… where it is confirmed that scrawny arms can’t do much with the command to ‘paddle hard’ ahead of a wave.
Thoughts on the wedding (!)
- My sister looked hot and Dsun looked cool. I’ll upload our pics once we work out if my Dell will read our new storage card.
- Check out my uncle’s record of the occasion. New nickname: Uncle Sketchbook!
- My mum is so damn happy.
- Quote of the holiday: “It takes a Bahamian to out-Chinese the Chinese” (on being ripped off by taxi drivers). Credit (as usual, for wise sayings) to Uncle Sketchbook!
- I had fun learning how to surf — another thing crossed off my to-do list!
- Golden Golding Cay on Eleuthera is the most beautiful beach I’ve been to. Cocodimama was pretty cool, too. I’m totally into snorkeling now. Except for those sluggy condom-looking things that wriggle on the sand.
- Conch salad rocks so hard (a ceviche of conch flesh and finely chopped vegetables); conch fritters, not so much (although you’d never see me turn down a portion of ‘em).
- Sand flies are the spawn of the devil. I react differently to Scottish midge bites (they are the devil).
- I’m still of the opinion that even though we got married first, it’s my sister’s duty to produce sprogs first since she’s older.
- Don’t let Neil near a duty-free electrical retailer unless you want something new and expensive and oh-so-fun.
A couple of photo highlights of the ongoing adventures in Singapore
A visit to Sim Lim was made, a card reader was purchased.
Leo asleep. All the cats have their own, er, paw placement. Leo is displaying how he can stretch out as much as he likes and no other cat will dare to make him shove over.
You’d think they’d just use the Obamicon maker, but no, they’ve also ripped off the Obama for America logo. Classy. God Forbid any of us should try and effect positive change in our lives for our own sake.
Our holiday has indeed been this exciting. Not counting the driving round and round for miles in circles in Malacca. That was heart-stoppingly thrilling.
I love being on holiday
Sleeping in is such a luxury, and I’ve got myself the new Snow Patrol and Take That (squee!) albums. As well as spending a hell of a lot less on replacing watch batteries. Pretty damned hot and sticky, though!
This Canadian holiday I…
- learned not to fly in the middle of the day
Because it always ends up being delayed. I spent five hours sitting around Glasgow Airport on the way out and had time for dinner and dessert on the way back, my flights were so damn late. The key is to take the first flight of the day, which is why my sister booked herself a 5am service. - ate a hell of a lot of Asian food
This I totally did not expect. I had century egg porridge, mee pok tah, spicy Sichuan fish stew (水煮鱼片), tofu salad (老虎菜), dry-fried beans (干煸四季豆), roti prata, sashimi (gigantor slices), dough sticks (油条), beef sandwiches (肉夹末), chye tow kueh (carrot cake), xiao long bao (小笼包), various soy products (豆水 and 豆花), and probably more but I forget. My cousin told me that the Chinese food has got much more varied since the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese immigrated en masse. - bought those Fluevog shoes I was talking about
Oh yeah. The surprise was my sister and cousin paid for them as my wedding present. Haha. Motorcycle-type boots and slightly fetish-y shoes for a wedding present. How totally excellent. - had lots of lovely long talks with my aunt, cousin, and sister
I’m the baby of the family (on this side, not counting the sprogs), so this is the first time I’ve heard many of these anecdotes, from relatives I haven’t met up with for ages. I also met an uncle I haven’t seen in years. He’s the spitting image of his dad. Heh. - met the man Kevin McCloud would die for
My cousin’s boyfriend, Steve, is the handiest DIY-er I have ever met. I spent my first day in Canada marvelling over his house, and I mistook his double garage as the neighbour’s house, it’s that good. This man has done it all (he is Bob the Builder in real life, I swear) and owns every power tool known to man. Plus he rides a motorcycle. And he’s got a Jag. - misplaced my backpack
Well, the airline did. I’ve been lucky and have not my luggage not appear on the carousel for two decades or so; I suppose my time has come. That doesn’t mean I’m not distressed — my new Volcom cardigan is in there.
Holiday: a summary
Movies watched while in-flight
1408 (should not have watched it ‘alone’), The Jane Austen Book Club (meh, okay but not as good as I’d hoped), Superbad (tragically possible), Atonement (waaaaay better than the book, and this is the first time I have ever said anything like that)
Movies watched in the cinema
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Johnny Depp can sing?!), Away From Her (so, so sad), Juno (excellent, highly recommended)
Food consumed
wonton noodles, kway chap, chicken rice, prata, raw fish (the traditional one, not the nasty Chinese New Year fakery dish), carrot cake, prime rib at Black Angus, seafood with crispy noodles, dim sum, Indonesian food, steamed fish, popiah, Sri Lankan crab, chwee kueh, bak kwa, ba kueh (bai guo in Chinese)
Books I tried to read but had to give up
Atonement (if the plot had plodded any slower it would be going backwards, I’m not getting this love for Ian McEwan), Northanger Abbey (ran out of time)
Clothing bought (yes, I’m a bad girl)
Two pairs of black trousers (from Giordano, the old stalwart; did you know in Far East Plaza my thighs are too big for a size Large?!)
Shoes bought
None — this is an unprecedented event. Somewhere else in the universe, there has been an earthquake. Or something.
Number of bead shops visited
Four — three in People’s Park Centre and one in Holland Village (that’s closing down, boo)
Most unexpected moment
Being asked for ID when buying tickets for Juno, rated NC16 (there is no freaking way I look under 16)
Number of times I laughed with Penelope at the line dancers at Zouk (and said silly things)
Too many (and too many gin and tonics, too)
How long it took Topaz to come over and touch Neil with her paw and bat her kitty eyelashes after she smelled bak kwa and spotted a piece in his hand
About ten seconds
Radio silence
Been on holiday.
Checking e-mail and going on teh Internets seemed too much like work.
So I was doing stuff like meeting friends and reading books and watching films and eating good food and doing a little sightseeing shopping.
I wish I wasn’t leaving tomorrow.
Photos from the bus trip this vacation
The image links to the set page on Flickr. I’m definitely not as trigger-happy as I used to be. As I said to Neil at Brian and Carene’s wedding, I blame Xiamen. Hehe.