at a point in time, it seemed like the entire singapore population was in japan. it was all over instagram and tiktok - bowing to deers, sipping matcha, feasting on sushi and gyukatsu. naturally, the wanderlust in me wanted to travel to japan, even though i always thought that korea had my heart (and also, people compared travelling to japan vs to korea, if you know what i mean). 

so i grasped the chance during a traveloka deal in late 2024 to book a trip to japan in the spring of 2025 - peak cherry blossom season, supposedly. but as the weather changes, we were a tad bit too early but still got to catch a glimpse of the blossoms. no, i didnt know japanese even though i watched haikyuu!! and yes, japlanning is an actual term - you actually get adrenaline from this, figuring out the activities to book, trying to make sense of the train system, going on tiktok for recs, before i know it, i'm back in singapore and looking forward to my next trip. 

as it was my first trip to japan (with my mum and twin), we went to the big three - tokyo, kyoto and osaka and conquered these three cities in eight days. technically six, because we spent an entire day at tokyo disneysea and another day at universal studios japan. people say it's too rushed, and i agree. but i've got limited days of leave so we did whatever we could and i would like to say that i'll be back in japan hopefully within the next five years. 

bustling city: tokyo

as expected, tokyo was pretty crowded with both tourists and locals. the city lights from the top of shibuya sky was absolutely amazing - 360 degrees of city lights. due to lack of planning, we had to take a train during the peak hour and we did not experience the crazy pushing and squeezing into the train cabins as seen on tiktok but instead, commuters lined up neatly to board the trains and take the escalators, though they do brisk walk which made me lowkey stressed as i was lugging the luggage. always always plan ahead when taking the trains because some of them have fixed schedules and not very frequent intervals like what we have in singapore. nonetheless, its still an efficient system and the city is definitely very accessible via public transport. 

core memory would be tokyo disneysea where we got to take rides on a different tier than those in uss! but why am i even comparing. waiting times were insane and the park was sooo big we spent more time walking than taking the rides, but thoroughly enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. we were so tired we left the park before 6pm. also? can i just say? rapunzel's lantern festival was such a vibe - it really is just a ride but it felt so magical. 

during our one free day in tokyo, we did a little bit more of the touristy stuff - like ueno park and visiting imperial palace as well as senso-ji temple. we also ate ichiran ramen for the experience. 

city of shrines: kyoto 

sitting on the right side of the train from tokyo to kyoto was a win! we saw mt fuji!! so grand, so majestic, so beautiful i was simply in awe! while kyoto has only two main train lines, the city is pretty accessible by bus. pro tip: book accomms near the train stations, because buses don't allow large luggages. also i think people in kyoto and tokyo stand at different sides of the escalator... it can be confusing but i'd say... follow the majority. you board the public bus from the back and alight from the front, only tapping your card (i use suica) when you alight. 

kyoto was still crowded with tourists but a lot less crowded as compared to tokyo. we walked all the way from yasaka shrine to kiyomizu dera but i think everyone does the same as well. we had booked the hozugawa boat river - saw so many positive reviews on tiktok and klook but unfortunately, our boat trip was cancelled on the day of due to high water levels. 

from kyoto, we also visited nara deer park - this was quite an experience cos we had planned to take the limited express train but we didn't know that we needed to get separate tickets for this - we missed the train in the end. so a very kind train commander somehow managed to lead us to another platform and thanks to google translate, he very kindly told us that we can take the express train to a certain station, and change train to get to nara deer park. all with a language barrier in between us. nara deer park was expectedly crowded with tourists and we didn't stay for long - we stayed just for the experience. 

a fair amount of time was spent in kyoto city area where there are a number of department stores like takashimaya and daimaru so we really just walked around and on some days, decided to rest early because we were simply too tired from clocking steps. 

of lights and sounds: osaka

we took a public train (i think) from kyoto to osaka which took around 1 hour. most of the time was spent at touristy areas such as hep five ferris wheel where we got to see a birds eye view of the city, shinsekai and dotonburi. we spent a solid hour outside osaka castle because the park was blooming with cherry blossoms too. as a recent matcha enthusiast, i also went to a matcha workshop and i left japan with matcha that can last me till the next three to four months. 

i lived for the rides at usj (but not the queues). harry potter and super nintendo world were so on theme, very instagrammable. the rides? thrilling. i'd 10/10 go and take the rides again. but i do know which rides i'd want to take the express passes for. 

navigating from our osaka airbnb to kansai international airport was a little bit confusing - but we relied on google maps. there was a certain train we needed to catch at a fixed timing but at the same time osaka station was so huge we wanted to be sure that we boarded the correct train (thankfully we did). we witnessed the iconiq ground crew waving us off as we left for the runway and maybe i teared up. 

it was a short but good eight days and i'll definitely want to go back to japan again. 

till next time x 

i met my 15 year old self for coffee today. 

she was 15 minutes early, and so was i. 

she wore a tshirt and shorts because it was comfortable. i wore the same. 

she ordered a frappe, and i ordered an iced matcha latte. 

she told me she's having the best school days of her life, and i told her to treasure them as much as she can, because studies get tougher. 

she told me she loves hanging out with her friends, i told her i love doing so too, but it's with different groups of friends now. i shared my struggles with friendships over the years and told her that she'd grow to hold friendships that matter close to her heart. 

she told me she wanted to see the world, i told her i've had so many opportunities to do so - from tasmania to new zealand, and europe to the rest of asia. i even lived alone in korea once for 4 months for exchange. she gasped in awe. 

she told me her mum wouldn't let her buy concert tickets to see her favourite band, i told her i use my adult money to go to concerts and have some of the best times of my life amidst the stress from work. i've seen one direction, 5sos, taylor swift, simple plan, seventeen and more. "i'm so jealous," she said.  

she told me she didn't know what she wants to do in life, i told her i didn't know too, but i ended up studying communications in one of the best comms schools in asia, and currently working in this field while still trying to figure life out.  

she told me she hates being compared to her twin, i told her she didn't have to, and that she can live her own life because they're so different. 

"isn't it tough?" she asked. it is, i said, things will not always go easy in this age of social media. but i told her i'm taking it one day at a time, getting all the love and support from my boyfriend. 

before we parted ways, she reached for the bill. i told her that this one's on me. 

she left to meet her friends, and i headed home to continue reading my book. 

i hope i get to meet her for coffee again.

earlier in the year, crish asked me if i would like to go on a trip to tasmania. she was planning a trip with a couple of friends, she said. there was a rough date, no solid itinerary, and i said i would think about it. a couple of months later, i agreed, though a little hesitant. never in my 24 years of life would i think that i would go to tasmania - i had never even been to australia before. i pictured myself on holidays to korea, japan, or taiwan, not on a road trip in tasmania. as time passed, crish planned the itinerary with her friends whom i did not know. there were a couple of calls, but i didn't join cos i was awkward. the trip was starting to form, but i knew nothing about the itinerary nor places we were planning to go to. "what are you gonna do for 10 days in tassie?" my friends would ask me. "i dunno," i shrugged, "my friend is planning everything". pre-trip, all i did was transfer her the money crish requested to book the airbnbs - i was that useless. 

in the afternoon of 13th october, i found myself stress packing to minimise my luggage weight and squeeze everything i could in my carryon. our kpop dance cover group, amethyx, had done our busking performance earlier that afternoon before seventeen's be the sun concert in singapore, and i had decided not to go for the concert. back home, my luggage was still laying on my living room floor, empty, with clothes strewn all over. though rushed, i somehow managed to get everything together, took a quick trip to exchange more aud, and the next moment, i was headed to the airport all nervous and anxious if i could actually check in - which i eventually did. in my mind, i just had to reach the airport by 11 because that was the time crish gave me, but she kept texting and calling me half an hour before asking me where i was - on the way! four years later, i met bosco again at the place we said bode farewell at, but this time, we were travelling together with crish, my first trip with her. with a couple of hours to spare, bosco bought his favourite bengawan solo whole pandan cake (spoiler - we never finished the cake and left it in the scoot flight, oops), which we sat on the floor in the middle of terminal 3 munching while robbie checked in for his trip to korea. somehow someone dropped the knife and when bosco wanted to go get a new one, the store had closed. as we headed in and cleared immigration, that was when it hit me that i was actually going to tasmania! though i was uncertain of how the next 12 days would unfold, i was excited for the trip ahead, my first road trip with "friends", my first trip post-covid, my first holiday after graduation - this was going to be a good break for me. as ours was a red-eye flight, we spent most of our eight-hour flight sleeping - bosco had his flight delayed from hong kong to singapore, crish had stayed up the whole night packing and doing her handovers, and i had tired myself out at the busking performance earlier. we did get $6 cup noodles for our breakfast, though, and saw daylight. 

by the time we arrived in melbourne, it was noon of the the 14th of october. i was in australia! with about seven hours till our next flight to tasmania, we freshened ourselves up and bosco took his shower which he had wanted to take since the previous night - we had walked around the whole terminal at changi airport looking for his shower! the three of us were in one cubicle as we glammed up and with our luggages dropped off, we were headed to melbourne city! we were headed to a cafe well known for their mochi icecream, but once we alighted the uber, the first thing we did was take photos at a cool graffiti wall, then we got the mochi ice cream which was really really good. it wasn't a flavour i would typically go for, as i'm a basic c&c girl, but i think that sesame-flavoured mochi icecream was really good. gemmill from the melbourne church came, and the three of them had their catch up session as we walked the streets of melbourne and sat at a cafe for more chit chat. melbourne's weather though, was bipolar. when we walked into the aquarium, it was raining outside, and 10 minutes later when we walked out, it was like the rain never happened. after saying goodbye to gemmill, crish got her kiehl's facial wash, bosco got his bonds, and we were in search of a korean fried chicken place for our early dinner to satisfy crish's cravings. time was ticking and we were sliiightly behind our planned schedule, so we ordered fried chicken and kimbap, gobbled them down in 10 minutes as the staff watched us weirdly, and we were still chewing on our food as we ran out of the restaurant to catch the uber to the airport. turns out, there was no crowd at the airport and we didn't have to rush. but we checked in and headed to our gate to fly to tasmania. i was actually heading to tasmania! it was a short flight, barely an hour long, and we managed to catch the sunset from the sky - it was beautiful. khuong and henry (crish's and bosco's friends, my friends-to-be) were supposed to pick us up from the airport but when we touched down and contacted them, they were still grocery shopping at woolies and so crish told them that we had picked up our luggages and were waiting in the cold, just so they would rush. eventually though, they were still waiting for us after we collected our luggages and headed to the drop off area. our first airbnb was really nice, but it was so secluded that the location was not in google maps, we had to go into some mountains and drive on a gravel road - thank goodness khuong and henry had arrived earlier in the day to locate the house, else it would be difficult to navigate in the dark. we made ourselves comfortable in our airbnb for the night as khuong and henry had their dinner and we had our second dinner at 10.30pm - khuong cooked carbonara! i thought that we would call it a night afterwards, as we were tired after a long day and will officially begin our road trip the next day, but we had a maccas run that night before hitting the sack. 

we were so tired we did not manage to catch the sunrise on our first morning in tasmania on the 15th, but the view from our first airbnb overlooked the city with mountains in the background - a sight we don't get to see here in singapore. barely half a day at our first airbnb, we checked out, miraculously managed to load five huge luggages and bunch of carryons in the boot of the car, and headed to salamanca market. a variety of food, jewellery, gifts and wine stores greeted us as we arrived and we took a walk around the market, sharing a few donuts and puffs and looking at the what the different stalls offered. we caught a few busking performances, and i had a taste of the ocean as i slurped on one freshly-opened oyster. on our way to the city area, we dropped by a museum, where we witnessed an artist live-drawing some of the animals that were going extinct. hobart was a cute, small city - we roamed around and had hotstar (similar to shilin) before doing our grocery runs at an asian mart and woolies. grocery runs would be something that we will be doing on an almost daily basis in tasmania as we prepped our own dinner. it was a 1.5 hour drive to our next airbnb, where i think other than khuong and henry, crish bosco and i took a nap. the thing about tasmania is that we would have no connections most times on the road, so we kinda drove past our airbnb and had to chuck a uey to get to our airbnb which crish told us was located near a cemetry - you didn't have to tell me that! with no time to lose, we dropped our luggages and groceries in the airbnb before heading out to our first hike at cape hauy... or should i say attempt. the estimated time for the hike was two hours but with our physical capabilities (or lack thereof), we gave ourselves three to four hours, but we were unsure if we could make it to the end of the hike as we started late, at around 4pm. nonetheless, we started off... tracks, steps... a couple of rest stops, photos and hours later, bosco crish and i saw the end of cape hauy but could not make it till the end as we were afraid that it was getting dark. as we were heading back, we saw a road block made with sticks, found it a lil weird and scary, but crossed it from the side thinking it was put up by a random guy to close the park, but later found out that khuong and henry had "used physics" to put that up in an attempt to scare us - nice try, guys. we stopped by the beach to catch a bit of the sunset before heading back to our airbnb for dinner. for some reason, i was struggling to get my contacts out - maybe because it was too dry, or because of the cold or something, but it took me awhile to get it out. crish khuong and henry cooked dinner - steak, chips and veggies! we had wintermelon tea in wine glasses because #extra and tried torching the steak with a lighter... as bosco and i did not help with dinner prep at all, we were tasked to do the dishes which we had lil bit of argument about that crish said she did not know it was that hard to do the dishes. that evening, we played a couple of card games - 21, and bluff (which we called bs), and the winner (crish) would have a free lunch the next day. crish was a little afraid of the room we were in, so we combined our two single beds together that night. maybe it was the vibes of the airbnb, or the beds were too soft, but neither of us got a good night's sleep that night. 

crish had volunteered me to prepare breakfast on the 16th, so despite the lack of sleep, i woke up early and washed up and when i attempted to wake crish up, she just kept pushing back the time... typical... but we eventually did cook up mie goreng and fried eggs for breakfast that morning. it was an early morning for all of us, as we had to set off for the tasman peninsula cruises early in the morning - apparently crish had told us that we needed to be there by 9.15, when we actually had to be there by 9.30, but it was a good way to get all of us up and out asap! fast forward the briefings and bosco being overly enthusiastic wearing his red coat when we were told to wear it only when on the boat, we took a bus to eaglehawk neck jetty where we boarded the boat... and sat first two rows - don't ask me why. from cape hauy to whales, migrating dolphins to albatrosses and sea lions, the three-hour boat ride brought us down to near port arthur. it was extremely shaky and windy, but i think i enjoyed the boat trip the most - from me unknowingly expressing my amazement in the most singlish way possible, to bosco dropping his camera cap and a fellow singaporean helping to pick it up - thank you! the funny thing was - all of us were charging to the toilet first thing we alighted! starving, we drove to the nearby port arthur lavender restaurant for lunch - and it was a good one. of course, we had to try the lavender-flavoured ice cream while we were there as well! after eating our fill, we visited port arthur historic site, once a prison, and took the 20-minute harbour cruise which passed by isle of the dead and point puer boys' prison. i was interested in the history of the place as a commentary played in the background - there were prisoners as young as seven years old. also, we kinda passed out in the last 10 minutes of the cruise ride - food coma or fatigue, i think both. in the limited amount of time that we had, we walked around as much as we could around port arthur, looking at how old prison cells used to look like, the police stations and the most haunted house in australia, pilgrimage and church. we took pictures, and had a good laugh as bosco and khuong stepped on poop. while heading to our next airbnb, we stopped by iga for a grocery run, and had to return to the tasman peninsula cruises places because apparently bosco left his camera bag there... khuong had received a phone call during lunch saying that we left something on the boat and when he denied, the caller said "there was a guy at the front who was really noisy" - we all knew who the caller was referring to! it was a three-hour drive to our airbnb. crish and bosco took a nap, but i barely slept as i just absorbed the view that was around and in front of me. as the only non-driver in the group, i had decided that my permanent seat in the car would be the back middle seat, though uncomfortable. there was an hour left when the two woke up from their nap, and so we started jamming and that was when we nicknamed henry and khuong our two dads of the trip, while the three of us are the kids at the back making a mess. it was also on this drive that we accidentally hit a kangaroo. after a hearty diner of pasta and pizza for the evening, we padded ourselves up and took a short walk out to look at the stars which filled the sky as it was really dark out. when we returned to the airbnb, bosco realised that he had left a part of the tripod on the table that we were sitting at, and so he drove out to retrieve it while i took a poop - and this was the beginning of poop sessions for me (and the rest of us) on the trip. as it had been a long day for all of us, we slept really well that night - the airbnb was really nice as well! 

every morning on our first few days were a mad rush as we had to check out of our airbnb, and the morning of the 17th was no different. we wake up, wash up, pack, load the car, do a sweep around the airbnb, and were off to a nearby cafe where bosco got his coffee fix and khuong had his breakfast. it was a funny scene when khuong and henry were trying to tape the car - the part which hit the kangaroo, while bosco was standing at the side sipping his coffee. lunch was at lobster shack - we sat outdoors and had seafood overlooking the sea. bosco ordered beer, saying it was "just like water" and he tried to scare the birds away but more of them came and he was the one that got scared - really a joke! after lunch, we headed to wineglass bay and attempted to hike to the beach lookout but we were unable to find the direction to the beach and so we hiked halfway and gave up, soaked in the view from wherever we were and took a couple of pictures as well. we were then on our way to st helen's, but stopped by a pretty beach we saw on the way for more photos. bosco and crish drove us up to st helen's, where we took a walk around the town, did our grocery run, and bosco bought wine. our airbnb was a cute, vintage house and it was there that we did our first load of laundry as well. crish and i spent a bit of time walking around, and all of us drove up to the city to get something we forgot to buy. i think we had some beef for dinner - khuong headed the kitchen, and corn soup as well and it was really good! the living room was a huge mess, as we hung our laundry in the living room and at this point of time, all of us had given up and unpacked our luggages in living room instead of the rooms. we had movie night with bosco's wine before lights out. crish bosco and khuong had plans to hike mount amos in the morning, so they would have to wake up at 3am. as for me, i decided that the hike was not something i was physically capable of, so i decided to just stay in and maybe catch the sunrise from our area. 

i woke up at 5.45am on the 18th in an attempt to catch the sunrise but unfortunately, it was cloudy morning. every time i saw locals, i wondered if they're accustomed to the cold - because i was wearing three layers and i passed by a local walking her dog in a pair of shorts. well. i returned to the airbnb after nature-watching for about an hour, took a short nap and started packing up before the three returned from their mount amos hike. it was a rush when they returned as some of the laundry were not dry yet, so i was using the hairdryer to dry them. crish also informed me after i had packed and loaded my luggage in the car, that we would need a change of clothes as we will swimming in lake derby - this led to us casually unpacking outside the house at the boot, right in front of the open gate where any passer by could see us. we had breakfast at a cafe serving fusion japanese cuisine - waffle and ice cream, wrap and lots of veggies, eating to our hearts content. the first destination of the day was bay of fires, and we were blessed with the best weather to get really beautiful pictures. we had to climb a bit of rocks, but khuong was casually hopping across. though it was just a place with rocks at the sea, it was a really great view and there were funny moments, especially when bosco decided to take the route less travelled and he got stuck and scared for nothing - he literally has the longest legs amongst us! we were then on our way to lake derby, but stopped by little blue lake for five minutes and a couple of photos. the view at little blue lake was simply breathtaking - the water was turquoise in colour and it was so so pretty. the next thing we knew, we were back in the car buckled up, navigating to lake derby using gps with no connection, and running late. we were a mess when we arrived at lake derby - carrying a whole bag of change of clothes, bosco with his wine, but the owner was really nice and agreed to let us use the floating sauna for a whole hour. before we could take a dip in the 10 degrees lake, we had to sit in the sauna for a bit and the guy wanted to go get firewood to increase the temperature and told us to wait - we were near boiling point and... sweaty. after around 10 minutes, we could get out and into lake derby. it was quite an experience swimming in lake derby, knowing its 30 metres deep, 10 degrees cold in aircon weather. crish bosco and khuong went in and out of the sauna as it was too cold for them, but i stayed in the lake the whole time. not gonna lie, i was actually afraid that there would be some sort of animal in the lake, but it was a really chill time nonetheless and i enjoyed myself. we went back into the sauna a few minutes before time was up, just to warm up our bodies, before we got changed, took more photos and left for our next destination. the car boot a big mess, clothes strewn all over the car, we were launceston-bound, another city which seemed to have more varieties of foods and stalls around. we were late for our next schedule, the low head penguin tour, so we gobbled down kfc (the kfc fries were salty and good) (crish later told me they were sprinkled with chicken salt), and we were driving beside the sunset on the way to lowhead. there was something we obviously had to work on for the day - tardiness. at the lowhead penguin tour, the guide led us to some seats near the beach, where she told us about how the penguins would come on land, how they mated etc. we waited a good 20 to 30 minutes by the beach with the wind blowing. i was clothed in two or three layers but that was clearly not enough for me. after some time, the guide shone a yellow (or special) kind of light towards the rocks. maybe because i had been wearing my contacts for the whole day that they were dry, or maybe because it was dark, but i vaguely saw some small movements, and soon enough, a colony of penguins emerged and started waddling away. apparently there was a male penguin who "sacrificed" himself to do a site recce before the whole group came. i'd thought my whole life all penguins look the same but these were different from the ones i remember seeing at the singapore zoo. we were then brought to a different area behind, which apparently was the route the penguins would take, and there, we had a closer view of the penguins where more pictures and videos were taken. the time that we got to see the penguins was not long, but nonetheless an unforgettable experience with the wind constantly blowing at us - bosco and khuong were wearing slippers! we headed to our airbnb for the night where we got confused because we could not find our house. turns out it was all the way in. as it had been a long day for us, even more so for the three who went for the mount amos hike, we just washed up and headed to bed for the night. 

the sound of someone opening the blinds woke me up on the 19th - it was crish, and it was barely 6am. even so, a ray of light streamed into the room. "i want to catch the sunrise," she said, and that got me rolling out of bed and getting my padded jacket on to brave the six degrees outside. the backdoor of the airbnb led to river tamar, and we walked to a jetty-like place to attempt to catch the sunrise, but a few trees were blocking the way. two ducks that we saw at the jetty probably assumed that we were gonna feed them, that they followed us all the way back to our airbnb. just like any other mornings, we were packed up and cleaned the carpet floor that was slightly soiled because of the mud when we went out. we searched for bosco's phone which turned out to be in his bag, stuffed everything we could in the boot of the car, a bag with lost & found items included, and we were on our way to launceston for a chill day. the first order of business was to find food - khuong and henry were starving, but as we wandered around, we kept getting distracted by different things - from thrift stores to bookstores, a busker playing to worship songs, and anything in between. while bosco was getting his coffee fix, i was contemplating if i should get a c&c milkshake, early in the morning. "you're on holiday, you can do anything you want," crish and bosco said, and i was... sold. much to khuong and henry's relief, we arrived at a ramen restaurant for brunch, turned lunch. bosco was wearing a white shirt, so he used napkins to make himself a bib. it seemed like we were all hungry, because we slurped the ramen in no time, and continued shopping. i wished we could shop for the whole day - especially thrift shopping! there were a couple of thrift shops there with a whole bunch of clothes, but time would not allow us to sift through every piece. even so, i got myself a midi skirt and a pair of adidas continental stripes, my only non-perishable loots from tasmania. khuong had two cups of bubble tea - and he clearly knows what that will do to his body. we did our grocery shopping at an asian mart and woolies, and chilled at another bubble tea store and shared egg waffles (my first time trying!) before we left for our next destination. self-proclaimed city boy, bosco drove us out of the city and to table cape tulip farm, near a small town called wynyard. a mistake we made was not checking the opening hours of the farm, because we only found out that the farm had closed when we arrived there. nonetheless, we explored the area and did a little hike from table cape lookout to table cape lighthouse. it was golden hour, and the view of the vast bass strait was insane. khuong also started taking pictures of the scenery - a first time. on the way back to the airbnb, we stopped by a macs to get nuggets - road trip essentials only! that evening, we attempted to have hotpot for dinner, but we did not think through as we did not have an electric stove that we could put in the middle of the dining table, and so we made do. this was also the one night me and crish had our own rooms for the night. it was also at this airbnb i think we did five loads of laundry, or more, because there was a dryer so we simply had to do it! it was also a nice spacious house - loved this pretty airbnb and lucky it was our stay for two nights! 

i had set a late alarm for the 20th because we were not leaving for cradle till late morning, but the sound of someone (bosco) going out to the backyard and closing the door (which made a really loud banging sound) woke me up. as i was washing up, bosco popped by and said that he wanted to go to a cafe to get his coffee fix. and that was how we went out for a very short morning drive - bosco driving, i rode shotgun and henry was at the back. we went to a nearby cafe which was literally walking distance, not sure why we drove, but i got myself a hot chocolate and we headed back to the airbnb to prepare for the day. we had breakfast at another nearby cafe where we were accompanied by some animal friends - a chicken, and a llama - dropped by iga at rosebery to get groceries for dinner (because the shops in australia close quite early) before we headed to cradle mountain. the view at cradle mountain seemed like it came out of a postcard - we took really short routes around and didn't even hike, captured some photos, chilled for a bit, and attempted to look for wombats, which we did! luckily for us, we were able to see the wombats at the very end of the trail - they were larger than i expected and really really cute! we'd wanted to go on another trail to try to see more wombats but the park was closing soon so we did not manage to do that. by that time, it was close to dinner time, but before heading back to our airbnb, we dropped by iga to get more fried food for dinner. it was fried food night - we had cordon bleu, chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, fried egg, chips, garlic bread, mushroom soup, sweet potato chips and we couldn't miss out on some veges. before we went to bed, we had a movie night where we watched two movies - the hospital and the grudge, but crish and bosco were sleeping. i was sooo sleepy but somehow i managed to stay awake through the two movies. 

we checked out on the 21st, bidding farewell to one of our most comfortable airbnbs, and crish drove us to table cape. the weather wasn't the best - it was drizzling very very lightly and really foggy. at wynyard, we went through a few antique stores, coffee shops and more thrift stores before heading to a thai restaurant for brunch. i shared a pad thai, massamun curry and tom yum soup with crish and bosco - the food was really really good and we ate our fill. after lunch and despite the cold, we popped by a really cute cafe where bosco got his second cup of coffee and the rest of them got an ice chocolate, and talked for a bit before we headed up to table cape. let's just say the fog was a vibe. we had to wear boots as it was muddy and were also imagining how it would have been if we went a day or two earlier when the weather was nice. even with the drizzle, it was still a sight seeing the whole field of tulips of different colours. before heading to our next airbnb, we did a grocery run at woolies and stopped by lake plimsoll for a few quick pictures. bosco tried skipping rocks but to no avail, so we all had a good laugh. queenstown was a very quiet town, but we made ourselves comfortable at our airbnb for the next two nights. dinner for that night was beef stroganoff and pizza - which was really good. we had movie night and crish finally managed to get to me to bake brownies using a brownie mix. disclaimer: i've always been baking brownies from scratch and not from brownie mixes! and i think i wasn't using my brain because i mixed both the brownie and icing mixes to make the brownie - and bosco had to fix my mess up when its usually the other way round - it was pretty hilarious when i realised what i'd done but it was too late. we ended up adding some milk and the brownie came out not too bad! movie night before we bedtime but i didn't go to bed straight away because i video called my sister who was video calling TAN, and i got to meet some of them through the video call as well! 

22nd was a chill day around queenstown. we had a hearty breakfast at tracks cafe - burger, nasi goreng, and of course some cnc milkshake! the cafe was aesthetic and we ate outside beside the tracks, unlike other customers. we didn't have strict plans for the day so we rented bikes from an elderly couple - they were so cute and friendly! i was slightly dazed while the rest were adjusting their bikes and the lady asked if i was okay - what a sweet gesture of hers! we spent a couple of hours riding around town. it was not a very big town but the buildings had their own aesthetic so we enjoyed the time that passed. after the exercise, we headed to woolies at rosebery to get some campfire essentials because we were going to have a campfire at lake burberry! they held conversations with another family that was there travelling around, we had fake hot chocolate, marshmallows, reeses and fruits, took plenty of pictures, soaked in the scenery around us and had a chill time there. we stopped by horsetail falls before heading back to the airbnb for a very short hike, and khuong was saying how the place was supposed to be wheelchair-friendly but there were still steps around. this place was scenic as well - there was a mini waterfall that was streaming down, and we took more pictures. a short hike later, we were back at our airbnb. it's may 2023 as i type this and i cannot remember what we had for dinner, but i'm pretty sure it was a good homecooked meal, no thanks to me. crish and khuong were in charge of cooking dinner while bosco and henry attempted to dye my hair. result: no difference. we had a movie night after dinner and we finally! settled! our! expenses! the last time we did was the second day of our trip. 

woke up on the 23rd and it was our last full day in tasmania - seriously, how did time pass by so quickly? after checking out at our airbnb - as always, leaving it a mess, we had breakfast at a cafe in rosebery and still wondered how is this town so quiet. we headed to bonorong wildlife sanctuary but that was not without a quick snack stop where crish got cup noodles from ga and eating it with chips, and also a quick pit stop at a unesco heritage site (sorry i forgot the name). bonorong was also another core memory of the trip, especially feeding the kangaroos! being in an open field with hundreds of kangaroos and feeding them is definitely a must-do when in australia. i have to admit i was pretty wary and cautious that i might accidentally step on their tails and/or offend some of them unknowingly. we went on a short tour and were introduced to some species of birds - one of which greeted us, as well as saw more wombats and tasmanian devils. after we were done at bonorong, we headed back to where we came from - hobart. nine days and 15,000km around tasmania later, we were back at hobart. we drove up to mount wellington and it was not the view you saw on tiktok. it was a foggy day, our view was literally white and it was 3 degrees at the peak - we were freezing but i guess you could say it was a vibe and the coldest weather i would ever experience for now. unable to stay for too long, we headed to our airbnb and prepared for our last dinner. the trip was too eventful the whole time so we kinda got locked out of our airbnb - crisis! we knew the key was on top of the refrigerator but nobody took it and yeah we kinda got locked out. but we still had to eat dinner so we went to get ice cream first before heading to some fancy restaurant for dinner. that was when things went haywire. i will not go into details because what happens in tasmania stays in tasmania, but we were being served the course one at a time and suddenly bosco agreed to have this wine tasting thing and maybe two glasses of wine was a little too much for crish bosco and myself. but anyway we finished dinner up and headed to the airbnb where khuong and henry tried to get ourselves in because the rest of us were not in a stable state to be able to help. i was heaving a headache but thankfully we managed to get back into the airbnb! not sure what they did but thanks guys! but for me, it was too early to be back at the airbnb so we had a short drive around town! the rest of them rode the e-scooter while i just,, stayed in the car, video called my friends and sister and cried some more because i didn't want the holiday to end. i sobered up after got back to our airbnb and fell asleep because it had been a long night. 

i think we all woke up maybe an hour before we had to check out on the last morning, and since it was the day we were flying back, you could imagine the scene. five of us stress packing our staff, weighing our luggages. we ate and shopped and chilled at hobart to kill time, finally took a proper group picture before we headed to the airport. packing at the airport was such an Asian thing to do, and before we know it, we were checked in. henry and khuong came too, even though their flight to brisbane was a couple of hours after ours to melbourne. we said our last goodbyes and that was when the tears festival started - from bidding farewell to khuong and henry, walking to the plane, and even in our seats. it was quiet trip back to melbourne, i suspect we were drained from crying. we had macdonalds during our short stopover - our last meal with bosco - before me and crish checked in to head back to singapore while bosco stayed another two nights in melbourne. and that was another emotional trip back for me.

10 days in tasmania. with people i didn't know prior to the trip. i really did not know what to think about going to tasmania but i'm so glad i agreed to go with crish. 

Hello and what is up everybody! I am aware that it has been a quarter of a year since I last updated my blog... Things at work have been okay... I took birthday leave on the friday of the March holidays to go to USS (wrong choice), and I've been involved in an Amethyx dance cover! Our first dance cover of the year, TXT's love song is here and you can look forward to more covers lined up for the year ;-) Somehow in March, I socialised a lot more than I usually did (wow personal development!!!) But today, this blogpost will be about my very very first cruise experience onboard Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas! contrary to popular belief, this was a work trip!! Due to my laziness, this would be more of a wordy blog. for pictures, you can take a look at the highlights on my Instagram. Me and my sis attempted a vlog here as well.

Prior to this trip (and I'm sure that i'm not the only one), I used to think that cruises were boring and that there's nothing to do being stuck on a ship except... to eat. I was not wrong about the eating part - there was plenty of food choices onboard, but this trip changed my perspective of cruising entirely, and I already want to go on another cruise trip - I don't even mind going on Spectrum again to do the activities! 

About Spectrum of the Seas

Spectrum of the Seas is a quantum-ultra-class ship made for the Asian market, which means it's bigger with more facilities and amenities, and guests can also expect Asian cuisine specialty dining in addition to all-time favourites. Spectrum of the Seas will begin offering 3- and 4-night cruises to nowhere from 11 April 2022, and from October, guests can look forward to ports of call just like pre-covid... though I think that if I were to go for a cruise with ports of call I would still spend the time on the ship doing the activities onboard! Launched in 2019, Spectrum is relatively new, and it is also the largest and most innovative ship in the region! Spectrum takes over Quantum in Singapore, who has been offering cruises to nowhere since end-2020, and began her last voyage on 7 April before heading to Alaska. 

Pre-cruise

Royal Caribbean goes above and beyond for their health and safety protocols, so guests can enjoy their sailcation assured that everybody in the same restaurant, in the same theatre as them have been vaccinated and tested. While routine rostered testings have been ceased for all sectors in singapore since 29 March, all crew onboard Spectrum are still tested weekly. Guests will also have to take a government-approved ART test on the day of boarding (and test negative) before they can start their cruise vacation. I did the tele-art with Doctor Anywhere, a fast and convenient way. I read online that it would take four hours before the results would come out, but it only took 15 minutes before the PET result appeared on my TraceTogether. 

Work stuff

At the media briefing, media guests were given a preview of one of the onboard entertainments, The Silk Road. An exciting bollywood performance which features a contortionist, some acrobats and talented violinist, I was in awe at what the preview offered, and knew that I had to book a slot for the full performance that night! The roboscreen show at Two70 also showcased how technologically-advanced the ship was. Media guests were then brought on a walkthrough of Spectrum, highlighting features such as the Bionic Bar where a robot mixes guests' cocktails, the Sky Pad, a virtual reality bungee jumping activity for those who love a rush of adrenaline, the Suite Enclave, which includes Gold and Silver Dining Rooms exclusive just for guests in the Junior Suite and up. Another highlight of Spectrum was the Ultimate Family Suite - there's only one of this on the ship, and it's a two-storey suite perfect for a family bonding time. It is equipped with an in-suite slide as well as it's very own cinema for a movie night. Did you know? Spectrum has 13% more suites than Quantum, which means more space for more guests staying in the suites. The media tour ended at Sichuan Red for the media lunch, one of the Asian specialty dining restaurant onboard. It was a taste of Sichuan, with most of the foods tasting as spicy as they look. 

Day 1 starts

After a rather hectic morning and afternoon at the media preview, work was done by the late afternoon and by this time I was famished! I didn't get to eat much during lunch as we had to take some photos for the media. We headed to Sorrento's for some pizza and before we knew it, we had started setting sail. I did not eat a lot as it was near dinner time, and I wanted to savour all the good food I can onboard. PSA Sorrento's pizza was GOOD. By this time, my sister had already climbed the rock wall twice, and had taken a dip at the jacuzzi. She's really having a vacation right before hell week while I was working! Dinner at the Main Dining Room was filling. Appetisers, entrees, desserts, guests can devour all they want there. We caught one of the onboard entertainment shows, The Silk Road after dinner - a fun Bollywood performance which lowkey reminded me of Indian Dance days back in primary school. Headed to the Seaplex (also the largest indoor activity space at sea) with my colleagues after the show to play bumper cars! And yes, it was my first time playing bumper cars. Went to watch Gold Art Duo performance afterwards, yet another one of the breathtaking onboard entertainment show that will leave your jaws open after like, every act and I'm not even exaggerating. At this point of time I was a little bit sleepy, but I had some work to do, so we headed to Sorrento's for supper as I did some of my work and we ended up sleeping at maybe... close to 2am? Day 1 ends~ 

Day 2

The weather was not perfect for catching the sunrise even though we'd wanted to - it was POURING. We had pre-breakfast at Cafe @ Two70, croissants, bagel, sandwiches, cut fruits (for my own sake).. I did not intend to be full pre-dance class but I had all of them. Morning dance class was only 30 minutes long but it was a very good exercise - maybe because it's been a long while since I danced. Nonetheless, it was fun! Continued trying out the other activities at the Seaplex, like table tennis and archery. Other activities were going on at the same time, such as the basketball shootout, and some soccer stuff I believe, but that wasn't for me. After that, the weather cleared up and we headed to the outdoor pool and chilled at the jacuzzi for awhile before we decided to try the FlowRider, a surf simulator and one of the highlights onboard. I was hella nervous and scared when I saw all the kids before me doing so well and spoiling market because.. this was my first time, but the instructors were friendly and encouraging, jokingly said it was his first time, and even gave a high five after I managed to get on my knees (but got washed up afterwards) - you can see my second attempt on the FlowRider here. What an experience it was! It was after the FlowRider that I realised.. we did not have breakfast after dance. Since we were gonna try the Sky Pad soon, we had hotdogs from the Seaplex Dog House and they were REALLY GOOD! I apologise for my lack of vocabulary to describe good food. We did the Sky Pad, a virtual reality bungee jumping activity, a highlight of Spectrum, and a very very good exercise. Attempted the rock wall afterwards - my first time, and Joey's third try. I was so weak I couldn't even conquer the first one... Well. Went to freshen myself up afterwards, as we had a cocktail hour with the media. But we took the North Star first, an observation capsule which goes 300 ft up in the air, the highest point at sea which gives guests a 360 degree view of the sea and of course, the ship. It was great to know that the media guests were enjoying their time onboard, trying out the various activities and dining options onboard. I myself was having a good time - there was simply too many activities to do and too little time! Together with my colleagues, we had dinner at the Main Dining Room where we really just talked about... a variety of topics. Time was running late, so we rushed to the Royal Theatre to catch Showgirl, a headliner show onboard. I was amazed and trying so hard not to jump and dance along! If anyone asked me how I found Showgirl, I could only say that I LOVED it! At the Music Hall, we were treated to some songs from the past, like hello? James Blunt's You're Beautiful? YES PLEASE! The band was even spontaneous enough to perform not one, but TWO encore songs for us - what a way to end off the last night on the cruise! It was 12.30am by the time the performance ended, I was dead tired by the lack of sleep from the days leading to the shakedown, but it was simply too early to be sleeping while on a cruise. So we took a tour on the deck to appreciate the night view of Spectrum, and headed to Sorrento's for supper (duh) before heading back to our cabin and hitting the sack for the night. 

Day 3 (sort of) 

We were reaching Singapore by the time we woke up before sunrise :'-) Quantum of the Seas, which had just finished its 4-night Ocean Getaway was already docked at MBCC when we arrived. Thankfully for us, the sky was clear and we managed to catch the sunrise with the Singapore skyline. We had breakfast at Windjammer - a whole buffet but unfortunately, we weren't able to try all the food we possibly could (no time!!) and then it was time for us to disembark. 

Verdict 

My assumption that cruises were boring, was corrected this trip. On top of the unlimited free food you can eat onboard and you know you'll never be hungry, there's a range of activities for everyone - for the adrenaline junkies, for those who want to use their brains and for those who would like to sit back, relax and enjoy a show or performance. Though ports of call may resume by the end of the year, I wouldn't mind going on a cruise to nowhere again, because I know that there's so much to do just on the ship itself. Shoutout to the crew onboard Spectrum, who always wear a smile on their face and greet guests at every corner - my cheek hurt from smiling so much but they really lift the mood! Would I go on a cruise again? Hell yeah! 

another year has passed and we're still living in a pandemic, with variants popping up and some uncertainty ahead but i'd say things are different now - vaccinations are made available for us, and we're slowly but surely, living with COVID-19. even so the past two years felt like such a blur, as with this past year. and as we start on yet another year, it's time for reflections again..! or at least i attempt to reflect about how the year has been because honestly... i can't quite remember what happened in 2021. 

2021 marked my last year in uni and it was surreal just to think about. even in 2022, i can't believe that i've graduated from uni and am now living what we call "the adult life". in 2017 when i entered uni, everything felt so new, i felt so lost in a sea of people, i questioned my decision on pursuing a major in communications at one of the best comms school in singapore - and even in asia i might say! i would say i got to experience a lot of things when i was in uni, but there were some regrets cos i felt like i didn't make full use of the opportunities given to me. anyways!!! the last sem of school was hectic, to say the least. i was taking two language mods - korean 5 and spanish 1 - just because i wanted to learn more korean but i wasn't confident in scoring well for that so i took spanish as a back up so that i could fulfil my requirements of having a minor in modern languages. and also our team wrapped up our fyp! it was one roller coaster ride, this thing called fyp. sooo many zoom meetings, interviews, filming, logistics, planning, writing, back and forth emails which led up to our activations, written report and presentation. our school got us mr coconut on the day we submitted our written report, and tbh oral presentation felt like an underwhelming end to my undergraduate life. but i did it! went through four years of wee kim wee! oh and on top of schooling in my last semester, i was also committed to mj... and working part time... i don't even know how i managed all that. 

random suppers with the easties. no i do not stay in the east of singapore but because my part time work was at jewel, i would be at the east of singapore if i wasn't in school nor at home. and this allowed me to have random suppers with the easties group, or go to justin's temporary house just chilling, talking about hall days and hall people, laughing till i cry when i'm with them and all... and it was also because i started hanging out with the easties that i started watching anime... started off with haikyu ;) 

i participated in my second and very last mj event - sptc. it was a platform for me to learn different genres of dance from a bunch of very talented people that i honestly was quite intimidated off, i did house for the first time and even a dolphin!! i had always been an mj ghost so this allowed me to meet more people in the dance club as well and for the first time... i think i danced for like seven days straight - felt like death to me but it was good exercise, just that i was always so tired and muscles were aching everyday. it was a good experience nonetheless! 

after the semester ended in april, i started working in may - a little bit early but yeah. i worked at local pr agency and met a bunch of really nice colleagues that made work days better! :) i got to experience more of the pr life, actually work with the media and clients, in addition to what i experienced back when i was interning at weber. and honestly my life isn't that exciting anymore since i started work... i literally spend a bulk of my days looking at the screen.... but yes i started working so at the point of writing, i'm closeee!!! to one year of stepping into the working world! 

thanks to covid, i got to meet some of my favourite kpop groups through video call fansigns! i limited myself ok so the number of days and times i met them were very limited but nonetheless!! those were really really happy days! i got to 1) say what i wanted to say to them 2) practice my korean!! those were good good days! time for a comeback yall!! 

but also because of covid, grad trip plans had to be cancelled... we were planning for a grad trip in early 2020 for 2021 after we all graduated, but the travel industry was affected, and even though vaccinated travel lanes are open, we don't wanna risk it yet... so our group decided to just book a staycation! honestly felt like hall but more atas :'-) and also we all agreed that we have aged because... we couldn't stay up all night like we used to. by the time we get to travel together, would it even be considered a grad trip anymore? 

experiences. for the first time in 2021, i witnessed my friend's marriage - it was such a happy occasion and we were all so happy for this friend. unfortunately due to covid measures, we weren't able to have a meal together and catch up after the church ceremony - because the last time we met was during the staycation. it was also last year that i experienced the loss of a friend of mine. we weren't the closest in school, but she was one of the few whom i would say hi and talk to instead of just passing by when we were in school, she was my only friend in a semester i felt lonely in, and my regret is that i never got to thank her for that. 

and that was 2021 for me. it's now 22 days into 2022 and... life's been pretty mundane so far... i'm just trying my best working every day... having a couple of dance pracs for a new amethyx dance cover... and i also want to try writing in my diary how my everyday life is - though it might not be the most interesting, i just want to be able to document the small things that happen every day so far. for example, a rather impromptu dinner with peishi on tuesday before dance prac, and coincidentally seeing melvin when i went to buy my lunch on thursday this week. :) 

i have no idea what this year holds for me so i'm just gonna go with the flow~ that's old follks - i really don't know how to end this. here's to 2022, the year of the tiger! dang, i've really lived two cycles already, huh. 

all the love and till next time x 

it's been a couple of months since i've graduated from ntu and stepped into the working world, and it had been even longer since i did the semester review/summary of modules - i stopped at year 2 sem 1, i believe, right before i went for exchange. even though i have graduated, i have heard from my sister and some friends still studying in ntu that they read my blogpost about the modules... even though i'm pretty sure those 2-3 sentences weren't helpful at all. today i aim to be more helpful in sharing about the rest of the modules i took during the rest of my years in ntu :-) let's go! 

year 3 sem 1 

CS2101 Public Relations Writing - i found this module useful as you will be exposed to different kinds of pr writing for e.g. press release for a product launch, crisis statement and more. we even went on a company visit for this module and had a couple of guest speakers. i usually found this module a little stressful though, because of the time limit for the writing assignments. i think class participation plays quite a percentage of the overall grading, just so the prof knows you're thinking, 

CS4042 Advanced Research Methods - sorry what spss?????? i don't know... i only know i took this mod because it's compulsory for the a&pr track.... 

CS4311 Promoting Sustainability - a very apt topic for issues that have been arising in recent years. think there was no finals for this, but a couple of quizzes, an essay from a site visit (i'll share more about this) and a group project. sure there's a couple of deliverables (lol @ the terms i'm using now) for this module but i would say that i quite enjoyed it! site visits are to places around singapore that promote sustainability (duh), prof would give a few dates and places and you could choose which one to visit - you could even decide to go on more, submit an extra essay and the essay with higher marks will be the one that's graded. i did exactly did and visited tampines hub and marina barrage. the group project would be about sustainability (duh) and i think you'd have to include a video in it too... would be useful if you took isp! 

HZ9101 Introduction to Creative Writing - a module which made me realise that even though i love writing, my writing will never be good. 

LK9003 Korean Language Level 3 - 안녕하세요.... 

year 4 sem 1 

CS4053 Popular Cinema - a very interesting mod to me - three hours a week and you're watching movies the whole time. this module opened my eyes to another genre of shows i had never watched before, and i got to learn about the various elements of... hold on i forgot the term... western... ok i really forgot the term - there were some asian films as well. prof takes attendance in class, no finals but think there are two timed in-class assignments. 

HP8003 Are You OK? Mental Health in Singapore - love the prof, his sense of humour is really my kind and he is sososososo nice during the zoom lessons. he would always check in and answer questions and takes feedback really well! there was no finals for me but i think finals for this mod has resumed now as we live with covid. 

LK9004 Korean Language Level 4 - 뭐... 우리 수업중 한국 영화 봤어요... subtitles 없이.... 

year 4 sem 2 

LS9001 Spanish Language Level 1 - hola,, como estas [inserts all the accents and punctuations] 

LK9005 Korean Language Level 5 - 이 학기 동안 언어 2개 배워서 스트레스 좀 많이 받았어요 제사 죽을 뻔했거든요ㅠㅠ 

and i was doing my fyp and i wasn't as useful and detailed as i wanted to be but we good!! at least i didn't leave things halfway done right :'-) 

all the love and till next time x 

happy september! it's been a few months and the covid-19 situation in singapore had been fluctuating. we've moved to heightened alert with the increasing number of community cases, as well as had relaxed measures, differentiated rules for vaccinated and non-vaccinated people, and the rules are constantly changing sometimes it's a little hard to keep up. 

if you ask me what i do on weekends, my answer would be the same standard boring answer - i usually do not have plans. i will sleep in, stay at home, get much-needed rest (because work drains the energy out of me), get some work done, netflix, chill, and my whole weekend will be spent at home. but!!! i've been meeting some friends sometimes and i actually do!! have a social life!

met up with the easties for supper on 27th august as i was back in office to run some errands. we had prata and couldn't dine in, so we sat at a playground, ate and chatted. felt like a throwback to secondary school days when we would hang at the playground after school before cca or supplementary classes start! and as always, i would laugh until i cry and get a stomachache whenever i'm with the easties. i stayed until like 10.45 and they continued talking until like what, 1am? its a throwback to hall days! 

went on a staycay with the hall gang on the first weekend of september. we initially planned for a grad trip, but covid said no and we settled for a staycation... which we postponed because of covid lol. the hotel that we stayed at was actually where we planned to have the grad trip one year ago when we were celebrating peishi's birthday. :'-) guess the grad trip will happen another time! signs of adulting is when we did not stay up all night like we used to back in hall. we KO-ed at like 2am but it was a refreshing weekend for me spent with my first friends in NTU - to the national museum of singapore, having kbbq with lots of cheese, being lucky at the arcade even though i felt uncomfortable (because i was constipated). really can't believe four years just passed us like that and now we've graduated from school and barely know anyone in hall! 

met jingwen for lunch on that wednesday after the staycay. our working places are actually really close and we don't have many common days when we go to the office so this was one of the rare days that we're in office on the same day! we had yong tau foo at shenton house (it filled my stomach but only for a short time) and got boost before heading back to work. somehow this day's lunch time seemed to pass by so quickly. but we'll meet each other again soon for the last time! 

and last saturday on the 11th, i was out for the whole day with different groups of church friends..!! it had been some time since i was out for the whole day filled with activities (staycay excluded) so i was actually exhausted and am actually experiencing muscle aches now. 

hung out with the dgroup batchies - theo, marissa, caryl for brunch and ice skating! it was a great time having the most random conversations, talking about k-dramas (yes hospital playlist) and young k-pop groups :'-) it had been a really long time since i ice skated so the first part was me just trying to find my balance LOL but it was a good exercise for me!! finally moving instead of sitting all day like what i do for work! i thought i would go home and rest after almost two hours of ice skating, but that was not the case! 

met up with duncan racquel and weichieh for a game of table tennis and dinner. we all love exposure to new experiences and sports, don't we - it was my first time touching a paddle and being near a table tennis table but it was quite fun! sometimes the game ended up like a badminton match, and maybe i spent most of my time chasing the balls instead of actually playing the game. also, since i never really talked to duncan before, it felt like we had a lot of things to talk about - from like our jc and poly experiences and up till now as working... people. it was a good time getting to know a fellow batchie! :-) 

had lunch with jasmine on thursday!! we ate at amoy and thank goodness it wasn't very crowded. the weather was a little wonky though - lightning was striking and thunder was rumbling even though the sky was really bright. it would probably be a bit hard for us to meet for lunch again in the future, but we'll see! 

ended of the week meeting the easties again after work on friday. we went to justin's apartment where he was temporarily staying at while his house is under renovation. he cooked carbonara for us - really just like hall days! it was not enough so we headed to 7-11 to buy more food, and hanrong joined us as well HAHAH it was our first time seeing jingwen at the stove, we never saw her cooking during our time in hall, and she was attempting to cook tteokbokki without a recipe and the actual ingredients. it turned out really spicy but i love the cheese!! jingwen and hanrong were saying this experiment feels like exchange HAHAHA also i stayed till later than i expected so i ended up grabbing home. also, the easties have already planned the next time they will be gathering at justin's apartment again, and this time, it will be after hanrong's wedding. we'll see if i'll travel all the way down and join them...!!!

after all the social interaction, i finally rested at home this weekend. just staying at home and waking up without an alarm, spending my afternoons watching netflix - watched the whole series of squid game, the last episode of hospital playlist 2, and started on haikyu as well HAHAH need time to energise myself and get ready for a new week of work - it's gonna be a little tougher than last week since i'll have to go back to the office three times this week. 

all the love and till next time x