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TohChoon81
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Name: Alvin
Location: Singapore
Birthday: 4/15/1981
Gender: Male
Interests: Singing, listening to music, watching movies, swimming, jogging, reading fantasy, mystery, horror
Expertise: Mahjong, if playing often makes u an expert.. haha..
Singing..
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Member Since:
6/6/2003
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First of all, I'm a huge fan of Carrie Underwood and I bought the album the moment I saw it in the stores! And the album cover just looks so good!
As I listened to the CD once through in the car, I felt a tad disappointed as no song really left a deep impression on me at that time. However, as I listened a few more times and listened to the lyrics, I loved the album more and more and the stories that Carrie is telling the listener. The stories might not be very new or unique--some might even call them cliched--but Carrie's incredible qualities are of the sincerity her voice brings across, besides her obvious singing ability. Speaking of her voice, I really felt that Carrie has really reached another level with her singing. Her voice is more nuanced, and even clearer than it used to be, and the high notes just sound effortless and controlled. Please make her Top Female Vocalist for next year's CMA! I love Taylor Swift and she deserves Best Album, but even on her best day, Taylor cannot compete with Carrie (or other powerhouses like Martina McBride) at all.
Some gems I love:
Quitter-- This is an unusual country song. It's quirky-sounding and it has this old school charm about it which makes it very endearing for some reason. It is always the first song I play from the album.
Unapologize- This is one of those songs whose lyrics make for a really interesting and heartfelt story. I didn't really notice the song till I listened carefully to the lyrics and then I really loved it. It's about you saying sorry after expressing your feelings for someone and then regretting it. Really sweet song.
Undo It- This sounds rather commercial and a little too over-produced for a country song but I am loving the chorus where she stutters: "I wanna un-un-un-un-undo it".
Temporary Home- This song is about different people who don't have homes--a little boy, a mother of an infant, a dying man. The message is simple, hopeful and probably not unique but Carrie's voice really shines through on this one with her flawless delivery and beautiful falsetto. I used to think Carrie did not have a great falsetto but this song changed my thinking.
All in all, I think this is a worthy addition to Carrie Underwood's collection of best-selling albums and this also highlights the most Carrie has ever contributed to the writing of the songs and let's hope it continues!
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| Today we woke up super early as we wanted to catch the sunrise at Ang Kor Wat. It was definitely one of the must-do’s in Siam Reap! We stumbled out of bed at about 4.30am as the sun-rise was about 5.30 am and poor Sony had to come along with us.
Reaching Ang Kor Wat, we were not surprised to see that we were not the only ones who had gotten up at this unearthly hour to see the sunrise. Many, many people were waiting at the pond outside Ang Kor Wat, waiting to take that beautiful picture of the reflections of the rising sun and the beautiful outlines of the Ang Kor Wat towers in the pond when the time came.
Taking pictures when it's still very dark!
The sunrise itself was not that spectacular, mostly because it was rainy season, and we could not see the sun explicitly as it rose. What we saw was somewhat like a slow and eventually brightening of the sky, with some colour spreading from the horizon like ink on paper. Though not as wondrous as the paintings we have seen before, it was nevertheless a breath-taking sight.
While waiting, a few stall-owners of nearby food stalls had come to ask us if we needed coffee. However, one particular lady brain-washed us into eventually going straight to “Stall No. 6” by repeatedly asking us to go to Stall No. 6. And that’s where we went after finally taking enough photographs. The lady was very nice, and even after we left after drinks, she followed us and wanted to help us take photographs. She was very enthusiastic--suggesting various poses and positions for us and peering over Zuyao’s shoulder curiously as he viewed the photographs she had taken for us. All in all, in Joyce’s words, she was “a professional and a perfectionist.”
Now it was back to the hotel for a long-awaited breakfast. Going back to Ang Kor temples again after breakfast, we had a tour guide--a lady who spoke good English (whose name I forgot, oops.)
First off, we went to the temple where Tomb Raider was shot--though I would not have noticed that even nobody told us. I did go back to view some pictures of the Tomb Raider movie but could not really recognise any part of the temple. I suppose the temple must be really huge.. haha
We spent a good half of a morning at Ang Kor temples--they were really magnificent. It was awe-inspiring to stand in the middle of a courtyard, surrounded by ancient, yet magnificent, ruins. As I said to the rest, we felt like we were “transported back in time to another era.” We were constantly amazed by how the temples were built. We saw how the structures were basically built by stacking rocks on top of one another-- and marveled again and again at the ingenuity of ancient people. I think I can’t even make a nice logo set! Haha
After lunch, we went back to the town area for some shopping and a good massage at BodyTunes, a massage parlour that had another branch in Bangkok as well.
We had a great time there and feeling rejuvenated, we went for drink and snack at Blue Pumpkin, a famous chain of cafes in Cambodia. However, something unfortunate happened. The waitress spilled a cup of iced tea and splashed brownish tea all over my shoes and some on my berms and bag! I smelt of tea for the rest of the day, I reckon.
Sony picked us up again as we wanted to catch the sunset at Ang Kor Wat. However, in the end, we did not stay till that late, because it started drizzling and Sony said that the sunrise would not be spectacular as it was cloudy. Therefore, we went back earlier than scheduled.
On the way back, adventurous Boon said he wanted to try one of those fried crickets along the roadside. There was a stretch of road where there were some stalls, kind of like a Pasar Malam in Singapore, albeit on a much smaller scale. Boon tried one fried cricket immediately and the rest of us crowded around him to ask him: “How is it?”, “Is it gross?”, “Is there any juice spurting out?” After he nodded his approval, all of us eventually took one cricket to eat.. and honestly, it wasn’t too bad! It tasted kind of like a crunchy meat floss roll. Hmmmm, I don’t know where the meat floss part came in--possibly the feelers? We also tried tiny snails--having to spear the tiny snail inside with a stick and then pulling the flesh out of the shell and smearing it with some sauce before popping it into our mouths. It was kinda chewy, but I did not really love the taste of it.. haha
That night, Sony brought us to his favourite restaurant. It was really, really dark--it was like a pub, honest!-- but the food was marvelous! We just loved the seafood that Sony ordered for us--the grilled eel, cockles and fish! What a wonderful way to finish off the last night in Siam Reap.. | | |
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It was the first day of our Cambodia Trip, something that we have all looked forward to for so long!! The airport was rather rustic, and we noticed quite a number of crickets around the luggage collection belt while we were waiting. We ignored them, not knowing that a day later, we would be eating these things up! REALLY! Haha...
We were greeted by the friendly young son of the owners of the Golden Mango Inn, Sony. He was a friendly-looking chap with a honest, likeable manner. He spoke excellent English and we were soon chatting with him animatedly throughout the trip. The Cambodians often took the chance to speak with foreigners like ourselves to improve their English. I really have to admire their determination. Sometimes, we laugh at the Cambodians‘ English but if we have to learn their language, I’m sure we would be the ones laughed at.
After dumping our stuff at the hotel, we proceeded to have a simple lunch before heading to Kulen Mountain. The main reason we wanted to go there was because Biyun wanted to go see the waterfall there. It was a long (and I do mean long) trip there and the road was super bumpy! After an hour or so, we started to wonder to ourselves: was it really worth it? The first two stops were mildly interesting, one of which was the place which had carvings on the river beds. We asked the guide how on Earth they managed to do that and he told us that it was done when the river was dry. Haha, what a simple answer. We were kind of expecting something wonderfully magical.
Another stop was a Buddhist temple where we met the cutest little baby girl. We also saw what looked like a skinned and grilled monkey, and Gallen, who was feeling hungry, did not feel hungry anymore. Haha!
The next stop was the Waterfall. Sony fell behind to take a leak and we proceeded on to ourselves. This Cambodian girl ran up to me and starting talking to me in Khmer excitedly, while I just smiled to her and shook my head. The girl was stunned and ran away embarrassed. We came to the conclusion that she thought I was Cambodian due to my dark skin, and laughed! As Sony caught up with us, the girl seemed to have decided I was a haughty Cambodian pretending not to know Khmer and gave communication another try. Sony saw the whole thing and thought it was hilarious!
OK, now the Waterfall. It was amazing! I have seen a couple of waterfalls in my life but never had I had the chance to be underneath one. It was truly one of the highlights of the trip! It was majestic enough but the view underneath was awe-inspiring. Volumes and volumes of water falling down towards you and splashing off the rocks. We spent a lot of time being underneath the waterfall and pretending to be gongfu masters doing some ‘training’ by letting the water fall onto our bodies.
After the Waterfall, we had a quick lunch before heading to Tonle Sap, which was the largest lake in Southeast Asia. I did not expect much from this visit but man, it was one of the highlights of the trip as well. We hopped onto a small vessel which glided its way leisurely through the water and there were comfortable chairs for each of us to sit on. It was a relaxing moment. Not only that, it was an eye-opening experience for us to witness how this lake could house and feed so many people.
As we went down the river, we saw how the people of Tonle Sap went about their daily lives. There were boats that acted as grocery stores--housing many products and people had to take a boat there to buy stuff. We went tiny boats filled with snacks going around to sell to the other folks. We saw people sitting on the edge of the boats and scooping water from the river to bathe themselves. There were also families crowded around a tiny TV to watch the television. All in all, we felt we were peering into the simple lives of the people on the river. And it also struck us that the people seemed happy with their simple lifestyles-- perhaps even happier than people like us who lived in the city area. It was also endearing how Sony was so proud of Siam Reap--he told us that they used to have only three traffic lights, but now they had six! Siam Reap was progressing! I hope that did not sound patronizing because I have no intention of coming across that way. I was definitely impressed by how Sony was so proud of his country and he was no country bumpkin--he had travelled to many places, including Singapore, and have seen the world quite a bit.
The little girl who ran after BY and Joyce with a python to scare them.
Dinner that night was a buffet consisting of the local delicacies and we quite enjoyed ourselves with the traditional performances that were being put up on the stage close to us.
After dinner, we went for a massage nearby. It was cheap--only USD 6 for an hour of massage but the rest complained that the masseurs did not have enough energy and did not apply sufficient force even though I thought mine was acceptable, though nothing much to shout home about. I was also the only one who went for oil massage, which required me to be naked under a towel. I have went for oil massage at BodyTunes in Thailand but they did give me a flimsy kind of G-string-like garment to put on. So I kinda felt bad for the girl who had to rub my body which was probably all covered with sweat after a long day in Cambodia and about 24 hours after my previous shower.
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| When my mum called me in the middle of a Mahjong Game to tell me the tiles in the living room are "popping out", just like an "earthquake" had hit us, I thought she surely must be joking..
When I reached home, a horrible sight greeted me..
I am still wondering what could have caused this! The contractor my grandpa got said it was due to expansion, but how many other homes have had this happen to them?!? Gosh.. | | |
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