Martian and I are currently on holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam - and we’re having a lot of fun coming up with creative new ways to say, ‘NO, we really don’t want bananas or doughnuts or a 1-hour citytour in your trishaw!!!’.
Vietnam is beautiful. it’s just like what you see in postcard pictures- yknow, women wearing aodais and weaved hats in the middle of town? people selling fruits and flowers off baskets on the pavements? old men and women doing tai-chi by the lake? it’s gorgeous here. there’s a little bit of haze here as well just like in KL, but it’s still gorgeous.
some pics from our first day here -
a woman balancing a basket of wares on her head. totally awesome posture. Elizabethan women would be jealous
there are no road rules in Hanoi. traffic lights here are very rare, and street pedestrians cross whenever and wherever they want. very scary at first, but you get used to it. Martian and I are beginning to..
a lady in a conical hat crossing the street whenever and wherever she wants
hoan kiem lake
at Ngoc Son Temple
Martian politely declining fruits. this is difficult, believe me - the locals here REALLY know how to hawk their stuff! i’m thinking that if i ever start a business, i’m gonna have my sales team consisting mainly of Vietnamese folk!
like Sri Lanka, people here just throw stuff on the sides of the street. Vicnan, dont be alarmed :D
the roses sold in Vietnam are LOVELY. if i lived here, i would so buy fresh roses every day for my house
pretty clogs and my white-sandalled feet
a street in Hanoi’s Old Quarters. the Old Quarters is my absolute fav part of Hanoi - it’s bursting with life and there’s just so much to see here
at a street market in the Old Quarters
a trishaw driver getting high on this massive ass pipe @_@
Martian trying to tell Trishaw Driver #1 and #2 where we wanna go, while Trishaw Driver #3 was looking down my top
me and Trishaw Driver #2, heehee
one of the barbers who operate their businesses by the roadsides. soooo cool- it’s exactly like in that Malay poem we did for SPM, ‘Tukang Gunting’!
this is the best drink in the world - ice topped with lotus paste custard, lotus seeds and cincau. i swear to you it is orgasmic. and i have no idea what it is called.
me and a banh bao!!!!!
Trishaw Driver #2 and i again
sleeping on the job
in Apocalypse Now, which is Hanoi’s top club. not the best clubbing experience! the best part of the night was when a Viet dude tried to kiss Martian hehehehe.
a bowl of authentic pho bo (beef noodle soup) .. :D after years of having pho, i finally get to sample the real deal! and it was gooooooooood.
hopefully tomorrow we head to the mountains of Sapa or the absolutely gorgeous Halong Bay which i am dying to visit. more pics soon!
more Hanoi posts:
Hanoi Part 2 - Chocolate Buffet at the Sofitel Metropole
Hanoi Part 3
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October 23rd, 2006
bliss is surfing the net on my laptop, while he sits opposite me in his boxers playing Minesweeper on his laptop.
amusement is listening to him whoop in joy after finally achieving his first Minesweeper win of the day while i’m putting on makeup in the bathroom.
and love is when you’ve got one mouse in between two laptops, and that mouse is yours, and you totally wanna use it… but you give it to him anyway so he can play Minesweeper.
October 22nd, 2006
Chioeves kindly requested me to list 20 people down, and after i did, he tagged me with a quiz. i’m actually feeling damn lazy, plus i got a shitload of stuff i have to finish up before the weekend.. but heck! do only lah. so here goes!
1. ivan shin
2. aira
3. waimin
4. jovann
5. sieutheng
6. johanny
7. alvin woon
8. kevin
9. julian
10. vin
11. isa
12. sarv
13. zul
14. jien
15. ee yean
16. ee yang
17. ginny
18. suet li
19. tze ching
20. arthur loh
How did u meet #14? [Jien]
okay, this is like the 3rd time i’m being asked this question in the past 2 days. seriously, girls (and quiz), JUST TALK TO HIM YOURSELF ALREADY. i swear, one of these days i’m going to be known as ‘Jien’s friend’ instead of Su Ann. anywayyyy i met Jien at Lynn Nee’s 17th bday party last year. everyone thought he was Japanese.
What would your life be if u haven’t met #1? [Ivan Shin]
man my life would be so sad. i would have no one to bully, no one to thwack, no one’s car to sit on, no one who will wait 3hrs for me to show up for a movie date, no one who will advise me against buying ridiculous things like giant teacups that i wanted to use for soup bowls..
dont you think this would be PERFECT to serve soup in???
What would u do if #20 and #9 dated? [Arthur Loh, Julian]
seeing as they both think the other is really cool, i wouldnt be entirely surprised if this happened… only, er, they’re kinda straight. and arthur has finally gone steady with ONE GIRL so let’s not ruin the chances of that relationship!
Would #6 and #17 make a good couple? [Johanny, Ginny]
NO @_@ hahahha not at all! Gin’s too high maintenance for happy, simple Johanny. but she’d like dating him cos then she can go to Melbourne and have Max Brenner!
Describe #3. [Wai Min]
shite where does one start. she’s complex in a simple way, sensitive, delicate yet stubborn, has two layers, confused, perfectionist, scared, worrywart, lover of milk and tehtarikboys, exquisite, self conscious, curls and lace, beautiful.
Do you think #6 is attractive? [Johanny]
of course… i pick my future husbands hot! :D oh and johanny looks like Peter Parker. as in Tobey Maguire Peter Parker.
Tell me something about #8. [Kevin Low]
he’s A SLUT. a SLUT i tell you! actually wait, i can tell you more than that. he’s got a bunny named Hunny. he taught me how to DotA, he plays WoW day in day out (or used to), he’s majoring in aeronautical engineering, he’s in Wichitaaaaa, he totally layans me when i beg him to bring back Reese’s peanut butter cups! oh and he loves me!
Do you know anything about #12’s family? [Sarv]
hell yeah i do. they are the reason why we call him Cinderella Sarv… they dont allow him out past 12. and his dad is a past alcoholic who wont let Sarv drink. which is a good thing. and er, Sarv’s elder bro used to go to the gym with Hishy’s elder bro? and apparently his mom is one fierce woman.
What is #7’s favourite? [Alvin Woon]
me lah of course
What would you do if #11 confesses that he/she likes you? [Isa]
i would make him buy me many banoffee pies. and i’d make him promise to give me direct answers in the future, instead of saying “yes and no” all the time to yes *OR* no questions! haha then we’ll go out.
What language does #15 speak? [Ee Yean]
oh oh i know this! english, BM, hokkiennnn! she’s a penang lang, yo. eh wait, is ‘lang’ even hokkien?
Who’s #9 going out with? [Julian]
the hottest, cutest, most intelligent, nicest, coolest girl ever. seriously.
How old is #16? [Ee Yang]
my age, 18. i wish i would stop bumping into him at college.
When was the last time you talked to #13? [Zul]
just this morning. we laughed over Jien’s version of the Microecons survey, and then i thwacked him even though it wasnt his fault.
Who’s #2’s favourite singer? [Aira]
man, talk about difficult questions!!! she listens to too much music! okay for now i’m going to pick Augustana and Snow Patrol. hehe embarassing revelation : she used to be crazy over BLUE! and 911!
Would you date #4? [Jovann]
OMG NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO *washes eyes out with soap*
jovann and i are only good makeout-in-bathroom partners. we would not do well as a real couple.
Would you date #7? [Alvin Woon]
i would seriously consider this, but the sad fact is that our chinese astrological signs clash! dragons cannot date dogs, evarrrrrr. you know that right, puppy =( looks like we’re just not meant to be!
Is #15 single? [Ee Yean]
she’s so ambiguous, i swear i wouldnt KNOW even if she wasnt! okay la i’m just assuming she is. cos she never told me about any guy! even though i share all my deepest darkest secrets with her :(
What is #10’s last name? [Vin]
holy shit i dont know
Would you consider being in a relationship with #19? [Tze Ching]
i would consider it, yes :D but i like the Tze Ching & Eugin pairing too much to take that consideration seriously
What schools did #3 go to? [Wai Min]
Sri Inai, Sri Garden, Taylors. and er, Jean Gan ballet school, if that counts
Where does #6 live? [Johanny]
too far away in Melbourne :(
What is your favourite thing about #5? [Sieu Theng]
her natural ability to make the situation very light hearted and fun
What do you think about #13? [Zul]
he sure can throw whiskey in people’s face with style… and he’s tall. and he’s got good taste in brownies. and i want his car. dammit.
What do #4 and #19 have in common? [Jovann, Tze Ching]
HAHAHA wow where do i start. the diva attitude, for one. the penchant for expensive things and branded stuff. the vanity, the utter and complete narcissism! the love for their hair. and skin. and, er, everything else about themselves :P
What special qualities does #17 hold in your life? [Ginny]
she’s a neverending source of dramatic tales .. :D
What is the most memorable memory you had with #18? [Suet Li]
talking about sex on MSN! wait one more, talking about format for SPM Moral on MSN! (eh babe did i ever tell you i got an A1!)
October 19th, 2006
‘Clean Room’ has been at the top of my to-do list since forever, so today i finally decided to get off my lazy ass and actually do it.
motivation? i really need to use my desk. i dont know if i’ve ever mentioned this, but there’s a huge pile of stuff on my desk that prohibits me from using it at all. (except of course, to dump more stuff on.) gah, it’s been a whole year since i’ve seen the surface of my desk! i know that because at the veryyyy bottom of the pile are my SPM biology books, still open to the pages i was reading right before i sat for my exams in November last year :P
anyway while cleaning my room, i found a lot of crap i completely forgot i’d kept around. here are some of the more interesting ones -
1. My old diaries
there were three of them from the years 1997 - 2000. i took some time off to read them, and i cant believe how naive i used to be. back then everything was centred around my friends, both offline and online. the littlest things intrigued me, and i would write such looooong entries about them. it’s all quite funny, hehe. 2001 saw me getting a blog, and so the diaries died there.
i also found another diary from the year 2002. this one was a chronicle of my relationship with my then boyfriend. HAHA that was one hell of a dramatic relationship. i wrote down everything - our dates, how we would sneak out to meet each other, issues with the exes, issues with third parties, getting called to the principal’s office for our open relationship in school, his smoking habit and how i hated it, his mother catching us doing stuff she’d rather not have seen… hahaha and lots more. ah, young love! the cuteness of it.
2. Chocopies
from Sri Lanka! remember? they still taste yummy. i just had two! i keep telling myself to refrain from having the other two so i can save em for brekkie tomorrow. argh tempation.
3. RM 100
damn kan cheong, i was throwing out a bunch of folded a4 papers, when i decided to check exactly what papers i was throwing out. so i opened them to find .. RM 100 in between the papers!!!!!! wtf! why do i simply leave money lying around in innocent-looking sheets of a4 paper?! cis stupid me. *stuffs money in pocket*
(yay, got more money to shop)
4. Loveletter and a Photocard
the letter was for my exboyfriend, and i found it in an Isetan bag full of art supplies. i have no idea what it was doing in there! it’s dated June 2004, and was a confession of sorts. i cant remember why i never gave him the letter, cos after skimming the contents it looked like a pretty safe letter to me. hmmm.
the photocard is a pic of me and aforementioned ex, one we took in Singapore on christmas eve 2004. at Bugis Junction, one of my fav places in SG! found the photocard in a bag of trinkets i bought from Singapore, but forgot about.
5. Cosmetics
there was a whole bag of BRAND NEW UNOPENED cosmetics from MAC in this black toiletries bag i never used!!!!! wheeee :D i was completely over the moon when i found the stuff. it’s like getting free cosmetics from my fav brand, even though technically i paid for it :P
6. Exboyfriend’s Yearbook
i found a high school yearbook belonging to my very first ‘boyfriend’, buried under a whole stack of Cleo and Female magazines! i remember how i wheedled at him to let me keep it, and how reluctant he was to part with it, cos the yearbook was from his graduating year. the above pic is his class photo, hehe i’ll give you a prize if you can guess which one he is.
i dont really know if i can call him my boyf because we were never actually official. it’s so funny how when you’re 13 all these official-unofficial things matter :) i had such sweet memories with this guy. we barely talk anymore, but when we do, it’s like we never stopped communicating at all.
7. Cassette
there was this play we staged in the year 2003, my classmates and i :D it was called Snow Dumb, a parody of the timeless classic Snow White. we recorded the entire script on cassette cos we didnt wanna use microphones, and i remember we had a ball of a time! benjamin eating pizza and then fainting, before Darren the Prince Charming came to the rescue. and then … FREDDY CAME ONSTAGE. hahahahaha. omfg.
i would so love to listen to the recording on the cassette but i dont even have a cassette player anymore. damn obsolete lah, these cassette things! i cant believe even in modern 2003 we were using cassettes!
8. Kiddy Pics
i found a few albums of pics from my childhood under a few shoeboxes. the above is a pic of my cousin bro Derek, me, and my cousin sister Eva in front of a big Shangri-La styrofoam castle! this photo is from the year 1991 (check out those lacy socks, yo) - i was 3, derek was 4, eva was 5. now we are 18, 19 and 20. and so many years later, Shangri La is still around- i just went there for dinner the other day! i could have walked on the same spot we were standing in 15 years ago! so surreal.
and 15 years since the above photo was taken, we now look like this -
arent my cousins hot? *wiggles eyebrows*
the whole time i was cleaning up and finding all these forgotten treasures, i wished so much that there was someone with me. someone special whom i could show all this stuff, someone whom i could share with all the stories and memories behind the things i found.
ahh. but Martian is in Mars.
October 18th, 2006
