Day 1: arriving at macau after taking 6.30am flight

The worst thing ever about taking an early morning flight is that I have to basically be at LCCT at 4.30am, which means waking up at 3am. Because during this holidays, I sleep really late, like 1-2am, so I only slept for about 2 hours that day. So so tiring...:(

The flight from KL --> Macau took about 4 hours, and I was sleeping like a pig the whole journey on the plane. It is really uncomfortable sitting on a plane for such long hours.

Arriving at Macau International Airport - It was a cloudy and misty day

Our first stop - Venetian Hotel & Casino

The Venetian shopping complex is absolutely breathtaking the moment you stepped in. Honestly, does it not look like the actual Venetian in Rome? The interior is so beautiful~~!! And the blue skies ceiling too ^^

They have a man-made river with gondolas floating. The ride is too expensive, so I just did sightseeing on foot

It was Christmas decor @ Venetian. the complex is too big that I did not finish touring the whole place

I thought it might be fun to check out the largest casino in Macau (Venetian) since I am 22. But I dunno if it was the clothes I wear or something, I keep getting stopped at the entrance. They did not believe I am above 18 and I had to keep showing my passport for identification. It was so embarrassing~~~

The Kun Lam statue that our bus passed by. Our tour guide says it looks like Western Kun Lam because it slight resembles St. Mary.

Our next stop after lunch is to Fisherman's Wharf. It is actually a theme park but because not many people go there, they are planning to demolish it soon. The above pic is from the Tang Dynasty section.

The Aladdin section

My favourite is def the Rome section. Although I know they are artificial, but they are just so amazing~~!!

Makes for amazing photography too!!!

Sorry for the little kid in the pic, dunno where he came from

Feels like Coliseum at Rome no?

The blue blue sky - It was really hot that day! But of course not as hot as Msia...

The next place we went to is A-Ma Chinese temple, one of the oldest temples in Macau.

The temple is quite small and you actually have to climb a hill nearby. Because there were too many people, Mom and I decided not to hike up.

Nearby the temple were a group of elementary school children wearing sweats. So adorable no?~~!!!

So instead of going to the temple, we walked around in the streets. Looks like a page from an old photo album. Macau has all this lovely quaint streets that has all the nostalgia feel to them.

-To be continued-

youtube, pasta zanmai & 2012 movie

Finally have the time to start on my diy projects for this hols. Can you believe I only 2 weeks left of my hols? So so short....I want more hols!!!

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This holidays, it has all been about youtube for me. How I wished my internet line is a lot faster so I can watch the shows I want faster.

Besides watching practically almost all 2PM-related variety shows (except those without subs), I also watched another Korean movie called "Antique", which is adapted from a Japanese manga of similar name (Antique Bakery). It is a live-action movie, meaning it preserves some of the humor we get from manga, just like Nodame Cantabile.

I always wanted to watch it after hearing about it a few times on "Idol Army", especially the episode when 2AM came.

The story is simple but the plot is really interesting. It is a "yaoi" movie, btw, but the love story does not play a major role in this movie although some scenes I do find a little funny.

The main actor is actually the guy from "Goong/Princess Hours" (Joo Ji Hoon) but he looks very scruffy in this movie. Not sure it is a good look for him.

As I watched further, I realized that the boy playing the chef's protégé/ex-boxer looks familiar. When I google-ed him online, I found out he was from the K-drama, "He Who Can't Marry", one of my favourite dramas that used to run on KBS. That boy is really cute ;)

The story, in short, is about young rich guy, Jin Hyeok (Jung Ji Hoon) who wants to open a bakery and hires a great chef, Seon Woo. He later found out that Seon Woo used to be the guy who confessed his love for Jin Hyeok back in high school but was rejected cruelly by Jin Hyeok.

Because Seon Woo has a fear of girls, Jin Hyeok could only hire male employees. One of them is Yang Ki Beom, Seon Woo's apprentice, who loves sweet things and used to be a renowned boxer. The other is Nam Soo Yeong, the very clumsy waiter, send by Jin Hyeok's family to protect him.

As the story continues, Seon Woo's ex-boyfriend came to lure him to follow him back to France. And then we learn the reason Jin Hyeok wanted to open the bakery despite his hatred for sweet things and his troubled past that lead him to change his name.

The bakery and all the pastries are so pretty, just like those one will see in Japanese manga. And all those French names. Oh my~~!!!

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My bday this year is simple compared to my 21st bday bash last year. Less fuss definitely means less stress. Lol. I had my bday lunch at Pasta Zanmai with my mother at Mid Valley. It serves fusion of Japanese and Italian.

The baby octopus appetizers were really great, mom's unagi dish was also good but sadly my salmon pasta was only so-so. It was way too plain-tasting for me. But this place is not bad, they have a variety of choices. I would go back there again, only I will choose my dishes wiser this time around.

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After coming back from my holiday trip, my Mom took a few days off to do the laundry. So we had time to catch a movie at Mid Valley. I wanted to watch "2012" after hearing about how interesting it was from everyone watching it. Previously, the tickets for this movie were always sold out so I wanted to wait until the excitement of this movie dies down. Now would be a good time to watch this movie, actually, because right now, tickets for Twilight: New Moon are selling like hot cakes.

I must say, everyone was right about this movie. It is really really awesome. Probably because of all the effects. Many near-death experiences here and yet, the main characters die in the most unexpected circumstances (not natural catastrophe-related).

The synopsis, in short, is about how the world will end in 2012 but basically people have nowhere to run, except for some wealthy people who bought tickets onto a "metal Noah's ark". The main characters, John Cusack and his family are not rich enough to buy the tickets but they never give up in trying to survive. Many many nail-biting scenes here. Really really "dae bak"!!!

anime hanabi festival = want to watch cosplay ;)

Small thought: What do dreams mean?

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On a Saturday, four people decided to go Times Sq to check out the Anime Hanabi Festival, organized by Taylor's College. Two are anime virgins, One only know a fraction, and another One is a super fan. LOL.

Myself, as well as roommate Suz M, housemate Mei Chen and coursemate Yong Xin wanted to take a look at the anime festival after our exams. I am just really curious because I have never been to one, and mostly what I really wanted to see was the cosplay. I always read about it in Sunday Star but have always wanted to see one for myself.

As we arrived, we realized that there was a Cosplay competition going on at the concourse level of BTS. There were 7 finalists dressed up as their favourite anime characters and they had to do a performance each.

I like the ghost in the pic above. No, he was not an anime character, he was just an accompanying act to one of the finalists. I think he is more funny than scary.

When we arrived at 6th floor, we were greeted by this amazingly and scarily loud Japanese rock band. Although I am all for rock bands, but when you don't understand the lyrics or don't know the song, it is hard to enjoy it. Sorry :( But kudos to them anyway. I thought my ears were ringing long afterwards.

She was one of the finalists from the competition. When we saw her came in, we just could not resist asking her to take photo with us. If you don't recognize her, she is Cardcaptor Sakura. I really like watching that anime when I was younger. Only that time, it was subbed in really bad Malay language.

The maids at Manga Cafe. I think their maid costumes are really cute, no? This photo was not really special until I discovered that Nuffnang's Blogger of the Month (Nov 2009) actually knows one of the maids. Hehe. I checked out her blog and saw the same girl there.

She was also one of the finalists. Sexy no her costume? I am not sure what manga it was, I think it was something about Chinese Kingdom. Anyways, she was really sweet when we asked to take photos with her. She was like, "Of course you can!"

These two girls were from "Sudden Attack", an online game. Too bad I don't play video games much. I pretty much suck in them. Every time I played with my cousin, she always win. By a wide margin. Up to a point where I don't expect to win when I play with her, only try to survive as long as possible :(

Another one of the finalists. This one I am sure many will know. He is Naruto. Although I did recognize him, but I don't really read or watch the anime.

The other finalists were Super Mario, Hellboy, Rinku (?) from Final Fantasy and another one that I did not recognize. Sorry...

I think this girl is super pretty no? I really like her costume. Like pretty purple lolita no? Her contact lens were purple too ;)

This was taken outside the exhibition hall on the 6th floor where the festival was held.

Overall, the festival is not very large. There were not many manga sold too. I think there was only one booth that sold manga. In fact, there were not many booths at all and about half were actually online games. But I did have fun taking photos of the cosplayers. I think they are really creative and really brave to parade in their costumes. It is okay to do so in the festival itself, but when they walked through the shopping mall, I am sure there were some curious stares all around.

For more photos, please go to my FACEBOOK. Since I uploaded all the photos there, I am too lazy to duplicate them here.

Lastly, a random photo of me with the balloons meant for Sweet Chat, the cafe. My face looks super perverted lar. But I really like all the colourful balloons. LOL.

of birthdays and post-exam outings

Macau was not bad, HK was a blast, and Shenzhen is disappointing

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Yes I am back from my holiday trip. Before I start blogging about my trip, however, there are still a bunch of photos that I want to post first.

Most importantly, are bday photos of my Pharmacy friends dating all the way from September. Coincidentally, they are all BLOGGERS too. LOL.

~Clara's 21st birthday

~Jia Xiang, Plaza Prima

~6th October 2009

For Babi Sia's birthday, we decided to celebrate one day later than her actual bday (which is on the 5th) because she kept expecting us to celebrate her bday, so we decided to give her a surprise. It was a joint bday between us Pharmacy gang + my housemates. Her present? It was a SS501 cd since we knew she is a huge fan of Kim Hyun-Joong. It was difficult to choose a present for her. I hope she likes it =)

Read more about it *here*

~Jane's 22nd birthday

~Pizza Hut Setapak

~30th Sept 2009

A much much belated bday post is Mei Chieng's bday. Us Pharmacy gang celebrated her bday with pizza + cake. Hehe. I hope she likes her present we got her. It was a humongous heart pillow. LOL.

Read more about it *here*

~Carolyn Teo's 21st bday

~Cannes Cafe Setapak

~13th October 2009

The "maknae" of our gang has finally become "2NE1" (according to her). We had a small celebration for her between us 6 girls + her "bro" Terev.

Sorry I do not have any photos. I thought I did take photos of that night but turns out that I did not. But, you can read more *here*.

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Another interesting event is of course, the post-exam outings. Facebook of UKM students are now flooded with photos of what they all did right after exams.

My finals ended on a Thursday. After that, myself and Sia went to Prima to help with Course Nite souvenirs.

Only on Friday did Sia and I get to go shopping. We went not only to Times Square and Sg Wang but also to Pavilion. Lol.

Outside Pavilion were lots of outrageously early Christmas decorations. Sia wanted to bring one of the reindeer back to A-5-5.

Inside the shopping complex were also no exception when it comes to spreading the Xmas cheer.

I think Pavilion always outdo themselves when it comes to decor. Since we were never going to be able to afford to shop here, we might as well take photos.

Are these photos creative? Hehe. I got the idea because when passing by the Christmas trees, I saw my own reflection in these ginormous tree ball decors.

For lunch, we had the tea time buffet @ Sakae Sushi. Only with Sia, can I sit in a sushi restaurant for 2 hours eating twenty plates of sushi.

For dinner, my roommate BB and I went to Red Potato, this really nice restaurant that had just opened in Setapak.

This is our 2nd time and who knew, I bumped into my coursemate here. Haih...you know who you are...*lost appetite*

While waiting for our food, we played around with the curtains. Looks like wedding veils? LOL.

Yay, finally our food arrived!! I forgot what we ordered but this place is really "dae bak!" Must come and try the food. The lady is also funny. BB accidentally left our apartment keys and the lady scared us by telling us she did not see our keys anywhere. Turns out she was tricking us, because she later returned the keys to us ;)