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Going Solo

Published by SIXPEGS

I never knew how people did it – travelling alone, that is.

It is 4:21am and I should really be sleeping now but I am overwhelmed with both fear and excitement that I think it will be hard for me to drift into lala-land. So I might as well blog.

A small part of me always wanted to travel alone; to depend on absolutely no one but myself, to go wherever I want to go, eat whatever I want to eat and sleep in till however late I want because there is no one to answer to. But I was always afraid to have “Travel Solo” in my Bucket List because that would almost mean that I am challenging myself to do it someday. I’m useless like that.

I am now going through a little phase in my life where I think I need to find myself. If I’m not mistaken, I remembered myself to be a braver person – someone who was not afraid to speak one’s mind and act on one’s thoughts. I had confidence in myself and my choices in life. But for the last one month, I think I had more than 5 people tell me that I have lost myself. We all agreed that I need to find that person back.

So when I booked my ticket half an hour ago to my first solo trip to Hong Kong, I was nervous, worried, apprehensive, and equally proud of myself. 30 years and this is the first time I am doing this.

– – –

I think the reasons for going on a solo trip is important; the mindset one has before one sets off on a solo trip has to be correct. I have to admit that initially, the idea of wanting to run off to somewhere on my own was because I was unhappy and upset with everything happening back here. I wanted an escape, an outlet to vent my anger, and a reason to make myself believe that I am still that person brave enough to lift my chin up and put my foot down on things and people I don’t see eye to eye with.

But she’s gone.

Circumstances, the environment and people, they have moulded me into something else.

It took me a while to notice this: running away is never going to help me or anyone. Running away might make me forget, but it will not take away my disappointment. And running away does not show that I am brave, on the contrary, it makes me a coward. So, I am learning not to see my trip as me running away, but as a learning trip for me to find out more about myself, to spend time with the Peggy inside of me who was dying away without my knowledge.

I find myself hating myself sometimes. And that is really sad. Because if I don’t love myself, how do I expect someone else to love me?

I digressed.

I picked Hong Kong because although I’ve been there twice, I never really knew my way around the city because I was always following somebody, or was rushing around. I was also afraid to head off to somewhere totally unfamiliar or somewhere where everyone spoke in a foreign language. I know it’s always busy there, so I reckoned I won’t be all by myself afterall, even though I’m surrounded by nothing but total strangers.

I wonder if I would feel lonely – being all by myself in a city where the people are always rushing, streets are always bustling and the nights that don’t sleep. When I hear something funny, do I just laugh to myself? When I want to make a comment at something, do I just pull out the little book from my bag to jot it down? Who should I ask if I need help in making a decision? Will I lose my way? What if I fall sick? As much as I try to hide it, I think I am genuinely, deeply fearful of being alone.

I am still trying to figure out what I want out of this trip. I guess for now, a small part of me still sees it as an escape. I am trying to shut that annoying part of me away. I’m not sure how we are going to ride the tide. Deep down, is this what I want? I don’t know.

I think this fear of being alone will be the reason that will make this trip a significant one in my life.

Alonedom

Published by SIXPEGS

If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you’ve not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren’t okay with it, then just wait. You’ll find it’s fine to be alone once you’re embracing it.

We could start with the acceptable places, the bathroom, the coffee shop, the library. Where you can stall and read the paper, where you can get your caffeine fix and sit and stay there. Where you can browse the stacks and smell the books. You’re not supposed to talk much anyway so it’s safe there.

There’s also the gym. If you’re shy you could hang out with yourself in mirrors, you could put headphones in.

And there’s public transportation, because we all gotta go places.

And there’s prayer and meditation. No one will think less if you’re hanging with your breath seeking peace and salvation.

Start simple. Things you may have previously avoided based on your avoid being alone principals.

The lunch counter. Where you will be surrounded by chow-downers. Employees who only have an hour and their spouses work across town and so they – like you – will be alone.

Resist the urge to hang out with your cell phone.

When you are comfortable with eat lunch and run, take yourself out for dinner. A restaurant with linen and silverware. You’re no less intriguing a person when you’re eating solo dessert to cleaning the whipped cream from the dish with your finger. In fact some people at full tables will wish they were where you were.

Go to the movies. Where it is dark and soothing. Alone in your seat amidst a fleeting community.
And then, take yourself out dancing to a club where no one knows you. Stand on the outside of the floor till the lights convince you more and more and the music shows you. Dance like no one’s watching, because, they’re probably not. And, if they are, assume it is with best of human intentions. The way bodies move genuinely to beats is, after all, gorgeous and affecting. Dance until you’re sweating, and beads of perspiration remind you of life’s best things, down your back like a brook of blessings.

Go to the woods alone, and the trees and squirrels will watch for you.
Go to an unfamiliar city, roam the streets, there’re always statues to talk to and benches made for sitting give strangers a shared existence if only for a minute and these moments can be so uplifting and the conversations you get in by sitting alone on benches might’ve never happened had you not been there by yourself.

Society is afraid of alonedom, like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements, like people must have problems if, after a while, nobody is dating them. But lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless and lonely is healing if you make it.

You could stand, swathed by groups and mobs or hold hands with your partner, look both further and farther for the endless quest for company. But no one’s in your head and by the time you translate your thoughts, some essence of them may be lost or perhaps it is just kept.

Perhaps in the interest of loving oneself, perhaps all those sappy slogans from preschool over to high school’s groaning were tokens for holding the lonely at bay. Cause if you’re happy in your head then solitude is blessed and alone is okay.

It’s okay if no one believes like you. All experience is unique, no one has the same synapses, can’t think like you, for this be relieved, keeps things interesting life’s magic things in reach.

And it doesn’t mean you’re not connected, that community is not present, just take the perspective you get from being one person in one head and feel the effects of it. Take silence and respect it. If you have an art that needs a practice, stop neglecting it. If your family doesn’t get you, or religious sect is not meant for you, don’t obsess about it.

You could be in an instant surrounded if you need it.
If your heart is bleeding make the best of it.
There is heat in freezing, be a testament.

Source

Let’s Liese!

Published by SIXPEGS

Let’s talk about DIY Hair Dyes. I know we have all been tried it before. For me, it started when I was in secondary school, there were these weird 3%, 6%, 9% thingy I used to get from the pharmacies to lighten the colour of my hair (Sorry, Discipline Master.) But shopping for a box of DIY hair dye from drug stores now become such a difficult task because there are SO many different brands, so many different types of colours and application methods.

So when it comes to DIY hair dyes, are you #TeamFoam or #TeamCream?

If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably saw the little disagreement I had with my Mom when it comes down to this. Mom insisted that cream type hair dyes are better, and I am loyal to my #TeamFoam.

Mom thinks cream type hair dye will work better because the colour can be applied more evenly and it is better in quality. That is why the salons are still using cream dyes.

Well, good point. But throughout my years of trying out foam-based hair dyes, I was never once disappointed. Because foam dyes are so easy to apply (I can even do it without a mirror, it just like I’m washing my hair with the shampoo!), and the colour always seem very even for the many times I’ve tried.

Well, the thing is, cream-based AND foam-based hair dyes both have their benefits; the former for the non-drip kind of texture so that the hair dye will not become more and more “watery” as you’re sitting there, waiting for the colouring process to be done. Cream dyes also promises better grey hair coverage because the dyes “adhere” to hair better, and the results would be rich and long-lasting even colour.

Foam type dyes, on the other hand, has its benefits as well! Easy application is one because it’s just like shampooing! Foam type dyes also means it will be easier to cover hard-to-reach areas, and with foam, it is non-drip so you don’t have to ruin an old t-shirt every time you colour your own hair at home!

That does not sound fun. Haha!

This Mother’s Day, I am giving Mom a break from her grey hair, and also get rid of my sprouting greys. Growing old is not attractive at all, especially so with those budding grey hairs. 😦

Liese has a new line of creamy foam colours that works well on grey hair, and I’m excited to let Mom try it out for herself. Yes, you heard it right – it’s a creamy-foam type hair dye and it is the first time I’ve actually encountered something like that! I’m afterall quite a maestro in DIY hair colouring you know? Heh!

The new Liese Blaune Creamy Foam covers grey hair while giving you a brand new hair colour!

One important thing to note when using the Liese Blaune Creamy Foam Color is to make sure to only gently turn the bottle while mixing the dye in. Shaking too hard will cause bubbles to form in the mixture and it may not dispense as foam.

The hair dye started with a foamy texture and that made application easy breezy! I remember how used to have like a little bowl of hair dye and a comb/brush thing when when I coloured my Mom’s hair in the past.

As you can see, the dye is pretty much very airy and “bubbly” which makes it easy to be worked into a lather.

It really is so easy to put the foam type hair dye on compared to the cream type. Attaining an even application is no longer impossible! And since it’s foam, it also means that it’s non drip! See how Mom doesn’t even need to put a towel or an old t-shirt around her shoulders!

Grey hair, be gone!!

The foam thickens as your lather and the colour of the hair dye also changes gradually. I’d usually request whoever I’m working on tilt their heads to the side when I’m putting on the dye because I was afraid of the hair dye dripping. And this is especially so for foam type hair dyes as they have a higher tendency of becoming more “watery” over time.

To my surprise, this one didn’t drip a single bit as the foamy hair dye gradually became more viscous over time and you know what? It sticks to hair 4x better than usual foam colourants after lathering so this means more even coverage! Mom actually also commented that her hair is rather oily and her hair type usually causes such foam-based dyes to fade away and sort of “disappear” after a while (if you know what I mean).

This is the FIRST time I have tried a hair dye that turns from foam to cream, and I think it’s absolutely brilliant to create such a unique feature for the Liese Blaune Creamy Foam Color so we can reap the benefits of the two types of hair dye.

“No more head tilting, Ma.”

I picked Pinkish Brown as my colour, which is actually the lightest and reddest shade among the 8 colours Liese Blaune Creamy Foam Color currently offers. I like how the shades they offer are all very accessible, natural-looking shades. And although they only have 8 colours, I was actually spoilt for choice because the colours are all very attractive!

Quality, not quantity baby! :p

The dye goes on really easily, and with hair so short, I think I was done within 5 mins.

The foam texture of the hair dye as it comes out of the bottle makes it very easy to get to hard-to-reach areas, and as the product turn from foam to cream, it puts me at ease to know that I am going to finish with evenly colored hair. Haha! I am also loving the grey coverage of this hair dye as I’m spying a little bit of grey hair. It must be the stressful lifestyle. 😦

Just squeeze it on your hand, and massage the foam into a creamy lather!

I was supposed to work the foam into a lather in my hands before applying to my hair, but I find lathering it on my head works just as well! From foamy to CREAMY!

Another thing I really like about this product is that it’s packed with good stuff – Silk Essence to protect my hair while coloring and Royal Jelly Extract to moisturize my hair. In fact, this is the first time I didn’t get super mad dry hair after coloring my hair from a DIY dye from a box!

Look Ma, the foam turned to Cream!

The After-Colour Rinse Off Treatment was also super amazing! So much so that I wish they sold it in bottles man!

So whether you are TeamCream or TeamFoam, I think it is time to put down your weapons and join me at TeamCreamyFoam. Hahaha! Whether you’re looking for ease of application, or the good results that we usually get from cream-based hair dyes, I think this product has it all.

#HappyLiese~~Girls~~Women

Spot Liese box, Foam and Cream hair girls on 30 April, and 7, 8 May as they ply the streets of Orchard Road in front of Ngee Ann City Fountain and stand to win yourself some awesome Kao products, including the new Liese Creamy Foam Colour! Follow them on Instagram at @LieseSG for all the details!

The Liese Blaune Creamy Foam Color is available for purchase at all pharmacies, super and hypermarkets!

And here’s Mom and I looking fresh and happy at the dinner! 😀

Teetheehee

Published by SIXPEGS

It is a Friday night, A and I have nowhere to go.
“Ask some friends out leh, I thought you have a lot of friends,” I asked A.
Turned out that we really didn’t know where to go, didn’t felt like squeezing with the rest of Singapore to watch a movie so we came home.

A is now playing Wii alone (WAILS! SAD LIFE LEH US!) and I ended up packing my desk.

Then, I chanced upon this packet of stupid-looking dentures I bought last year (Dammit, I was wondering where all my money disappeared to, it must be because I spend so much money buying rubbish like that!).

I stood up and asked A if she would still love me if I looked like this:

Lovergirl said yes.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! #loveisblind

So, I went ahead and changed my looks and presented to her the “different sides of me” and Whatsapped her these:

许纯美look.

青春就是本钱

HA HA HA HA HA !

So chio, might as well just use better camera!

Title of this photo: “不能fuo的秘密”

I also heard this act like kitty thing is popular with girls. LOL.

#性感小猫龅咪

What if I’m only left with 6 teeth? I can totally pull it off!

“No need to pick lah, the gap so big, food won’t get stuck.”
Hmm, come to think of it. It’s true hor! Save on dental floss!!

Boys love 灿烂的笑容!

Then I noticed the two monkeys behind me stealing the limelight…

Ok, back to desk-packing. *sad life*

Eloping to San Francisco

Published by SIXPEGS

The preparation for our big day in San Francisco was both thrilling and nerve-wrecking.
From the booking of tickets, researching about the actual procedure of getting married, booking of flights and accommodation to make sure that the location and timing would work for the ceremony and other follow-ups that might be required – it all really took quite some planning. Now looking back, I am really glad that it all turned out well!

We picked San Francisco for obvious reasons; it is one of THE capital for the LGBT community, it is a gorgeous gorgeous city, and the City Hall (which was where we eventually got married in) is beyond beautiful and breathtaking. I fell in love with San Francisco instantly.

I received a few queries with regards to getting married overseas. Well, I guess I am not qualified to advise about the procedure for Singaporeans to get married overseas but I’d be more than happy to share my experiences getting hitched in San Francisco City Hall!

It all started with making appointments for registration of marriage licence and the ceremony itself (do note that this is two separate appointments for two different things). One tricky thing about this part is the appointments cannot be made more than 3 months in advance. Thus, we had to leave the booking of air tickets and accommodation after we secured these two appointments (yes we are quite kiasu when it comes to the booking of air tickets and accommodation).

We did not want to return to the City Hall twice to get both done on separate days so we went ahead and book the two slots with just a 1.5 hour break in-between. This arrangement turned out to be brilliant because we actually had time to get some photos taken in between and 1.5 hours was great! I’d elaborate more towards the back of this entry. :p

It was my longest flight to date – seriously the jet lag is not funny at all.
We picked a nice little apartment near Castro from Roomorama which is spacious and bright (for makeup during the big day! Haha!) and somewhat near City Hall. We thought it’s only fair that we stayed at a pretty apartment to put us in the right mood. Heh! Oh! The makeup artists in San Francisco actually offer services to do your makeup and hair at your apartments but the quotes I got was about 800 USD per person so we decided to just do it on our own since my makeup skills was still reasonably ok. Haha! We arrange the date of the registration and ceremony to be on the fifth day after we reached San Francisco so that we have sufficient time to get over the jet lag and to get a better idea of how to get around the city.

The jet lag was disgusting. For the first two days, we woke up at 3am and was wide awake after. And 8pm is the standard time when we’re freaking sleepy. So giving yourself some time to recover from the jet lag is a great idea.

Castro is a really cool area to live in with lots of nice cafes and nice people around. We saw a naked man walking around the area in broad daylight one day and nobody cared. Well ok, I don’t know whether that equates to nice people but you get the idea – people are really chill and open minded there.

And I just dig seeing rainbow flags all around. :p

We were pretty hands-on for the whole thang – from manicures to makeup and hair to flowers. We did it all on our own. That’s the fun part actually, planning with no stress and actually getting to enjoy the fun of planning for your own wedding at a comfortable pace. Flower shopping was really fun for me, who doesn’t like a pretty bouquet! We Googled for florists in San Francisco and found out that there are actually so many near our apartment. Some of them even do deliveries to your apartment or hotel after you chose what you want from their websites. But we didn’t want to leave the bouquet to chance and sometimes providing a colour theme might go way wrong since beauty is so subjective, so we decided to personally pick the flowers for my hand bouquet!

After a couple of phone calls, we made our way down to Church Street Flowers. The florists were knowledgeable and very helpful and friendly.

I always wanted to have succulents in my hand bouquet and tadah!

The florists were really nice to even give us a little vase complimentary to keep the flowers fresh! We had our lunch at the prettiest table in Tartine Bakery because we brought our own flowers for the table. :p

Throughout the day, we received compliments from random passerby telling us how beautiful those flowers were and it really made us smile. As the day pass, we just cannot help but get more and more excited about what’s to come. 🙂

A wanted a little boutonniere for her suit (which by the way, was done by the one and only fabulous Dylan and Son) but we did not manage to get a single florist in San Francisco who sells boutonnieres. It was also tricky getting a boutonniere from any other florists because the flowers in the boutonniere and my hand bouquet had to kinda go with the same theme.

So, we made our own!

After a quick visit to the local crafts store and some creativity, wits and Pinterest-ing, this is what we did:

We also managed to find some numbered push pins which A cleverly suggested that we could use those to secure the ribbons and to put down the date of our big day!

I have to admit that my heart bled a little when we had to trim the flowers off my bouquet. Luckily the bouquet still looks untouched after the little “operation”. :p

Before we left for the trip, our co-workers at The Tiramisu Hero threw us a little Hen’s Night party and gave us a little photo book and props (you guys are the sweetest!!) and we packed them into our luggage and brought them along for our pre-wedding apartment toilet shoot with a phone camera! Hahahahaha!

We’re so silly, I know.

I just love my hand bouquet.

The rest of the night was spent painting nails, doing masks, getting rid of unwanted facial and underarms hair and all the unglam things. :p I remember it took me a long time to fall asleep that night.

– – –

Our big day.

It started with us waking up bright and early to prep ourselves for the ceremony we’ve both been waiting for for so long. Our appointments for the marriage registration and civil ceremony was 12pm and 1.30pm respectively. After some research, we found out that the best time to get married at San Francisco City Hall is early morning and on a weekday. Strictly speaking, there is no “best time” to be married because it’s such a joyous occasion and people should be getting married at whatever time they want! But, choosing to have your ceremony early in the morning during the weekdays would help to make sure that there are less stray strangers in your photos because the City Hall is less crowded during those times.

We thought it would be embarrassing for us to walk out into the streets in our suits, veil and hand bouquet in broad daylight and try to get a taxi, but surprisingly, no one bothered. Hahaha! *think too much* I guess San Francisco is pretty used to tourists from all over the world jetting into their city just to be married. The Uber ride to City Hall took us less than 15 mins!

For your ceremony, you can choose for it to be a private one or a public one. We went with the latter because the public ceremony only needed one witness to be present. And we were thinking since we’re no celebrities, there is really no need for it to be private and “unlisted”. As for our witness, we managed to get our photographer to be on board! Emily was really cool and accordingly to her, she has been the witness to many, many unions in San Francisco City Hall. She is very familiar with the procedures and the location itself, so it was really a blessing to have her with us on this.

We booked Emily for a 3-hour shoot, thinking it would be sufficient for her to photograph us before and during the ceremony, and then to a second location for a couple more shots. But truth is, Emily was really (really!) nice and wasn’t calculative about the time part at all. You can check out her website here to see her portfolio and to see her charges for various packages.

Before I start on the registration part proper, here are some pictures of the beautiful City Hall of San Francisco!

We arranged to meet Emily at the County Clerk office because that’s where it all begins! With our passports at our appointment time, we filled up some forms and then were made to wait outside another office for more forms filling. To be honest, we would be quite lost if Emily wasn’t with us, so if you’re not looking at engaging anyone while you’re there, look at this pictures and make sure you end up at the same place during your registration day! :p

The second queue was for more form-filling and at this point they will double-check your particulars and also a little swear-in procedure to ensure that all information you’ve provided are truthful and accurate, that you are there on your own free will, etc.

They also asked if we wanted to have a name change after the procedure is done. Both Chang-Koh and Koh-Chang sounded really awkward to us; so it wasn’t hard for us to decide to keep our original last names. Hahaha!

Then we had an hour break before the 1.30pm civil ceremony so that gave us some time for a short coffee break (the coffee in their cafeteria was quite bad by the way), hit the washroom to freshen up and do a little touch-up before the shoot around City Hall itself.

Emily was very familiar with the people working at the offices, constantly saying her Hellos and it really made us feel comfortable. I remember one of the ladies also commented that our bright red passports are “very pretty and uplifting”. I think I also told her that I like their cool-looking black ones. :p

Emily knows all the nice spots for a good photo in City Hall.

Our friends made us these little pins with something new, something old, something borrowed, something blue in them and we made sure we had their blessings on us the whole time. We told Emily about it and she also think that we HAVE to photograph these little trinkets!

We headed back to the office about 15 mins prior to our civil ceremony appointment time to get settled in.

A and I were getting real excited at this point of time as we meet more couples hanging around the office area waiting to get wed. It is really a place filled with joy! We saw all kinds of couples there, two-brides, two-grooms, and of course many beautiful heterosexual couples. Some came with a big group of family and friends, but most of them had just a small entourage of 4-6 people. One couple, in particular, left a deep impression because both the bride and the groom looked so casually dressed; one in an office-looking dress and the other wearing a windbreaker. It just makes me so excited and happy for them, knowing that what they wore or who they had with them (they were all by themselves by the way) didn’t matter at all as long as the both of them are there because they are so in love with each other!

This was also the first time we got to meet our marriage officiant, Mary. She’s the sweetest lady ever. Over here, Mary made sure again that we were both there at our own free will and she double-checked our names pronunciation and spelling etc. We were also asked to print our names on a temporary Marriage Certificate which is basically just a souvenir for us before we collect our actual official Marriage Certificate in 2 weeks’ time.

According to Emily, there are different areas in San Francisco City Hall where the ceremony can be done. The most photogenic spot being the top of the main stairwell because of the good lighting and great composition for the photos with the entire City Hall in the background. But on the day when we were having our ceremony done, they were trying to put up the Christmas tree so that spot was not available. The officiant would be the one choosing the spots. And if it is a very busy day at the City Hall, the procedures can sometimes be done in a room, which according to Emily looks most depressing (suddenly thought of our ROM :x) and the lighting is bad too because everything looks yellow on photos. Luckily of us, we got a little spot at the top of the stairwell but on the side to avoid the Christmas tree people.

Each time the officiant leaves the office, he/she will take along with him/her three couples. Yes, you queue up to get married and you get to see the rest get married. Hahaha! It was pretty fun. Good thing for us though, was that we were the third in our group so the other two couples and their entourage had already left the area by the time it was our turn. We were all secretly thrilled. :p

“The contract of marriage is most solemn and is not to be entered into lightly, but thoughtfully and seriously with a deep realisation of its obligations and responsibilities. Please remember that love, loyalty and understanding are the foundations of a happy and enduring home. No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than those you are about to pledge.”

I promise to love and comfort you, honour and keep you in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better or for worse and be faithful to you as long as we both shall live.

I give you this ring in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love.

With this ring, I thee wed.

I remember before our ceremony started, Emily told us that our officiant Mary has the record of “forgetting” to ask the couples to kiss. And Emily went like, “If Mary forgets to ask you two to kiss again, JUST KISS!”

Hahahahaha!

How can anybody EVER bring themselves to blame Mary for forgetting to ask the couple to kiss! Look at her!

I remember an open-top tour bus drove by the City Hall that day. The driver honked his horn a couple of times and everyone on the top deck shouted “CONGRATULATIONS!”

Emily took us in her ride to Palace of Fine Arts for a few more shots before we called it a day.

It took us a lot of guts to climb that high, and I think we weren’t even supposed to be climbing around in the first place. Hahahaha! Super unglamorous behind-the-scenes:

And, that was how we got married in San Francisco!

I will always love you, A.

– – –

P.S. We went back to the City Hall about 2 weeks later to collect our official certificate. Collection of Marriage Certificates is done at Room 168 (Office of Assessor-Recorder) on Level 1 in the City Hall. We made arrangements to get married in San Francisco when we first got there, travel around US and have our honeymoon before we fly back to San Francisco to collect the certificate and fly back home.

The City Hall also provides the option to have the certificate mailed to whichever country you’re from. But we also understand from friends who got married at San Francisco City Hall, that this option is a little bit more of a hassle because that involves making trips to the US Embassy in Singapore and some hidden costs here and there.

The Christmas tree was up during our second visit and it was really beautiful! It was decorated with paper cranes that had hopes and wishes written on them.

We also found out by chance that Frida Kahlo and Marilyn Monroe (Jees I love her!) also got married in San Francisco City Hall. The Marriage Certificate looks like this one here that belongs to Marilyn Monroe:

May all love be equal.

A + P

Published by SIXPEGS

Love isn’t always rosy and beautiful. Sometimes it hurts, and renders you powerless and vulnerable. Other times, it turns you into an irrational person. Love has the power to make brave, or to make one a coward.

Two totally different person learning to love and live as one is quite a feat altogether.

We are in love, but we want to make sure these images did not only show the happy times. It is a reminder of being powerless and vulnerable can be beautiful and how lucky we are to find someone who is on the same page as you.

I hope we will always be on that same page.

Let’s always be strange and beautiful together, A.

Special thanks to Bobby from Bobby Kiran Photography, Dylan and team from Dylan And Son, Ai Yi and Dollei Seah for the love.

More on Instagram @sixpegs or #APGoSteady.

God Save The Queen

Published by SIXPEGS

It is always easy to list down the items you have on your Bucket List; easy to tell people around you that one has to live life to the fullest and you have probably read a thousand and one article on Facebook telling you specifically the things to avoid doing (or do) if you don’t want to grow old with regrets.

Does living life to the fullest everyday really makes us feel like we have the world?

“To live a few years of my life like most people won’t, so that I can live the rest of it like most people can’t.”

I have heard this quote once and I find it hard to forget. Often when I find myself slipping away, trying to find excuses for myself so that I can take a little time off from work, I repeat this quote in my head. It makes a lot of sense to me. Except, now I finally realised I’ll need to survive the “living a few years of my life like most people won’t” part to reap what I sow.

I find it hard to live life to the fullest. It has reached a point where I believe no single person can live life to the fullest without some sacrifices. How can one possibly make time for family and friends, do mad well at work and still have time for oneself to do a bit of self-loving and a bit of mental spring-cleaning? No one ever told me that living some aspects of my life to the fullest means killing many other aspects of it with my very own hands.

I don’t want to live a few years of my life like most people won’t.

Caught myself feeling direction-less these days; going through day-to-day work and errands to get by. So much so that I have forgotten that my work partner is also the person whom I am having a romantic relationship with. All work no play makes Jack a dull boy, and Peggy a dull girl.

Yesterday’s dinner was at NOX, this restaurant where you dine in complete darkness. Our server, Rahmat (I’m certain I have spelt his name incorrectly) is visually impaired. But in the darkness, I instantly became the worried and cautious one. He cruised around the dining room with so much confidence, and gave me directions with so much conviction and assurance. I forgot that he couldn’t see. The dinner lasted no more than 40 minutes, but dining in the dark has actually, no pun intended, opened my eyes to many things. We should become blind once in a while; to learn how to look beyond a person’s appearance and behaviour, to learn how to listen properly, and to feel everything present around us. We should all be stripped of that damn cellphone, and see if there is still things to be said to each other when you don’t have that funny video or photo on the phone to share. When was the last time I had a good conversation I truly enjoyed? It is an art when two people who know each other so well can still find deep, intellectual things to talk about. When once you find this person whom you have such profound connection with, you grab that person tight, and don’t ever lose sight of that beautiful future you two might have together. But of course, there is a balance in everything – sensible amount of concern inquisition vs possessiveness, freedom vs disinterest, being jealous vs lack of faith. No such thing as Love Guru because everybody is different. We just gotta find out how every relationship works. Join me, I am figuring it out too.

It takes effort from two to maintain a connection – it’s beyond having meals together and sleeping on the same bed. I have no choice but to agree, for the first time, that it is not easy for a couple to professionally work together. It’s beyond good time management and ability to separate work from personal. It’s a mystery how people did that. People change over time, and it does not only come with age but also with personal experiences in life and at work, interaction with people, with power invested in one over others.

Behind closed doors at home, is The Queen still a queen, or a just a wife to his King?
God Save The Queen, they say.
What about the King?

Booked A Haunted Hotel?

Published by SIXPEGS

When we are out on the roads and we’re looking for a hotel, one of the first few things I look out for is clean toilets, good bed, accessibility of the hotel, and of course, reviews of the hotel online.

But usually when I reach the last point – if I read anything remotely suggesting that the hotel I’m looking at might be haunted, the first few points will not matter anymore; sorry, a haunted hotel with clean toilet, good internet connections and a big comfy bed does not appeal to me.

Let’s talk about haunted hotels, so that you can save some time and eliminate these altogether before you start researching about your shortlisted hotels. These are also popular cities we Singaporeans like to visit, hopefully it will help you save some time. Heh!

We’ll start with somewhere near home.

1. ASIA HOTEL, BANGKOK THAILAND

I have heard truckload of stories about Asia Hotel in Bangkok. So exactly how haunted is this damn place? Some simple Googling online brought me lots and lots of comments and citing of this hotel being one of the most haunted in Bangkok.
I also came across this encounter:

“My ex and I went to bkk for a 2days 3nights getaway and we opted for this hotel cos its cheap and close to mrt station and many singaporeans and malaysians like to stay there. we were given this corner room at the end of the corridor. when we entered the room, we did not feel anything at all. we even have sex in the room that afternoon. the next morning i was lying in bed facing my ex bf with my back facing the window. the curtains were drawn and it was daybreak. my eyes were already opened looking at my ex still sleeping.
suddenly, i felt the portion of the mattress behind me sank in. it was so obvious because i could feel my back san in a little with the mattress as if someone just sat behind me and put a hand on my arm. i was so frightened and i remembered that i started to chant a buddhlst chant and then i gathered my courage and turn around violently to face my fear. i did not see anything but i knew that was for real.
for all who encounter unfriendly spirits, i recommend you memorise some prayers or chants because such spirits get annoyed when human beings start to focus their minds on something powerful. apparently, our bodies throw off sparks of white light when we chant or pray and this should annoy the hell out of them!”

Asia Hotel has a fantastic location, and apart from being slightly old, I suppose whether one will enjoy one’s stay there will pretty much depend on one’s luck.

2. BAIYOKE SKY HOTEL, BANGKOK

This hotel is located in one of the prime district in Bangkok, and offers great views of the city during the buffet breakfasts in the morning. But unfortunately, it appeared in many Haunted Hotel Lists I’ve searched in. I didn’t look for any stories from online because I personally know a close friend who stayed there with another 3 friends in two adjoining rooms and had some strange encounters there.

During their stay, when one of the four girls was having a shower, she heard one of the other girls trying to talk to her across the toilet door. Obviously, it sounded muffled to her because of the running water and the distance to the door. The girl who was in the shower later mentioned that she saw shadows in the slit under the door when she looked out, trying to hear better. Of course, the girls who were outside said no one tried to talk to her while she was in the shower.

The following morning, they found (get this!) an extra toothbrush in the glass where all their toothbrushes are in. The extra toothbrush was not a brand new hotel toothbrush but it appeared to be used.

That’s creepy enough for me to eliminate Baiyoke Sky Hotel from my list the next time I’m trying to find a place to stay in Bangkok.

3. FIRST HOTEL, BANGKOK THAILAND

This hotel is pretty fierce. Strategically located on Phetchaburi road, in the midst of Pratunam’s wholesale garment shopping scene, this hotel is near a BTS station and is actually pretty well-located.

But there were many reports of sightings of charred bodies in the hotel premises.
Well, those are stories. But here’s a fact – a big fire once broke out in First Hotel in January 1988. There were more than 400 people in First Hotel during the fire and it took them more than 4 hours to put out the fire. 13 were killed.

Unfortunately, a popular Singaporean singer, Shi Ni and her mother were among the victims in this tragedy. You will be able to read the coverage on our Lianhe Zaobao in 1988.

And maybe you can also read the rest of this article while Shi Ni sings to you.

4. GRAND HYATT, TAIPEI TAIWAN

In the lift lobby of this hotel, lies two huge framed talismans. Although it might not mean anything at all, it is inevitable that one might feel a little creeped out to see huge talismans the first thing you step into your hotel. The hotel was built over a former wartime political prison and is said to be haunted by the ghosts of several inmates who were executed, according to local residents.

I found this review about Grand Hyatt on TripAdvisor, title of the review was “Beyond Haunted”. Ahem!:

“I can’t believe this is a 5 star hotel. I upgraded my hotel to this one too, and without doing research online, I ended up at this haunted place paying a ridiculous amount of money to live at this haunted place. Before coming here, I have already heard stories from friends with “experiences” here. Unfortunately for me, I had these experiences as well as my relative staying in another room. Right when I entered the hotel, I already felt a major headache (I have NEVER had this feeling before). For all the foreigners that aren’t in the know, those decors in the lobby of asian looking charms are to keep spirits away and are quite well known for that purpose. There are 2 massive ones beside the elevators going down to the parking lot, as well as 2 smaller jade like ones by the check-in desk. Also, if you notice carefully when you enter the hotel, above the driveway of the hotel is a wind chime instead of the usual chandelier or light. This is also for feng shui purposes. So we got our rooms and went to the floor and right when we get out of the elevator, we notice ALL the paintings on the walls are disturbing. They are of generals killing spirits, what kind of hotel has this kind of creepy decor on the wall? Oh right, a ridiculously haunted one. So we went to our rooms and actually switched twice before we got a less creepy room, which was still haunted unfortunately. So I noticed that when I walk towards the back end of the room where the desk is, my headache gets especially bad so I avoided it all costs. Normally I’m not afraid to sleep in the dark in hotels, but at this one. I was totally creeped out. So I was sharing a bed with a relative who was fast asleep. (Same situation happened in my other relatives room, one fell asleep quickly while the other got spooked the whole night) So I didn’t sleep the whole night but kept in eyes closed due to the fact that I could hear two very distinct snores. One coming from my left (the couch and desk) and one from my right (my relative) When there wasn’t snoring on the left side, I could feel someone walking and I heard the footsteps and I could sense they were quite close to me. This happened the whole night and I only opened my eyes when the sun came out. As for my relatives room, someone was flushing their toilet the whole night. She even went inside the washroom to check it out and the water was being drained so it wasn’t a faulty toilet. She said that this only occurred when she tried to sleep, so they were trying to keep her up. Anyways, this went on for 2 more days but if you notice carefully, there are many very odd placement of decorations around the hotel which are definitely for feng shui purposes as this is known as one of the most haunted places on earth. Note: 4 rocking chairs outside the side entrance of the hotel by the bus stop. Very very odd.”

There were also reports of people waking up with scratches all over body. Scary.

5. FIRST WORLD HOTEL, GENTING MALAYSIA

This one is freaking creepy because it just LOOKS creepy being so old and rundown. And no, its colourful facade did not help at all.
There are stories of like corpses hidden in “cut out human shape holes” in the mattress (sounds a little out of the world to me), people committing suicide after a bad day in the casino, etc. When I do go to Genting, I try not to stay here. Better be safe than sorry.

Here is an encounter I found online:

“My bro’s friend, a pretty lady who looks like Shu Qi went in genting with her group of frens and they decided to stay in First world hotel. They separate into few rooms n she slept with 2 other girls. When she sleep, she dream of herself sleeping on the bed.. And suddenly, a unlce out of nowhere go on top of her and trying to rape her. He touches her, kiss her and even tried to undress her. The only thing that the poor girl can do is Struggle and struggle… think her action pissed that uncle and he actually straches her hard on her thigh… She continue to struggle but in vain. All she can do is close her eyes and scream n scream for help. Then suddenly, she heard her frens calling out her name and she open her eyes. Her fren surround her and told her that they was sound asleep n they heard her screaming for helps, so they faster try to wake her up but in vian. Then one of the girl then say out some prayers while another fren keeping calling he, Then she woke up.
They then realise that she had a nightmare n they thought that it is just a dream.
Until they saw the scratch mark and fingerprint mark on her thighs and there is still some fresh blood on her thigh… Scared out of their wits, they faster ran over to the guys room n stay e night there.”

6. TAMBUN INN, IPOH MALAYSIA

This place was listed as one of the top 15 haunted places in Malaysia. The Tambun Inn in Ipon is a three-storey commercial building in the residential area of Ipoh near an old Chinese cemetery. (Wah lao look at this place, who dare to stay inside?!)

There were many documented accounts of sightings of ghosts wandering around the the hotel premises, lights switching on and off, eerie whispers, shouts and screams from entities. There is also a source that claimed apparitions of ghosts appearing on a road leading to the hotel. One other story says that if you ever see a little girl in a light blue dress, don’t ever talk to her. (Why does this remind me of The Shining?)

7. SWISSOTEL HOTEL, SINGAPORE

This is a five star hotel in Singapore and it is known for its beautiful rooms and the great views it offers from the higher storeys. This 73-level hotel is said to be build on execution grounds during Japanese Occupation during World War II. There were also reports of apparitions of execution victims roaming the hallways at night asking for mercy.

In the recent years, we have also seen a number of unexplained deaths at the hotel.

In March 2013, a Russian tourist fell to his death from Swissotel; he was staying on the 59th floor and believed to have fallen from a height of at least 60-storeys in the wee hours of the morning. His body was removed from a fifth floor beam by the SCDF team.

Later in 2015, there were two deaths at this same hotel as well. The body of a 59-year-old Australian tourist was discovered on the parapet of the second floor of Swissotel Stamford. The lady allegedly fell from the 60th floor of the building. (You may read more from this link. Warning – Graphic Images)

The third similar case within the two years also occurred in 2015 where a 33-year-old man also plunged to his death from high floors at the same building.

There were rumours online about the 50th storey being haunted, I also saw someone who described that he had some strange encounters in Room 2559.

8. HOTEL ISTANA, KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA

There must be something in Room 712 because there are so many websites citing this particular room. One of the sites even mentioned the sighting of a Pontianak int his room! Horrors!

Oh the other hand, I guess the chances of you accidentally checking into this hotel is quite low since their ratings on the hotel sites are nowhere near impressive. Heh!

9. CORDIS LANGHAM PLACE, HONG KONG

This hotel looks just like any other proper hotel located in the popular tourist spot in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. But there have been numerous reports of guests claiming that they feel strange and being watched when they are in the rooms.

This is an excerpt from a review I took from their TripAdvisor page:

“After we checked out, my partner told me he had heard strange noises in the room which woke him up a few times during the night, it was a tapping sound very very close to his ear. He felt a presence in the room which he thought was a ghost on the following night (he normally thinks of that sort of stuff as rubbish). During the day when I was in the room by myself I felt like I was being ‘watched’. It’s hard to describe, but really eerie. He didn’t tell me how he felt during the stay because he knew I would have left the hotel immediately!”

10. 云山饭店 YUN SHAN FAN DIAN, CHENG DE CHINA

This hotel has 220 rooms and is said to be built not he very same grounds where Manchu royalty would escape the summer heat of Beijing. Over the years, there were actually reported sightings of (freaking fierce) Dowger Express Cixi herself, tending to her garden.

This hotel is also said to be haunted by a man in a Western getup, and a lady in an Empress outfit who would always roam around the end of the corridor on Level 8.

I also found this written by someone who lives in Cheng De:
“I am an American that has been living here in Chengde, China for several years. The story you have heard and read about is a true one. I am actually trying to setup my own Ghost Hunters team but it is hard to find qualified people here in China.

The story you heard i was told about several years ago. There have been countless eyewitnesses and i have met many people with first hand reports.

There are several ghosts sightings here. The city dates back to 1703, much has happened here both good and bad, there are many reasons for ghosts to linger here. However, there is no reason i can find that the ghost should be in that hotel. The hotel is not very old, yet peoples reports of what they have seen as far as clothes people wear, do not coincide with the dating of the location.”

Ten Things You Didn’t Know Abt Singapore

Published by SIXPEGS

I am born in Singapore and have been living in Singapore all my life. But there are still so many things to learn from my country! Do you dig fun facts and trivia? If so, I think you’re going to enjoy these little, useless information about our beautiful Singapore!

ONE

Everybody knows that our national flower is the Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’ since 1981; and you might probably also know that it is named after Agnes Joaquim because she was the one who discovered this gorgeous hybrid between the Vanda Hookerana and Vanda Teres of Burma. But do you know that Vanda Miss Joaquim is the ONLY national flower in the world that is a hybrid?

TWO

The distance from east to west of the Singapore mainland is 50km. Our longest expressway (you probably know this) is the Pan Island Expressway and it is 42.8km!
But our longest bus route, SMRT Bus Service 858 which runs from Woodlands Regional Interchange to Changi Airport and back, is 73.4km!
Kudos to our hardworking bus captains for on their same routes tirelessly everyday so that we have a ~~relatively-~~related public transport system!

THREE

We speak Singlish and I guess we’ve spoken it persistently enough to get our lah and sinseh into the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary! I believe if we persist longer, they’ll eventually include these words (or perhaps even more haha!) into they printed versions lah!

FOUR

Singapore was once cool; and I’m talking about our weather! Do you know that the lowest temperature ever recorded in Singapore was actually 19.4 degrees Celsius?
But that was more than 80 years ago in the year 1934. How I wish we could have that sweater weather in Singapore again. *sulks*

FIVE

Singapore is one of the only THREE surviving city-states in the world – where the country is also the capital. The other two is Monaco and Vatican City (yes Vatican City is a country!). Vatican City and Monaco are actually much smaller than Singapore, so yes that makes us the biggest city-state in the world! At least we are biggest in something ya? :p

SIX

If you are Singaporean, managed to get to this page and is actually enjoying what you are reading, thank our forefathers for our education system! Singapore has an literacy rate of 96%, while the world literacy rate is only at 84%.

SEVEN

Singapore was one of the 14 states of Malaysia from years 1963 to 1965, ending our days of being a British colony. But because of the many disagreements and racial tension, we were voted (126-0) out of the Federation. That left our beloved Mr Lee Kuan Yew tearful because he believed in the unity of the two territories.
Thus, that left Singapore as also the ONLY country in the history of modern world to gain independence against its own will. But hey, Republic of Singapore is doing well on our own too!

EIGHT

The youngest person to pass GCE O’Levels Chemistry in the world is Ainan Celeste Cawley, who was only 7 years old when he did the feat! Ainan was a prodigy since young; learning how to walk by six months, running by the time he turned 8 months, and at one year of age, Ainan spoke in full sentences at an adult level! Ainan also went on to pass the Physics O’Levels paper at a tender age of 8 years old!

Damn.

NINE

There was once another Singapore in the world. I used the word “once” because the other Singapore is a ghost town and has been abandoned. Read more about the other Singapore here!

TEN

Singapore is turning 51 this year and this year’s National Day Parade will be held in the National Stadium. Do you know that this will actually be the second time since our independence that the parade is held there? The first time was in year 1976! That is definitely something to look forward to!

* Featured image taken by Sheng Long Lua.

Travelling With Prima Taste

Published by SIXPEGS

Fun fact 1: I once brought a Chinese cabbage from Singapore to Paris.

I hid it in my haversack (ok, I did not hide, I just packed it along) and it travelled with me from Singapore to Munich and Austria before finally getting cooked into a delicious Asian-style soup in Paris, Montmartre. I love Wong Bok. I love Asian food. One biggest headache for me when I travel is Chinese food, or rather, the lack of.

Fun face 2: I am actually quite a Scrooge when it comes to food while I’m travelling.

This is especially so when I’m in Europe. Firstly because the food there is expensive and its standard is not as high as the price. Secondly, I am often on quite a shoestring budget and I’d really rather spend my money elsewhere.

Fun fact 3: Although I co-own a café, I can’t cook to save my life.

– – –

This is a common sight at the bnb when I travel:

In Paris with friends…

In Rome with my family…

Just look at the amount of instant noodles and canned food I have on the table. In short, when I’m out on the roads, all I ever wish for at the end of the day is a plate of good Asian food! But packing local food while travelling is always a pain because there is only that much instant noodles one can eat before one starts losing hair; not from all the unhealthy ingredients, but from the hair-pulling because of the frustration with same food everyday. Hahaha!

On my most recent trip to USA, I was hooked up with Prima Taste and I totally discovered the magic of their new Wholegrain LaMian and Ready Meals!

It was absolutely delicious! A and I call it “serious instant noodles” now, because it’s so seriously good and tastes just like the real thing cooked by a freaking hawker! Hahaha!

These are not just regular instant noodles, Wholegrains LaMian from Prima Taste is made with 51% superfine wholegrain flour, and consuming 1 serving of these noodles fulfills an adult’s recommended minimum daily wholegrain requirements. These noodles are steamed, not fried, and there is also no added MSG, preservatives, artificial colouring or flavouring.

The noodles are super springy and I totally love it!

In my bag, I also brought along some of their new Ready Meals and they are freaking god-sent while I was in San Francisco! It’s sometimes fun to cook our own meals while we’re overseas, but on some days, we can get SO tired from all the sightseeing and walking, we just want to laze around once we reach the apartment.

Prima Taste Ready Meals is at the top of my MUST-PACK food when I’m preparing for a long trip. I’ve seen a fair share of pre-mixes with flavours like Chicken Rice, Briyani etc. But THIS!

Gosh! All it takes is 90 seconds in a microwave!

Along in my bag was the fragrant Curry Chicken with Rice, Nonya Sambal Chicken with Rice, Beef Rendang with Rice and Chicken Claypot Rice! Doesn’t it sound so yummy already! :p

I am a freaking Ready Meals addict because other than it being freaking delicious, they are actually a much healthier choice compared to many other instant foods. Dude, they actually packed it up with vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and prebiotics!

Wholegrains are great for me during long trips because it helps digestion and, ahem, prevents constipation. Haha! They do add bulk to the diet and helps me feel full and reduce the risk of me overeating. Wholegrains prevent damage of blood vessels and reduce risk of heart diseases too!

Prima Taste Ready Meals are mad easy to prepare – all you gotta do is rip open the packet, pop it into the microwave and voila! FOOOOOOOOD is ready to be served.

(If you don’t mind having it not warm, you can actually enjoy it straight from the packet! No refrigeration is required at all.)

My favourite flavor of all is the Beef Rendang with Rice! It also comes with chunky beef cubes, and is really flavourful! Very satisfying when all you had was Western food for daysssss. :p

So if you’re planning on a long trip soon (or thinking of what to stock up at home to prepare for late night suppers), do pick up the Prima Taste LaMian or Ready Meals!

All product packaging features QR Codes that links directly to step-by-step cooking instructional videos that demonstrates preparation methods for “Standard”, “Enhanced” and “Indulgent” versions of the product. Mmmmm~