One Down, Another One to Go!

I just got my lower left wisdom tooth removed yesterday, and can now sigh in relief! *Pheww*..

After much advice (given by my dentist, nevertheless) to have it removed, I have finally mustered up enough courage to proceed with the surgery (but not before having some research done on the pros and cons of the matter at hand).

Yeap. I knew, as far as 3 years back, that I need to have both my lower wisdom teeth removed as there was not enough space for them to actually come out, that would eventually make them push my other teeth up front. As far as I'm concerned, hearing that reasoning by my dentist 3 years ago had little, if not, no impact to me at all. I don't want to endure such an operation, what more when it involves going to dentist, and having them jab the anasthethics and making incisions into my gum, and then sawing my tooth and yanking it out. Just the thought of it gives me the creeps.

So my plan was simple.

Don't do anything with my wisdom tooth, until some problem starts to arise.

Yeap, I know that 'prevention is better than cure'. But in this case, I'll sit back and enjoy life. Let the tooth bug me when the time comes.

And so it did came (the 'time', I mean). 2 weeks back, I felt as if there was some twinging/tingling sensation (not the nice kind ok. The irritating kind) on the left side of my wisdom tooth. And it persisted for the next one week. Since it bothered me so much, I called up my dentist and made an appointment to have it removed.

I didn't sleep a wink the night before the operation. Even when I've googled on the net on the procedure (which was very reassuring as most of the website states that it is not painful, and it'll only takes to about 10-30 minutes to get it done), and even when I've consulted my friend ('don't worry babe. It's gonna be fine. If I can do it, so can you!') and my brother ('it's not painful, except the part where they pull out your tooth. Even then, the pain's bearable') who both have gone through the ordeal of taking out their wisdom teeth, I am still not convinced.

Having said that, I dragged P to the dentist with me on THE day of the surgery. At first I wanted him to be inside during the whole procedure to hold my hand. But then, just as my name was called by the receptionist, I decided that it's best for me to face it alone.

And guess what? it was the most traumatic experience I had. And all because of my wisdom tooth was a tad too big!

True, the anasthetic injection was not painful at all. And true, it was not painful as well when the dentist made an incision thorugh my gum and sawed through the tooth to have it removed in pieces. But it took about 1 hour and 10 minutes for the whole procedure to finish! After 30 minutes into the surgery, I started to think if there was something wrong with my tooth. Even the doctor had to do an x-ray of my tooth halfway through the operation. But it went ok, he managed to pull out all of it (the act of pulling the tooth was a bit painful, but as was said by my brother, tolerable).

5 stitches and a cotton gauze being shoved in my mouth later, I was up from the dentist chair. The doctor then went on to tell me how hard it was to pull out my wisdom tooth because of its size and location, and gave me some tips on what to do and what not to do for the next few days. The doctor also told me that I have to come again in a week's time to remove my stitches.

Coming out from the surgery room, my left cheek started to swell. Not a nice sight, but as P said to me, it doesn't matter because 'Operation, success'!!

Got back and cried because the anasthetic started to wear off, and I'm feeling the pain! Thank god for the painkillers the doctor gave me. Was also bleeding until night time. No appetite, and was on ice-cream and chocolate milk diet for the night.

So, to all of you guys who must have your wisdom tooth removed, please do not fret. It's not really that bad, except when you have a big tooth like mine, then it might get a little traumatic having to sit through the operation for more than an hour!

Here are some pics :

My lower left wisdom tooth, seen here in 4-5 pieces. The dentish had to remove it in pieces as the tooth was not really out yet.

See? So..... yucky, hahaha!!

Day two - made hummus for myself. Quite nice, for a first timer making hummus!

Will be eating this for the next 3 days *sigh*

So there, the ordeal of it all! Now I can recuperate and put my mind at peace, until the next surgery to remove my lower right wisdom tooth! Yikes!!

Note : As I am writing this, my face is still swollen, and I am still on antibiotics and ponstan! And no way can I eat solid food just yet. Liquid diet, here I come!

*sigh*

*sigh*

*sigh*

Rest In Peace, MJ!

Woken up with a bad news (received via sms) delivered by my best bud, Aida.

Michael Jackson's dead.

WhaAAaAaaTTtTttTt???!!??

Quickly turned on the TV, straight to E!News Channel, only to be greeted with some old, repetitive story on their news segment. No breaking news whatsoever on MJ's death.*sigh*

MJ's dead. How could that be?

I remembered listening to his songs when i was about 6 or 7 years old. Those were the days when his songs were all #1 hits. Songs like 'Thriller' and 'Billie Jean'. Other songs soon came into pursuit, like The Way You Make Me Feel (love,love the song!), Remember The Time )love it too!), and the not so famous song but people soon come to grown fond of, like Liberian Girl, etc.

I also remembered how my younger brother would dance in front of our sliding door to his songs when he was just 5 years old! that was funny... I also remembered how me and my cousins, and also my parents, together with my aunts and uncles, would play MJ's songs during barbecue parties held at our houses..

Michael, you touched a lot of people's lives as well as their hearts with your music. You will always be remembered as our one and only 'King of Pop'. Your music shall continue to colour our lives as well as our souls. From a child star to a super star, may you rest in peace..

"Pop icon Michael Jackson died Thursday (26.06.2009) after suffering a cardiac arrest, multiple US media outlets reported, sending shockwaves around the entertainment world.....

~~ MSN Malaysia News"

"Known as the "King of Pop," for hits that included "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," Jackson's dramatic, one-gloved stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world.

~~ The Washington Post"

Singapore Trip ~ Ain't Gonna Happen

As everyone can predict from the title of this post, our intended Singapore trip on the 25th until 28th of this month, has been called off.

Yeap. No more hoping to clutch that pretty Anya Hindmarch wallet in my hand, and no more hoping for paying admissions of Singapore attractions in Ringgit!!

As I am writing this, hubby dearest is still whining about his ear. (Yeap [again]. Hubby had an ear infection from our last trip to Hanoi. Apparently, ever since we landed to KL, his ear hadn't 'popped', ie. his air pressure hasn't been 'balanced'. Went to see the Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist at Pantai Medical Centre, where it was confirmed that hubby's ears are full of mucus, that resulted in the said imbalance. The ears are also infected, so the doctor had advised him not to fly for the next two weeks, and to just stay at home and recuperate. *sigh*...

So much for my sweet effort of actually booking and paying the Hotel online for our said trip. *sigh*...
USD111.00 for three nights. *sigh* (again).

Right now, what I need is to plan our 2 weeks in KL (seeing that hubby is also soon to be unemployed by next month).

Gotta go guys.. will write in soon.

xoxo

Trip to Hanoi, Vietnam

Planning for a trip, as some would say, requires patience. Going for a trip with another person, on the other hand, requires tolerance. That is why I think it is darn important for us to have the right person as your travelling buddy. Someone whom you think could put up with your b*****t, and vice versa.

Thankfully my one year off from work to travel involves mingling and putting up with my travelling buddy, my husband. Yeap, you might say it's a piece of cake considering the fact that he's my other half. But bear in mind, sometimes the person that you love, ends up hurting you the most, hahaha!

Well, so far, my trip with my P (to Phuket and other places) had been awesome. No extreme, major fights occured. But before I can give myself a pat on the back, I might as well also remind myself that those were really short trips, ie. going away for the weekend, etc.

So I guess P has yet to unleash his green eyed monster, and the same goes for me too.

But safe to say, our trip this time around to Hanoi (which, by the way, took 5 days and 4 nights) was a success.

Here are the pictures from the said trip :-

Day 1 ~ KLIA- Hanoi
Date : 11.06.2009

we took off from KL via MAS flight, scheduled at 10.45 am. But it got delayed for about half an hour cos three people who have checked in failed to turn up for the flight, which resulted in the airline having to locate their luggages to be taken out from the plane. Wonder what happened to them.... They might be busy shopping at the duty free shops at the terminal, hehe.

35,000 feet above sea level. Weather was awesome, no turbulence of any kind, pheww!!

It was a nice three hour flight. We reached Hanoi International Airport at approximately 1.30 p.m., local time. Vietnam has a one hour difference in terms of time as compared to Malaysia. Weather was really hot! Later I found out that it is summer right now in Hanoi. Sheeesh....

Took a 'teksi sapu' to our first hotel in Hanoi, located at the Old Quarter. The driver and his co-pilot first said that it'll cost us VietDong 250,000 (RM1 = VietDong 4,800). but later when we got into the car, they said that the whole trip would cost us an additional VietDong 450,000. As predicted, yours truly went into bitch fit mode, and they agreed to settle at VietDong 500,000. For those who plan to go to Vietnam, be very wary of the people there trying their best to cheat you into paying more than what you should. It was our mistake that we took a 'teksi sapu', so by all means, try to get the airport taxi instead.

Reached our hotel, which costs us about RM90.00 per nite. It's a really nice budget hotel located smack middle of Old Quarter, and most of the touristy attractions are within walking distance. After checking in (the room was not bad; there's cable TV, air-cond, hair dryer [weee!!!], clean sheets, and clean bathroom!!) P and I decided that we should take a walk around the Old Quarter for the rest of the day.

P next to our budget hotel (you can't see the hotel cause he's next to it, hehe)


Hanoi is full of motorbikes!! You need to have a heart of steel to cross the roads because the traffic is neverending! Priced at USD400, it's considered the cheapest type of vehicle to own.

Can you spot me in the picture?? hihi

The Vietnam flag!

We reached one of the many lakes in Hanoi. This is, I think, the most famous one. (can't remember the name though). Picture here is some building next to the lake.

Darling P taking a rest after the 10 minute walk

some 'makciks' massaging each other by the lake. it was so funny! Thought of joining in, but I don't think I'll blend now, do I? hehe

In the middle of the lake, is some pagoda.

me and the legendary golden turtle, who took the magic sword from the Emperor after some battle. Forgive me if i'm bad in remembering the name of the place... and event, hehe

Posing in front of a temple entrance located beside the lake

behind me, some fascinating monument.

The famous red bridge.

Thereafter, chilling at a bar nearby drinking Coke...

and eating donuts sold by the roadside... quite tasty.

Flowers... nice huh?

The hustle and bustle of Hanoi at night. During dinnertime, most of them would sit at the stalls located at the side of the road, and have some soupy beef noodles or soup with rice.

We went for the 8.00p.m. Water Puppet show

Overall it was quite impressive. But after all the brouhaha that I heard about the show, I was expecting more.

The band for the show with their traditional musical instruments

Behold, the water puppet show!!!! =)

After the show, we walked back to our hotel. Was a really darn tired tired day. Slept at midnite, and recharging our energy for tomorrow...


Day 2 ~ Trip to Ha Long Bay

Date : 12.06.2009

On our second day, we took a tour to Ha long Bay, said to be the most beautiful place in Vietnam. it consists of 1,900 islands scattered nearby at the bay. The islands are all limestone islands, said to be the body of a dragon that is peacefully sleeping at the moment, and only to be awaken in.... god knows when? hahahaha... See, I'm really bad in remembering all these facts shoved to me. Only bobs and bits.. Oh well..

A tour van came to our hotel at 8.30 p.m. for the trip. The journey took us about 3 hours to get to Ha Long. it was reallly longgggg..... ok! Thank god most of the time me and P were laughing and chit chatting whilst taking pictures.

some random 'makciks' seen here selling baguette by the roadside. Yeap, Vietnamese people does really good baguettes ok! All because of the French influence....

we had a pit stop in the middle of the journey, some tourist trap place where we can purchase souvenirs. But they hiked up the price ridiculously!! seen here is a viet chick making their famous thread painting. the painting involves using threads, and threads only. Pretty impressive......

Me in the junk boat heading to Ha Long Bay. It was really nice as they didn't cramp us up in one boat (seeing that there's loads and loads of junk boat around!). One boat consists of, maybe 14-16 persons......

Vietnamese Junk Boats, all in a row.....

P & I in the junk boat...

taking some shots on the way to the bay. Can you see the islands in the background?

stopping over at a water hut to buy crabs for lunch, haha!!

P enjoying the crabs. Me? Am not really a big fan....

See how he managed to eat 'em all clean? hihihihi

Arrived @ Ha Long Bay and had a stop to venture into a cave...

It was a long climb up leading to the cave...

the scenery from one of the decks leading to the cave. Nice, 'aight??

Once in the cave, P & I went into cam-whore mode, haha!! the cave was awesome, well worth the climb. and it was really breezy too, like they installed a huge air-cond or something in the cave.

P cam-whoring, nyehehehe.....

Now it's my turn!! =)

P's turn! See, we take turns! LOL!!

Lovely.....

ehe! ;)

me all sweaty after the cave excursion...

with my darling P!!

Junk Boats!!

After that, we headed our way back to Hanoi City. Arrived at the hotel about 8.00 p.m. Really darn tired!!!

Day 3 ~ Chillin' at Hanoi City

Date : 13.06.2009

Day 3 saw us just chillin' and walking around the city, and doing some souvenir shopping. Day 3 also was the day we checked in to our 5 star Hotel, woohoo!!!

Me lookin at the shoes being sold! darn loads of shoes ok! but didn't buy any...

P with his future job, haha!!!

Abba cadabra!! Chillin at one of the many coffee houses located in the city

P can't wait to devour the tuna pizza!!

this Vietnamese Chilli sauce is soooo..... delish!!!

Checked in @ Intercontinental Westlake Hanoi Hotel. the room was superb!! P bothering me while i took pictures of the bathroom!!

the toiletry box!

the bed was heaven! and the pillows.... *sigh*.. they even have a pillow menu where you can actually choose the pillow of your choice from heaps of different types of pillows listed...

the rest of the pictures are, well... uhm... me posing for the camera! ;)

Pictures taken after sunset @ Intercontinental...

the only restaurant where we frequented. the food was yummy!

me waiting for the waiter to take our order...

Kangkung fried with garlic. simple yet shedappp!!

fried battered squids...

and grilled tilapia.... yummmm!!!

the deco in front of the restaurant...

picture of an abandoned factory near the hotel....

my favourite pic throughout the trip... nice ayyy???

P & I....

Day 4 ~ Perfume Pagoda Tour

Date : 14.06.2009

Okayyyyy.....

So now I'm a bit too tired to write about our trip to the Perfume Pagoda. Pretty much it's a 1.5 hours drive and another 1.5 hour journey by boat to get to the place (and I'm talking about a one way trip, okay!!).. the journey was interesting.... but couldn't say the same about the destination...hahahaha!

while waiting for our driver to eat his b'fast, we had some Vietnamese coffee at the coffee shop

the trip to the Pagoda by boat... kind of interesting.... for the first 15 minutes!! LOL!

the stairs leading to the Pagoda. And it's a whole lotta steps!!

thankfully halfway through the journey, we took the cable car.. phew!!

tada!! the pagoda... whaAaAaTTt??! i walked that far to see THIS??!

see how excruciating it looks!

Day 5 ~ Hanoi-KLIA

Date : 15.06.2009

Nothing much happening on day 5. Just us going back to KL, and spending the morning at Hanoi airport while waiting to board the plane.

So there you have it.... the whole Hanoi trip, in one entry. It's a really nice place to go just to laze around.. But don't go during the summer, hahaha!!

Pheww! What I need now is a breather from all the typing. ;)