Despite the language barrier we had with the photographer, the photoshoot progressed smoothly because the make-up artist who could speak Mandarin rather well followed along and gave us instructions on how to pose. She even took a few behind-the-scenes videos for us, which was definitely a sweet bonus.
Sunday, August 3, 2025
Ao Dai Photoshoot
Despite the language barrier we had with the photographer, the photoshoot progressed smoothly because the make-up artist who could speak Mandarin rather well followed along and gave us instructions on how to pose. She even took a few behind-the-scenes videos for us, which was definitely a sweet bonus.
Saturday, June 7, 2025
HCMC
说到松弛感,不得不提胡志明市年轻人的娱乐消遣。历史博物馆的前院到了下午五点摇身一变成了当地小孩的羽毛球场。美术博物馆的中庭是孩子们练习匹克球的好地方。不仅地上画了场线,四周还有好几座艺术铜像当观众。晚上十点的街口是朋友和情侣聚集的老地方。红绿灯取代迪斯科球,为正蹲着聊天喝饮料的年轻人渡上一层或红或绿的光影。就连白日游客云集的街道,到了晚上也成了店铺员工看谁扔拖鞋最远比赛的场地。
雄伟的法式旧建筑穿插于一栋栋密密麻麻参差不齐面向不一的新式建筑物之中,提醒世人越南曾有很长一段时间是法国殖民地。不论是街边小摊或是食肆,商家都爱用矮桌和小凳子,即方便也保留越南补贴时期因情势所逼而开始的文化。
又便宜又随处可见的grab司机和骑手无缝对接大量居民和游客需要出行但是没有便捷公共交通的需求。新建的地铁承载着当地政府和人民对舒缓交通阻塞的渴望和前景。各种细节叙述着这座城市丰富的历史,以及当地人面对各种时代转变所表现的韧性和创意。
第二天晚上,我们去了一间位于旧居民楼顶的酒吧。橘灯木地板搭配嘻哈风格的越南流行曲,半露天酒吧的氛围一级棒。客人三三两两,大家都沉浸在各自的小声交谈之中,或是单纯地静赏徐风和夜景。如此惬意的酒吧楼下其实是劏房,对面则是小学。这种新和旧、绚丽和平淡的反差共存在城市的各个角落,让人彷佛置身赛博朋克的电影场景中。
简言之,胡志明市是一个很棒的旅游景点。我当然很清楚游客所看到的美好和当地居民的经历有相当大的出入,但是本文旨在分享我作为游客在胡志明市的见闻。如果说胡志明市旅游业还有什么需要改进的话,那绝对是无障碍设施了。摩托和摊位占据了人行道的大半。大部分的景点都有很多阶梯却鲜少看见轮椅坡道或者电梯。就算有旁人一同出行,这些不便也是视弱者和轮椅使用者的噩梦。
Sunday, March 16, 2025
Make It Home Again
The entire experience of moving from Johor to Perak and settling down at our new rental place in Ipoh has been utterly humbling. On some days we hit milestones and got things set up nicely like fully functional, real adults. On some days we were so frustrated at setback after setback that we wished we had never left Johor.
Noel's integrity and supportive nature were evident throughout the process, and I am deeply grateful for him. With him around, the challenges seemed less daunting. Knowing Noel was by my side gave me the courage to bring my vision to life.
Finding a place
Given the tight timeframe we had to move and report for duty at our new schools, the first thing we did after checking in with our administrators was searching for a new rental place in Ipoh.
Theoretically, Noel and I could temporarily place all our belongings and stay in my dad's house while we searched for the most ideal unit after work. However, I knew that was not a realistic option because of the sheer amount of things Noel and I own and the potential stress of coping with our new schools.
We viewed three units in total, and within 24 hours of receiving our transfer results, we secured a place to live in Ipoh. We had a slight dilemma deciding if we should rent a new, fully furnished apartment or a 40-year-old, unfurnished double-storey terrace house. Both have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We went with the latter eventually.
Noel favored the apartment for its facilities and the modern toilets, but he agreed to living in the terrace house because of its strategic location and the cheaper rent. Meanwhile, I felt strongly for the terrace house because of the huge space and the liberty to fill the place with pieces that I actually like.
I hated the furniture in the apartment because not only were some of them water-damaged pieces, but some also seemed so out of place, and I couldn't imagine how I would utilize them. The landlord agreed to remove some items, but I would still very much prefer the unit to be as empty as possible. Truth be told, I became accustomed to a very high standard of living after staying eight years in the beautiful and practical units designed by Mr. Cheah, my former landlord in Johor, who is also an interior designer.
In the end, we paid a high price, financially and emotionally, for my stubbornness. Nevertheless, Noel never once complained or questioned our decision with what-ifs. He repeatedly affirmed me, which I really needed to keep going.
Moving our things
Initially, we planned to move our things using only our cars since we did not have any large pieces of furniture such as a bed or a fridge. Moreover, we were intimidated by the quotations offered by the moving companies. Of the four companies I contacted, only two were available, and both quoted a price of RM 2,300.
We planned to do two trips of two cars. We even borrowed Noel's dad's Toyota Sienta with the goal of transporting our longest pieces, an Ikea office desk and an Ikea metal rack, in it. However, after an entire day of packing and decluttering vigorously, we realized that we couldn't possibly fit everything in the cars even if we did three trips.
Feeling burdened and exasperated, we relented and tried to book a Lalamove truck on the app at 11 pm the night before our move. Literally in less than a minute, a truck driver accepted our order. 12 hours later, most of our belongings were loaded in the 10-feet truck, making their way to Ipoh.
The best part was that we paid much less, even after tipping, than we would have if we had hired movers. We only paid RM922 for the transportation and labor cost since we requested for a cargo delivering service instead of a house moving service. We tipped the driver generously because he brought his wife along as a helper. They also handled our items gently.
Noel still did a second trip down south, accompanied by Papa Ng, to bring back the remaining of his precious gadgets and to hand over the unit to the landlord. But all in all, Lalamove not only delivered our belongings, but it also delivered us from backache of driving multiple long-distance trips and all the loading and unloading.
Setback 1
A problem we encountered when we first moved in was that the electric gate responded very poorly to the remote controls. The remote's sensitivity was so poor that we had to be within a meter and aim it perfectly straight at the control box for it to work. We had to get off the car and attempt various Jojo poses every time we wanted to open or close the gate, which completely defeated the purpose of having an electric gate. The frequent rain in Ipoh and the busy road our house was at aggravated our inconvenience.
After a week of misaligned schedules, the technician finally found the right time to visit our house. He changed the remote controls and adjusted the frequency. Since then, we have been enjoying the luxury of entering and leaving the house at the click of a button.
Milestone 1
The first area that we completed was the dressing room. As much as living out of a suitcase sounds romantic, Noel and I have lots of clothes and bags and blankets and just soft things that readily collect dust. I urgently needed to tug them away so that they were not sitting on the floor blocking our access to our daily clothes.
A special shoutout to my ex-colleagues from the English Panel for gifting us a three-tier plastic drawer. And a big thank you to Shahana and Kak Yani for the portable wardrobe with dust cover. It's perfect to keep all the clothes and items that we seldom use.
In order to properly diagnose the cause, the second plumber pried open the sewage pipe in the kitchen that connected the toilet upstairs to the sewage storage tank underground. They collected most of the waste in a bucket to avoid creating a mess, but still some wastewater overflowed and gushed down from the pipe opening to the floor in a projectile motion.
The next room that we put together was our bedroom. Noel and I had agreed very early on that we would get a king-size bed because we enjoy our personal space very much. The mattress we ordered arrived on the third day we moved in, and we had been sleeping with the mattress on the floor.
There are truly many people we need to thank for this relocating journey. First of all, thank you to all our friends and ex-colleagues for the practical gifts.
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Johor, that's a wrap!
After my mom's passing, I had a strong intuition that Noel and I would get transferred back to Ipoh. That would be her last gift for me. To my great disappointment, we didn't get our transfer on our last day of 2024/25 school year in January.
On the night of February 7th, while Noel and I were in Ipoh, I got a message from Amanda, asking if we had checked our transfer result. I was befuddled since I didn't even know that there was a second round of transfer result announced. Noel and I checked the result while we were in the car waiting for the traffic light, and we had mixed feelings when we found out that our transfer had been approved.
Alas. God works in mysterious ways at His perfect timing.
I'm excited to share about my current rental house in Ipoh since Noel and I furnished it ourselves, but I think it's only fair for me to first dedicate a post to thank all my friends, colleagues, and family members in Johor. All of you played a crucial role in making my life in Johor colorful.
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
新年新人类
大家好。2025新年贵安。
新年新景象,恭祝大家身体健康、心想事成、常蒙主恩。
自恋的我汇集了自己18岁至31岁的个人照,本想趁去年31岁生日发一篇回顾特辑,无奈去年杪实在提不起劲来编写任何东西。没关系,美照什么时候发都不算迟。今天就让我们一边回顾我中学毕业之后的改变,一边展望新年。
十八岁,卜卜脆!这张照片的亮点其实是我的头发。脱离小学只能留齐装短发和中学长期扎高马尾的日子后我第一次去时髦的美发店烫发。这柔顺的黑长直,明亮的眼睛,水嫩的肌肤,灿烂的笑容,洁白的牙齿和白衬衫,无需怀疑!我就是白月光——隔壁的白炽灯!