Has been a quiet week, after all the excitement of travelling non stop for almost 4 weeks. I have the whole house to myself most of the time, which is something I savour, as I get some quiet time for myself. I sleep in, read the newspapers, watch a bit of tv, surf the net for a bit, read, and then meet up friends if I have made plans, or do my hair, or my nails, or do random shopping...whichever I feel like. Most importantly, these quiet times allow me to reflect, something which I don't get to do much in the course of the year as I am so busy all the time, surrounded by my friends, and family, and kids.

Sometimes I feel like Im a walking contradiction. I love where I am right now in my life. And I am grateful for the things that I have and am able to do. But you know how sometimes, you get that flicker of doubt? And unsurety? Of course, people don't usually see that as I am always smiling, and happy, and confident. But there would be moments when you get shaken a little bit. Last week, I met one of my friends and she is a singleton, like me. And when I met her, the first thing she did was flashed her finger to me. No, not the middle finger, but THE FINGER. Where you put your wedding ring. Yup, she got proposed to by her boyfriend. And I felt like the worst person in the world, cos the first feelings which came up was...'WHAT!!??? EVEN SHE IS GETTING MARRIED???!!'

I know, Im a horrible horrible person. I should be happy for her!!! There is something seriously wrong with me, I swear. I dont know why I reacted like that. It's just crazy. Almost all my friends in Singapore are married, with kids, or having kids. And I really treasure those who are still single and independent cos they are my pillar of support. Cos seriously, no matter what everyone says, things change once you get married. Worse still if you start having kids. And this is from personal experience, having had really close friends being married and having kids. It's selfish, but I hate losing them. And I think that's why I loved it when I was away studying. Cos all my friends were single, independent, successful and fabulous. And didn't give a damn about being single.

There was Foize, my gorgeous charitable do-gooder friend who works with UN. Then there was Rushika, a highly successful lawyer, highly intelligent, and of course, beautiful. There was Fatima, who epitomises the notion of 'don't give a heck of what the world thinks' and is going to be a Phd holder at the age of 33 and is so bloody stunning. There is Mark; funny, witty, kind, generous, and smart, a doctor to be as well. And of course my darling Ryan. Generous to a fault, loves me to bit, hilarious, ambitious, smart as hell. I love these people, and being around them made me feel normal, that it was ok to be 30, and yet still single and most importantly happy. And they were always around for me. Always. Even until today, I know that I can always depend on them for anything.

But here back home, I can feel that my pillar of support has shrank. And I think that's one reason why I put so much of myself into my job, cos it gives me sanity. And surety. Cos I know that if I work hard, the results show for itself. And it is in my students that I get that sort of love and care. And as strong as one may be, you still need reiteration somtimes. That you are not going nowhere in life. Cos if I hear one more word of 'You are not getting any younger' or 'When are you going to find a boyfriend', I swear I am going to lose it.

Like I said, most of the time, I am happy where I am. But there are moments when you falter. And that is when that strong support system is important.

And yes....I took yet another holiday. So it was Taiwan first, and then London, Paris and I ended off the year with a trip to the Thai island of Krabi. This was a family trip, very last minute. We were supposed to do a Switzerland trip but there were some issues with the travel agent and the Europe trip was axed in the end. So at the last minute, we decided to do a free and easy island getaway and Krabi it was. I was kind of excited as I was in the cold for so many days whilst in Europe, that the idea of sun, sea, and sand was really appealing to me.

It was really relaxing. What did I do there? Nothing. I literally did nothing. Ok, fine, if you want me to break it down, these were the things I did. I ate (Thai food is the bomb. Food was so cheap there!), I went to the beach, I went island hopping, I snorkelled, I swam with the fishes, I massaged, my feet got massaged too, I shopped, I slept, I read...Yeah, just rotate these around...That was basically what I did. And it was really relaxing cos Taiwan was stressful cos I was like a mother hen with 40 kids, London and Paris was just full of activities, and museum visits, and going to differrent monuments, and Krabi was just....relaxing. Which was a good way to end my holidays. :)

Everything in Krabi is really cheap. From food (Less than $50 for a good meal for a family of 7), to the massages ($8 for an hour of full body massage or at the same cost, an hour of foot reflexology), to the island hopping activities (we paid $34 per pax for a half day island hopping tour on a speed boat plus snorkelling too), to the shopping ((It was crazy cheap here. I bought 3 bikinis for 7 bucks each, 2 sundresses for 8 bucks each, a beach top for also 8 bucks!). So yup, I didnt burn a hole in my pocket the way London and Paris did and I was a happy camper.

Only dampener? I fell majorly sick on my last day there. Like deliriously sick. I came down with a very high fever of 40 degrees, bronchitis like cough with phlegm, stuffed up nose, body ache..urgh...the works. So of course, I didnt have a choice but to drag my ass back onto the plane, went to the doctors the minute I landed, and have been home bound since. Feel much better now. Thank God.

The view outside my room. We could just jump into the pool from the room.

The beach outside our resort. It was just across the road from where we stayed.

 Town area, where there were thousands of shops and restaurants. CHEAP!

Ao Nang Beach

 In a tuk tuk from our resort to the town. We could have walked but wanted to try the tuk tuk. 20 baht per pax, thats less than a buck.

My nephew, doing the 'fish feeding off the crap on your toes' thing. I was majorly grossed out.

 On a speed boat for our island hopping adventures.

Phranang Cave Beach. Gorgeous, clear water

 Snorkelling off Chicken Island.

 My newly bought bikini- Very sailor moonish. Only $12 for this one.

 Tup Island. It was scorching here. I turned like at least 2 shades darker.

 Poda Island, the island where you get to swim with the fishes.



So yes, I am back in Singapore for good now. No more trips till....I dont know...Maybe March? lol!! Im terrible. I plan my holidays like a whole year in advance. But we'll see how. So many things can change in a year!! For now, Im going to recuperate, go out with friends, and start psyching myself up for school! Which Im kind of looking forward to!! Yay!

Ok, 2nd post on my trip. So from London, we took the Euro rail to Paris. Trip didn't start too well. Firstly, it started snowing heavily in London, and our train to Paris got delayed by an hour and a half (Which wasn't too bad as I have been stranded at the Adelaide airport for 12hrs before...So an hour and a half was a breeze). When we reached London, it was dark already, and we got lost looking for our hotel. Didn't help that no one spoke English, so I had to keep speaking in French, which wasn't very effective as my French is sad. We ended up walking with our huge luggage and backpacks in the cold (and it was really cold in Paris), and finally found it after an hour!!!

This was the hotel in Paris, Villa Brunel. Near the metro, about a 5 mins walk. Much smaller hotel, and much cheaper than the London one. S$900 for a 5 night stay.

 Our first full day in Paris. We went to Rue Cler, highly recommended by Rick Steves for its shops and cafes and had breakfast here. Cost an arm and a leg. 2 croissants, an omelette, 1 hot chocolate and 1 juice- Euro $15!!  But yummy though the croissants. I am not a croissant person cos of the sheer amount of butter in them, and the ones made in Singapore are majorly smelly. So this was a pleasant surprise for me. I had a croissant (and sometimes 2) every single morning.

 Our first stop was the Army Museum. I was really excited to visit this museum as it had a lot of WW1 and WW2 artefacts, and being a History buff, I was so excited. This was the back of the museum.

 And this was the front. :) Majestic looking.

Napolean's tomb

There was a military procession at the grounds of the museum. So we managed to watch the whole process. Interesting. The soldiers were freezing their asses off, Im sure. I felt cold just looking at them!

 On our way from the Army Museum to the Eiffel. I was wrapped up, and it wasn't warm enough, so I had to cover my head and face!! Urgh....I was in pain!!

 The Eiffel in the day. It's better at night. In the day, when you get near...it's like a piece of metal... Very unimpressive. But at nights, with the lights....Beautiful.

 Notre Dame Cathedral. Snowing by the time we were here. We wanted to climb up to the top, 400 steps, but it was closed!! I was so sad!!

 Crepes from a cafe near the Cathedral. Travel guide books actually informed not to sit in the Paris cafes as prices double, and to just do take aways. But cos we were so cold, and the snow was making us uncomfortable, and I was not wearing a thick enough jacket, we had to stop in here. Had a chocolate and banana crepes, as well as a cinnamon crepes. Take away would have been 7Euros. The price we paid: 15 Euros. Expensive country. But worth the heating we got for 30 mins. lol!!

 Church of Saint Chapelle.

Metro Station near the Cathedral. We went everywhere by the Metro. Very convenient.

 Galleries Lafeyette. The ceiling of the shopping centre. Very lit up, and adorned with lights and decorations. My God, the plan was to go to Galleries once, but cos the designer goods were so so cheap, we ended up going twice!! Ok, what was the damage done?

1. A Miu Miu bag. I have been eyeing the Miu Miu bag for a year in Singapore!! Would have set me back 1.8k! And then I saw what it cost here, and I hyperventilated!! So much cheaper. Let's not go into how much it was....But let's say it was much much cheaper.

2. A Long Champ limited edition bag. Im not a Long Champ person, but the bags were so much cheaper here, and the one I bought was simple and classic looking, so I got it.

3.Got Jay a Long Champ wallet for Xmas!!

4. A Prada wallet for sis. She has been eyeing it for ages, but never dared to enter a Prada shop. And it was cheap there!! So got one for her.

5. A Skalli bag for my younger sister.

So yes, a lot of damage done but I reckon it's worth it cos of the fact that it is much cheaper, and I got a 12% tax rebate!!!

 My favourite place in Paris- Avenue Champs Elysees. People say it's magical especially during Xmas, and it truly was. The lights on the trees, the Xmas markets, with the smell of hot chocolate, cinnamon, crepes, the snow falling......I fell in love with Paris here....

 Arc De Triomphe, which is at the end of the Avenue Champs Elysees

We did a day of Museum tour as well, where we visited 2 major museums: Orsay Museum and Louvre. Orsay Museum houses Impressionist paintings, so you get your Da Vinci, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh.....I had a really good time here. Almost 3 hrs, and had to go cos we had to proceed on to the Louvre.

Inside the Orsay used to be a train station. Interesting.

Our walk from Orsay to Louvre took us across the Seine River, seen here, and further into the Tulleries Garden. The garden was just white, cos of the falling snow.....Stunning.

 Tulleries Garden

 The Arch leading to the Louvre

 The very famous Louvre Museum. But I was kind of disappointed by it cos it was really crowded, and the paintings were not as impressive as the ones in Orsay, but oh well, you can't go to Paris without seeing the Louvre!

 The very famous Venus De Milo, Goddess of Love.Obviously Angela and I had to see this, to get blessings from her for our very sad love life!! lol!!

And ta da!!!! The Mona Lisa. Disappointing, seriously. Im like..'What? This is it?' Heaps of people around her portrait....

 One of my favourite places as well...Marais Street. Very quaint, with quirky shops and cafes. Found the best boulangerie selling macaroons..Yum!! We went back here just to get more macaroons to bring home!!

 THE MACAROONS!! YUM! And Im not even a macaroon fan!

 The strawberry tart from the same boulangerie. I had a tart or an eclair or a cake every single day. Desserts there were to die for. And I have a sweet tongue, so it was a carnival for me there! And every single dessert I ate was amazing. I had a berry cake, a strawberry tart, an apple tart, a chocolate eclair, a coffee eclair, macaroons, croissants, almond danish, chocolate croissants....Fatty right?? lol!! I didnt care. Too yum!

 Preparing to leave for our climb up the Arc De Triomphe and Eiffel. We were so scared of the old that we had 4-5 layers on!! Plus my Michellin man jacket!!! See? I look like an eskimo girl right? lol!!!

 240 steps up the Arc De Triomphe. Not bad. And the view we got was worth the climb.

 TA DA!!! View of Champs Elysees

 View of the Eiffel from the top of the Arc

 Then we walked down the stretch of Avenue Champs Elysees, had a hot chocolate crepe, and armed with that, we trudged down to the Eiffel. Here, we went all the way up to the summit. I dont have a fear of heights, but God, the elevator up was scary as I could see all the metal under me...

 And on our last day in Paris, we took a trip down to Chateau Versailles, the Palace of Versailles. So much History here that I just had to take the 45mins train ride there. And as we got there, it started snowing lightly and then the snow became crazy! But I loved it, cos it was just so beautiful and I kept putting my face up to let the snow hit it!!

Palace of Versailles- The entrance

 The Garden, which is supposed to be spectacular in summer where there would be fountain shows!

 Hall of Mirrors where the Treat of Versailles was signed. So exciting....Where History was made..:)

 After trudging through the snow, we went back to Paris city by train. Tiring.

 And that was me in Paris. Paris is definitely beautiful. City of lights and love. Where people are beautiful, and the sights are gorgeous. I can see why people choose to go for their honeymoons there. It's just so romantic and you are really in the mood for love. And coming during Xmas, with the snow falling makes it even more magical. They have everything there, museums and palaces for those who are into history and culture, shopping for shopaholics, sights and stunning scenery for scenery lovers, and the best desserts in the whole wide world. Definitely my kind of city. :) I can't wait to go back again.....

That's us on our way home to Singapore, 13 hr flight. We paid more to sit on the SQ A380 Upper deck where we get more leg room. And it was so worth the extra we paid. Not as painful as it usually would be. :)

And that's it for updates on my Europe trip! Next up: Krabi with my family. So from snow and cold weather, where I was wrapped up like a snowman, it's now to the sun and the sea and my sun dresses and bikinis! Update when Im back!!