Koh Lipe

My friends and i love going beaches/islands for holiday. Me particularly prefers a warm holiday than a cold holiday. And i love busking under the sun and dipping into the crystal clear waters exploring the world under the water.The holid ay trips with my friends, i would always have the advantage of planning what to do and where to go and all according to my liking :D anyhow, my friends doesn't plan so they just gotta flow with my big plans. And often my itinerary is a hectic one. i've got nice friends :D

So, while googling for what to do in Langkawi, me being me, i will consistently looking for places or things that are worth my time and money. Not saying Langkawi has nothing much, but this was my 2nd visit and most places and things there i would say that i've done it else where. And i began googling for places in the proximity of Langkawi. So i found this beautiful island called Koh Lipe (Thailand). Yup, the idea of hopping from Malaysia to Thailand sounds a little insane to me and my friends at first. But oh well, i just love this kinda idea.

Koh Lipe is a tiny island found southern part of Thailand. Bear in mind that it is not close to Thailand mainland, but its closer to Langkawi, Malaysia. A ferry ride of approximately 1 hr would take you from Langkawi to this beautiful island. Its white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters gives itself the name of Thailand's Maldives. Very laid back, there isn't any car on this island and the main mode of transport would be motorbikes, long tail boats or bicycles.

We visited the gorgeous island end May this year, which is also the monsoon season where the seas get rocky and with higher frequency of rainfall. Tourist can get really good rates for accommodation in the low season and at times practically gets the whole beach to yourself. We were really very blessed that the weather turned out to perfect when we arrived in Koh Lipe. So the ferry from Langkawi cost us around 200RM which is around $80. Yes it is a a little pricey but that's cause during low season there is only 1 ferry from Langkawi to Koh Lipe each day but i guess the affordable accommodation makes it up?

Upon reaching Koh Lipe, we were transferred to longtail boats to the Pattaya Beach. The island welcomed us with different shades of blue. It was so captivating. Note: all pictures are uploaded without filtering.

The humble immigration house @ Koh Lipe

Pattaya Beach

Pattaya Beach

We made our way to Wapi Resort at the Sunrise beach via the motorbikes. Their motorbikes are kinda cool, they improvise it with a "L" shape seat to carry passengers. I love Wapi Resort, the staffs are really friendly, the room rates are reasonable, the bungalows are on beachfront. You could just walkout to the beach just steps away. Awesome location, just few minutes walk to Walking Street. Nothing much to be picky about, probably just weak Wifi that humans could possibly survive without it :P

Wapi Resort - Family bungalow

Wapi Resort - Family Bungalow

Sunrise Beach - Rooms just steps to the beach

So we rented a private longtail boat to do some snorkeling and island hopping at 1400 Thai Baht from Wapi Resort, approximately $56 SGD. As shared by 4 person, so per person is roughly around $14. Private boat is on per boat basis. Therefore the more people to a boat the cheaper per pax. The boat trip is very flexible, the boatman will bring to some popular snorkeling spots. You could tell him to bring you some some private beaches that has no other people besides youself and your friends. And you can spend time sun bathing or just snorkeling off the shore. This is a private beach that boatman took us too. Simply breath taking.

Private Beach

Crystal Clear waters 

Snorkeling in the deep sea in Koh Lipe was alright. Similar to places like tioman, redang, phuket. Until the last snorkeling spot, the boatman left us on a tiny winy island just opposite sunrise beach. This tiny island is an island of jem. Not expecting much, we snorkel off from the shore without the life vest as the water is very calm. We snorkel alongside the rocks and to our surprise the marine life behind the rocks are amazing. Probably the most species of tropical fishes i've seen at all other snorkeling spots that i've been to be it  Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia. And i saw a handful of live colourful corals down there, which are really rare in shallow waters nowadays. Totally love the snorkeling spot. Did not took photo there are gopro went out of batt.

Snorkeling in deep sea - not so fascinating

Deep sea snorkeling - probably the deepest snorkeling spot i've ever snorkel.
Couldn't even see the sand bed at the bottom.

It's a cutie hermit crab

So basically the island hopping tour was not too bad, having to rent a long-tail boat of our own and to pick on our own snorkeling spots and further more being able to snorkel under the sun during the monsoon season was already a great blessing. Nothing much to pick on :)

Here comes night time, we made our way to the Walking Street, which is probably the most happening place in Koh Lipe itself. It houses many restaurants, bars, shops, massage palour etc. Because we went during the low season, the Walking Street seems quieter than what it was shown on websites. Many shops were not open but there were a still handful that was opened catering to the off peak tourist crowds.

So what's the best thing to eat on an island? It would definitely be seafood. On an island you get the freshiest and the cheapest seafood.

Each person was around SGD$10 or less for that amount of fresh live seafood and thai food. It was really good deal.

2015 must have been a tough year for many couples out there. Relationship breakups is what a few of my close friends are experiencing now. Childhood couples who spent almost a century together, that I could have foresee them walking down the aisle hand in hand didn't make it. Couples who got together despite overcoming their great differences eventually didn't make it. Couples who fought for their love, spent so much effort in securing the relationship didn't make it through as well. Tears, disappointments, break downs, heart break, emptiness are all their experiencing now. 

Going through all these with my friends made me realised so much about relationship and how i see myself in them when i left my relationship last year. It really hurts me to see them hurting. Well i truly wished that the best is yet to come and that they deserve better :) 

I've learnt that:

1) When a person changed for no reason, the reason must be due to a third party

2) Even if a person has so much love to give and could even tolerate infidelity, once a person's change, they could no longer appreciate and receive the love from you

3) People moves on quickly. You may still be hurting, but they could have already enjoying themselves with other people's accompany

4) People who said they have commitment issues are selfish being. All they want is to satisfy their needs of having fun without sparing a thought on people who really cares for them

5) When you love a person more than yourself, mistakes are no long mistakes

6) If freedom is all he need, the greatest love for him is to let him go 

7) Never invest too much in a relationship, the more you invest, the more hurt you get

8) The world has changed, being kind and pretty is no longer what people are looking for. One must be fun loving, out spoken and bitchy sometimes . Doesn't matter if he/she is an asshole or not. 

9) Sometimes trusting yourself is better than trusting others. 

10) Sometimes friendship is better than in relationship. 

Orgo Bar & Restaurant

Last week, my friends and I were looking for nice pubs or bars to chill for a Saturday night and for birthday celebration. Somewhere quiet, with good view and not too expensive. So one of my friend recommended the Orgo Bar & Restaurant. It is located the Esplanade roof terrace, over looking the central business district area across the river. They have both indoor & alfresco seats. Their indoor sittings are separated into a few glass cubicals, perfect for groups who prefer some privacy. However there is a minimum spending of $300. Otherwise the outdoor seats are fine too, a little humid but not a big issue.

So this is exactly how the view looks like at night. 

Half of my friends ordered beer, the other half ordered their special drink, the Lenoble Champagne Cocktails. I chose the Champagne Cocktail - Fresh Champagne Frozen Soursop. And it turned out to be the best drink of the night. Besides soursop, there are also other fruit flavors such as mango, watermelon, banana, strawberry etc. My friends had the mango & strawberry but the soursop still goes better with the champagne. This is at $28 per drink, not cheap but i guess still worth the try. 

Just a group picture to end off the post :) 

Caffe B

The restaurant week is an yearly affair that my friends and i would never fail to participate in. So this year, after much consideration , we've chosen Caffe B. And we were truly glad that we made the right choice.

Caffe B is an Italian & Japanese fusion restaurant. It is well located in Marina Bay Sands and has 2 stories. The level 1 is a cafe bar, where you can order coffee, alcoholic drinks and light food. There are outdoor seats facing the Singapore's cityscape and when the sunset it would be a perfect quiet place to chill & relax with your love ones. The basement is Caffe B's fine dining restaurant. The restaurant has a really pretty & classy deco, there is nothing to pick on for its pretty deco and ambiance.

We went for the dinner set menu for the restaurant week at $35++ for a 3 course meal. 

To begin our meal proper, we were served with bread and spread. Normal restaurants they would serve bread with butter or vinegar/olive oil, Caffe B serves bread with minced anchovies olive spread. For people who doesn't like olive oil, this anchovies olive spread wouldn't be a turn off as anchovies goes really well with the olive oil and makes a perfect bread spread. My friends and i totally loves it. 

Next we had the salad for appetizer. It was a generous portion of fresh greens with their own made balsamic dressing. Moving on to the mains, we had a choice wither grilled salmon or beef tenderloin but we all had beef. My beef was medium done and it was so juicy and tender just by looking at it when it was served. Personally i love fatty beefs, and this tenderloin has fats at the side that makes it so flavorful. I can confidently say that this is the best beef I've ever tried in anywhere. From the picture you can see how juicy the beef was. 

Last but not least, we had the tiramisu for dessert. One of the best tiramisu I've tried too, well soaked in alcohol and flavorful. The restaurant was kind enough to serve us an additional course of dessert as we were celebrating one of my friend's birthday that day. They serve us a pretty plate of chocolate moose. 

Overall, the ambiance, food and service are all above our expectations. We had a really enjoyable time dinning in Caffe B and would definitely recommend this restaurant to people around us. The next restaurant week, we will be here again :) 

Papilloma Vaccine

Last Friday, i was finally convinced to go for the Papilloma Vaccine, also commonly known as the cervical jab. Basically this vaccine is to reduce the risk of women getting cervical cancer in the later years. Cervical cancer is very common with ladies, 16 out of every 100,00 women will get it EACH YEAR. Although the vaccine would not totally prevent a woman from getting cervical cancer, but it reduces the risk to less than 5%.

This vaccine can be taken from the age of 9 to 25 and it is most effective if it is taken before the first sexual exposure. And better still, for ladies in Singapore who are below age of 26, we're able to use $400 from our Medisave to pay for the vaccine. Leaving less than $150 to fork out from your own pocket, depending the types of vaccines you choose.

There are 2 types of vaccines. 1 is the Gardasils vaccine which has a better coverage that prevents cervical cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer and genital cancer. Yes, genital cancer. Which means guys can take the vaccine too. The second type would be Cervarix vaccine. This would prevent solely on cervical cancer. I went for the Gardasils vaccine paying a little more for a better coverage why not?

So this are how the jabs look like:

There will be 3 jabs to be taken once every 2 months. For ladies with more toned arms, you will feel the sore immediately after the jab and would last for at least a day. For ladies blessed with less toned arms, you will not feel the sore at all. That's based on me and my friends' experiences :) And no other side effects unless you have allergies to or on medication. 

Would strongly encourage all young ladies to go for the vaccine. It might not be a total prevention but at least its a protection. And what's even better with the Medisave scheme to leverage on? :D

Today marks the end of an era in Singapore. We lost our very own founding father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. An honorable man with great vision who has worked his entire life to build Singapore from mud lands to a vibrant metropolis city in a short spend of 50 years. He worked tirelessly all these years to ensure that Singapore continues to grown and prosper and that Singaporeans could live in a safe and sound country. I'm very fortunate to live the era of his existence and to witness the transformation of Singapore from my birth year 1990 till date.

Thank you Sir, for everything. Your legacy shall lives on. May your soul rest in peace.

After a good few years, i thought that it would be good to keep the blogging momentum on. Not only a channel where i can store the happenings and memories of my daily life, but also a channel to do some  serious reflections and to write better.

My life has been filled with many ups and downs for the past years, i've been through plenty happy moments like earning myself a bachelor degree, successfully securing a permanent job shortly after graduation, in pink of health and with loving friends and families around. On a side note, i've also experienced probably the worst down time in my life as well. Which is my first heart ache in relationships. I bet many people have experience heart aches once or more in their life and have probably moved on.

For my past 24 years, i guess i've taken too much things for granted, or maybe i'm always in the sheltered arms of people around me, or perhaps i'm lucky enough to have yet to encountered any heart aches . Just last year, i realized how unbearable heart aches can be. I left someone whom i loved with all my heart. People often say to cherish your love ones before you lost them, but what if you still lose them despite already cherishing them with all your heart? Where you still lose it despite already knowing the importance cherish and loving him. It is like a double edged sword that slashes through your heart, and you began bleeding profusely not knowing which wound to aid first. And it gets even worst when you are the one leaving the life of the person you loved deeply and at the most perfect moment. It is when you had too much love and it came to too much pain.

I had a very hard time getting myself back to feet. My friends told me they look up to me as a strong woman with great determination and courage to leave things or people that no longer serves or deserves you. But to be really frank, 1 year passed and i still misses him every single day, no one day lesser. I may appear to be nonchalant when people spoke to me about him and the relationship, but deep inside i get really devastated. The saying that goes "time heals", doesn't seems to work on me. I'm still looking towards to the day where i can fully moved on and that he longer is the misses that fills my life.

Waiting for that very day to come true soon.