shanghai day 1 :)

i'm back from a five day trip to shanghai . i'm still adjusting to the humid weather in singapore but i'm definitely glad to be home. a new semester has commenced and i feel pretty regretful about missing the first week of school . definitely time to pull up my socks since the grades from the previous semester were far from satisfactory.. lord please give me the strength to pull through the final year !! 

anyway, many of my friends asked me " why shanghai? "

our original plan was to head to osaka but there was some rumour about harmful radiation which could be bad for females. we didn't want to take the risk especially when my mom is so protective of me. we decided to explore somewhere new and shanghai was our final choice. i was quite apprehensive at first because kun is such a cheenapiang who cant speak mandarin for nuts.  we went ahead with it anyway. 

& that's how i became a translator for five awesome days .

shanghai's huge but it's pretty convenient and super cheap to travel by metro . we took metro from pudong international airport to east nanjing station (which was where our hotel was located) and the entire journey took us slightly more than an hour . morning peak hour was insane but we managed to stay sane through the crowd. it only cost us 7RMB (~1.40SGD). our hotel was only 5 minutes away from the station . it was a relief that kun managed to locate the hotel with the aid of the directions provided online . i was in desperate need of a respite after so much travelling . 

we booked shanghai fish inn bund via agoda and we paid SGD250 for 4 nights. the check in time stated was 12 pm but the hotel kindly let us check in earlier since there were available rooms. they even upgraded our room to a pretty & cozy suite (pictured above) that totally lifted our mood. we were so impressed with our humble abode and the service provided by the friendly staff. 

outfit of the day :) 

it's pretty chill over there at shanghai so it was a good time to throw on my blazers. 

we went on wednesday and it was already very crowded. 

there's a very famous xiaolongbao stall called nanxiang xiao long bao. 

the queue was insane ( as mad as those iphone 5 queues) so we didnt bother. 

it's a bustling area with many shophouses selling food , souvenirs and apparel. 

apart from food & beverages , always try to bargain. 

i've read and heard about how the local retailers like to jack up price to earn more. 

always cut the price by more than half. don't bother showing them mercy man. 

when we reached there, I didnt dare to cut the price by a lot because i haven't bargained in a long while

so yepp, my bargaining skills were a little rusty but after some practice in shanghai, i went full force. 

competition is very stiff because there are so many shops selling the same stuffs. 

 First destination of the day : City God of Temple & Yuyuan Garden . 

I thought the Yuyuan Garden was quite interesting and served as pretty backdrop for phototaking. Indulging in flora and fauna once in a while could be very relaxing. 

Entrance fee for yuyuan garden was 40RMB (~8SGD) which was worth the money

I wouldn't say the same thing for City God of Temple which was 20RMB . 

Neither of us holds the joss stick so it was a pretty waste of money since there wasn't anything special . 

Second destination of the day : Tian Zi Fang 

One of my favourite places in Shanghai ! It's an arts and craft enclave which houses many quaint cafes , mini bars, restaurants and retail shops . It reminds us fondly of the haji lane back at home. Wished we had more time so we could chill there.  We settled at his western restaurant for lunch where the service was really impeccable. The waitress really took the effort to make sure we were comfortable in our seats. While the food wasn't up to standard, the ambience and service made up for it. 

Last stop : XINTIANDI . 

It's pretty much like our paragon / clarke quay where prices are pretty steep for local standards. 

We visited this shikumen open house which was 20RMB each and it was not bad . 

Apart from this open house ,  it was just streets of shopping malls and restaurants. 

We decided against spending a bomb at Xintiandi so we head over to our hotel area to eat instead. 

and if you're visiting shanghai, you must try this. 

xiao yang sheng jian 

it's like a bigger and fried version of the xiao long baos. there's one outlet near our hotel which is just opposite of exit 6 , line 10 East Nanjing Station. Kun loved it so much so we have it everyday. It only costs 9RMB (~SGD 1.80) for 6 pieces. They serve noodles and soups too. Every patron in the store will order this. Wished we could bring them home to satisfy our cravings now :( 

shall blog about the rest of the trip soon. 

happy 21'st birthday sarah teh ♥

I hope you had an awesome time on your special day last weekend. 

thank you for having us over. the setting was impeccable. 

love you very much even though your boobs made mine seemed like nothing. 

for more than 5 years we had to endure the shame standing next to you *facepalm

probably the most impromptu 21st birthday bash i've attended. 

planning done in 1.5 weeks and invitation sent out within the week. 

super impressed with the party preperations. totally owned mine at st regis. 

the food catered was a twist from the usual catering i've had . 

beef slices , creamy fish and pasta from jack's place. 

feasted on the fruit tarts (had more than 5 that night!) and taco chips with salsa dip. 

i wish i could be such a good host one day too. 

My favourite girls ; Sarah Sonia Cheryl ♥♥♥♥♥♥

everyone looking smokin' hot that night :) 

&kudos to all the decorations by the double S sonia and sarah . 

poor cheryl had to rush to and fro that night . 

she had three birthdays to attend to , one of which was her sister's . 

i could literally hear her panting through the cell phone . 

then again bimb's the sort who would really go all out for the people she values

which is why i love her so damn much too :) 

one by one .. all my friends are turning twenty one. 

feels like i've just celebrated mine only recently and now that everyone's turning 21.. i'm going 22. 

the very sad thing about being a january baby. right smack on the second day of new year. 

& i feel like i've watched them grow up . 

all four of us came from different lower secondary classes and we met when we were in sec 3.

nia who came over to nanhua in secondary two ( thank you god for bringing her into my life!)

she was so quiet when i was first introduced to her by tess

bimb whom i fondly remembered and envied for her natural straight hair. 

sarah who was into punky hair style and sex bands haha. 

they have all changed so much .. so have I. 

cheryl has since ventured into funky hair colours and styles. 

sonia is actually taking a conscious effort to make up and dress up. 

& sarah who ditched the funky hair style for feminine florals and dresses. 

as quoted by nia, such is growing up.

till our teeth fall out and our boobs sag to the ground . 

i love you . 

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY , SILVIA : ) 

attended my fourth consecutive birthday party which happened to be silvia's ;  in the location friendly warren country club. finally a birthday party near my vicinity . i'm so thankful for the location and of course, the great food and companion. one of the best things about birthday parties is to gather and catch up with friends. it's so hard to schedule a full reunion gathering these days :< 

my favourite shot of the day - the birthday girl with her cake. 

before this shot was taken , she actually teared while giving a short thank you speech to her parents for preparing this birthday event for her. silvia's one of the most simple girl i've ever met . even on her birthday party , she barely put on make up because she's just simple like that . even though we're not very close and i don't get to see her often like how it was an everyday kind of thing in JC, deep down in my heart i hope that she's happy with whoever she is and whatever she does. 

i mean duh , of course i hope the best for each and everyone of my pals but silvia's just so simple and i'm very happy that she's found keith . the entire day , her 24/7 boyfriend is just busy snapping pictures to make sure everything goes well for his girlfriend's birthday. he barely ate or rested.  S-W-E-E-T. 

& here's a lovely booth lovingly prepared by keith . 

the theme of the party was nautical :) 

the props were too cute to be missed. 

gracia who insisted on snapping a picture with the balloons. 

& hello ? how's white lace and bandage nautical ?! 

kudos to us who were dressed according to the theme . 

unfortunately, we were one of the handful who showed up in nautical themes..

& we went on and on with the camera in various places . 

lyla yang never fails to rape my camera whenever she lays her hands on it. 

sexy gracia who once went out in this top without any tube layerings. 

she actually didn't realised it was sheer -faints-

there was once when i tweeted about the awesome avene thermal spring water spray. 

a few of our mutual fellowers responded and gra actually thought it's thermal bottled water.. 

QUEEN OF EPIC MOMENTS. 

lyla yang looking constipated again hehe #justforlaughs. 

counting down , shanghai in a week's time . i can't wait. 

it's the first time kun and i travel on our own and i'm crossing my fingers that nothing goes wrong. 

kun in a foreign cheena country sounds disaster somehow.

happy midweek

met up with the double S for dinner last thursday :) settled for dinner at joomak since it would be much more convenient for the three of us. love how all my friends stay so near me .  headed for carpenter and cook patisserie after dinner despite being extremely full. there's always room for dinner , isn't it ? 

love the setting of the vintage home store cum cafe.  it's tucked behind one of the streets along upper bukit timah road , all the way kim's family restaurant (which has unfortunately become very overrated ) there weren't alot of patrons when we visited past 8 - just us and two other groups. tried the carrot cake and meringue tart and they were absolutely delish. IF. ONLY. I. CAN.BAKE. lesigh. 

pretty and yummy pastries just dont come cheap. 

love how the colours of our top contrast so nicely. 

now that's a new colour combination to try on. 

i have to say ; my bestfriend's a very good talker

we were just toying with the idea of 21st birthday celebrations when sonia actually managed to persuade sarah to throw a 21st celebration  - it probably took less than 20 minutes before sarah was sold by the idea. before we know it , we were en route to her place to do more serious planning. bimb read my tweet and very kindly picked us up from where we were to sarah's crib .  planning a 21st party within a week's notice hahaha. now that's a first !

tracy's 21st birthday at mandarin oriental. 

the shorties at 1.58 metres and below 

the tall ones at 159.5 cm and above ^^ 

the colour code of the day was blue and all of us were decked in all shades of blue . 

managed to play blind mice this time round thanks to tracy's spacious bedroom. 

took the game to an all new level by switching off the lights. 

imagine being blindfolded and you have to grope helplessly in the dark. cheap thrill i know. 

it's funny how blind mice is our clique's thing when most of us are already 21 and above. 

& we experienced yet another felicia bimbo moment. 

B-I-M-B-O.  she actually told me to dedicate a section to her and now's a good chance. 

so a few of us actually went to the wrong hotel and ended up at marina mandarin instead of oriental.

rach and i kindly reminded her not to end up at the wrong hotel because we know her too well. 

she dismissed our concerns but ended up at marina mandarin's lobby waiting for us to pick her up.

DON'T LIKE THAT LEH FELI ?! *claws face*

turning 24 in a month's time and you're still playing M.I.A games. 

aiai who has recently converted from ba kwa stealer to almond jelly stealer. 

"I NEVER! I NEVER EAT ALL HORH? " horh my ass la horh. 

" REBE YOU DON'T ANYHOW SAY " rebe didn't say it. the picture did. 

romantic night sky out of the window. 

boy! look at what pictures we've got at the end of the day..

hot blooded couple one caught in the bathroom cubicle. 

hot blooded couple no 2 caught on bed. 

TAKE IT EASY, BROS AND SIS. 

till the next one. happy mid week everyone <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

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back from a seventh month dinner with nia and her parents . 

got to eat good food for free thanks to her very generous father . 

quite amusing seeing how nia's on the verge of going berserk when her father was bidding for an item 

" NO PAPA BU YAO " hahaha my bestfriend's too cute. 

her father was just sharing with us how he has never quarreled with his bestfriend of 37 years.

i have never gotten into a bad fight with nia but we have had our fair share of squabbles.

uncle's sharing kind of got me thinking .. we really shouldn't quarrel over trivial matters. 

i'm not perfect so i'm not sure if i can but i shall make an effort to give and take , as he advised. 

at the end of the day, it's nia who's always there at the first call of help. 

LOVE YOU BESTFRIEND SONIA OH .