Sunday, July 30, 2006
Off on another adventure
Oh, dear friends, off to another adventure. Hall camp. Don't miss me, I'll be back on Wednesday. Oh yes, I'm in NTU Hall 16. =)
---Mood: Skippity-Dee
Listening to: Miles Davis - So What
Gavin
pondered @ 14:45
Friday, July 28, 2006
People, innoncents are dying.
Whilst browseing BBC, I had a good laugh. Israel's Justice Minister had claimed that the world's reluctance to demand that Israel stop the offensive on Lebanon is a show of support for the military excursion Israel is holding there.
That's some warped logic they have there. So does that mean that not telling one to play with fire is an encouragement to carry on?
Some people just say the darndest thigns, and inevitably, he has opened a can of worms. I would say the global community has been quite "nice" to Israel with regards to their "invasion" of Lebanon.
I remember reading about it, and thinking it might trigger a war of sorts in the Middle East. It's quite fortunate that Israel has gotten away with their aggression sans repercussions from international bodies.
You need to defend your homeland, fair enough, you need to take care of your citizens, that's only reasonable. However, this is becoming a senseless exercise in futility and military might that demonstrates a failure in the diplomatic process.
It resembles the act of bullying. Unabashed attacks on citizens and the unceremonious demise of the 4 UN peacekeepers. I believe they knew the risks involved with working in Lebanon, but it sounded like the attack was deliberate. A missile strike, apparently.
Isreal might have its own rationale in maintaining the offensive, but the UN should not condone such acts of violence against civilians.
It all seems to me like incomprehensible madness that could escalate into much worse.
Perhaps the Israelis want to scare Hizbullah and deprive it of popular support. Does that make sense now? The present situation would only fuel the Lebanese dissension towards Israel. It aids the Hizbullah recruitment efforts. Now, they can proclaim that their enemies have entered their homes, and find eager and wiling men to repel the invaders.
So, will it develop into war? Only time will tell.
In the midst of all this turmoil, I feel for the innoncents. From those whom had no business related to war, their lives are taken in exchange for those responsible. Children, women and the sick. Who are they supposed to blame? Who will help them?
---Mood: Puzzlement
Listening to: Ambache Chamber Orchestra - Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K. 459 - Allegro
Gavin
pondered @ 21:52
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
A sort of sad farewell
ORD lunch treat. I think I'm starting to everyone already, but there are new paths to thread, new roads to walk and new challenges to face. So maybe it won't be so hard to swallow afterall.
I'm sure paths will cross and we'll meet again in tis tiny world.
---Mood: Nostalgia
Listening to: Bear Necessities
Gavin
pondered @ 21:13
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
If only
The world was a simpler place when you knew which egg to save, but as time passes, you feel compelled to guard the eggs you have already saved, at the expense of eggs yet saved.
Then you can only wish that the egg would hatch soon and beocme chickens. Chickens that can look after eggs too.
Well, you can only wish.
Gavin
pondered @ 23:50
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Turquoise Room
Hidden inside Gilman Village is this little joint called the Turquoise Room. Opposite the NOL building and just next to River Valley High School. You won't get lost if you can find this bridge.
Situated on the former Gilman barracks, Gilman Vilalge is a whole series of renovated colonial buildings, similar in concept to Rochester Park.
The Turquoise Room is hidden deep inside Gilman Village and it took us some time to locate it.
Taking up a whole block, the place bears some styling similarities with Galbiatti's. White decor, simplistic wooden furniture and a clean, understated vibe.
Service was good, and the moment we were seated, the friendly waiters attended to us promptly. They took the orders for our drinks, whilst we took a little time deliberating over the choice of our meal. The choice of food there isn't that extensive, but there was enough variety to keep us wondering what was good.
Iced Chocolate. It was a pleseant surprise for me when it was revealed to be full-cream milk with a generous helping of chocolate fudge. now, that is waht I call chocolate. It was of all things, rich and the chocolate was just heavenly. The serving size was rather small, cnosidering how wonderful it was.
Macchiato
Stella Artois in a Frosted Mug
After much delay and a display of male indecision, we finally made our orders. For starters, I had the grilled Portobello, whilst the others order Onion consume and Porcini and button mushrooms slathered over toasted crostini.
The portobello was cooked in a vinegar based sauce, and the juicy mushrooms went down smoothly with that slightly sour and tangy sauce.
For the Main course, I ordered the Chicken leg with roasted babypotatoes and long beans (of cours, their name sounded much better, but I can't remember these fancy European names for my life)
In the words of Sherman, this chicken leg looks like it was taken of a genetically modified giant. I concur, and must say it was enormous. The meat was well cooked, peeling of the bones with the slightest of effort. Tht is not to say it has been turned into a pulp. On the contrary, the meat retains it's texture and the taste from its hours of marination. Fragrant, tasty and together with the cream sauce, it was quite outstanding. The potatoes weren't too soft either, tough I wouldn't recommend leaving them to cool.
Cleaned up.
Excellent food, wonderful ambiance, and resonable prices.
The Turquoise Room,
7 Lock Road, 64733655
View all the pictures
here
Gavin
pondered @ 19:56
Thursday, July 20, 2006
On Food
EDIT 21 July:
View the Phuket Photoes here: Phukey Photos
Photos from meixian's camera added to the previous posts. One of the most startling changes since returning from Phuket is my poor old stomach. Fact is, I can't seem to take as much or as oily food ever since I flew back. For dinner, 1 chicken wing, 1 prawn fritter, a few pieces of gizzard and I could take no more.
It's almost as though the capacity of my stomach has shrunk.
I think the diet in Phuket was pretty good for my body if that's the case. 2 light meals a day. I hope it's not a bout of food poisoning.
However, I've always thought that the food that Singaporeans consumed were too oily to be any good for the body in the long run. Fried and processed, and more often, not even remotely resembling the original source of the food.
Let me try to list out the total amount of food I had in Phuket.
Day 1:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast x4, sausage x2, hot chocolate
Lunch: Nil
Dinner: Grilled corn, Rice, Tom yam Soup, Green Curry and "Fried Morning Glory" (It's kang kong, btw)
Day 2:
Breakfast: Nil
Lunch: 2 Prawn fritters, 2 Chicken slices, 1 Spring Roll
Dinner: Noodles, eggs, M&Ms
Day 3:
Breakfast: Nil
Lunch: Same as Day 2
Dinner: Sea Food extravaganza! (1/2 a lobster, 1/2 a Phuket prawn, 1/2 cray fish, 1 Tiger Prawn, 1/2 slab of makerel, some squid, banana split)
Conclusion? How the world did we NOT starve to death? hahhaa
---Mood: Emaciated
Listening to: Elvis - Good Luck Charm
Gavin
pondered @ 21:24
Elvis fever
Ever since the performance at Phuket Bar? I can't get it out of my head. A little googling lead me to this
Ritchie Newton, Elvis ImpersonatorHe's German and a damn good Elvis look-a-like with the voice to boot!
Fever! So much so, I went all the way around town searching for Elvis CDs. Uh-huh-huh. It's rock and roll fever!
This trip to Phuket left me with many after thoughts, and several mindset changes. Primarily, I realize I'm not even close to sticking by "Carpe Diem".
It will take some time to digest and consolidate, these thoughts and inspiration, but in the immediate future? I just feel like jet-setting off to a few more places.
Pictures:
=D
---Mood: Rockin'
Location: 1960s
Listening to: Elvis - (She's a) Devil in disguise
Gavin
pondered @ 00:09
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Phuket Day 2+3
DAY 2
Thankfully, day 2 had fine weather, no sight of rain, though the grey skies still loomed over the horizon.
Look left, and look right, not many souls in sight.
Quite a windy day in fact.
Thus, I settled back for a spot of reading, hoping for clear skies. Machiavelli on the beach. Heh.
Fortunately, the skies did become brighter, and the sun started to seep through the grey cover. No blue skies yet, but hey, sun's out.
For strange reasons, everyone there kept inquring if we were Japanese. It was quite hilarious! Some of them even tried to converse in Japanese with me. I played along a little, but told them I was from Singapore. =p Boku wa nihhon-jin? lol
Hair extension. Nice!
Made 2 new friends on the 2nd day, local Kala and Azziz from Dubai. Kala works at the beach, and Azziz, is a teacher from Dubai on a holiday. azziz comes down to Phuket twice a year, how cool is that? He invited us on a fishing trip, but we declined, having planned to head down to Phuket town the next day.
Played a little game of luck with Kala and won the coin toss, heh. And we were challenged to try some of the insect salad. Spicy fried wasps and ants in thai herbs, and deep fried frogs and locusts. Tried all save for the locusts, which were, 8ahem* a tad unsightly.
Our new friends.
Kala in th middle
Azziz on the right
That night, we bumped into some transvestites.
How many girls are there in total? 1 I think =p
DAY 3
Ended up on the beach again, instead of in Phuket town. The weather this day was much better, and the skyturned blue!
The sun was so intense that even this dog elected to hide away under the beach chairs.
Much more lively beach this day.
Coconut and Machiavelli, enjoyment!
Then for dinner, we had a absolute feast! Lobster, Giant Phuket prawn, Crayfish, Tiger prawns, Mussels, Squid and Fish with Thai fried rice.
Thai Massage after dinner was absolutely heavenly! 3 hours of pure relaxation and slight suffering. (Hot towels on sun buurn's not a pleseant sensation) The place was quite nice, it's called "Relax" Spa and apparently has several branches all over Thailand.
We met some of meixian's friends over there and bunked over at their resort playing cards till it was time for us to catch our flight at 5am the next morning. Here, the 4 photo whores try to get ourselves organized into a timeed shot. Fail!
After the umpteenth shot, we had some measure of success... haha.
And it was off to the airport.
---
Gavin
pondered @ 11:09
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
I'm back!
14th July, Day 1
Rather clean feel to it, the budget Terminal
They have a hans over there
Woke up at the break of dawn, 3am, to make it to the airport in time for check in. My first time in the budget terminal, and I think it's pretty decent. Not as spectacular as T1 or T2, but good enough. they even ahve a little shopping area inside the departure hall.
Shopping anyone?
Boarding gate
After checking in, we had to walk to the plane. I could just feel the guards there sniggering at all us budget travellers
Poilice: You'll walk from the Budget terminal to the plane, you poor people who ride budget airlines!
Plane's body. What plane model is it...? A320! i was holding this darn sheet of paper with the plane model and I still asked "What's this plane we're on?"
Window seats next to the wing, I love wing seats.
The sun rose from afar. The bright yellow sun rays peeking through the clouds as we gained an hour travelling to phuket
Sleepy head aka my travel companion Meixian. Waking up at 3am is not really a nice way to start out a holiday.
Getting brighter. Yup, looks like it's going to be bright and sunny in Phuket~!
Passport control! All your passport are belong to them.
Phuket prefers Visa... dang, I brought Mastercard instead. =(
ok, bright sky was a farce, it's pouring like hell in Phuket
Only got worse. *cursesswear*
The van ride to Phuket town with some fellow Singaporeans dropped us off at Patong Beach, by the time the rain had stopped.
Streets of Patong, in search of breakfast.
went down to this shop in the alleys which served really cheap breakfast.
American breakfast. Scrambled Eggs, Sausages, French Toast, Hot chocolate, orange juice all for 85 baht (SGD 4)
A really quaint and cosy little setting
Then we saw this caucasian who looked really cool. Meixian gushing: That ang moh looks really "sei"!
This is the entrance to the hotel that we stayed in. The Tropica Hotel, which costs 1600 baht per night, without breakfast.
The reception desk at the Tropica
Tropica hotel's exterior. It's a bungalow style resort, that's quite nice.
What a mess. Slept the whole afternoon away. Next time, avoid a flight that's before dawn.
The night-lit Patong streets
Some of the bars on Patong
Bangla bar!? lol! The street is called Bangla street.
The street where we had our dinner, Thai style stir fry. Tom Yam soup, green curry chicken and fried morning glory (snigger)
Elvis tribute at the Phuket bar. He's really good, complete with costume, voice and gyrating hips.
---Mood: Sun burnt
Listening to: SMAP - Zutto Zutto
Gavin
pondered @ 00:35
