#54 - A CHANGE?

So....this space is pretty much abandoned. Guilty.
Well, I've just been lazy to be honest. Hmmmmm, so I've been thinking of having a change of space. Thus, I'll be moving on to my tumblr. Yes I know. There are two tumblr blogs, in which case I'll most likely be posting my photos on http://joywezoe.tumblr.com

cheerios, x.

#53 - #21ZOELIFE

{WORDY POST}
Hi. It's been a while! I feel like I should ask how are you? I'm good, as always :)
So, the year 2014 is coming to an end and 2015 is coming up. I think this year passed really quickly, don't you think? Everything was a blur, sort of & I've probably 'grew' mentally? I think what I was really conscious about, were the friendships I had this year. Some friendships I thought would last, didn't and some I didn't think would happen, did. However, up until now, it's never been a sour ending but rather a growing process. I thank God for that; for the friends he brought along my way that made my last year in poly memorable and for friends whom I can walk with in my personal life.

What I'm most thankful for, was when people celebrated my 21st with me. Birthdays, to me were always just another day but in reality, it really is significant. I mean, birthdays is the day you were born and up until now, what is your story? I think the people who celebrate with you is the effects of what you did with your life and these people. It kinda says about a person, right? Please don't get me wrong, I'm not indirectly implying about myself. Just reflecting on it, makes me think that way.

I would just like to specially mention a few people. (Not in order of favoritism.)

Jo'ssy, Julia, Yuwan, Sheryl, Adora, Vanessa, Dione, Teresa, Minee, Jeyna, Olivia, Josephine

You girls are awesome! Thanks for being a part of my life and making it special! So touched and appreciative of you guys taking your time to speak to me and involving me in your life. :) For the messages, gifts and conversations we had, I will treasure them.

I might not know everyone who reads this blog and even if it's only a few, I'm still thankful for whoever who reads this. :) Also, feel free to comment or let me know what you would like to see more often?

Thankful for opportunities where I got to use my gifts and skills to help friends out for their production. Truly the year of greater glory where unknowingly, people look to me to take photos? I'm truly humbled so thank you everyone.

Overall, I'm so so thankful for Daddy God for looking out for me this year. My 3 prayer requests for this year were answered and so glad I got to live them out; experienced it myself and through the process, I have grown. So thankful #thankyoujesus. I'm so hopeful for the coming year and have a good expectation of what is to come.

2015, here I come.

Be blessed & thanks for reading, x

#52 - AUTUMN SUNSET

Hi! So my mum and I made a cake together this past weekend. I've been looking at rainbow cakes/ red velvet cakes recently and was just itching for some. U can have a look at Cupcake Jemma's rainbow cake, it was totes uhmazing. ;P Plus, my mum wanted to bake something and to try something new. So, we present to you Autumn Sunset cake. *hits cymbals* 

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We didn't have that many colors of the rainbow so we made do with what we had. Orange, pink and purple were our best options. We used a butter cake recipe which me and my bro loved! To create this cake, we had to split the batter into 3 portions and color each one individually.

The making of the batter was easy. The coloring and measuring were the more tiring ones. What I mean by tiring was how we had to be precise in our coloring because we wanted a specific color. The measuring plays a big role because we wanted each layer to come out the same way evenly and equal. So, more details had to be looked into these two areas.

Overall, the outcome turned out good! The cake was tasty and firm. The layer of cream cheese blended well with the cake as it wasn't too sweet but was a nice touch to end off the bite. 

Thanks for reading and be blessed, x. 

#51 - WILD SCHOOL BELLE

Boo. Well yeah, its Halloween season ain't it? Instead of all that gory makeup and "figure of imagination creature" looks, I thought I'll do something more glamorous(?) I don't claim or try to be a makeup artist here but like how people put face paint on themselves; that's what im doing :)

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Makeup/Beauty is a hobby (i guess you can count it as one?) of mine and since it's been a while i've posted something beauty related I thought it'll be appropriate to share this. School is starting for me next week and coincidentally, this look might be something wearable for school too. This is an experimental post cos I don't usually wear thick liners, heavy shadows etc so I hope anyone out there might be inspired to try it out too ;)

I find that not many can pull of the dark lip and for those who can, I totally admire. A dark lip just gives off a certain........aura - mysterious and untouchable. I don't know, that's how I feel. How about you? Anyway, I was inspired by Claire to do this look. Plus, she is like the Originals (if you watch Vampire Diaries, you would know what I'm talking about :P) of dark lips. 

Patterned Top: Uniqlo

Leather Peplum: Dorothy Perkins

Coat: Granny's

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Have a great weekend!

Thanks for reading and be blessed, x. 

(photoblog)

#50 - OCTOBER // CHOC CHIP COOKIES

Hi there! It's October already and i'm gonna start school soon. I had a wonderful holiday for the past month & i wouldn't deem it as "rotting" away but relaxing. Hehehehe. I love when the year is coming to an end because it's autumn/winter, (not that Singapore has 4 seasons) but something about those seasons makes me happy. Did I mention I love autumn/winter style as well? Just something about layers, denim, coats, boots (urgh) make me tingle inside. ^^ Anyway, I'm praying for a wonderful, restful and enjoyable semester for my last year in school. 

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Yes, I have another foodie post today. I decided to make chocolate chip cookies out of the blue. Idk why, i just felt like it...I guess we all have those days where you just spontaneously feel like doing/eating something right? Although the recipe turned out a little too sweet and the cookies too wide, it was still edible. A sweet treat for tea/snacking. Hope you like it? :)

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I do upload my photos all on my tumblr photoblog so if you'll like to check them out,

http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com/ or the link will be under the inspiration column >>>

Be blessed and thanks for reading, x.

#49 - EAT WITH ME

Hi. I've kept these photos in my folder, just waiting for the right time to post them. So, I thought it'll be a good time to share it on my blog.

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My mum makes delicious carrot cakes. I mean their the best i've ever tasted. Since I'm no food critique, maybe you'll like to try them for yourself? :) drop me an email!

Also, her cinammon buns are delicious. I don't think I could get sick of it. Kinda craving for it right now.

Lastly, I made pancakes for breakfast one morning and they turned out super nice. Not to brag.....but...they are really good. It goes well with chocolates/fresh fruits or bacon/eggs. Plus, super easy to make.

//

So, what do you think of this series? Let me know.

Be blessed and thanks for reading, x.

(p.s. i did create the hainan island video via my mobile, so i'll put snippets on my instagram)

(p.p.s thank you everyone who checked out my blog and gave me sweet comments personally xx)

#48 - THE TRAVEL DIARIES : HAINAN ISLAND

Hi. So a while back, I went on a trip to Hainan Island. People ask me: "So is Hainan Island part of China?" Yes! Located in the South China Sea, it's capital is Haikou. Mostly populated by Han's.  - I checked Wiki. ;P My family took this holiday to visit my grandparents who were staying there and also a break away from Singapore. Here is my visual post: 

It was an approx. 4 hour flight but we were delayed at Changi Airport due to a plane technical issue. So, we were transferred to another gate and had to wait for a bus to transport us to our next plane. So, we had to wait again for our flight to take off because we were the 8th in line. Like I mentioned on my Instagram post, "Delays are divine interventions". A reminder that God is always good! ;)

I sat near the windows and got to take pretty pictures. It's so amazing seeing Singapore/Hainan Island from up above like we are really tiny! But no matter how small we are and how small we feel, God still wants my heart. What love, what love...

So after many delays, we finally arrived! My grandparents waited from 9am and we only reached at 12pm (i think close to 1). We hurried to our pickup and drove to their place. Just at the start of the trip, God protected my mum, my grandma, the driver and I. There was this HUGE truck (not even kidding) who was going in the opposite way and the road was so small plus there weren't any directional lines/division. Any car could get in the opposite lane. Ok, so like I was saying, this HUGE truck was coming towards us in the opposite direction and a white car was trying to get in front of us from the side. So my driver honked at him so many times to give way but the white car didn't want to give way. We were soooooo close to getting hit but THANK GOD we were protected.

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Just coming out of the airport, you can see the MAJOR differences with Singapore's green/clean/smooth roads as compared to Hainan's muddy/bumpy/unorgarnized roads. Even though we were close to the airport and the capital, it didn't look like one. Interestingly enough, we saw many wild cows and 3-wheel cars like the one below!

I filmed throughout most of the trip on my iPhone so I reckon I would do a short video when I have the time. So, we drove for about 1/2h before reaching and was greeted by the humid weather. It was summer in Hainan so the sun's out all day except for Sunday which rained the whole day. Anyway, we stayed in front of a farmland which is normal too because most of them are farmers. 

Those banana trees belong to my granny which got destroyed during the typhoon a few months ago. They're huge btw. Praise the Lord my grandma can still take care of her garden at a senior age.

If you can see, the houses are at the most 3-4 levels and gray in color. It's common and seem to be the theme for most houses around the island. Unlike Singapore's colorful HDB flats and still gets new coats of paint every now and then. Oh, not to mention....LOTS OF BUGS. Like I'm not even trying to kid you. Mosquitoes, grasshoppers...oh you name it, it comes free flow. The most common are the houseflies. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Singapore is considered VERY clean and VERY healthy environment to live in already. If I could, I would've immediately flown back to SG on the next flight. 

I complained to my dad and he said: "Yknow, take this as an experience." I took up the challenge. It was really not easy.

Right next to our house was a kindergarten which is also another common 'business' in our town. There are really a lot of kids and I guess it's because of the lifestyle here. A day in their life goes like this: Eat > Work > Sleep > Eat > Work > Sleep. So whatever they earn, goes to their daily expenses. I also heard they like to gamble. Therefore, they reproduce to carry their next generation. 

My grandma prepared bazhang for us. Oh, how much I've missed her delicious homemade food. It always makes my tummy happy. She also made red eggs and offered this fizzy orange drink which apparently helps her to cure headaches. Another interesting thing was the way the can is opened - it's like how we open tuna can food.

So after chilling for a bit, I was itching for some potato chips which myself and bro regretted not bringing. But Praise the Lord(!) we brought cup noodles like here's a travel tip for you: ALWAYS bring cup noodles. :) So, granny suggested that grandpa bring me to see the "Shopping Mall". Mum and Dad tagged along and I brought my camera hoping to take some daily-life shots.

Tbh, it wasn't easy because everyone around was just staring at us. Not a glance but stares. It was an uneasy feeling knowing that so many eyes were on us. The smells around didn't really help either. As it rained earlier in the day, the ground was still muddy and not fragrant. We neared the wet market and saw a hawker selling her poultry - goose, ducks, chickens. Now, let's take a moment to appreciate our clean wet markets and renovated hawker centres. Also, how each hawker has to have a license to sell and a grade for their cleanliness. People, we are so blessed! In this place, it seems like anyone can sell. Oh, did I mention that 300m away I could smell the wet market?? Oh, you can also smell the ducks and chickens. Its, an un-explainable, beyond all senses, revolting smell.

(notice the background. they place raw meat on the table with no ice whatsoever. now, notice the surrounding. it's cemented and not tiled. Singaporeans, we are truly so blessed.)

So, the well-known dish in this town is the roast duck. Well, this is a redeeming point. (ok, as long as I don't see how it was prepared.) But, the duck is really nice la. So, many stalls selling roasted ducks are set up along the streets leading to the main road. There were also fruit stalls and motorbike taxi's. Like I mentioned earlier, any car can cut lanes and go in the opposite direction. Pedestrians aren't priority on the roads, it was basically whether you DARE to cross or not.

Singapore roads are so much safer. You don't need to have a license to ride a motorbike, anyone can in Hainan. They don't even put on helmets AND 4 people can squeeze on a bike. Not even kidding. How, you may ask? I also ask how. Unbelievable.

(didn't even notice the guy in red smiling at my camera. LOL.)

Okay so you see that yellow building? That's the beginning of the 'modern' "shopping" district. So the "shopping mall" had no air-conditioning and basically a sauna. As we went up, an old man with his shirt unbuttoned, spit on the escalator. Yes. It's VERY common. I could almost put it as ' a part of their culture. ' Plus they had fresh fruits and raw meat lying around. The carton boxes thrown in corners, houseflies in abundance and spoilt food displayed. Did I mention smoking was allowed anywhere? Yeah. Let's take a moment again, to appreciate Sheng Siong/NTUC. Air-conditioning like free until I have to wear jacket, trolleys, free sample of food, fresh foods, clean pathways, safe fire exit routes etc. Despite all that, my mum reminded me, "At least they tried." Very true, so A for effort. Anyway, we didn't buy anything.

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The next day we began our road trip early in the morning. Stopped for lunch at an apparently '5 star' restaurant. Well, the service was SO....wait for it....SLOOOOW and inefficient. They served us soup followed by eggs without rice. We kept asking for chicken rice but nobody told us that it wasn't ready. There was so much dilly dally until they finally served white rice. So, alright, the food was okay like it wasn't amazing. I think my house downstairs the tzi char fried rice still nicer.

This funny thing happened. We supposedly ordered this long bean dish and the waiter served us this long bean with brinjal. After eating a little bit of it, this waitress came and said that was the wrong dish and served us the correct order. You wouldn't guess what she did with the wrong dish....

She gave it to another table who ordered our wrong dish.
I don't know what to say............................ O_O
According to my bro, that table didn't touch the dish. OF COURSE LA!! Even the tzi char stalls don't do it. (not to my knowledge, that is) Anyway, The Singapore standard considered up there already. But seriously #thankyoujesus for His favor and protection. It could've been us that ate the half-eaten dish and gotten bugs/creatures in our food.

After that we headed to the "botanical gardens" and apparently a tourist attraction. Each group will have one tour guide who brings us around and explains the different trees/plants. I'll put it out there first - this garden can't even be compared to Singapore's. At least we have swans in our lake and roads to walk on. There are some interesting plants of course! Cocoa trees in abundance and a vanilla plantation. We got to try cocoa tea and some kind of wafer. Actually instead of hot tea, they could've served cold ones because it's seriously HUMID. If I were a guy, I would've taken off my shirt. It was that warm! The gift store was just a bunch of overpriced and repetitive items. So, we didn't get anything and finished the tour in 1/2h.

 (vanilla plantation)

 (i think this was lime?)

(dragon fruit plantation)

 (cocoa trees)

(cocoa tea)

(photo cr: Bro)

After that, we went for dinner and ate this deep-fried butter prawns. Ok, let me just say, it wasn't the best butter prawns but judging by the food in Hainan, this was heavenly. It was remedy for my bro and I. HAHAHAHAHAHA

We retreated back to our "resort". Let me just mention this "resort".
So, we told the tour guide before this trip that we wanted somewhere we can relax and stay for the night. Our definition was something like Singapore's Shangri-La Sentosa instead we stayed at this "resort" which apparently was a motel?? It was dead quiet like situated in the mountains and nowhere near the sea. The most shocking thing was when we stepped into our block, it was already the rooms. (ours were on the third floor) but I can't imagine someone staying on the first floor. Like there wasn't any privacy and security. It was so....open. We had to climb up to the third floor which was a concern for my grandparents but thank God they were still going strong! Praise Jesus. Another thing was the water. Now, let's take a moment in the many moments here, to appreciate clean, drinkable, odorless water from our taps. Why? The water in this hotel room has a STRONG smell of iron. It's like that smell of blood when, for example, you bite your gum too hard and you taste the blood. Yeah, smells like that. I think smh the water affected my face and i had spots all over the next day. ;'(

Okay, so besides the rooms, there was the swimming pool and supposedly a spa(?) Me and my bro went to visit the pool and the water was a clear greenish color, the sauna was 1/4 filled with water (like how were ppl supposed to get the jet to hit their backs?), the "spa" was a fish spa but since hardly no one comes, i bet the fishes passed on. That's not the best part. To enter the pool, you gotta pay 10RMB = S$2. Errrrrrrm, hello?? We're guests of your "resort" and we still have to pay to enter the pool?? HAHAHAHAH oh my gosh recounting this just makes me laugh!! It's beyond ridicule.

But yknow, the focus was spending time with my family. I really thank God that we were staying close to our grandparents. I loved how we ended the night with CUP NOODLES! yummy.... & together as a family, we watched this Chinese serial drama with the main character Huo Xiao Lin. It became our thing like we HAD to watch it! :) Also, we get to spend one night in bliss with air-conditioning and away from mosquitoes. ;)

Oh goodness, I don't even want to mention breakfast, but here goes....So, after the past night's experience, I wasn't gonna expect much from breakfast. I smh knew it wasn't going to be International/Continental American breakfast but still I was hoping it was. True enough, we had white porridge, hard-boiled eggs, mantou, fried bread, beehoon and guotiao. I'm not sure what kind of combi is this but the better dish was the beehoon. Anyway, when it seemed like all hope was lost, this big group of mainlanders entered. When the food came, they all bowed their heads and said grace. I believe they were God sent and not a coincidence. A reminder, be thankful and God's gonna be with us during this trip. So as we left, me and bro said "Goodbye. You'll not be missed"
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You see this picture of the sea? Do you know how relieved and happy I felt?
This was the best way to end the road trip. Here's the story - 

So we said we wanted to see the sea and our tour guide drove us to this private forested area and we saw glimpses of the sea. I was so happy! I thought "YES! FINALLY! WE CAN USE OUR SWIMMING COSTUMES!" All that excitement started building in me and I wanted to share the joy. I looked to my brother and he was sleeping. Oh well. So in the distance we saw this weird looking hotel facing the sea which had its own private island and a helipad. HELIPAD GUYS. So too bad, we were told to turn around cos it was only for "our guests". -_-

Anyway, we passed this signboard earlier that said Le Meridian and my mum told the guide to drive us there. Ok. So I was like "ok, not all hope was lost".......the guide didn't turn in....................... o_o
I was speechless. All that excitement just dropped and disappointment, anger, sadness all came in at once. You may think like I'm over emotional but it was as if I was promised a toy turns out it was just a lie. I couldn't help it la, so I started crying. :''''''(

My mum turned over and was so concerned and kept asking what happened. I finally told her and she said: "don't worry jo, God will give us something better." At the right moment, I was told something I needed to hear. Not something I wanted to hear like being given hope to turn into the resort. There and then, I felt like God told me this: "Child, wipe your tears now. I've got something better for you". Next thing I knew, we were at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel and my friends, this was God's divine intervention right here.

This was the beach. It was like a private beach exactly like Shangri-La Sentosa!!!!!!! The water was clear as crystal, the sky was so blue, the sand was so fine and the view of the moutains... Awe-mazing. THIS WAS A RESORT. All those tears, I felt like it was shed for nothing. How many of you can understand, one touch of God's love, we can just drop all our past? That's how AMAZING our Heavenly Father is. When I look down from the plane, we are so tiny. Comparing myself to this vast ocean and skies, I am a speck. But yet, the person who created all this, pursues me because He wants my heart.

For 1/2h, we just dipped our feet in the sand and ice cold water. We didn't change but we just stood and rested. After this, nothing else mattered on this trip. As we reached a stop for lunch, I'd say this last stop was the BEST LUNCH out of all the places the guide brought us. #thankyoujesus

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On the 5th day, we sat on the bullet train from Wenchang > Sanya. It was my first-time ever and I filmed most of the trip. The train was built in the last 3 years so its been a year since operation. We waited for our 10:16AM train and boarded the 'second-class' cabin. There train-stewardess that walked up and down selling coffee/tea/ice-creams. There was also a counter that sold hot food and we bought 2 sets. One was this duck meat set (69RMB?) and chicken leg set (40RMB?). Both sets were really good!!!! Anyway, the train travelled at 193km/h and stopping only at certain towns.

While we were on the train, we noticed some people standing. Apparently, these people bought the cheapest ticket which are for standing. If anyone alights and no one comes in from the next station, they can sit. So with that being said, 1st/2nd class didn't matter because there wasn't a segregation.

We finally arrived at Sanya and once we stepped out, there were so many guys like bees asking passengers if they need transport. Since we dressed differently, these guys like cheetahs and their preys immediately came to us. There was this one guy which stood out from my memory because HE WOULDN'T STOP BUGGING US. He kept buzzing around, he was SO PERSISTENT. I've never seen someone so persistent. His persevering spirit is one to applaud for. But I thought to myself: "don't you get the hint?" It's so funny!!!! Like I would spot him in his pink shirt coming from afar toward us when we looked at the signboard even when we were buying our tickets to return back.

When travelling to Hainan, expect to see people flocking to you to ask if you need transport at the airport and train stations. There'll be plenty but make sure you know someone locally to help you. If not, who knows we might get scammed.

I've got another story for you.
So the call for our train sounded and we went to queue. By now, we knew what to do while queuing. Travel tip: never leave a gap while q-ing. It's because they WILL cut you and are shameless about it. Apparently, the people there can't seem to hear/listen to instructions nor signs. OR probably very selectively about it. There were so many people waiting to enter the gates and mind you the train leaves on time. So obviously everyone is trying to rush to get in. The officer kept shouting stand behind the yellow line before putting your card in then the gate will open. But NUUUUUUU. They stand near the gate waiting for it to open. *smacks palm on head* Aiyoyo.

So there was this one lady who entered but forgot her ticket. It is vital to have your ticket because you you need it to exit. So she got anxious and wanted to get it back. She rushed to the other opened gate - with people trying to enter - (what?!?!) and she nearly got herself injured. JUST FOR A TICKET.

If people say Singaporeans are 3Ks (Kiasu, Kiasi, Kanchiong), I tell you these people here in Hainan are worse than us!! Let's appreciate cultured Singaporeans, and the orderly system that is embedded in us. It protects ourselves and others from harm.

That night, while watching the Huo Xiao Lin drama (cos we wanted to know what happen between Ah Mei, Xiao Hu, Maria and Huo Xiao Lin. Stupid ending :( ) we saw a glow fly!!!!!!!!!!!!

The rear end lights up!!!! So amazing! My first time seeing it!! :D

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Finally, I've come to the end of this post! I can't tell you how much more I appreciate Singapore after this eye-opener. I know Hainan Island may not be the worse country because there are others. But just this experience alone, has humbled me. I took the things I have in Singapore for granted that I didn't really know how blessed I am. Kids might not have the playgrounds I grew up in, the comfort of cinemas or entertainment like XBox.  But I have them. I HAVE them. The best thing is, I know Jesus. I thank God for this experience. For the many times He protected me, blessed me and shown me things. Throughout this, God is good. ;)

So like I said, I filmed most of the trip so I might release a short video!
Be blessed, and thanks for reading x