eating in hanoi

call me lousy, unadventurous, not daring, boring or whatever words you can find but i couldn't really makan from the road side stalls in hanoi, no matter how tempting it looked..we saw a lot along the streets, with low plastic tables and chairs meant for kids. u know how when during a big family dinner, the adults will sit at the 'main' dining table while the kiddos under 10 will be screaming, sitting, running about at the corner, with their maids trying to feed them dinner, from plastic tables, chairs, utensils..basically almost everything plastic.

their quaint little chairs, alike our mamak stalls

one of the days, while shopping, we saw this lane full of makan shops..

and one of us suggested to try it. so i had no choice but to follow..this lady was jus preparing the noodles in front of me. i shared a bowl with my colleague and after eating my share, i passed it to her while i looked around, which was a bad move. cos the more i saw how she prepared the food, the condition of the place, the dark and wet floors, the more uneasy i felt. ( i bet she would've picked up a that slice of pork if it were to fall onto the floor )
i hate to admit it lar but this was all too much for me..the longer i sat there, the more the food i swallowed threatened going back up my throat again.
the noodles, which was actually pretty good!
tat same night when my colleague and i were looking for dinner, i told her i needed to eat with the peace of mind. we looked and looked and finally found this place which was decently priced ( cheap by Msian standards ) and u know wat?? the whole place was filled with ang mohs. literally every table!!!... hahaa

old quarters, hanoi

some pics i took when i wasn't too busy shopping :D

gone were the years...

a couple of sundays ago, i joined in the fun with Youth Church's feature sunday themed 'Back to School'. everybody were to don their school uniforms, regardless whether they're still in school or not. for some, days of perhimpunans,ties and white shoes have long been erased from their memories, for better or worse. :P. for me, it was just fun reliving all those good times. i even searched for my old name tag to wear. they had a couple of ppl talk about how it is/was for them during their school days; the problems fitting in, being rebellious, how to cope with pressure from your studies and how to balance between school and church. to top it all of, they started service singing 'Sejahtera Malaysia' and reciting the Rukunegara. splendid! haha..

it's always good to have a younger sis. yes, the uniform is hers. she is utterly upset/disappointed/insulted that i can fit into her uniform. hmm, what can i say?? :D :D it has been 7 years since i last wore this. 7!!!!! can you imagine that?? that's really how looooonnng ago it was. those were good times man!!
and since we're on this topic of high school, i managed to dig out this photo of my high school sweetheart. so cute kan? LOL

to you...

dear clare, a very happy belated birthday to you. though you are far over the other end, i still hope that you had a blast on your birthday. so you've been naughty eh, legal to do something dy eh?? *wink* hehe.

thank you for all your effort in keeping in touch. i really do appreciate all the calls and the mails and i'm sorry, embarrased even, to say that i'm not up to par in this area at all!! thanks for being so forgiving babe!!!

i miss all the times going to swensens, hanging out at ur place for birthdays, all the surprises, all the crazy stuffs we do, caught on video. ( opps, this reminds me that i still haven't sent u THAT video ) it was hilarious!! and hanging out with you have never been dull with your famous hearty laugh!! hehe.

so here's to you.. a portion of the memories created. :D

during our 'wordless' performance. this was the scariest i could come up with.
after the performance.
hmm, i think this is in peacehaven, judging from my jacket.
at burger kings, outama.
in yc, waiting for service to start.
in la manila.. on your birthday, 2007
hmm..i totally forgot where's this taken
at church's cafeteria in between services.
in sam's n karen's house, after CG. hmm..i forgot who were we trying to saboh then..lol
keep those calls and mails coming babe! i look forward to those and love hearing from you. love you to bits!! HUGS N MUAKSSS!!