Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

As promised, I will be sharing my trip to Ho Chi Minh last April in this and the subsequent posts to come..

I had a really good travel deal flying into HCM on Jetstar, with zero airfare cost!!! Only payable was the airport taxes and fuel surcharge, which cost me $150 for a total of 7 days 6 nights. It was my first time to HCM, and needless to say, I did plenty of homework.

My pride was indefinitely the value-for-money hotel which I have booked through asiarooms.com at an amazing room rate! We stayed there for 7 days 6 nights, at USD 19 or SGD 23.75 equivalent per night. Located conveniently in District 1, 137 De Tham Street where the backpackers area is, Sunny Hotel on the outside looks just like the local budget hotel chain - Hotel 81.

We were given a room upgrade just because of the many days we were staying in their hotel. Simple decor, spacious, and with a tiny bit of muskiness in the furniture, the room was nothing to brag about; but we were more than satisfied.. especially on the following day, when we had our breakfast served in a little cozy area near the reception. It was nice and warm, the perfect starter for our first day in a foreign city.

The adventurous pair of us, would read from our iPhone maps, figure out locations and directions of where we want to go; and just start walking. We chanced upon this superb minced pork noodles place, which is walking distance from Sunny Hotel. The price of the noodles range from around VND 40,000 - 60,000 (equiv. SGD 6 - 8), and it comes with a big plate of vegetables which you can just garnish as you wish into your noodles. We basically ate the noodles every alternate day during the trip! You will understand why when you try it yourself!

Shopping was quite a treat as HCM has several day and night shopping markets. The most well-known would be Ben Thanh Market (day & night). Personally I think the day market, though very much like a shopper's paradise, is a little overpriced. I guess that  is because of the number of tourists this market attracts. The market opens until only 6-ish in the evening, but fret not; the night market which is an open-air bazzar located just on the side roads outside the Ben Thanh Market will open from 6pm to 12am daily.

The stuff you can expect from these 2 markets are those "I Love Saigon" t-shirts, imitation sportswear like Nike, Adidas, etc, fake goods like bags and watches, and the Vietnamese souvenirs. There are quite a few stalls that sell really nice handmade accessories and the hair accessories for both adults & baby girls. It will do you more advantage if you buy in bulk quantity.

A tip when you are shopping at Ben Thanh, do not buy from the first stall you see something you fancy. Ask for the price and move on to check the same with the following stalls. It is not surprising when the same stuff can be sold at different prices, even the little coconuts from the mobile drink peddlers! You should not be paying more than VND 20,000 for it..

My neglected darling

Sounds like I am an extremely bad mom right? Never my intention to be one, really...

Rianne's daddy has not for 1 day, given up the idea of having Rianne stay with him in the UK. I can totally comprehend why, and I wish to be able to grant him this chance especially after news of the demise of his dad came to me. I was actually feeling very compassionate towards daddy D when he texted me. His life has been way too tough on him.

However, sympathy aside, I need to ask myself the big question.. Will daddy D be capable and physically fit to take care of Rianne? Of course, he may be able to get someone to be the caregiver for Rianne. But will it be the best environment for Rianne to grow up in? Although I am not absolute certain that a single-parent environment with a workaholic mom, and an extremely shopaholic grandma aka the caregiver, here in SG will be the perfect environment for a growing toddler; but I will definitely try my best to give everything I can within my means for my precious darling.

Being out of touch of Facebook for a long time, means the latest pictures of Rianne have not been 'exposed'.. hahaha!! So, for you guys there.. yes, my ardent supporters of this blog.. please enjoy my naughty girl's supermodel shots! ;)

Social Media dilemma

I have been thinking for a while since K broke up with me..

Should I reactivate my Facebook account which I so ungrudgingly closed because K blocked me for some reason? Should I place pictures of me & Rianne on my MSN again, as I have not done in a long time because K didn't like Rianne? Should I even be blogging about my newly found bliss, when it has been less than a month since my breakup with K?

All these form the social media dilemma that I am undergoing.. But beneath lies an even bigger dilemma which only me myself can provide the answer to it.

Come to think of it, I am no longer answerable to K, and neither are my actions accountable to him. I don't even have to spare a thought for him, as it is my life and happiness that I am truly pursuing now. If someone can treat me the way a boyfriend should be doing, then why the hesitation?! My heart is going to say "yes" to this sweet person who despite his own discomfort, made an effort to have dinner with me in nowhere near his place but mine instead. My mind will be set to follow as well, and will stop pushing his love for me away.

Emptiness and Bliss

Someone's display message on MSN today read "Empty feeling...".

It's kinda ironic actually, to hear that coming from a person who's forever independent, and unexpectedly the same guy who chose to be "empty".

I am not gloating, I really am not. He might jolly be feeling like this because his folks have came and left Singapore today, and that sense of emptiness suddenly shook him by surprise. The second wave of surprise hit me instead of him, when he wrote me an email to thank me for the hotel arrangement I made for his parents. He even told me that he and his family enjoyed themselves fully.

Good to know that.. at least I didn't screw up the accomodation arrangement and land myself in some verbal lashing.

Well, I did not want to appear like I'm all needy and ready anytime to return to his arms, if he were to ask. So, there was no reply from me at all. Not an email, nor a message on MSN. In fact if he's smart enough, he would be able to read between the lines of my MSN message and leave me completely alone. My message goes like this "It feels really nice to be called a distraction.", and a smiley emoticon at the end.

The cheeky person who said that, told me he decided he wants to be distracted.. Awwwwww, soooooo sweet isn't it? =) It's been a long time since I felt flattered, wanted and in control of a situation which I am pretty sure, is only to my favour. And this, is what I called bliss.

Finally I can taste BLISS. Sweet like sugar, and happy like never before.. :)

Rebound

The big bowl of black herbal jelly that is right in front of me now, reminds me of the silly person who told me this is made from the shell of a turtle.. *fainted...

You probably wonder, how can someone this innocent be the same nasty guy who broke my heart?? Unfortunately, it is a matter of fact. So much true that I am even suspecting, could this be a case of 'Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde'?!! Well, whatever the kind of personalities he may have; I should never allow myself to be ran over and kicked aside, like some kind of roadkill. So, move on now, Reggie!!

I am beginning to buy the philosphy of "When you shut a door, another one opens". It seems to be so for not just me, but my friend Jenn as well; which is just damn deserving for her finally! There's someone out there now, impressing me with his considerate, sensitive and super-ultra sweet persona! I can almost tell that he's ready to bare his heart to me, if I had asked him to.

This feels weird and certainly not the right time.. as honestly, I have not stopped thinking about MR PIG, as much as I want to.. I don't want to be on a rebound and hurt anyone in the process. It's not going to be fair to this nice guy, as he is only trying to be good to a girl.

I AM BACK!!

The title means 2 things.. One - I'm back on my blog again, people!! And secondly, Regina Baby's back; with a different self this time!

My friend, Jenn always tell me to self-love, self-realise, and self-respect.. I thought this is kinda stupid, as having a partner aka bf, would mean that I would be loved and well respected; isn't it? But what happens if your bf is not giving you that? She and almost my every other friend yelled, "GET OUT OF HIM NOW!"

It is easier said than done. But I want to try.

Looking back at the past 10 months of our relationship, it seems that the selfless love and sacrifices I've done for him, was practically nothing to him. Maybe that was what he expected from a gf, and I already did my best in it. All my love were over-shadowed by his male chauvinism, and the endless unreasonable demands. It was close to the stage where I only lived my life for him, but yet everything I do got him irritated.

His quick and bad temper, coupled with my stubborness, were the biggest obstacles in our relationship. They in fact, had us fighting every single day during our trip to Vietnam. The arguements got so bad that he left me alone in the hotel room once, and another time, at the opposite side of the road crossing. We even wanted to throw food and beer (for me) at each other at one restuarant!

The final straw came when we fought again on the day of GE (General Election, for those who may not know the abbreviation). It started right at the time when we met for dinner. He insisted on having hot soup as he was feeling a little sickly, and I knew it was definitely due to the lack of sleep the night before. He got home like 4.30 in the morning! I went along with that eventhough I didn't want to go to Balestier, as I was dressed in a leopard print top with my hair all curled up looking a lot like a hooker if I were spotted there!

He kept lamenting about the headache he got, and that people were throwing weird looks at us. He even had my stuff all packed in a bag and passed to me. I was more than pissed already, but I did not say anything. He doubted me when he asked me for the spelling of the word "chartered".. as in "chartered bus". It got me pretty annoyed. He lost it eventually when he tried to show me an application on iPhone that monitors his sleeping pattern. We have interpreted the application description differently, and he shouted at me for being so f&%#ing stubborn again! He said I am just like those f*#@ ing sales people in his company, and that he is really sick of me! He also said that it is a good thing that he was returning my stuff to me, as he think we should separate and have some time away from each other.

That was it, I thought. After spending so much on having my hair extensions done so as to please him, it was still over for us. I almost broke down when he left me at Orchard MRT, and I quickly phoned my kindest gfs. God knows what was he thinking when he texted me in the next hour, asking me my whereabouts. I did not reply. He smsed and called me non-stop afterwards, and I finally gave in and answered. After he knew I was with Jenn, he sent nasty messages like "See, that's your dirty life and in fact, your future." and also, "I believe you will have your 2nd child tonight, good luck bitch!"

It is just sad, so sad to hear this coming from the person I love whole-heartedly. I wished I had agreed with him on what he said about the iPhone application, and I wished deep down that this was just a dream, a bad dream. :(

Rianne

I wouldn't have thought Rianne at her age, will be able to make up or comprehend what I say to her unless they sound familiar to her. In other words, she probably would know only when I am muttering names of people she recognizes, or food which she loves or ate before!

However, last night in a fit of anger, I yelled at the little baby asking her to go to her daddy in UK and stay there with him! I even told her that she don't have to come back since her daddy wants her so badly, and believes that her future is only in the UK! I was surprised by Rianne's reaction.. she cried out loud immediately, turned over to my mum on the bed, and snuggled up to her whilst sobbing.

She seems to know that I was threatening to send her away to her daddy, and very obviously she doesn't want that! How is it that she knows going over to UK and staying with her daddy, is something potentially 'unfavourable' to her?! Her snuggling up to her grandma, means she understand that she might be losing her grandma for good if she goes to be with her daddy.

I swear I never spoke bad about Rianne's daddy to her. So, I really cannot fathom why would Rianne say "mai" (dialect speak of "don't want") everytime when we ask her to go to be with her daddy. Does she already know her predicament, if she were to go to the UK? Hmmmmmm....