Happy Birthday To Me

All these years, my birthday celebrations have been simple and straight forward. Usually I gather a bunch of close friends for a small gathering and treat them lunch or dinner. Sometimes they buy me a cake or a present. Or even deliver a card to my home.

Sally and me @ Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal
This year my celebration is quite different because I get to celebrate with Sally :D And it wasn't just an ordinary lunch or dinner treat. Although both of us have been quite busy recently, she put in the extra effort to organize a trip to Batam for me, just to relax over the weekend! And I really needed that break. When Sally told me that we'll be going to an island, I was really excited and I couldn't wait to get there. I love beaches and I knew that it'd be a great trip :P

Scenery from Batam View Resort
Swimming pool
Although I'd be honestly contented with just a regular room in Batam View Resort, Sally actually booked a suite overlooking the beach! Aww, the place was really beautiful and cosy. And I really wish I can own a home like that in the future :P We didn't get to do much that night because we were kinda tired after work and it was already dark outside. It didn't matter though, because we only had one activity in our agenda - RELAX.

A SUITE!!
The balcony
The breakfast wasn't as good as the one we had in Boulevard Hotel, but as long as they have eggs, fresh milk, cheese or cereals, I'm a happy man :D

Our humble breakfast. That's because I forgot to take photo of our 1st round :P
ThE cOFfEE iS VeRY GooDZ
After breakfast, we went for a stroll around the resort. They have a mini zoo with a monkey, a chicken, turkeys and some different type of birds. Not too interesting huh?

Turkeys are very boring birds
They have a private beach too, with beautiful scenery and all, but sand was unusually coarse.

On our way to the beach!
Hm, looks like a fishing village
Sally and me
Peaceful scenery @ Batam View Resort's private beach
For the whole day, we didn't do anything except watching TV, playing PSP games and just lazying around. The suite was so comfortable we didn't even feel like going out or doing any outdoor activities. But I guess that's the whole point of getting a suite anyway!

Our lunch - Laksa and mixed grill
Seafood dinner @ Kelong
Entrance to Kelong Seafood Restaurant
That night, Sally surprised me with birthday present. I thought that the whole Batam trip was already THE present, but she bought me something else too :) So sweet right? She gave me a birthday card and bought me an electronic shaver (because I always cut myself with a conventional shaver), a PSP game (because I love Star Wars and I've been longing to get this game) and a Metal Gear Solid keychain (because I love the Metal Gear Series). In short, she bought all the things that I like so much!

A birthday card and a present
Oops, actually many presents!
And to my surprise again, there's a birthday cake too! Non-stop surprises! :P

My birthday cake
We went back to Singapore on Sunday afternoon. Although the trip was only over the weekend, I truly enjoy every single moment. More importantly, Sally made me feel really loved and it's a blessing to celebrate my birthday with her.

Me and Sally on the ferry
On our way home
Sally, I guess this is my most enjoyable and memorable birthday celebration. I feel really happy and I'm grateful to you for doing all these. It means so much to me and I love you very much!

My Dad's Birthday

Coconut trees in Segamat train station
Last weekend, Sally and myself went back to Segamat again. Weeee! This time we went back to celebrate my Dad's birthday. For some reasons, we couldn't get tickets for a Friday night-train, so we had to go back the next day. Kinda wasted, but where's the fun if everything goes smoothly? ;)

Although we went back to celebrate my Dad's birthday, he still had to cook for all of us :P Haha! That's too bad because nobody else can cook better than him, so we gave him the honor to prepare all the yummy dishes.

Dad's wonderful dishes

Extremely yummy Nasi Lemak
This round I spent more time at home playing Monster Hunter Freedom 2 with my brother. We used to play that addictive game alot but we stopped after a while. And thanks to my twin bro, the monster hype is all back again! Damn!

Anyway, we had a small celebration with my dad at night. Here are some pics:

Dad's birthday cake
My cheeky brother
Happy Birthday Dad!
Mom and Pop
Sally, me and my parents
It was a short weekend for a quick birthday celebration, but enjoyable nonetheless :) And now I can't wait for the weekend because it's my turn, and we're going to Batam over the weekend! Looking forward to all the fun! Love ya, Sally!

Shangri-La

Ok, I haven't been blogging for a long time. Recently everything at work seems to be weird, if not stupid. And it's eating up all my precious fun time. But the worst thing is I'm busy for all the wrong reasons. Anyway, who cares about work.

Today I have this special privilege to accompany a pretty girl to attend her D&D at Shangri-La Hotel. Here she is:

It's us again! :D
When I was a kid, my mom once told me about the legend of Shangri-La. I believe there are many different flavors of the story, but it's a myth anyway. Since I'm in the mood for story-telling today, let's hear some story! The legend of Shangri-La that I heard from my mom goes like this...

Once upon a time, a group of hikers climbed up a mountain to enjoy the beautiful scenery at the summit. While resting, one of them noticed a cave nearby. He was sure the cave wasn't there during their last mountain hiking trip at the same spot. Since when did the cave appear?

He notified the others and they were all very curious. Since they were adventurous people, they decided to explore the cave even without the proper equipments. Who knows, there may be hidden treasures?

They went deeper and deeper into the cave and it appears that there was a complex network of tunnel right ahead. They decided to turn back because of the risk, but to their horror, one of the group member was missing! They called out to him several times, but there was no answer. Only dead silence :o

They were all very frightened and ran out of the cave to seek help. But after hours of searching, they still couldn't find him and the poor guy is reported as missing.

This poor guy who went missing somehow got lost from the group earlier while exploring the cave. When he realized that he was lost, he knew that blindly walking inside the cave would not help. So, he took out a small ball of thread and tied one end to a rock. Then he continued walking while holding on to the other end. This way, he can attempt to find his way out without worrying about getting back to the original location, in case he fails. Then of course, he can try other routes until he finally finds an exit.

After hours and hours of walking, he finally found an exit! He was so excited and ran out of the cave, expecting to see his friends waiting for him outside. But to his surprise, he saw a fishing village instead. Wait. A fishing village on the summit of a mountain? It can't be right. He couldn't believe his eyes.

He was very tired and hungry, so he approached the villagers for food and drinks. The villagers were very friendly and welcomed him to stay with them. He soon realized that there was something unusual about them. All the villagers were young and healthy people. There were no old folks around and everyone seems to be constantly happy. The place was unusually beautiful, peaceful and serene, almost like a paradise. Since he couldn't find his way back, he decided to stay there.

Actually we are from Shangri-La. Youthful and happy :P
Over the years, he grew old and weakened like any normal human being. But the villagers remain youthful and energetic. It was an unexplainable phenomenon. He realized that this place was not for him. He knew that somehow he has to return to where he belongs, so he packed his belongings and went back to the cave, hoping to find his way home.

Before he left, he told the villagers that he intend to return home and will come back to visit them soon. He then asked what was the name of the village and one of them replied "Shangri-La".

He bid farewell to them and went back into the cave. He followed the thread he left behind many years ago until he finally reached the original spot where he was separated from his friends. It has been many years. Without delay, he started looking for another way out. After many hours of searching, he came upon another exit and this time, it is the mountain summit. He was home :)

He climbed down the mountain and immediately went to look for his friends. They were very surprised and speechless to see him. They thought they'd never see him again! All those years he has been missing, how did he survive in the cave?

He smiled and described to them the fishing village where he lived for the past few years. But they didn't believe him and thought that he was hallucinating. To prove that he wasn't lying and Shangri-La was real, he brought his friends back to the mountain cave and followed the thread he left behind.

After hours of walking, they finally reached the end of the thread. Instead of Shangri-La, it was a dead end in the cave. A dead end! There was nothing at all, only darkness! He was dumbfounded.

Where is the village?

Was he really hallucinating?

How did he survive so many years?

The end.

Nice story, ho? But Sally told me it's abit frightening. Is that so? I love this story so much that I remembered exactly how my mom told me. But I bet she doesn't even remember telling me the story. Haha!