It's A Sign!

My laptop is dead. I can't reboot it and all I get is a message saying
that I don't have an operating system. Sigh.

Good news is, I have an excuse not to work. Lol. Thankfully I've got a
wifi enabled phone, and am able to blog now.

Anyway, Calcutta has been an interesting experience so far. Not as
wild and crazy as Bangalore, but fun in it's own way.

Despite the tummy scare on Monday, I've been eating anything and
everything in sight. Stuff I've eaten in Calcutta so far:

- sweet pastries from a dessert shop called Kookie Jar
- samosas and tea (served in an earthen cup, no less) standing along
the side of a road from a shady roadside shop
- coconut from a roadside seller
- pizza hut at city centre
- dinner at the most expensive Indian restaurant in Calcutta
(Pashawari? At the ITC Hotel). The food was amazing
- chaat, poori, aloo paratha, more samosas and lassi from the food
court at mani mall
- drinks at roxy
- shisha at some place that 18 year old kids hang out at
- chocolate ice cream from a streetside vendor

Slurp. Oh and this does not include the buffet I get every morning at
the hotel.

I'm a happy camper. :)

--
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Probiotics 1 : Delhi Belly 0

Woohoo, I'm much better now after drinking lots of water and taking a double dosage of probiotics. :D

Am now in Calcutta- the flight from Mumbai was supposed to take about 2 1/2 hours but somehow I landed an hour later than scheduled. Ah well. The drive to the hotel was quite pleasant, there were little signs along the road encouraging drivers not to speed (No Hurry, No Worry or Take Your Time, Not Your Life). I was very amused.

Settled in the hotel and was planning to get a drink at the bar downstairs. Heard some live music when I was checking in and wanted to check it out. However there were some problems with the boxes that I sent via DHL and it took over an hour to sort things out.

Am listening to my latest favourite song, something I heard on MTV on the telly. Apparently it's one of the newest hits from some movie or something like that. Da da daaaaaaaaaaaa!

Alright, going to go to bed. Have a busy day tomorrow.

Bunny Has The Runs

Oh noes! I got complacent over the weekend and forgot to do the kiasu brushing teeth with bottled water thing, and now I've got the runs. Yikes. I've been to the loo too many times this morning, but thankfully I'm not in any pain or anything like that.

Thank god for doctor friends on FB who give you advise on what meds to get. *love*

Gonna soak in the tub for a bit. Body is aching.

Bunny In Bangalore.. Again

Decided to take a quick trip back to Bangalore over the weekend. The weather in Mumbai was crazy and while I'm sure there were lots of places to chill and hang out at, I made friends in Bangalore and had fun so thought, what the heck?

I really don't know how to explain the sense of familiarity and how comfortable I feel here in India. It's like there is a constant sense of deja vu and I just feel at peace and happy here. Like LGG says, perhaps we really were Indians in our past life.

Asked Arjun to help me to get an appointment with a nadi leaf reader but he was unable to fix one- apparently you need to book months in advance. We went to this place called Legends of Rock and hung out with two of his best friends and had a ball of a time. Spent the first half of Saturday sleeping in and just lazing around, leaving the apartment at about 4ish to look for food.

Headed to a party at this place called Ice on Saturday evening and it started out slowly with me making fun of all the posers and the like, but the music got better in the later part of the night. Beer + music + good company = lots of dancing and a helluvalot of fun. I was grinning from ear to ear.

Had some food to eat after we got back and I have to say, home cooked Indian food is da bomb. Heck, Indian food is da bomb.

My digestive system is holding up, no runs or any food poisoning, and I have to give credit to the Martian for his advise on getting a tonne of probiotics and vitamin C.

Anyway, it's been an amazing weekend. Yes, so it seems like I'm crazy booking a flight to Bangalore and hanging out with someone that I met only for a couple of hours on Monday, but I'm so so so so glad that I did. There's just something about this place that leaves me with a sense of peace and calm. Waking up to the sounds of people in the street, the dust, the noise.. somehow it just screams home. Lol. Feeling rather sentimental now.

Ah well, I'm happy. And that's all that matters. :)

Bunny In India

I've been having a ball. Stuff I've done in Bangalore:

- Presentations in schools. This is the primary reason I am here and so far the presentations have been alright. I think I'm getting better at what I do, which is all good.

- Go to the bookshops Crossword and this amazing second hand bookshop Blossoms. Bought 10 books for 1000rs (30SGD?).

- Hung out with Shringar, Sindhoor and Arjun at this place called the Beach. Didn't booze too much because it was a Monday night but it was a fun night with lots of fun and laughter.

- Went to this hole in the wall pub called Pico's which is one of my student's favourite hang out places. Watered down beer and popcorn, but the most amazing chili paneer. Suprised my taste buds didn't burn off.

- Tried the local version of devil's piss- a local rum called Old Monk. Potent stuff. I was giggling after one glass of it.

- Bought a roadside snack called Paan. I like.

..

I'm now in Mumbai but the weather has been shit. Raining and high flood alerts so all my appointments have been cancelled. Booked myself a flight back to Bangalore for the weekend and we're going to spend a weekend partying and getting drunk. WOOHOO!

..

Anyway was on my way to the hotel in Mumbai, and I just had a strong sense of deja vu. Maybe I lived here in my past life? Lol.

Bunny Goes To India

In Bangalore now, getting ready to go to bed. Took some cough syrup and glugging vitamin C so hopefully I'll be 100% tomorrow.

Another Note From The Universe

It's always better to give too much, pay too much, and love too much, than not enough.

But then, Bona, since everything comes back to you anyway, can there ever be too much?

I love you too much anyway,
    The Universe

A Note From The Universe

Got this in my email today:

Every single minute of every single day, they're there, Bona.

They may be hidden behind circumstances, people, or light poles. Challenges, closed doors, or lost keys. Camouflaged, dovetailed, or whispering. Purring, kissing, or hissing. But more often than not they're laying about in the open, under a clear blue sky, in plain view. Absolutely. Guaranteed. You'd throttle me otherwise.

10,000 reasons to be happy.

Jumanji, baby -
    The Universe

Thankful For

1. Nice hot showers

2. Shampoo and clean hair

3. Being able to overcome my mental ill-discipline and cover 6km

4. Beanies to keep my head warm at night

5. Interesting conversations

6. Being surrounded by people who teach me new things every day

7. External HDDs

8. Polite hotel service

9. Fibre (hey constipation sucks)

10. 2 hr credit card issuance service

--
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How To Cure The Monday Blues

You know how everyone stays home on a Sunday night, dreading that the next day is a Monday and that they'd have to go back to the office? Well, whatever you call it- Sunday Night Blues, Monday Blues.. I have the cure!

Was out tonight with cousin.SF and discovered a nice place to chill and hang out. It's called A971 and is right next to Cafe Iguana. They have a happy hour promotion from 5-9pm every day, which is a 1-for-1 promotion for their premium spirits at only $11.71 (or something like that).

So we decided to have some dinner and drinks there and just spent the evening chatting away. Before we knew it, it was already almost midnight and time to go off. As we were getting our bill, we remarked to each other how it did not feel like a Sunday night, and therefore tomorrow did not seem like a Monday.

Brilliant, isn't it?

Now we know. Go out on a Sunday night and make the full use of your weekend. Hehehe.

Last Couple Of Hours In Vietnam

Last couple of hours in Vietnam. I've packed my bags (except for my laptop, obviously) and waiting for the taxi. The plan this morning is to send my cousin Leny off to the airport as her flight is about 2 hours before mine. After that we'll head out to grab some coffee (slurp) and breakfast.

Vietnam has been fantastic. Now to plan the next holiday with the cousins. Hehehe.

Word of the Day: Chaka Chaka

Chaka chaka is a phrase that was coined by my dear cousin Elvis- whose filthy mind came up with this phrase when he was talking to Thanh, his assistant, about making love. Lol.

The trip so far has been a blast. My cousins are crazy and we've been cracking silly jokes all week long. There isn't a moment that we aren't laughing (except on the 3 hour drive to Hue where we dozed off) and making absolute nonsense. Fantastic way to spend a holiday.

What Did We Do Today?

Got to meet Thanh's wife and two daughters today. Drove up to Bana and took the world's longest cable car ride up the hill. The view on the way up was absolutely spectacular. Played around with the two girls and took lots of silly photos in silly poses.

Was supposed to go to Monkey Mountain after and go snorkeling at one of the beaches but that didn't quite work out. The motor of the boat that we were on wasn't working, and even if it did, the fella only had one snorkel. Decided to drive back and head to Da Nang beach again.

We were there at about 5ish in the afternoon and the beach was PACKED. Apparently during summer, people get off work at 4.30pm. How fantastic is that?

Got back and arranged for the manicurist to come over to do our nails, and it was so cheap! I think we paid USD2 per person, to have a full set of nail art done for both hands and feet. *grins*

After doing our nails, we had a home cooked meal for dinner- Thanh's wife made a delicious tuna salad, cooked some fish in tomato sauce, steamed prawns and fried chicken. Delicious.

Have to pack my bags now and check in online. Back to Singapore tomorrow.

Da Nang Day Three

After the swim this morning, we grabbed some breakfast and then proceeded on a 3 hour drive to Hue. Was tired so I napped on the way. Did the typical tourist thing today and visited the palace, pagoda and tomb.

Car broke down on the way and Thanh and Kuya Elvis has to change the tire. Ate Leny and I amused ourselves by taking lots of pictures on the road. Lol.

The weather was crazy hot and this time I was prepared and 1. lathered on the sunblock (I already have funny tan lines!) 2. took out my cap 3. drank lots and lots of water.

Had to postpone the drive to Bana to tomorrow as it was late and the last cable car ride (on the longest cable car ride in the world, apparently) was at 6.30pm and we didn't have enough time to make it. Took our time sightseeing and then had a yummy seafood dinner.

Been working for the past 2 hours or so, pfft. So feeling really tired and brain dead now.

Why Vietnamese Are So Tiny

Other than eating tonnes of veg, I just found out another reason that Vietnamese are so tiny! Just got back from the beach. We headed there at about 5ish (local time) and already the beach was full of people. There were groups of old folks doing exercises, lots of people swimming. It was so interesting.

Waded out to the beach and even though we were probably around 500m out, the water was still only up to chest level. The sand was very clean- no sharp coral bits or rocks. The water was very clear as well.

Didn't spend much time at the beach because we've got a 3 hour drive to Hue. Time to shower and pack up!

Day Two: My Son, Marble Mountain and Hoi An

One of the perks about going around with a local is that you get to eat great local food. No tourist trap restaurants, no deciphering of menus and using hand signals to communicate.

Had beef stew for breakfast this morning. Chunks of beef and mystery meat (looks like salami) are cooked in a stew and served in a cast iron dish with an egg cracked on top. You mix it all up and eat it with pieces of baguette. Delicious. We had local coffee as well, and I have to say, that stuff is da bomb.

Lunch was beef soup- slices of beef and onions cooked in a tasty and very flavourful broth, eaten with broken bits of "paper rice" and baguette. Delicious too.

Anyway, went to My Son in the morning to see some ruins. Apparently My Son was the capital of one of the three regions before Vietnam became Vietnam. Walked around the ruins, took pictures and made up stories about how people used to cement the bricks together. (Thanh says that archaeologists still have not figured out what they used.)

After that, we headed to Marble Mountain- and AIYAH it wasn't really 1000 steps. Lol. Lots of caves and everything was so humid, but the view was nice and I haven't really been in many caves so this trip sort of made up for my lack of cave viewings in the past. Lol. There were also lots of marble sculptures on sale- laughing buddhas, roaring lions, booby naked ladies. You name it, they had it.

The last stop for the day was Hoi An. We walked along the beach, which wasn't as crowded as Da Nang beach and then went to the market place. Lots of cheap tailors and imitation bags around. We saw this old lady grilling little pieces of something, and stopped to ask her what it was. Sweet potato mixed with coconut. Sounded good, so we each had one and it was delicious.

Dinner was rather disappointing. We stopped at a place full of ang mohs and ordered ang moh food- burgers and roasted chicken, and the food was barely decent. I finished 2 bottles of coke though. Hehehe.

Anyway, it was a tiring day with lots of climbing, walking and perspiring. Had a shower back at the hotel and need to go to sleep. Plan for tomorrow: swimming at Da Nang beach at 5am (wah) and then a 3 hour drive to Hue where we'll sit on the supposed world's longest cable car ride and stay the night at Bana.

Bona staying at Bana. Lol I amuse myself.
 

Day One In Da Nang

Boarded the plane in the afternoon and transited at Siem Reap. Had a USD3 can of 7-Up while waiting to re-board the plane, and was just daydreaming when suddenly I hear this woman shouting in my direction. "Hurry up, woman!" she shouts as I hurriedly grab my bags and rush to the gate. Lol.

Finally landed in Da Nang and the view while the plane was descending was just simply amazing. The sun was an orange-y golden glow, illuminating the mountains and the reflection was just lighting up the lake/river/body of water. I was mesmerized.

Got to the immigration counter and could see my cousins waiting for me. Waved to them as I took my place in the queue and when I was finally out there were lots of hugs around. The plan for the evening was simple- check me in to the hotel (the aircon in the spare room at my cousin's place wasn't working), dinner, a walk along the beach, drinks at a bar.

I think I know why the Vietnamese are such tiny people. We had a seafood dinner and ordered shrimps (ordered this wrongly and got tiny prawns that were cooked in salt. Lots and lots of salt.), prawns (we re-ordered the prawns that were the size we wanted and cooked the way we liked), fish, and a hotpot which had more prawns, crab, squid and a tonne of veg.

Seriously. The pile of mixed vegetables that came with the hot pot was HUGE. And when Thanh (my cousin's assistant, our very own guide to Da Nang) found out that I liked kang kong (dammit I forgot the Vietnamese name for it. Mui ree or something hahahaha), he ordered more and another huge pile of kang kong came.

Walked by the beach after dinner. Apparently the beach spans 30 something km, and dotted all over were little stalls that had tables and chairs laid out where people could sit down and have a drink or two. Very chill. The sand was powdery soft and the sea seemed to go on forever (unlike in Singapore where you can see the ships anchored. Yawn.). The moon was almost full and it shone so brightly in the night sky.

Very nice.

Finally made our way to this bar called the Seventeen Saloon. There was a fantastic Filipino band that was performing there- and I was so happy during their second set when they started playing Guns N' Roses and Queen. (Oh-oh-oh sweet child of mine!!! Yes yes, I know. Have to let my inner mina out once in a while. Lol.) Had a couple of drinks there and then made our way back when the bar closed for the evening.

The best part of the trip so far has to be our mode of transportation. Motorbike! It's really quite fun to sit on one, just don't let my dad find out that's what I've been doing. Lol.

Alright, time to go to sleep. The plan for tomorrow is to go to the Marble Mountain. Sweet!

Bunny Loves My Laptop

I'm having my lunch at the Soup Spoon at the airport and so glad that I have my laptop to help me kill some time. There are two people seated at the table next to me, a girl and a guy.

The whole time, the girl has been yakking away. Yak yak yak yak yak. Non stop! Suddenly, she looks at the guy's bowl and says, "Woah, how come you finish eating so fast?"

Let's see. Could it be because you've been talking all this while and he had nothing to do but listen and eat? Lol.

Anyway, have about 2 hours to kill. Lucky I brought my laptop with me. I love MSN. I love Facebook. I love blogging. *grin*

I'm Packed! And More Packing Awaits

Didn't go to the office yesterday. The fact that it was a Sunday, plus it had already started raining, was enough to keep my lazy bum in bed. And now I'll have to go to the office, even though technically I'm already on leave. Lol.

Ah well. I *finally* packed my bags for my trip to Da Nang. Tank top, check. Shorts, check. Bikini, check. Underwear, check. Toiletries, check. First time I've packed my bags so much in advance. Hehehe. But now I've got to head to the office to do even more packing. What a hoot.

I wonder if I should bring my laptop with me. There's some work that needs following up, and just in case I've got nothing to do at night (my cousin will be busy with his wife after all, *wink wink nudge nudge* hahaha).

Shall see how.

In other news, my hotels for my work trip to India have been approved. Yay! I asked around and it seems like the hotels are in a good location, so I'm quite stoked. Yippie!

To Pack Or Not To Pack

I'm off to Da Nang, Vietnam tomorrow afternoon and I'm thinking of heading to the office today (yes, on a Sunday) because I need to pack the stuff that needs to be couriered for my India trip, 2 weeks later.

Ack.

The alternative would be heading to the office tomorrow morning before my flight and hoping that I'll be able to pack everything in time to reach the airport by noon-ish. Which means I'll have to pack my bags today.

Hmm.

Anyway, it's a bit of a rush, heading to Da Nang right before my India trip, but it's a chance to catch up with my cousins who are there. Had a great time in the Philippines with them back in 2006 and they came down for my wedding in 2007, so it'd be nice to meet up with them again.

Can't remember if I have my Nike laptop backpack or whether I left it back at the Ex's place. Need to go dig around. And I need to buy me some luggage for my India trip too. So many things to do and not enough time!

I Like This Quote

It is your right to be happy. This is what you were made for. And if you will not resist, happiness will find a way to pour from your heart and fill your days.
~Hugh Prather

The Mystery Of The Neat Table

You know it really puzzles me how people can keep their tables so neat. There is barely have anything on their desks, do they do any work?

I'm sure they print stuff, don't they? What do they do then, file? What about stuff they need to use? Where do they put it?

Thankful For

1. Having trips planned all the way to next year. 2011 if you count my maybe Europe trip.

2. Having a good laugh over coffee.

3. Having coffee.

4. Free cookies from a colleague.

5. Delicious lunch at the Brasserie Wolf Restaurant yesterday.

Testing 1-2-3, Is The Mic On?

Shiny's asked me to be the emcee for her wedding this Saturday. I didn't mind helping out until I realised one of the repercussions of doing so- I can't wear jeans to the wedding (it's a lunch wedding) as I originally planned.

Yeah, I don't dress up for weddings. Sue me. Lol.

Now I've got to find something proper to wear because you know, the emcee does get photographed (I think). Hahahahaha.

Another 10 Things That I'm Grateful For

In a good mood today, probably because..

1. I'm able to recognise that I can change the way I feel and react by deciding to feel and react differently. Decide that you'll have a better working relationship with your new boss, and guess what? You'll have a better working relationship with your new boss.

2. I have faith that things will turn out for the best. I'm not a psychic and cannot predict the future, what I can decide what is best for me and believe that it will happen.

3. I have a wonderful relationship with my sister where we can sit down over dinner and talk about anything and everything. Spending time with her puts me in a good mood.

4. I enjoy the company of my colleagues, which makes me enjoy my day in the office. My colleagues are there to give me support when things are down, cheer me on when things are going well, and laugh with me when all else fails.

5. I have internet access and MSN, which allows me to stay in touch with so many people at a go. Facebook too!

6. I'll be going to Da Nang, Vietnam next week and spending time with my cousin and his wife. Holidays are da bomb!

7. The photos from JH's birthday dinner are up and everyone looks fantastic in them. Love the family photo where no one had double chins. Heehee.

8. Went to the gym and did a spot of cardio (ran 2km at a much faster speed than usual and did the rower for 10min) and weights. Ogled at the guys in the gym, but alas, they are all probably too young. Lol.

9. Had yummy Korean food for lunch and bought the yummy corn chips from the Korean shop. Slurp. Good food is a godsend.

10. Rediscovering the power of being positive and believing in yourself.

--
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