A surprise getaway to Bintan to celebrate my homegirl's 23rd birthday! I think this whole surprise travel trip could very well be a yearly tradition, since we also whisked her away to KhaoYai (without her prior knowledge) for her birthday last year.
This time, all we told her was that we're going to have a staycay at Sentosa and to pack some summery outfits cause we're gonna be taking photos. But nope, off to the ferry terminal we went!




When you're by default, the photographer, so you end up taking new profile pictures for everyone lolol.





The seaview from our room!!




To sum it all up: We got a tan, played water sports, did some snorkeling, indulged in seafood and had a couple of drinks. The birthday girl herself couldn't swim, but so it was her first time snorkeling and doing jumps in the middle of the sea haha.

Well, aside from that, we also took lots of photos. Especially in our Jacuzzi pool just for the sake of it.



Please, give my new beach + constellation themed nails some validation. If only the camera could fully capture the mesmerising, reflective water effect in all its allure. I LOVE!!


Just like that, another one of us turned 23! You know the saying that goes, "nobody likes you when you're 23"? Now that someone else has joined me in the old, aging and unlikable age of 23 club, I feel so consoled.

Truth be told, I still feel like I'm only 20 and living in the year 2016. It doesn't feel like I'm one year away from graduating, and I definitely don't feel prepared about moving out of my parent's home and into my own in two years (well, that's just a personal goal I've set for myself).
Maybe life has something else in store for me in the next two years? The idea of living abroad does sound very attractive, actually.

Well, despite all these uncertainties about the future, I do at least find comfort in knowing that the girls are a constant in my life. Friends since 2005, we've practically been with each other more than half our lifetimes. From immature kids whose biggest worries were how to skip math remedial classes to angsty teens that had 00's punk music on autoplay on our emo blogs, we've come a long way.

Here's to us, and the years of adulting ahead.

I just got back from Bintan last night. But I couldn't pull myself together to blog cause I was sea sick.
It's kinda weird because I wasn't suffering from it throughout the whole duration of my trip, but only a couple of hours after my arrival back at Singapore. So yeah I got seasick while on land. Which is well, weird. And I never once suffered from motion sickness or anything like that... I feel like a weakling to succumb to such an illness. It's nothing severe, but it feels a little like I'm suffering from vertigo.
My parents said it was probably because I travelled on boats a lot, and yeah I guess that's it cause throughout the past three days, I really boated around a couple of times. I hope this illness quickly tides over.

Anyway, the terrible things aside, I had the time of my life while I was at Bintan with my boy and his family! If you're wondering whether I fear the awkwardness, well duh. Who wouldn't when it comes to travelling with someone else's parents (and your boyfriend's at that).

But no fear was gonna stop me from travelling. Nu-uh. It was far too good an opportunity to give up. It turned out to be a blast, and I'm so thankful for how fearless and semi thick-skinned I am to have accepted the invitation. It was sooooo worth it. And I got to know his family better too.


Well, here's my 3D2N Bintan trip through my iPhone!


1. Taken while on ferry to Bintan  //  2. Mini van ride to Bintan Spa Villa  //  3. Day 1's ootd  //  4. Dress details  //  5. Greeted with a low tide on the first afternoon  //  6. Massage house which we went to after the long travel



1. Relaxing by the beach with the lovely sea breeze  //  2. I love coconut  //  3. Jacuzzi spot with no jacuzzi in picture cause I think my silhouette's cooler  //  4. Day 2's breakfast buffet  //  5. Sea port of Tanjong Penang far away from Bintan Spa Villa  //  6. While on the boat to tour another island



1. The other sea port which we disembarked at  //  2. The lane which I thought deserved a photo  //  3. Temple visiting  //  4. The twin kittens that followed us the whole temple trip  //  5. Road to Kampung area  //  6. Brandon leading the way



1. Back of the Kampung houses  //  2. Trees growing on top of a temple  //  3. The 325 year-old temple which royalty once resided in  //  4. More Kampung houses on stilts  //  5. Old windows with an old man smoking inside  //  6. The corridor of one of those houses



1. Picture taken by uncle Tan before we went back to Tanjong Penang  //  2. Boat's view of houses along the sea port  //  3. Streets of Tanjong Penang  //  4. Stray cat sleeping beneath the wheels of the car we're traveling in (it would have died if the car moved forward)  //  5. Virgin try - chill crab for dinner  //  6. Twilight back at Bintan Spa Villa




1. Rising tide  //  2. From the view of our room's balcony at the break of dawn on Day 3  //  3. Waiting for sunrise from 5.45AM local time  //  4. Sunrise  //  5.  Pretty lamp  //  6. My fat feet against the sand



1. Getting on the speedboat at 8AM  //  2. Ready for White Sands Island  //  3. Boat's view of the sea view villa  //  4. My excited self with my not-so-excited face  //  5. Frowning Brandon with his thick eyebrows  //  6.  White Sands Island and its white sand



1. Getting ready for a dip in the crystal clear waters  //  2. Another view of the beach  //  3. Clean soft sand  //  4. Day 3's ootd at the beach  //  5. Picture which I forced Brandon into  //  6. I sell seashells on White Sand's seashore






Panorama shots.

I brought my polaroid and superheadz camera too but I shall upload the other photos together some other time (maybe) once I've got the films processed.
I dipped into crystal clear waters, ate chili crab, went around Kampung houses on stilts and much much more for the very first time in the 17 years I have lived so far. That's a couple of things ticked off my bucket list! Not that I had an exhaustive list to begin with but, it's always been on the back of my mind.
But I so miss the food there because its spiciness is just damn shiok la and I need more of it. Undoubtedly, I ate a lot during this trip and didn't watch my diet at all so I've probably gotten fatter. Time to get back into shape again huh.

I can't wait to travel again during my next semester break in February. Hopefully, I'll get to go Japan this time because I've been dying to since 2 years ago and I still haven't got the chance to.


Travels aside, I just got a haircut today. I didn't get a new fancy style or anything, just chopped off a good three inches of my too-long hair and trimmed my fringe. I think I might have regretted my decision a little cause it feels a little too short now argh.

Damn hair can you pls pls pls grow like an inch longer by Christmas?