To the most beautiful Angel, i will always remember you.

When we were young, we met up every week and travelled from the east to the north of Singapore for piano lessons together, missing stops and always alighting at wrong stations.

Our journey, even though 1 hour, always seems so short and is always filled with giggles, stories of our respective classmates cuz we were from different schools, gossips about the nasty boy who always disturbed you and about the rude girl who said your mum's cooking was bad.

After lessons, we were always gallivanting around, shopping, visiting arcades, doing all the girly stuffs together, going to each other's homes to play, we even wrote a story book together and you had such a flair for drawing, i even remember how your handwriting looks like.

Even when we were kids, you were already so determined and positive. Our piano teacher was always singing praises about how sensible and selfless you were, taking up so many jobs so as not to be a burden to your parents. Days with you back then were really fun and memorable, you were a part of my childhood, even my mum loved you.

We drifted apart in secondary school, still stayed in contact but much lesser than before, we still met up occassionally to catch up and do our usual gossips.

In 2006, you were diagnosed with blood cancer, but you told everyone you were fine once you were discharged, you were always smiling and saying that you're ok. you even told me you were completely recovered. Even at this critical time, you were still so considerate about the people around you, preventing them from worrying about you.

After 2 years of struggling with this illness, you left us yesterday.
I hope you will be happy and blessed.

I wish i spent more time with you, i want to tell you that you're really pretty with that great smile, i want to ask you all about your europe trip, i want to tell you that i really appreciate your help when i needed it the most, thank you for being there, thank you for being my friend.

I love you, Joreen Tay Xin Yu. (1982-2008)

i came home today and saw my shopping loot from mew!


Stuff from Victoria Secrets and Patty Wong's falsies bought some time ago.

actually i prefer using falsies than mascara, as they have nicer effects and easier to clean up than mascara.
but i think (or heard from somewhere/someone before) that using too much of either isn't good for lashes. nevermind, haha, luckily there's eyelash treatments like the ones from foltene which strengthens the lashes after using falsies/mascara.

but of course, even though eye lash tonics/treatments do make lashes thicker and stronger, they cannot possibly produce the same kind of effects which falsies can easily produce, therefore, vain girls like me (and JAC!) still love falsies no matter what!

falsies are so common nowadays and with some practice coupled with patience (you need plenty of patience), the art of putting them on will be skillfully mastered for most. unless you have hands that tremble vigourously or you're really clumsy that you can't even hold a small pair of falsies properly with 2 fingers, then i suggest you better don't try.

anyway, Patty Wong has some really good, cheap and natural looking lashes. She's a seller from Taiwan and i get my supply of Patty Wong's lashes thru occasional sprees from communities like spreehouse.

i tried on the lashes i received, and took some pics to show some live examples of how they look like when worn:


#703- very natural and great for work.
doesn't it look like lashes with mascara only?


#715- this is the one that i use most of the time when i'm out. my personal favourite!


Princess #7 black- i had a hard time sticking these on, the lash bone is kinda hard and i had to bend it so that it can fit my eyelids.
it looks quite thick but when worn, its still kinda natural, i feel.


Princess #8 black- this is same as princess #7 black just that it's thicker and slightly longer.
it's more dramatic too.
By the time i got to this, i was already very lazy and tired of sticking them on, so pardon me for this clumsily pasted pair of falsies.


My VS babydoll top.
it's actually really a top which i think is too short for me to wear as a dress, so i have to wear shorts inside otherwise i will look really obscene as it's quite sheer too.
it would be perfect if it's slightly longer, at least i can wear it as a proper dress.
now it's like not long not short, i don't know how to match it also.

BINTAN- Banyan Tree and Angsana Spa

Bintan- Day 2

going for breakfast


International breakfast buffet at Bintan Lagoon


Beach at Bintan Lagoon.
The water is clear and a nice emerald green.




Lovely sunny day, great for a tan.
i was hiding from the sun but i couldn't help taking a dip in the sea as the water seem so nice!


Banyan Tree's driver came to fetch us punctually.
Impeccable service began right here, when the driver asked if he could help us with our luggages.

We were asked to be seated at the lobby while they checked us in.

I loved the place already, even before checking in.
it was so serene and tranquil with lush vegetation surrounding us outside,


our welcome drink: Ginger and Lime.
totally refreshing! (very 'ginger' with a gush of lime)
and the towel is freezing cold!

Banyan Tree's library.
we could borrow books, DVDs, board games and use the internet all for free.
I borrowed Scrabble but didn't play it in the end :(



Finally, we were 'buggied' to our villa.

Everyone was extremely polite here and their faces were always plastered with smiles, they would always ask how our day/whatever activity we engaged in was and made small talks with us.


Room 210, amazingly beautiful.


There were 2 doors and 2 very short stony passageways to the villa.
This is the first wooden door.


It opens up to a short passgeway leading to the maindoor of the villa.



The main door/entrance to the villa.

First when we entered the villa, on the left is the bathroom:

Sunken bathtub!!
What a very cool and innovative design for a bathtub.


The other side of the bathroom, under the same partition is the toilet bowl.
You can imagine how big the bathroom is.

On the right just directly opposite the bathroom is the dressing room:



The open closet where we could hang our clothes.
Everything came in pairs, like bathrobes in the picture, bathroom slippers, bedroom slippers, toiletries bags.
black floral for the guys and yellow floral for the ladies.

*I want to rave about the toiletries bag for the ladies, i found many goodles inside like a big hair brush, bath scrub, emery board and some other stuff like colgate toothpaste etc.
What i like best is the floral bag itself!*

As we walk further down, we reach the gigantic canopy bed.
On the left of the bed is the couch area:

Couch

On the couch, these were placed thoughtfully for our usage:


To the rigt side of the bed is the work/tea area.

Work/tea area


Another angle of the work/tea area

Further down a little, we have the mini bar:



Princess Canopy Bed!!
Isn't it lovely?




a plush sea turtle lies on the princess bed, reminding us to be environmental friendly and be kind to mother nature.
USD$2 would be automatically charged to our bill upon check out as a donation to save these sea animals facing the dangers of extinction.

i simply love the canopy bed enshrouded with white dreamy, flowy, erm... mosquito nets to be exact?!


The wooden Phoenix which keeps the nets hanging in place.


The roof from below.
You see, it was just like living in a very luxurious tree house.

Right in front of princess bed is the transparent sliding door to the veranda and private jacuzzi.
Imagine waking up to lush greenery and the ocean right at your doorstep every morning, it's literally right in front of your eyes once you open them.
How blissful!

Our very own private jacuzzi right in the open space.



the side couch.


Directly beneath us is everything green.
The villa is built on strong stilts to a certain height and it's quite scary to look down like this actually.


View from the villa.
I am exhilarated even when blogging about this right now


More views of the veranda and dining area on the right as you can see.


The cute thatched roof of the villa.

After relaxing in the villa for a while, we decided to go for spa/massage therapy at Banyan Tree's sister resort, Angsana.

We called for the buggy to pick us up and they promptly arrived at our doorstep in around 5 minutes and shuttled us to Angsana.

Boy, do i really feel like a princess with such service.


Some stone sculptures we saw while on the buggy ride.

Angsana's lobby, behind me down below is the restaurant and the spa salon.

a mini fountain.

Angsana is much smaller as compared to Bintan Lagoon.


Angsana's swimming pool is also much smaller than Bintan Lagoon's but it's nicely decorated with many stone sculptures.


Angsana and Banyan Tree share the same beach.
The beach here is much cleaner and quieter than the beach at Bintan Lagoon, i saw people snorkelling nearby too!


I proceeded to walk into the waters again while Bing wanted to just lie down and bask in the sun (again).

I picked up some seashells which was scattered all over the shores and placed some on Bing's stomach while Bing was enjoying the sun.

Minutes later, one of the seashells moved and scuttled across Bing's stomach!!

Then we looked carefully and saw a little crab hiding in the seashell.
To think i was holding it with my bare hands before this!


Proceeding to Angsana Spa.

What's this?
Some aroma therapeutic stuff i guess.




After consulting the very knowledgeable and friendly therapists and choosing from an extensive selection of packages, i finally chose my spa package which is "GLOW"

"GLOW" consists of 30mins body scrub and 60 mins body massage.
for body scrub, i chose "flower petals":
A natural scrub made from soothing almond meal, cucumber juice, milk and honey is applied, followed by a sprinkling of sweet, fragrant flowers that impart natural essence to your skin.
i simply love the milky and slightly sweet scent of this body scrub, and i could feel the flower petals drizzling down my body.
After i washed this off, my skin was really soft.

for body massage, i chose 'Ibu's Secret"
Adapted from traditional Balinese technique, this deep tissue massage aids blood circulation and relieve tension. Invigorating effects are enhanced by warming properties of Turmeric and Eucalyptus extracts in the Melody Oil.
i was told this is actually Javanese massage.
it is one of the best massages i ever had, simply relaxing with the therapist exerting just the right amount of force i need at the right places.
i almost fell asleep at a certain point (i am a very light sleeper and i don't fall asleep easily)

"GLOW" costs USD90++

Bing took 60 mins of Ibu's Secret which costs USD65++

In the massage room, they started by giving cleaning our feet with hot towels and our individuals therapists introducing the stuff they will be using on us.


The mini spa room where we had a quick bath before our massage started.


what an ugly picture taken by bing!


my therapist, her name is Rina.
her skills are terrific and she is really polite, she will ask how much strength you want her to exert and ask if there's any specific areas you want her to focus more on.
She made me feel even more like a princess and my body felt so comfortable and rejuvenated.
\

We never regretted coming here and will definitely come back for their excellent massage and great service.

We called for the buggy again from Banyan Tree and they came and fetched us back to our villa.


We asked the buggy driver to bring us on a little tour around Banyan Tree which he happily obliged.
This is the place where people have yoga classes.
So cool to have it by the beach facing the South China Sea!

Time for jaccuzi!
The bubbling water from the jacuzzi is hot and nice!
It's simply heavenly having to soak in the jacuzzi overlooking the sea, in the open space.


i oversoaked in the jacuzzi and felt like fainting after that.
i took a very short nap after that.

and woke up in time for our private in-Villa BBQ seafood dinner!
we actually arranged for them to come prepare our dinner at 8pm but because we were famished at 7pm, we called at 7pm and asked if they could come earlier and they came within 10 minutes!
I'm impressed by their efficiency.


The butler setting up the table for us.


The table all ready with cutleries and food!!


Fruits, salad, shredded chicken and our desert- chocolate cakes.
(bread and butter behind)


Fried rice, garnished potatoes and stir fried veggies.


Condiments: BBQ sauce, garlic butter, chilli and preserved veggie.


Seafood platter and the electronic BBQ.


The seafood platter consisting of crayfish, beef, prawns, fish, chicken.
All servings came in pairs.

BBQ starts officially!


Crayfish were crazily fresh and succulent!

Yippy!
i was famished!





Everything was great except for the beef which were a little too tough.
The fried rice and potatoes were tasty, the prawns and fish were really fresh too!
I love the breads and butter which i think is truffle butter.


Fish and prawns

Private in-villa BBQ costs USD55++ per person.
Min. 2 person.
______________________________________________________________________

Bintan- Day 3

we were so comfortable in bed that we overslept and missed breakfast.

at night before sleeping i went to peer at the verenda to see if visitors like squirrels and monkeys would come and pay us a visit but no such luck :(

we were greeted by the happy but tranquil chirping of birds and rustling of leaves.


At Banyan Tree's counter (ferry terminal)


Bye bye Bintan :)

Done with short holiday, now looking ahead to the BIG holiday trip next month!