28 Apr 2009

A Day at the Zoo

Two reasons why I decided to bring Ash to the Zoo - first, was because it has been 2 years since she was last at the Zoo. Second was because I was starting work next week.
The day started well, after we dropped mummy at work, we made our way to the Zoo. We were there pretty early and the weather was still cool. But then, as fate would have it, the dark clouds started to form and eventually the heavens opened. Fortunately we managed to find some shelter, and so the both of us stayed there and chatted. Finally decided that we needed raincoats else we would not be able to see anything at all. So when someone from the zoo came around to sell raincoats at $3 each..sigh...had no choice but to buy two.

24 April 2009

Star Cruise Again !

Day 1
We've always enjoyed going on a cruise, so when mummy had leave to clear, we decided to book ourselves on a 4D3N package to Phuket and Langkawi - partly also because Star Cruises was having a low season, 1-for-1 promotion for the balcony class.
But before the cruise, we almost had to miss the cruise and would not have been entitled to a refund because it would have been considered a last minute cancellation. Ash came down with a fever 2 days earlier. Thankfully, she recovered and was well enough to go. But as a precaution, we packed the pharmacy along with us.
We spent the first evening just wandering around the ship, relaxing and taking it easy.Day 2
The next day, we booked ourselves on a shore excursion to Phuket. First stop was to the Elephant Park where we we treated to a performance some juvenile elephants, playing dancing, football, painting and doing some stunts.Next was to the monkey show where we saw the monkeys doing a slam-dunk, lifting weights and riding a bike.
Then came the highlight of the tour - the elephant ride. But unfortunately there were no photos of us on the elephant ride that we took - because all 3 of us were on the same elephant and we were making sure we didn't drop our bags, shoes, camera and Ash off the bumpy elephant ride !
Next was short stop at a cashew nut factory, not much to see, but defintely lots of cashew nuts to buy.We were next brought to the standard "duty-free" shop. We only bought 2 bottles of pure eucalyptus oil which we could use in our diffuser when Ash has a stuffed nose. Ash was pretty much fascinated with elephants by now and commeneted that there were elephants everywhere - scultpures of course.After that was a buffet dinner. Dinner was bad, limited variety, flies on the dishes. I decided that I would make up for it when we were back on the ship. Ash did provide us with some entertainment though when she got onto the stage and started to dance.With dinner over, we were driven to Patong Beach for some night shopping. Patong Beach is by far the most famous beach in Phuket, with its shopping, food and of course the gay bars. By the time we reached Patong Beach, Ash had already fallen asleep. So we mooched and browsed the shops with Ash asleep in my aching arms & back.
It was past midnight by the time we got back to the ship.

Day 3
Decided to bring Ash for a swim at Neptune's Wet n Wild children's pool. The nice thing about this pool was it was heated, so it made the initial entry much nice.
We decided that we didn't want to join a tour to Langkawi, and thankfully so too as it rained cats and dogs just after docking at Langkawi. When the rain eased and stopped, we decided to take a walk to the shops just outside the docks for some photos.
It started to rain again just as we got back onboard, and so we spent the rest of the afternoon doing art and craft activities with Ash. Dinner that evening was a formal 8-course dinner.Day 4
The last day, and spent the morning packing and playing at the arcade. Soon we were asked to wait at the assembly area for disembarkation. Ash was busy posing for photos in the sunglasses, but after a while, the wait was too much for Ash and she just conked out.