Xmas isn't Xmas if your heart is not whole!

22nd Dec 2010

I do not have green fingers, more likely black fingers, hence keeping the plants alive means alot of replanting.Though gardening is not exactly my passion, somehow I am rather reluctant to give up. So have to keep on looking for plants to replace those that died. Some things are irreplaceable??

We had dinner at Pepperoni with Maggie and Caroline. This must be the biggest family pizza I have ever seen!

23rd Dec 2010

Choir performance at the Club House in Queens. Mr Lee asked me if I could invite TWPC next year?

I was very touched when Alex Heng ( LG's boss ) sent me a Noel Xmas hamper. Very sweet of him to remember us!

KL Danzbuddies 2010

16th Dec 2010
Met up with Kwan for lunch at Royal China followed by massage at Kenzo

17th Dec 2010

Ivy and Yow Ming gave us a treat at Seletar Country Club. We spent a noisy afternoon at the club's KTV lounge. The greatest joke is : we had to call 5 people to ask for the song title of ( one pax one half Holkkien song) and there was no listing in the set there. The songs brought back too much memory and so we played mahjong until dinner time. Helen gave all of us our long-awaited treat( xmas,put-on-weight,new year and line-up all rolled into one) at Blk 654 Yishun ave 4.

18th Dec 2010

Our bus was delayed by a massive jam by 2 hours. The Double Tree Hilton was really very very good. It's an experience NOT to be missed. The group was taken to Bukit Bintang  for a late lunch. God is good, I found my favourite Snow ice sesame flavour at Lot 10 and then it was followed by shopping and a classic manicure.Dinner at Overseas Chinese Restaurant. Everyone was tired and so we headed back to our hotel for sweet dreams of shopping till we dropped!

19th Dec 2010
Saw some beauties having a dip at the pool. And just when you thought you have seen it all,

They decided to show us a little bit more in the Steam Room. Tang would have been quite willing to do a 100 dances just to see that little bit more!

After a fantastic breakfast that got everyone declaring that they were going to skip lunch, we headed for Mid Valley and 3 taxis were caught in a jam and one arrived 45 mins earlier than everyone! Everyone was very serious and all were busy hunting down good bargains.We met up again at Madam Kwan's for tea and also to show off our purchases. I got an evening dress that cost $229 ringgit but it has a 80% off price tag!

There was also a unaminous decision to continue shopping at Mid Valley and a quick dinner at Ying Ker Lou at the Gardens which served very authentic Hakka food. The sesame paste is really out of this world!

Mr Tang became the proud grandfather yesterday and so we had a present for the new arrival followed by a birthday ceremony for Violet-- fruit cake contributed by Susan.



20th Dec 2010orup
Mr Amar Sharil, Makan Kitchen's manager was most charming as he listened patiently to all our feedback ( complaints),take the group's photo, got us more of our favourite multi grain and even sent more of it for us to take back to Singapore. ( 10 loaves to be exact and of course we wer quite happy to pay for them). He even agreed to buy me champagne and have candlelight dinner with me! Not to be outdone, Maggie also made friends with the best chef in Hilton who baked those delicious bread.
Everyone headed off to KLCC so that they can go home tired but happy to have spent all the Ringgit they have brought with them. Maggie and I spent a combined total of $1000 ringgit on party clothes( as there was a long list of Danzbuddies waiting to give us treats in 2011)!

LK Travel Delights would like to say thank you for the fun, the good memories and good will generated by all and we look forward to the next trip. All thanks to Maggie for the seamless co-ordination, of course to God for keeping us safe.

Marina Bay Sands-- what an experience!

13th Dec 2010
Checked in with Danzbuddies and while taking a walk in the shopping mall, guess who I met!The infinity  pool at SkyPark is really quite a thrill even to the most well-travelled.

Do I have to roam the malls searching for the familiar face and memory of the past so as to assuage the hollowness that is impossible to fill?

Vietnam Holiday not to be repeated again!

6th Dec 2010: HANOI

7th Dec 2010: HANOI – HA LONG
After breakfast there was a morning city tour to visit some of the city's attractions including the fascinating Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. He was indeed the hero of the nation and was revered by the vietnamese for his contribution to the country; also saw the  Restored Sword Lake in the centre of modern Hanoi. Lunch at local restaurant, after lunch we managed to skip the temple of Literaeature, which is regarded as the first university in Vietnam. Proceed to Halong Bay, one of Vietnam's greatest natural wonders and was recognized as World's Natural Heritage by UNESCO.

8th Dec 2010: HA LONG – HANOI- SAPA
After breakfast we took a cruise on the emerald green waters of Halong among the 3,000 spectacular limestone islands, visit grottoes and floating village. The cruise ends with a fresh seafood lunch on board. After lunch back to Hanoi, we had to sarcifice shopping at Dong Xuan Market for a shower. We managed to do some shopping before the water puppet show and I dropped my wallet in the theatre in my hurry to go and change for the correct size. God is Good, Mr Wong LO picked it up and returned it to me. God bless him for that.Dinner at local restaurant, after dinner proceed to Hanoi railways station for the night train to Lao Cai  by Overnight on train. We were very very disappointed that we did not get the VIP cabins that we had promised. Definitely did not sleep well the whole night long and I thought of LG the whole night long. If he had come along, he would have comforted me and the disappointment would have been more bearable!

The VIP cabin we should have gotten!

9th Dec 2010: LAO CAI – CAT CAT – SIN CHAI - SAPPA

Arrive at Lao Cai and transfer to Sapa which is only 38km from Lao Cai. Breakfast at Royalview hotel. It was very cold about 10 degrees Celsius. After breakfast proceed to the valley by steps for about 2 km on a lovely trek that will take you along buffalo paths and trails and through several hill tribe villages.Overnight in Sapa.

10th Dec 2010: SAPA – TA VAN – LAO CAI

Breakfast at hotel, after breakfast .While walking to the H'mong village we had the opportunity to see  animals, such as chickens, water-buffaloes and pot - bellied pigs.

Trekking up the muddy slope in my new shoes with a bunch of the natives harrassing us to buy their trinkets was definitely not my cup of tea. After lunch we were taken to the hotel to rest while the local guide went home to shower and change. ( Personally we all thought it was rather unprofessional of him to do this) Later we were taken to the border for picture taking and 3 chaps approached Mr Justin for a super fast shoe cleaning service. The Sappa guide rejected our tips as I made a mistake in the envelope and gave his 600k to the driver earlier and he got only 150K. It was indeed appalling. Fortunately Josephine managed to get him back and Justin gave the correct amount and everyone was so nice to insist on sharing it our again!
11th Dec 2010: HANOI– Departure
Arrive  in Hanoi train station, meet and transfer to a 3* hotel for breakfast, after breakfast proceed to airport for returning flight. HOME SWEET HOME.However, due to poor visibilty our flight was delayed by 4 hours and as a result I could not attend Soo Ling's wedding. It was quite an experience to see hungry passengers grabbing white bread and cold sausages as the small cafeteria could not cope with the hundreds of stranded passengers. Mr Wong LO gave some of us a treat at the cafe downstairs where we could sit in comfort!

Turning of Age Beautifully

19th Nov 2010
Went for a hike with Shandy and LB followed by a delightful lunch at Taste in ION Orchard with uncle Leong and 6th uncle also came along. After that we went to Ritz Carlton to pick up some presents and Valerie's prom night stuff. The 3 of us went for a soothing massage at Kenzo in 313 Somerset.

20th Nov 2010
Six months has slipped by since LG was called home. I missed him every day and every hour but the overwhelming  loneliness is perhaps more bearable now as I busy myself everyday with the business of living, working and catering to the varied needs of the children. The whole family ( except for LS, Peter and Jeremy who were in Beijing) including Samantha went to Princess Terrace for lunch. Later in the evening Shandy joined me at TCC for our monthly party. I really enjoyed dancing very much.

21st Nov 2010
Went to the airport about 630 am to pick LS back from Beijing and decided to join Shandy for a cruise( to view some PROPERTIES!) at Sentosa Cove after lunch. IT turned out to be the SURPRISE PARTY of the YEAR.

Everyone has been so quiet about it as the one who lets the cat out of the bag has to pay for the whole event!

"Gratitude  makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

I cried at the yatch as I thought of LG beacuse LG = Life is Good but LG is not here to share it with me!

Thank God for my family( they went to great lengths, effort and expense) ,Maggie( who takes care of me all the time), my Danzbuddies(caters to my sense of belonging), school colleagues ( their unfailing support)and church friends especially Susan and family ( immeasurable kindness)who have done so much to make me realise that I can still be a woman who is able to laugh at the days ahead! If I live long enough to hit 60, then the celebration will be on the airplane or The Flyer?
22nd Nov 2010

We( Maggie, Jenny and I ) collected our custom- made shoes from addidas at Cathay building followed by lunch at the Cathay Restaurant. It is really the most expensive shoes I ever had and it even has my name and a logo in chinese character for dance.I really like it very much. All thanks to Maggie. Later we stumbled upon Ji De Zhi at Plaza Singapura  whose sesame snow ice is really so good that it signalled the start of our love affair for snow ice.
23rd Nov 2010
Today is my birthday and Maggie took me out again. As long as she's around I know I would not be swamped with disillusionment or drowned in despair. We went to AMK hub and ate at Dian Xiao Er with Valerie. After dropping her off  at AJC, we decided to go to Chinatown's Ji DE ZHi for some more snow ice but we were denied the sheer joy of total fulfillment for dessert as it has moved to Plaza Singapura. Undaunted I just had to drive to Plaza Singapura as the birthday girl just does not want to live in disappointment !
There was another surprise awaiting me at night. Valerie got a cake for me and we had a cake cutting session at LS's house. My cup has overflown! Surely there is no other person in Singapore that celebrates her birthday for a week! Though I know of someone in HK who celebrates for a month!!!!!?????
24th Nov 2010
Caroline ( Maggie's niece) graduation day. She will be fully-trained as a SQ stewardess and contributing to the Singapore's economy and robust growth. What an exciting day and I am part of the graduation party.

 The batik theme suggested by me was a roaring success! We were mistaken for royalty - probably some Datuk  with his 4 wives.
In the evening at TCC, more birthday celebration!!!!I am really touched by all this outpouring of love and concern by all. The numerous presents I received ( some secretly and some openly) is really very heart-warming. Surely all this goodness is an indication that God did not intend me to be a lonely widow-- on the contrary quite a happening one !

25th Nov 2010

The party continues... Collected photos of the graduation and bought a box of cherries for the party in the evening at Violet Chee's house. We ( Caroline, Jenny,  Jeffrey and Maggie) lunched at Royal China-- Raffles Hotel. The offer was good and so is the food.

26th Nov 2010

Today we had lunch Crystal Jade kitchen at Plaza Singapura and of course we can do no other thing except  visit Ji De Zhi for the heavenly sesame almond flakes snow ice!( 3rd time in a week!)

27th NOv 2010

Hike at Bukit Timah Hill, dinner at Mask and then we off to Ji De Zhi at Plaza Singapura for the 4th time this week. I weighed myself today and was appalled I have put on ONE kg. This feasting has got to stop. The strategy is -----I think I will stop eating breakfast!

29th Nov 2010

Lunch at Thai Expree in Heeren and snow ice at ION Orchard with Jenny, Helen and Ivy.The sesame snow ice is slightly taller but the taste is a shade less heavenly than the one at Ji De Zhi.

30th Nov 2010

Lunch at Aquamarine @ Marina Mandarin

1st Dec2010== Caroline bought lunch at Dim Tai Fung Wisma Atria followed by shopping at Robinsons and Paragon. I think I have collected wrapping paper from all the Malls in Orchard Road.

2nd Dec 2010 == Baking of brownies , cooking Nonya Noodles , mango pudding  and Swiss Roll at Maggie's house. Played Mahjong with Violet Chee who claimed to be a "once-a-year" player and the biggest winner of the day!

5th Dec 2010=After having a classic pedicure and manicure at Nail Palace with Maggie and Valerie, I was off to an early dinner at LS's house. I was then treated to a fantastic Irish dance performance of great precison in legwork and rhythm at MBS. I am grateful to all who have been so kind and generous to me in LG's absence but there is still a lot sadness and longing in my soul for the unattainable and impossible! I still cannot comprehend why God had to call him home and leave me to toil and shoulder the burdens of living on Earth which I find so hard to cope. Though I am busy every waking moment, the thought of  having to walk alone for the many years to come is not only depressing but wearisome as well. This is particularly more so when attending weddings or when I see couples strolling past !