up North..

1
this is indeed, a merry December~

as the year looms to an end.. we in malaysia were bestowed upon, quite a few long-weekends with fridays off (Officially, as many national and states holidays fall on fridays this year...) ... which brings upon the more-than-usual-few opportunities for longer-than-usual weekend breaks

=)

3D2N

three days, two nights. that's what i'm talkin about...

and nothing of the usual prerequisite applications for 'joint-leaves' from the office... blearrgh~!


capped the month November with a trip down south to our neighbour across the straits, the Lion City.. Singapore that is. took the opportunity to visit bestie, (not to mention to bunk in at her place... free accomo, woot woot!!) and of course, the customary stroll down Orchard Road to soak in its relentless efforts in their annual Xmas decor~ yes, rolled-eyes, but still.. :)

and this weekend.. we in Selangor had the privilege of `celebrating the sultan's birthday on the 11th... yay!! All hail the Sultan~!!

me, Audrey, and Steven took the opportunity to get on with our long-planned break from the offce, up north.. to the Land of Smiles... XD

what started out as a designated trip to Hat Yai to feed our 'cheap-food-and-shopping' frenzy, turned out to be a most unexpected, relaxing one. cheap food nevertheless, Steven being the 'half-local' there, brought us around to places where no huge tour buses past the Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint would go...

lunch at the Water View Restaurant.... with attap huts by the lake... NiCe~

accomo was prebooked by Niu at the He Jia Grand Hotel at Ban Dan Nok, in the district of Sadao.. yes, although infamous as a border town dubbed 'mini mehsia' and notorious for its uhm,.. mildly-put, "nightlife" (another story for another day..) still, we had plenty of enjoyable downtime for the entire 2 days around Dan Nok... (~think clean Thai massage and foot rubs..)

day 2: Further up north, past Hat Yai, into Songkhla province...
up Tang Kuan Hill for prayers .. with its symbolic Prathat Chedi Luang royal pagoda..
yes, i prayed too, (gawk) a first for me.. that, and the view around the hilltop too... (gawk 2)... Unexpectedly nice...

lunch by the Samila Beach side....
~good and cheap seafood (and the smoked calamari gets my vote for this meal!)

it being a sat noon, the place was packed. nevertheless, the sea breeze and the ocean view pretty much made up for it...




well i'm beat by now... up Next, the real-deal at somewhere east coast for the christmas weekend. this time, it's goin to be local here in gud 'ol malaysia...
:)




another itch scratched...