MARCH HOLIDAY: DAY 8, SIEM REAP

So after an amazing 4-day trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, I am now back to civilization with some decent wifi connection!

We stayed at Angkor Riviera Hotel, which was really central and convenient. 

I did try blogging from our hotel room, but due to the really bad connection I had to leave it until I got back. The signal in the room was pretty bad, that I had to perch myself on a chair right next to the door - talk about determination, or rather desperation!

We had a super early flight on Sunday morning, but I caught up on some sleep during the flights. Our prearranged guide picked us up in his van and we dropped by an artisan centre. A local guy gave us a short tour of the place and explained to us the different processes involved in the production of the local arts and crafts.

Later on we took a boat ride along the river to see Tonle Sap, the largest fresh water in South East Asia, and the floating village - home to many Vietnamese and numerous Cham communities. As it is currently the dry season (from November to May), the river was really shallow (around one metre deep) and muddy - was a bit wary that the other passing boats might splash at us!

Floating school - currently on stilts during the dry season, but floats during the rainy season!

Floating basketball court!

Boats getting repaired during the dry season

Swallows?

Personally, I find the price of 20 USD per person was a bit exorbitant...to ride on a boat down a muddy river (with all the dust and dirt in the air) and to see some floating houses...

Oh well, at least I can say that I've seen it and done it.

After checking into the hotel, we freshened up and then our guide took us to a buffet restaurant called Angkor Mondial Restaurant, which was swarmed with people - a tourist trap that we unavoidably walked into! As we were there already we just stayed on to have a quick meal - there were some nice local dance performances as well which I guess (sort of) made up for the sad imitation of Cambodian cuisine...

Note to self: Do some online research before following blindly into restaurant.  

Just before we headed back to the hotel, we had a short walk along the night markets areas where I bought a scarf and a pair of silk flowy pants - the start of my little shopping haul.

 

 

Got a little distracted by some cute doggies sitting on the pavement :)

Day 1 down, 3 more to go! Compiling and editing photos from 3 different devices is taking much longer than usual!

Off to get a good night's sleep.

To be continued...

 

MARCH HOLIDAY: DAY 6+7, PENANG

Came back a bit late yesterday (or rather this morning) so it's a 2-in-1 summary!

Me and dad drove to Balik Pulau yesterday to eat laksa - one of the places he always brought us to when we were wee little children.

 

Assam laksa + white nutmeg with assam juice

I love old traditional kopitiams :)

And then being greedy, we also 'tapau'-ed some mee goreng home hehe.

I then went for my usual Dermalogica facial with mum - the once a year ritual I have everytime I come back! It's usually the same girl that does it for me and for 1.5 hours I can just relax and let her try and fix my poor skin that has often been lacking some TLC. 

Later on, we went to have dinner at China House - a traditional compound of 3 heritage buildings converted into spaces comprising of shops, cafes, restaurants, galleries and multi-purpose performance theatre. 

We ordered a couple of cakes and a mixed grill platter to share. 

Whilst waiting for the food, the kid in me played around with the crayons...

Concentrate...

Tada!

 

Loved the atmosphere and feel of the place. Though quite disappointed with the quality of the food and value for money... 

Still, nice for a quick cuppa and place to chill. 

At night I had a mini reunion with the girls back from high school - The Wine Shop was unfortunately closed so we settled for a chilled evening/night at the G Hotel lobby.

 The girls were also sweet to get Yen Li and I a belated and early birthday cake.

 

 

 As for today, mum and my god-sis made a reservation for lunch at Kampachi - my favourite place to have Japanese buffet mmm...

 

In between the bouts of rain and sunshine, we managed to snap some photos in the hotel's green grounds...

Mum x

 

 

 

Always searching for wifi!

It's getting late now and I haven't finished packing for my early flight tomorrow!

Hope the wifi at the hotel is good.

Time to run x

 

 

MARCH HOLIDAY: DAY 5, PENANG

I've managed to sit myself down and get some work done today.

A couple of weeks ago I received a letter from the GPhC - didn't open it til a day later only to realize I had been called up to submit my CPD! 

Somehow I had a feeling that this was coming...

Fellow pharmacists will know the feeling when this happens...

In the majority of cases, being 'called up' would usually result in PANIC! 

This would be my advice...

 

Okay, not really...try this instead...

Me, being the procrastinator that I am, meant that I was behind in my work...well, just a tiny bit. HOWEVER, being the SUPER-calm person that I usually am (excluding the times when I am confronted by super fluffy bunnies or puppies...in which case I would be jumping around like an excited 5-year old kid!) I have completed it within TWO weeks and submitted them online today! 
Thankfully I haven't been qualified for that long...I should get my feedback within the next 8 weeks - fingers crossed!

I would show you my little victory dance, but I don't think the world is ready to handle it at this moment in time...

I've also done some spring cleaning in my old bedroom! 

As much as I dislike cleaning (okay, that's a bit of a lie, I quite enjoy cleaning sometimes...must be something related to OCD) I love it when I find little things that make me smile, such as my old kindergarden drawings...

I don't even remember who Edric was (?!)

I must have been what, 6 (?!)

And these mini (wonky) teddy bears...that I sewed together using scrap cloth from my grandmother's tailoring material!

 

Hmm...maybe I could use them as voodoo dolls...*evil laughter*

I've also been busy with mum who helped me to clean my TY beanie babies collection. It's been YEARS since I last collected them that I've lost count of how many I had. With our amazing teamwork I now have a list recording all the names of each and every one of them. Yes, all 382 of them...

I'm pretty sure I had more (?!), not that I can actually fit more inside...

 

Opened and closed view (it's only ONE wardrobe not two!)...locked up to prevent any escapees! 

I promised them a larger wardrobe once I get my own place in the future...

Just one of my childhood obsessions...

So that's taken at least a couple of hours...might sort out the Barbies tomorrow...x

Have a good night people x

MARCH HOLIDAY: DAY 4, PENANG

Today, the dad brought me to try this popular local place called Ah Wang Cafe that sells roti bakar!
Yummy simple food mmm...

How cute are those half-boiled eggs in teacups?

Dad and I then drove up to somewhere along Straits Quay so that I could practise how to ride a bicycle - yes, one of the childhood skills that was neglected on my list!

Oh well, never too old to learn to ride...

Dad, being the encouraging dad that he is, was rooting me on and taking embarrassing photos of me whilst I clumsily tried to avoid crashing into trees...

Step 1: Try to get both legs on the pedals

Beginner's tip: Try not to giggle as it makes you lose balance even more!

Make sure seat is low enough for my stubby legs to reach the ground!

Okay, let's just hold onto the railing and do a pose...

Dad showing me how it's done teehee x

Still a bit wobbly, but at least I didn't fall down!

A Romanian couple then came by and started chatting to my dad and making some short recordings whilst my dad talked about Penang. 

After that, we drove into town to make a visit to my usual souvenir shop Hong Joo.
 Bought some stuff and took a photo with the nice uncle and aunty.
 Well, photo(S) really, as dad is still not quite so acquainted with the iPhone...

He figured it out after a couple of attempts!

Later on in the evening, we picked mum up from the airport and went to Thai Recipe at Tan Jeti to have dinner.

Me & Mum x

Awesome authentic Thai food and nice, relaxing atmosphere!

 

 

Me & Dad x

Also spotted this cute dinky dog, and just had to take a video!

And then there were the not so nice 'toilets'...

You can figure out where it all goes...

Just when you thought it would be nice to have a swim in the sea!

I hope the fish that we ate was caught FAR away from these waters...(?!)

Anyway, I also went to get my annual eye check - thankfully the power hasn't increased. Well, except for my astigmatism...just a tiny bit.

That's all for today.

The Cheekster - over and out! x

MARCH HOLIDAY: DAY 3, PENANG

Went into town today with dad, our daily dose of father-and-daughter time :)

I tag along with him whilst he runs some work errands and in return he chauffeurs me around in Penang - it's a win-win situation!

Dad is always good at explaining some history about the old parts of town - trying to educate his daughter who has become somewhat like a foreigner in her hometown! 

Not a good sign, maybe I best do some research of my own...

Dad brought me to have lunch at Evergreen Cafe - famous for it's 'koay teow th'ng'! 

Awkward...but I love him lol x

Afterwards I went to get my hair cut - tidying up this bush of a hair that has gone a bit haywire especially in this weather...

Tada!

Before heading home, I dropped by to see my beautiful dogs at the old grandma's place.

Dad is always loved by all dogs x

Teehee x

Later in the evening I met up with my faithful little friend Cherlyn. Sweet Cherlyn treated me to dinner at Winter Warmers as an early birthday present!

Thank you Cherlyn - it's always a pleasure to meet up with you on my annual trip back home.

Okay, time to have an early night - I'm going to 'attempt' to ride my dad's bicycle tomorrow, and hope I don't go falling into a bush...or cactus like last time...

The Cheekster is signing off x

MARCH HOLIDAY: DAY 2, PENANG

So thankfully I didn't suffer from any jetlag - dropped into bed and slept like a log, and woke up bright and early to head out to renew my passport...

Here's the tedious process I had to go through...

1. Firstly, I had to wait in line for 40 minutes to get my photo taken - I hate taking Malaysian passport photos as you have to push back all your hair so that your ears can be seen, but then you also end up looking like an absolute retard...

I'm also pretty sure my photo looks a bit wonky as he tilted my shoulder to get me in line with the automated camera focus. 

2. After that I had to collect a ticket number and waited for a further hour and a half to get some papers filled in and hand in my old passport.

3. I then had to go to the payment counter and waited another 15 minutes for my name to be called.

4. I was issued a receipt saying that my passport would be ready to pick up an hour and a half later...

During which me and my dad went to have some food - famous traditional wan tan mee mmm...

 

5. When it was time, I had to hand in my receipt and collect ANOTHER ticket number...and after waiting another half an hour I FINALLY was handed my new passport - SUCCESS!

At least I only have to do this every 5 years...if only it was longer.

Spent most of the afternoon syncing and organizing my iPad, as well as catching up on old Peep Show episodes. I should really be out soaking up some sun before my time runs out...tomorrow maybe.

In the evening we went to have dinner at dad's old friend's restaurant along Gurney Drive.

The uncle was really nice and treated us to a free dinner! Darn it, I wish I'd had more stingray...teehee.

Rummaging through my haphazard luggage today, I realized I had brought more bottoms than tops...looks like someone needs to do some shopping!

I'm going to need to be more productive in the next few days!

Good night people x

MARCH HOLIDAY: DAY 1, PENANG - THE HOLIDAY STARTS NOW!

After weeks of counting down, my long vacation finally arrived! 

Yes, TWO whole weeks of escape from the horrors at work and some time to soak up some sunshine!

After everyone has had their share of fun  back home during the Chinese New Year, it is now my turn.

Sarah was kind enough to offer me a lift to Paddington station where I jumped on the Heathrow Express - a relief considering there was maintenance work on the Jubilee line this weekend.

After the last few years of flying home by Emirates, this time I went back to booking with Singapore Airlines - less transit stops and good service as expected. 
Despite the lesser baggage allowance of 20kg, mine was surprisingly under, at only 15.7kg! More space for goodies when I fly back to London teehee.

Having suffered from travel sickness in the past and always taking good 'ol Traveleeze as a precaution, this time I tried only one dose of Joyrides (yes, the one for little kiddies) which effects aren't supposed to last as long. Thankfully I was fine throughout the journey even after the 'wear-off' period - maybe it was psychological after all (?)

Usually a person that sleeps on most flights, surprisingly I stayed up and entertained myself with a movie marathon throughout my 12 hour jouney - Argo, Silver Linings Playbook, Magic Mike, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Taken 2 and Looper. A productive journey indeed! 

So now I'm back home in my old room - just did a bit of a clear out, but I think there's still more rubbish to throw out! And organizing...I still don't know what has happened to the key to the wardrobe that is holding all my TY beanie babies captive. 

Anyone good at picking locks?

I've also come home to some nice little perks...

And...I think the lack of sleep is now catching up on me. Can't believe I've just spent a whole weekend traveling home - at least the journey was worthwhile.
No doubt that I'm going to sleep well tonight. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend x