first day of work after 12-days of "doing-nothing"

back behind my work desk now. been working on my notebook, trying desperately to clear my emails - gosh - you cannot imagine how many emails i have accumalated for the last 12 days - i don't even want to look at it. sheesh!

had a good nice 12-day holiday in thailand. i was basically not doing anything besides lying in the sand, read a book, enjoying the sound of the waves in my ears, the nice wind in my hair, the warmth of the sun on my skin. it was simplistic, it was wonderful. haven't had much water time as i've planned to do. I probably not like the idea of using a rented mask down 18m of water, and find it slipping off my face all the time, and getting water into my eyes, nose and mouth. Yikes! that can be quite a nightmare. I did experience that.. but thankfully, it was during snorkeling off Lanta. I hated that half filled mask, and my nose being in water all the time. Gawd, its hardwork to breath through one's mouth, via a tube that sticks out at the water's surface...

There were many things that i've done for the first time during the trip... and, i'm proud, ladies and gentlemen, to announce that i have got my very first massage. Those of you who know me know that i wouldn't really like anyone standing anymore then 50cm next to me. Touching is not even thought of here. . . that's why i hate to go to the hair dresser's - hate having anyone prance around my head. Oh well, but i manage to get use to Amanda, my hair stylist to do that - that's when i started trimming my hair every 3-weeks. :) thanks amanda!

Anyway, back to massages - the thought of it actually makes me crinch... ... what made me do it. . . a splitting headach, the discomfort in my neck and shoulders, probably from too much stress at work. And, yes of course, the enthusim my mate has for going as many such sessions as possible - a little of a thai-massage addict, i should say. Girl, you know who you are. ;) Ahem.. but after saying that, i do see why she loooves thai massages so much - its.. hmmmm.. what word best describe it ? heavenly? hmmm... not good enough - its truly blissful. hahahha... i'm already starting to miss it. Was thinking of getting a thai massage back in singapore.. maybe, even this weekend. I have been having this thought since i was on the plane bound home ward. Gawd! Another hopeless addict!

But really - its fabulous how you get your mucles knead-ed. especially love it when they click the spinal bone, it does sound freaky, but, really, it do feels absoluately awesome.


Mental note : Please ask Kate on where to get authentic thai massages in singapore.

And yet, another first time - I SAW A SHOOTING STAR at Lanta! Whew! i was trying to star gaze for so many days, trying to spot a shooting star. I did see a tiny one going by the 2nd night, but i wasn't too sure if it was a bat flying across or whether it was truly a shooting star ( they kinda look alike after 1 beer* and when one's in the dark without much light) On the last night in lanta, i did manage to catch a teeny-wheeny little shooting star going across the dark sky, it was easy to miss, but fortunately, i had caught it in time. it was alright, not awesome. Thinking that there's probably the best i can get, i went back to join the rest of the gang at the bar - drinking, might be an activity of drowning themselves with Thai whisky. I was staying off alcohol quite a bit - so, was downing king-of-all- beverages - WATER. :) One can probably get intoxicated with water mixed with having to sniff in too much fumes from those evil thai whisky buckets that everyone was sipping at regular intervals. and, guess what, as the nite progesses on, the intervals get shorter, and the sips gets longer...

Was having a mini sg political debate with 2 samsonite wheeling, obnoxious, think-they-are-high-legged-horses-but-in-reality-just-plain-irritanting swedish. Was getting really bored when i looked up into the sky. And, there! i saw it! - going across the sky - huge and bright.... I was stunned, and excited at the same time - I just basically pointed at the sky and went - LOOK !! LOOK!! looking absoluately ludicrous ..... but, fortunately, there were evidence of a REAL shooting star going by - apparently, it was so huge that it left streaks of clouds behind it ..really cool! and in less then 30 sec, another smaller went by.. how cool's that??? two in a row. . . I was so excited and was bopping around that i've forgottent to make a wish. Dammit! it was only after anna, our english mate asked if i made any wishes that i realise that in my excitement, i've forgotten to... ... oh well - maybe it works 10min after seeing 2 ????

Yet the next "first-time" - i swam in the andaman sea at 3am in the morning. how cool is that ? :) well, minus off the time when i was doing a nite dive that is, that was different - i was all geared up, and that was 8ish at night. This round, it was really nice - the water was warm, and guess what, we saw little lights swirling around when we sloshed around in the water. It looked so beautiful... it looks as though they were reflections bubbles made, but apparently they are algae in the water that glows in the dark. Beautiful isn't it ? God makes endless wonders on the face of this earth doesn't He ? Its simply beautiful, as small as it is. I mainly saw green and blue ones, which was a beautiful combination. With the warm water we were in and the waves swirling in as the tide goes out.

I have to say that the trip is wonderful.. the only flaw, it was too short...



* beer stories will come out later bits of the blog - probably tomorrow. grinz