mf is back (again)

This time, I am back with a relaxed mind, a smile and a slight tan :)

Ok, and a patch of sunburnt skin too.. Fell asleep with my back exposed to the mid day sun with no sunscreen and *gasp* my face turned to one side! Woke with a shock, checked my face - phew! No 阴阳脸 :p

Spent the past four days in Turi Beach Resort in Batam with Sito, barely knowing the passage of time; our phones were switched off the whole time, and the only watch between us stayed in the room while we stayed under the sun :)

But we didn't get a serious tan (and the burn) until Sunday cos we only caught the last rays of the sun on Friday and the sun gave way to rain on Saturday.

Dinner on Friday was at Nagoya Hill, this mall 30min away by cab.. Simple meal and dessert but we were most tempted by the cinema - imagine, a movie at 15,000 rupiah or less than S$3! But we were not sure if we would be watching Nicholas Cage running all over the White House and Buckingham Palace sprouting Bahasa Indonesia..

Stayed in on Saturday for the pre-Christmas dinner included in our package. Took some pictures :)

mf, hiao as usual


Sito in thoughts.. (mf made him pose :p)


Close-up of mf!


Then we had some fun playing foosball but I lost twice - baaah! I need more practice.. Still remember that Valentine's Day so long ago when eight of us spent £15 on foosball and pool in the depths of Teddy Hall...

Went to this place just 10min away for seafood dinner on the last evening. We were disappointed to hear that they had run out of crabs! =( So we (just) had fried garlic butter prawns, prawn balls, grilled cuttlefish, furong eggs, hot pot tofu and mee goreng.. Oh and fruit juice too.. I know - a lot!! :p And they came with rice.. But guess what? We finished everything except the carbs! Seriously, it was enough for a family of four... We are good :)) *oops, double-chinned already*

Tried a traditional massage after the suntanningburning session and it was good! So unlike the last resort massage in Bali, where I felt like I was being touched by weak arms and scratched by uncut nails rather than massaged.. Hours later, my calf muscles were still oooh-ing and ah-ing :)

Speaking of muscles, there was quite a bit of climbing in Turi Beach. In fact, Batam seemed to be quite hilly; on the first night when we were coming back from Nagoya Hill, we went down a slope so steep I thought the roadside trees in front were actually reflection in the puddle on the road and it felt like we were sliding into a pool! In the resort, it was a steep walk to our hut from the junction between the steps to the lobby and the pool and restaurant. But I shouldn't complain cos we both needed the exercise after all that food..

Effectively, we didn't have lunch cos we took late and big breakfast. Strictly speaking? We had many meals! :p Calamari and chips by the pool, fried chicken and chips at an offshore deck, plenty of snacks from Singapore and Nagoya Hill during the rain and while alternating between Disney and Discovery channels in our lovely room, which was a hut on stilts. I fell in love with the bed with its white canopy immediately (although I still prefer my pink one)! Then the balcony too - it looked to the sea and it was just nice to stand there but we stayed in mostly to keep the mozzies out..

We had heard of the pest problem before we went, since the rooms were individual huts in the open. But it was alright mostly. So on Sunday, I commented to Sito that despite what we had heard, mf the super attractor of mozzies was bite-free!

Spoke too soon.. That night, I fell asleep watching the TV. As Sito turned off the lights or something, I woke a little and heard buzzing sounds next to my ears.. In my state of drowsiness, I ignored and returned to dreamland, only to wake in the morning to find bites on my forehead and cheeks =( Luckily, the itch was gone quite quickly..

Got back to Singapore feeling rested.. Still feeling rested and refused to switch on my work laptop :p Instead, watched Warlords in Tomato Town with Sito just hours after coming back from Batam! :p Passed by the MRT station on the way to the movie, and found many ghoulsyoung people decked out in party gear! Sito said half the train alighted at Orchard as he was coming up.. Good that we were very "heartland" =)

Stepped out of the movie to find ourselves peckish and headed to S11 to share some fried dumpling noodles before an icecream treat from Macs - yummy =) And then, we decided to go for mass at the church near my place - it was the second time I stepped into this church in 27 years; first time was to get to a toilet for emergency! :p Got there after 1130pm and it was very crowded. They were singing already and we joined in. A short sermon followed after midnight. The priest was quite funny so it was rather enjoyable..

And today, Na came over, like she did last Christmas! But this time, we didn't make dessert; we went facebooking instead! Fighting Kel and YX, haha! Was telling them - Na, Kel, YX - after Golden Compass the other day, that the peace in my life was disrupted when Hup discovered facebook and fighters' club, and started fighting everyone!!! But it got worse when Kel came around and joined hands with Hup in fighting me! :p

We thus wasted three hours on facebook, amid mochi icecream and chips with salsa.. Oh and Sito on Skype chatting with us in between his Kim Possible epsiodes - we watched quite a bit of Kim Possible (and Totally Spies! and American Dragon Jake Long!!) in Batam :p

Think I am ready for work tomorrow.. Merry Christmas! :)