Looked high and low, can't find it online. Can someone with sub, help.
My, er, pleasure?? I am speechless after reading the article
Lifestyle - Reflect
Holiday of thrifty treats
Lee Siew Hua
852 words
1 February 2009
Straits Times
English
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
I didn't plan it that way, but I've just enjoyed a recession vacation.
My three-week holiday was split between Melbourne and Singapore. I was stepping into Melbourne for the first time to visit my sister Ping - and rediscovering Singapore at a totally relaxed pace.
In one happy stroke, I could bond with my youngest sibling, explore new places and save some money.
As I flew off, the Australian dollar was falling close to parity with the Singapore currency. That quickly boosted my purchasing power.
And, of course, I was saving lots by lodging at Ping's place. Staying with someone is lovely, with all the companionship, fun holiday ideas, extra space, snacks at midnight, Internet, laundry and home comforts. Staying with my sister, all that was multiplied.
She was a perfect hostess, conjuring up bubbly, nori for making sushi and all kinds of plans.
Our loveliest day was spent on Mornington Peninsula, where she had generously booked a spa treat at a very good price for my Christmas gift. We drove an hour-plus there on a summery day, passing vineyards.
The spa was a languorous trio of experiences: a soak in steaming thermal pools, massage and lunch.
So we prepared mind and body first by sitting in little pools of mineral-rich water fed by an aquifer. We wandered from pool to pool. My favourite was set on a sunny little hillock. Far from the city, we read contentedly in the soothing water as unseen birds sang.
Then it was a massage with aboriginal rhythms in an airy, domed hut. The movements were designed to flow like the ocean.
'Don't think about the past or future,' one masseur intoned. I liked that. We can live too much in the past, right? We also perpetually run into the future, planning and re-planning career, finances, retirement and so on. An escape into the present is sane. Soon I was feeling lighter, yet more grounded.
During lunch, I relished the roasted beet that the Australians are so good at.
Exploring the peninsula a little later, we popped into Red Hill Cheese, where we shared a cheese platter and chose artisanal cheeses for our Christmas party in Singapore.
That day, we also spent sweet minutes in a cherry orchard and a lush winery set among olive groves and outdoor sculptures.
Another time, Ping's friend took us on a mini-bush walk where we spied white cockatoos and other wildlife.
Once, I took a ride with Ping to her workplace, then explored the city on foot. It was full of delights, mostly free.
I loved sitting in the light-filled octagonal reading room of the Victorian public library. Choosing books on Australia, I read and remembered my English Literature days when I first encountered Australian authors and dreamed of the vast, mesmerising continent evoked by them.
We reserved one day for shopping at a duty-free outlet. That's where I found lots of items at an average price of S$10, including an Abercrombie & Fitch top with cherry-blossom prints, a glass-ornament key-chain, a Provencal-style container for my letters, books and amazingly more.
I also met Ping's friends and one afternoon we hung out at friendly Gayle's house for coffee and a good yarn. She let me pluck a monstrous lemon, just because I'd never done it before. Yes, I was being an urban Singaporean suaku and loving it.
Gayle and Ping are gym buddies. My sister had asked for several free gym passes so I could try the vigorous body-jam sessions she loves.
So, between the gym and walking so much in Melbourne, I think I actually lost weight on holiday. And this despite the handmade chocolates, macarons from a French cafe, charcoal chicken and an abundance of Australian goodies that Ping was constantly introducing to me.
She also showed me places for lunch - a 'rural' Japanese restaurant, for instance. But our dinners were often at home, which saved some cash and truly let us unwind after each full day.
And so I'd enjoy Ping's home which is done in a shabby chic style. She paints cupcakes and her work is displayed here and there. There are corners filled with photos, books and clues of her life that I'm only half-familiar with, as we've lived in different places a long time.
Before I left, we happened to catch a breakfast-show snippet on being a recessionista.
How wonderfully apt, I thought. For my sister is a natural recessionista who creatively stretches her dollar - and fun - whether in a downturn or not.
As for me, I had spent about $500 on the trip, not counting airfare. The ticket was pricier than usual but had dropped $200 between the time I booked and bought it.
And Melbourne was only the first half of my recession vacation, with the rest spent happily and inexpensively in Singapore. That's another recession-with-a-smile story.
[email protected]
