**countdown to end of Dec'08... 3mth and XXdays...**
On a fateful day in mid-Sept, ms loveflower discovered (to her horror!) that she had to clear her compulsory block leave of 6 days (company's policy) by end of Oct'08... because:
1) boss informed the whole team that no one is to clear leave in month of Nov and Dec as there are tons of works to do, e.g. mad rush to complete projects as there is a system freeze date in Dec, system version upgrade and blah blah blah. In short, you have to finish your work before the due dates!... and to quote my boss "...if it means you have to come back during xmas day itself to finish your work, you just have to come back..."
2) and my colleague intended to clear her block leave at end of Nov
3) and either one of us has to be around when the other is away (cos we are the only 2 persons in the team with backoffice knowledge...)
With some simple maths (now = Sept, cannot travel = Nov and Dec, can travel = ??), the best time to clear my leave would be in Oct... and i can even utilise the public holiday to go for a longer and further trip! hurray!
And thus the hunt for travelmates begin... left msg on blog's tagboard and msn but alas, most ppl just werent keen!! gal frens either no leave, no money or no interest, bf is out of town, guy frens cannot travel with me (alone) cos their gfs will pull their ears... arrgghhh, the possibility of me becoming a hermit and hole up at home for 2 weeks seems very real...
And then... ms princess came to the rescue! she called me (after reading the tagboard) and wanted a part in my travel plan!! hahaha... i was so happy k! cos seriously, i really really want to get out of the country and traveling by myself is definitely a NO-NO for me... will need at least someone (anyone will do!) to accompany me.
I wanted to go Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi; ms princess wanted to go India, Mumbai... We discussed for a while and decided that Mumbai really isnt our cup of tea as we werent sure whether it is safe for 2 gals to travel there and whether our stomach are able to take their spicy food.
By a stroke of luck (for us actually... cos we were saying that if we can get a guy to join us, it'll be better... well, at least he can be our bodyguard in case of emergency right?? hahaha...), mr ex-irish's tenant wanted to move in earlier and hence 'forced' mr ex-irish to return to singapore earlier too... And since he has a short break before his job begins and he hasnt been to Vietnam... voila, he decided to join us for the trip!
Being a very practical guy, mr ex-irish 'questioned' the need to spend 10days in Vietnam (HCM and Hanoi only?)... Well, the must dos on my list are just HCM / Mekong Delta, ms princess is anything and mr ex-irish is why-10days-in-1-country... we decided that we should do a HCM - Mekong Delta - Phnom Penh - Siem Reap. Sound goods! We get to cover Vietnam and Cambodia and i could add 2 countries to my travel list. Perfect.
But! While we were finalising the dates to depart/return (difficulty to obtain leave approval for certain dates) and which route to take (HCM first or Siem Reap first?), Jetstar and Tiger Airways decide to increase their fares by quite a substantial amount for the date which we intend to return. This is so irritating! =(
As the increased fare doesnt justify the benefit of staying an extra night in Cambodia (increased fare of 60USD almost equivalent to paying for 6 nights room stay), we cut short our stay by one day and decide to give Siem Reap a miss...
Finally... 3 weeks to departure, we booked our flight for Ho Chi Minh and return flight from Phnom Penh... 2 weeks to departure, we had our chalet at Aloha Changi... 1 week to departure, mr ex-irish returned to singapore. 5 days to departure:
On a fateful day in mid-Sept, ms loveflower discovered (to her horror!) that she had to clear her compulsory block leave of 6 days (company's policy) by end of Oct'08... because:
1) boss informed the whole team that no one is to clear leave in month of Nov and Dec as there are tons of works to do, e.g. mad rush to complete projects as there is a system freeze date in Dec, system version upgrade and blah blah blah. In short, you have to finish your work before the due dates!... and to quote my boss "...if it means you have to come back during xmas day itself to finish your work, you just have to come back..."
2) and my colleague intended to clear her block leave at end of Nov
3) and either one of us has to be around when the other is away (cos we are the only 2 persons in the team with backoffice knowledge...)
With some simple maths (now = Sept, cannot travel = Nov and Dec, can travel = ??), the best time to clear my leave would be in Oct... and i can even utilise the public holiday to go for a longer and further trip! hurray!
And thus the hunt for travelmates begin... left msg on blog's tagboard and msn but alas, most ppl just werent keen!! gal frens either no leave, no money or no interest, bf is out of town, guy frens cannot travel with me (alone) cos their gfs will pull their ears... arrgghhh, the possibility of me becoming a hermit and hole up at home for 2 weeks seems very real...
And then... ms princess came to the rescue! she called me (after reading the tagboard) and wanted a part in my travel plan!! hahaha... i was so happy k! cos seriously, i really really want to get out of the country and traveling by myself is definitely a NO-NO for me... will need at least someone (anyone will do!) to accompany me.
I wanted to go Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi; ms princess wanted to go India, Mumbai... We discussed for a while and decided that Mumbai really isnt our cup of tea as we werent sure whether it is safe for 2 gals to travel there and whether our stomach are able to take their spicy food.
By a stroke of luck (for us actually... cos we were saying that if we can get a guy to join us, it'll be better... well, at least he can be our bodyguard in case of emergency right?? hahaha...), mr ex-irish's tenant wanted to move in earlier and hence 'forced' mr ex-irish to return to singapore earlier too... And since he has a short break before his job begins and he hasnt been to Vietnam... voila, he decided to join us for the trip!
Being a very practical guy, mr ex-irish 'questioned' the need to spend 10days in Vietnam (HCM and Hanoi only?)... Well, the must dos on my list are just HCM / Mekong Delta, ms princess is anything and mr ex-irish is why-10days-in-1-country... we decided that we should do a HCM - Mekong Delta - Phnom Penh - Siem Reap. Sound goods! We get to cover Vietnam and Cambodia and i could add 2 countries to my travel list. Perfect.
But! While we were finalising the dates to depart/return (difficulty to obtain leave approval for certain dates) and which route to take (HCM first or Siem Reap first?), Jetstar and Tiger Airways decide to increase their fares by quite a substantial amount for the date which we intend to return. This is so irritating! =(
As the increased fare doesnt justify the benefit of staying an extra night in Cambodia (increased fare of 60USD almost equivalent to paying for 6 nights room stay), we cut short our stay by one day and decide to give Siem Reap a miss...
Finally... 3 weeks to departure, we booked our flight for Ho Chi Minh and return flight from Phnom Penh... 2 weeks to departure, we had our chalet at Aloha Changi... 1 week to departure, mr ex-irish returned to singapore. 5 days to departure:
Dinner at NYDC, Wheelock Place, to discuss on trip itinerary
**Night before departure, 23rd Oct**
loveflower to princess and ex-irish: we havent book accommodation for HCM yet! cos the guesthouses arent replying to our emails or taking our calls... guess we just turn up and find a place there!
princess: hasnt pack! will do it in the morning. now am rushing last min work...
**faint... we need to check in 10.50am. enough time to pack??
ex-irish: remember to print air ticket, bring photocopied passport, money belt, blah blah blah
The 10 days HCM-Mekong-PP trip for two gals and a guy begins...
2 comments:
oh harlow there! will u having a photo post later?
at least i dun have to see the scary eye every time i log in any more. =/
yup, will be blogging the whole trip by day... =) yah man, i also dont know why you choose the scary eye to represent your perfect eye...
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