Friday, December 31, 2010

MIKEY ARRIVES IN SINGAPORE...

Finally, the time came to welcome Mikey to our new home. Having visited Mikey twice in Australia now, it is now my turn to be the host! In his usual manner, Mikey stumbled off the plane in a dazed and confused state. Just as it was for us when we first arrived, Mikey said he found the whole thing a little surreal. After leaving us all in Windsor three years ago and being reunited for the first time as a group half way around the world it did feel ever so slightly odd. But great, that despite not seeing Mikey since March it felt like the last time I saw him was last weekend. 

Mikey has just spent Christmas in the UK and when he landed in Heathrow it was -7 degrees. When he landed in Singapore it was 27 degrees at 7pm! No wonder he is feeling spun out! I booked us a table at Overeasy, One Fullerton. The bar where I spent my first night out in Singapore. With perfect views across the river at the Marina Bay Sands resort, the Merlion and thousands of wishing spheres floating on the water, the four of us sat and spent a view hours catching up before heading back towards Clarke Quay for a bit of live music and of course...Jagerbombs! 

 

ROAST AT ONE ROCHESTER...

This week Adi, Victoria and I had a delicious meal out at One Rochester. According to the website it is undeniably Singapore's foremost and favourite gastrobar. Located at Rochester Park, and in keeping with the verdant hillside surroundings and colonial ambiance of black and white bungalows inherited from the era of the British regime, its is an oasis of calm. It is like an enchanted garden with trickling water fountains. 


The bar has been open since 2005 and is the perfect place to unwind. You can chose from a la carte and communal menus under the newly launched dining concept called Roast. The menu is created by chef Christopher Millar who trained under Antony Worrall Thompson.

A few Appletinis to start (vodka and apple juice) followed by a delicious three course dinner with red wine, dessert wine and another yummy cocktail to end. Great company and great entertaining conversation! The perfect end to my Christmas break. Thank you very much Adi!







Tuesday, December 28, 2010

WISHING SPHERES...

Throughout December, Singaporeans and friends from all walks of life are being invited to pen their New Year wishes on wishing spheres at stations located all around Singapore. This year, 20,000 of these wishing spheres, all marked with the hand-written wishes will be floated onto the waters and become part of a visual arts installation at Marina Bay - the Bay of Hope and Light.


Each wishing sphere represents a hope, belief that the New Year will bring new possibilities and a brighter tomorrow. I've just added my two wishes to the wishing sphere gallery!



CONGRATULATIONS JENNIE AND STUART...

Congratulations to Jennie and Stuart on their engagement! It was fantastic news to hear on Christmas Day and I am so pleased for you both. And I am once again, honoured to be asked to be your bridesmaid Jennie. I love you both and look forward to celebrating with you when I come home to visit in January. I can not wait to see your rock!

CHRISTMAS IN THAILAND 2010...

I've just returned after an amazing holiday to Thailand for Christmas! Work was crazy last week so by the time Wednesday came around I was extremely excited about heading off to Phuket that evening. Despite nearly missing the flight after being convinced by Steve that a glass of wine (which turned into three) would be a good idea to start my holiday. The last to check in and a quite dash to my gate with 15 minutes to spare, I can safely say I won't be leaving my trip to the airport that late when I head home at the end of January. An hour and a half later and I've landed at Phuket and been greeted by my driver. Too easy. I had tried to get a room at the same hotel as Tom and Rachel but it was fully booked so checked in at Sino House. A boutique hotel located in the centre of Phuket town. It's Shanghai style meets Mad Men Chic and is quite impressive! My room was massive with a fantastic handmade ceramic basin and quarter-moon shower tub in the bathroom. My Bejing Deluxe room is fantastic and my holiday has began!


Tom and Rach arrive to surprise me as I'm checking and we head out to the bar next door for some holiday cocktails! The first of many more to come. Phuket is literally a stop off for the night before we get the ferry over to Phi Phi at 8.30am. I'm dreading it. After many boat trips of feeling extremely sick in Australia I fear I might be really ill. But surprisingly not. I even make it up onto the top deck just as we are approaching the islands. The view is breathtaking. 


We've got a short wait for the boat to pick us up from the port and take us to the resort. From what I can see Phi Phi Don is stunning. Our resort, Villa' 360, is at Ao Lo Bakao, a fine stretch of palm-backed sand, ringed by dramatic hills and offshore views of Bamboo and Mosquito Island (ironically as you will read later on!) Our Villa' 360 long boat collects us and we are soon on our way heading north around the island. I can not wait to see the place that we will be staying. 

Welcome to Villa' 360. Wow. Despite all the pictures on the website I can safely say that what we had just arrived at was breathtkaing. I haven't had a "do I need to pinch myself" moment for a while now. Until now. Tom did good picking this place. I think I'm going to enjoy my stay here. 


Villa' 360 is tucked into a leafy green hillside and each of the 33 villas has a total living space of 59 sqm with a private balcony and a spectacular view of the Krabi mainland and the Andaman Sea. I have a villa to myself and I feel like I am in paradise. Even the bathtub has a view! As the villas are all located on the hillside you get around on motorised golf buggies. Quite a novelty, but scary when on such a steep incline. 


It's time to explore...well the pool anyways! I'm still amazed and after a quick dip in the pool I spend the rest of the afternoon on a sunlounger taking in the view (and having a cheeky nap).I am so lucky. The last six months since learning that I go the job in Singapore and actually making the move have been a whirlwind. So much has happened and I've had so much to think about. It's now December 2010 and this time last year I had no idea that I would be spending Christmas on an island in the middle of the Andaman Sea. My life is completely different now to this time last year and I am loving every minute of it.


It's happy hour. My favourite hour! A few free Phi Phi Paradise and Lady Boys later and dinner is an all you can eat buffet of local and western cuisine at neighbouring resort Phi Phi Island Village, which is a short walk along the beach. Despite not really doing a lot, apart from travelling, we are all exhausted! I can not wait to get into bed! The following morning the view from breakfast is unreal. I never want to leave this island. Imagine waking up to this view every morning? 


So, it's Christmas Eve. What should we do? Hire a private long boat and explore the island? Yes please!
By lunchtime, the three of us are cruising around the island taking in even more breathtaking views and spending most of the day snorkelling. This brings back so many memories of Australia and New Zealand. Except I'm now in Thailand swimming amongst hundreds of fish and having the time of my life. I'm not that confident in the water, I don't really think I have ever been to be honest, but I have to embrace every minute! There's no stopping Rachel. She basically is the little mermaid! 


Our Christmas Eve adventure takes us around the islands. Phi Phi Leh is the smaller of the two islands and is protected on all sides by roaring cliffs. The water is crystal clear. There are two gorgeous lagoons one of which is Ao Maya on the western coast. In 1999 this lagoon was controversially used as the setting for the filming of The Beach. I've not read the book, or seen the film, but am inspired. So inspired in fact I bought the book today. We also visit Monkey Beach. A 220 metre stretch of sand where monkeys head to the beach for tourists to feed them. As you all know, my love animals isn't great. I leave Tom to get involved! Four hours later and we are heading back to the villas. All looking slightly pinker than we were when we set off. It's extremely hot and whilst out at sea there is no way of getting away from the sun. 


The resort host a Christmas Eve Gala. None of us really know what to expect. Free cocktails on arrival. I am in my element. Whilst sat at the bar a gentleman comes up to order a soft drink. Tom recognises the accent from up North. We all get introduced and it turns out that Ant is a musician. Not just any musician. He's the front man of the band, The Hours, and was previously part of Pulp. Amazing. Ant joins us for dinner and the four of us indulge in amazing food and very interesting conversations. It turns out not only has Ant written songs for Robbie Williams, he also shared a flat with him back when he was in Take That. Small world and all that. We're the last group of people left at the end of the evening, Rachel's been singing with the guy who's been providing music throughout the evening, we've had fireworks (a little too close for comfort), we've laughed watching tiny Thai girls dancing, we've eaten turkey but sadly no trimmings, we've had pressies from the resort and I've had far too many Phi Phi Paradise (Karen coloured) cocktails!

So, my second Christmas away from home has arrived. The three of us sit out on the balcony of Tom and Rachel's villa to open our pressies. I receive a gorgeous Pandora charm for my bracelet, to remind me of my time in Singapore, a Merlion. Perfect. Thank you Tom and Rach. I've been secretly planning with Tom's mum to get the guys a massage on behalf of Tom's little brother so after breakfast the guys head off to relax and I do the same, but by the pool with my book! Certainly not how I'd be spending Christmas if I was at home. I'm thinking of everyone as I lie in the sun, half of me wishes I was there with everyone on Christmas morning, especially as Chris and Terresa will be there this year, but the other half of me wouldn't swap this for anything! Sorry mum. Sorry dad.

Christmas lunch this year consists of spring rolls and Phad Thai. It totally doesn't taste like Mum's roast dinner, but she has assured me that I will get the full monty when I get home in January. I'm so looking forward to that. A few cheeky Karen coloured cocktails later and Christmas night is spent raiding the mini bar and watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A great phone call home to the Cole household and wonderful news from Jennie on her engagement and Christmas day is over. I think you can see from the smiles on our faces, that this Christmas is certainly going to be one that we won't forget.


Tom and Rach do a Boxing Day fishing trip and I meet them at the same place we had our Christmas lunch for an amazing lunch of freshly caught fish, cooked up by a local who lives on the island. Sweet and sour fish and Fish Thai Green Curry. It doesn't get fresher than this. And it tastes incredible. 


My time on Phi Phi is nearly over, and my last day is spent lying by the pool finishing off my second book. I am 100% relaxed and I feel so chilled out. Apart from the mosquito bites! My legs are so itchy! Mum...I'm taking you with me next time. Whenever I'm with you I don't get bitten!

I leave the island at 1.30pm and a long boat takes me back to the port where I jump onto the ferry and get comfortable to watch Avatar. When I reach Phuket it's easy to get a mini bus to the airport and I figured that it was going far too smoothly for my liking. An hour later as I wait for the check in desk to open I receive a text off Jetstar to let me know that my flight has been delayed until midnight! I'm annoyed for all of about 30 minutes until I clear passport control and head straight for a 60 minute Thai massage. God I love living in Asia. You won't get this at Cardiff International Airport that's for sure. 

I arrived home at 4am this morning and have spent the day continuing my holiday. Victoria and I catch up over a Japenese lunch and head to Orchard Road for a manicure and pedicure. It's 10.30pm now and I'm shattered. Back to work tomorrow for 2 and a half days before the New Years celebrations with Mikey begin. Ten of us have tickets to party at New Asia Bar, a bar on the 71st floor of the Swissotel in the centre of the city. I can not wait to see in 2011 here. I have a feeling it is going to be a great year! 

I hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoy your new year celebrations! 

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! SEE YOU IN 2011...

CHRISTMAS CUP CAKES...

Jill has just had a delivery of Christmas cupcakes to her office! So cute! Ever so jealous that I don't work with her!

MAKE A WISH...OR TWO...

Two wishes added to our tree in work today...


XIAO LONG BAO...

This was an interesting experience. Xiao Long Bao. Or soup dumpling if it's easier. Jill and I had dinner on Friday night and ordered one of these each. Not a very pleasant experience for me. I was too excited and didn't think that it would be boiling hot inside...I burnt my tongue! Ouch!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

PARTY AT THE PALACE...

The party we have all been waiting for! We were hoping that our efforts would put every in the Christmas mood as it's very hard to feel Christmassy here when it's so warm! Preperation pretty much started Friday evening at 8pm and ran through until the party kicked off at 6pm yesterday evening. We were expecting about 25 people but as you can see below, we catered for about 50! So much food!


But all so yummy. Mulled wine, a huge turkey, a leg of lamb, honey roasted ham, garlic mash, carrots, boiled potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, red cabbage and apple, stuffing balls, sweet potatoes with marshmallow (provided by Eric who is American), brusselsprouts with bacon and roasted potatoes (from the lovely Arlene and Liam) cheesy mashed potato with bacon bits (from Corine) mince pies (homemade by Char) cheeseboard (from Tom, Rach, Melissa, Greg & Sharon), more mince pies (from Erica and Steve) bread sauce (homemade by Jill) loads of gravy and of course Vodka jellies (made by Vic). Needless to say, there was loads left over, and as I write Jill is cooking up some bubble and squeak for our tea. Brings back lots of memories mum! A massive thank you to everyone who brought extras along. I think the girls and I will be eating leftovers into the New Year!


Entertainment was provided from all the musical talent! Tom, Liam, Mike and Rach rocked out a few Christmas tunes and got a great sing-song going. My ultimate highlight was our own version of Band Aid 2010. Check out the video on my facebook page. A massive thank you to those guys for providing such good tunes for us all. Tom and Rach still amaze me everytime they sing and Tom's recently been asked to host an open mic night here which we are all looking forward to supporting him at.


Rachel did a grand job of organising a girls against guys "Name Game" where the girls absolutely smashed the guys (although they will say they won!) which as it always does provided some laughs. I think we wrapped up at about 4am this morning. But definitely a Christmas party that has given me a great set of memories for my first Christmas in Singapore. Not quite sure how we will top that next year though!


So it's arrived. My second Christmas ever away from home and I'm feeling really sad as I write this. I've just had a few Skype calls with John and Darren, Amanda and my gorgeous mini-Coles. And despite the fact that its 30 degrees and I'm sat here in my bikini there really is no place like home at Christmas and I'm missing everyone so much. Congratulations to Kelly, Rob and of course Annabel who welcomed Charlie to their family this week. I can not wait to meet the little man! Happy Birthday to little Lauren who turns 18 tomorrow. To all the Bridgend girls, have a fantastic Christmas and I hope all the kids enjoy. To everyone in Windsor, hope you had a great 1HQ party...but where are the pictures?!? Lauren and Kenny...enjoy Ireland and give my love to Pat and Joan. Jennie and Stu...enjoy yourselves and hope you aren't working too much overtime! Amanda and Stew, have a great time gorgeous and I look forward to hearing how you all celebrated! To all my other friends and family who read this, enjoy every minute of your celebrations. And last but not least, Mum and Dad, you know that I'll be thinking of you and I miss you more than I can describe and hope that you, Chris, Terresa, Aunty Rose and Al have a great day. I can not describe how much excitement I am containing for my trip home when I get to see everyone again. Merry Christmas everybody! See you all in 2011!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM...

Slightly late due to Tom visiting Mikey in Sydney, this week we celebrated Tom's birthday. We visited SaVanh Bistro and Lounge on Club Street which is the original Indochine Restaurant in Singapore. A cool venue with raw exposed brickwork, high mirrored ceilings and walls and a large waterfall of black stones and bamboo with gently cascading water. Chandeliers and Asian artifacts sit amongst the tables. It's a pretty cool restaurant and really convenient for me as Club Street is literally the street parallel to where I work. As a surprise, I took along a friend to help Tom celebrate. Nick. And no mum, he wasn't here in person. I printed him off and stuck him on foamboard. But bless you for thinking he had actually flown out just for Tom's Birthday. I think that would have made Tom's night!

CONGRATULATIONS...

A massive congratulations to Chris and Terresa for both passing their Sergeants exams this week. I am so proud of you both and I'm looking forward to adding this to the list of other things that I'll be celebrating when I visit home in the New Year! Lots of love to you both.



Sunday, December 12, 2010

IT'S PARTY TIME AGAIN...

After the success of our last housewarming party the girls and I have decided to have a small gathering to celebrate Christmas with all our close friends before we all head off in separate directions. It's still such a bizarre concept celebrating Christmas here right now as it's so hot! But, we're going to be turing the apartment into a festive funhouse for the night and have turkey, lamb and ham on order. Watch this space for pictures!

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Sunday, December 05, 2010

THE WHITE RABBIT...

The White Rabbit is a restaurant and bar housed in an awe-inspiring restored old chapel located in Dempsey, not far from where we live. The girls and I decided to have dinner there this weekend. They serve a fresh take on both classic European comfort food and age-old cocktails - all inspired by the past while cleverly showcasing the present.






The building inside is fantastic. Simple and beautiful. The design team have kept existing elements as much as possible, such as the timber structure, mosiac floor tiles and decorative iron window grilles. The name "White Rabbit" comes straight from Lewis Carroll's famous classic "Alice in Wonderland". The covered outdoor terrace, also named as The Rabbit Hole, houses an outdoor bar and access to the garden where we sat and drunk our pre-dinner cocktails. Black and white mosaic tiles with an Alice in Wonderland referenced tongue-in-cheek message 'Drink me' inscribed marks out the bar. The cocktail menu is an eclectic mix of the old and new. I opted for the White Rabbit's version of the popular Cuban Mojito, which they call Black Forest Mojito. Yummy.

Equally as yummy was the food. We opted for "The White Rabbit Degustation Menu" which was delicious!



The food was delicious as were the cocktails and I had a really enjoyable evening. Very Sex in the City like. Which was a lot more civilised than the night before! So, here I'll introduce to you my flatmates. Or as we have become know "The River Palace Girls". I've spoken about them lots already but not sure if many of you have seen faces. Jill is looking pretty in pink in the middle and Victoria pretty in polka dots on the right.


Another eventful weekend has been and gone. Yesterday it was three months to the day since I arrived in Singapore. Which I find incredible. In just 16 days we will be heading off to Thailand for Christmas!

Friday, December 03, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL...

This week we celebrated Rachel's birthday doing two of Rachel's favourite things. Eating cheese and drinking wine. Wine Connection on Robertson Walk has become one of our more frequently visited places! The bistro has a really relaxed atmosphere and it's an ideal spot to grab a bottle of wine and a cheese platter and catch up on a week night after work. Hope you enjoyed your birthday Rach!