Marry me under the starry skies

Following our recent discussions on wedding receptions (and after attending yet another boring wedding dinner), I set out to name you my very own preferred venues for wedding receptions, right here in Sing-a-pore! My dearest sistas, in case my future husband-to-be ever secretly consults you for suggestions, please refer him here. Thanks.

(1) Greens in the gardens
If you love the lush soft grass and the rustle of the leaves when the breeze blows by, consider these:


a) Botanic Gardens - just be careful not to scare Vanda Miss Joaquim with the crowd


b) Fort Canning - throw in a spooky ghost tales trail for your guests. Woohoo! Alternative! I like!


c) Shangri-la Hotel's garden - I heard it's nice, haven't been there though.

d) Your house garden - why not, if you stay in a big big landed property?

The cons: watch out for the occasional mozzies, factor in bad weather contingency + be prepared for budget bust though I'm not too concerned over this. My husband and I gonna be rich :p

(2) A dash of architectural elegance
If indoors still sound best and you don't wish for the same old hotel or restaurant options, how about:


a) Singapore Arts Museum - free entrance for your guests to see the galleries too. Oooh, how cultured!


b) Giraffe @ Istana Park - I'm afraid you won't be greeted by the president, tho it says the "Istana Park".


c) Asian Civilisations Museum - infuse the peranakan style to your wedding and tie your knots with your better half as bibik and baba.


d) Red Dot Design Museum - An all-red building facade for a red letter day. How appropriate!


e) National Museum of Singapore - I think you can even request for the screening of "The Singapore Story" and feel truly patriotic at your wedding.


g) The Fullerton Waterboat House - great place for the sea-sick; get on the boat without getting rocked off.


h) Chijmes - what better place to sound the wedding chimes than at chijmes?

The cons: limited capacity not ideal for those with lots of guests.

Oh goodness, as I write on, I realise there are really a lot more alternative locations. Engage me as your wedding planner! I've got loads of ideas up my head. ;)

For those who are regrettably to be left on the shelves, don't despair! You've got friends who can go those places with you! And for those without friends...aren't you one sorry ass?

Love is an affair in beautiful Bali

Can't believe how busy I was over the last few days...Check out some shots I took in Bali (click on flickr link on right side bar). I was there for a holiday in 2003. Bali was recovering from its bombing aftermath so travel packages were cheap then!

Haven't seen a nude beach? You can see just that in Bali's Kuta Beach ;)

For those who love beauty in rawer and less touristy form, do pop by Lombok, an island near Bali.

Heads-up on Taiwan-Okinawa Tour

Beautiful Okinawa

Looks like it's gonna cost me a bomb to travel from Taiwan to Okinawa but it's still cheaper than flying straight to Okinawa from Singapore. Here are some findings after a whole morning of googling:

1) Okinawa is accessible via Taipei by air. Seems like China Airlines is the only carrier to Naha, Okinawa. A round trip (about 1.5 hour flight) will set me back around S$500. Lodging isn't exactly cheap in Okinawa but there are always decent hostels at lower prices.

2) A cheaper alternative to Okinawa is via Kaohsiung or Keelung by ferry. Considering the time wasted (about 16 - 19 hours), it might not be worth it. However, being in the middle of the sea overnight is an experience I welcome!

The Arimura Sangyo Company is the only ferry line that operates between Keelung Port and Naha Port. The ferry departs from Keelung at 10pm and arrives next day at Naha, 3pm. Usually departs from Taiwan on Mon / Tue; departs from Naha on Thu / Fri. Fare costs approximately S$250 from Naha to Keelung. I haven't gotten my hands on info if this is a round-trip fare or just one way.

Arimura can be contacted via email adachi_arimuraline@nifty.com. Think I'll drop them a note soon. They apparently has rep offices in Taipei and Kaohsiung (Tel. + 886 (0)7 330 9811).

3) If travelling out of Taiwan looks too expensive, we can also consider Xiao Liuqiu*, a Taiwanese island off the southwestern coast of Taiwan.

*Xiao Liuqiu = 小琉球, literally translates to Mini Okinawa; Okinawa was an independent kingdom and was known as RyuKyu before it was annexed by Japan during the Meiji Restoration period in 1879.

For more information on Okinawa, visit:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Okinawa
http://www.okinawa.com/

For more information on Taiwan, visit: http://www.taiwan.net.tw/lan/cht/index/index.asp

My fellow PTCs, according to my estimation, we need to set aside $1,500/person for transport + lodging alone to realise our Taiwan-Okinawa tour. More updates soon!

Christmas arrives at Orchard Road!

It was pouring the whole day. So nice to be at home, reading and lazing around, till it was time to go out for my dinner date :)

We headed to Crystal Jade La-Mian-Xiao-Long-Bao @ Great World City and I had my all time favouritest (+ cheapest noodle on the menu) Sichuan Dandan noodle. Very satisfying!!! Shan't bore you with details on food you can only imagine but can't taste.

Now the gist of this post. Dinner was so full, we decided to walk from River Valley to Orchard Road and I was happy to know it's lights up tonight! If you haven't had a trip downtown, here are snapshots to share:






I thought Tangs has one of the loveliest displays tho I recall liking last year's even more.


I love the marketing folks at Jetstar. They put up posters of their 2nd anniversary promo at all the ice-cream men's carts in Orchard Road. Genius!


Experimented a little with my kamera and got this brilliant effects on the lights...heh..


This is a nice tree I tell ya but just can't steady my hands to take a focused shot :(


The red tree's cousin donning white.

Check out what Centrepoint is up to...







No ra-ra display or the same-old christmas tree routine. But the colourful lights exude an understated elegance.

How about Plaza Singapura?



Lights-entwined twigs and 5 cubic trees...not too impressive huh?


Tata Orchard Road, I'm hopping on the home-bound bus.

So...what do you want for Christmas this year?

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Where am I?


Changi Airport!!!

Where am I flying to?


Taipei!! On my fave budget airline - Jetstar!

Yea...dreaming on. I'm just here to send mama off. Anyway Jetstar's having their 2nd birday sale. Fly to Bangkok or Phuket from S$2; Taipei, Hong Kong and Bali from S$22!

%*$#@(**!! Dun care, I'm going Taipei-Penghu-Okinawa + Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto next year. Someone remind me I dun have enuff moolah again...

Glimpses of Chinatown

My new travel buddy Fuji F30 has not been put to real test but I'm really pleased with it so far :)

Some shots that Shazz took during lunch today:

Shall We Go Macau?

I have a little time before work starts. Shall I go Macau? Shall I? Should I? And then lament over a small hole in the pocket and suffer from cognitive dissonance over spending on a trip I don't exactly need and had plans for initially. Argh...dilemma dilemma...

But...
Macau is the gateway to Hong Kong (dessert! shopping @ Mong Kok! CDs!) + China (incredibly cheap buys!)


I can spend 2 days in Macau, 1 in Hong Kong and 1 in Zhu Hai!

Macau is one of Asia's most European-looking cities


And Tiger Airway's tix to Macau is cheap - just $250 to fly there and back!

However...
Why not save the money for Japan next year? No matter how cheap, Macau's still gonna cost me around $800 for tix, hotel and expenses.

I've just been to China, and I don't exactly need anything from Hong Kong.

I can spend time at home, doing a lot more things.

I dunno. The devil is still arguing with the angel :S

My Perfect Travel Companion Is Someone Who...

shares more or less the same agenda on the trip,

watches out for and takes care of me while I do the same for him/her,

may not know how to read the maps well but take things in good stride even if we lose our way,

puts up with and does not mock at my idiosyncrasy,

does not complain incessantly,

gets fun out of everything – sight-seeing, shopping, eating, people-watching, exploring, anything!

is not fussy and does not expect to be waited on like a prissy princess,

shares the load – I bring the shampoo, you bring the soap,

is generous and not miserly over sharing some cost,

can walk miles and miles without having the need to constantly adhere to a fixed itinerary,

adapts to changes and makes the best out of the situation,

does not need to sleep really early,

loves the noise and also appreciates the quietude (like what XY and Minty mentioned!),

does not take photos of me from a low angle thus making my face look swollen with double chin :p

likes me enough not to get freaked out by my "just out of bed look".


Add on to my list of the PTC. Keep the voxpops coming :)


My PTCs! We miss Taipei :(

The Perfect Travel Companion

I want to post an entry on what/who makes the grade of a (near) perfect travel companion. You tell me your idea of a perfect travel companion. Post a voxpop today! Sorry, no prize tho. This is not a sponsored blog.