251008 David Tao Concert in Jakarta

This was the first time I went to the airport alone, and flew alone :)
It was interestingly liberating,
not having to look back,
not having company,
completely ME time.

At times like this, I think up lyrics in my head
and type them in my phone as I step onto the travellator.

Lyrics, mostly about travelling,
about a certain sense of loss when you're constantly away...



Jakarta's airport reminded me of Singapore's East Coast chalets,


with red tiled roofs and wooden beams -


a throwback to the good old days,
so vastly different from the glass-and-steel airports I'm used to nowadays.


Once I reached the venue, Sands Club,
I was brought into a neon paradise of endless free food, massage, KTV and pool.


No night.


Nor day.


i'd say


that my pool skills has improved.




it was a VIP suite to watch the show from


our stage


we had ALL our meals here.


every meal was a similar multiple course affair


desserts scattered on the KTV tables

the manager in our room acceded to our every request -
when i asked if i could go online in the room,
she said: oh, do you wanna go online here?
i said : here?
she: sure, we have wireless.
me: cool, ok.
she: we can bring laptops in.
me, amazed: err, ok!
she: how many you want?
me, more amazed: err.. who wants to go online here? paradise just got better.
(some hands shoot up, others continue playing pool)
me: three?
she: ok.

some guy appears with 3 laptop bags and an entire wireless setup.






More about the show :)




stars who have graced the stage


come come, follow me...












rehearsal starts :)


showtime!

didn't take pictures from stage since we were soooooo near the audience
and i didn't wanna be too obvious about it :)

the crowd took a little time to warm up, but i must say David really worked them well!
it was a shorter show than our full-length concert, which lasted about 1.5-2 hours
so it was a breeze :)

it was also great to meet some of the fans later outside the ballroom,
hello to those who read my blog! :D


people who made this show possible :)


thanks guys!



off to Tianjin tomorrow for Amei's concert :)

I borrowed 4 books from the library to feed my brain.

:D

021008 Amei Concert in Chengdu

it has been more than 10 months since the last Amei show!
I didn't know how much I missed her voice till I heard her sing live again :)
The only word to describe the feeling is a very warm, sighing :
... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......
as i sink into my seat and enjoy.


It was National Day/weekend for the PRC,
so everyone was out on a holiday mood.


stadium we performed at


our burger takeaways come equipped with disposable plastic gloves.
it was very classy.


the milk scare in China is rife amongst us -
and of course our milk tea had to come in a ridiculous strawberry flavour
in a carcogenic-nippon-coloring-infused paper cup of goodness.


and tomato sauce in neon.


NEVERTHELESS!


Chengdu is pretty famous for good food, the birthplace of Szechuan cuisine.
This chicken has typical 花椒 spice that is numbing, but tasty!!!

we move on and do our job.








tattered reference picture taken for the stylists during our first fitting of our costumes.
is it the hair? is it the age?
i look unbelievably dolly.


i am so so sooo glad i invested in my wide angle Canon.














after show...

this is the price of entertainment that i have to pay.
the sequins on my dress are merciless.


the entire troupe leaves on different flights - but all toward Singapore -
the show in my hometown is the very next day!
we shared the same flight as Amei - spot her!

back home. at last, at last.

these are trying times, being on the road.

brings you to a very different level of professionalism.

we had to take a flight from Xi-An to Beijing,
then from Beijing back to Singapore.

but due to bad weather, our flight was delayed for 2 hours from Xi-An,
and we subsequently missed our flight to Singapore.

so we waited at the Beijing airport for another 9 hours till past midnight.



flight for 6 hours.
there is something very mystical about an airplane filled with sleeping people.
uncomfortable sleeping people, in various positions of half slouch, cocked heads,
uneasy shifting of pillows, necks, legs.

we reach singapore, dawn is breaking.

cab home.

loooonnnggg hot bath
no luxury to sleep
cab to Indonesian Embassy for Jakarta work visa next week.

waited for another 1.5 hours.
there and then i thought,
i have never waited so much in the span of 24 hours.

my turn finally arrived,
she stamped on my document,
it was over in 1 minute,
and i realise i don't have enough cash to pay.
*doiiinnnng*

what to do?
cab out to get money.





and i couldn't help but wonder (can't help but do an OS by carrie bradshaw)
how is it possible that the act of waiting/doing absolutely nothing
could be so tiring.

flying is usually almost a one-day affair,
fly for show, DO the show, fly back from show.

i need to work out a little inflight routine to keep my sanity intact.

surviving on adrenaline.

Oct 2
Amei concert in Chengdu
post-party!
post-post-party in room 829

Oct 3
fly back to Singapore

Oct 4
Amei concert in Singapore
a shorter post-party

... and i leave for DT's Tianjin concert in about... 3 hours.
I am just done with untangling my monstrosity of spray-fixed hair,
plus intensive hair-masking (and feeling very heartbroken)
and to start packing for the next 7 days.
we would be leaving for Amei's Xi-An concert straight from Tianjin.

the singapore crowd was so awesome,
i have to say this again - i absolutely love the 4-sided stage.
despite the band being in a pit,
i can watch about half the show!
not just stuck in the back of the stage.



i came here to blog about my current chill-out, wind-down playlist
which is the only thing that keeps me sane for packing right now.

Good Morning by India Arie
... well, throw in (Another Song) All Over Again by Justin Timberlake as well. :)




when all this adrenaline falters,
i wonder what will happen.



back to packing.

F1 magic

since i was away for 2 weeks in Taipei prior to F1 weekend,
i really didn't feel any buzz, nor was particularly excited.

BUT.

i was yanked deep into the heart of Paddock Club from the sidelines,
and i must say,
fast cars and women do go together.


one of the supporting races - Aston Martin Asia Cup


the groupies


paddock club
i heard access to suites above the paddocks costs $7000.
access to paddocks itself -priceless!




where all the action is








Support local racer Mel Choo!








the smoking car pulls up within 10m where i was!


ride along the track
OS: heyyy losers outside the cage... :p


grand stand! still empty in the afternoon...


all hot and sweaty...






okay maybe the Porsche Carrera Cup is your cup of tea?








bucket seat :)


mel straps in




and off they go!


Top 3 of Division B Porsche Carrera Cup Series


Mel bags the gold!






Some grandstand action




lights like day




was planning to leave
but Piquet smashes right up against where i was






it seems everyone was just waiting for something to happen...


and it did...


our skyline is gorgeous.
crown jewel of F1, please?




we leave just before it ends...
the masses around Suntec Convention Centre all want a piece of the action


we catch the results right outside Balaclava...
and head straight for the train!!


that was fun for my virgin F1 experience :D