Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

I have so many travel backlogs and I'm on the verge of giving up blogging about them all but everytime I look at my old posts, I get reminded why I want to do this. I like the composing part but hate uploading the images. 

So this was pre-covid, 9 Aug 2019. 
Went to Vietnam with the family for a short trip. 

Biggest Accomplishment in 2021

Bought a car for my dad! He has been riding a motorcycle to work for years and I always find it dangerous especially during wet weather. He often has to go under heavy rain with just a raincoat too. 

It's a second hand entry level car but good enough for his commute to work everyday. 

Turning 31

Oh my, I just realized that I haven't posted anything for half a year. And I thought it was only 1-2 months. 

Lets post photos from my 31st birthday, before I turn 32 with a blink of an eye. 

Hokkaido, Japan

Shortly after blogging about my trip to Taiwan in 2018, I realize that I have yet to blog about my trip to Hokkaido in December 2017! I really should blog about my trips immediately after instead of procrastinating. 

We arrived in Hokkaido at 3pm and the sky was already dim. At 5pm, it became totally dark. So for this trip, we were out and about by 630am on most days and back in hotel by evening. 

Helsinki, Finland

 

Taiwan - Kaohsiung

I didn't visit Kaohsiung during my first trip to Taiwan so I was kinda excited for it during this trip. 

Our itinerary was Taipei - Kaohsiung - Taipei and I blogged about the Taipei part here: http://www.estherxie.com/2021/04/taiwan-2018-taipei.html

On the way to Kaohsiung, we passed by Chiayi and visited some of the tourist stops too. 

First, the High Heel Wedding Church, which has lots of cute backdrops for us to take photos. 

Taiwan 2018 - Taipei

Wow how time flies! It has been more than a year since I last travelled due to the pandemic but I guess it's a chance to catch up on my travel back log! 

I went to Taiwan in December 2018 and visited Taipei and Kaohsiung. I'd focus more on Taipei in this entry! 

Netflix

Netflix subscription is one of the best things that happened to me in recent years. Haha. I cannot imagine a life without Netflix anymore. 

Just wanted to make a list of my all-time-favourite shows on Netflix, the ones that I really enjoyed and would recommend to anyone. 

Reality Series

- Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

- Selling Sunset

Drama Series

- Black Mirror  (It's my most most most favourite series ever.) 

- Modern Family (I only started watching Modern Family in September last year. How slow am I?? The good thing is, I am able to binge watch all 200+ episodes that was aired over 11 years at one go. I love the funny dialogues and I like the overall lighthearted pace and positivity.) 

- Izombie (Not sure why but somehow I'm hooked episode after episode.)

- Snowpiercer (Love the concept.)

- Into the Night (Very few episodes, can binge watch at one go like a movie)

- Crash Landing on You (not a fan of K-drama but this was good)

- American Horror Stories

Movies 

-Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (I watched this in the theater but rewatched on Netflix)

-All the Money in the World (I watched this in the theater but rewatched on Netflix)

- The Impossible (I watched this in the theater but rewatched on Netflix)

- The Platform

- Circle

- Fracture

- Inception 

- Pretty Woman

- The Laundromat

- The Terminal

- The Martian (I watched this in the theater but rewatched on Netflix)

Comedy Specials 

- Baby Cobra

- Hard Knock Wife

Staycay at Hotel Michael + Panamericana

Had a all-girls staycation at Hotel Michael with my mum and sis late last year! 

Ramen for lunch~

Redeemed some tokens for free games at Headrock VR.

The zombie busters was quite fun but game over so fast!

Panamericana has fantastic views!

The interior is also really pretty. 

Food was awesome too!

Staycay at M Social

Booked a staycation at M Social to celebrate my 30th birthday in October! 

Initially booked Intercontinental Robertson Quay but afterwards they had to cancel my reservation as they were serving SHN guests :( 

Check in time was 3pm but there was a super long queue outside the entrance - only then I googled and realise this was the norm for M social. The wait time was 45 minutes to 1 hour before we got our room. 

Feeling extra so I got these huge balloons for myself. haha. 

Love the room interior and it was the main reason why we booked M Social even though there was a lack of the usual facilities in this hotel. Pretty gold walls! The room was much smaller than I expected. I had already expect it to be small but it was smaller than small. It was impossible to take a full pic of the room unless I float outside the window hahaha. Still, a cozy room for two! 

       

  

Looks pretty in the day and blinds drawn up!

There is no room service in this hotel... Guests can order through the menu in the room and then pick up at the restaurant downstairs. Wasn't expecting much when I ordered the Avocado Salmon Tartine from Beast and Butterflies but it is probably the nicest I ever had. It was a huge piece and I initially only wanted to eat half because I had a massage session right after, but I ended up eating it all. 

M Social rooms are quite affordable and pretty and there are many dining options around the area. It's probably okay for tourists but I personally prefer a full-fledge hotel for my next staycation! 

--

I feel like time is moving too fast. Hopefully time will slow down in my 30s. 

Gattopardo Ristorante Di Mare

Got to know this restaurant when we were finding some place to have lunch one of the weekends! Most of the place we wanted to go was fully booked but luckily this one was still available. 

Gattopardo Ristorante Di Mare

34 Tras St, Singapore 079026

Hosting Lunch at Home

Over the weekend, I hosted lunch for the mm girls at my place.

Lychee Moscato to add to the mood!

For starter, we have Pan Seared Foie Gras with Scallop

Homemade buns topped with Cheese and Sugar

Cheesy baked mushrooms

Main course was Salmon in garlic butter sauce with roasted potatoes and asparagus

Banana cake for dessert

We spent the afternoon playing with my home-manicure kit and mahjong~ Introduced the girls to "Selling Sunset", a reality show series that I really enjoy and we watched an entire season at one go. Haha. 

Can't wait for the next gathering with these girls! 

 

Genting 2017

Yes, that's right. It's not a typo. Genting in 2017. That's how long I have procrastinate to blog about it. Haha. So we had a family trip with my grandparents to the "new" Genting soon after the indoor renovations was done.