Thailand: Trang, Krabi

If you follow me on my Instagram which I recently created, yes I only recently created an Instagram account, you will see a picture of an island and beautiful clouds above it and you may wonder, in broken Malaysian English, "Wah Malaysia got such thing mehhh?", well that was taken in Thailand! #SorryToDisappoint Oh, back to Instagram, follow me - magicporridgepotblog. *Follow Me shampoo commercial playing*

This trip was decided in one night and one thing I love about my family, when they say LET'S GO, they mean GO. Hahhaha. We charted a minivan and off we went on a weekend! The funny thing was, no one really knew where we were going, except for my uncle who arranged the trip, not until the trip itself. All I know was I was going to Thailand. And poor Hui Ling, she was invited but no one could tell her precisely where we were going. Up till she got onto the minivan, she had no idea and her mum was worried that we would human-traffic her.

DAY ONE: TRANG
Malaysia - bumpy coach ride - Arrive - Le Khaokob Cave - Robinson's Trang - Trang Night Market

In my opinion, if they build smoother roads, Thailand would get a boost in tourism by 268%. Hhahaha. #OppaGangnamStyle #Horse-rideDance. #DressClassyDanceCheesy. Except that we weren't dancing, we were suffering, on bumpy roads, like riding mad horses, at the back of the coach.

From the look of the entrance, Le Khaokob Cave didn't feel very impressive. When the whole adventure was done though, it's probably the best cave adventure ever!

Me and cousins!

Taking the boat into the cave.

All the skillful boatmen.

So the first part of the cave adventure was to walk like a duck. hahahaha.
The walls of the cave were so low we literally had to duck!

Then came the most thrilling caventure ever! (for me)

We all had to lie down.
That is obviously my knee before I had to lie FLAT and point my toes like a gymnast.


Into the darkness...!
The walls of the cave were so low that at times they were just like 0.5 inches from our face!
My mum even took out her specs. hahaha. We all had to tuck in our bellies. LOL
And it was pitch dark!!
And the opening of the cave was so narrow that only one boat can use the passageway at one time.
Mind you, we screamed like crazy!!


Thankfully, the boatmen brought us all out safely, without anyone getting stuck in the cave forever.
You know I can't really describe that feeling.
When I was in there, it felt like we were going to get trapped in the cave, at anytime, and we all had to keep our body flat, at all times, to avoid bumping into stalagtite, stalagmite, cave, rock, whatever.
It was very exciting and thrilling at the same time very scary!
You have to experience it yourself!

Enough of scary-claustrophobic-yet-damn-fun cave adventure, our tour guide brought us to Robinson's @ Trang. By the look of the town, you wouldn't expect a Robinson's in Trang. Surprising!

While waiting for our mothers, heheh.
Did you spot it?
We coincidentally wore the same pair of iPanema sandals!!

I love how cute their toilet sign was.

Went for a stroll in the night market. The night market is a small one and due to the fact that we were all exhausted by the horse riding bumpy ride and cave boating scare, we went back to hotel early to rest.

DAY TWO: TRANG - KRABI

Trang - Emerald Cave - Island Hopping - Ao Nang Beach, Krabi

Good morning! Time to go out and play in the sun!

Mummy dearest and I can't wait to have fun in the sun!

I have learned that Kit Kat bars make good snacks when you're traveling!

First stop of the day was Emerald Cave. We all had to swim through a cave and at the other end is a beach. The experience swimming through a salt-water cave is already enough to make me happy, what with the emerald green water we can see in the cave. Ahhh, heaven on earth! 

See where the boat stops? That's where we started our swim into the cave.

At the other end of the cave, we were greeted with a sun-bathed, almost-private beach!
It's like an opening, in the middle of the island, blessed with fine sand and emerald green water, welcoming the world through the Emerald Cave.
Just too exotic!


This is another group making their way out of the beach.
Same way in, same way out - through the Emerald Cave. Heheh.


The gang!
What did I tell you about the emerald green water? :DDD

We all wished we could stay longer... But because there are other tour groups coming in already, and they cannot accommodate too many people. Note to self, next time, visit when it's low season. :)))

Next, island hopping and snorkelling! How I wish I had an underwater camera. The corals were of a myriad of summer colours - velvet, brilliant blue, emerald green, even orange! Some of the corals blanketed the sea floor and it's such a joy to watch the peaceful ocean life, where all different sea creatures give different colours and patterns to the underwater world.

So many fishes in the sea, out there for me~~!
I think this line is from some Katie Melua's song..


The most picturesque snorkelling background. Hahaha.
My dad was so smart to ask me to wait in the boat while he swam to this spot and composed his own picture. Hhaha.


It was here that I got stung by many many mini jelly fishes.
But they are not poisonous so it's ok. Hehe.

Then it was time to head back to the shore and continue our journey to Ao Nang, Krabi.

Alright, now I shall just show you the interesting crafts I saw in the streets of Ao Nang beach because after dinner upon our arrival at Ao Nang, we only went for a stroll along the beach.

How they make birds look so high fashion.

These are hand-crafted from bull's skin.

DAY THREE: KRABI
Buri Tara Resort - Crystal River - Tiger Cave - Bang Kram Hot Stream - Depart

We stayed in a nice resort during our one-night stay in Krabi - Buri Tara Resort. Unfortunately, WI-FI was not free. Haha. #CheapskateAlert #ButWiFiShouldBeFreeEverywhere

The view from our balcony.

My room, with cute elephants!

Maybe next time I will stay in one of these. Haha.

First stop of the day, crystal river. I swear I could die here stay here for hours, sitting by the river, maybe with a book in my hands. I have not see any river like that! Its clear, calm surface makes a perfect mirror, reflecting the beauty of its natural surroundings; sun rays, blue skies and not forgetting beautifully intertwined mangrove roots. And underneath that perfect mirror, you see the beauty of the river itself, glowing from beneath. It's like I was lost, in an enchanted forest, and I did not want to get out.

Seagrass in the water.


I could get lost just by looking at the fishes swimming so peacefully and soaking in the warmth of sun rays from above.
And the soft ripples of the water makes it beyond perfect.

Next, we went to Tiger Cave / Temple. It's a temple, built in a cave. Have you seen cave paintings? This is the place to see it. Hahahha.

As if the day could not get any hotter, our tour guide decided to bring us to a hot stream, or hot waterfall. As its name suggests, it is realllyy hot! The water is 40C hot. The cool thing about this hot stream is, the rocks form a natural tub so we had the real hot jacuzzi spa and massage because the running water gave us a good massage. Hahaa.

The entire waterfall is HOT!
Can you believe it? Believe it. #Ripley'sBelieveItOrNot

And, that was our last stop in Thailand. I still miss Thailand and I can't get the Thai accent outta my head!

The Vanilla Place, Empire Subang

Hey peeps! Sorry for the longggg break.. Truth is, I was a little down recently and I didn't want to fill my blog with emo/sad posts. Hehe. Mr Choe's back ache is recovering now (he had slipped disc) so I hope this is the beginning of the ending of the down time. Hhahha.

This girl's outing that I decide to post is one that happened weeks ago! Ee Vonn, Kareen and I went to The Vanilla Place at Empire Subang for a lunch date. I haven't dated them since and I miss them both!! I am not much of a food blogger like Kareen but I'll just post pictures of the food and comment a little. Hehe.

The Vanilla Place

Kareen + Pesto Pasta.

Her pesto pasta was good it seemed. :)

Me + Aglio Olio.

My aglio olio was so-so only.

Ee Vonn + Nachos with Beef.

Nachos was nachos. Hahhaah. 

(Now you know why I am so not food-blogger-material)

Next, food pictures!

Pesto Pasta.

Aglio Olio.

Nachos.

And brownies for dessert! Warm brownie served with ice-cream, one of the simplest luxury in life.

I am a sweet tooth so this was what I enjoyed the most. Hahha.

I like this picture of me, but my hair got in the way of Kareen's hair.

So this is a better picture. Hahah.

My OOTD

Crochet hairband: Ipoh Parade

Black turtleneck top: Macy's

Turquoise/beige sailorpants: Kenanga

Yellow handbag: Coach

Black ballerina pumps: Zalora

Kareen's OOTD

Necklace: RarelyCloudy (coming to you real soon!!)

Black top: Uniqlo

Red capri pants: H&M

Wedges: Vincci

That's all I know. Hihi.

Colourfully coordinated outfits make me happy!!

Life, and death

I just came home from a funeral of an aunt who lost the battle against breast cancer. This is an aunt who was so strong to have fought this battle twice, this is an aunt who stayed jovial despite her cancer, this is an aunt who fought her battle to her last breath and for this, I salute her. And I respect her family for fighting this battle together with her too. They have been taking time off work to care for her, encouraged her, tried all options to nurse her back to health.

Unfortunately, everything has an ending.

Sometimes, attending a funeral put things back in to perspective. It reminds us of what's really important in our lives. It makes us see the real kind of love within a family. It brings back memories, some long forgotten. It makes us put aside all differences and reunites us in times of gloom. It holds a family together.

And it helps me too. It helps me understand better, the effect of my work, as a life insurance advisor. It helps to push me further, to overcome challenges that come my way. If my aunt can be so strong in the face of a killer disease, so can we, as healthy and fit people, overcome obstacles and challenges in life. It reminds me, that we only live once, and that everything I do, I put my heart and soul into it, because I only live once. It reminds me too, to extend kindness to all, to be a good daughter, a good partner and a good friend to everyone, because we never know when.

Thanks aunt, for teaching me strength and perseverance. May you always be remembered.

Cars are not a girl's best friends

I don't get along well with cars, or, well, maybe just for the past month.

My little Meevi got into accident.

Drove home without realising there is a nail in my tyre.

Good: I learned how to change tyres. So you can call me up the next time you need to do an emergency tyre change.

Bad: Had to change two of my tyres because they are no good already.

Took a nail to make me realise my tyres are botak already.

Car engine could not start.

Mr Choe's friend had to come all the way from Subang to help me find out what's the problem.

He finally nailed it down to a faulty relay, phew!

Thank goodness Mr Choe has a friend who owns an automotive service center in Subang who's willing to ride all the way here to help me check on my car. If not I'll probably have to hire a tow truck.

If your car needs any service/repair, just ask me for his number ok!

Conclusion, I repeat, cars are not a girl's best friends.

First in the group - Mrs Lee

Finally, the first one to get married in the gang is Miss Neow Ti Hooi!

Last weekend we all made a special trip to Melaka for Ti Hooi's wedding. And it seems that age is catching up... After the weekend of driving to and fro Melaka, and hosting friends for 4 days, I was so so so exhausted... Stop! That's depressing! Let's talk about the fun stuffs shall we? Hehhehe.

The Wedding

We crashed the morning "pick-the-bride" session! To our disappointment, Mrs Lee did not expect us to be at her wedding during the morning where she was supposed to be wedded off to Mr Lee. To her surprise, we told her we were going to be there, the night before. Hahahha. At least we gave her a pretty late warning, if not, she will be shocked, not surprised. hahaha.

I'm sorry I don't have most of the group photos...

Let you in a secret, we are actually second cousins. Hehhe. 

Details of my dress, up close.

Getting ready for night reception. :))

OOTD:

Pink dress - Chic-in-Pink (find them on Facebook!)

Black ribbon - to give a waist line to my dress

Nude pumps - Aldo

Wah the dramatic light effect..

Again, group pics are not with me and Doris's phone crashed so we can't get the group pics yet...

Random selca shots. The term selca I learned from Chuckei's blog. ahha.

Eh, can you see my curls?? :P

When I get my hands on the group pics, will upload!! I also wanna remember how we all looked like at this wedding haha.

The Food

Gosh we ate so much I could not believe! Non-stop eating! Luckily we could burn some fat by walking and shopping on Jonker Street. I forgot to take pics of famous Nadeje mille crepe cakes!! Had them 3 years back and missed them ever since so this is my chance!! Hahaha. But sorry, no photos. :((

Jonker88 cendol.

Can you count the number of hands attacking the poor cendols??

We ordered ordinary/default cendol, mango cendol, sago cendol and sago gula melaka.

I liked sago cendol the most!

Then, off to the shop beside Jonker88 for some Nyonya Asam Laksa, different from Penang Asam Laksa but quite nice.

A bit spicy though, so we ended up with few glasses of iced lemon tea. haha.

Next day, the eating spree continues!!

Amoy Nyonya pancakes, just outside famous confectionery store, San Shu Gong. (pic below)

Great for breakfast hehehe.

This is where I bought their famous pineapple tarts home.

Mum loves pineapple tarts and she commented San Shu Gong pineapple tarts are very nice!

Then, as brunch (wth), we had Muar Chee.

Chicken rice balls for lunch!

Note that breakfast, brunch and lunch all happened in the same hour!! Hahahha.

Don't know the name of this shop but it's opposite San Shu Gong.

Coconut jelly as dessert.

And this Ting Ting candy as fun treat. Hehhe.

The name Ting Ting is apparently derived from the sound of the hammer (I don't know what I should call the tool, haha) knocking the candy.

So much effort goes into making this small pack of candy.

There are so much to eat on just one street! 

The Crafts

I just wanna highlight some cute crafts I saw along the street.

Pop-up cards.

Mini wire sculptures.

Classic hand-painted porcelain.

This is so classic we don't even use them anymore!

But maybe, time to bring back the classics!

Decorative bulbs.. Maybe one day. :D

The After-Party

When we came back to KL, Ti Hooi (now Mrs Lee) invited us for a lunch get-together because she misses us too much! ahahhaa. And we went to Pavillion.

And we wanted to verify that mille crepe cakes in Melaka are still the best.

Verdict: Hokkaido Mille Crepe Cake 0 - 1 Nadeje Mille Crepe Cake

Ginza Cafe for lunch.

Don't ask me why September set lunch menu can still be used in the month of October. Lol.

Tried the curry udon for myself! :)

And when I came home that weekend, I got a surprise gift waiting for me!!

Aldo clutch from Bangkok.

Years ago, Mr Choe got me a Coach wristlet, also in the same type of champagne gold.

He felt that it's probably too small for me now, what with the invention of huge smartphones. haha.

So this is the substitute for that, in case I need a bigger champagne gold clutch. Hihi.

Phew!! Long post! That's because I had a longggg weekend! ;))