MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From all of us at thetravellingband.blogspot

Northshore: Billabong Pipeline Surfing Competition

Thanks to Joel (left) who brought us out to watch one of the biggest surfing competition, along with his friend, Adam (right), who drove.
Oh, that's Joel's dog, Mariah. She's a Labrador Shar-Pei.



Surf's up!


Click to see the enlarged version. You can actually spot that dude coming out from that "pipeline".







Mega huge waves of about 15ft. Sat there wondering how the hell they even manage to swim out to sea......
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
December - January's the time to come if you wanna see some super huge waves that go could go as high as 60ft.

Lantau Island & whatever's before that.

Just a quick pic-spam.

Finally got another 2 rolls of film developed.


The 25-min cable car ride to the Ngong Ping village. It gets really really high. 2nd highest peak in HK (i think).



Once there, the main attraction's the Big Buddha.


And around the Bug Buddha are..smaller statues (ikr)..



And well, just some snippets of our lives:

Here's how a typical HK MTR platform looks like. Yes that's Hongzuo. And this shot was taken when we went Macau...

This was during Mid Autumn Festival. We popped by Victoria Park. To be honest, I expected it to be like the TVB dramas, where families sit on the grass and devour mooncake after mooncake.

But it was like one big carnival. Perhaps we went to the wrong side of the park, or even the wrong park.

We had our fortunes told:




This is in Tsuen Wan, IMO one of the more beautiful places in HK. It overlooks Tsing Yi (think atas expat area). and a very nice and serene place for a lazy afternoon.


The 2010 Michelin Guide for Hong Kong/Macau, which we (HZ and I) got in a press conference. Been my food bible since. We tried visiting the cheapest 1-Michelin star restaurant in the world (ie less than S$10 for a meal). We went 1.5hours before the place closed and they stopped accepting customers already. I vow to make another trip down and dine there!

Well, the street I walk down every day to commute between home and work.

The entrance of my apartment building.



I've probably got more pictures. Will find the time to post them up.

I'M BACK FROM CHIANGMAI!

and i lost my camera, WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Lantau Island

Hi guys, went to Lantau Island today. The place with a huge Buddha. Will blog about it later on in the week.

Jarrel.

kop kun krap

SORRY PEOPLE have been in chiangmai no time to do

# Birthday/zodiac sign: 3 march which makes me... i think the one with the zha bor and the water vase. eh no, i think the two fishes. i dunno leh
# Would you enjoy receiving clothes?: not really not used to having new clothes haha
# If yes, please list your sizes: on good months M...
# Anything specific you really want?: bak kwa
# Anything you really DON'T want (regardless of whether it fits your tastes)?: anything that's not bak kwa
# Favorite colour(s): red? black? purple?
# Least favorite colour(s): green
# Favorite foods/candies: bak kwa
# Favorite artists: scott adams, HAHA
# Favorite musicians: miles davis, herbie hancock, john coltrane, kenny burrell etc.
# Favorite scents: bak kwa. if they made air fresheners in bak kwa i would buy that shit by the truckload
# Favorite books/authors: woolf, cunningham, eugenides, plath, sue townsend on depressing days
# Favorite movies: jonze, hitchcock, fincher (sans benjamin button), gondry
# Hobbies?: eating
# Things that make you happy: food
# Things you cannot stand: things which are not food
# Do you like to cook?: messy food
# What kinds of gifts do you prefer (cute, pretty, useful...)?: edible stuff
# Do you like souvenirs (postcards, keychains, snowglobes, etc. from a specific place)?: not really it's like suaning me that i haven't been there haha
# Collect anything?: i collect tons of crap. coins, x-men comics, lecture notes with typos.
# Any pets?: they died
# Any allergies?: i tell people i'm allergic to yam so they won't force me to eat it
# Link(s) to your online wishlist(s) (optional): www.bch.com.sg
# Anything else?: please be nice to me

HO HO HO!

# Age: 19
# Birthday/zodiac sign: 22 March/Aries
# Would you enjoy receiving clothes?: Absolutely.
# If yes, please list your sizes: Uhhhh depends on what it is hahaha
# Anything specific you really want?: Not really...
# Anything you really DON'T want (regardless of whether it fits your tastes)?: Food.
# Favorite colour(s): I don't actually. Hahaha, don't really have a favourite.
# Least favorite colour(s): Green
# Favorite foods/candies: Everything except seafood.
# Favorite artists: Jason Mraz
# Favorite musicians: None
# Favorite scents: A&F FIERCE
# Favorite books/authors: Don't read books.
# Favorite movies: Toooo many!
# Hobbies?: None
# Things that make you happy: A lot of things hahaha
# Things you cannot stand: Holes!!! And insects.
# Do you like to cook?: Yes........ I prefer to bake though.
# What kinds of gifts do you prefer (cute, pretty, useful...)?: Useful
# Do you like souvenirs (postcards, keychains, snowglobes, etc. from a specific place)?: Hmm.... not really.....
# Collect anything?: Nope
# Any pets?: Nope!
# Any allergies?: Panadol and Ibuprofen
# Link(s) to your online wishlist(s) (optional): -
# Anything else?: -

saaaaam

# Age: 19
# Birthday/zodiac sign: 5th June/Gemini
# Would you enjoy receiving clothes?: yeeeeeep. SHOES TOO.
# If yes, please list your sizes: small uk8/m for tops/dresses/skirts. size 8 heels.
# Anything specific you really want?: vintagey stuff esp. blazers,
# Anything you really DON'T want (regardless of whether it fits your tastes)?: not really into cute stuff + stuffed toys. AND PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD DON'T GET ME FOOD. I'M PHAT AS IT IS.
# Favorite color(s): don't really have one. i love bright vibrant colours.
# Least favorite color(s): camel
# Favorite foods/candies: raisins?
# Favorite artists: joey lawrence
# Favorite musicians: matt corby, athlete, margot and the nuclear so and so's, anchor and braille, hanson. more here: http://www.last.fm/user/strategicdenial
# Favorite scents: musk, vanilla, citrusy, melony
# Favorite books/authors: URGH. so many! i usually gravitate towards true stories
# Favorite movies: dead poet's society, pearl harbour, hanging up, into the wild, the notebook, wanted, idkhaven'tcaughtamovieinages
# Hobbies?: sleeping, eating, cooking, idk
# Things that make you happy: my bed, my blanket, sleeping, steals, finding awesome blazers, snow
# Things you cannot stand: snobs, flakes, sashimi D:, fish D: D:
# Do you like to cook?: yesyesyes
# What kinds of gifts do you prefer (cute, pretty, useful...)?: useful, pretty, i love clothes :D
# Do you like souvenirs (postcards, keychains, snowglobes, etc. from a specific place)?: anything.
# Collect anything?: blazers
# Any pets?: cow-dog, terrapin and missing tortle :(
# Any allergies?: dust.
# Link(s) to your online wishlist(s) (optional): -
# Anything else?: WHEE. I ACCEPT CASH TOO. KTHX

SUAY TO THE MAX!

Ok. This post is going to be image heavy and it shall start on a not so happy episode of my life but nonetheless, it was quite a dramatic day... hahaha! Of course I gotta blog about it.

Alrights alrights. So everyone's been asking if I'm ok or if i'm dying or if I can walk. Answer is Yes I can. Even after being stung by a Portuguese Mano!war.

The blue colour was really pretty. Even in my state of panic, I noticed. :)

After abit of research, I realise, its not EXACTLY a jellyfish. More like some species similar to it. And its a really beautiful blue in colour thing although yes, its sting does hurt like hell. :(

Let me tell you about all that drama.


So we were at Lanikai beach (yes I must say it is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL beach I've ever been to in the world. EVER. So far anyways.) with Ping and Eun and I decided to head over to the water and dip ourselves in the translucent, greenish blue water that was just absolutely beautiful but FRIGGIN icy cold. Imagine waking up to a sight like this each day. Your private beach.

The houses around there cost 4-5 million bucks. I can see why....

Ping. :)

So anyways, after dipping in we decided to lay flat on our tummies at shoreline to just talk and let the cooling water seeping around us. *blah blah blah* and all of a sudden this sharp pain gripped my leg. Felt like some sort of needle just piercing my shin and my calf getting a whipping.

*SCREAMED LIKE HELL* and turned around and started yanking out the stuff stuck on my leg. It was like those korean people eating the squid and its tentacles just stuck to you. And not knowing it was dangerous I used my fingers cos I was in a state of panic. (Thank God I didnt get secondary stings on my fingers) and SPRINTED all the way back to Ping, who started washing the sting with water. Thank goodness the pain subsided and the swelling started but disappeared after awhile.

This is my wonder sting. Swelling. But its gone now. :) *click for clearer view*

Went over to Kailua Beach Park after to get the lifeguard to spray vinegar solution thingy on the thing. Told me it wasn't dangerous and that it was common in the area. So I'm alright! No fever or pain or vomiting or anything. Just that there's this super UGLY red line on my shin now. I hope it doesnt scar me for life! :(

Ugly ugly go away... :(

Ok but other than that, we had a really awesome day! The weather was just absolutely perfect and Ping was a great host in showing us the entire windward side with all the tiny islands and just absolutely amazing houses. If only I had that amount of moneyyy... Sighhhhh...


Thanksgiving & Black Friday

Realised that I didnt blog much after Thanksgiving. haha! Maybe it's cos I was just too busy packing away all the shopping that I had no time to blog about it. hehe!

So went over to Jamie's house for thanksgiving where her husband cooked a really nice turkey meal. Delish! And we just sat there for a time of fellowship and movie watching. LOVE ACTUALLY! :) Oh and of course discuss our plans for black friday.

Eunice and Jamie! :)

For those who have no clue what black friday is... its basically a HUGEEEEE sale that happens throughout the US starting the day after thanksgiving. Malls open at 6am. Certain big names like MACY's and Old navy opening their stalls at 3am. Basically, its shopping MADNESS!

So Eun, Jamie and I met at the mall at 6.20am. And OMGoodness gracious me. We were 'late'. The queue for our vice, Victoria Secret already had lines that were SNAKING out of the shop. It was about 100m away from the shop ok.

Look, The shop can't even be seen, but its past lego. lol!

Ended up buying massive bags of stuff for OTHER people. hahaha! And shopped for a whopping 12 hours!!! Believe it or not, but I have broken my record and my wallet. hahahaha!

Our shopping by 10am. haha!

LOVES!

Secret Cheryl

# Birthday/zodiac sign: 03 November, Scorpio
# Would you enjoy receiving clothes?: YESSS!! :)
# If yes, please list your sizes: Well it depends from where.. In the states I'm like a M or L.
# Anything specific you really want?: Erm... not yet... I'll let you know. :)
# Anything you really DON'T want (regardless of whether it fits your tastes)?: FOOD OR PRODUCE!
# Favorite colour(s): Orange, Yellow, White, Red... Anything bright I guess.
# Least favorite colour(s): Sometimes... Neon... Depending on the item.
# Favorite foods/candies: Hahaha! Any candy will please ze tastebuds!! Except maybe toffee
# Favorite artists: Wang Lee Hom, David Tao, Jay Chou
# Favorite musicians: I think its the same as the fav artists. lol.
# Favorite scents: Loves Victoria Secrets! OH MY GAWD. And the ever so awesome A&F FIERCE!
# Favorite books/authors: Erm. Sophie Kinsella? I'm a hopeless romantic.
# Favorite movies: I don't have anyone in particular, but I'm a sucker for chick flicks. HATE HORROR THOUGH!
# Hobbies?: Erm... bumming. haha! What else can you do on this sunny island huh! Golf I guess... Photography :)
# Things that make you happy: Oooh! Where do I start! Sweet pretty things, colourful stuffs, navy stuffs, pictures...
# Things you cannot stand: Erm... Horror scary thriller shit.
# Do you like to cook?: Kinda! And I can now cook yum yum fried rice! lol.
# What kinds of gifts do you prefer (cute, pretty, useful...)?: I like cute and pretty stuff but please don't get me anything that's just for display. Unless it has meaning of course
# Do you like souvenirs (postcards, keychains, snowglobes, etc. from a specific place)?: Not really. But secret santa, if you're in HK and you go to Disneyland. You could get me a snowglobe from there! :)
# Collect anything?: Erm.. Not really a collector. But I like happy stuff. And like disney and stuff.
# Any pets?: Nope. Besides my goldfishes that died.
# Any allergies?: Nope. Not that I know of!
# Link(s) to your online wishlist(s) (optional): I'll paste it here when I actually get to one.
# Anything else?: Nope. I dunch tinks soooo... :)

sekrit senta!

[EDIT: BTW GUYS, YOU CAN COMMENT ANONYMOUSLY TO YOUR GIFTEES POST WITH QUESTIONS OR SEND ANONYMOUS QUESTIONS VIA ELFSTER. K THAT'S ALL I THINK <33]

wello jello my little bloggies! I'M SO EGGCITED FOR THIS OKAY!!

please fill out the survey below (courtesy of a very awesome lj comm i shall not name. but TY LJ COMM) IN A NEW POST to the best of your ability BY THIS FRIDAY, 4th DECEMBER 2359 SG TIME! your sekrit senta can then refer to it when getting your pressies. Also, please make sure your addresses in the INTO contact list is correct! whoever has hongzuo remember to send it to his office (:

ALL PACKAGES ARE TO BE SENT OUT BY 15TH DEC (SG) KKK

# Birthday/zodiac sign:
# Would you enjoy receiving clothes?:
# If yes, please list your sizes:
# Anything specific you really want?:
# Anything you really DON'T want (regardless of whether it fits your tastes)?:
# Favorite colour(s):
# Least favorite colour(s):
# Favorite foods/candies:
# Favorite artists:
# Favorite musicians:
# Favorite scents:
# Favorite books/authors:
# Favorite movies:
# Hobbies?:
# Things that make you happy:
# Things you cannot stand:
# Do you like to cook?:
# What kinds of gifts do you prefer (cute, pretty, useful...)?:
# Do you like souvenirs (postcards, keychains, snowglobes, etc. from a specific place)?:
# Collect anything?:
# Any pets?:
# Any allergies?:
# Link(s) to your online wishlist(s) (optional):
# Anything else?:

P.S: FEEL FREE TO SEND STUFF TO EVERYONE ELSE TOO. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE KEWL YA NOE WAD I MEAN.

yes, that's real prata

before i got whisked back

Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride

There's no place I'd rather be
Then on my surfboard out at sea
Lingering in the ocean blue
And If I had one wish come true
I'd surf till the sun sets
Beyond the horizon....
... Flyin by on the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride....

So! Abit late of an update but I kept forgetting to update. So here's the latest in on Hawaii....

WE WENT SURFIN'!

haha, ok. So some of you might have seen the news on our statuses already. But for those who haven't. Yes, this is to let you know that Eun and I have turned into official Hawaiian Surfer babes.lol!

How was the experience like? Well, It was definitely much easier than what Eunice and I actually envisioned it out to be (and we're not bragging). Prior to stepping into the water, Eun and I were quite apprehensive as to how it was going to turn out. If we would be able to stand on the board and not drown or something.

But we hired an instructor and had a land lesson for like 5 mins and he threw us into the water ok! haha. But it was quite shallow and the waves weren't THAT big so it was still ok. Paddled out to the middle before catching the waves. HECK! It was DARN TIRING paddling out! I mean catching the waves and all is just the most fantastic feeling ever. (you feel like you're on top of the world as the board picks up speed) but the longer you stay on the board means the more you gotta paddle back after sitting back down on the board.

So its like 3 minutes of arm work out for 20 seconds of fun. hahaha! Guess that's why all the dudes and babes have such toned and defined arms.

We both managed to stand up by the 2nd wave and after that didn't have that much of a problem balancing. So I must say that we did pretty well! haha. But after that, we couldn't stretch our arms out that properly and Eunice just totally flopped down on the board paddling back halfway because she got too tired. hahaha! So I guess, it's not something that we'll be doing every weekend cos it's just wayyy too tiring. hahaha! And we'll probably have very big arms when we get back.

So till the next time. ALOHA! :)

and as if it couldn't get any better...

I've been seeing it for something on the MRT screens, but I didn't think it would be on youtube.

Poor them, they look so cheery and happy.

MAI CCB!~~~

-joel, bangcock

LANTERN FESTIVAL: LOY KRATHONG

It's the lantern festival, or Loy Krathong here in Thailand, something like our zhongqiujie back home. Though not a public holiday (boo), it's still quite a huge thing in Thailand. People buy floating lanterns like those on top, usually snip some hair or fingernails and place it with some money into the lantern before lighting, saying a prayer and letting it float off into the river. It's suppose to help them cleanse their sins, if I'm not wrong.

So my Thai colleagues were horrified when they learnt that I was intending to head down the the Grand Palace area on Loy Krathong night cause, well, if you have ever seen Chinatown on Chinese New Year's eve, that's what it's like.

Other than that, the Thais also take the chance to light floating lanterns, illegal fireworks, etc. It's quite a big thing here.

vendors selling lanterns by the riverside

saying a prayer before releasing the lantern

lanterns afloat on the canals

a bazaar, with the Grand Palace in the distance on the left

balloon vendor

lighting a floating lantern in front of the Grand Palace

the occasional illegal fireworks

waiting for the floating lantern to collect hot air

I just realised I don't have any photos of floating lanterns actually floating, cause they drift off into a ghostly blur on camera, haha. But here's one I found online, taken in Sukhothai (the place I was in for the long weekend) where the Loy Krathong originated and is huuuuuge there.

badass floating lanterns

- joel, bangcock