可能是到了迟婚的年龄吧。。 有无限感慨。。 无限期盼。。 常常眼张张的看着他，他就是我下辈子要生活在一起的男人。一个才认识没到3年的人。。 就快变成一个你要对着的一辈子的男人。 好奇怪。。 好玄！

请麻烦大家祝我们好运吧！我嫁人去咯！

http://lsjwedding.wordpress.com

The Cake

The Table

Heart Shaped Candles

The Entrance

Surpriseeee..... was all i heard..

The Guests...

Toast...

Laughs..

Family...

Friends

Honey...

 and Presents … I am glad I am 30!

Thank you very much Everyone! It will be different without anyone of you who attended the party!

The Journey to Luang Prabang begun at 9am and we arrived at Luang Prabang at 4:30pm. THe journey was so long and i had real car sick. It wasn’t as bad as i thought, swallowed some ginger pills, I could hold my puke through out the whole journey by keeping my eyes closed. But during the short break, i forced myself to puke a little. Sitting beside me was a thai guy who works in phuket and was there for a short holiday. There were few times he fell asleep and knocked his head against the window. I wanted to laugh out loud, but i worry i will puke if i open my eyes. Sitting behind us were 3 Spanish gals, sitting in front of us were 2 filipino gals. The road is quite windy and very dangerous! Most of the time i was thinking wat if accident happened and we fell into the cliff. During the 1st Toilet Break (2hrs), it was Open AIr toilet too, and there was a car sick Mat Salleh laid down on the road. Today I manage to remember “Hong Nam U Sai?” – where is the toilet?  and “Kop Cai Lai Lai” – Thank you very much.

Got a tuk tuk and we checked into VanVisa Guest house with 20000kip. Vanvisa guest house is a very authentic look guesthouse. the room and the door is so special and u really feel like u lives in a lao house. Auntie Vandara is a very nice lady who speak good english and have a frenly and broad smile.

A little bit more about Vanvisa Guesthouse:

I read about Vanvisa Guesthouse after my stay, and i realised the old aunty who always sitting at the corner watching us is a Luang Prabang Royalty. Her name is Lady Bua. Lady Bua and Auntie Vandara is the co author of Food & Travel Laos. Lady Bua was also one of the Chef for the Royalty. If i’ve read this earlier, i would had bought the book and get autographs from them and take a picture with both Lady Bua and Auntie Vanvisa.
Lady Bua’s picture
About the Book

We walked about 5 mins to reach the busy street of luang prabang, where the night market is. We climbed up to Mount Phousi (sounds like Pussy) hehe.. and visited the Wat Phousi. The climb was a bit tiring, few hundred steps up. 20000kip for the visit. We were there for the sun set. And guess wat!! I met the Japanese uncle who encouraged me to do the river swing the day before. Once i saw him, i told him “I did it I did it!!”

the Sunset was good but a bit under expectation. and also met a few thai photographers up there who were waiting for the sunset. exploring in Wat Phousi is interesting too. It was the first time we exploring a Wat in Laos, and their buddha statues are quite unique- standing up with 2 hands facing the front, and everywhere u see white, black, gold snakes . there are 2 spots in Wat Phousi where there are imprints of Buddha Foot.

the night market is interesting, is so long and big. Most of the vendors are the Hmong People (Natives from the mountain), they took tuk tuk from their village. At about 10pm, u see them packing up quickly cos they have to catch the tuk tuk back home. The goods there are selling are mostly tshirts, coffee, house lights, jewelleries and scarves. I bought a v nice pants tat nite. We also saw children (below 5 yrs old) playing with frogs while waiting for their mums to go home.

We then settled down in a BBQ restaurant along the Mekong RIver. the BBQ steamboat tasted wonderful and the eggplants tasted so good, normally we don’t like eggplants!! i miss the soup!! had beer lao there too, and we did a cheers there in the chinese way… “YAMMMM>>> SENG!!!” this attracted the Lao group beside us. and they also yam seng with us. haha.. at the end, we joined their table. and we did the Laos’ way. “Sennn… Dem…”. they told us they just “Sendem”, they don’t Sennn… Dem…. but we are so used to our Yamseng way, so we still sennnnnnnnnnn demmmmmmmm.. with them.  hehe.. one of them – Song, is a tour guide, he speaks good english. Manage to get some tips from him regards to the next day’s tour.

Walked back to Vanvisa guest house, singing loudly on our way like crazy ppl. we lost our way back and turned few rounds around tat area. hehe.. the Guest house’s has a very nice resting area, which allows us to play with the traditional music instruments and had a great chill out there.

At night i felt a bit sick, i guess it was the bbq and my undried hair. There wasn’t any drinking glass in the room, so i use a supplement container as glass to have my Panadol Active. GLad that i felt excellent the next day!

I look up at the sky, I can see a blue and bright sky above me. I should feel happy for the weather, I should feel happy that I have lots of lovely people around me and they do like me, I should feel happy that I am doing things i like to do if life…  However, life just not always go in the way you want to be, especially when things have to deal with another party.

I haven’t been blogging for a long time and kind of running out of words, but I would like to share what I’ve learned for now in short.

1. See what is painted for you to see. Do not look for what is behind the scene.

2. Do what you think you should do for the best of what belongs to you.

3. Nothing is perfect, accept what is not perfect.

4. Do not always expect things go what you want it to be.

5. Do not try to be an detective if you are not, it drives your brain crazy and will cause serious headache.

I was sooo excited about it. But my schedule didn’t allow me to go to the place to meet him, and the tour group was leaving to Su Zhou on that day. I didn’t persist, and hence i missed the chance. 

But as long as u have the heart, you can still achieve wat u want! wahaha.. and It happened Last December when we had another family trip to Hong Kong. I insisted not to follow tour this time, booked ticket, booked hotel and was about to leave Brunei. I didn’t have too much hope on this, but once again checked his Schedule, and there were only one event during my trip, so i know i can’t miss this chance anymore..

I went to Google Map to check on the location, omg..

Prat Avenue to K11So near to my hotel? definitely i can find my way easily and conveniently!!On the 20th December 2009, while my family were having fun in Ocean Park, I left them at about 3:45 to see what i want to see.. took a bus, took Mtr, and I reached K11 at 4:20, 10 minutes before the Opening Ceremony. A tall and Young security in charge was standing near the entrance to the the Yamano Saloon. I asked him what time it will start and where the toilet is, he answered me politely. After toilet, i waited near the entrance to wait for Louis Koo. A lot of media were there waiting already, there are also other actresses there. There was a guy who was holding a pen with a lot of Louis Koo's DVDs. So pro! i didn't even have a proper thing for him to sign..The crowds

I waited for 30mins, and everyone started to cheer. Oh my, he finally came in from the emergency exit, he look just as charming as what I saw on TV.. A lot of ppl screamed for his name, some holding the electronic board with his name on it. But being the first timer, i don’t dare to scream for his attention, i was just enjoying my view quietly

Detail News: http://bbs.sg169.com/user/script/forum/view.asp?article_id=24792336

After 30mins, he was about to leave, he saying goodbye to the rest. I asked the Security IC if I can take a photo with him, he said i should ask him and he can help me to hold the camera. The guy with the Dvds asked him for autograph again before he left. I quickly walked to him and asked him if i can take a picture with him. He nodded his head, i was like “kill me!”, he then looked at me, and our eyes crossed finally, but i couldn’t look into his eyes any longer, *Blushing*. then we took a picture, the priceless picture!

Snail and Louis Koo

Before he left, i gave him a RBA’s pen, which i got from the plane *oops*, and told him i am from Brunei. I was so happy after that and called my sister who were leaving Ocean Park that time. she said “Congratulations!”… -_-”

As soon as i get back to hotel, i started to show my picture on facebook and i realised actually there are a lot of Louis Koo Fans out there! wahaha.. don’t get too envy k!

Mission Accomplished!! Life List checked!

Baguettes Breakfast in Laos Style

We knew It was gonna be a wet day, so we rented a Wet Bag at 10 000 kip a day to keep our things. Had a quick breakfast beside the wet bag rental place, cos we were almost late!! First they drove us to pick up another few more guests via tuk tuk, then to the starting point of the cave visit. It was only 2 of us at the beginning, I tried to relax in the tuk tuk’s hammock, it was so bumpy and it would cause me motion sickness eventually.

Me posing in the truck

the Tour begun and we had Gabriel* from UK and his darling Ah Man from Thailand with us. We visited the Elephant Cave, there is a stone which looked so much like an elephant. Then we walked across a village to the other caves. During the walk, Ah Man stepped into cow’s dung! “is it warm?” I teased her. we also saw some piggy around, and among all the quite run down houses, we saw satellites were installed and a house with LCD monitor computer. and not long after, i also stepped into a pile of Cow’s dung!

the Story of 3 Little Pigs

Elephant Cave in Vang Vieng

 The caves were not nicely paved, is quite a challenge to get in and we had a deep walk into the cave. We saw crystals formed in there, limestones, and a corner where u can play music by beating the limestones. When we were in the cave’s end, Boon (the guide) asked us to turn off our torch. Wah! it was completely dark! i nvr been into such a dark room before where you really can’t see anything even u have ur hand right in front of your eyes. he told us a super long story. Ah Man cried because she was too afraid or maybe she felt something? mmm..  we had lunch then, they bbq some meat and veggie for us. Houseflies flying around and Surprisingly we didn’t get stomach upset after that. We visited the other cave, and we walked about 15 minutes and Boon told us no one had ever reach the end of this cave! its the longest cave in Vang VIeng, and people walked in for 1 day, also can’t reach the end. So we turned back from there!

We then walked to the water cave, changed to our bathing gear and start to explore the cave with a tube! I almost got drove away by the current at the beginning. with a headtorch, we started to explore, The experience was great and i enjoyed every moment of it. It felt like you are in SUnway Lagoon but you can’t see whats down under your butt. We just follow the guide and keep moving in. The water was so cold and i kept sneezing in there. THere were few times when you have to get off the tube and walk across the stones and continue tubing again. Thanks god we wore our knickers in there, else we will have a “Fantastic Foot Massage”. When tubing into the cave, we were actually go against the current. but when we tubing out of the cave, we could simply follow the current and get out of the cave. however we still have to beware of the walls.

After tubing, we had a Long walk, i think probably an hour? walked acrossed the padi fields, corn fields and visited villages. During the village visit, we saw kids swimming in the river, ducks mating and old ladies carrying big Tree trunks! A question was brought up about where are all the teenagers. According to Boon, teenagers work in the mountain during the day! Everyone we met, you can heard sweet and soft voice saying “SABAIDEE” to you. We Sabaideed the whole day!

the long walk to Namsong River

At last about 3pm, we arrived at a tuktuk with kayak on it waiting for us. After a short drive, we arrived at the Nam song river. Bye to Man and Gabrielle, we started to kayak down the river. Kayaking through the river wasn’t tough, we enjoyed seeing bars playing loud music and tourists playing river swing, tubing there. after an hr kayaking, we stopped by a bar and attempted to do a river swing. 

At the Namsong River

Louis tried it first, he waited for aboout 40 sec holding on to the swing b4 swinging. He said he wanted to enjoy the view! haha… Now my turn, i was really freaked out. its so high and its so scary, I wandering at the departing area for around about 20 minutes. there were a lot of tubing people gave me a “GO” sign. I really wanted to do it!! but i was so scared lah. I wouldn’t know if i can hold on to the swing or not. and its so high up there. A japanese uncle talked to me and encouraged me to go.

The bouncer offered me a cigarrette and I started to smoke. I told my self i have to do it after i finish the cigarrette. the cigarette left only the bud, i knew its time. my head was abit drowsy, hold on to the swing and i squarted a little, and i left the platform. I screamed so loud that i think the whole Vang Vieng knew i did the swing. THe experience was great and really scary, i swinged for 3-4 times and dropped into the river. During the drop was scary too… it seems like the fall tooks forever b4 it reached the water! I screamed all the way!!!After the swing, i wished i could tell the Japanese uncle that i did it!!

Craziest thing i’ve done

We continued to kayak. River, mountain and people, are all we saw. The kayaking ended at 5:30pm.

At nite, we settled down in a nice western restaurant. We had Morning Glory, Pattai and American Style Lamb Chop. Morning Glory is actually Kang Kong.  While eating, we saw Jon (the spainish guy we met on Bus yesterday) walking by. After dinner, we explore the town again and bought a “Tubing in Vang Vieng” Tshirt. Bought the ticket to Luang Prabang the next day at 105000kip via mini van from the same place we rented our dry bag. and exceeded budget again! We arrived to the guest house b4 the gate close that nite

Because there really is a Eagle’s Nest on top of the Peak!

Out of Curiosity again, i decided to follow Honey and CL there on last saturday. The route started from the small little path behind the Tasek Lama’s Reservoir.. the route is quite steep and the weather was so hot!! CL went very fast after the first 10minutes i couldn’t see her anymore. Honey has to slow down to make sure I was still following.

After 30minutes walk, Honey pointed at the other side of the hill, “See! that’s the eagle’s nest!”

 -_-” Sweat! After taking this shot, i continue the hike. I know if i look at it longer, i will turn back. After more ups and downs.. I reached there in 15 minutes time! I thought it gonna take me another 30 minutes.. this is the Eagle’s Nest, a huge nest! Its a dormant nest , and it looks like it has been there since long long time ago.

This year’s theme is Bollywood, we shared the 1st prize with another team. Check out the Video, not bad for a 3 weeks preparation huh?!

The Sapphire Team

Being a 80s baby, we grew up with his Mtvs. Michael Jackson is the 1st Artist from the Western Countries I knew. I remember when i was in Primary 2, my friends gave me some flash cards of his.

In 1996, We heard that Michael Jackson might perform in Brunei during His Majesty’s 50th Birthday. and Entrance fee is Free of charge, yes Free of charge. Yeen, she is a big fan of MJ, she was pondering if she should go to KL for holiday or stay back. But she decided to go to KL because the concert wasn’t confirm yet.

The concert confirmed few days before the concert. My mum wasn’t too agree to let me go, but i insisted. It was kind of cloudy on the concert day, and my mum brought a sunshade to school for me, she said i can use it as shelter from the rain.

There were too many people, so i stood quite far away. although i can only see one small blink blink object going around the stage, but i enjoyed the concert very much! and definitely Bruneians are very lucky, how many people on earth get to see Michael Jackson for free?? 

Man with Sidebun = Elvis Presley, Gril with Curly Hair and a mole on the lips = Marilyn Monroe. Curly long hair man with sun glasses = Michael Jackson, the icon we will always recognise.. The man who taught us to unite, who taught us to care, the man who entertains us.. Gone forever but will always be remembered.

After watching the MJ’s Memorial Service, me and honey both felt the pinch.. in fact i felt the pinch on the very first day, and honey finally felt the pinch after watching the Memorial Service.  We love you Michael.. Rest in Peace…

One of my Favorite Mj’s Videos.

Our house’s water pipe bursted and we got Mr Plumber to fix it. the next day it bursted again.. We started to see the Back of our house went up abit.. I’ve never seen anything like this before.. the water went underneath the ground and caused the soil to expand.

4th Feb 2009

Broken Manhole

Our neighbour’s house is even worst. The Retaining wall of their house was about 5 Feet away, but it was only 1 feet away, and as for now, it touching and pushing the house. Fire and Rescue came and evacuated their house.

I started to worry, I couldn’t sleep at night.. I heard some loud bang in my dreams and i woke up several times tat night. The next day i woke up i saw part of the drain started to crack..

Drain

I started to pack, but my dad said it was not time to move yet, he wanted us to wait and see first.. I took pictures of our rooms..

It was on the 7th Feb Morning, I slept in my parents room as i didn’t feel comfortable sleeping in my own room, my room was nearest to my neighbour’s house. My dad woke everyone up and said the neighbour’s house going to collapse, he carried my sleeping brother to the car and left the house. I had my bags ready and carried them to my car and left not too long after. 
I took a picture of our neighbour house before i left.

After i left, my mum said the neighbour’s glass door burst out.. she left, and when we went back there later.. this is what happened..

4 days after I took the first picture, this is what happened..

And within a short time, the Fire and Rescue department decorated my house with this. How considerate, it was Chinese New Year, and we like “ang ang”..

Bye home sweet home ~

“拥有你，就像拥有全世界”如今我对着他说了这句话。。 我一告诉他我的问题，他立刻就可以想出一个可行的方法。。 一次又一次。。 在他身边，我觉得自己很不聪明。。傻傻钝钝的。。 心想：“我怎么这样都想不到？？ 什么都搞不掂？”

但迷迷糊糊中。。 我觉得自己很幸福。。 好像有个笑面佛一直在保佑我。。 一直在叮咛我。。 啊弥陀佛。。。

Click Here - Enjoy Listening

and to remind all the 1980 babies… 2009 is our last year to be officially known as the Twenties people..  eventhough i was born in Dec, and technically still got 2 years in my twenties, but still, officially i will be at my Thirty in 2010.. oh my…

but wtf.. who cares.. is not about how old we are but how much we’ve achieved.. haha.. and by the way, is a good year for us Monkeys.. cheers!!

A song that i’ve pre-recorded while i was in New Zealand.. for you guys!

 Chinese Horoscope – 2009 Ox Year

Rat Born in: 1924(86), 1936(74), 1948(62), 1960(50), 1972(38),1984(26), 1996(14), 2008(2)

___________________________________________________________________

? Ox Born in: 1925(85), 1937(73), 1949(61), 1961(49), 1973(37), 1985(25), 1997(13)

Relationship
No major breakthrough. Control your emotion and exercise tolerance. There are still opportunities to meet the other party if you work hard to seek for it. Those born in 1949 and 1961 have to be careful in making acquaintances.

Wealth
Proper income is stable. Scrutinize all documents before you sign. Those born in 1937 can be in deep trouble if invest wrongly.

Health
You need to be extra careful this year. Accidents will happen easily

___________________________________________________________________

? Tiger Born in: 1926(84), 1938(72), 1950(60), 1962(48), 1974(36), 1986(24), 1998(12)

Relationship
Love is in the air and for teenagers who will fall in love easily and this will affect your study. You should focus on your study and don’t be easily distracted. Couples in courtship will have the urge to get married. Those already married should steer clear from sexual temptation to avoid getting into trouble.

Wealth
Proper income luck is good as career progress. Save your money and do not lend to others. Do not make investment based on short term gain.

Health
No major issues with health but you have to control yourself against sexual traps and alcohol intake.

___________________________________________________________________

? Rabbit Born in: 1927(83), 1939(71), 1951(59), 1963(47), 1975(35), 1987(23), 1999(11)

Wealth
Your normal income will be stable. However due to your up and down luck, you need to save up for raininy season and also exercise caution when spending your money. Do not be greedy for windfall luck – there is no such thing as easy money. People will take the opportunity to cheat you. Therefore, do not be too trusting when dealing with investment. Always do your due diligence.

___________________________________________________________________

?Dragon Born in: 1928(82), 1940(70), 1952(58), 1964(46), 1976(34), 1988(22), 2000(10)

Wealth
Wealth luck is excellent and beneficial for both normal income and windfall luck. You may attempt different type of investment after careful analysis. Business transaction and dealing will be smooth. Since you are in luck, be on your guard against sexual temptation and alcohol to avoid getting into trouble.

Health
Your health should be fine this year. Since your career will be picking up, you need to take care of your health. Don’t be too stress over your new opportunity and busy schedule. Take extra precaution of your digestive system.

___________________________________________________________________

? Snake Born in: 1929(81), 1941(69), 1953(57), 1965(45), 1977(33), 1989(21), 2001(9)

Health
Due to bad star influence, this year you will see blood. Take extra precaution when handling matters. If you have sickness, seek treatment immediately. Go for gum cleaning or donate blood. Avoid dangerous games and activities.

___________________________________________________________________

? Horse Born in: 1930(80), 1942(68), 1954(56), 1966(44), 1978(32), 1990(20), 2002(8)

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? Goat Born in: 1931(79), 1943(67), 1955(55), 1967(43), 1979(31), 1991(19), 2003(7)

Relationship
With this time of bad luck, you need the help of your friends and colleagues. You have to maintain good relationship with your friends and colleagues. Maintain harmony with all of them. Couples should maintain open communication with each other to avoid conflict due to stress from bad luck this year. Show respect and affection with each other.

Wealth
You hit rock bottom this year on your wealth luck. If can, stop all risky investment this year. Be conservative in managing your wealth. Do not be guarantor and also need to curb your gambling.

Health
Due to stress, you have to take care of your health. You will be mentally stressed also. Seek treatment immediate if you fall sick. Bring older folks born in the year of goat for medical check-up. Be careful against falls and cuts.

___________________________________________________________________

? Monkey Born in: 1932(78), 1944(66), 1956(54), 1968(42), 1980(30), 1992(18), 2004(6)

Relationship
You will be on cloud nine this year due to much good news. Courting couples will move on to next stage; i.e. marriage. It is also a good time to plan for marriage or start a serious relationship. Couples trying for kid will have offspring luck this year. Couples should guard against third party.

Wealth
Wealth luck is extremely good but don’t show off. Normal income and windfall luck is good. Petty people will be jealous of you so be more prudent.

Health
Take good care of your health this year. There will be minor sickness here and there. Avoid attending wakes.

___________________________________________________________________

?Rooster Born in: 1933(77), 1945(65), 1957(53), 1969(41), 1981(29), 1993(17), 2005(5)

Relationship
No major breakthrough in relationship this year. Be more truthful and affectionate to your companion. Married couples should go for a re-charge vacation.

Wealth
Wealth luck is good this year. You will receive gain from your investment. However, you must control your spending also. You can consider investing in property. Be wary against petty people that might be jealous of your good luck this year.

Health
Health is normal this year but have to take note of home safety. Don’t climb high. Don’t speed or drink excessively. Take adequate rest and exercise.

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? Dog Born in: 1934(76), 1946(64), 1958(52), 1970(40), 1982(28), 1994(16), 2006(4)

Health

Health is normal this year. Cut down on drinking and sexual activity. There is danger caused by lust.

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? Pig born in: 1935(75), 1947(63), 1959(51), 1971(39), 1983(27), 1995(15), 2007(3)

Relationship
You will feel vexed and stressed out this year with regards to relationship. There is constant conflict and argument this year. Be more tolerant, forgiving and understanding. Learn to give and take. It is not worth it fighting over trivial matters.

Wealth
You might lose wealth this year. Be conservative in your expenses. Remember to save up for rainy days. Do not gamble or speculate in share, you don’t have luck there. Your normal income is stable.

Health
Relationship luck is not good and as such, you will constantly burn out. This will affect your health. Take some time off to unwind and don’t sweat over small matters. Open up your mind. When outdoor, take extra precaution as you are prone to accident.

FGS, Kaohshiung

佛光山儿童读书会教师培训课程

The Training Class that I’ve attended in Taiwan last month is unforgetable.. There were altogether 32 teachers from Sabah, Brunei, Johore Bahru and Singapore. We all have only one Goal - Make them a Better kids Via the real Buddhist Teaching.

Group Photo at Taipei

During our trip, We were treated like VIP by all the sifu, they gave us good food (even brought us for Buffet), good room, they gave us souvenirs, brought us to sight seeing, hotspring, visit to nursery, university, orphanage… I am so touched..

One of the Activities

After this trip, i also understand that Nuns are not just a nun who pray from day til night, clean the temple and meditating..  Nowadays, Nuns are mostly graduates.. they have their own professions.. some are architects – they plan to build Temples, Schools, Universities.. some are IT expert – they manage digitize JingWen (Prayers) projects… some are Principals, some are managers…

I also learned that 星云大师XinYun is a very intelligent and generous person who is already 80+ years old and still haven’t stop building facilites everywhere in the world for everyone. He is still very busy with his daily routine, write Newspaper articles to enlighten people, helping people.

The kids' rooms are so tidy.. i feel so paisei

After hearing stories from some volunteers, I realised that I am one of the Luckiest person on earth… My eyes were full of tears when i entered the orphanage… I sobbed when I started to share with the rest of how i felt..

At the Orphanage 大慈育儿院

 More photos of this Trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52571&l=5de0d&id=665014494

Summary:

A Letter I wrote to My Coursemates

At first, the school didn’t allow him to go to Primary 1 as he will only be 6 yrs old in March. We told him that he might not be able to go to Primary 1, and he said “I think is a good thing, because I’m scared to go to Primary 1, I might not be able to find my friends” I was surprised to hear wat he said as all the while i tot he is a very brave kid. But somehow the school decided to let him proceed to Primary 1.

I bought his Uniform from Hua Ho, then I bought the Badge at $1 from School and stitched on his plain uniform. We still save about $2 per uniform and the quality of the uniform from Hua Ho is better with hard collar. As usual, he likes to pose…

All His ex  kindergarden-classmates moved to the same class as him in Primary 1, and hence he was very happy and started talking about BEN 10 stuff with his friend.. I sat beside him to wait for his teacher, and he pushed me away..

This is a much more decent scene compared to the 1st day when i went to Primary One.  My sister went to my classroom with a Belt and span it like a cowgirl. She wanted to ensure that everyone in the class know I have a big sister so that no one dare to Bully me.. I was nicer than my brother, i didn’t push her away, in fact I was so proud of her. But think about it now.. is really funny.. Haha..  imagine this…

Who dare to bully my little sister?!

Anyway, my sister is always there to protect me and take good care of me… so Sis, please get well soon!!

一个人坐在电脑前面，看着快过去的2008。。。。
2008 过得真快。。 有痛，有乐，有喜，有得，有失。。。
通常伤心难过的事，往往会盖过快乐的事。。。 一直在想2008过得有多难， 有多曲折啊！

我想感谢那些有在2008年给过我快乐时光的人。。 谢谢大家。。 那些给了我痛苦的人。。 谢谢你们给我这些考验。。 真难得考验。。

以前常常认为New Year Eve 应该过得疯狂些。。 现在想想。。 是最好好好反省的时候了。。 好。。 下定决心！！ 第一个New Year Resolutions 是。。。 2009的New Year Eve 一定要在外国过！！！

Happy 2009 to all of you!

1. I travelled to China with my whole family (Dec 2007) and I was massaged and pedicured by a Handsome and well built masseaur :”)

2. I organised Milk awareness Campaign and being the main speaker for several Schools, there were altogether 8 sessions.

3. I self-directed a short clip and the wedding organiser for Sister’s wedding

4. I attended Money and You.

5. I drove to Miri myself for the 1st time

6. I cried for a comic – Crayon Shin chan

7. I backpacked to Laos, did a river swing in Vang Vieng, Laos and tubed in a cave, took a 9 hrs bus in Laos, I swimmed under the Kuangsi Waterfall in Laos and  jumped from a tree into one of the lagoon of Kuangsi Waterfall

8. I overtalked and missed a flight from KL to Brunei.

9. I Admited in Hospital for 4 nights, and got dripped for the very first time.

10. Joined the Mandarin Singing Contest organised by Radio Television Brunei and E-Huawang.com. Made it to the Top 20 but didn’t made it to Top 8. Somehow i was treated like a star, many thanks to family and friends. I love to sing on stage!

11. Joined AFC Talentime, we danced a XinJiang dance and Won!

12. MC for a Singing Contest.

13. Cut my hair short then shorter

14. Backpacked in New Zealand and Took the longest flight (10hr only) ever in my life

15. I saw snow and Skiied for the very first time.

16. Ride a bike for 33km at Otago Trail

17. Attended Tour Guide Course and Officially a Tour Guide Now!!!

18. Provided Consultation to 5 friends on Japan Trip Planning.

19. Got Interviewed and broadcast on Radio and on web.

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3

20. Hired a Personal Trainer for Gym Sessions and gained 4kgs in 2 months time

21. Someone norminated me as the Board Members for the Buddhist Associations.. but wasn’t selected..

22. Being Sent to KL and stayed in the hospital to take care of a Dengue Fever Patient for few days.

23. I’m 52KG now… 3 more kgs to go for my ideal weight!

24. Turned down an invitation for a vacation to Hawaii… (still can’t believe that)

25. Recovered from the Milk Scandal’s Depression.

26. I’m an Auntie to my little niece – Avril :)

Little Avril

27. I saw Proboscis Monkeys (Biggest Monkey on earth) while doing Mangrove Tour.

When Snail was 8,  she has 1 elder sister… she was tan and skinny, was in Primary 2 in the Brunei’s Largest Chinese School.. had her 1st birthday party with frens at home 4 days before the actual day.. as she was flying to Hongkong on the Actual Day… another cake session on the plane..

18岁的我。。。 有位姐姐。。 也有位妹妹。。 我比较白了。。 也比较胖了。。 在吉隆坡读Diploma。。。 那年终于可以合法去Pub了。。 泰国餐。。 1 Utama 逛街。。。

When Snail was 18, she has 1 elder sister, 1 younger sister… she was fairer and Chubbier… was studying Diploma in KL.. it was the year when she can enter pubs legally… celebrated at a Thai Restaurant followed by shopping at One Utama…

When Snail was 18th

28岁的我。。。 有位姐姐。。 也有位妹妹。。 也有位弟弟。。。 我因为过多户外活动。。 而更黑了。。 也胖了。。 在汶莱工作。。 在我这行圈圈里，总算有点名气。。 除了一两普通拿来行动的车，几份工作， 没有多少数位的银行簿子之外。。 我还在寻梦。。。 有的是几个CD的旅行照片， 许多国内外的朋友。。。 虽然如此， 但我知道，当我无能力再往外跑时。。 回头看看。。 我想， 我依然会。。 脸带微笑。。。

回头看看，依然脸带微笑。。

Snail checking out her 1st 28th birthday cake

I attended the tour guide course since July, we have classes twice a week, sometimes once a week, it involves studies about Brunei’s history, customs, statistic, periodically we have to stand in front of the class to present what we learned, sometimes we were given a topic and have to talk about it for minutes without preparation. We did have classes on Bus, and field trips. After i have more understanding about the job, Tour guide is more than bringing the tourists around.

A tour guide has to:

• have knowledge on almost everything, Tourist might not have interest in the history that you know, they might ask you questions on economies of Brunei.
• Update with current News, Tourists might had read the latest news on brunei before they arrive, so the info given to the tourists have to be updated
• Time Management – When the itinerary said you can only be in that place for 20 mins and you have to arrive at another place at certain time, you have to ensure you do.. else it will cause other groups to delay in the schedule too!
• Customer Management – Sometimes you told them not to go out of the boundary, they will still do it or they will tell you they saw some tourist went there too.. ( i did that before while i follow some tour)
• Nursing – There are older tourists who walk very slowly and have problem going up steps.. we have to hold their hands and walk with them patiently.. Its really good to train our patience to take care of people.
• Entertainer – Sometimes tourists will demand you to sing and keep singing..
• Waiteress – Serving Drinks and food… to ensure excellent service, we have to refill drinks for them and bring trays of foods to them..
• Complaint Handling – Its unavoidable to receive complaints from tourists, they can complain about the Microphone, the itinerary, the place, the toilet, and even “why can’t we enter the king’s palace?” . we have to give the best answers to avoid them for bringing the complaints home.
• Avoid any liabilities – in the case if tourist fell down by accident when you holding their hands, they can sue you until nobody business…
• Attend more courses – we can’t be a Brunei Tourguide forever, we have to go into other specialties to be a successful tourguide..

The Class started with about 40 people and we left only 8 of us. the rest quited because of other commitments, phobias, and pressurised. Its been 4 months since we been doing this training, and i can’t afford to do a bad job and i have to do my very best. I went to some places of interest on my own to study into every single little things… Brunei Resources has been a great website for me to learn our history.

Our Class Outing at Temburong

The first day when i worked as a tour coordinator, I got so excited when i see the tourists coming down from the cruise… musical instruments were played to welcome them. Thru out the journey, i Observed my senior Guide on how she ran the tour, and wrote down info that i didn’t know, help out here and there.. and i tell you.. i really wanted to grab the Microphone from her hand! i can’t wait to give commentary and run the whole tour! After the tour, i called adam and told him how eager was I to run my own show..

The Cruise

I dreamed about me becoming a real tour guide. I was late, and i didn’t get to do headcount, didn’t have an itinerary, didn’t know the name of the driver and so on. I can remember the commentary i designed for my first 5 minutes in my dream. I dreamed that Lunch break before the first places of interest, Adam gave me a form to fill in regards to bus no, no of guests, bus driver name, i didn’t have any info on that. After the Lunch break, everyone got into the bus, but i didn’t know how many ppl it should be, and i didn’t know who should be in the bus. Some passengers left the bus halfway then only i realised they are not my tourists!! and out of sudden a group of chinese at the back requested me to speak in mandarin. The Tour i had in my dream was a complete screwed up!

2nd Dec 2008 is my Big Day, is the first time i handle a tour group by myself! Its the Singapore Army Group, these guys were having their 3 weeks tough training in Temburong and were all exhausted. My Group has 44 of them and they are all GUYs.. got young got old ones. They requested me to sing for them, and i chose a Song from Singaporean Singer – Tanya Chua – 陌生人。Experience is important, but i think the most important thing is the Passion and sincerity that you wanna bring a good vacation to your guest. Although this is my first time, but i know i didn’t look like one, i had great time today, although some of them slept (because of their training, not my boring commentary), but i was still able to make them laugh.. and i’m looking forward for the future tours. 

So far, I was an observers Twice, and bringing my own tour once, and all these three times i was arranged to be on the Same bus and Same driver – Hj Maidin. wat a coincidence!!

My first Guests: Singapore Army

Thanks to Mike for all the tips on how to get the boys responsive.. and Special thanks to Adam for the training.

One of my guests took pictures of me using his Lomo Toy Camera, I wish my mic can be seen in this picture.. thank you very much, Sharif..

Esjay the Tourguide

It took 42 yrs to complete Otago Rail Trail, it was operating from 1921 and train services stopped operating since 1980s… it is 150km Long, The sceneries are beautiful from wat we saw from the website, it was so hard for us to decide where should we start and where should we end. Normally people will take few days to ride, and there are few accommodations available in the route. We decided to pick parts of the whole trail and ride for a day only.

From Dunedin to Oturehua, The view is beautiful, we slept in the van as i was sleepy + car sick. I woke up occasionally, and was amazed by the beautiful sceneries, i couldn’t help it but take some photos and videos then dozed off.. Catch-a-bus stopped at several locations to pick up other passengers.. halfway thruthe trip, i woke up and saw a wide area with full of rocks and this place is called “Rock and Pillar”, I saw some rocks which look like a huge lions.. other than that, i saw cows, sheeps and snow alps..

Journey to Oturehua, Rock and Pillar, Cows, Sheeps

At first i planned to ride from Oturehua to Clyde which is 63km, but everyone advice me to think twice, so We picked Oturehua to Lauder (23km) and Alexandra to Clyde (8km). Our package is NZD 155 per person which includes Catch-a-bus from Dunedin to Lauder, Bike Rental, Bike and us transfer from Lauder to Alexandra by Van 36km, Luggage Transfer from Dunedin to Queenstown, Wanaka Connexion Bus Service from Clyde to Queenstown (1hr 10mins). We arrived at Oturehua at 10:30am, they dropped us right in front of T.Gilchrist & Sons Grocery. This grocery is established since 1902, and is a very old and traditional museum like grocery shop which we often see in those late 50s movies. They displaying some old receipts and invoices of 1900s. We bought coffee for $3 each and had Yeen’s Sandwiches. Our bicycles are waiting for us in a small little hut behind the store. The bikes are adjusted according to our height.

the 1902 Store, 1906 invoices and inside the store

We started our ride at about 11:15am and arrived at Lauder at 2:30pm. During the journey, we only saw 2 families doing the trail, and we didn’t see anyone else except cows, sheeps and one huge rabbit… No Emergency Phone, no farmers..We went thru 1 Viaduct, 1 bridge (Manuherikia 110m), 2 tunnels (Poolburn 1-201m and Poolburn2 -230m), lakes.Poolburn Viaduct (at the Left) took 3 yrs to build 1901-1904, is the highest viaduct on the whole trail 37metre high and 4th longest (108m).

Snail at the beginning of the Ride, Poolburn Tunnel 1 (201metre long)

1. a family stopped halfway and went for a swim

The Short Break in Alexandria – We arrived at Lauder at 2:30. Only saw a few small buildings in Lauder. The Couch driver told us that it was snowing at this area the day before. We arrived at Alexandria at 3pm, it was dizzling and we decided to have KFC. Maybe we were very hungry, we spotted the KFC from far far away. KFC is pretty cheap, less than NZD30 for 5 of us.

23km. Strong Uncle. Welcome Notes . KFC

We continued our Journey at 3pm from Alexandra to Clyde. This route is not as beautiful as the previous one, and is just one straight road, no left or right turn. There are vineyards, however all grape trees were dried up, and are closed. We get to see more sheeps, horses and bridges. Chian’s Tyres got punctured, luckily we got one Sifu who can fix it.

fixing the bike, horse, vineyard

By the time we arrived in Clyde, it was 4:30pm, we were late by 30mins, there are quite a lot of pplwaiting for us in the bus already. The Coach Driver is very nice, he fed us with commentary thru’out the 1hr journey.

First we saw many houses in Clyde, the houses are divided by age of the houses. Some areas houses were built in the 19th century, some 1930s, some 1950s and etc. after all the houses, we saw the Clyde Hydro Electric dam. This is the first Dam i ever seen in my life. This place is well developed because it acted as hub between the towns of Wanaka, Queenstown and Alexandra. We arrived at Queenstown at 5:30pm and we were dropped right in front of our hostel.

Clyde Dam and the Brilliant Connexions' Driver

老婆说：“他又不是我们的第一个Boy， 低调就好了。。 ”看着在床上的Boy Boy，又说：“你看他肥肥的，比他哥哥姐姐都还胖，以后一定会吃很多，还是省点钱来喂他吧！”

在９００英尺的天边，有位妇女正在满头大汗的用力生孩子。Baby的头没有往下，反而是往上的。。。 妇女痛苦的呐喊着。。 妇女突然感到不痛了，却没听到Baby哭声，张开眼睛望着医生和护士，他们都站着不动，妇女吓到了。　原来Baby 全身已出来了，但头却还没出来。。。　医生遥遥妇女的肚子，妇女又有震痛了。。　黑黑的Baby Girl 就出来了！！

二十多年后，肥肥的Baby Boy 和黑黑的Baby Girl相遇了。　

“Hey，　今年我的生日是星期天哦，　可以休息休息！”，Baby Boy道。　ＢａｂｙＧｉｒｌ说：“Duh..我的也是星期天啊。。　”

数年后。。

“去年我的生日去朋友结婚，那天是星期六叻！”　“呃，　我去年生日也是去朋友的结婚也！　那天也是星期六，　真巧哦！”

“巧你的栏焦，　你老我足足二十一天。。　每年生日的星期天都是一样的啦＂

生日快乐，一路好走

9:30am 27th September 2008 – Arrived in Dunedin Airport (6 Degree Celcius)

Dunedin – Pronounced as “De” (The) – “Nei” – “Den”

At the Dunedin Airport

I was surprised to see Yeen waiting for us at the Luggage Belt area.. didn’t know public can walk into tat area. after the driving instructions from Yeen, we left the airport for early lunch. along the way, we were amazed to see green green grass and lots of sheeps…

Renting a car from the airport is pretty expensive, is NZD 120 per day which includes Airport Tax and Insurance from Thrifty Car Rental. 

For our Second Day Rental, it was NZD 90. The Thrifty Office is at Crawford Street which is about 5 minutes drive from the Octagon.  this is where we dropped our car after rental.

Our first lunch was at Esplanade Restaurant , we had a glimpse of the beach. However we can’t stay long as we had to rush for the 12pm tour at the Speight Brewery Museum. We ordered 2 large pizzas, Seafood and Hawaiian. Its about $30 Each, i think it worth the money – Huge mussels, Scallops and prawns.. Yummy. we couldn’t finish and Tapao home!

Speight Brewery Museum Speight Brewery was founded in 1876 by J Speight. There are several tours available throughout the day, and we booked the 12pm tour together with another 15 people who joined the same group with us. It cost $17 Per Adult. Topics covered: History of Beer (first recorded in Egypt), History of Speight, the process of Speight Beer (the ingredients, tools, machines used). the Last Part: Free Flow of 6 types of Beer!!!

Beer was recorded during the Pharoah Time.

Us listening to the Tour Guide, J Speight and Goh testing 6 types of Beer

Baldwin Street 350 metres length, is well known as it’s the world’s steepest street. At the steepest part of the street, its about 45 degree steep. Only me and Mike climbed all the way up and down, we could had get a certificate by paying $2.

In 2001 a 19-year-old University of Otago student was killed when she and another student attempted to travel down the street inside a wheelie bin. The bin collided with a parked trailer, killing one of the occupants instantly, and causing serious head injuries for the second.

Other events in baldwin Street:

The street is the venue for an annual event in Dunedin, the “Baldwin Street Gutbuster”. Every summer since the mid-1990s (usually in February), this exercise in fitness and balance involves athletes running from the base of the street to the top and back down again. The event attracts up to 1,000 competitors annually.

Since 2002, a further charity event has been held annually in July, which involves the rolling of over 30,000 Jaffas (spherical chocolate candies). Each jaffa is sponsored by one person, with prizes to the winner and funds raised going to charity.

Wait for me!!

Otago University is the Largest University in New Zealand with campus all over Dunedin and have facilities in Wellington and Auckaland. Thanks god Yeen is studying there and we get to pay a visit to this University. It was founded since 1869.

Part of the Library, the Clock and part of the huge campus

Aw.. not listening.. simply sitting there doing nothing... Mike and Chian are bad Students!!

The Octagon There are a huge Catheral church, cafes, restaurants and some shops at this Octagon Shaped Area. Nothing much to write about this place. We were there for a Tea break.

Otago Peninsula It is 30KM long and 12Km at its longest width somehow formed by and extinct volcano. Short drive from the Octagon. We went there twice, the first time we went after 5pm, most of the places were closed. We enjoyed the Harbour view and the great sunset! – where we did our very first dance. the Road is very windy and i would say is kind of dangerous to drive there as other drivers drove real fast.

We went there again the next day to visit the Larnarch Castle and to hunt for Penguins. 

Sunset @ Otago Peninsula

Korean BBQ at Yeen’s Place Yeen bought a new bbq set and we had a great dinner at her place. She prepared a lot of Meat and vegetables to keep us healthy. the Korean bbq sauce is great, and forgot to ask her for receipe! We BYO Alize Rose Liquor.
pros: great yeen’s sauce, great atmosphere
cons: Due to the cold weather, we have to sit on the portable gas-can for a long time to keep the gas warm so that we are able to light up the stove with it.

Chef: Yeen

About the Mistakes

We suppose to check in to Kiwi Nest, however Yeen managed to organise her room so that all of us can fit into it.. We didn’t chat much as we had to wake up at 6:30am to catch the Catch-a-Bus. It was the Day Light Saving Day, I didn’t set my alarm, I relied on Mike to wake us all up on time.. zzzzz.. 

A Calm voice woke me up: “Guys, I don’t want to shock all of you, but its is already 7:40am.” I wished it wasn’t true… Catch-a-bus will pick us up at 8am, it takes about 10 mins to drive there… but god!! we were not dreaming!! Everyone just rush in and out toilet, packed and left Yeen’s place within 20mins..  we arrived at the Thifty Car Rental, but couldn’t see Catch-a-bus. Called Brian of Catch-a-bus, he didn’t know what i was talking about. We waited for another few more minutes and Brian came.. he told us that our booking was for the next day… oooppsss… called yeen and told yeen to pick us up again. haha..

We laughed about the mistake mike made, how fast we could be and the mistake i made. Took a few hours nap then went to the food court at the  Meridian shopping mall in front of Yeen’s place. It cost us about $8 – $11 for a plate of Asian Mix Rice.

Larnarch Castle The Road to Larnarch Castle is amazing… we saw super green grass with thousands of Sheeps along it. We stopped by several times along the drive to take pictures of the beautiful harbour, mountains, bay, sheeps and more sheeps.

The Entrance Fee to Larnarch Castle is NZD 25 Adult and NZD 10 child, however if you just wanna check out the gardens without entering the castle, its NZD 10 and NZD 3 for child. You may wanna stay there for a night at Single/Twin/Double $250.

This is the first european style castle i ever seen. It was built by William Larnarch and he was once a banker then earn his fortune via tradings. His story is quite tragic, His first wife passed away then he married his second wife, then his second wife passed away, then he married his third wife. he later found out the affair between his eldest son and his 3rd wife, and he commited suicide by a shot on his head.

There is a room which we have to pass thru the black curtains to get in. There was this Angmo lady trying to be funny jumped out from the room and freaked me out til i fell to the floor. That room is creepy, it displayed his 3rd wife wedding dress and some victorian ladies possessions.

We enjoyed the view very much from the top of the Castle, and later the garden.

1908 Cafe & Bar is a 90 yrs old nicely decorated Cafe along the Otago Peninsula. We went in for 2 reasons: it look nice and we were hungry. We ordered coffee and 2 plates of Breads and 1 plate of dunno wat. the toppings we had are quite special, the pink one were made of Reddish. I think this place is not over priced.

Pilot Beach, used to known as ‘Hobart Town Beach’ is a place where we can see Penguins for FREE along Otago Peninsula, Thanks to the lady in 1908 for telling us about this place The Blue Penguins, smallest penguins on earth, will come home from the sea everyday at 7pm.. It was Day light saving Day, and they were back at 8pm. We arrived slightly before 7pm and waited for an hour. It was very windy but it still couldn’t stop us from waiting. there were other observants there too.. a kid showed us a sick penguin.. we could see and hear the penguin. We could see holes around the grass area, homes of the Penguins. There was a walkway for the penguins to walk up from the beach to their homes. We danced, yoga and kungfu.. while waiting. at 8pm, it was getting dark and we finally saw a group of penguins walking across the beach. We ran quickly there to observe.. too bad we couldn’t flash our cameras. They walked pretty slow.. we waited quite a while til they reached the top. Other observants told us to leave as its unfair that we disturb their (Penguins’) Privacy..

Went back to Yeen’s place to meet up with her, dropped Car at THrifty and went to Lonestar.

Lonestar is an American country music group, but here we are talking about Lone Star.  Lonestar is all over in NZ and with the theme of cowboys. The place is cool and waiter is handsome.. (still drooling) We ordered 3 main courses only but the portion is sufficient for 6 of us for dinner. The maincourse cost about NZD 25 and above.

Pros: Cheerful and Handsome Waiter

 
As far as I know, she will be flying to Nairobi, Kenya tomorrow, follow by a 3 weeks Africa Safari Camping, then probably some volunteer Jobs around Africa..

Between us – My classmate since Primary 4. We danced and basketballs together. So Happened that she was sitting next to me for the whole year in the Final Year of Secondar School. at tha time, she talked and smiled a lot, but she never show the adventurous side of her…

She went to a college which was just next to my college in KL, met occassionaly.. and the next thing i knew about her was she was travelling all by herself in South America for 3 months.

Wanna know what she has done?? just check out her blog…

Unless you are ready, please do not chat with her.. else you will be thinking to leave all your stuff here and go with her..

Go Zing Go…. You have all my blessings.. and i will be right here waiting for you to inspire me.

Zing in Galapagos Island, Ecuador - My favorite Pic

My Favorite Post: http://zing-zing.blogspot.com/2007/03/galapagos-islands-ecuador-dec-2005.html

for more: http://zing-zing.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

Its the day I’ve always longed for.. the Day we stepped into L.A.O.S – LAOS!!!

Our flight was 9am KL Time and we woke up real early for the airport. Only slept 2-3 hrs the nite before, but i still felt so energectic! geared up my backpack, and ready to go!! i didn’t charge my camera battery properly the nite b4 and it ran low batt even b4 i reached airport! After checked in, i managed to find a power supply at one of the corner in Asian Kitchen.

During the flight, an indonesian trader told me a lot of negative comments about laos like “GOOD LUCK!” and she also told me my phone will not be able to work there. Arrived at Laos at 10:30am (laos time), the toilet at the airport was surprisingly clean and modern. Turn on the phone and we manage to roam using the Provider “TIGO LAO” – sounds like Lao Tigo (old hamsap man). Being a IT Gal, i noticed the immigration is using Microsoft Access for the Immigrant control system. The exchange rate at the airport is good, compare to those we got in the rest of our trip.

Left to right: Laos Airport, Tigo Lao

We suppose to take a tuktuk to the bus stop to cut cost, but we took a taxi instead becos We couldn’t find the tuk tuk non-proper pickup spot where other travel blogs mentioned and a taxi driver convincing us to take his taxi. After we hopped into the taxi (which cost us USD4), we found the tuk tuk pick up stop, its just another minute walk from where we were.

The Northern Bus Station to Vang Vieng is an open area bus stop. My watch read 12:30 and I was told the bus was leaving at 12:30 and 1:30. We were both hungry so we decided to eat first and planned to take the 1:30 Bus. We had our first Beef Noodles and Beef Tanghoon and our very first Lao Coffee at the Bus Station. We also saw some foreigner shooting some lao, i guess is a documentary about life in Laos. What we saw was a family (wife husband and 2 boys) ride in a tuktuk. After the quick lunch, We went to the bus again and was surprised that the 12:30 Bus was stil there. What a joke! Laos time is 1 hour behind lah gal! hehe, so we managed to hop into the 12:30 bus. The bus left at 1Pm.

Lunch at Northern Bus Station, Beef Soup Noodle

You can take a bus from Vientiane all the way to KunMing China, it will takes 24 hrs and is a sleeper bus. Our bus ticket is more expensive than what i read from the blogs, its 40 000 kip. I thought they might had overcharge us, so i asked a Spanish guy – Jon on bus about how much he paid. He said he paid the same amount as us, and he also commented is more expensive than what he had read.

The bus journey was interesting. First, we saw the bus conductor throwing big luggages to the top of the Bus (its like passing balls) Then a ice cream man sold us some home made ice cream. When i saw him digging the ice cream from the container, i could see his sweat dropping into the container. the bus was really hot when its not moving, so i just kept quiet and ate the ice cream.

They played some lao Mtv and a Chinese Movie thru out the journey. When the Bus stopped for toilet break, i was trying to spot for the toilet to see how bad it is before i decided to get down. there is no toilet! everyone just pee to the grasses.. the gals went to one corner to pee… and i saw an old auntie with a sarong, open her legs wide lift her sarong up a little bit and Pee standing up! I really wonder how can she managed to do it! The bus also stopped somewhere to give a chance for the local people to approach us to buy their drinks, mangos, bbq Eggs and other food. I bough a few packet of mangos and i shared it with the little boy sitting infront of me.

Pic 1: Inside the local bus, the aisle is blocked, Pic 2: the lao boy asking for more mango, Pic 3: The “Public Toilet”, Pic 4: Ice Cream, Pic 5: THey can put anything on top of the bus, Pic 6: Selling drinks and food

 
at 4:30, we arrived in Vang Vieng. The View was wonderful, breath taking and amazing. We got off the bus and we were both Stunt! there was only few small stalls around and We were in the middle of no where. Are we at the right place??? We gonna stay here for 2 nites?? :O Was offered to get on to a Tuk Tuk to the guest house, the tuk tuk was full of people! one of the passenger had to leave her legs outside the Tuktuk to fit everyone in. 10000kip per person, we arrived at Le Jardin Organique in 2 mins time, should had walk there. The view of the RIver and mountains was stunning! we wished so much to settle down there to enjoy the view. However Le Jardin only got 1 nite at USD 18 for us, and we have to check out the next morning and check in to another guest house. We decided to look for another lodging place.  

 This man scratching his head listening to my broken EngLao.

Walk out to the main road, and ate at this restaurant with excellent view to the Mountains and River. A tuk tuk driver got us to his tuk tuk and we started our Hostel hunting. The first Guest house we stopped by was full. then he brought us to the second one. On the way, We were happy cos we found the busy street of Vang Vieng! a lot of people, restaurants, bars and shops. we Managed to check into PhouBane Guest house. its only USD7 with stunning river and mountain view too~

Tissue with dirt from our face

Hang around the river side, walked across the bridge and wandering around the bungalows … Saw a group of buffalos soaking in the water enjoying life. We are here finally! Hip Hip Hooray! Took pictures of us Jumped up High! the View and atmosphere were so breath taking, peaceful and amazing. I love it so much. Sat on the fragile looking bridge and started to enjoy the view, romantic atmosphere and busy saying “Sabaidee” when people walked pass us. There were 2 kids bathing at the river with shampoo thought we are Japanese and started screaming Koniciwa to us.

After the great chill out, we booked a tour for the next day at usd 16 per person(inc 2 Caves visit, Tubing in the Cave, Lunch, Village visit, Kayaking) Went to the town, love it there. Tried pancake with banana (basically is Roti Pisang in Malaysia), had a good walk in the town, cyber cafe. I went back for a shower and quick change, cos my white shirt turned grey! We then settled down in a restaurant with mattresses and pillows to relax and chill out. Had my very first Beer Lao there too. We stayed there until 11pm when the restaurant closed. One thing we noticed is most of the cybercafe there iare using LCD Monitor. When we arrived back to the guesthouse, the gate was close, luckily not LOCK!

Pic 1: Main Street, Pic 2: Banana Pancake, Pic 3: Me and Beer Lao, Pic 4: Internet cafe with Flat Screen, Pic 5: Tomyam soup