It's About Time

Adventure of a lifetime!

Ahh, too much energy to expend. Need to get some sunlight too. No, not just some sunlight. I need all the sunlight I can get! Let's go hiking maybe? Nope, Bukit Timah is a bit too hardcore. I'm a lazy bum. But I reaaaaally need to climb on top of some hill. To.. well, get the sun. Mount Faber sounds good. I heard the air up there is quite fresh too.

Last week, I suggested to Sally that we should do something different for our weekend. Our weekends have been quite relaxing but routine. Movies, jogging, going out for breakfasts, watching TV at her place and sometimes shopping. Perhaps it's time we do something more adventurous. Let's go hiking! We can explore nature. We can see the different trees and animals *ahem* :) and we get some sunlight too! Yes. Sunlight.

Sally thought that if we really wanna go hiking, we should try Bukit Timah. Honestly, I didn't expect her to be so hardcore. But I insisted that we should go Mount Faber. Well, firstly, it's not too high and we're not very experienced hikers. I don't really wanna hike, I just wanna exercise abitttt. It's near to Vivo City too, so that means we get to have lunch at Kim Gary after our climb :P More importantly though, is the fact that we get to climb up some hill and get the morning sunlight. I find myself acting weird but she didn't suspect a thing. Of course not. There wasn't anything suspicious. Maybe she did, but I looked totally innocent.

On Saturday morning, March 27, 2010 both of us form the "Mount Faber Team!" (yes, the exclamation mark is part of the name) and left for Vivo City around 645am. Haha! It was easy to find our way there. Exit D. We reached Marang Trial, one of the many different entrances to ascend Mount Faber. Nice. The morning air was fresh and I was totally looking forward to this moment!

Vivo City in the morning
Mount Faber Team! Go!
We wasted no time and went off eagerly along Marang Trail. Then for some reasons, we started sweating profusely on the 3rd flight of steps, hehe, no that's not because we lack exercise! Must be the humidity in the forest. But the air around us was so cooling we didn't mind the sweat at all. Here are some photos I took along the way.

The entrance! Beware of hungry and ferocious
monsters awaiting brave adventurers!
And the various deadly traps along each flight of stairs!
Yey, half way through and no monsters sighted!
Eh, where's Sally?
Oh there she is. Are we lost?
Sally thinks we should go this way.
Right. There's only one way.
A signboard! We're safe!
Ah, nice view. And the air
has never been fresher!
Oh wait, there's civilization right ahead of us!
Is that a ray of sunlight? Let's go check it out!
I mean check out the sunlight.
I bet Sally's checking out some hunks.
Ahh, finally. So we got to the spot where the morning sun was shining brightly. It was about 8am. While Sally was busy looking around, taking photos and enjoying the fresh air. I took out a small brown box and opened it for her. What's inside?

Energy bar snacks?

Morning breakfast sandwich?

Or, how about a Brilliant Rose solitaire diamond ring?

Well, it's about time :)
You can imagine the amount of "Gasp!" I heard from Sally. I didn't count :) I told her to stand properly as I was about to pop the question. Then I went down on my knees, facing the sun so that the diamond ring could shine in its awesome and stunning brilliance.

Will you marry me?

Sally was so shocked she looked at me for a moment before nodding her head quickly. I bet she didn't expect that! Gotcha right there! I didn't quite expect her reaction too. Given her jovial and playful nature, I expected her to at least throw some tests on me to proof my sincerity. But I guess I moved too swiftly and my secret mission was kept under wraps all too well. Priceless. Since I was in a naughty mood, I didn't accept her nod as acknowledgment.

I can't hear you? ;) I continued to prod.

Yes, I do, she said, looking more composed this time and smiling away.

I win. Again.

So I revealed to her the reason why I wanted to go on a hiking trip to get the sunlight. Sounds crazy because people usually catch sunrise or sunset. Well I wanted direct sunlight so that the diamond can bling bling to the max in its own glory. It worked out pretty good in the end. Did she cry? Well, that, you will have to ask her yourself ;)

It's all hugs, kisses and alot of photos.

A closer look.
Another one.
All smiles!
Then actually we continued to ascend :P
No, we're not done yet.
A bus load of tourists coming!
Footpath to the peak.
Ehh, this guy looks familiar.
What's he doing up here?
Both of us sitting at Mount Faber peak.
We've finally conquered it!
Diamond ring with the sky as backdrop.
Satisfied with our adventure this morning, we descended happily towards Vivo City to have our Kim Gary lunch. I'm a big and loyal fan of Kim Gary's Iced Ying Yong and their Chicken Chop Baked Rice with Cheese. Delicious. Sally as usual, had very spicy stuff :P

Ooo, spicy stuffs
My cheese baked rice!
Vivo City is a place we used to hang out very often when we started dating. So we just stayed awhile and took some photos.

Makes me feel close to the sea again!
Is that universal studios? Not sure leh.
A cruise liner docking nearby.
If you think it's all over, I actually have one more little surprise for Sally. Last week on Tuesday, I went out to buy materials to make a personalized card for Sally. Since this is a special day, I wanted to write down a few words about how far we've gone in our relationship. Here are some photos taken during the whole card-making process.

Roughly dot the outline of a fat heart shape.
Then connect the dots like a schoolboy.
Cut it out nice and easy.
Stick it on the front like this!
Inside is a polaroid photo of us when we started dating.
That was so long ago and now we're engaged!
It's amazing to see how far we've gone :)
To the left side of the card will be
my mushy message to Sally.

Polaroid photo taken by Huili at Ben & Jerry's
Gotta make my own envelope too.
There, nice and easy.
It is a really simple card with a short message, but Sally was clearly touched by it so that's the most important thing.

Whew! After all the effort, we ended our day nicely having international buffet at Olive Tree @ Intercontinental Hotel. Who cares about weight now? We're engaged so let's eat, eat and eat!

It's us again!
At 815pm, a hotel staff approached us to inform us that the hotel is participating in Earth Hour, therefore all lights will go off from 830pm to 930pm and candles will be lit on all tables. Nice! That's exactly what we needed for a romantic dinner. We help to save the earth too :)

Romantic candle light!
Now that we're engaged, our next concern will be wedding dates, dinners and more photos! But for now, we're just gonna sit back, relax and enjoy abit more before we start planning again!

Ready? Get Set! ...

Ok, looks like there's alot to catch up after the CNY holidays. Let's recap on the things I did. During the week-long break, I spent like four days in Malacca. When I was like 10 years old or so, CNY holidays were the best days in my life! I would play firecrackers with my bros and cousins, swim in the sea, collect seashells in the evening during low tide, chase my grandma's dogs and eat alot of junk food!

"Ting Ting", my grandma's doggie
Those were the days. But we're now all adults and things changed. I still love CNY holidays, but not because of the same crazy fun I had when I was a kid. I love it because it's our longest annual break from our daily work and routines. It's also the only time when I get to meet most of my high school friends, since everyone is now scattered all over. And when we meet up, our conversation topics are pretty much limited to our working life and job locations LOL. Well, that's because everyone is just moving around. I guess the topics will change when we all get married and have a family. Perhaps some people might not even have the time to meet up in the future.

My Meh Meh's (aunt who took care of me
when I was a little kid) cooking!
I spent all four days in Malacca doing pretty much nothing except eating, sleeping and playing my PSP. Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops. Nice game. In fact I played through the entire game within that period. Nothing much to do anyway. Due to land reclamation activities, there's no longer a sea behind my grandma's house. Now there's only streets and lights. Kinda sad when I think about it but hey, nothing is permanent.

When I got back to Segamat, Sally came by to stay with us in Segamat Resort for the remaining days. I brought her out to meet some of my high school friends, some of which were already introduced to her in Singapore. LOL. Anyway, so we spent the time relaxing, going out for breakfasts and watching TV! Here are some random photos.

Mom & Dad's passion fruits are growing!
Something made my dad suggest we get red wine.
Hmmm..
Heh, took both me and my bro to
open the bottle. Noobs!
Segamat big wanton noodle! Not bad, not bad
My dad's ultimate cooking
Eat, eat, eat!
Proof that the food is really good!
Two weeks after the CNY break, my parents made a trip down to Singapore. Amazing. Although my dad came to settle some stuffs, it's still remarkable. He's someone who rarely travels and coming to Singapore is like a big thing! I managed to persuade him and mom to stay for two nights so that they won't be rushing and Sally can bring them around :P

Mom & dad. Awww.. so sweet!
Just like old times eh?
We brought them to Science Center to watch the Body Worlds Exhibition. Too bad cameras are not allowed so I can't post any pictures here :P But honestly I kinda enjoyed the section on animal anatomy more than human anatomy :P Maybe animals are more interesting creatures. Have you seen Avatar? Hehe, their creatures are kinda cool. Hehe, anyway the exhibition was quite educational and I think my parents enjoyed it.

The remaining time was spent on shopping and food. 10% shopping and 90% food. Crystal Jade, Jumbo Seafood, Din Tai Fung and the amazing wanton noodle that my mom loves so much :D Well there isn't much we can do anyway. I don't think my dad likes shopping centers so... the next best thing to do is to explore Singapore food! The next time they visit, we'll probably bring them to try out street food :D yum yum reminds me of the food we had during our KL trip @ Petaling Street!

A week after that, we traveled to Malacca to celebrate my grandma's birthday. I wanted Sally to come along so that she could see the place where I spent most of my CNY holidays. Hehe, and also for her to visit Malacca too :P It was quite a short trip really. We had to stay a night in a nearby hotel because there isn't enough rooms in my grandma's place for everyone.

The day we arrived, we had breakfast right opposite the house.

Duck noodle opposite my grandma's house
In the afternoon, we went out with my bro and his fiancee, Irene, to Jonker Street to try out some of the food there. It rained a little but didn't bother us too much. Hmm yeah food again :P No wonder we're all putting on so much weight hehe. We didn't do much in the afternoon except just hanging around the house. Sally tried to play with the doggie but was ignored most of the time hehehe.

Food galore! Non-stop action! :P
Malacca river? Eh.. not too sure :P
At night we had a 10-course meal in a Teo Chew restaurant. The food was alright. In fact, this is the very same restaurant we come year after year to celebrate our grandma's birthday. Maybe Teo Chew people just gotta eat Teo Chew food.

Grandma making her birthday wish :D
The following morning, we had breakfast at the hotel but I'm not gonna elaborate further because it was horrendous. Awful. Totally evil. The only thing good about the hotel is the room size, super strong air con and high ceiling :D We left Malacca right after lunch. Weekend is over so everyone's gotta go back to their own routine. Time flies when you're enjoying yourself eh?

This weekend we're planning to go Mount Faber. Not the highest peak in Singapore though. Probably nothing interesting there except for scenic view? Hopefully there's fresh air up there. But that's not the point. I kinda thought that we should do something different and it's been a long time since we took alot of photos together. And I haven't been there before so I'm sure it'll be one of our memorable moments :P Let's see if we can catch sunrise!