Spain - One of my favourite holiday destinations

You can probably tell from that ear to ear grin in every photo.  I love the architecture, the colourful stories, the pride locals take in their culture, the food, the wine and the fashion! 

The "Jump for Joy" photos below were taken in Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, Madrid and Ronda. 

Hello Hanoi.. super delayed post

In fact, late by almost 2 months...This is about our first trip to Vietnam. And i actually wrote this while in Hanoi! I'm too lazy to edit it as a post-travel entry.

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Funny how most Singaporeans would have travelled to places like Hanoi, Bali and Phuket but we 2 mountain tortoises haven't. Well, these past few days, Dan & I spent enough time wandering the streets of Hanoi to say that we've actually been here.

I can't say Hanoi is particularly enticing with its historical sights nor it's shopping. I think it's a lot less exotic for Asians to see one temple and pagoda after another. Particularly given that we've been seeing the massive ones in China for a good 5 years... It takes out the excitement a little. But some of Hanoi's religious sights are still worth a look for its history and it's quite interesting to see how everything in the temples are written in traditional Chinese but enunciated differently in Vietnamese. If you're one for war history or mausoleums, then there might be more for you to see. Unfortunately, I like neither.

For me, the best sights are the old houses lining the streets. Many look like they've been transported straight from Paris or Eastern Europe. The European architecture is evident in many of the buildings in the Old Quarter. Some have fallen into disrepair but with a little imagination, you can almost imagine how beautiful they once might have been - an elegant oasis offering their occupants relief from the oppressive heat and constant cacophony of city life.

Hanoi is supposedly home to good french food. I think it's still best to stick with the local food. The Bun cha ( rice noodles with grilled pork) is my dish of the moment. I love the simplicity of rice noodles dipped in a sweet and sour broth, and flavoured with pork, chilli and garlic. I especially love how all Vietnamese dishes seem to be served with fresh basil, shiso leaves ( or something that tastes like it) and lemon mint. Bun Cha is found on almost every corner. Our hotel reception pointed us to a stall located at No 1 Hang Mahn Street. For SG$7, we had a standard set of noodles, herbs and fried spring rolls that we had difficulty finishing even as delicious as it was.

Another quaint side to Hanoi I enjoyed were the cafes serving cha phe (coffee). I love the intensity of Vietnamese coffee! Can't seem to get enough of it. I wonder how I'm going to revert back to regular coffee off the vending machine at the office...

Bia Hoi ( freshly brewed beer) served along the roadside was a great experience too. The beer was light and cheap (no more than 7000 Dong/ SG$0.40 at the more "premium" corners); and it offered a great way to watch Hanoians rush about their daily business. Bia Hoi was harder to find than we expected. And when we did find it, the tiny roadside stall would be packed with foreigners enjoyed a pre-dinner drink. It was rather funny watching many largely built caucasians perched on the tiny plastic stools that the Vietnamese seem to favour. I'm short and it's already slightly uncomfortable for me. I wonder how those big guys felt balancing their weight on those flimsy stools!

I have another 3 days to go on this trip. Hopefully there's more interesting sights to see, interesting foods to eat!

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Eventually, I did have modern french food at a place called La Badiane. The food and service were both excellent. We had a 3 course set dinner which was under SG$50 and had a nice variety of dishes to choose from for each course.  Daniel had a slightly strange sounding dessert that had coconut, mangoes and berries in it. It was AWESOME. I could have licked the plate clean. So, if you're going to Hanoi, you have to make a trip to La Badiane at 10 Nam Ngu street, Hoan Kiem. Tel: +84 (4) 39 42 45 09

my 2nd other job: tour guide

Yup.. that was essentially what I did during a media trip to Shangri-la county. Made sure everyone had enough oxygen bottles, water, kleenex, meals...

What I enjoyed most about this media trip:

1. Getting to know some journalists & my client better.

I really seldom do media work. This was a great chance to talk to the top beauty editorial directors and get to know them on a more personal level. Ditto with the client. Take them out of the office and they're different people. I think the natural beauty and high altitude played a part!

2. Staying at Banyan Tree Ringha

Room can get creepy cos it's so very very BIG. But the place is really so beautiful and peaceful. Staff were also very warm and friendly.

3. Hanging out with my fantastic team

We've gone to 3 different cities in 2 months - dalian, qingdao and now Shangri-la. Each time, we work super hard, then play super hard. In Shangri-la, thanks to the "experiential journey" that we'd designed for media, our team members also got to enjoy the spectacular scenery and some of the best food Shangri-la's old town had to offer. It was nice to be able to have fun as a team for once!

4. Retracing my steps to the places I visited 2 years ago.

It's different seeing this place in summer.. It was already gorgeous when I last saw it in winter. Summer dished up lush greenery interspersed with wild highland flowers in vibrant hues, a dazzling blue sky with clouds handing so low you could imagine touching them..I loved going back up Shika mountain and feeling as if I'm in the clouds.

Impressions of New York

1. There's so many things going on! It's kinda like Tokyo but with more diversity and everything's in English ( or Spanish) .

2. Stunning architecture. All you have to do is look up. The buildings are amazing! You wonder how people managed to build such skyscrapers in the 20s and 30s! Some are older of course. I loved how each building seems to combine old European influences into the ultra modern ( at the time it's built), to create a unique yet timeless look. It's also very funny how all the buildings seem to flow seamlessly into each other, though they are all different styles, different era, different heights. It's a harmonious blend. Not quite like Beijing where you get a mish mash of buildings and the contrast between old and new stands out very clearly.

3. The city moves so fast! ( except for the traffic) I think I now understand the term "A New York Minute". I loved how things keep moving and changing. Nothing stays the same for long but somehow there's that sense of timelessness. I had this image of a city that feels as if never changes, despite the frenetic energy of change. Hmm... I'm not great with putting it in words but if you've been to New York oor ever go there, you'd maybe understand better.

4. I loved loved loved the shops :) . You don't get huge shopping centres like in Singapore. Even Bloomingdales felt small. I didn't go into Saks since I seldom buy luxury items. Nor did I go to Macy's ( I already shopped in one in Buffalo and was disappointed). But there were plenty of shops along every single avenue to keep you entertained as you walk. I was very willing to walk 20-30 blocks because there was a mix of sight seeing and shopping to do along the way. I think Dan and I walked over 5km each day. Back to the shops - Sephora is a joy to browse. So many interesting skincare brands and products to pore over. Barnes and Nobles - the simple fact that there's no english bookshop in Beijing or library for me to go to makes Barnes and Noble a veritable literary wonderland! Of course, there's the usual suspects of Forever 21 ( there was a huge one on Times Square opening that I didn't manage to get into), Banana Republic, Gap etc etc. I hardly got any clothes after being disappointed at Banana Republic - the XS dresses were too big. But everything comes in nice small sizes. ooo...I got Rock & republic Jeans - gorgeous! Dan's are from 7 for all Mankind

5. The musuems - I only went to the American Museum of Natural History to see dino bones and space centre. At the Met, the massive Egyptian displays got a bit tedious to go through . It was SO huge! We browsed through and it still took us 1.5hrs just to see that section. The armour and weaponry section was pretty cool and easier to "digest". MOMA was super crowded. I didn't quite appreciate the new art pieces such as one weird piece that featured multiple audio recordings of people saying Monday to Sunday. The modern design pieces were great! My favourite of the lot since you get to see uniquely designed home items - chairs, cupboards, keyboards, plates. Oh and of course, you get to see works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol.

Starry night by Vincent Van Gogh

Campbell Soup by Andy Warhol

Other small things I bought in NYC

Erm.. like coach bags and shoes from Woodbury Common.

Before you judge and say "Wah!! Spend so much ??", each bag costs only slightly over US$100. A steal for a leather bag. The big green one costs slightly more given its size. It's big enough to fit my laptop, my huge wallet, a wrap, mobile phone, ipod, mints, keys ...

The shoes at Nine West were on sale and these 2 pairs each cost less than a pair of Charles and Keith shoes.

I also got facial moisturizers, hand creams etc etc from shops in the city - basically stuff that Dan & I use everyday - at great prices.

How to get to Woodbury Common:

- Take subway to Port Authority Bus Terminal ( it should be the red line)

- Go to the Bus Terminal and look for the Shortline Bus ticketing booth

- Bus ticket costs US$42 and takes you to the door step. It also comes with several additional discount coupons and a redemption coupon at Woodbury Common for a booklet of discount coupons to use at almost all stores.

- Bus trip takes 1 hr each way

- Best to catch the 9.30am bus which really really leaves on time!

One thing I did not buy on sale

Everything in the US is on sale!! And everything at Woodbury Common Outlet mall is ridiculously cheap... all 220 stores!! I'll post about Woodbury later.

First, the one thing I did not buy on sale is....

See that grin?

Viola! Tiffany... and american tradition :P

To be fair, Danny said he'll get it for me but since I wanted it, I'm going to pay for it myself!

I *heart* eating in New York

There was such a buzz to the city! People on the streets at all times of day, the most amazing architecture, fantastic shopping, great dining and the brightest lights along broadway. I loved every moment of it! Daniel and I walked 10 to 20 blocks a day till our feet hurt then we'd go for a fab dinner.

We had typical american food i.e burgers and fries at a place called 5 Napkin Burgers, located around Hell's Kitchen. We chanced upon it and saw that it had a good vibe.. little did we know it's one of THE latest burger joints to dine at. The burgers were great but because I was still jet lagged, I could barely finish my food! See how thick the patty is?

On our last day, we had burgers at the renowned Shake Shack. I guess it's famous cos you're getting fairly cheap burgers with patties made of real beef unlike most patties at fast food joints.

We also had Pizza at a famous place in Brooklyn called Grimaldis. We weren't planning to eat there but we walked by it and thought, "why not". It was 11am and there was a queue outside. The restaurant opened at 11.30 sharp and they packed people in very efficiently. It was so fun watching the pizzas being made. A tad salty because of the salami we added, but generally tasty. We c0uld barely finish a 16inch pizza ( the smallest) between 2 of us and watched other people eating the 18 inch. That was scary.

We also had 3 swish meals on this trip - all memorable either for the food, service or company

1. Daniel ( this is the original restaurant by Daniel Boulud. Same chef behind Beijing's Maison Boulud)

The service was impeccable as was the food. We had the 3 course prix-fix ( fixed price menu)I had Duo of Beef for my main course. It was was so tender it melts in your mouth. The staff were very professional, appearing right by your elbow if you so much as frown at the menu. They explained each dish and recommended corresponding wines. When Daniel couldn't decide between desserts, they brought us an extra dessert at no charge! That was so delish. I suspect we got extra dessert also because we mentioned that we were tourists who had to come eat at Daniel after trying out Maison Boulud in Beijing

2. Bistro Moderne

We met with my US colleagues, Madeline, Ivette and Kathryn for dinner at Bistro Modern was also happens to be owned by Daniel Boulud. The restaurant's most famous dish - Burger with Foie Gras. That's a US$32 burger! I had the pork special which was nice but not as exciting at the burger which my colleague had...

3. BLT Steak

Danny was insistent on eating steak on our last night in NYC. My colleague Madeline recommended BLT.. Man. They serve BIG steaks. Danny and I shared a Porterhouse Steak that's US$82...that piece of steak could feed 4 people! Madeline had a salad while Danny and I slowly polished off the beef and one dessert.

this is the giant steak

so many things so little time

So. I've had a brief think about the things I want to see in NYC

1. Dinosaur bones a the Museum of Natural history

2. Egyptian temple at the Met Museum

3. A broadway show

4. 30 Rockefeller Centre ( simply cos I love Liz Lemon)

5. The inside of the statue of liverty ( so the the scene from X-men seem more real... the one with wolverine hanging off the side)

6. Queens ( cos I love Ugly Betty)

7. 5th Avenue ( cos when I was a kid, my mum has this Elizabeth Arden Fragrance - Red Door on 5th Avenue and I used to wonder what was the big deal about this street)

8. Woodbury Common - simply because it's got 220 outlet stores!!!! Talk about shop till you drop..

Things i want to eat:

1. Hotdog

2.Hotdog

3. Something at Jean George, Nobu, Daniel or a Mario Batali Restuarant...

NYC here I come!!!!!

Woohoo! Meeting in Pennsylvania confirmed. Gonna make sure I fly through NYC and hang out with colleagues and friends there. Um.. and of course, get some training done in between (that is, if I can pay attention) muahahahaha

weekend in Huairou

At a place called Shan Ba 山吧. There was basketball, table tennis, badminton, horse riding and even an artificial rock wall to climb. I rather liked it. Thank goodness weather was good and thank goodness there were enough beds for 19 of us!

super big common area in the house with mahjong and pool table

Harbin-ger of Cold

Went again to Harbin. Took my siblings there. Boy was it cold. But not as bad as I remembered it to be. Maybe this time I've acclimatized... but -17 deg is still pretty darn painful for the face and fingers! That's Dan in the H1N1 mask if you're wondering...claims it keeps the face warmer than the scarf. That white creature is an Arctic Fox that some tout was pushing for photos. I felt real bad for the poor cub who must have been taken from it's mum. And i know it's not right to encourage the tout by paying him for the photo but the cub was really so adorable!

I wish this was my house...

On Christmas day, we headed out of Beijing city towards Huairou district. It was murderously cold in the city and I kept thinking about how cld it was going to be on the outskirts of the city...We were headed for a village by the foot of the Mutianyu section of the great wall to hang out in what Dan referred to as a "chalet". It turned out to be more of a villa than a chalet!

enter the red door

The Red Door is managed by The Schoolhouse Restaurant and is listed as a countryside hotel. It's actually someone's long lease home that's available for short term vacation rental. The house was gorgeous. It's a sleek house of stone, brick and glass that's converted from an old farmhouse.

view of the house from the "kang" in the Living room

There were four bedrooms , each with queen size beds and 3 full bathrooms and one small toilet. The fireplace was a godsend especially with temperatures reaching as low as -16deg that night and the "kang" in front of the fireplace was warm and toasty.

One of the most beautiful features of this house has got to be the master bedroom. Full length windows and a skylight spanning half the room allow natural light to flood the bedroom and offer a stunning view of the surrounding mountains. At night, you look out into a sky littered with stars. The view is breathtaking. The master bedroom comes with an ensuite bathroom/ walk in wardrobe. The bedroom also has a side door that leads out onto an open split level "courtyard" that leads back to the living room. It was a huge house but very cosy.

view from the foot of the bed in the master bedroom

Sitting in the reading area with the sunlight streaming through the windows, I really wish the house was mine... or least that I can one day have a house as beautiful as this!

Making new italian "friends"

For some strange reason, people chat with Daniel on holidays. Random strangers... we sorta talked to Canadians and Aussies along our trip. Loads of elderly Canadians who travelled to Venice on cruise and were making their way to Rome.

We also made some new Italian "friends". Dan's new friends are called Ermenegildo and Salvatore. While I met Guccio, Miucci, Francesco and Furla. 

Good friends are for a lifetime. These "friends" better last a lifetime! 

Stuff we got for my family and Dan's mum. The pink wallet's for my mum :P

Italy highlights

Sneaked a pix of Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel when i really shouldn't have...

We saw plenty, ate plenty and met plenty and it's just too mind boggling to note down everything so here are the highlights! 

ITALY on the whole

Likes 

Beautiful place blessed with great weather, food and wine! Awesome place if you like stories about the ancient Romans, Crusades, Renaissance art.  Super interesting to "bag" and "sunglass" watch ( it is after all home of some of the top luxury brands) .  The shoes are gorgeous too and if you are into expensive shoes.. this is the place to buy them. They are far cheaper in Italy than in Singapore or China. 

Dislikes

Super duper grumpy service especially when reserving seats at the train station and even at the airport. Hey! Is it that hard to gimme 2 seats side by side?? 

How expensive it is to sit down for breakfast. 

FLORENCE

Replica of Michelangelo's David 

Likes

1.The food! Cheap ( compared to other cities we went) and good. Average for a Primi plate ( pasta) is about 5-10 Euros. Randomly picked restaurants served amazing food. Even touristy restaurants served great food! It's all rustic meals - nothing fancy. The restaurants themselves weren't fancy. But every meal was unbelievably plate-licking good.  I actually looked forward to meal times!

2.  It's maze-like streets. So confusing but fun to stumble on something new each time! There are interesting bakeries and markets waiting around each corner.

3. The outlet shopping - a friend told me about The Mall - an outlet for Gucci, Tod's, Hogan, Ferragamo, Zegna, Burberry, Armani etc... It's 50mins bus ride from the Florence central railway station. It's really pretty, set in the tuscan countryside with plenty of hills, vineyards surrounding it.  Gucci was about 60% off . Many other between 30%-50% discount. but of course, these are the previous season's goods. Still... a very good  buy. 

Dislikes

I don't think there was anything I disliked about Florence. It was a very easy going, slow paced city with great stuff to eat. Hmm... my only quibble would be that everything closed so early.. at 7 or 7.30pm each day. 

ROME

Likes

1.  The history and the many many ruins! I can see why this is called the Eternal City. Some things have been around for thousands of years and it pretty much feels as if it'll look the same if we go back 10 years later.

2. The architecture - I don't know anything about archit

ecture but there so many fascinating old houses to look at.

3. The vibe of the city - its a big city with very old world charm. I enjoyed being able to walk to most places even if some of the walks took us 40mins... but there's always something surprising to see along the way. 

4. Seeing the incredible wealth of the Vatican city. I mean, it's not just a spiritual place. It's got a very rich collection of art and each piece gives you a tiny glimpse into what the world was like in the different centuries. I loved that! Though of course... I know nothing about art. And staring at ceilings gave me a very very nasty neck- ache. 

Dislikes

1. It's a tourist town with tourist prices and sometimes food can be a bit iffy if you're close to the tourist sites. Restaurants have "cover charge" !! 

2. Having to queue a long while for anything. Gelato ( cos there's no system of queuing and how the hell do you compete with someone twice your height and double your loudness when trying to get the gelato guy to serve you first??), to get into the Vatican Museum ( that took like... 45mins?) 

There were hardly any gypsies in Rome. Dan said that more than 10 years ago, he really had to watch out for pickpockets and gypsy kids. These days, you see more Armani-clad policemen than gypsies at the sites. 

VENICE

Likes

1. The quaintness of the whole island - you can really see the christian, byzantian and Middle Eastern influences on this city of Marco Polo's.  There's a certain sense of bygone wealth and opulence. You see it most clearly in St Mark's Basilica where the wealth of the church is embedded in the church walls itself. The ceiling literally glitters with gold mosaic!

2. The abundance of seafood. Clams and mussel dishes here ROCK! They are so delish I felt like licking the plates clean. Thank goodness for the bread to mop up the sauce. Not free of course... each restaurant charges anywhere between 1- 3 euros per person for the bread basket.  

3. The gorgeous world famous glass from Murano island. I only bought one little ring and beads. Figured its easier to carry than 6 glasses in a set. Didn't stop by Murano though since we weren't gonna buy glassware. The prices can set off a heart attack.  

4. Burano island for the colorful houses. They came in forest green, robin blue, turquoise, vermillion, egg yellow... Reminds me of an Old Nippon paint advertisement. There's less tourists and the island's quite a nice place to wander.

Dislikes

1. The crowds. Rome was crowded but least it's a big city. venice is a small island with A LOT of people crammed on it

2. The price of stuff - the Merchants of Venice made less than 20 euros from me, not a pound of flesh ( can't help being corny). Every shop has got beautiful things but every shop is heart stoppingly expensive.  Oh but there are great little sunglass outlets with last season's Missoni shades going for 59 euros. The gondola rides were also super-ex so we didn't get a ride on it as romantic as it's touted to be! 

MILAN

The flagship Prada shop... looks small outside.. Inside, shop extends to the basement

Likes

1. It's fashion central!  Home to Prada, MiuMiu, Armani & Trussardi...What's there not to like??Just kidding... It's a great place to people watch. Most people ( except tourists) are dressed to the nines and they look very well put together. There are also plenty of glam restaurants to dine in if you want to see and be seen, and spend a ridiculous amount of money on tiny food portions. e.g. the trussardi cafe, gucci cafe, cavalli cafe... 

2. The fancy food shops... There are quite a few that we set out to look for... and returned empty handed because they were super duper expensive. But it's fun to poke around a fancy grocer and examining the weird and wonderful foods it sells... But seriously, 7 euros for some fancified salt is WAY too much to spend.  We shopped mostly at markets which were a whole different level of fun and excitement.

3. The concept of Apertivo. It's the concept of free tapas with drinks during happy hours  (6-9pm) . The thing is , some places offer free flow of snacks and some of these " snacks" are more than enough to make a meal!. We went to a fab place called Obika that served most drinks + cocktails for 8euros and stuffed you with grilled peppers, parma ham, salami, pasta with pesto, some form of lasagna, mozzarella cheese salad. The drinks had a mighty kick to them too! Not the watered down stuff that you sometimes get in BJ. 

4. You never quite know where you'll find a nice bar or restaurant where the owners are actually really friendly. We walked through some dodgy looking places to get to recommended places in our Lonely Planet guide. Most of them were well worth the walk.

Dislikes

1. How the merchants of Milan beckon you with their seductive wares... and when you are tempted to look, you discover that that really pretty Prada bag will set you back 1200 euros AFTER tax... or how those gorgeous riding boots are.... 395Euros.  Ouch. Even outlet shops are expensive. And the outlets are like jumble shops. Not as glam at those in Florence or Venice. 

2. It's more of a modern city with less stuff to see and stuff worth seeing are pricey... we didn't make it to see Da Vinci's Last Supper because just seeing this one painting will set us back 7Euros each. That buys me a plate of pasta at a very local shop. 

3. Main point is, Milan is expensive. Food costs more here and it's not necessarily nice. You can't randomly pick one and expect nice food. Even stuff at the market costs more than the other 3 cities! 

I really hope to go back to Italy again. I threw one miserable 1 cent into the Trevi Fountain in Rome ( euro is expensive lah) .. Should have thrown a few more to increase my chances of coming back!!! 

I heart Miu Miu

I stood for a super long time at the Miu Miu store in Rome today... thinking... "I shouldn't have bought anything else ( I bought stuff) and I shouldn't have eaten for days ( I ate a lot), then I can afford this gorgeous 900 euro bag. " See http://www.styledrops.com/handbags-36679.html for reference.

So after spending several mins ooing and ahhing over the bags ( I heart the new collection with plenty many gold bling studs) and feeling Dan's disapproving stare and comments about how I've already got one bag... I walked away from Miu Miu with simply what I needed - a new pair of mega size sunglasses that amazingly fit rather nicely. I'm gonna make sure these last me longer than the last pair. Only hard cases from now onwards!

Love Rome

Super tired from walking today. There's so many sights in Rome! Today we saw the colosseum, the pantheon, the memorial to an unknown soldier, the Roman Forum, the Palatino, Piazza Navona, Spanish steps, flagship Bvlgari shop at 10, Via Condetti  :P and other random ruins and statues along the way.  I loved the colosseum! Can almost imagine gladiators standing there fighting wild beasts! 

We also walked by the ruins of Torre Argentina where there's a famous Roman cat sanctuary and caught a glimpse of several cute cats...