Whitby

On the day we had finished up our business at Wilton Center, Daniel drove me to Whitby ( which he visited in a sunny day last year) and raved about the nice fishing port. We drove through winding roads which passed through moors. I didn't get to see the moors because by the time we left work at 4.30 pm it was already nightfall. We parked somewhere and walked up the hill. The lights were spellbinding.... :)


My stamina wasn't particularly great, thank goodness for the benches along the hundreds of steps i was able to take a breather and enjoy the scenery.

At the top of the hill is the Whitby Abbey, another ruin. It was decorated with changing lights colour, which lent it a rather eerie feel. It wasn't particularly easy to get decent photos, but the blue lights gave it the best glow. According to history, Count Dracula once came to this place... so it was only fitting for us to visit this Abbey 3 days before Halloween.

It didn't help that to get to Whitby Abbey, one has to pass through a cemetery. My sister Crispy thought that i decided to partake in a Ghost Adventures episode...haha..

We came down from the hill, and went up another to see Captain Cook's statue. It would've been nice if it was during the day, for this statue overlooks the ocean. Alas, i was unfortunate to visit at night, so no seaview for me....*sob*

Beautiful, Touristy York

The most beautiful and striking building in York is definitely the York Minster, the largest Gothic medieval church in Northern Europe. This is the West Door, which i mistakenly thought was the main door when i first arrived.


Later, i found the main door, which allowed visitors to enter into the visiting area.

However, to go deeper into the church, one must pay. Even though i didn't go in further, i was already very impressed by the intricate Gothic design, which was accentuated by the high arches and ceiling which gave the place a very spacious feel.

There was a night after dinner, i went back to the York Minster ( about 3 min walk from my hotel) and just sat in front of the West door for 30 minutes just to admire this fine piece of art. Later, i had no choice but to leave because i was already shivering from the cold.

Autumn has always been my favourite season, with all those red and brown leaves floating down from willow trees. We passed through Museum Gardens in York and it was so beautiful it almost made me cry. There were free roaming squirrels which were not afraid of humans at all, i wish i had an acorn with me to offer to them.

In Museum Gardens lies this stunning ruin, the St Mary Abbey. The foggy weather that day made this place seem rather forlorn and abandoned. It didn't help that the area was deserted with no visitors the day i arrived. Really poignant...

Getting To and Around York

This autumn, i had the opportunity to travel to UK for 2 weeks. We arrived in London Heathrow after a 14-hour flight on the Airbus, and we followed that up with a 4-hour drive to York in a rented Vauxhall.


The motorway was quick and direct. Traffic wasn't bad either.

It was school break that week, and York is a very touristy place in UK. There were many locals spending their time at York while we were there. York is a very quaint and beautiful town, with many picturesque corners.

We had a quick walk into the city center, and also admired the beautiful buildings which house the many museums in this town. It was a foggy day, but dry and perfect for a day out.

Clifford's Tower is a castle overlooking the town of York. It is easy to recognise because it is located on an elevated ground and can be seen from miles away.

There were many free-roaming ducks around Clifford's Tower and they didn't seem to mind me stalking them!

The York Magistrate Court is an imposing building which had Moorish influence in its architecture. Very beautiful and my traveling companion's favourite building in York.

The Rose Veranda

It was Shangri-La Hotel's 38th anniversary and there was a 38% discount on their buffets. The ladies and I promptly booked ourselves a 3-hour high tea session at The Rose Veranda.

Even though most of us had been there before, we didn't mind going back for another round again. The place is always impeccable and comfortable, making it a pleasant afternoon to sit and laze.

Tze Ching is always a nice companion to have for tea. She's gullible and causes many hilarity because she's so trustworthy of us that she sometimes didn't see us pulling her leg.

The five girls posing for a group photo before digging in. It was mystifying when we found out that all of us are staying on the 11th floor in our respective flats... talk about beating the odds!

The wonderful thing about The Rose Veranda is that it has 102 kind of teas to choose from ( you can order by cup or by pot), plus about 7-8 kinds of coffee. Even with the five of us, we could hardly cover a fraction of it.

This Viennese coffee is a hot favourite with us girls. The coffee was very fragrant and is topped with a generous amount of whipped cream which melts slowly into the hot drink to give it a slightly sweet taste. I also love how beautiful the china is at the Rose Veranda.

This is just one of the many rounds of food that we had. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet, so we simply tried EVERYTHING! The savoury dishes were great but we all enjoyed the sweet things the most!

The Oreo cheesecake was divine! We also had a go at the chocolate fondue, coating the big juicy strawberries with the rich chocolate.

When we were finally stuffed from all those sinful food, we cleared our palates with the fruit infusion tea, which were slightly sourish to aid our digestion.

Batam Long Weekend

It was my first trip to Batam, a small Indonesian island just an hour off the coast from Singapore. Funny given how near the place is, there is an hour time difference between two islands. The ferry we boarded was similar to the one in Macau, only this one doesn't make me sick...

Our beautiful room, which was too dim. I had brought 2 books and a magazine but they spent most of the time inside my bag because of the lighting.

Harris Resort reminded me of those beach resorts in Malaysia. The one thing that made Harris Resort stand out was their excellent service. Given that it was a long weekend and the big crowd, i was amazed that whenever i stood somewhere looking confused, a member of their staff would come over to offer help. They also enjoy chatting up with guests, making them feel at home. Despite the numerous errors they made ( our passport was stuck at the ferry terminal, wrong dinner set was given etc.), they were always apologetic and handled it professionaly.

The hotel had a nice bowling alley. I have developed an itch for bowling in the last 5 months, and had been practising almost once or twice every week, and now my bowling record can sometimes hit 150.... Wahahahaha....

This was the sad beach just outside our hotel. A far cry from those in Malaysia.

If you are wondering what our hotel room looked like from the outside, here it is.

Kenny and I having fun outside our room taking photos.

We booked a spot on the shuttle bus to transport us to the city centre for a spot of shopping in their Nagoya Shopping Mall. This shopping mall actually has a security checkpoint at its entrance, where all cars had to open up their boots for checks.

I had a SGD 8 manicure session which included the whole set of cuticle cleaning, buffing, hand massage, and nail polish...

The traffic in Batam was actually very dangerous, the way the motocyclist weaved their way in and out between cars. Almost 70% of the roads are occupied by motorcyclists...

Count and Cookie Monster

The things i love about this Count-Cookie collaboration video :

1) The dramatic music as Count counts

2) The way Count and Cookie argues about 'count' and 'eat'

3) How Cookie is puzzled why thunders sound when Count starts to laugh

4) Check out the way both of them exits... Ha Ha...smooth operators...

Kenny's Birthday Dinner

On Kenny's birthday this year, we enjoyed a dinner for two in Batam. It is a full-course meal and to start it all - homemade fresh bread served with butter ( hey, don't question me, i'm just reading off the menu)


For starters, we had 'Symphony of Greens and Mango Salad'. Basically, it was just mixed green with mango salad, served with grilled tuna flakes and adventure dressing. Tuna flakes somehow reminded me of Frosty... haha... my favourite part of a full-course meal is normally the starter dish and the dessert!

This is our 'Creamy Seafood Soup'. It was filled with so much stuff despite the shallow dish it came in. This soup had two king prawns, squid and fish in it. To top it up was a crunchy piece of garlic bread. By the end of this course i was already filled to the brim.

I never liked the main course whenever i eat out, so this wasn't an exception. My 'Char-grilled Spicy Chicken' was a disappointment! The sauteed mixed vegetable was too hard and the pasta was tasteless ( they gave me too little sauce to work with).

Kenny's main course fared better. He ordered a 'Surf and Turf'. It was basically grilled beef with prawns, served with shallot reduction sauce, buttered vegetable and potatoes. Everything was nicely marinated and had a harmonised taste.

To end everything on a high note was our dessert : 'Sweet Temptation' - a platter of warm pudding and marinated pear, served with blueberry and vanilla sauce. It was very comforting, but i was already too stuffed to finish this.

A pic to remember Kenny's birthday. Till next year....

Everybody Wants A Piece Of Me!

Business is thriving once again, in the Yong An Corporation. And here is why :

Decided that it is business sense to venture into embroidery goods. Selling bedding goods, furniture and curtains are wholesome and does wonders for my name's image.

Besides selling every day cheap items, the corporation shall also meddle in a bit of high-flying industries, hence the emergence of my own plaza.

Aunties and uncles know my name like the back of their hands after the official opening of the Yong An ( or Wing On, as they call it in Cantonese) Supermarket.

With all my riches, i need something else to ensure good health so that i can live long to spend all the money i have earned. I normally get these health products at my own shop, Yong An Apothecary.

Elsewhere in Singapore, the real estate market is where the big bucks are. This is my own condominium, Yong An Park. ( sorry i couldn't find a signboard with its name though)

When business is booming, everybody wants a piece of you. They've even named a street in Jurong after me. Even though they got the Chinese name right, they mis-spelt the English name as Yung An Road.