2010: the year in review

2010 was a good year with many transitions and here are some of my favourite memories.

Adjusted to being back in Singapore after a glorious six months in Stockholm. Had the final semester to complete, took my last undergraduate exam in May and was off to Europe for six weeks on a graduation trip. Made sure I got home by June 17th for my grandfather’s 88th birthday. graduated in early July and went on course full time. Took the professional exam (7 consecutive exams!) in December and ohmyword where did the year go?

To answer all the friends who’ve been asking why I’ve been traveling like crazy instead of working, well, my graduating class lucked out and we only start work in February 2011. Previous classes traditionally started work in June, a month after their last exam, then resumed their training contracts right after finishing the Exam, i.e early December. Without boring you with the technical details, there have been some industry shake ups and with new rules in place, I only start work after the results are out. And nobody knows when that will be! Not complaining though :) Why wouldn’t I appreciate a two month break before starting work?

But I get ahead of myself. This was supposed to be about 2010! So. By the time February 2010 came around, I was starting to feel the familiar wanderlust itch and decided it was time to travel. Had ingeniously planned my classes such that I had a (crazy) two day week. This inverse weekend was a childhood dream of mine and am so glad I managed to pull it off in my final semester of university. So with ample time on my hands, I went to the Middle East (Bahrain, Riyadh, Kuwait and Dubai) around my birthday.

View of Bahrain from the Capital Club

Lunch at a traditional village in Riyadh

Hovering over the oil fields in Kuwait

Dubai

After the Arabian adventures, I joined friends in Phuket for the weekend in their holiday home in March. Had the best time languishing in their villa and got some snorkeling done, too!

By the time April swung round, I decided to take my “take home” exam to Hoi Ann for a family friend’s birthday party. It was an unusual holiday where I spent a few hours after breakfast banging away at my laptop before holidaying the rest of the day away. There was a UNESCO site to be seen, and lots of Spanish “fiesta fiesta” after dark.

Made it home in time to submit my paper, and then it was time to hunker down for exam season. Crammed for a week, had exams for a week then it was off again, this time to Paris! Went up the Seine to Normandy and back, stopping each day at a little Seine-side town (Les Andelys, Rouen, Normandy, Caudebec, Honfleur, Vernon, Giverny) for fresh produce and mini-excursion. 

After a week on a barge with great food and better company, my parents handed me over in Paris and we continued to Tuscany (Pise, Bibona, Monterigionni, Rignana, Chianti, Siena, Lucca). Tuscany was amazing, vineyards as far as the eye could see and endless olive groves. Had the best wine, and freshest olive oil ever. The carbo-heavy holiday with pasta pasta pizza pasta was a carbohydrate queen’s dream :)

Spent some time in Paris before going on to Stockholm where I had a glorious week with my friends who were still there. It was a second shot at being on exchange, and ironically it was as if I had gone back to say “bye”, seeing how I left Stockholm for good last year, while everyone had just left for Christmas. Then again, saying goodbye for a second time to all the beautiful people I had grown to really like was just awful.

This is where the graduation trip gets exciting. I bid Stockholm “hejdag” a second time and went on to Spain all by myself. Plus points for bravery! Was in Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid but it was as if I wasn’t meant to be on my own. Multiple chance meetings meant that I was blessed with ready company (and good food) as and when I wanted some. 

Parc Guell, Barcelona

El Tigre, Madrid

Concluded the great graduation trip as Jeanne’s guest in Aix and was spoilt rotten by her warm provencale hospitality. One last night in Paris in my home away from home in the 16th and then it was back to Singapore for Gramp’s 88th on 17th June.

Tell a lie. Between Gramp’s 88th on 17th June and Granny’s 84th  on the 27th, I went to Saigon with two couples! But it’s not as heroic as it sounds, seeing as how they’re my oldest friends in  university and very dear to me. So dear that it erased any potential weirdness. But I did make sure I’d a single room...  ;)

Graduated in July with all the pomp and ceremony that my university could muster (i.e. not very much…) and, officially, began the prep course for the professional exam. But before long, wanderlust got the better of me yet again and it was off to Hong Kong to pick up my graduation present, then a road trip to Port Dickson over National Day in August.  

Realized how efficient  it was to travel over public holidays and made the most of the September Hari Raya long weekend with a trip down under to visit Team Australia and Jeanne in Perth. It was surreal to see the usual suspects on home turf and they took excellent care of me, with day trips to the Swan Valley for wine, cheese and chocolate, and more urban comforts like chic bars and the best burger in the city.

Back in Singapore, I played the happy tour guide with dear friends Roos, Floor and Javier visiting over the mid-autumn festival. Always thrilled when bringing friends around means I discover cool new places, too :)

And this is a bit jumbled but catching the National Day Parade from the sea was kinda funny because you get to see the flag and spare (that no one else sees!)

Having already paid for an Australian visa, a fortnight after getting back from Perth, it was off to Sydney to visit Dana and Kaier. Had a life-changing meal at Tetsuya’s, was unimpressed by Quay, and lunched at Lucio’s three days in a row.

That said, I still prefer Tetsuya's Waku Ghin in Singapore :) Singers boleh!

 
Went to Kuching for a wedding in late October and discovered the joys of freshly prepared Ko Lo Mee. Almost worth the squeeze that was a large dose of extended family! And after Kuching it felt like party season back home! Had a small "Sarong Party" for friends, in addition to riding "Bongo's Bus" at Halloween. In case you're curious, I went as a "fashion faux pas" (inspired by the many "bad taste" parties we had in Stockholm) which is way more scary than any blood-sucking vampire you might meet ;)

Threw a "Sarong Party" in September and was thrilled when the very obliging guestlist came in their kampong best. Do note Ee Hui the Sarong Party Girl on the right, complete with token white boy in tow!

Rounded off October with the Shanghai Expo a week after Sydney. Fell in love with the Puli Hotel, and felt like one in a million in the worst possible way in the jostling crowd at the Expo. China at its push-and-shove best :/ Thank God for fast passes and buggies. 

During the study break in November, I allowed myself to be lulled into a false sense of complacency and upped to Japan. Checked out two exquisite ryokans in the countryside before spending a week in Tokyo, my favourite city.

Of course, this also meant I returned with a week to mug and promptly had a mini panic attack.

Immediately post-exam, i seemed to have lost all urge to go out at night :/ and instead accompanied granny to hong kong for her first trip out of singapore in a decade! Thankfully after having her confuse me with the help (she calls me the help's name, and vice versa) I was released to India where I was certain she would never follow me. Which brings us up to speed! Just got home from a week in Goa with friends, hence this relatively late (but still early!) Christmas post. Wanted to say hello and thank you for your indulgence. It is a very long post. Season’s greetings and may 2011 treat you even better than 2010 did. Here’s wishing you a holiday season filled with warmth and love.