What's On My Dressing Table? (Part 7)

Wow, this is what a covet : Jill Stuart Blusher Set... it comes in an artistic and simply stunning casing. It looks like something from a jewellery line instead. But as far as i know, Jill Stuart brand is not carried here, and this blusher set costs a bomb. So i'll dream on.....haha...

This is actually an organic body cream by Bamford, which i'm trying out in the office as part of my research for a project. The body cream is pretty rich in its texture, and it is velvety and simply melts into your skin. Quite good, given that it is green and organic and all that, but i did spot many non-environmental friendly ingredients in the ingredient list ( e.g. ethoxylated products), so now i tend to get a little apprehensive by the 'natural' claim.

Crabtree and Evelyn advertises their handcreams by claiming that they are designed to be used by gardeners, whose hands are always exposed to harsh elements. This Citron : Honey & Coriander hand remedy is new in their hand cream line and was one of the Christmas presents i received last year. Haven't had the chance to use it, but given the previous ones i've used by the brand, it should pass the test.

I've recently changed to a new cleanser, because my skin gets irritated and red easily. Plantidote Mega Mushroom Face Cleanser by Origins is very mild on the skin and removes residues and make-up in a jiffy. Personally, i thought the mushroom smell was a put-off though, but i can live with that.

I'm still midway through my Clinique Happy perfume, but after some time, i realised that floral tones still suit me more. Happy was more of a citrus fragrance, while my new L'Eau D'Issey consists of a wide range of floral scents including lotus, cyclamen, freesia, carnations, white lilies with hints of amberseed and musk. However, i think the strongest smell among all is the lily, which i love!

Recently i've purchased several new facial masks by Nature Republic, a Korean company endorsed by superstar Rain. I tried several different ones. There are many things i don't like about their masks, the essence of the masks have curdled up, not sure if it's supposed to be like that. When i open the masks, instead of a moist masks, what i get are like gel curdling up all over the sheet. Also, it's difficult to unfold the facial masks, the way they are folded is not user-friendly. Not recommended by me. I think Skinfood and The Face Shop is a much better bet for facial masks.

The Citadel, Cairo

On our last day in Cairo, we stopped by early morning at The Citadel, home to Egyptian rulers for almost 700 years. As it was end of October, it was getting chilly especially in the morning. I think temperature was about 17-20 deg C. This dashing fella was our tour leader from KL. I think the travel agency got someone from the Malaysian office so that the leader doesn't need to get a visa. He's quite a humorous and helpful leader, well worth our tips.

The most famous landmark in the Citadel is the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. It is built by reformist leader Mohammed Ali who is also regarded as the founder of modern Egypt.

This is the beautiful courtyard of the mosque where worshippers wash their hands and feet before going into the mosque.

Within the mosque is an altar which looks very much like a Catholic Church. This is where the priest preaches before prayer.

Looking straight up the ceiling you will find these imposing domes. This mosque is deeply influence by the Turkish architecture and has a strong European feel to it. I certainly felt like i've stepped into a European Baroque-era church!

When the mosque was first opened, these lights were actually lighted with naked flames in them because electricity was not widespread yet. Imagine how lovely they must have looked. Later, they changed them to light bulbs, as we see it today.

Night Train & Egyptian Museum

After our long day in Luxor, we arrived at the train station for our 8-hour train ride from Luxor to Cairo.

The travel agency booked us into a first class sleeper train. We were all quite apprehensive cos we don't know what to expect. We observed several trains that arrived before ours, and let's just say they were quite 'modest', you know like those trains you see in India.

Wow, not too bad eh? And each first class carriage comes with a porter which speaks Queen's English and wears a captain's uniform.

After having dinner, the porter turns our seating carriage into sleeping bunks. Due to my smaller stature, i got the upper bunk. Even though it was a tiring day, most of us couldn't get much sleep cos the carriage was too cold, the tracks were noisy and the pillow was toooo flat.

Ahhh, after we reached Cairo, we stopped by at the Egyptian Museum. We queued for about 45 minutes to get in, to clear their checks at the entrance. Security is tight, especially with all the bomb threats to the tourist areas in Egypt.

They are scheduled to move to a new place soon, and about time too. The interior was too cramped. They have too many artifacts to be placed in such a small building. There was no proper storage of the artifacts, anyone could touch everything, and there were even some broken windows, making this place with absolutely no care and maintenance for these wonderful historical items.

The most impressive item in the museum are the treasures and the golden head of boy King Tutankhamun.

Horror Movies!!

Yeay... the best horror movies, although i may disagree with some of it, especially #1. Not for those with heart disorders, elderly citizens, pregnant women and Lynn Wee.

Universal Studios Part 2

When i visited Far Far Away, i found my favourite character Puss in Boots parading around. My aim of the day was to take photo with him and Po the Panda ( from Kungfu Panda), but he was nowhere to be found :( Among the attractions i went into in this world include Enchanted Airways coaster and Shrek 4D Adventure. There is also a Donkey Live performance, which baffled me because it's an animated Donkey ( from Shrek) but yet he is able to communicate with us audience during his show.

Shrek's Swamp on display within the grounds of Universal Studios.

The difference between Universal Studios and Disneyland is that they have many attractions which shows you how movies are made in Hollywood. In this Lights, Camera, Action, we were blown away when an empty sound stage becomes the setting for a major hurricane about to hit New York City right before our very eyes.

We had lunch at Mel's Drive-In, a roll and rock '50s drive-in restaurant serving burges with fries. Universal Studios offers food vouchers to patrons to compensate for the Battlestar ride which abruptly closed, so i had a free meal! Wakakakaka....

I finished all my rides by 2 pm, and my last show was the Monster Rock Musical at 2.45 pm. This infectious show has all the famous villains dancing and singing to famous songs. Among the villains featured are Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Mummy etc. There were so adorable!!

Since it was still early, i had a stroll around the theme park again and took some of the rides for the second time. This castle in Far Far Away is the landmark of the theme park, besides the huge ship in Madagascar. Oh yah! I forgot to post pictures from Madagascar. Anyway, the Crate Adventure is only due to open next year.

I'm such a sucker for theme parks, hope that this year i can visit the American Universal Studios. I heard it was much bigger and more fun than this one.

Universal Studios Part 1

It was a beautiful Thursday morning, had planned to enjoy the thrilling rides at Universal Studios Singapore. Been wanting to go there for some time. The theme park opens at 10 am, but even after breakfast we reached the place at 8.30 am. Took a photo with nobody behind me and then went to sit at the Hard Rock Hotel lobby until 9.45 am.

Once you go in, you're greeted by the Hollywood town, and then followed by this New York city atmosphere. You can feel the spirit and soak in the impressive skylines of the bustling city.

They also have their famous landmarks built in a smaller scale , i believe this might be the New York library?

In the Sci-Fi City, the main attraction is Battlestar Galactica. This ride has two roller coasters ( one for the Humans and one for the Cyclon) and there is one point where the two roller coasters will near collide merely centimetres apart. The Cyclon ride should be the more challenging one because it has its riders feet dangling. However, this ride ran into a big security issue and has been closed for months. Rumour has it that one of the seats fell off during a test run.

My first stop was to head to Ancient Egypt for Revenge of the Mummy. Wow, this ride was awesome. It's a roller coaster in the dark, and the roller coaster goes many directions, including backwards. The effects were also very real and impressive. I went on this ride twice.

After such an adrenaline-pumping ride, we opted for Treasure Hunters, where visitors drive their own desert jeep through an abandoned excavation mine.

The jeep travels so slowly that i can take many beautiful pictures of the skyline in Universal Studios. That red rollercoaster is in Far Far Away, called Enchanted Airways. It's a junior roller coaster modelled after the female dragon in Shrek.

Right beside Ancient Egypt is the Lost World. The rides in this world are fun! The best of them all is Jurassic Park Rapid Adventures. This ride gets you soaked from head to toe so do get a poncho. It's a long ride in a river raft where you pretend you're visiting Jurassic Park. Then midway during your ride, things go wrong and dinosaurs start harassing you and it all ends with an unexpected plunge into the river! Woweeeeee.....

Waterworld is basically a show with death-defying stunts, explosions etc.
There is another ride in The Lost World called Canopy Flyer which sees you soaring above the theme park and a dizzying speed. Must try, but has a long queue.

Karnak Temple & Luxor Temple

After our lunch on the cruise, we had two more famous temples to visit in Luxor. The first one is Karnak Temple. This place is the most important temple in the history of Egypt. It is astoundingly grand and huge, because many pharaohs added different parts to the temple to make their mark on this place. In this photo you can see the two rows of sphinx leading up to the entrance. This Sphinx Avenue is only recently found to be at least 2 km long, linking this place to Luxor Temple ( to be visited after this place). Excavation work is underway to uncover all of them, despite having to move many modern buildings in its way!

The attraction in Karnak Temple is undoubtedly the Hypostyle Hall, where stood 134 giant pillars representing the papyrus flower. How the ancient Egyptians managed to erect, cut and carve all this marvels the mind. Here, i only managed to capture about 10 of the pillars, so you can imagine the grandiose of 134 of them when you're there.

There are 2.5 obelisks standing within Karnak Temple. This is the other half that got broken and is displayed on lying position.

There is also huge stone scarab of Khepri, built by Amenhotep III. Scarab is a fictional beetle which feeds on human flesh ( for revision, please re-watch The Mummy movies or go to Universal Studios Singapore Egyptian World). It is believed that if you circle this stone scarab, you will be blessed.

Later in the afternoon, we stopped over at Luxor Temple. This obelisk stands at the entrance. It is a 25m-high pink granite obelisk and right beside it is a statue of Ramses II.

Inside, you can witness this double row papyrus-bud columns encircling the court, interspersed with huge standing colossi of Ramses II.

Luxor Temple, in the later part of history, was redesigned into a Roman Church by the Romans. The irony was that, after hundreds of years, the painted mural by the Romans are fading and we can see the old Egyptian carvings seeping through again. Can you spot the Roman painting on this wall fading away?

Just before we leave Luxor, we cannot resist taking one last photo with the most powerful pharaoh in Egyptian history : Ramses II.

Jesus is Lord

One of my favourite worship songs from church. It sounds better when it is sung during the mass with hundreds others. Sounded a bit flat in this video cos it was a single singer :(

Hatshepsut Temple, Valley of the Kings & Colossi of Memnon

After the hot air balloon, our bus picked us up and took us to the attraction nearby : Hatshepsut Temple or in local language Al-Deir Al-Bahari Temple.

This is a very special temple because it was dedicated to the only female who ruled like a male Pharoah. She was originally a queen, Queen Hatshepsut who later ascended to the throne. This breathtaking temple was erected against a mountainous backdrop.

It was such a dry and sunny day, walking towards this temple was such an effort, but the beauty of this place more than made up for the fatigue.

These are statues of Hatshepsut, characteristically represented as male king with a beard. The ascension of Hatshepsut to the throne was opposed by many during her time, and after her death, many monuments made in her name were destroyed.

Within the temple is a chapel of Hathor, where the columns were made with pillar depicting Hathor's head.

Just a short distance away from Hatshepsut temple is the Colossi of Memnon. All that is left here are the two gigantic statues which once guarded Amenhotep's mortuary temple, which was later destroyed by earthquake.

One of the most inspiring places we've been to in Luxor has to be the Valley of the Kings. In the valley, lies tombs of 62 egyptian Pharoahs. To prevent overexposure, daily visitors can only visit 3 tombs. Each time they enter one tomb, a mark is made on their ticket, and after three entries, they can no longer enter another. This place is protected well, due to the colours in the tomb and hence no cameras are even allowed in the grounds.

This is an example of what one of the tombs looked like within. It was such a pity we couldn't take photos, cos the three tombs that we entered were vastly different, yet beautiful in their own unique way.