2 Nights in Bangkok

Eugene, Rena, Terence & I headed for Bangkok on 18 August - a much needed holiday! I "heartlessly" left Gideon behind and anticipated some time-off. Massages, shopping, blissful sleep and hassle-free mornings sipping coffee and enjoying my sunny-side up. Ahhhhhh...

Rena had a good start to the trip when she won a $250 shopping voucher after purchasing a Bally wallet. Although Eugene continued dreaming of what he could do if she had won the car or $250,000 instead.

We arrived at The Davis, Bangkok www.davisbangkok.net . Having seen the website, I had high expectations of our room. Unfortunately, despite an upgrade, the room we got was kinda old and the decor disappointing. This is supposedly a "Design Room" but most definitely not my kind of DESIGN. Ah well, we'll make do - as long as it is comfortable. Eugene & Rena's room added to my disappointment. The contemporary decor and glass panelled bathroom made me wonder how my "Design Room" could cost more than this room! So for those planning to stay there, remember to ask for the Corner Wing building which is cheaper for some strange reason. The rest of the hotel was very nice, though. The Lobby and ground floor bar with its very modern yet comfortable furnishings were a rather nice welcome.



OK, no time to waste and it was off for lunch. But first, helping Angie with her religious obligations at the four-face Buddha temple near the World Trade Centre. She wanted a dance for the Buddha and I learnt then that prices vary depending how many dancers you "hire" - 2, 4, 6 or 8!

Lunch was at MK Steamboat. When in Bangkok and not sure where to head for a meal, MK's the answer! Delicious steamboat in comfortable surrounds and a fraction of what you'd pay for regular steamboat in Singapore! We wonder how MK could fail when it came to Singapore couple of years back.

We were fortunate to bump into Terence's and Eugene's ex-classmate Ainsley who brought us to the fabulous Somboon for seafood. And of course the ever hospitable Anthony Low who took us to a North-Eastern Thai cuisine dinner.



Bangkok has started expansion of its many shopping malls and the latest ones are World Trade Centre and Siam Paragon. High-end luxury brands galore! A far cry from from the night markets, flea markets and road-side stalls. We wonder if the Thais were getting more affluent but learnt that the distribution of wealth is still pretty extreme. One thing's for sure - the Thais LOVE shopping and wondering in these malls. On any weekday afternoon, Siam Paragon is as packed as Raffles City is on a Saturday!



Night-life continues to thrive despite the regulation on opening hours. Most clubs and bars close at 1am but this does not deprive Sin City from its number of party-goers and "fun" seekers. Rena and I checked out one of the latest clubs - Bed Supper Club. It was a cool, sleak bar and club, with guests lounging on beds, literally! Clearly an "ang moh" hangout but the music was cool and crowd was pretty decent.



It was an OK trip overall. I came to the conclusion that BKK is not somewhere I'd like to visit again with the guys - for OBVIOUS reasons...

Lost and Found

Was going through the pictures on my camera and found some of these which I forgot to download. Another lazy afternoon having a cuppa at Katong Shopping Centre. Gideon, here, is of course messing himself up with his "Awfully Chocolate" ice cream and sharing a Gameboy moment with Uncle Ricky.

Now Open - The RED Office

The Red Office is finally ready and we officially opened it with our friends from the Raffles team as well as Mr McAuley, Karen, Mrs Tai and colleagues from Swissotel The Stamford. It was a pity Julian, Adrian and Hock Soon weren't around or we'd have a complete team picture. It took months of preparation (and frustration) getting this office ready - but all's well worth-it! The team is happy with a bright and cheery office despite the fewer people.

The garden right outside sure brightens our day and we're currently contemplating if we should get this Spongebob patio set... will anyone notice, we wonder :-)

Champagne, Wine and a lazy Saturday afternoon...

5 August - Rena's birthday. And of course, the "party-planner" organised her own birthday lunch. A great Saturday afternoon for Il Lido at the Sentosa Golf Club http://www.sentosagolf.com/dining/lido_italian.htm. Clear blue skies, the ship-lined sea and the therapeutic greenery of the Sentosa golf course formed the backdrop to lunch at this art-deco(ish) restaurant. Funky fans, quirky chairs and bright cheery colours - what better place to spend a lazy afternoon then sipping wine and savouring the cuisine of Michele Pavanello (formerly from Pontini). To top it off, service was wonderful! I must say that I benchmark service to the tolerance levels staff have of kids. And at Il Lido, they definitely did well in that aspect!



We then adjourned to KM8 where Jeremy and Alvin joined us. It was sun, sand and lots of fun for the kids (both the big ones and the little ones...). An evening football match among the kids became a match for the BIG boys! I wonder what the little ones think of their dads...

Happy Birthday Rena!

Spongebob Strikes - from The Philippines

"For every house is built by someone but God is the builder of everything." (Heb.3:4) - Julian returned from his mission in the Philippines as part of the Hope Builders group from Holy Family Church http://www.catholic.org.sg/hfyc/. We all thought it was a truly "noble" and self-sacrificing act as he spent lots of time making arrangements from first-aid kits to budgeting. The group went to a rural village in the Philippines to build houses for poor families. Well, these pictures definitely have nothing to do with the trip (wish I had some which Julian showed... will post them later) but Julian bought this tie from his trip for Gideon, who wore them for a couple of days, and even insisted it went well with his school uniform!!??

Happy Birthday Mama!

21 July - Mum's birthday. We knew it was a toughy trying to arrange something to celebrate the occasion but we tried. Terence got Aunty Chey Heng, Daphne and Sharon to pop over so we could surprise Mum with dinner. Somehow Mum still managed to cook some simple food and kept dinner at home. Well, as long as she's happy, no? And anyways, it was a good get-together as well - wish Gu Gu was still around...