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!