This, that, and those

You know there's this page in My Paper where people like to take photographs of rude/unpleasant/bizarre stuff and post it in? Somehow, it always about this person not giving up the 'priority' seats in bus and mrt. Let me ask you a question. If you are sitting in one of those 'non-priority' seats and a pregnant woman boards the train, wouldn't you (assuming you are a nice kind person and all) give up your seat too? I have friends who always opt NOT to sit in those 'elderly' seats in buses because they say those are meant for old people. Well, if I feel that someone needs the seat more than me, I will gladly stand up no matter which seat I am on.

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Recently, I went to Bintan for a short getaway. I had no idea that ferries can get tossed around like sampans in the sea. Suffice to say that retching sounds were the music of choice in the small, cramped ferry. Thank goodness for 'Little Nonya' on the TV Mobile for diverting your attention away from the Viking-ride motion of the ferry.

Welcome drink with some citrusy stuff inside. Yummy after the terrible ferry ride. Now I know why Bintan is a spa destination. You need to calm your nerves. +_+

The pseudo-arty look. Yes, as with most of my island trips, it was cloudy.

The lobby. Those sea creatures glow at night.

One of the 2 pools. By the way, this is Bintan Lagoon. We got the lead-in room for S$132/night via Wotif, which included welcome drinks and breakfasts. The meals there are pretty expensive, starting from about S$40/pax. It's a good idea to bring some instant food along. If you want to save, be like us and pig out at breakfasts, so you only need another dinner to get you through till the next breakfast. Of course, there's no need to prepare Indonesian Rupiah because everything is in SGD. Ferry took another S$60 or so. Another advice on the ferry: do not go for the upgraded category. They cramp you into a tiny tiny cabin (with some seats facing the back of the ferry!!!) where you have to turn your head to watch telly. Yeah, they give you food, but who needs a Coke and an oily chicken pie when your lunch is coming up your throat anyway?

The room was pretty decent. The raised platform is a good place to play games. I lost about $30 here learning Texas Hold 'Em. ): I don't really get the whole idea of putting cushions on the bed. You throw them on the floor when you're about to sleep anyway.

The rough rough sea. It was windy.


The lobby at 3am. Tip: Go outside when it gets dark. The sky is filled with stars! Beautiful! It would be good to read up on the stars (not the horoscope variety) before going so you can have fun trying to identify them. I only know Orion Belt. ):

The hotel's club - Silk. Decent live band but DJ spins House/Dance/Trance. Not my tunes.

All in all, it was a great trip to zou bo (do nothing). I was saying that I want to save up and go traveling this year. He felt that travel was a luxury which should come when you have the excess to do so. Other things have to come first. While I do see where he's coming from, I wonder whether we can live in a sequential way. Traveling at 25 and traveling at 35 will make a vast difference. When Mum and Dad were in Australia, they rented a car and were going to drive back to their accommodation in the middle of the night. When they got lost, they tried reading the street directory but couldn't because of their long-sightedness. There's the whole cliche but true notion that you do not know what will happen tomorrow. Carpe Diam amigo! (Yes, I know one is Latin and the other is Spanish. Sue me!)

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The last time we met, it was half a year ago. When the secondary school gang turned up at the reunion, it felt like we were back in school again. Old but still funny banters kept going back and forth. Anecdotes flew out like missiles. Huizhong's Three Bad Things and Three Retributions at Sentosa were mentioned again and again. Kelvin's knack for handling hot objects came into the topic as well.

All too soon, it was midnight and the cake was brought out.

Tip for potluck: Please bring some 'cooling' stuff to balance the finger food, curry chicken, and pizzas.

Amidst Texas Hold 'Em with leftovers as forfeit, sipping champagne with curry chicken, we spoke of the past and how we do not feel our age. The night flew by in a flash, and soon it was 3am. Tired but happy, the old bones started to protest the close contact with the cold floor after 5 hours. We all got ready to leave and started planning for the next reunion. If you asked me what exactly we had talked about in those 5 hours, I will tell you the topics were Huizhong's Three Bad Things and Three Retributions at Sentosa and Kelvin's knack for handling hot objects. :)

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All my colleagues have never heard of "force field" and deemed me an ancient tortoise because of that. Better to be an old, wise tortoise than a mountain one right? :)