Adventures in London: Issue 199

This week has been wicked! A very social week (which also translates into a tiring week) followed by the most anticipated purchase this year! Before I get to all of that...

... On Tuesday the group from work went to Sam's restaurant for Hot Pot! What exactly is Hot Pot? Let's see how to describe. It is like Chinese Fondue. There are two kinds of broth in which you cook a selection of seafood, meats, tofu,  veggies and noodles. We kept having the plates re-filled. No matter how much we ate, we could resist from eating more and more. The flavours of the broth were out of this world. I cannot wait to go back to have it again. I think the trick is to have a bunch of people, so will need to rally a group.

I really did not think I could eat after the Hot Pot night. Definitely ate my weight in noodles and seafood, but when I got a impromptu lunch invite from Mrs Gerhart....I couldn't resist. It was great seeing and catch up with Natalie about our respective holidays. Sadly, Nat & Ad were unable to come to Singapore for Silas' wedding so there was much to share. It was a nice afternoon out of the office catching up with a dear friend. Always a pleasure and never a chore to see the lady. The extra bonus was being able to hang out again (and with Pat, LL and Adam) the next day for free bar and leaving do/ birthday celebrations. I love impromptu nights with the Americans....but blimey are they tiring. I am not as young as I once was. And let's be honest...between you and me, I would rather be at home, cuddled on the sofa watching Downton Abbey :-)

After three nights out, to say that I was looking forward to the weekend is an understatement. The only agenda for the weekend was to chill in the garden and make room for my...wait for it.... NEW BBQ!! Yes I finally bought myself a new BBQ! Could have gotten smaller one, but what is the fun in that. The challenge however was clearing the weeds and cleaning up the garden given that I could not let my new BBQ living amongst weeds and dirt. Thankfully the great weather stayed for the weekend and we were able to take advantage of the sunshine and transformed our garden from Narnia into a garden (almost) ready to host HOT DOG BAR!!

Before

After

There is still some work to do before the 4th of July party, but we will get there. Never thought I would ever be a gardener, but here I am. I love it. Cannot wait to plant flowers, grass feed and properly lay the walk way, but if the weather keeps up...I am definitely going to be out there grilling and gardening. Love having a grill, it is super convenient when it comes to cooking dinner. Added a new dish to the list - - The Greek Lucy Juicy :-) I cannot tell you what the remaining dishes will be, but I can say I will grill whatever I can if the weather permits. This grill is a beast...and I love it :)

Hope you all are having great weather wherever you are!!!

Miss you and love you more

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 198

At the time it sounded like a great idea...Monday morning flight to Turkey for a few days for work. simples, take the 0710 flight to optimize the time spent with the team in Istanbul. What I failed to take into consideration was a 0710 flight meant a 0430 car pick up :-( When my alarm went off at 0330, I cursed myself for suggesting this meeting...sadly could't blame anyone other than myself for this. I arranged the meeting and approved the itinerary. It was a long couple of days with the team, but they were productive and I am pleased that we were able to achieve so much whilst I was there. It was nice to have a change of scenery and have the opportunity to roll up my sleeves a little and programme with the guys. It was refreshing and just what I needed.

Actually what I really needed was a pillow. Travelling is exhausting. People may think that traveling for business is glamourous, but its really not. All I had the ability to see what the inside of the office and followed by the hotel room. Was a shame as Istanbul is meant to be GORGEOUS! Suppose I will just have to go back for a personal trip. Thankfully on this business trip I did not misplace my passport and was around on Thursday for my surprise birthday celebration that Mands had arranged. It was the sweetest thing ever. I really needed a pick-me-up evening and this was exactly what I needed.

It was a nice relaxing (and intoxicating) evening with some friends. The 2for1 cocktails were a bonus or a curse...depends on how you look at it. When we ordered 16 drinks for 4 people, we should have known it was going to be one of those HILLLAARRRIIIOOUSS nights and it was. It was really nice to see the Americans. Been a while since we've seen one another so it was nice to catch up. Didn't feel the greatest come Friday morning, but that is a sign of a great birthday party (aka the one night a year I really let my hair down). Thank you Mands for a very special night!

Over the weekend while some folks did the National 3 Peaks Challenge (3 of the UK's biggest peaks in 24 hours), I spent the weekend at home chilling, blogging and playing with photos. On Sunday, I had the Hornsey YMCA 10K in Ally Pally. I was in no mood to run it due to the lack of training, but I am really glad that I did. Wasn't my fastest, in fact it was definitely my slowest run as I hurt myself 2 miles into the race, but I finished nevertheless. This weekend some people pushed themselves to the limit... hiking Snowdon in Wales, Scafell Pike in England and Ben Nevis in Scotland. It was the hardest thing that they have ever done, crying after the first pike, throwing up after the second and hitting the wall on the third. When you hear about the challenge that they were undergoing...a 10K seemed like a walk in the park even if I tripped myself :) So very proud of the 3-peak challengers -- Mands  you are a rockstar for doing this challenge. Amazed that you accomplished this in under 24hours (when the goal was 25.5 hrs) and were the 2nd female to finished!

It feels great to be running again. The ankle is bothering me, but I am pushing through it. Need to get an x-ray though to determine if it the pin or just that I need more physiotherapy. Will keep you posted!

Miss you all dearly

xxxx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 197

How can you possibly go from 30 degrees to 6!!! It is pure torture I tell you. Thank goodness I changed from shorts into jeans before boarding the plane. Will say I did ALMOST walk off the plane with PJ bottoms on (for the first time decided to change into comfy sleeping trousers for the flight. Realised when the fasten seat belt came on for landing, that I still had them on. Took a blanket and some clever maneuvering, but I was thankfully able to change back into jeans. Wouldn't have been so bad, but striped PJ bottoms and a checkered shirt just don't go together :-P

This week has not been the most pleasant for me. Situation at work is not very pleasant. For 8 yrs, I have dedicated myself to this company thinking I was working towards something and to be someone. Actions this week by the new management have me thinking whether this is a company worth being apart of anymore. Think my days of being purple many be up....we shall see. Just want to be valued....don't think I am asking for much...or am I? Anyway....make me sad and sick to my stomach just thinking about it.


Friday evening we had Geoff's 65th Birthday party. After the team meeting at 0900, I wasn't in the greatest of moods, but I didn't want to let Geoff down by not going. I am really glad that I did as being the pure gentleman that he is Geoff made the evening so very special. May have been his special day, but between Geoff and Caroline, I felt like the guest of honor. To start, when we arrived it was champagne hour. Knowing that I don't like drinking Champagne without food, Geoff had the caterer specially prepare a Perry Winkle Old Fashion for me. Later during dinner it was fillet mignon for all, but I had a special meal prepared as I don't eat beef. It was touching that they remembered such little detail. The evening was great. Met some lovely people that evening and so very pleased that I pushed myself to go.

Saturday was a pretty slow day. Spent a good portion of the day dwelling and replaying Friday morning. It wasn't productive nor the right thing to do, but I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was a rather difficult day as I was left alone with my thoughts, which as we all know can get the best of me. I have a lot to think about, but I have started the ball rolling. Question is, what will be the reaction, what will be the response and what direction will I take. After sulking during the day and releasing a lot more tears than the situation deserved, we went to our local to meet with some friends to share stories and photos from our Asian Adventures.

Thanks to the support of KV and especially Mands, I was able park things and was able to enjoy the brilliant weather on Sunday. Saturday at the pub sam & Lou mentioned that they had plans to go on a bike ride to Holborn. We decided to join and I am so glad that we did as it turned into a great afternoon of touring the city, chilling out in the park and later with a refreshing pint at a random neighborhood pub. It was exactly what I needed :-) So very thankful for such great friends...especially during situations like this. And less face it, it could be worse. Don't want it to be, but the important thing is to focus on all the things I have rather than dwelling on what could be/ should be.

Hope you all are well and enjoying the weather wherever you are.

Miss you all dearly

xxx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 196

The holiday in Langkawi continues. This week was lovely!! We started the week in rain forest Langkawi and ended it in Singapore for the most beautiful wedding :-) 

Monday, 30 April: We thought that the holiday hiccup was behind us with Chow Kit Market and the monkey trying to steal my skittles at the Batu Caves....but we were mistaken. There was more to come. On Monday we decided to rent a scooter and drove around the island. It was a brilliant idea and way to explore Langkawi and appreciate the city for what it has to offer. We stopped at Pantai Cenang for lunch, shopping (warning do not purchase £3 Oakleys and not expect them to break in less than 24 hours) and later Parasailing! I have always wanted to parasail, but have been scared. We decided why not and I am so pleased that we did. What a great experience!! We drove through Kauh, stopped for ice cream by Eagle Square. All was going well... until our drive home. We stopped by the black sand beach and whilst leaving the parking lot we hit a patch of mud and the scooter just went from underneath us. Mands banged up her left side; foot, knee, forearm, and shoulder (we later learnt that Mands cracked her rib). I nicked my hand and landed on my face (thankfully no scar or damage)!

Tuesday, 1 May: You would have thought that the spill from yesterday would have slowed us down, but it did not. On Tuesday we were scheduled for a 3 hour rain forest hike. I am so pleased that we did as the experience is one that I cannot replicate. It was such an experience with the guide to discover the trees, plants, herbs of the Malaysian Rain Forest. He was in his late 40s and has never been to the hospital/ doctors for sickness as he has lived off the medicines of the rain forest. How cool! What was not cool was the number of leeches that attacked us. Those things are insane!! Buggers attack the worst places and once they get you taking them off is tricky as their teeth are in you. Gives me shivers just thinking of them. Helpful hint, if you are going to the rain forest; wear socks, do not wear trousers and if you are light skinned you are guaranteed to get attacked. 

Wednesday, 2 May: The adventures in Langkawi continue. We spent the last day in Langkawi squeezing in the remaining sites. We started with the Telaga Falls. We had heard that this was the site to see. We climbed the 300 stairs to the top and were a little underwhelmed by what we saw so we continued on the jungle trails for 2 hours thinking that the seven wells were further up. For a sense of what I am talking about - - see that red dot, that was the location after the 300 stairs. We climbed to the top of the photo...

That red dot was the seven falls and the waterfall below
was where we were meant to go - - OOPS

The poor ladies who had to do my pedicure after the hike...
...those cotton balls mark the number of leeches that got me on the Seven Falls hike

 Being the crazy creatures that we are, once we were finished with the mani/pedis it was back to the southwest part of the island; except this time were took the Cable Car in the Oriental Village takes you to the second highest peak of Langkawi. Once we were finished with our back and forths to town, we enjoyed a beautiful dinner at the Datai Resort (a sister resort of the Andaman) of soft shell crab, lobster samosas, tandoor meats, malaysian roti... makes me hungry just thinking of it :)

Thursday, 3 May: We had to say farewell The Andaman resort and Langkawi and head to Singapore. Singapore marked two things for us. The last stop of our trip and the reason why we came -- Brenda & Silas' wedding! We didn't have much time so we had to make the most of our time here. We started off going to Chimes and dined at Senior Taco (I know, but after a week of Asian, we needed something different). It was here that we ironically bumped into Corrin (a friend from London who recently moved back to NYC). We spent the rest of the night with her and her friends - going to an amazing cocktail bar called Tree where I was treated to a Cinnamon Popcorn Old Fashion and Mands was treated to a nitrogen G&T! One word... WICKED!

View from our hotel room at the Mandarin Oriental

Friday, 4 May: We made the most of our one day touring around Singapore. We thought the rain was going to disrupt things, but thankfully it did not last long and we were able to visit Little India, Orchard Rd, Chinatown, and the Singapore Zoo! Highlight of the day however was going to 28 - a non-descript bar from the outside, but a whole new world from the inside. The restaurant is marked by the number 28 and a pad lock. There is no set opening time, so you need to be patient....if you are you are in for a treat! I have never been so blown away by bourbon cocktail, truffle oil mac n cheese balls, and grilled cheese & tomato soup before! WHOA is the only way to describe this illusive place. 

 Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in Little India

Sakya Muni buddha Gaya Temple 

Thian Hock Keng Temple in Chinatown

Sri Mariamman Temple (the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore)

28 Hong Kong Street

Saturday, 5 May: Cinco de Mayo and the reason for the trip....BRENDA & SILAS' WEDDING!!! The day started with a gate crashing event at Brenda's house. The idea of gate crashing is that the groom side comes and has to prove they are worthy of the bride's hand by going through a number of challenges. It was definitely good fun, but sorry I cannot share the photos here (they are however on FB). After the gate crashing event, we chilled, napped and got ready for the big evening in store. Mands and I decided to make the most of the Raffles experience and went to the Long Bar before hand for the famous Singapore Sling (wow is all that can be said about the cocktail and the bar). From there is what the most beautiful (and funny) wedding ceremony, followed by a 400 guest 9 course reception at the Mandarin and finished with a night of cocktails, dancing, laughing and pool at Mr Han's club. What a way to celebrate an amazing couple

Sunday 6 May: Sadly all good things come to an end and so did our crazy adventure in Malaysia/Singapore, but not before one low key BBQ at Brenda and Silas' It was a rather surreal evening as when it came time to leave I realized that I wasn't just taking a taxi to the flat, but to the airport :( It was so good to see Brenda & Si just one more time! Really miss those two....London is just not the same without them, but I am glad to see just how happy they are in Singapore. Who knows, maybe that could be the next stop... stay tuned!

Hope you all are well and had a lovely Cinco de Mayo! 

Miss you all like crazy

xxxx

T