Sorry for the lack of updates, I was holidaying in the UAE, Türkiye, & Greece for the last 3 weeks. I will have more pictures and my wonderful experiences uploaded here by next week.

I have an important Tuesday appointment. Yes, a job interview to attend to. So need to prioritise things.

Meantime, just a few pictures... and just for you. :)

The most rewarding thing: knowing 2 really great friends in Izmir.

And, going to Athens in Greece was a lifelong dream comes true... for me. :)

Riding a camel in Safari Desert in Dubai was an experience. But meeting up with an old friend, Anton (my hairstylist guy in Sri Lanka) was the highlight in Dubai.

Just had such a fabulous week.

We invited Rasika over to Singapore for his birthday.

I am sure he will remember this experience for a long long time.

Missing him already... :(

We celebrated Mum's 60th early, mainly because Alan would not be able to take leave till Feb/Mar 2010 due to his project opening in Dec 2009.

We have a group from Sunshine Coast, and another group from Newcastle. It was really nice to catch up with our families & friends.

That day was also Ita's birthday... so we had a double celebration too.
Happy Birthday Ita! :)

Alan's relieved from his work commitment. We met up with our families & friends, & headed off to Watsons Bay for the day. Took a ferry ride, and this is the picture I like best - us with the beautiful & special ladies.

Look at the view, nothing beats that for me. Sydney city skylines, Opera House & Harbour Bridge.

And, we stayed somewhere flashy... the penthouse on 51st level at Meriton on Pitt Street.
Oh... I can't help myself but snap a self-pic with AMP Tower in the background.

Alan & I were went to Sydney from 6-14 Sept; almost immediately after our Bangkok trip. Alan slept barely 4 hours at home before boarding SQ flight. My flight was another 12 hours, so did a bit of housework, taking care of the garden, etc.

As Alan was going to be busy with his work, I wasn't planning on tagging along. But there was an important event that I couldn't miss. Mum's 60th! I missed her 50th party, as Alan & I just knew each other then. So, I wasn't going to miss her 60th. Alan thought it would be a nice surprise for Mum, so I didn't update or broadcast about my visit.
I caught up with Mim, a dear friend that I will never fail to meet each time I visit Sydney. Also, another special pal, Omer. Strangely, we have constantly kept in touch after I left work in Australia. After all these years, I must say this friendship is unique.
Another surprise though, I called Chos - an old friend from Adelaide who relocated to Melbourne for many years. Couldn't believe he had just relocated again to Sydney, only a week ago. So, we met up for a drink & another day for a meal. It was good to see Chos.
As I got myself a Prepaid SIM from http://www.three.com.au/, I got to chat almost everyday with Matt. Three Network would have to be the best at the moment, I must say. Value & flexibility of the credit usage. I was able to surf the Internet & update Facebook at a touch of a button.

I think watching Alan on TV (Seven Network, Sunrise) was also like the coolest thing. I snapped a picture & posted it on Facebook too. He was promoting the event on the morning TV show, LIVE at the venue. Really cool.
We stayed at The Sebel Pier One, in Sydney. It was just a stone's throw from Alan's old workplace down at The Rocks. Wow... it has been a while.
Now, I couldn't wait to catch up with our families & friends. I miss everyone very much, especially Mary. There is something about Mary. :P

We were in Bangkok from 28 Aug - 5 Sept. Alan was attending a Forum & doing some judging work. I tagged along, as we had some R&R time to ourselves before the event.

Alan & I met up with Chi & Kung (Taiwan) again, this time we arranged to meet in Bangkok. Chi & I planned this for a long while, couple of months back. And, I reserved a table for us at The Vertigo at Banyan Tree.

Absolutely fabulous to meet Chi & Kung again! :)

Yup, my best friend from Melbourne visited me this whole week and I have been extremely happy. I have not seen Matthew for almost 8 years, and having him here in Singapore was very special to me.
Matt's been a very special friend to me, I would forever be grateful that he took me in so unconditionally for 2 weeks when I was 'homeless' in Adelaide. I moved out of Keswick & had not found another place to stay & my term had already started. Not only did he put me up, he also had to put up with my nonsense of telling him off for spending his money on the TONS of CDs that he just kept buying; the amount of fizzy drinks (Coke) that he consumed daily; the food that he ate (lack of); etc. Yes, he put up with my nonsense. He truly deserves the BFF title (Best Friends Forever).

(Below) Here's an old picture of us - 8 years ago, when I visited him in Melbourne. I stayed with him for a week. (YES, he put up with my nonsense again!!)

Matt: Thank you for being there for me, accepting me for who I am, & for treasuring this friendship. ==> This picture specially for you. Miss you heaps. :(

Ranil rang me up saying that he would be leaving on 31 July, it was quite sudden but I guess it was a good opportunity that he would get the chance to see his brother, Eranga who would be returning to the Maldives after the accident.

I was unable to catch up with him on 30 & 31 July, so I arranged to give him a farewell dinner & to show him where Eranga would be working. And also, hopefully Ranil would also get the chance to come to Singapore to work at Sentosa in the construction industry.

Good luck Ranil, hope to see you here in Singapore again. Hopefully, you will find a job in Singapore then.

Eranga's brother, Ranil visited Singapore on 4 July. I didn't know of his visit till Eranga updated us. Bad news from Eranga, he was burnt while working preparing breakfast at the resort in Maldives. Gas leak was the cause of the accident, and thus he has returned back home to Sri Lanka to seek treatment. His face was burnt & covered, and both his hands were burnt as well. I hope he recovers fast.

Anyway, I caught up with Ranil & took him out to eat his first McDonalds at Plaza Singapura. Unfortunately, Ranil was another victims scammed into paying hefty sum of money to an Agent who promised him work in Singapore.

In any case, it was nice to catch up with Ranil & to extend the hospitality that he & his family showered upon us when we were in Negombo.

Sri Lanka - A Land Like No Other
It is now been marketed as:
Sri Lanka - Small Miracle

To me, it will forever & truly be a land like no other.

Still haven't been easy to cope with not having Bodhi with us here in Singapore.

2 very personal & special attachments from Sri Lanka: Bodhi & Rasika. Miss them so much :(

This is almost like a Must-Have food whenever I have visitors to Singapore.

Loy Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice.

So glad to share this with Chi & Kung. I remember Garrett & James love this very much too. :)

(Picture above, courtesy of Alvin from his Facebook Album)

Full of surprises here...

I made a rather surprised trip to Kuala Lumpur for Shan's birthday. Shan & On, Yvonne (Shan's sister) & Tao Tao & Fung Fung flew in from Hong Kong for vacation in Kuala Lumpur; Alvin & Joey have also made their way from Johor Bahru to see them. Mine was only a 45 minutes flight from SIN-KUL, but Alvin & Joey drove for a few hours. They definitely deserved the ultra-Friendship award. :)

Jia Jia & CK & Baby Tao Tao also joined us for the dinner at Cititel MidValley, they drove all the way from Nilai for the gathering. They have put in great effort to make it too, considering CK had to wake up at 2am for work (we left the restaurant at 11.30pm). Jia Jia is also helping out now with CK's business, and thus would have to be up by 5am... still not factoring in the fact that she had to wake up to check on Tao Tao's needs at night.

And another surprise came, Yee Hsia & KC also made it for the party. They arrived at 9.15pm, straight after Yee Hsia finished work. It was good to see them both again too. :)

As usual, Siew Leng planned the dinner & the itineraries for Shan & her family. Siew Leng is such a Champion, she always managed everything & doing a really great job. Our group is lucky to have her, and there's no doubt that Shan's family are enjoying the hospitality from Siew Leng & Teng.

On the day of my departure, I almost missed my flight as I went to the wrong terminal. JetstarAsia use the KLIA terminal, not the LCCT terminal. I wouldn't have been able to board the aircraft if not for CK's help in coming back and taking me to the right airport. Thanks Jia Jia & CK! :)

See... nothing beats the feeling of having 2 of my best friends together...

Connie & Sarah are meeting for the first time, & it was simply fabulous.

So glad to catch up with Sarah again... like Connie, we hardly get to meet up as she is living in Hong Kong now.

Thanks for the pictures, Sarah! :)

This would have to be one of my happiest weeks...

While in Hong Kong, I met up with:

1) Certie (Shan) & her family, who always make time to meet me. Shan & On always remind me of what happiness is all about, even with simple pleasures. And this trip, I found out what a fantastic father On has been, being so tolerant and patient with his kids. And Shan telling me how much she has embraced motherhood, & how loving & supportive On has been as a father & a husband.

2) Siew Leng & family also visited Hong Kong the week Alan & I were there. I could never ask for a better friend than Siew Leng. She always makes time for friends, family, parents, and her kids NO MATTER how busy she is. And having a supportive husband like Teng standing alongside Siew Leng is so important. Teng would 'automatically' take Yao Xuan out with him to play while Shan, Connie, Siew Leng & I were having some quality time together. Those few short minutes we chatted together meant a lot to me.

3) Connie's friendship is so precious to me that I have entered her as 'Dearie' in my phone addressbook, and only she gets away with sending me 1 or 2 emails each year. She's special to me, & a real precious gem in my life.

Alan found time out of his super-busy schedule to have Dim Sum with us, it was a great start to my last day in Hong Kong. Here's a picture of me & Connie:

And of course, the dishes we ordered for Dim Sum.

The day only got better when Sarah called saying that she would be free to meet up. I have been meaning for Connie & Shan to catch up with Sarah. I will have to post the pictures of us together a little later. It was beyond words to describe having Sarah & Connie together. For me, it was yet again another special moment for me.

Together with Sarah & Connie, we had club sandwich, tea and coffee.... and then we went on to eat wanton noodle, and then went on to drink Vietnamese coffee. I will remember this for a long time... :)

Sarah/Connie/Siew Leng/Shan:
Thank you so much for making this Hong Kong trip a truly special one for me.
I love you all... :)

For those who don't know... Sarah is one of my oldest & bestest buddies. We were probably 12-13 years old in Secondary One, and we were the only two who were in the same class for 4 years. We were both in Normal stream for the first 2 years, then we were promoted and went to the Express stream for the last 2 years.

We lost touch for quite a few years, and one day I just picked up the yellow pages (also known as white pages in Australia), and looked up her name. Called her and we remained in contact ever since. Interestingly, I have done the same with Balwant Singh. But of course, there's more avenues these days, i.e. Facebook.

Anyway, her family moved to Hong Kong a few years ago and it's been 2 years since we caught up, also during HOFEX 2007. I had a drink with her and hubby Richard on the night I arrived at Wooloomooloo at Lan Kwai Fong. And caught up with Sarah again the next day for shopping and we had beef noodle (below) for lunch.

My first breakfast in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong - 2009.

Glutinuous rice with chicken & mushroom

Congee with shredded chicken & century egg

Coffee

HKD 22 (abt USD 2.80)

Alan & I had the great pleasure of hosting our first guests here at our new home in Singapore. Please meet Garrett(right) & James(left), from Ireland & the U.K., respectively. It was their first time being hosted on Couchsurfing.com...
We went to the Long Bar, at Raffles Hotel for drinks. We did not order the Singapore Sling though but had 2 jugs of beer and lots & lots of peanuts. My jaws hurt when we left the place, yes... from all the peanuts I had. In the picture above, James holding on to the traditional style fan while I was holding a peanut & beer - all pretty much a trademark that you can expect at the Long Bar.

Kalal, our waiter from the Long Bar was great.

Garrett & James were just such fantastic guests, they were so respectful of our place & privacy and very considerate. Their first afternoon nap (after arriving at our place) was in the guestroom, without air-con, without fan, & with windows shut & with bucket of perspiration... & they still put on a huge smile. Did I mention how respectful they were? Yes, that much... that they would not do a thing without first asking for permission. Unbelieveably awesome guys.

It was absolutely fabulous having Garrett & James at our place, and I can't wait to see them again soon. All the best in your onward journey & keep in touch, always.

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Alan's in Orlando at the moment, and he was pleasantly surprised when his USS colleagues brought him to watch the Discovery Launched to ISS. How cool was that? 

Unfortunately, he didn't have his camera with him. But I found this video from YouTube, what's life without YouTube these days.

Enjoy the video below...


PS: Orlando is exactly 12 hours behind Singapore (+8 GMT)