Because the boys has too much energy to blow off, they decided to fling each other in the air. The girls succumbed soon after and decided to partake in a bit of Pool gymnastics.

Rounds consisted of the flying (Silver)Fox, Face plant, bromance flings, gf flinging and canon bombs.

Some of these pre-impact pictures really look like they were going to hurt!

On our second night in Bali, we decided to eat out at a nice restaurant by the beach, and the first place that came to mind was BREEZE at The Samaya which overlooks Seminyak Beach. It’s not my first time there, but it was my first time there at night.

Here’s a little write-up from their website:

The menus that Chef Michael Shaheen showcases is an interpretation of Euro-American and blends the best of the environment with his own vision of contemporary American and global cuisine. Using the many indigenous ingredients Chef Michael’s menus are dictated by the local harvest and giving them as he defines a “Simple, Seasonal and Uncomplicated approach with a connotation of modern plated presentations, with very light full flavoured reduced sauces, and an air of freshness which appear in his dishes.

The food was good, prices reasonable, but what really did it for me was the venue and ambience. Eating with the sounds of waves continuously crashing on the beach was incredibly therapeutic for me. As someone said, the experience can be summed up as “comfortably casual in an elegant way”.

On my plate that evening was Local Wild Snapper with Truffle Scented Mushroom Risotto, Roasted Asparagus, Fennel, Oven Cured Tomato Reduction – 235 Rp

Breeze at The Samaya
Jl. Laksmana, Seminyak Beach,
Seminyak, Indonesia
Opening hours: 7am – 11pm
Telephone: (62 361) 731 149
Capacity 100 seats

Waking up the next morning for surf school was a challenge. We dragged our sluggish selves out of bed and fed our bellies with some breakfast before packing ourselves into the van.

One of Amanda’s old friend Dedik has a surf school on Kuta beach called Double D surf school Bali. So Tony, Duncan, Chris, Marisa, Bella and I decided to give it a go!

It’s definitely not as easy as it looks, be prepared to fall off the board 100000 times before you finally ride a wave.

Look at us! We’re surfin I reckon we did pretty well for first-timers.

This is what they offer with their courses:
1. Free pick up & drop off
2. Quality surfboards & equipment
3. Sun protecting rashguards
4. Drinks
5. Showers, clean towels, & lockers
6. Insurance

For more info & bookings
website: www.surfschoolbali.com
e-mail: info@surfschoolbali.com
Phone: +62 81 7067 0046 or +62 361 780 6124

In Bali, we all stayed at a Villa in Seminyak called Villa Azaya. It was ridick!?! Beautiful place. Amazing interiors. Gorgeous landscaping. Great service. There was just too much for us to take in all at once when we arrived. Best to explain in pictures!

Also managed to find a website describing the Villa below.

# of Bedrooms : 5
Total Living Area : 1000m2
Total Grounds : 2200m2

Villa Azaya is a contemporary-styled, five-bedroom, Bali rental villa, located just 50 metres from the beach in the Petitenget/Seminyak neighbourhood on Bali’s southwest coast. Covering 2000 square metres, the property comprises a large two-storey building complemented by a fully independent two-bedroom guesthouse, stand-alone gym, poolside gazebo and 20-metre swimming pool, well integrated within an expansive, flat-lawned garden.

The five air-conditioned bedrooms each feature ensuite bathrooms, there is also a living room, dining room, feature kitchen, and guest office/library, while the guest house incorporates its own living & dining room complete with small kitchen.

Ipods have been installed in every living area, and a Bose 321 home entertainment system provides sound in the living room, dining room and pool bar. WiFi internet access is available throughout the property.

Master bedrooms
The two, sizeable, master bedrooms are located on the upper floor of the main building. Each is air-conditioned and each features a teakwood floor, a dressing area and an ensuite bathroom; each is complemented by a rooftop terrace with a lovely view of the garden, the neighbouring fields and a glimpse of the ocean. Each spacious master bathroom is fitted with a bathtub with handheld shower, a double vanity unit with a large wall mirror and twin washbasins, and a toilet.

Guest House
The self-contained guest house offers independence and privacy; it is quite separate from the main building and accessed by a wooden bridge over an ornamental pond. This single-storey building incorporates two bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, and a centrally positioned, open-sided, living & dining area complete with a small kitchen. The living space is furnished with segmented sofas and a glass-topped coffee table, and equipped with a satellite TV/DVD player, Nintendo Wii game system and an iPod dock.

Each bedroom is complemented by an ensuite bathroom with an open-air shower, a bathtub, a vanity unit with washbasin and mirror, and a toilet.

There is large open-sided ‘bale’ pavilion in the garden, with a raised wooden floor and a high roof, rattan sofas and a dining table for eight. It is cooled by natural breezes and two ceiling fans.

Gym
The air-conditioned Gym is a single-storey stand-alone building, located close to the swimming pool. It has a mirrored wall, sliding glass doors and is fully equipped with a treadmill, upright exercise bike, Concept2 Indoor Rower, multigym, free weights, adjustable bench, stretching and yoga mats, and an exercise ball. There is also an iPod dock.

Staff at the villa
The villa is staffed with one full-time Villa manager, Two cooks, Four maids, Four security guards, Two gardeners and One pool attendant.

Courtesy of Villa Azaya

More posts of Bali coming up where you can see pictures of the villa in the day.

I’m starting to enjoy these spur of the moment trips I make with friends. And I’m so glad I’m in a job now that allows me to travel more this year.

2 months ago, I get Kimmy msn-ing me in a frenzy about cheap flights to Bali on Air Asia.

www.airasia.com >> Select date & destination>> Personal particular>> Submit>> DONE!

In no time at all, about 10 of us were booked on a flight to Bali at the beginning of November. It was just a couple a months back I was in Bali with 2 other friends for some ‘me time’, but this time round it was the complete opposite. This was a time to socialise, have fun, party and emerge back into society with a more confident, happy and steady head on my shoulders.

We all met up at the airport in the arvo to catch our 7pm flight to Bali, and while buying duty free, someone brought up the idea of having a free shot at the Absolut bar. Oh well why not!

so Zileena, Kim, Marisa and me had a shot to kick start one of the best holidays I’ve had all year.

If you were wondering why we were pouting in the bottom few pictures, Kim swore by this lip gloss she got from Boots UK called ‘Mother Pucker’ which makes your lips tingle and plump up!

First evening there and we decided to head out to some beach club. Wasn’t that great so we ended up coming back to the villa to continue the party. More blog posts to follow on our Bali holiday.

Earlier this year, I went on a spur-of-the moment trip to Redang Malaysia just to get away from it all. Find a willing travel partner, and was all set to go. It was a long weekend, and I was in need of some colour, pasty white was soooo last season *tsk*.

I have to say, it has to be one of the prettiest beaches in Malaysia.

Where to stay
Most people, especially those going with families, would usually opt for the Berjaya Hotel on the busier side of the island. But if you’re looking for something quieter and more rustic, stay at the Coral Redang Beach Resort on the other side. The rooms aren’t great, but honestly, you won’t spend much time in there anyway.

Things to do
As touristy as it may seem, it’s still worthwhile to go snorkelling at the marine park just 15mins boat ride away. Don’t forget to bring your underwater camera, because you can take some pretty amazing photos on a sunny day. If you don’t have one, don’t fret, the dive centre rents out underwater cameras too.

If you dive, I heard they make two trips out a day to wrecks.

If you just want to chill, do what I did, park yourself on a deck chair for the day, read my book, tan and swim. And if you’re a geek like me, there’s free wifi resort wide.

Getting there
Another tip if you’re planning to go to Redang… take a flight! The 10 hour journey there on bus and boat was truly painful!

You can actually find most of the information you need on wikitravel.

It’s going to be hard to document everything I did in Hong Kong, so instead of a wordy post, I’ve decided to put together photo collages and write down the key highlights of each day. This series of blog posts is also an archive copy for myself. I’ll try my best to fill as much information as I can, such as addresses and recommendations, just in case you’re planning your itinerary to Hong Kong.

But for now, here’s a video of my 10days in 3mins.

Bear with me, am editing 10 days worth of photos to upload from 3 cameras

On Day 5 we’re still in Las Vegas. After the late Cirque du Soleil show the night before, we slept in and wasted away the morning swallowed up in our duvet and pillows (I love cold crisp hotel bed sheets). By the time we got up showered and change, it was about midday, lunch beckons.

Las Vegas was always famous for its cheap buffets, but nowadays, those cheap buffets no longer exist. Based on the Frommers guide book I had, The Wynn took top spot for buffets, so we made our way down the strip for some lunch grub.

The Wynn is a $2.7 billion luxury resort named after its creator, casino magnate Steve Wynn. I think the most eye catching thing about the hotel is the beautiful and colourful floral mosaic tiles near the entrance of the hotel. And did you know that The Wynn does not have any floors that start with the number 4, since it is an unlucky number in Chinese culture.

When we got there, the queue had already started to build up. I reckon we were there for a good hour in line before we got a seat. Verdict? Overrated. I reckon our Singapore buffets are still better in terms of variety, presentation and taste.

After stuffing our faces, we had to walk it off. So we rolled ourselves to a couple of casino/hotels nearby. The Venetian was a bit of a disappointment. First of all, it’s so expensive to sit on a Gondola which only goes down a very small stretch of canal. Gondoliers were singing and interacting with customers, which I heard the real Gondoliers don’t do. The architectural reproduction of the sky was alright I guess.

So what was the highlight for me in Las Vegas? As sad as it sounds, I bought tickets to watch the American Idols Live in concert. Uh huh! Now stop giggling, I’m serious. I was pretty hooked this season thanks to my ICON colleagues Gwen and Sarada, who used to exchange notes on performances from the night before. This season, I had two favourites: Jason Castro and Michael Johns. Both with very different voices and style, and both charming in their own way.

Wayne likes Carly Smithson. There I’ve said it. HAHAhaha..

More walking after the show before we retired for the day.

So I’m finally back from our holiday, and no I didn’t get engaged, nor did I get married at a Vegas drive-thru chapel.

Have been diligently photoshop-ing and uploading my photos in the gallery, so the next thing to do is to blog about it. I’m actually quite excited to pen it all down, because it’s also memories I’d like to record for archives sake.

But photoshop-ing them for the blog is a real pain in the ass at the moment, all the resizing and rearranging. So please forgive me if it comes out in spurts.

Aiming for USA Day 2 tomorrow.