Catching up on 2012 in 2013

I forgot to mention in my 2011 post that we had a new housemate in July, WM. Our first one was from Thailand and she had to leave us after 6 months because she got posted to M'sia. WM is from Myanmmar and she has been staying with us for 2.5 years to date. We got pretty close and we are doing many things together.
WM aside, let me recall what has happened in 2012.....

Feb 2012
Hubs had a thriving bamboo plant outside our house and along came a sunbird who built a lovenest and laid 3 eggs. We were so exciting to see the eggs hatched and hear the bird chirped. The hatchlings grew up and flew away, leaving the cute little nest. As the branch was actually dying and the birds did not come home, hubs cut it off and threw away.

Mar 2012
2012 is a year of travel and enjoyment.. It's an exciting year because I turned 30! I was quite looking forward to turning 30 actually. To celebrate her 30s, Dia booked a villa in Capella in Sentosa. It's very high-end but the service is not up to standard. I feel that they did not greet us with the same amount of warmth as they did to other guests who probably looked more atas. I wouldn't pay a cent to go there because I can get better service elsewhere with the same amenities, at a better rate.

Jun 2012

Ally usually try to visit the gals in Brissy at least once a year. I decided to tag along with her and extend our hols in Melbourne. So happy and envious to see the ladies doing well there will their little babies. Their house and the surrounding environment was so nice and serene. Reminded me of Desperate Housewives when they just lived across each other. I have lost count of how many rooms they have... 5-6? The luxury of owning such space at the price of my current flat is impossible in SG. 

Stef's house

HK's house

The trip to Brissy is very relaxed.. the weather is cool and we just chill out  and played Wii at Stef's house, went around to the parks, Southbank, had dinner at their in-law's (these girls marry brothers)..

We flew on to Melbourne after 3-4 nights in Brissy and stayed near Chinatown. Ally and I have both been to Melbourne at least 10 years ago and we didn't have a very deep impression of the place. But this trip has made us remember that Melbourne is a beautiful city, indeed. We did not book any day trips out of Melbourne... We just explored the city of Melbourne on foot, up to 10 hours each day, at our own relaxed pace. 

The next big thing that happened in June was Yu's wedding. They have registered their marriage years back and finally held their banquet in June. It made me very happy to witness the best friend's wedding.

Jul 2012

Another happening month as I turned 30! booked a room at Orchard hotel with the girls and went for buffet at TripleOne Mandarin. I got a pinata from Yu, Ai and J, as requested and they filled it with those sweets that we can find in the 80s!

We got another member in our family! Xiaowa was abducted home by Hubs when we saw her at our void deck. She is very affectionate and responsive. Ah boy warmed up to her in a few days. They are now good companions, although boy tend to play rough and pissed her off at times. Xiaowa and Ah Tzu cannot get too close with each other though... The former will scrowl when the latter go near her :)

Aug 2012

Ally had her big bash 30 in SALA Phuket. She paid for 2-bedroom villa and got the chef to prepare dinner which turned out to be 11 courses excluding the beverages. We were full to the neck...

Sept 2012

After 4 years of struggling to complete my MSc, I've finally graduated. Relieved that it was over, I don't think I would pick up the books again... not until I've forgotten the pain. :P

Our team (most of the people in my team at work) managed to squeeze out some time for a short trip together. We went to Penang for 3D2N and stayed in two 1-bedroom units. It was considered a makan trip where we got to try most of the famous food. We were quite disappointed as it was overrated. Maybe we were too used to the SGean taste. Talking about which, we came across a local cab driver who were displeased that SG claimed too much credit for food that originated from Penang. He claimed that SG "plagarized" their food and called it ours. Well, I'm not surprised... how many things actually originated from us? 

Dec 2012

I remember telling Hubs before we got married that one of the places I need to visit before I die is the Maldives and I'm glad that he fulfilled it for me this year. The reason it took me so long to visit because it is a very expensive beach vacation and you would have to go with your partner. The moment I touched down Male (Maldives capital and  mainland) the colour of the water took my breathe away... and I'm not even at the pristine sites yet. Once you get out of the airport, you will see the turquoise water at the jetty. from the jetty, we took a van to the mini airport where we board the seaplane. It was an exciting experience for me to take the seaplane. From the plane, you get a bird's eye view of the atolls, like what you see in pictures.

Male city

Our resort was a mid-range one and it already costs us $3k per pax for 5D4N (1N is free from the NATAS fair) inclusive of 3 buffet meals each day. We chose the water villa because that was the whole point of going to Maldives, to have the sea outside your doorstep. We rented snorkelling gear to snorkel below our villa. It was a sandy bottom at this side of the island, the actual corals are on the other side of the island.  The resort built channels such that the corals are placed on both sides and below you is the sandy bottom. Snorkelling is very safe as the shallow waters extends very far out of the atolls. However, the water can be a little choppy and there were many shallow areas which were prone to get cut by the corals. With hubs encouragement, I brought my diving gear and took up 4 dives.. again, no whale shark and diving wasn't that pleasant when your kakis are not around. It's my first dive alone with strangers.

One highlight of this trip is the stingray feeding every evening near the restaurant. It was very therapeutic to see them feed and as the stingrays came, other animals like the sea birds, blacktip sharks and crabs also gathered, hoping to get a share of food. As there was no free WiFi, we totally had no connection with the rest of the world. It was like forcing you to relax and get away from technology. Took those days to spend real quality time with hubs as we lay on the beach chairs at the balcony, sipping nespresso coffee and enjoying the sea view. This is what I call life. Surpisingly, when I got back to reality after the trip, I did not want to reply messages, check emails nor surf the net. I don't know why I was like that but I think I really really had a very relaxing time back there.

So 2012 ended with a blast because I was planning to have a huge commitment in 2013.