Dive Operator:  Paya Divers Cove, Tioman
Resort Name:    Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort
Name:                 Grace Chua
Mobile:                8113 1830
Email:                  dive@payabeach.com

Date:                   29/4/06 to 1/5/06 (3 days 2 nights)
Price:                  $420 (non-peak rate)
Includes:            Equipment, course materials, application forms, breakfast and accomodation
Excludes:           Lunch and dinner, leisure dives
Dive covered:   5 dives. Compulsory - Multilevel diving, deep diving, underwater navigation diving. Choose 2 out of 3 - Wreck Diving, Night Diving, Drift Diving.
Journey:             Coach departs from opposite far east plaza early in the morning. About 2.5hours bus ride to Mersing Jetty. Ferry departs around 12pm from Mersing Jetty. 2hours ferry to Paya Beach jetty. Of course if jam/peak season can expect jams/longer waiting hours.

My Dive details:  We did the 3 compulsory dives plus night and wreck diving. Was recommended by friends to do night diving to get the experience so that in future if you want to do night diving, at least you have done it before. For wreck diving we just went to see a wreck but realised we already see wrecks during other dives (e.g. deep diving). So i think it may be a better choice to do drift diving as there are more techniques to learn.

Accomodation details:   If there are vacancies, ask for the huts (4 to a room with 1 queen size bed and a single bed with a lower pulled-out bed). When we went, huts were full so we had to take the lodge (4 to a room with two double-decker beds). Both the huts and lodge have attached bathrooms hot water and air conditioned. But the lodge doesn't provide a kettle for boiling water. The huts are definitely more spacious and comfortable.

Meals details:    The resort has a restaurant. The food is good, variety wide but the price is expensive. One plate of fried rice is about RM 8 and one plate of beef horfun is RM12. One small pizza (4-slices) is RM16 and one chicken chop maybe RM22.

Outside the resort are 2 other zi-cha places (all walkable distances). You can get cheaper food from these places which are nice.  For the one just outside the resort, you can try the maggie goreng (it is really maggie mee). There's another one nearer to the jetty which is supposedly better for the zi-cha dishes. It also has very good satay and stingray. Eric and his friend fav is the Ramly burger selling at the zi-cha place near the jetty. It's RM3, so buy 2 still cheaper than the fried rice at the resort.

They have two mama shops there. The water and snacks are also slightly more expensive than Singapore's NTUC. But still bearable since you don't spend a lot on them anyway. One 1.5 ltr bottle of water is RM3.

There's a beach pub at the opposite end from the jetty. Calsburg selling at RM3.50, hot milo is nice. Quite a cosy place.

Others:    Although we booked with Grace, we were eventually taught by another dive instructor called Funny who is a Japanese. She is also not bad but Grace is better because her English is better.

If you want to do additional leisure dives in-between, I think they charge $100-120 for 2 dives. Ask for this dive master called Emi (pronounced as Amy).

Seriously. I always dream I can fly. You think I can't? I can ok.

Anyway I dreamt that I flew again. And later became a bird. I realised when I dream I can fly I am always running away from sth. From what I can recall.

1) Flying in IJ school Uniform. That time I wasn't flying away from anything. More of flying out of school. Maybe I can feel myself drifting further and further away from school. No longer a student mah!

2) Flying away from enemy #1. Don't remember why but that flight I saw a damn beautiful sunset. Really nice! Clouds, sun, light and all. Never seen such a beautiful sunset than in my dream.

3) Flying away from enemy #2. I think was a part of a human-cum-bird clan. But anyhow those few days there were birds chatting away on my roof top. Maybe that's why I dreamt I became a bird - a black crow to be specific. Oh I saw a very nice starry night sky during that flight. And i still told myself in the dream that I can really fly because I almost hit a tree and was grabbing onto the tree brunches. I told myself I can really feel the tree brunch in my hands mah, so it should be real.

Anyway, my own dream analysis: I think I wanna run away from something. What ah? Work? Bf? family? Singapore? Friends? Stress? Realities of a boring life? i dunno man.

No matter what. I still believe I can fly. U never know how it feels like flying unless you can consciously dream of it. I don't think many people can. So I'm sure I have some special skills :)

Fly Away - As free as a Bat

The dreadful day has come.... Photo Selection.

total photo count: 320 (i think)
original photo package costing $3,388 includes: big and small album with 22 photos, portrait, 24 3 r photos

How to stick to original package??? So tricky can...

Anyway so i topped up $1,300 to get the following more:
- change of thick album to thinner one (more stylish)
- magazine style
- 12 series (24 pages) but smaller size 10" i think...instead of 15"
- 50 - 60 selected photos
- 80 softcopy (including selected photos)
- portrait (magazine style) 4-6 photos
- table top (magazine style) 3 photos

The final product better turn out good!

Things for couples to look out for:
1) how many pages of photos given...what size
2) what album cover you are getting (what kind of cover, thickness, etc)
3) what is the quality of the design/finishing (one page one photo or magazine style)
4) include wedding car and chauffeur?
5) any table top, portrait, etc?
6) if they give loose 3R photos, try to convert to another page in the album instead
7) look at their gowns and see whether it suits your style coz you will most likely end up using the off-the-rack gowns
8) how much you have to pay to top up photos... sure top up one... so always build it into your budget. The market rate is about $75 for each full page... then about $150 for full page (for so-called magazine style with more than 1 photos per page).
9) flexible enough to loan you suits or gowns for parents/PIL? or bridesmaid/best man?
10) who are the photographers? look at the display albums to see whether the photos are good
11) if you sign up at a roadshow or wedding show, find out where is their bridal shop especially if you don't have a car. You will have to make at least 8-10 trips to that place during you wedding preparation period.
12) For those driving, before going down, check out the cheapest parking rates around. You will spend around 3-5hrs at the bridal shop for each trip depending on the purpose of the trip.
13) usually have to top up for ampoules/fake eyelashes, use of makeup artist before and after certain times, etc. So check out the kind of rates first.

Anyway was a bit disappointed with the photos. Didn't really turn out as well as i have hoped for. I thought i looked really pretty in person that day but not as pretty in the photos leh! Thought i was photogenic?? I mean i looked ok lar, above average, but not spectacular leh! (Expecting too much!). Lucky not all the photos turned out good if not i would have had to top up so much more!! I so want the softcopies back... ALL of them... but... i guess they won't do that for me one.

Suddenly thought I should go write about my photoshoot on 27 Feb 2006 (Monday).

Was really excited about it for the longest time. Lucky for me everything went smoothly! didn't have to worry about a thing man!

				10am			Reported for PS and started the make up. It was so CoooL! I loved the braided-cheena looking hairstyle she did for my KUA outfit (1st outfit). And i had like fake eyelashes on with fake double eyelids and damn big eyes! really really really look like a doll. I loved it. Totally~
				11am			Yes. It took 1 WHOLE hour to do my makeup. Eric's one took like 5 mins?? Anyway we did our first Kua photoshoot. So funny. Had to pose and all that. I tried the cool smile. But the PG didn't like it. keke... so well...did the big signature smile of mine throughout! and she loved it. Oh she kept making me do that, slant one side, twist that butt, tilt the head, look cute thing.
				12pm			I think we did the blue gown first, followed by the pink, then the 2nd wedding gown, then the wedding gown i loved best. Oh gosh. i really loved the last wedding gown look. She bun up my hair. And I was thinking, die, my long neck! But she kept some down and gave me this really BIG veil. I think i looked like an elegant princess. Simply loved it. Oh Eric looked really cool in this white suit and pink shirt attire. Like a Jappy star. hehe. hope the photos turn out as CoOl.
				4.30pm			Didn't select outdoor gown. was told to do so on the PS day. They recommended me this 3/4 length gown so that I can see my shoes. It's like a ballerina gown with this ribbon just below my bust. It's really unique. That ribbon thing is kinda in nowadays. So i thought WHY NOT? They gave me this mini-tiara on my left parting. So fun! Anyway during the outdoor shoot i heard comments like, so cute! kekeke... "i'm loving it. Totally~"
				5pm			Started outdoor PS at that Big Fir Tree at Sentosa. Luckily we were there like a split second earlier than the other 3 or 4 couples! The interesting thing was we CLIMBED up the tree branch. So fun. heh. I was like hop hop, trot trot, and there i was. The assistant PG was shocked. He wanted to get the PG to demo how to climb trees to me. What FOR? i'm a monkey as it is.
				5.30pm			Went to Tanjong beach. Did a beach shoot. Blue skies, white clouds, bridge pictures, sand pictures and..... SUN SET pictures. That was the "highlight". Coz apparently, it was difficult to get that ROUND sunset.... going down down down. anyway we spent some time waiting and got some fantastic shots (ihope).
				7pm			Time for night shots. We went to Clarke Quay, Fullerton, ESplanade so on. Some bridge shots, hotel shots, quay shots.
				9.30pm			The day finally ended with delicious geylang beef horfun!

Poor Eric. Was scolded to have "no sincerity" all the way. Coz he didn't really know how to smile properly. Kekkeke....lucky i still had my signature smile on.

Alright. photo selection is on 19th Mar! really scared man. Think they will make me top up a lot. :(

We'll see how....

Went to select gowns yesterday the second time. Gotta put a short post to show the 4 gowns I have shortlisted!


This is a white wedding gown. I simply love the flares, the intricate designs and flow of it all. Somehow, whenI first wore it, I felt this was it!


This is a pink evening gown. the flares a bit like my previous wedding gown. But I love the colour, the pink flowers and the whole sweetening effect it has on me!


This blue evening gown didn't turn out as good as in person. I'm hoping photo editing can help this time round!! Overall, it still looks nice.


This is the second wedding gown. The top part is very elegant and tastefully done! It just fits well on me. Perhaps it's thickness make me look more proportionate. But it's kinda like my first wedding gown and the pink evening gown in terms of the flare of the lower part!!

oh dear, now that I have put all of them together, I think my taste is quite standard and  the gowns are all similar. Is it boring??

Today's Christmas. There won't be a better day to arrange for a parents-meet-the-parent-in-law session! Can you imagine? My parents meeting Eric's? Been getting butterflies in my stomach the whole week. Wondering what will they feel when they meet? will they have things to say? will it be awkward??

We had the dinner at Peach Garden, Thomson Road. I love the carrot cake there which is the whole reason why I chose that place. $8 a plate! ridiculously nice plate of carrot cake. The mistake was taking the dinner set $388+++ for 8 persons. Besides the starter (beancurd) and desert (sago with mango and honey dew), everything else was just so-so. But it was high class food like shark's fin and sea cucumber, etc. I guess I'm just not cut out for high class food. I'm still so full after the 8-course dinner.

Yup alright, so for half the dinner, my dad was interrogating Eric's brother, Derick. Apprently his name is Jun He. Can u imagine, I've been to their house SOOooo many times and yet I've never really talked to him before. Surprising thing is he is quite friendly to my dad and doesn't look irritated with his questions. Unlike my brother who was avoiding every possible question shooting at him. Derick also bothered to laugh at my comments. Ok perhaps next time I go to his house we won't be like strangers anymore.

The other half, my parents and his parents started talking about 4-dian-jing and ping li and all that. I wasn't really interested. But the take home was that I need to buy 2 new pillows, a blanket and a tea set (from china town). Time for shopping again.

Alright, I guess dinner didn't sound significant at all. But at least everyone met and the ice has been broken. The next time we meet, it will be easier to talk.

Always wanted to play REAL golf at a golf course. First time I picked up a club was when I was J1 or J2. My cousin, Xianji, an insurance agent, took up 10-session golf with me. It was at Seletar Driving Range. I think we only finished 9 sessions, the last one was supposed to be a 9-hole golf game which we never got around doing. That was also the time I got my finally-am-using Shitaku golf set from a warehouse sale, $300 - $400 (not that much of a sale right?).

In uni year 1 or 2 I took up another golf lesson, this time with 4 other uni frens (James, Huifen, Edwin, Gekping) and we played somewhere at Lakeview. I don't think I picked up anything new and my skills were just as bad. It was more of a social event.

During my professional attachment at the Singapore Island Country Club in unit year 2, I got my first glimpse of a golf course. Must have been really lucky coz I heard SICC is one of the best golf courses around. I must say, the view is breathtaking and the most serene places i've ever been too. As my work involved stock-taking, we had the golf course manager, Jimmy, ferrying us around on a buggy to count buggies and other golf equipment. Who else would have had such an enjoyable PA??

Perhaps the most important reason why I have this interest in golf is my dad plays golf too. I remember when I was young (primary school), every sunday would be Raffles Country Club day. My bro and I would have our swimming lessons while my dad plays golf. After which we'll have lunch at the golf terrace. The view was like a painting. It is even prettier when the sun is about to set. At that time, i always wondered, "if the view's so good at the golf terrace, what is it like on the golf course itself? So the only way to find out was to play golf so that I can visit a golf course. 

So finally, the day came  4-5 yrs after I first picked up golf. It was 19 Nov 2005 (Saturday) -->18 hole game at Bintan Laggon Resorts. The players: my dad, Theng Theng and Lee Peng. Theng Theng and Lee Peng are my driving force, they are the ones who made my dream come true. Ever since I got to know them through a SIM competition, we have been practising golf at the Marina South driving range every week. Theng Theng also gave me many useful pointers which helped me improve my skills. After the game, they said I have officially graduated. Apparently, I had played a good game, far better than any first-timers would possibly have done. I guess it was because at least I managed to hit the ball and the ball did fly. But my putting and pitching really sucks, need to work on that.

Bintan Lagoon's golf course was very nice but not as good as SICC I would say. I remember that the 18th hole was really perfect. You tee off on top of a hill where u you face a downward slope of green lash grass which ends just in front of the golf clubhouse, behind which is a small beach area and the vast open sea. Such a pity I didn't bring my bro's digicam. The next time I go, I'll HAVE to bring it and take down that view!!

It was a great game. That was the first time ALL my tee offs were successful (only tried for last 9 holes). I've never been confident of my tee offs, but somehow under that relaxing and encouranging environment, I manged to do my best. My dad played a part again. He advised me to use only 7-iron (including tee off) first because it's the club I am most confident with and it will give me higher morale if I could hit well for the first few holes. That strategy really worked. I would say it's a must-use advice for first-time golf gamers!

When will my next game be? Let's make it March 06 or Jun 06.