whimsical*girl

This is Phuket's own version of Disneyland.

We heard the dinner ain't worth it, so we purchased just tickets to the show which included access to the themepark as well.

The themepark is a cliche 80s carnival, with carnival games (i.e. simple hit and win games), elephant rides, photo opportunities and full of shopping to cash in on tourists' pockets.

The highlight is of course the Elephant Theatre show. Entering the grand theatre facade, you'll pass by a Hall of Fame of celebrities and personalities who have visited before, dating back several decades. The baby tigers and elephants in the pre-show lead up were the cash cows, since patrons need to pay to have their photograph taken with these "cuties". While they looked cute, they too seem as if they had been drugged or
abused. The young elephants were swaying their heads from left to

When: 4 - 7 Dec 2010
Where: Patong, Phuket

My first to Phuket and wanting to be in the center of action, we stayed at Patong. Indeed it had all the action, and nothing like an islandic getaway. The two just do not go hand in hand in Patong. The saving grace came when I hit the beach strip and tread on its pristine white sand...

My perception of island vacations should be idyllic. So in the 3 days I had, one was spent island hopping, and the other two bumming. i.e. street shopping, eating and massage.

On the shopping front is Jungceylon, a modern and massive mall right by our hotel that served me well. Though too urbanised for my liking, it's ideal as it saves me the trouble of haggling over that few cents. I didn't buy much though, if at all. Massage on the contrary, was essential. Yet being on the red light district (Patong) didn't make finding a decent spa easy. Amazingly however, I clocked a good 10 pampering spa hours at a one called Let's Relax. Other

Looking forward.

作詞：桑田佳祐  作曲：桑田佳祐

Is an extremely stylish rabbit. (read more here)

Spotted at Jungceylon, she decorated the mall pretty this Christmas. Prettier than the stuff back home. To my rare few readers, Merry Christmas!

With all the hype about Haneda airport and direct flights (SQ, ANA, etc) there, my enthusiasm about Japan is re-igniting back to yesteryear's level! For some illogical reason, it could all have started off from the Nodame turned anime effect. I will find a means to get myself there soon, which my first attempt was to enter in an itinerary contest! *Please pick me, please pick me...*

While before that happens, I'd like to share my discovery of the day:

Kobukuro - Sakura

最近みった過ぎるのアニメが好き。

九月の中で　「のだめ」と「君の届け」と「夢パティ」と「メイド様」 全部は早いスピドが終わる。

「どうして好き？」の言って、自分もわからない。良い感じだからね。

すみません、日本語は上手じゃないで、いろいろ思って事は話さない。幼稚園レベルでしょう。

でもアニメのため、ピアノと日本語もう一回練習する。

If I were to pick a must-do in London, it has gotta be catching a musical at the West End. I managed to squeeze 2 into my schedule - The Phantom of the Opera and its newly launched sequel Love Never Dies.

POTO was of course the well-known, well-loved and an unparalleled musical of all time. LND picks up the story 10 years later where the Phantom still yearns for Christine and lures her to sing in Coney Island, America.

In comparison to its successful predecessor, you'll probably be disappointed with LND as I initially was. It is not unexpected that the tone, the themes and the characters will evolve with time and so for a while I was trying to identify with the dissatisfaction felt. The build up was slow, picked up during the 2nd half and the end was flat. It was precisely too much width in the story that its depth had been compromised. This was however made up for by the superb cast and impressive set. Ramin Karimloo delivered such an unforgettable performance as the Phantom, that he's undoubtedly the one of the best around (imo). His soulful rendition of "Till I hear you sing" was simply stunning and left me deeply impressed. And not to mention the good looks, it's a lethal combination.

Thought I'd put a closure to it, before launching into frenzy writing of the trip.

So the whole of 2nd half of May was spent on the roads of Europe, my much needed annual vacation from routine life. On itinerary were London and Spain. We tossed and turned about Paris and decided to go for it at the very last, which I'm glad I eventually did.

This trip has been a rollcoaster.

What seem little was actually a lot. And just when you think you've seen it all, there are always new surprises at the turn of a corner and probably just as many that you've not even stumbled upon. I ended the trip on a sad note though, and returned ailing from the flu bug, till now. I think I struck lottery with a 100 days' cough. Missed home a little at the end of it all (surprise surprise), but right now I'm actually having post holiday blues. I can't say that I'm quite done with Europe yet.

I'm no food connoisseur but my philosophy is to try the good foods in Bali - while they aren't considered cheap by Bali's standard, it's at least a good half of the price for the same quality found back home. Here are some of our recommended eats, tried and tested.

CHANDI @ Jl Oberoi

My personal favourite amongst all. I read about Chandi on the internet, and was much delighted to have stumbled upon it along Jl Oberoi. On seeing my excitement, Ed asked "So what's good here?". His question was only reciprocated with a shrug. Anyways the place and menu felt good, so we decided to try it out.

We had an early dinner and the place doesn't fill up until much later, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The waiter gave us the option of garden or indoor seating. If not for the heat, I would be inclined to sit at the garden where there was a cascading water feature. The room's chic decor together with its dim lighting and music creates a relaxed ambience for the place. Aesthetics aside, food was what Chandi really was about. We had the Beef Rendang Envelop, Balinese Crispy Duck and Mixed Sate. All tasted great and at very worthwhile prices too!

Made's Warung @ Jl Raya Seminyak

Close to 6 years apart, we decided it's time to take a retreat in Bali once more.

Duration: 20/3 - 23/3

The trip came timely, as was much needed after a long week's meeting at work. This time we hopped on the villa wagon and put up at Seminyak, just further north of Kuta... which means a large part was chilling out and relaxing - we have covered most of the sights the last visit (long ago) anyway. Aside/ Prior to the trip, we almost went nuts villa hunting online. The multitude of options were just overwhelming with villas sprouting out every now and then and dotted across the island.

Kanishka Villa at Jl Kunti, Seminyak was the villa of choice. We were pretty pleased with the villa, their hospitality and its locality. Shops and food were at our doorstep, yet we were nicely tucked away into a lane, apart from the bustle. The pool in particular was Ed's muse - he was thrilled with his newfound playland and enjoying his little pool side party, aka a beer in hand by the poolside. Not entirely Ed, I had fun too, just that he maxed his fun out. There were times that I got bored or tired and just watched him monkey away from the comfort of the room. Now thinking back, it felt somewhat a zoo experience! I wasn't in Monkey Forest, was I?

* * * * * *

Day 9, 6/5 Sun

The day being our final day in Tokyo, we decided to hit the salon
after much contemplation. I did a perm while Serene had a cut. Though
my curls lasted a mere 1-2 months, the nature of most Japanese hair
fixes, the salon had great head massages I must say! We went our