In Bali, we were staying at the quaint Poppies Cottage for four nights.
When I was planning and booking for our Bali trip late last year, I searched on the Net for a nice accommodation - a little on the luxurious side yet not too expensive - and I wanted villas style instead of a large hotel..
I was really happy when I found Poppies Cottage - which is located at the heart of Kuta. Set amidst a beautiful garden, it is a quiet exclusive place with only 20 villas.. Because we were taking a triple-sharing room, it worked out to be pretty affordable!Poppies is located at its namesake - Poppies Lane I, which gets really narrow towards one end.. the `neighbourhood' maybe humble-looking stores and eateries but when you entered into Poppies' wall its like entering into another world - a peaceful, quaint haven.The garden setting was beautiful and I simply love the poolside area. The Balinese-style chalet we stay in was simple and comfy - though it is not too big. But the bathroom more than made up for it! But alas, because we have quite a heavy itinerary, that didn't leave us that much time to really enjoy what Poppies has to offer.. but I'm real glad I spent the last afternoon just lazing by the beautiful poolside and froclicking in the clear blue pool.. it's really really relaxing and rejuvenating!If I were to be at Kuta again, I really don't mind staying there again!
The old door leading to the cottage..
We walk across the bridge over a lilly pond to our cottage
the way to the pool..
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and various shots of the beautiful pool and landscaping..
the lily pond
posing by the pool..
the exterior of our cotttage
A corner of the spacious and beautiful bathroom
the three of us before departing..
Me and the luggages (no, not all mine of course :p)
Before i post on my fascinating Bali trip, here is a narcissist `commercial break'.Came across a Loreal promotion at MVM yesterday. It was really quite a good promotion and on top of the free products is a free make-over photo shoot! I thought why not go for it just for fun. Ok, i did get distracted and didn't end up going to gym after all.. :pSo, about half-an-hour of make-up, hair-styling and putting on a coat of my choice, I was instructed to do a few `vain-like' poses by the photographer..Ta-Da! 
This was the best of the lot (about a dozen poses with two outfits) Someone commented I look like a movie star! Hehe. that's how much make up and photoshop touch up could do!I was given a A4 size print of the above, but I need to pay another 10 bucks to have the CDrom.Incidentally I had gone for a make-over photoshoot in late 1997 when I interviewed Starz Image Consultant (now no longer here). Having the perks of a journalist, I was offered a free make-over which took 3 hours all in - made me feel like I'm taking a bridal shoot sans a groom! And yes, i have an album full of photos in many different images, costumes and poses. (unlike Loreal, we were just given one free but need to pay a lot more for more prints)Here is one that I scanned into my computer (at that time, CDRom wasn't popular yet)
Hmm.. looking at it, I think I hadn't aged much in 10 years eh? what u say? ;)
Bali, O Bali...!
Let me tell you.. four days there are definitely NOT enough for a first-time visitor.And gosh. i don't even know how to begin to blog on the trip.. there are just SO MUCH to tell. Maybe I should start by posting just one pix first.. as a teaser..My shopping! 
Yep it is first and foremost a shopping paradise! Handicrafts from wood and stone carvings to jewelleries to all the knick knacks you can think of are really cheap (compared to here) infinite designs and varieties that a shoppaholic like me just couldn't stop shopping! Well, of course i went sightseeing and did other stuff too :pAm still exhausted from the trip.. average for me 3-4 hours of sleep (no we did not party till late but just that my sleeping habit is over sensitive for new places) yet I had enough energy to last and to enjoy!When it came to Sunday itself.. me and my friends were just reluctant to leave.So did it live up to my imagination and expectation? Definitely and more! And now I know why some friends love it so much and rave about it.. and i regret why it took me so long to go there.. already planning to bring parents back there later in the year (hopefully) as dad is really interested!Will be posting more pix and talk about interesting things we did on the trip soon..Here's a nice photo of the three of us.. we were real camwhores! Each of us probably took close to 400 pix each!! But again, there were so much photo opportunities and we are all curious journalists!
I have been wanting to go to Bali for the last couple of years already... but somehow due to one reason and another, it never materialised. And I only listened in envy from friends who had been there..So you can imagine my excitemet now.. because, I am fianlly going to Bali! I'll be going tomorrow (or today rather) till Sunday!!Since I have quit my job, I was adament this time that by hook or by crook I must make it there this time. And then I asked two fellow-journo friends along and were glad to know they were just as game as me to travel. As I was the free one, I did all the planning and bookings - and managed to get a pretty good deal - Air Asia return and four-nights accommodation in a 3-4 star hotel for just RM753 each! Cool! ;)We more or less have set a rough iteninary.. we will be staying in Kuta at the quaint Poppies Cottage, and plan to visit Ubud, some temples in Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, maybe the volcanoes and of course to pamper ourselves at spa, go shopping and eating etc.. From my travel guide, there are just so much to see and do in Bali and our four days there won't be sufficient.. But I told myself this will just be my introductory trip there and I would definitely go back again. Even dad is interested so maybe will bring parents there next time!Now that I have heard so much and read so much about Bali, I just hope when I am really there, it will live up to my expectation.. or perhaps I should try to contain my excitement a bit..I think I'm not a very good packer. While packing for four days, I ended up packing things in my room - like all my t-shirts (tonnes of them), skincare, accessories and toilettry bags etc.. I really have too many junk!!Back to Bali.. I was initially concerned for January is rainy season there. But when I checked the weather forecast on three different websites, they all predicted dry days ahead - albeit cloudy! Hooray, that's great news.. thank God :)Oh, I think I've really caught the travel bug! Air Asia has just started its 1 million free seats promotion and as I was just sharing this with a friend, we decided to just go book a holiday later in the year! Well, it says RM0 for the flight but of course it is not really free cos there is the tax.. still it's pretty cheap flights that one would never get with another airline..We plan to go to Bangkok in July.. the website must have so much traffic that I had problem completing the booking and had to try many times! Finally the booking was done! And now, think I'm on my `Bali high' for my long-awaited holiday! :D
I was browsing some friends' blogs.. and read in this post that the blogger has kept four diaries since she was 16 (she is still very young) This suddenly reminds me of my own diary-keeping tradition.. which is now sadly non-existent!I started my very first diary at the age of 8. My mom brought back a very pretty book that has pictures of cute blond kids on each page. She gave it to me and asked me to record the things I did. It was written in Chinese because I went to Chinese Primary School but it was basically a record of things I did in a day... including what I ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner! But it last for a couple of years only.And then at standard 6, I was given a second diary - a green cover one with the title `Youth Diary' - but I only really started wrting when I was about 13 and on the verge of entering teenage years.. Then I was penning not just on what I did but more on affairs of the heart - rant on how I felt about certain things.. I only wrote when there were things I wanted to write about and yes, my diary was like a closest friend who knew all my darkest sercrets.. This second diary covered a span of six years - saw me through all the joy, tears and angst of a youn girl - right till I completed form five in a boarding school in Singapore.When I was stuying A Levels back in KL, I began my third diary which has a less childish design. It has purple cover and is called `High Frontier'. It chornicled my life from college to second year of university. Among the entries I wrote was the time I accepted Jesus into my life..and my baptism a year later.. all the while I was still writing in Chinese (believe it or not!?)My fourth diary was a Monet diary - with `Waterlily' on the cover. I think I bought it from the National Art Gallery in London. It covered four-and-a-half year of some highlights of my life - from graduation to my first job back in Malaysia, as well as the ups-and-down of my bittersweet first relationship..Then the next diary, which saw me writing increasingly in English, also lasted another four-and-a-half year. The last entry was written on my 30th birthday (yes i know by writing post i'll more or less give my age away but it's ok..) Amidst happenings at work and elsewhere was also heartbreak that came with another relationship.. At the same time, I also started a `spiritual journal' of which was like a prayer and conversation with God..My sixth and last diary was a gift from my sis from England that featured a beautiful purple flower on the cover. It is unfinished. The last entry was dated December 31, 2004. Since the turn of the millenium, the frequency of me writing in my diary had really dwindled.. so has my passion in keeping the journal. There were just three or four entires in 2002-2003; and only two in 2004.And guess what? in May 2005, I started this blog and had been blogging regularly since.. taking up much more time than I did when I was writing diary spontaneously..It's kinda strange ain't it?Well you can call a blog an online-diary of sort but it is a `diary' that is organised and sanitised.. I can't express my deepest and truest emotions or rant nonesensically because I have `audience'! Whereas with a `hardcopy' diary, I know it is a place safe for me to pour out all my feelings deep down and only God and myself would know..But yet, I am more inclined to blog than to write diaries anymore! Am I becoming mechanical and detached from my own feelings?Another thing that strikes me as is that I can no longer `write' competently.. I type. Yep, I am so reliant on the computer that I find it hard to write an article with pen and paper..It's sad in a way what technology has done to me.. and maybe to you as well.
But, my five diaries (plus the very first one that I have kept somewhere else) are still my very treasured posessions. I can from time to time read back something that happened 20 years ago in nostalgia.. Also, they're permanent. I'm not sure whether Blogger is...
Three (almost four now) days into the new year and I've not listed out or talked about any concrete NY resolutions..Those who know me may find this to be a surprise. As far as I myself could remember, I've always been one who entered into a new year with optimism and enthusiasm, and with a list of things I wanted to achieve in that fresh new year!They would cover different aspects of my spiritual, work and personal life.. some are more specific, and some more general. I even blogged about my new year resolutions on the last day of 2005.. for the year that has just passed. But guess what? I failed almost all of them miserably! Perhaps the only one which I did make a little of progress is in the fitness department. But looking back at my own calender of going to gym, there were several months in the year I was totally sedentary too.This is nothing new really... for as long as I remember, I could never lived up to my so-called NY resolutions.. For certain years, I started off not too badly, but then slacked along the way. Then for others, the resolutions totally never took off!!Sigh. :(Maybe I'm older and `wiser'(?) or just more realistic and a little more cynical. This year I don't even have the motivation to set proper NY resolutions anymore.. cos I don't have the courage to list them down and see that I not able to accomplish them again for the umpteenth time!
Having said that, in my mind, there are some areas that I would like to work on..Yeah, I think it's wise not to call them `resolutions', but more like trying to overcome some of the struggles and weaknesses that I know I should improve on..For instance, I need to change the owl-like pattern.. No, I'm not going to be drastic and say I would wake up at 7am every morning! But I must stop sleeping at 3-4am on a regular basis.. and try to get up earlier..Another area in dire need of attention is my weight problem. Yes, I am now exercising quite regularly but no, I have not lost weight - instead the contrary! Maybe not working had made me too comfortable and I just love food too much! I've reached an all-time high in the weight department - and the inches too!! ARGH!! So yes, losing weight is an aged old battle that I have to fight this year.. and this will go hand-in-hand with working out.As I type this, I can think of more things I hope to do this year -`hope' is the word - such as be prudent on my spending and save some money, read more books (I have TONNES of books unread on my shelves), play the piano more (I'm now quite rusty - wasted the Grade 8!)However, there is one `resolution' quite specific that I really hope and pray I would accomplish.. and that is to read the whole Bible this year. For that I have bought the `One Year Bible' which is structured in such a way that if I just followed it diligently, I could make it. The lady at the shop proudly told me it was not difficult as she did it.Err... I know, all these need quite a bit of hard work and self-discipline but they're not unachiveable.To think of it, maybe I should list `blog regularly' as one of my resolutions! After all, this is something that I managed to do for the whole 2006! (and since I started blogging in 2005)
It's funny that I failed badly in those things that really mattered but kept doing something like blogging.. Isn't life an irony? Or is it just me?But the optimist in me still believe I can make this a better year, if I really want it to be. And maybe blogging, like writing, has its place too.. as it can serve as a reminder and a testimony. ;)
So we have come to the last day of 2006!In just a few hours time, we will enter into 2007.. where had all the time gone.. it seemed to have flown by in just a wink...Anyway, before I post my new year resolutions - or maybe I should have a different term to descirbe the list of `things' I HOPE to accomplish at the beginning of each year but usually fail - I decide to look back at 2006 and its highlights, which really is quite a year to me personally..By `highlights' I don't mean to do a newspaper type of reports of the significant events that had occured in the country and around the world.. as my blog is a personal journal, i would just look back at some of the more memorable moments that happened to me this year..- I've quit my job after 12 years! It wasn't an easy decision but I was really getting unhappy with the direcitons and the management of the paper after its restructuring. I left at the end of October and am still enjoying my jobless life!
- In March, I visited my sponsored child in Yongsheng, on a trip with World Vision Malaysia. It was like a dream come true as I have always wondered whether I have a chance to meet my `child' whom I've sponsored for more than six years.
- After exercising rather irregularly and aimlessly for more than two years at gym, I signed up for personal training in October since I would have more time to workout as I was quitting my job. So far, I have gone through about 10 sessions of it and although it's hard work, it feels good to really work out! And then in November, I upgraded my gym membership to life membership - with an aim to make fitness a long-term routine.
- I participated in the E.E. (Evangelism Explosion) training at my church from March to June this year, to learn the skills of evangelism including going out for On-the-job training. It was a commitment and a rewarding experience.
- Having booked our flight in late 2005, I went on a trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia in July with a friend and visited the ruins of the Angkor temples. The ancient temples were magnificent and in a way I felt as if I've been to another world in another time..
- Since I was free from work towards end of the year, I planned two holidays back-to-back (well sort of). In December, I went to Taipei and Hong Kong for a total of 10 days and in January, I will be going to Bali - a place I've wanted to go for ages!
- My sis and the kids came home for a week in April and early Nov and I got to spend time with them - going out everyday mainly to the malls, as well as for an outing to see the animals!
- I MISSED the World Cup 2006 Final! I was so excited and looking forward to the one-in-four-year game and had been following quite a lot of the matches. However, I forgot to turn on my alarm clock and slept through the final between Italy and France and the nerve-wrackling penalty shootout! I felt like killing myself although i did catch the repeat in the morning.
- It's also a year I've tested my culinary skills - turned chef for a few occasions and cooked some Western meals for the family. Some pix of my cooking here and here.
- (On a more frivolous note) 2006 is a year which I have inadvertantly changed four different hair styles! not to mention how many visits to my hair dresser! I've straightened my hair a couple of time, cut it shorter in occasions.. and here are some pix - CNY and in Aug.
And what about Jojo and Jelly - the two Js that inspired this blog?I must say that 2006 is year that marked their coming of age. Both of them, especially Jojo, are so much more better behaved although there are still moments when they are such a pain. Jojo was neutered (thus became an eunuch) in early September and since then had put on some weight, as well as having improved behaviour. Jelly is still fat and fesity, but ever so cute and is my little shadow..I'm pleased and proud that they are now so much more obedient and for so many months, Jojo has not dashed out of the gate when my car comes in!
Here is the two Js saying: `Goodbye 2006 and Hello 2007! Woof! Woof!"
Bye-Bye-MOTO!
This sleek-looking Motorola Ming A1200 has been mine for two weeks. It's no longer.
You see, earlier this month, I wanted a phone-cum-PDA but yet I didn't want a bulky one. So when I was at a reputable phone shop in Hong Kong and a sales assistant highly recommended this phone that also has the `looks' to boost, it seemed just `perfect'! It has a sleek design and a touch-screen, with sufficient PDA features. So I bought it there and then for HK$2880 (around RM1,400)But alas, I have learned my lesson as a impulsive shopper! I should have done my research when it comes to products like phones.. but instead, I just bought into what the salesman told me.. and of course, he elaborated on all its attractive functions only.And when I started using the phone, I realised it is so user-UNFREINDLY! Especially when sms-ing.. Gosh, because I can only do it through keypad or handwriting, it is so SUPER SLOW!! I earlier thought since I could write quite fast on my PDA, I could do the same here.. but NO, it is just so slow and there is always a gap between writing each letter!Argh! Writing and replying SMS became a real pain when using this phone :( A few days after using it, I was already quite unhappy and wanted to sell it off. But when I inquired at a phone shop near my place, I was told it would fetch RM1K the most.. which would be more than RM400 lost for me! Five days earlier, I placed an auction ad over Lelong. But I guess my asking price was a bit high I didn't get any bidder at all till now.Well, I did think of sticking with it (at least it looks and feels pretty) , and also tried to get used to its inadequecy. BUT, the more I used it, the more frustrated I became!Yesterday, after lamenting about it to a friend who told me I should just sell it off even if the price was lower than I wished. I agreed with her and have made up my mind to just do it!
Late last night, I spent hours transferring all my contacts back to my old phone and deleting all the data in the new phone, packed up all the cables and accessories back to the box.
Today, I went back to the phone shop which offered to buy my phone earlier and sold my Motorola Ming for RM1,000. So, i lost RM400 for two weeks of using the phone AND for a leasson learned. Now I am back to using my trusted Nokia which is so so convenient to use especiallyt to sms!
To be honest, I am now thinking why would I need a new phone in the first place? Sigh.
After several busy days leading up to Christmas, I spent Boxing Day at home the whole day - doing some works.Sigh, so it's not a work-free Christmas/New Year as I hoped earlier. Have a couple of freelance stories to finish - feel that i'm a bit stale at writing! :( - and also am preparing for worship in Church this Sunday.So what did I do over Christmas?On Christmas eve, slept in a bit and then went food shopping for dinner. Yep, I cooked. ;p The menu were tomanto and onion soup, roast salad with balsamic dressing, buttered boiled potatoes and marinated ribeye steak. Managed to cooked all that within two hours as we were having an early dinner...At about 9pm, I went for Justin's concert at Mines after that. Partly because I wanted to watch it anyway and then was going to write about it for a magazine.. The hall was packed! And since everyone was given a whistle, the noise was totall deafening! It's pretty amazing response for someone who had just started out for a year..Justin may not have the stereo-typical good looks but his vocals and his talents more than made up for it. Yes, I just loved his voice and also his songs which he composed..Although he still has rooms for improvement when it comes to showmanship and rapport with the crowds, the fans just loved him.. and he seemed to be getting over-excited himself till the extend of forgetting quite a bit of the lyrics!I was doing the work of both reporter and photographer - but not all the pictures turned out well. Here are a few better ones..
Yep, so the Christmas countdown was during the concert! It culminated with confettis and tonnes of balloons released from the ceiling.. and followed by Justin and his dancers decked in all sorts of rojak costumes and the appearance of a Santa-Claus prancing on stage. Alas, Justin was pretty hopeless singing some Christmas medleys but yeah, it was quite a fun-filled atmosphere.Earlier, he played cupid by helping a guy to propose to his girlfriend - such a cute gesture.. of course he also sang many love songs himself and his voice was almost impeccable..I enjoyed most of the songs a lot.. although I wasn't really 100 percent engrossed in the `atmosphere'.. The concert ended at about half-past- midnite..I started Christmas day by going to church with dad.. It was packed as expected and the speaker delivered a passionate sermon. It was good to catch up with friends exchanging greetings.. a group of us went for lunch at TGI Friday.Went to visit my friend in hospital.. and learned more about the accident. Poor girl suffered from so much fractures but at the same time, it can't be denied that she was `lucky' enough to have cheated death.. Her car was totally smashed up! Am glad to see her still in good spirit and her chatty self.. though she has a long way to go before full recovery..It was the annual Christmas party at a friend's house where the highlight, besides the good food, was the exchanging of presents.. There were just so many presents that they filled half the living room! Even us non-family members also joined in the `tradition' and I got a few lovely gifts too.Another of the `highlight' was the fireworks! However, the first firework display went haywire as my friend's brother had placed the stick upside down! What happened was instead of shooting up, it was going side way and everywhere. Everyone ran back into the house!Being quite a coward, I remained in the house when they put up the second firework, which went on fine.. too bad I missed it.. :p
Here's wishing you love, joy and peace this Christmas season..:)
p.s. just a week left to end of the year.. will have to start reflecting on 2006 and make (realistic) resolutions for 2007!
It's only 2 more days to Christmas and it doesn't feel quite like it...Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and peace.. but just in the last three days I've encountered a couple of bad news from friends..A good friend had a bad car accident and is still undergoing a series of operations for her fractured bones in various parts of the body. Her passenger who I also know is in a more critical condition..Then last night, another friend just told us that they just found out her husband has got end-stage cancer..All these happened so suddenly and in a way I don't really know how to respond.. Have been feeling quite heavy-hearted over these news.. And at the same time, it made me realised that life is indeed so fragile and precious..Knowing that these friends are going through so much challenges, it has put a damper in the Christmas celebration mood.. All that comes to mind is, maybe it's time that we slow down our pace of life and spend more time with our loved ones..On a separate note, priase God that the Christmas party went well last night at church. Coordinating an event like this wasn't an easy task but I really thank God for a few friends who really put in lots of efforts.. Perhaps the only `regret' was that I've been so caught up with the organising and that it didn't allow me much time to mingle much nor speak to new friends. Will be having a dinner at home tomorrow night with family before going for a concert - to review for freelance work..So it's just a day away from Christmas. And somehow it didn't feel like it.
g..
