24:00.000+08:00

Some of my favourite rainy memories raining on me these raining cats and dogs days.

I was in P6. My classroom was situated on the 4th level beside a big patch of green grassy field and I was seated beside the window. There was a day the winds carried the sweet smell of grass mingled with the strange smell of a breaking thunderstorm... I remembered loving the smell of the beckoning rain thereafter. It's a pity I lost that sensitivity.

We walked the causeway in the rain - the whole lot of girls, laughing and making a spectacle of ourselves in school uniforms in full view of the lorry drivers stuck in the causeway jam. A girlfriend coiled a thin wisp of her wet short fringe like a comma on her forehead and shouted "SUPERMAN!!" We were thoroughly drenched and the outline of our bras shown through the thin polka dotted uniforms. Did we care about the wolf whistles from the bored lorry drivers? Banded girl power took care of that. You say the rain dampens mood? Not that day. *Sigh~~ I miss everybody*

Both of us were doing our guesswork. We were not very sure yet quite sure. There was a scary thunderstorm somewhere west-end of Singapore. I "uh-oh" him about sleeping alone in the room with rolling thunders overhead. He acted macho and offered his assuring companionship under my duvet. I acted coy and asked him to queue up. Of course there was no queue. I felt more assured there would be a beginning.

What's with the rainy days... that paints a mildly melancholic picture and triggers nolstagia in one as you listen to the soft drone of the pattering rain?

Notwithstanding the mental auditing of the past one year's events - unfolding before you as the full force of the year end festivities reel by. And you feel like an outsider, a non-participator.

What happened? What's going to happen? I truly feel a teeny weeny lost now.

I Am Forever 18

2006-12-15T13:51:00.000+08:00

It's true!

Went to MoS last night for a round of drinks with Mr. Gecko and bros... I was stopped by the girl at the tic counter who asked for my I/C.

Get this. Disbelief was registered on her facial expression when she glanced at my birthdate.

TA-DAH!! TA-DAH!! TA-DAH!!

Never a better form of flattery than this huh? *humming happily to myself*