Ni hao! Sorry that the Chatty Chong hasn't been too chatty lately and blogging. With all the stress and the sudden death of my grandmother (Rest in peace, Choon Cha Cho--my mom's mom), I have kind of lost a piece of myself and put a pause button on my life and forgot to get in touch. But, after a fun-filled and needed weekend with my amazing and supportive friends, I feel like I am ready to be back on track..
Although my LA grandmother ( we call her that, cause she lived out in LA) was a small lady and occasionally wore clothes that did not match, she had a heart that weighed her down. Her heart was filled with love, care, and warmth that was contagious. She was the most caring, happy and lovable person. She never used the word, "no" with my sisters and me. It was if "no" was not in her vocabulary. I remember when we were younger, she would take us to the supermarket with my mom, and we would throw random snacks and candies in the cart, and my mom would yell at us to put it back. My grandma would slap my mom and tell her to leave us alone. Another fond memory is the nest she built for this mama bird and her babies. She always had a soft spot for animals. So because my grandpa is literally a carnivore, and rarely eats veggies (just like me hahaha, probably where I get it from), my grandma would cook all meat dishes for.. breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. She was an excellent cook. Her voice was so bubbly and warm. Finding out about her sudden death out here in Singapore crushed me, there are basically no words to describe the brokenness I felt in the first weeks of October. She had a special place in my heart and I felt as if it was shattered. I forgot what it felt like to smile and laugh. But, with a little help from my friends that I have made, I am getting back on life. With the suddenness of death, I have learned a very important life lesson: To just live life simply and happy, why worry about the small things? For, we may not know if tomorrow is our last day. Death is part of life, and I believe my grandma lived a full and happy one. She gave me a blessing, my mother. I will forever love and miss you, Grandma Choon Cha Cho. My love for you is endless and unconditional. You make me stronger as each day goes by. Rest in peace, for I shall see you again--- jump in your warm loving arms and be greeted by your "grandma" kisses.
This past weekend, my buddies, Lizzi, Fiona, Katie, Kirsty, AM, Leo, Kyu, Dom, and I visited Melaka, a very historical place in Malaysia, yet filled with culture, traditions, great food, and even, creepy critters (haha). We took the bus which was fairly cheap, and although it was uncomfortable, it still gave me an exciting feel to once again, travel out of Singapore and into the new!
We stayed at Groven Travellers Home (hostel). It was definitely an experience I'll never forget.... I slept in a bed with a mosquito net. At first, I was in shock, but heyyy when am I ever going to do this again? And, how many people can say they slept in a net?!? It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. We grabbed dinner the 1st night at a hawker centre, where I ordered a spicy chicken rice. Being Korean, it was not spicy at all! Bring on the spice! After a few Tiger beers here and there, it was about bed time. The next day would be a full day of history, adventure, and karaoke?
After snoozing my alarm clock a couple times, I took a shower, and met my friends in the "living room" area of the hostel. We visited the Porta de Santiago at the foot of St. Paul's Hill (a Dutch and English influence in Melaka). We climbed up the stairs in the hot hot heat and visited museums (thank sweet baby Jesus for air con!). With Deepavali on the way, we were greeted by very friendly Indians who shared their culture with us by serving us free samples and teaching us how to fry up an Indian classic. We then headed into the heart of Melaka, looked around the side markets, grabbed a few waters and icecreams and it was off to Jonker Street.
Dom, our "international tour guide" (I called him that all weekend, hahaha) took us to a traditional chinese tea tasting place called, Zenghe Teahouse (where I was bit by bugs at least 3434039042 times). The tea was really nice. I felt so "zen" and at peace hahaha. I even bought tea leaves for mommy and daddy back at home. Did I mention how cheap Malaysia is?!? When the lady, said "80 ringgit," I was like hold up lady, what?!? In US dollars, that is about $25! SWEET BRO!
For dinner, we had some sort of Satay Shabu Shabu but Malaysian style, of course. The waiter brought a big boiling pot of chili peanut sauce sort of thing, and placed in our table and turned on the burner. We went in the back, picked out what we wanted, from bok choi to prawns to wantons, we put them on a tray, and dunked them in the boiling pot. Can I just mention how much I enjoyed all the spicy foods I consumed? I was born to be Asian! hahaha. After a few seconds or minutes, we pulled the goodies out, and into our mouths (om nom nom)! It was delicious and so cheap! And of course, accompanying my meal was a big bottle of Tiger. I sware Tiger and I are best friends---THE beer of Asia.
Sidenote: The toilets in Malaysia were NOT proper toilets. It was legit a hole on the ground. God bless my dear friends. I refused and did not use them (hahaha, call me a brat!). They squatted and lived! hahaha.
After dinner, we went to a bar to grab drinks. Katie, Fiona, Lizzi, and I downed 4 cocktails together and then chased it with Tiger (of course). We were feeling pretty damn good, then sweet Katie bought us tequila shots (thank girlfrannn, shout out to you!). A night that ends with tequila ends with "shit getting even more crayyy crayyyy." We proceeded to a karaoke bar, and let me tell you, Asia loves karaoke. We played the latest hits with random Eagles and Beatles music. Lizzi, hating Tay Swift, put "Love Story" on the playlist just for me, thanks girlfrannnn, shout out to you too! After an hour of singing on the top of our lungs and crashing another party's karaoke room, it was time to soak our alcohol up with help from our friend, McDonald's. God Bless for McD!
The next day was our last day in Melaka. We all kind of slept in after a wild night, did I mention, I fell off my chair and wiped out at the bars for all of the people in Melaka....ooops??? We grabbed the famous, Chicken Rice Balls for lunch. They weren't that special, but hey, "When in Melaka." Afterwards, we drove to the bus station, and after 5-6 hours of traveling from this bus to another bus to the mrt, we finally made it back in one piece to Singapore and grabbed dinner at Boon Lay. It was a needed weekend, and I am so happy I went, even if I have 2 presentations on Friday (AHHH!).
You know, Melaka is not a very rich or clean place like Singapore, so I noticed lots of differences, such as a family of rats scurrying around, bugs and trash everywhere, and run-down homes on the river. People should not take their lives for granted. We all must learn to appreciate what we have and quit the complaining. There are people out in Asia who clean their clothes without a washer and eat the scraps off the ground. It bothers me so much and even makes me feel guilty to be able to travel and eat delicious dishes, when there are people suffering. I am fortunate and blessed to have the life I have, to come all the way out here in Singapore, learn and appreciate the culture, people, and food with the company of great people who have made an impact in my life. I will never forget what I saw, ate, and experienced. As the one month mark comes up (til I'm home), I intend to make every minute here a worthwhile one. Until next time, Much love from the Chatty Chong!
Sunday 23 October 2011
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Way DOWN UNDAAAAAAAAAA
"Ello Mate!"... "No Worries, Mate!" .......is what I heard all week in my vacation in Melbourne, Aussie. Took a break from Singapore and went down undaaaaa and explored a different continent!
Bobby, Andrew and I flew to Melbourne with Emirates. It was a nice flight. There were sooo many movies to choose from! I watched all Disney movies of course! I watched "The Princess and the Frog" and "UP"...such great movies. I have anxiety on airplanes, so I barely ate and panicked the whole time as usual. The airplane had terrible turblence so my stomach literally felt like it was jumping from my throat down to my feet. We finally got off and I felt sooo sick. We waited hours for Caitie's arrival from Thailand to Melbourne. Once she arrived, it was off to our hostel, Urban Central.
Urban Central is in the outskirts of the city. It was across from a 24-hour McDonalds, which we did not visit once on our trip. I refused to eat any fast-food, rice, and noodles; I needed Asian-food break. I was very impressed with the hostel. There was a communal kitchen, bar, and computer room. Our family room was so cute. There was a bunk bed, king bed, "living room", tv in the corner, and a bathroom. I did not have anything to complain about, besides the fact it was freezing! It was 4 degrees celsius when we got there, which is 44 degrees Fahrenheit, I believe, so yeah FREEZING COLD, comparing to Singapore's 90 degree weather--sunny, warm, and humid, but it was a nice change. It made me feel like I was at home with the cold weather and autumn.
We explored Melbourne the first day, walking up and down the streets. Melbourne is a beautiful city! There are trams and cable cars on the roads along with the cars and random horse carriages. The Aussies are SO NICE! We had lunch at Young and Jackson, where I had a bagel sandwich with a SALAD...two things I haven't had in MONTHS. I was in Heaven, no joke. After lunch, we walked around some more and familiarized ourselves with the city. We napped and passed out for 8 hours...haha oops? We got up around 10pm and were starving. We went to CROWN Casino. I had a delicious plate of pasta with chicken and spinach with a hunk of parmesan cheese on top. In Aussie, the legal age to gamble is 18, so of course, we gambled. I made 160 Aussie dollars from the Wheel. I was impressed with myself! Maybe it was luck or maybe I am just a closeted professional gambler? One or the other....
The next day, we visited the Rod Laver Arena. Now, I did not know who this was hahaha. He was a famous tennis player, apparently. I am not into tennis, but Bobby (obvii), Andrew, and Caitie are. I was just trodding along. After that, we went to Fitzroy Gardens and Cooks' Cottage. The Gardens were beautiful! Hilarious story...we were taking pictures on this bench and a Chinese lady came up and starting rambling in Chinese. I replied, "I'm sorry I don't speak Chinese." She proceeded to speak anyways and her voice got louder. She actually wanted us to get off the bench so her and her hubby could take pictures... RUUUUDE, girlfrannnn. After that little incident, we went to a rooftop bar, where we had crazy damn good appetizers which included sausage rolls, bread with various dips, spinach Spanakopita, and deep fried polenta sticks. Then we went to a British pub called "The Elephant & Wheelbarrow," where I got two glasses of wine, preparing myself for the wine tour of course. We indulged with french fries ("chips") and nachos, took a cab back, and passed out.
Our first day of tours started with the Yarra Valley Wine Tour. We were the youngest people on the tour. The tour guide (I'm pretty sure) loved us! He was the nicest man ever. We learned to drink wine properly and to "appreciate" its flavors. Each wine place we visited, somebody was explaining the flavor and instructing us to look, smell, and swirl the wine, when really we just downed that bad boy. Go American College Students! hahaha. The instructor would say, "Ok, now drink your wine"...our glasses were always empty. I love wine, I couldn't help myself. Besides the wine, our lunch was fantastic! So fancy! One of my favorite wines is Chandon, which is sparkly, bubbly wine. I finally got my wine and cheese at Chandon as well. The view of the mountains and vineyards was absolutely breathtaking. I could not believe how beautiful it was. I never wanted to leave that place. With wine in one hand, great friends, and a beautiful view, I was very content with my life. After a long day of trying wines, we all took a snoozer on the ride back to the city. For dinner, we decided to treat ourselves to steak at "Squires Loft." My mouth was having a party, I love steak! It was perfectly cooked with a warm baked potato. After dinner, we went back to our hostel and slept, ready for another tour.
Our second tour was to Phillip Island to see Aussie critters! For breakfast we went to Babka Bakery (Russian). It was unbelievably delicious! I had Russian Breakfast tea with a herb omelette with cheese and freshly-baked bread. I had a plan to indulge and spoil my stomach, and I was doing it justice in Melbourne. We grabbed some lunch from Babka as well and off to Phillip Island! We first went to a farm with the typical farm animals: goats, cows, horses.... and of course being in Aussie, there were kangaroos and wombats! I FED, PETTED, AND HUNG OUT WITH KANGAROOS! I have always wanted to do that, and I did it! I can "check it off" on my "bucket list." Kangaroos are such sweet animals! I was so excited, probably more excited than the children on our tour bus. After that, it was time to see koala bears! They looked like huge fluffy gray balls; they were up in the trees sleeping away. I was a foot away from a sleeping koala bear! They are soo adorable, but if you mess with them, they will claw your face off! Such cute, vicious creatures! It was finally time to go to the actual Phillip Island to see penguins! But before, we saw a field of wallabies (mini-versions of kangaroos) and took pictures on top of a cliff of an ocean view where penguins climb up to get home (very steep!). It was a beautiful view! We got to the penguin parade just in time and purchased ponchos to sit on. It was pouring rain.. rain or shine, the penguins were coming! They swam out of the ocean and waddled up the shore to their homes. I was right next to penguins! They are adorable little things, waddling to go home. I felt so Aussie at that moment, hanging out with kangaroos, koala bears, and penguins! (felt a bit like Steve Irwin ....may he rest in peace).
The third and last tour we went on was a Sports/Beer Brewery Tour. We visited the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Flemington Horse Race Grounds, and drove on the Formula 1 Racecar tracks. I personally did not care too much about the sports tour, I was just looking forward to the beer! We visited the Carlton Brewhouse and saw how the beer was made. We were all given 4 glasses and chose the beer we wanted to sample. I got the Carlton Mild, Pure Blonde, Cascade, and Bulmer's. Now, Bulmer's is a special beer... it is a Cider, and it is life-changing. It was the most tasty and delicious beer/cider I have ever had; it is probably my new favorite drink. It needs to get imported to the USA right away. For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant where we had endless garlic bread, cheese platter, wine, chicken marsala, and pastas. Such a great meal to end the day.
Queen Victoria Market was the next "place to visit" on our Melbourne list. For breakfast, we went to this cute cafe where I had hot chocolate (SO GOOOOOD and WARM) with Eggs Benedict...absolutely fabulous! We rented and rode bikes to the market. I haven't been on a bike in years and I was surprised on how normal it felt, although it was terrifying sharing the roads with cars and buses and trams! Queen Victoria is a huge market where one can find fresh vegetables and fruits, every Aussie souvenir you can think of, and endless shopping. We ate at the Vic Market Place where I had a huge block of lasagna with a hunk of cheese right on top....oooooh I was loving life...cheese and all!
For our last night in Melbourne, we went to P.J. O'Brien's (Irish pub) for dinner and drinks. I had a fat hamburger with fries. I had way too much Bulmer's Cider and felt pretty good towards the end of the night. I danced, sang, and had a great last night with Caitie, Andrew, and Bobby. In PJ's, we were the youngest people and got carded! SAY WHAT. The pub was full of cougars, old people, and weird people, but it was so funny to people-watch. It was a great night to end my week of Melbourne, by the way Melbourne is pronounced "Mel-bin"...ha!
On our last day in the beautiful city, we had lunch at an Italian place. I had a caprese pizza bread....soooo good! I think we were all depressed when we got up that morning, knowing that we would have to leave and return back to Asia. Something that really was depressing was that I did not get to see Erin and CJ in Melbourne. They are actually studying there at Monash Uni. Erin and CJ were on THEIR break, so we had just missed them! It would have been more fun with them there to show us around and explore together, but hey I still had an amazing time in Melbourne. One day I will be back to visit and make my way up to Sydney and the Outback! Did I mention how hot the Aussie accent is? I was loving the boys!!!!! I will never forget my time in Melbourne.
.... Back in Singapore now with less than 2 months left! I cannot believe it, seriously. I just got here! Where did the time go? October will be stressful with lots of presentations to prepare for----a huge chunk of my grade.. I guess I should start actually doing work. Studying abroad and school work? WHAT? =) Tomorrow night I am going to Marina Bay Sands with the girls and Loyola boys to see.......LION KING BROADWAY! sooo stoked! Until that production, Much love from the Chatty Chong! xoxoxoxo
Bobby, Andrew and I flew to Melbourne with Emirates. It was a nice flight. There were sooo many movies to choose from! I watched all Disney movies of course! I watched "The Princess and the Frog" and "UP"...such great movies. I have anxiety on airplanes, so I barely ate and panicked the whole time as usual. The airplane had terrible turblence so my stomach literally felt like it was jumping from my throat down to my feet. We finally got off and I felt sooo sick. We waited hours for Caitie's arrival from Thailand to Melbourne. Once she arrived, it was off to our hostel, Urban Central.
Urban Central is in the outskirts of the city. It was across from a 24-hour McDonalds, which we did not visit once on our trip. I refused to eat any fast-food, rice, and noodles; I needed Asian-food break. I was very impressed with the hostel. There was a communal kitchen, bar, and computer room. Our family room was so cute. There was a bunk bed, king bed, "living room", tv in the corner, and a bathroom. I did not have anything to complain about, besides the fact it was freezing! It was 4 degrees celsius when we got there, which is 44 degrees Fahrenheit, I believe, so yeah FREEZING COLD, comparing to Singapore's 90 degree weather--sunny, warm, and humid, but it was a nice change. It made me feel like I was at home with the cold weather and autumn.
We explored Melbourne the first day, walking up and down the streets. Melbourne is a beautiful city! There are trams and cable cars on the roads along with the cars and random horse carriages. The Aussies are SO NICE! We had lunch at Young and Jackson, where I had a bagel sandwich with a SALAD...two things I haven't had in MONTHS. I was in Heaven, no joke. After lunch, we walked around some more and familiarized ourselves with the city. We napped and passed out for 8 hours...haha oops? We got up around 10pm and were starving. We went to CROWN Casino. I had a delicious plate of pasta with chicken and spinach with a hunk of parmesan cheese on top. In Aussie, the legal age to gamble is 18, so of course, we gambled. I made 160 Aussie dollars from the Wheel. I was impressed with myself! Maybe it was luck or maybe I am just a closeted professional gambler? One or the other....
The next day, we visited the Rod Laver Arena. Now, I did not know who this was hahaha. He was a famous tennis player, apparently. I am not into tennis, but Bobby (obvii), Andrew, and Caitie are. I was just trodding along. After that, we went to Fitzroy Gardens and Cooks' Cottage. The Gardens were beautiful! Hilarious story...we were taking pictures on this bench and a Chinese lady came up and starting rambling in Chinese. I replied, "I'm sorry I don't speak Chinese." She proceeded to speak anyways and her voice got louder. She actually wanted us to get off the bench so her and her hubby could take pictures... RUUUUDE, girlfrannnn. After that little incident, we went to a rooftop bar, where we had crazy damn good appetizers which included sausage rolls, bread with various dips, spinach Spanakopita, and deep fried polenta sticks. Then we went to a British pub called "The Elephant & Wheelbarrow," where I got two glasses of wine, preparing myself for the wine tour of course. We indulged with french fries ("chips") and nachos, took a cab back, and passed out.
Our first day of tours started with the Yarra Valley Wine Tour. We were the youngest people on the tour. The tour guide (I'm pretty sure) loved us! He was the nicest man ever. We learned to drink wine properly and to "appreciate" its flavors. Each wine place we visited, somebody was explaining the flavor and instructing us to look, smell, and swirl the wine, when really we just downed that bad boy. Go American College Students! hahaha. The instructor would say, "Ok, now drink your wine"...our glasses were always empty. I love wine, I couldn't help myself. Besides the wine, our lunch was fantastic! So fancy! One of my favorite wines is Chandon, which is sparkly, bubbly wine. I finally got my wine and cheese at Chandon as well. The view of the mountains and vineyards was absolutely breathtaking. I could not believe how beautiful it was. I never wanted to leave that place. With wine in one hand, great friends, and a beautiful view, I was very content with my life. After a long day of trying wines, we all took a snoozer on the ride back to the city. For dinner, we decided to treat ourselves to steak at "Squires Loft." My mouth was having a party, I love steak! It was perfectly cooked with a warm baked potato. After dinner, we went back to our hostel and slept, ready for another tour.
Our second tour was to Phillip Island to see Aussie critters! For breakfast we went to Babka Bakery (Russian). It was unbelievably delicious! I had Russian Breakfast tea with a herb omelette with cheese and freshly-baked bread. I had a plan to indulge and spoil my stomach, and I was doing it justice in Melbourne. We grabbed some lunch from Babka as well and off to Phillip Island! We first went to a farm with the typical farm animals: goats, cows, horses.... and of course being in Aussie, there were kangaroos and wombats! I FED, PETTED, AND HUNG OUT WITH KANGAROOS! I have always wanted to do that, and I did it! I can "check it off" on my "bucket list." Kangaroos are such sweet animals! I was so excited, probably more excited than the children on our tour bus. After that, it was time to see koala bears! They looked like huge fluffy gray balls; they were up in the trees sleeping away. I was a foot away from a sleeping koala bear! They are soo adorable, but if you mess with them, they will claw your face off! Such cute, vicious creatures! It was finally time to go to the actual Phillip Island to see penguins! But before, we saw a field of wallabies (mini-versions of kangaroos) and took pictures on top of a cliff of an ocean view where penguins climb up to get home (very steep!). It was a beautiful view! We got to the penguin parade just in time and purchased ponchos to sit on. It was pouring rain.. rain or shine, the penguins were coming! They swam out of the ocean and waddled up the shore to their homes. I was right next to penguins! They are adorable little things, waddling to go home. I felt so Aussie at that moment, hanging out with kangaroos, koala bears, and penguins! (felt a bit like Steve Irwin ....may he rest in peace).
The third and last tour we went on was a Sports/Beer Brewery Tour. We visited the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, Flemington Horse Race Grounds, and drove on the Formula 1 Racecar tracks. I personally did not care too much about the sports tour, I was just looking forward to the beer! We visited the Carlton Brewhouse and saw how the beer was made. We were all given 4 glasses and chose the beer we wanted to sample. I got the Carlton Mild, Pure Blonde, Cascade, and Bulmer's. Now, Bulmer's is a special beer... it is a Cider, and it is life-changing. It was the most tasty and delicious beer/cider I have ever had; it is probably my new favorite drink. It needs to get imported to the USA right away. For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant where we had endless garlic bread, cheese platter, wine, chicken marsala, and pastas. Such a great meal to end the day.
Queen Victoria Market was the next "place to visit" on our Melbourne list. For breakfast, we went to this cute cafe where I had hot chocolate (SO GOOOOOD and WARM) with Eggs Benedict...absolutely fabulous! We rented and rode bikes to the market. I haven't been on a bike in years and I was surprised on how normal it felt, although it was terrifying sharing the roads with cars and buses and trams! Queen Victoria is a huge market where one can find fresh vegetables and fruits, every Aussie souvenir you can think of, and endless shopping. We ate at the Vic Market Place where I had a huge block of lasagna with a hunk of cheese right on top....oooooh I was loving life...cheese and all!
For our last night in Melbourne, we went to P.J. O'Brien's (Irish pub) for dinner and drinks. I had a fat hamburger with fries. I had way too much Bulmer's Cider and felt pretty good towards the end of the night. I danced, sang, and had a great last night with Caitie, Andrew, and Bobby. In PJ's, we were the youngest people and got carded! SAY WHAT. The pub was full of cougars, old people, and weird people, but it was so funny to people-watch. It was a great night to end my week of Melbourne, by the way Melbourne is pronounced "Mel-bin"...ha!
On our last day in the beautiful city, we had lunch at an Italian place. I had a caprese pizza bread....soooo good! I think we were all depressed when we got up that morning, knowing that we would have to leave and return back to Asia. Something that really was depressing was that I did not get to see Erin and CJ in Melbourne. They are actually studying there at Monash Uni. Erin and CJ were on THEIR break, so we had just missed them! It would have been more fun with them there to show us around and explore together, but hey I still had an amazing time in Melbourne. One day I will be back to visit and make my way up to Sydney and the Outback! Did I mention how hot the Aussie accent is? I was loving the boys!!!!! I will never forget my time in Melbourne.
.... Back in Singapore now with less than 2 months left! I cannot believe it, seriously. I just got here! Where did the time go? October will be stressful with lots of presentations to prepare for----a huge chunk of my grade.. I guess I should start actually doing work. Studying abroad and school work? WHAT? =) Tomorrow night I am going to Marina Bay Sands with the girls and Loyola boys to see.......LION KING BROADWAY! sooo stoked! Until that production, Much love from the Chatty Chong! xoxoxoxo
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