I wanna go Cruise !!

I really wanna join this cruise and I was soooooooooooo disappointed to see the ONLY DEPARTURE DATE ...sob sob sob... I always wanted to go Hong Kong via cruise because the piers are really happening, I always wanted to go Hainan Island because I myself is a Hainanese, I always wanted to visit Ho Chi Minh and Danang (Vietnam) because I have never been there before. Look at the price, I really feel like booking the cruise right a way but then I've promised Sister Lee that I will go back on the 15th Dec.

Sydney 2006

I know I know, super late post! I was suppose to blog about our trip in 2006 but.. I lost our CD and yeah, I found it now! PLEASE BEAR WITH ME, there are just tooooooo many photos, more than 200, Ben said you guys are not going to get pass the first 50 photos..how? I made them into 2 parts. Enjoy!

Here I am trying my very best to remember what we did, what we ate and where we went...

Day 1 :
- Touched down Syd Airport
- Had simple lunch, slept and went out dinner with my cousin family and then rest at home.

Day 2 :
- Rainy Day
- Train to Circular QUay
- Went to the Rock
- Walk along George St
- Queen Victoria Building
- To Arncliffe for dinner (Jackie's place)
- Bad, I had migraine on this day

Day 3 :
- Sunny Day! Our PS day
- Went to Jackie's place for make up and tied my posy
- Gordon reached by 2pm and PS started
- PS Location : Arncliffe, UTS, Garrison Church, Observatory, Pier 1, Botanical Garden, Macquarie Chair, St Mary Catheral Church, Hype Park and Park Hyatt

Day 4 :
- Sunny
- Went to Central (Chinatown) but Paddy's Field Closed on Wed
- Went to Market Place after that for lunch
- Strolled along Darling Harbour, Chinese Garden, Sussex St, Goerge St, QVB
- Went to Kinokuniya and bought a 500 cupcakes book.
- Dinner at Beverly Hills

Day 5 :
- COLDEST DAY in NOV, temp around 9-10 deg celcius!
- Went to Hurstville, Miranda

Day 6 :
- Left B.Hills
- Breakfast at Macdonalds'
- Went to Coogee Beach?
- Went to Darling Harbour, QVB with Margaret

Day 7 :
- Dim Sum at Marigold, Chinatown
- Train to Circular Quay
- To the Opera House
- Went to The Rock with Margaret
- Took photos at Strand Arcade
- BBQ at Jackie's place
- Margaret and Parents went to Koolewong with Uncle Gordon and Aunt Pat

Day 8 :
- Ben and I took a train from Arncliffe to Woy Woy, Uncle Gordon picked us up to Koolewong
- Went to Hunter Valley with Aunt Pat, Uncle Gordon, Ralph, Jackie and Mya
- Mum made Mee Hoon Kuey for dinner

Day 9 :
- Went shopping at Erina/Arena? at Gosford
- Ben and I took train + bus to the Library nearby

Day 10 :
- HOTTEST DAY OF MY LIFE 39 Deg Celcius
- Went to Blue Mountain & Wentworth Falls

Day 11 :
- Uncle Gordon brought us to Woy Woy to see Pelicans
- Daddy went carbbing with Uncle Gordon
- Aunt Pat cooked crab and mum cooked Roasted Pork today

Day 12 :
- Took pretty nice photos at Avoca
- Went to Tuggerah and got Cheryl some clothes
- Had fish & chips at the Entrance and saw Pelican again
- Dinner : Curry chicken

Day 13 :
- Had Pancake at home and left Koolewong
- Took a train back to Arncliffe
- Packed our luggages and left at 2pm to airport
- SQ222 at 1655hrs
- Took a maxicab back home

Lastly, I hope you all enjoy the photos and sorry for the captions, just to lazy to insert. We really thank the Cox Family, Uncle Gordon and Aunt Pat for EVERYTHING !

Been There, Going There, Wish to Go There...

What was on your mind when you see this poster/advertisement? Ben and I saw it on the train and both of us started to talk about our past holiday and of course, our future holiday.

Hope to visit Japan in 2009, Europe in 2010 and India, when his paaji, Chakra gets married.

The Climate and What to Pack?

Fellow friends and readers are planning their trip to USA on coming holiday as well and here I have a SF climate table and what to pack for our trip. * click to enlarge *

VISA Application

Damn, I need to apply the visa in order to enter the State. SILLY! Ben even told me that I need to go to US Embassy for interview. TROUBLESOME! I swear I am going to change my nationality after return because so I don't have apply visa to enter USA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN and CHINA! Leceh..

Alcatraz Island Tour

We will be going to Alcatraz Island and we were told to book the tickets online to prevent long queue. We will go for the most complete tour - Voted “Best Tour of the Bay Area,” the Alcatraz Night Tour provides a more intimate, engaging Alcatraz experience. This tour includes a personally narrated boat tour around the island; guided tours from the dock to the main prison building; “Doing Time: The Alcatraz Cellhouse Tour” and a variety of special programs and presentations offered only at night. Enjoy a sunset silhouetting the Golden Gate Bridge and breath-taking views of San Francisco as night falls. A truly exceptional experience. Price : USD 33/pax for approx. 2.5 hours.(Price includes Audio Tour, Onboard Narration, Guided Tour and Other Special Tour Activities)
Resource : https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/tour-comparison.aspx

The broadway
The Cell
Audio Tour

San Francisco City Tour / Muir Woods/ Sausalito

Ferry Building - this will be our tour pickup spots.

#1. Chinatown - This is a 3 block guided-walk through Chinatown. We will walk through Chinatown along the famous Grant.

#2. Lombard Street - The famous hilly and winding street in San Francisco was created in the 1920’s to accommodate the steep incline. The street is paved with bricks and is one of the busiest streets in San Francisco.

#3. Grace Cathedral - We will go inside Grace Cathedral where you can take pictures or marvel at the unique stained glass that makes up the walls of this famous church.

#4. Nob Hill - After the Cathedral, it’s a beautiful, short walk atop Nob Hill. High Atop Nob Hill, one of San Francisco’s 43 hills, sits one of the most affluent and distinguished neighborhoods of San Francisco, and the perfect setting to "where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars".

#5. Alamo Square (6 sisters) - also known as "postcard row" at Hayes and Steiner Streets is made up of beautiful Victorian houses. The houses are perfectly lined in escalating formation. The area offers a perfect back-drop of San Francisco’s downtown skyscrapers. The most elite and colorful Victorians have been dubbed the “Six Sisters” or the “Painted Ladies”.

#6 - Golden Gate Park / Japanese Tea Garden - Take a stroll along the windy paths and over the bridges framed by koi ponds at San Francisco. Among the Japanese foliage located in the garden are maples, cherry trees, cedars and the bonsai.

#7 - Palaca of Fine Arts - we will walk around the grounds and underneath the center of the majestic dome. There we will see numorous local brides and grooms to be with their photographers taking pictures.

#8 - Golden Gate Bridge - Being that it is one of this country’s most famous landmarks, one must simply experience it in all its glory. We will drive over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.

#9 - Sausalito. The name Sausalito is Spanish for “little willow”, is located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a small seaside village of 2.5 miles, consisting of 7,500 residents. We will board a shuttle to Muir Woods from Sausalito.

#10 - Muir Woods - West coast redwood trees dominate Muir Woods' forest. During winter, steelhead (migratory rainbow trout) and silver salmon migrate up Redwood Creek to spawn, and toyon berries turn a vibrant red.

#11 - Muir Beach Overlook is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. We will then return to San Francisco via ferry.

From the shuttle (in city) and ferry, we will also be able to able to see

-Alcatraz from Ferry Cruise
-Bay Bridge from Ferry Cruise
-North Beach
-Union Square
-Angel Island from Ferry Cruise
-Sutro Tower
-De Young Museum
-Coit Tower
-Presidio National Park
-City Hall / Civic Center
-Conservatory of Flowers
-Market Street
-City Hall / Civic Center
-Conservatory of Flowers
-Market Street

Flying by SQ

That's it! World class service, advanced KrisWorld inflight entertainment system, specially designed seats allowing for greater personal space and comfort, pricey but safe, it has to be SQ! This will be our 3rd time flying by SQ and we are looking forward our bussiness cum pleasure holiday trip on coming November and *counting the date* we will be away for a good 24 days, our longest holidays.. oh, I am going to miss my daddy, mummy, Ju, Margaret, Nat, Chris, Cheryl, Smoochie and Twisties..

Stopover : SEOULStopover : JAPAN

Hotels Hotels

We will be staying at Embassy Suite San Rafael, ok, I know, there is nothing to shout about, I think St. Regis in SHA is so much better but... we are going to stay in VENETIAN HOTEL in Las Vegas for 5 nights!! yeah..one of the best hotel in vegas...

Pulling out my Luggage !

I was shopping with C and N at Orchard. There were more than 5 missed calls from Ben. Here came the 6th call..

Ben : Baby, can I ask you something?
Diana : *die, he is going to scold me for not picking up his call again* Yeah, honey?
Ben : Can a woman go on to a flight during her first trimester?
Diana : *eh,he didn't scold me?* I think it is not advisable. Why?
Ben : Oh, then you cannot go oversea with me this Nov.
Diana : *huh? Am I pregnant?* Honey, I am going with you and I don't think I am preggy now.
Ben : Okay! Then we are flying to San Francisco & Las Vegas coming Nov!

WOw! I still remember I was envy those who went on holidays after the Natas Fair early this year(Especially Wendy, who is going to spend her holiday in US). Some went to Eastern Europe, some went to Central Europe, some went to "factory outlets" to shop till they drop and some showing off that they walked on the beach. Damn... When is my turn? I thought we could go Japan ( cancelled because of cov), Taiwan (cancelled because of renovation) and now, I am thrilled because it is finally my turn to fly!

Okay, what am I going to buy this time..

- Gucci

- Kate Spade

- Coach, maybe because I am not a "coach person" and too many aunties (at their 50's)carrying.

- Burberry

- Oshkosh

- Calvin Klein and many more..

Places we are going to visit will definitely be Golden Gate Bridge (the landmark), Universal Studios(Ben's request) and of course...

Las Vegas Premium Outlets!!!! Oh..it was only 8 min away from our hotel.

Okok, go slow girls...if you need me to buy things back, be nice to me, I mean, extra nice..hehe. As discussed before, a long hours flight of 20-24 hours, SQ is our first choice, kiv United Airline but need to transit at Narita Airport for 2 hours and I hate United Airline. Damn.. Actually I shouldn't be ranting too much about this as the whole trip is almost all paid by hubby's company because they are sending him there for the autodesk university trade show, of course hubby is paying for my shopping and the entrance fee to the theme park. This will be our first trip to US and I am overjoy now!!!!

路人甲

When I was browsing our photos, I realised there are a few hilarious strangers " 路人甲"

Photo taken in Shanghai

Photo taken in Ipoh

Photo taken in Johore

Short Trip to M'sia

Nutrigen, run-down domestic bus station and with the national flags all over the building, yeah, when you see these, you know we were in M'sia. Parents, M, ben and I were in Ipoh over the last weekend. It was a planned trip but due to Ben's super busy schedule, we were only able to "drop by and say hi" to IPOH.

The main reason why we were here.

Ben was from Yuk Choy High before he came to NUS. He was so happy to see his teachers and after 12 years, these teachers still remember his name! I couldn't even remember some of my secondary school mates' names. *shame on me* Now Ben is asking for chicken essence as he thought it may help to boost his memory but I told him gingko works better. *that's what papa Jo said*

Some shots at JB City Sq We tried the Teowchew Mooncake but we didn't buy. *Cannot make it =(* Oh, that's my Hello Kitty !

Okay, we arrived at 6 plus in the morning and Ben insisted us to make the same pose!

Uncle Phone came to pick us up and we headed to Ming Court HK DS. Their handmade DS are nice but the portion is really small. We were so hungry that we walloped everything in 30 minutes. Typical old bus we used to board and stores we used to visit when we were young.

Oh...these bring back so much memory...

This is Yuk Choy High at Jelapang

We had supper at the famous Ong Kee Tauge Chicken but the chicken ..so-so only and service is lousy. We'll recommend their opposite store -> LOU WONG.

Wah....how can we miss CURRY MEE for breakfast !

So nice.. I love to have breakfast in M'sia..

After breakie, we went to Kek Lok Si. Dad used to bring us here when we were young but it was Ben's first time here. He was so happy and amazed with the rock structure

Can you see a horse?

A must-buy fruit in Ipoh - Pamelo

Weather was so hot that we all needed ice !

Another must-visit place ->Ipoh Old Town Restaurant. We didn't go to the old restaurant but tried out at their new and trendy cafeteria. Food was quite good(see pic 4), we finished everything!

Ipoh Domestic Bus Station

Famous Fo Shan Mooncake !

Lastly, Uncle Phone brought us to their new house.

As usual, we bought so much souvenir back to Singapore, mostly food. That explained why my tummy is getting bigger, hahaha.