Part 6:Banyuwangi

Had intended to head back to Surabaya after Mt Ijen but given that we went all drenched after the climb downhill which took us another 2hrs plus, the 7 hrs drive back to Surabaya didn't seem like a wise choice. We could fall sick....not to mention that we needed a hot bath badly...

We were introduced to Ketapang Indah Hotel by one of the tourists that we met at Mount Ijen. Good recommendation I would say. Right across the water is Bali-West of Bali! We were tempted to take a ferry across to Bali. I must say-it's so much cheaper to do so....but well...we really don't have the time to. Not gonna risk missing our flight-haha!

Part 5: Mount Ijen

I almost died climbing Ijen!!!! arghhh....haha!

It took us around 3hrs to climb Mt Ijen.

Mt Bromo is definitely a more popular tourist attraction than Mt Ijen. Comparatively, you would get to see the jeeps lining up at the foot of the mountains, or horsemen leading horses towards u or even proper basement leading you to the crater..nope..none of these....somehow,we managed to get our driver to join us on our quest to conquer Mt Ijen...keke...

The slopes are really steep. We bumped into some tourist from Surabaya midway up the volcano. Apart from us(the only trekkers), there's a group of sulphur miners hurrying up and down the mountain. While we were there for leisure purposes, these miners were working really hard. Carry loads of approximately 90kg each! We noticed that there's a station, guarded by a foreman(I assumed..), to ensure that the average weight is maintained...by the way, we tried lifting the load but it won't move by a bit...

These were what we were rewarded with at the crater lip....well...the photos ccan't really describe how we felt at that very moment...it's really beautiful! Walking among the clouds, the crater beneath your feet, the scenaries, the cold and strong winds...the feeling is heavenly!!! REALLY!

I would have stayed on longer if it didn't start to rain and if it weren't so cold...

Mount Ijen from afar....(taken in the car, as we move on to our next destination)

Part 4: Ijen Resort

It took us aproximately 7 hours to get to the Ijen Resort. Hidden deep inside the mountains, Ijen Resort is beautifully "framed up" by Padi fields and mountains. In fact, these are what we are presented with during our stay at the Resort-just outside our villa.....

Part 3: Mt Bromo

The minute we got out of the vehicle, I regretted not getting a thicker/warmer jacket....We knew that it is gonna to cold...(well...I was convinced that it will be...haha..) but I didn't expect it to be so cold! At the end of it, apart from the top that I have, my jacket and a shawl, I have to get a pair of gloves and rent a jacket from the locals....=P

Mt Bromo-The most popular and one of the well known East Java's tourist attractions. The pre-dawn departure to catch the sunrise, a full view of the range of volcanoes, a climb up the volanoes and a close up view of the crater-COOL EXPERIENCE! All the panting, climbing, cold and waiting are worth it!

Part 2: Base no. 1

From Surabaya, we move on to Malang which is to be our base for our expedition to Mt Bromo!

This is how our "base" looks like...

But well...this is only how our room looks like. Check out the other parts of the hotel:

Part 1:"Grand Tour"

Just in case if any of you out there thought that I disappeared from the surface of the earth during the holiday season, I actually embarked on a "Grand Tour".

First stop - Surabaya.

And if you are wondering where on earth Surabaya is, it is the Second Largest City in Indonesia (the largest being Jakarta).

So........ Welcome to Surabaya-our gateway to the grand tour of East Java!

As the car passed by the zoo, this statue caught my attention...why these two creatures? Well...the name Surabaya which is made up of the word Sura and Baya actually means shark and crocodile respectively. So, this statue is actually a representation of Surabaya!

*Back*

I am back!

Yes! I will tell you about it all in the next few days....can't really sum up everything in one post(call me Ms Efficient-haha!).

Most importantly, Merry Christmas to you!

How was your celebration? Mine was great. It was a very interesting Christmas celebration at places that I least expected myself to be..haha..

What did Santa deliver this Christmas? Lots of cool gifts! These are what he delivered...a bagful of surprises, beautiful scenaries, smiles, people, experiences and company....^__^

x'mas

Have you done your Christmas shopping? How many gifts do you have to buy? How many have you actually bought? Mine was a super rush one....in between my furniture shopping...keke....

So my dear frens, those who had already received or will be receiving my gifts from someone else...pai sei....=P

Yes...it's really bad...I remember making someone wait for around 15mins just cos' I need to find some boxes for the gifts that I was going to pass to her....one of the gift boxes that I bought was dirty somemore....-_- There's also someone who got the gift in this super crappled paper bag.....but went...38 won't mind right? keke.....BTW, mum like the carrier you bought for me from Japan too! so.....

Perfume

Sis, what's that "diamond-top" perfume that you are talking about? You malu me man....they don't have something like what u had described.....you sure you got the right brand?

But I was recommended to this cool perfume over the weekend....shaped like a giant lipstick, with a twist cum press, wala! you get yourself one of the best fragrance......

-Extracted from the website-

COCO MADEMOISELLE(Limited Edition)

The height of luxury within hand's reach, whatever the time of night or day, whether travelling to the other end of the world or simply resting in the bag that holds our precious daily essentials…

Held in a jewel of a case that's as iridescent as a string of white pearls, the Purse Parfum presents the most precious fragrance concentration in the world of perfumery. This Haute Couture scent contains the very quintessence of the most noble ingredients, such as May Rose Absolute and Iris Absolute. Featuring a discreet applicator, the Purse Parfum is applied to the skin one drop at a time, with a subtle, feminine and absolutely delicate touch.

another activities-filled weekend

The weekend that just passed has been super crazy....imagine this....I walk till I couldn't walk further-that is I had a mucsle pull(yes, I have not only fats! haha!) that hold me to the spot.

The cabs taken, the places/areas and agenda covered is really overwhelming...

J...sorry if I made u spent more than you should or intended but good buys weren't it? =P

Sis, you missed all the "fun"! I almost sprain my ankle while carrying the stuffs....sob

"buddha's hand"

Saw this at a temple....it is called "fo sou", in direct translation...buddha's hand (I know! My hanyu pinyin is really bad.....) Close resemblance to the human's hand/fingers huh?

Hang in there...

So happy to receive her email...

So happy to know that she's alright...

So happy to know that we share a common understanding on her situation....

I wish I know what happened but I shall not probe

cos' when it's time u will tell...

We will meet again my friend....please hang in there.....

My "Carpet"

We missed Rex so much that we decided to check with his nanny on how he is doing....although the nanny mentioned that he's doing fine.....still can't help wondering if boy boy is really alright....maybe he misses us too? Or rather he misses the snacks that we had been giving him....-_-

The field

This was what I saw at the field in front of my block the week before we moved out of BP..

This was the sight on the day that we moved out...

A week after we moved out, it was out in the newspaper that they are gonna build EC at that plot of land...

Muffins

Be sure to check this out when u return ya? They are really yummy! I thought they are as good(if not better) as those that we ate at K.R.


We wiped out like 9pcs for breakfast on Sunday-Thanks to my colleague N who went to pick them up before the shop closes at 2pm.

AAL

AAL, if you are reading this, please give me a call!!!! Where have you disappeared to? Called and msg u like crazy but think your phone is off. Are u in Japan already?

Be prepared for some "scolding" when u call though...

Finally fixed on a date!

We finally agreed on the bbq date and what makes it even better is that every turns up at the bbq! Hooray!

My apologies on the marinating if it didn't turn out to be what you had expected ya? But well... we had great fun, didn't we? =P

So much fun that our CL was aching like anything the following day. As for me...I was too "high on activities" that I dreamt of the whole preparation process! Haha!

interesting conversation(part 3)

The lady continues to stay with the bro and mother-in-law after the husband death....Over the years, the bro-in-law had been playing the role of a father to the little boy. He did everything a father would had done. Read to the boy, tution the boy, chauffeur the boy and the mother, bring him and the mother for holiday...etc, just like a family....He developed feelings for his sis-in-law.

The little boy likes his uncle but the mother reminded him..."No matter how much you like uncle, u can only call him godfather, not father. You had a father but your father had passed away"

This man had waited for her for the past 16yrs and is still waiting....

interesting conversation(part 2)

What happened to the wife? My first qns to the person was "She remarried right?"

Well...she alone, raised up her kid. The boy is 16yrs old now. Guess what? Since young, she had been telling her mum " I want to be a monk one day"

For some reasons, the mother is prepared. She's prepared for that day to come.

another interesting conversation

I met her again...another incredible story....

The story goes that a person made a vow to become a monk when he was a kid. He was into all the buddha's teaching and all since young till he met her. He broke his promised. Fall in love with this lady and got married. 0.5yr later, on their delayed honeymoon, the lady found herself pregnant. The guy was so happy he piggybag his wife around in a native country. It was an interesting experience for her. Realised that she's pregant and been piggybagged around on their honeymoon. Till now, she couldn't erase this part of her memories....it never fails to bring back a smile onto her face.

When they got back to Singapore, a few months later, on the day of her follow up sessions with the gynec, she was being told that the baby is a boy. she called the hubby who's at work at the moment. He was so excited. He told he colleagues that he wanted to go home to see his wife ASAP. So despite the heavy rain and the persuasion from the colleagues to go home slightly later when the rain is not as heavy, he left the office.

The wife waited at home. She received a call from the police station that her husband had been strike by the lightning.

When verifying his belongings, they were presented with a burnt top that the hubby was wearing that day...What puzzled everyone at the mortuary was that the body was intact. No sighs of burnt at all except for a red line across the chest...

At the wake, someone passed a comment,"He shoudn't had broken that vow he made"

New place

This is what we had to put up with first week at the new place(well...at the balcony)....

The sight that greeted us everyday....still so, but getting better....

wow....

I just realised something! Victoria's Secret's lotion and body mist is available in Watson!

Impressed man....Watson's variety of merchandise is getting wider and more adventurous....and that is really to the advantage of us- THE CONSUMERS!

The BIG day

SR, just wanna say

I AM TRULY SORRY

buy u dinner when I return k? I know it's a super duper special day for you and I have been looking forward to it but I 'm afraid I will have to give it a miss....

"surprises"

Have been living with surprises since I moved...

To start with, there's this "alarm clock from the wild"(some super loud and high pitched bird that will wake up the neighbourhood up at around 6am)....the good thing is that is around the time that I have to get up for work...hehe..

Secondly, bro and myself are always looking forward to going home-cos' there will be something new or a new development in term of the renovation. Of course, there will always be things that are still not done...well...we expect this to drag on for around a month or so...

There's also this cool thing about getting home without having to take the LRT..(it's hard to explain....after having to do so for the past 18yrs...)

Wonder what's next for us.....

Happy Birthday!

Today's post has to go out to my dearest bro....why? cos' it's his special day!

Happy Birthday to you!

Thanks for putting everything together(mission impossible)...
Thanks for the patience(esp during time of serious miscommunication..hehehe)...
Thanks for the time(for scouting around for items and ideas)...
Thanks for not going crazy after subjecting yourself to our nonsenses(we tahan yours as well)..keke..
Thanks for just being just my(our) brother..

Birthday celebration

An early birthday celebration might be a good idea given that everyone needed some sort of break...and really...the cleaning up and unpacking is getting a bit too much...thanks to sis who came back to help....my legs were swollen from carrying all the heavy stuffs...

The meal was great till....We dared my family members to the Buffalo wings-Chef Challenge at Jerry's. What was the outcome?

All paused after the 1st two bites..started to drink like crazy...faces turn red...and grabbing of tissues...keke....Mum was caught "washing" the wings with water-wahahah! Bro surrendered...without finishing the wing, he excused himself to go to the toilet...sis? one bite and I took over...keke.... At the end of it all, we have only one hero who took 3 wings...keke...I salute you man! From a non chilli-taker to a Buffalo wings' chef challenger!! woohoo!!!

Well...another interesting sight-all of us left the restaurant with pouty lips. =P

FINALLY!

Hooray! We have finally moved! It was almost mission impossible at one point in time but we managed to! Er....even when the renovation is not completed.....

What actually happened....I will save it for my story-telling sessions with u. As for my condition....I can only say that my whole body is aching...especially so for my feet...they are swollen....the aching was so bad that even though I was dead tired, the pain kept me awake...sob sob...

Siblings...don't worry about it k? remember my role? I am the "insertion". We all know what it meant right? keke...

"must have"

This is the one of the "must-have" that I have missed this week....think I will miss it for another week given the activity level....sob...

Common sense

What is Common Sense?

Something "interesting" happened today to make me ponder over this word. I realised that people tends to complicate things and do things that doesn't make sense at all.

Weekend

I thought the weekend that just passed will give me an opportunity to rest....but no....it left me totally exhausted....All the packing, travelling, finalising, compromising and waiting is just overwhelming....for me and everyone else..

The question is:

Will everything be on time?

Will everything be in accordance to plan?

Can't wait for Thursday to come.

Can't wait for everything to be over.

Or do I really want it to happen so soon? There's just so much memories tied to this place...

something I am gonna miss...

From a piece of empty field to what it is today....and I heard there will be further development but I don't think I will be there to witness the construction....This is the view that I am gonna miss....

"Ripper"

That's Rex "playing" with his toy-that is to rip his toy apart.... -_-

peanuts with garlic?

It was a gift from the Indonesia. I was sick then so I took it to the office to share with my colleagues. Apparently it was good...before I know the 2 packets were gone. But the smell is really overwhelming...you really don't wanna talk to those who are eating or had taken it. The smell...arghhh.....I seriously don't wanna TRY to recall....

so...is it another case of the fermented tou fu?

walnut bread

Provence Cafe & Bakery -It may be called Provence, but its European breads are given a Japanese twist. Owned by qualified Japanese baker Yoshiaki Matsumoto, 36, the bakery employs seven Japanese and local bakers in its kitchen behind. It uses high-quality wheat imported from France, and every loaf is measured, mixed, kneaded and finished by hand.

My colleague, CL happened to be their supporter cum promoter....haha...

I tried their walnut bread the other day. I must say-It's good. Really good. So, check it out. Gather from CL that their wassant is really popular-so, if you are intending to make a trip to H.V. just for that, my suggestion will be to be like what CL did-call to confirm. =)

The Green monster

I found my green contact lens while packing the other day....as I looked at them(before dumping them into the trash bag), I realised I didn't miss those glasses-less days....keke...

But the infection then did leave behind "traces"-red veins in my eyes, that creates some issues for me though...

These red veins becomes more obvious after staring at the monitor for a few hrs or simply when I am tired.....that in a way, makes me look even more tired.

Looking tired is one thing.....but lately, I have people who suspected that I was crying cos' of those bloodshot eyes...sigh.... -_-