Johor Baru Rocks!

This weekend, I joined the legions of Singaporeans who make a pilgrimage to Johor Baru (JB) in search of cheap food, massages, manicures, food, DVDs, hair styling and...err..did I mention food? I seem to have eaten so much in the last 24 hours!

Firstly, let me say a big THANK YOU to Kon, Julius and Lucinda for being such wonderful hosts. Kon very graciously invited some of us "girls" to spend the weekend in JB with her family. Corrine, Stef & I needed no convincing the moment we heard the words "massage", "manicure" and "shopping".

(L to R) Kon, Stef, Aunty Jo-Jo, Lucinda & Corrine enjoying a Malaysian breakfast

The day started with a delicious breakfast of roti canai, nasi lemak, lontong, mee hoon goreng, and lots of teh tarik. The eating place was just a 5-minute drive from Chateau Kon, a gorgeous palatial home that is filled with bric-a-brac from the family's travels. We were especially impressed by the beautiful photos of Venice taken by Julius.

Four girls who obviously love their pedicures too much!

The girls happily traipsed off to the nail salon for their pedicures. We were all very grateful for the professional services of Lucinda, our pint-sized nail consultant, who helped us to choose exactly the right colour of nail polish to match our personalities.

The pampering continued with a massage session that was ....aaaaahhhhhhh...exactly what we needed to de-stress. Although we had been taught never to let anyone walk all over us, it felt good - very good. Thanks for the treat Kon, you're an angel!

Lunch at Ah Koong's Fishball Noodles

More food followed at Johor Baru's best fishball noodles joint. It was the springiest, tastiest fishballs I've had in a long time. And the lime juice was a perfect complement to the meal. Thanks for the recommendation, Julius!

Lucinda with the find of the day - ice cream toast

After still more pampering at a hair salon and some intense shopping (someone even tried on 15 pairs of jeans!), we headed wearily to Old Town Kopitiam for a Ipoh white coffee treat. Of course when we got there, we ended up having more than coffee. Lucinda ordered the house specialty of ice cream toast which looked so good that all the adults felt compelled (wink...wink) to help her finish it. Thanks for being so generous, Lucinda. You're a star!

Joanna, Corrine & Julius at Danga Bay

The perfect ending to the day came when we strolled along the boardwalk of Danga Bay admiring the beautiful sunset, a loving bride & groom and and a enormous chicken...enough said :-)

Of course we couldn't leave JB without one more dose of food, so off we went to one of the best Chinese restaurants in JB. The menu consisted of specialty tofu, deep-fried red snapper, stewed yam & pork, sambal potato leaves, broccoli, garlic prawns and salted vegetable soup.

I wonder why I'm feeling so full...

Settling in Singapore

Aunty Jo Jo with her gorgeous friend Li Ki admiring Christmas lights @ Orchard Road, Singapore

Last September, I re-located back to Singapore after almost 10 years. The transition has been very easy because so many of my friends have also made the move. However, I did ensure that my new job requires 50% travel to avoid the "cabin fever syndrome", which is quick to take hold in an island nation.

Some things I really enjoy about Singapore...

• Friends from Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland and UK who have all re-located to Singapore
• Singaporeans seem to have become friendlier, funnier and much more tolerable - or maybe I've mellowed and become more tolerant :-)
• The business climate is exciting and challenging
• International cuisine, arts & theatre is more interesting than KL
• Living only 15 minutes away from the airport
• Err...dare I say it...earning Sing dollars is so liberating

Other things I'm not so fond of...

• Not having a car! (I hope to remedy that soon)
• Trying to catch a cab on rainy days
• Ludicrous rental for condos and apartments
• Crowds along Orchard Road and Vivo City

Weird Austin

Aunty Jo-Jo @ the Texas State Capitol

I've just returned from the headquarters of AMD, my new employer, which is based in Austin. Being my first trip to Texas, I expected to see dusty cowboys in boots & ten-gallon hats riding through town on saddled horses. But thankfully, Austinites have kept their city delightfully "weird" and I found a pleasant green city with a fantastic music scene instead.

View of Lake Travis from the balcony of my hotel room

I spent almost a week attending a Leadership Workshop at a hotel on Lake Travis. While we were locked in windowless rooms most of the time, the scenery that surrounded us was beautiful. We went out on a dinner cruise one night and had lots of Shiner Bock (great Texas beer!) and Mexican food. Some of the mansions that dot the shores of Lake Travis belong to famous Austinites such as Michael Dell, Sandra Bullock and Andy Roddick.

Aunty Jo-Jo having fun with her new friends, Richard & Kim

I met some really funny & smart people on this trip. And I'm looking forward to working with them. It's amazing how beer always plays a major part in any bonding experience :-)

Aunty Jo-Jo with her Texas-sized mint chocolate ice-cream pie...yummy!

However, the one thing that Texas delivered on was the FOOD. I absolutely love Tex-Mex cuisine. Breakfast tacos, salsa & chips, enchilada, re-fried beans, queso catfish were some of the delights that have become my new favourites.

Now you know the *real* reason I'm looking forward to my next trip to corporate headquarters!