Navutu Dreams was started by 3 dynamic Italians – a city broker, an art dealer and a historian – who left London and the Western world 6 years ago to pursue their dreams and build their dream resort in the Kingdom of Cambodia. It’s their second project together actually, their first being Navutu Stars Resort, a well-established 5-Star Condè Nast property and award-winning island boutique resort in Fiji.
I had the opportunity to stay at Navutu Dreams for two nights via The Luxe Nomad, a luxury resort and hotel portal where one can book stays at member-only rates up to 70% off all over Asia! The Luxe Nomad was started by Stephanie Chai (whom most of you would recognise as a top model and host) and i’m so proud to share that her company recently secured SGD 888,232 (RM2.3 mil) of new funding – signalling an auspicious start to its second year of inception.
[The fundraising round was led by Innosight Ventures, the venture arm of global innovation and strategy consulting firm, Innosight, with participation from Japanese investors, Zipan Enterprise Network, and a silent partner. Funds will go into strengthening the company’s lead in the Asian travel market and supporting its regional expansion plans.]
You go girl!
And now… happy pictures from Clem’s and my stay there for two nights 🙂
Navutu Dreams opened its doors in August 2012 and only caters for a maximum of 36 guests in 18 spacious rooms allocated in 5 separate pavilions. We stayed in the Grand Tour room which comes with an oversized soaking tub, ipod dock, walk-in wardrobe, terrace and private garden.
I love the private garden! It has a natural fence of thick foliage and flowers that nicely block off other guests’ view of our room.
I feel like a mom nagging you but i’ve noticed that some friends of mine (who are 30 and above mind you!) don’t take care of their teeth! They don’t go to the dentist and say they’re scared, and i’m like, dude… if you’re afraid of the pain, NOT GOING is gonna make you have to go through MORE PAIN when something worse happens!
When i was in Bali last week, we had crab for dinner and i asked for a metal crab crusher (i just made the name up) from the waiter. Someone said, “Just bite it!”
What!? Do you know how much money i’ve spent at the dentist!? No way!
I’m really proud of my teeth!
I used to have a stick-out tooth thanks to not wearing my retainers… and have been wearing Invisalign braces since last year (i go to MyDentist). Now i have AWESOMELY STRAIGHT TEETH and smile widely all the time. Most pix of me on my blog 7-9 years ago would be me smiling with my lips closed :p
Also got my teeth whitened with some laser/light (even i don’t know what they did cos i went under anaesthesia so i wouldn’t be uncomfortable and bored).
And just yesterday, i had something done i didn’t even know existed nor that i needed!
I had my teeth patched!
My dentists have been telling me that i brush too hard and that my gums are receding (scary!!) so i’ve been REALLY GOOD and using a soft toothbrush for a year, and consciously brushing a lot softer.
But they are STILL reminding me to brush softly and i said I AM!
Yesterday Dr. Alex just showed me tiny muscles on the inner part of my lips, just above my teeth and gums, and explained that if i stretch THOSE muscles, they pull on my gums and ALSO cause them to recede. Godammit! So many things are making my gums recede!?! I found it really interesting tho, and after that info, realise i put my toothbrush TOO MUCH into the front of my mouth when i brush my front teeth. So it’s stretching those muscles.
Or.
I just thought of something.
Maybe my toothbrush is TOO BIG for my tiny mouth.
So i should just get a kid’s toothbrush -_-
Anyway! Back to how they patched my teeth! It looks so much better now!
(Used a bunny ear to point it out cos an arrow is so boring.)
See how they patched more white enamel atop my two narrow teeth so that the gums don’t *stick out* anymore? Good thing too so i don’t brush on it and make them disappear even more -_-
After i was done in the room, i bumped into Dr. Melissa’s dad (who owns MyDentist but i don’t know his name… i just called him Dr. tho i almost feel like calling him Uncle cos he’s so warm and friendly) and thought of asking him what is the BEST TOOTHBRUSH i can use right now. I have started asking experts in their field for advice cos it’s their expertise after all! He said that electric toothbrushes are the way to go and to look for the ones that vibrate cos they stimulate blood flow and healthy gums or something like that.
So i googled “Best electric toothbrush 2013” and found this article called The 10 Best Electric Toothbrushes on The Independent. Also found youtube vids and so many reviews on electric toothbrushes… man there are some crazy ones out there! I guess it’s about time i just go invest in a really good toothbrush. Read that the Oral-B Triumph 5000 (check out the fancy name! :p) has some sensor that stops the pulsation of the brush when you brush too hard, so i might read more into that one.
If you know of some awesome best electric toothbrush, please tell me about it! I need to go hound Dr. Boss at MyDentist for the BRAND of the toothbrush (he failed to remember the brand of it that day).
That’s my community service message today! >
Take care of your teeth!
Go to the dentist!
Get an electric toothbrush!
Don’t brush too hard like me!
I go to MyDentist on Jalan Ipoh and it’s so easy to get there by taking the highway. I don’t have to go through a single traffic light from the Penchala Link to MyDentist.
They have allocated parking spots for clients RIGHT IN FRONT of the dentist so no parking probs and time wastage.
Their website is usually working but dunno why it’s not online right now.
Tel: +603 6252 2011 / 6258 5037
I HAVE SO MUCH TO BLOG ABOUT!!!
SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED TO ME IN A MERE WEEK!
I modeled for The Met Hairdressing Salon at the Hairlah 2013 hair convention last Monday,
then on Tuesday i had my 8th and largest tattoo done by Julian Oh,
then on Wednesday i flew to Bali for Awesomeness Fest till my return last night!
I will definitely be blogging about the other stuff, but today i want to give thanks for my latest and largest tattoo!
That’s just the top bit of the tattoo… you gotta read the rest of the post to see it heehee
When i first thought about getting an arm tattoo, it was early 2012 and i fiddled with the idea for awhile. I *kinda* knew what i wanted to get but didn’t have the entire concept in place, and also pondered on the backlash i might get for acquiring something so unconventional. I attend events all the time, and sometimes, high society ones where i’m probably required to wear an evening gown at which point the tattoo would definitely show.
Did i want people to know that i like tattoos THAT MUCH?!
Did i want people to think i’m a crazy party person?
What if i wanted to fit in with rich and successful people but it would cause me to look the opposite?
In the end, i thought SCREW IT.
If this is the person i am and this is what i want, then i’m just gonna get it and everyone is just gonna have to recode in their heads that a tiny colourful girl who loves tattoos is going to be rich and successful.
I wanted Julian Oh to do it for me cos i’ve been a great fan of his work. He’s a real artist at heart, and also works on concepts, photography and painting besides being a tattoo artist. You can check out his work on his Instagram handle @iamjulianoh
When i saw Julian last week, he apologised for having put it off for so long cos my first email to him to discuss and set a tattoo appointment was in October 2012.
But i told him it wasn’t his fault, it was mine too!
You know how i am always traveling in and out of KL,
and Julian is also forever at tattoo conventions in Europe and Australia.
As you’re reading this he’s just arrived in Scandinavia for another tattoo convention!
So i’m just real happy to have finally got it from him after 10 months in the making of one appointment!!!
Julian saw me bring a book to the tattoo bed and said, “I don’t think you’re gonna be able to read…”
I said, “Hmm i don’t know, i thought “just in case”… i once had lunch while having a tattoo so i thought i could save time by reading.”
I did manage a good three or four chapters during our session 😉
Also took pictures of Bessa as i was lying down cos i noticed she looked so good in the light from the window
Julian and Carol’s studio Redd Bullets is really cool with lots of paraphernalia in there. He’s even got a glass cupboard full of oddities he’s collected from his travels like freaky baby dolls, animal skulls, and…
I was like, “Poor piggy!!!” then he said that the piglet was born prematurely so it’s actually a foetus.
My tattoo took a bit under four hours to do, tho it felt longer cos i’m not including time for him to resketch some elements.
Tada!
Julian composes it in such a way that the elements even work out according to my tendons and muscles, and there’s a proper balance between dark and light lines, and soft and hard elements. He is an artist after all… what did i tell ya.
The rose is cos my mum’s name is…. 🙂 And i thought, why do people get tattoos for their loved ones when they’re gone? Get them while they’re still alive so they know you love them that much!
The ice cream is cos it reminds me of all the gelato Yishyene stuffed herself with when we were traveling around Europe (there was one day she had five). And… to remind me to be AS CRAZY AS POSSIBLE all the time cos SHE IS SO CRAZY.
The catamaran is to represent all my traveling… it reminds me of the awesome time i sailed from St. Tropez to Rome (thanks to Nir, and my Aunty G for introducing us), how i should never stop traveling and reach for the stars and believe that i CAN travel to every single country in the world, and how one day, i’m gonna have a BIG sailing boat with swimming pool and a chopper pad.
The Balinese mushrooms on the left are because i, well, love shrooms haha. They’re not for everyone so please don’t go stuffing yourself with them. It’s just that ever since my first trip to Bali maybe 8 years ago, i return every year and always have a some shrooms which gets me thinking to where my life is right now and where i want it to be and what areas in my life i’m neglecting. Shrooms have always helped me step out of my own box to evaluate what i’m missing from my life, and things i have to do upon returning home. Well i didn’t have any the last week when i was in Bali, but i did realise a lot more things without needing any soooo i’m just repeating that it’s not for everyone!!
I emceed the launch of Shiseido‘s latest skincare range end of June but could only blog about it now cos it’s available from September! Called Ibuki, the range is targeted at cosmopolitan women whose skin suffer the effects of living in the city i.e. stress, polluted air, UV rays, lack of sleep, etc.
The launch event was beautifully set up! Artists Adrien and Hsu Lynn were commissioned to illustrate various rooms in a house which i brought the media guests through on a ‘tour’. I’d start off by greeting them in the living room where they’d also watch a video presentation on Ibuki on the TV there, then i’d lead them off to the bathroom where they’d try the products, and lastly on to the kitchen where they’d snack on canapés and desserts!
Adrien and Hsu Lynn in the living room
Me in the kitchen!
Trying to clamber into the bathtub in between event #1 and #2
Of course… i managed to Joyce-ify it like i did to my previous car. It just wouldn’t have felt like MINE if i didn’t cover it with happy things! Anyway, it’s not like anyone outside can see it, just me! 😀
When i got my Z3, i thought it was somewhat of an achievement how i finally joined the ranks of the rest of my family members who all already drive BMWs. My father drives a 5 Series, my mum a 3 Series, and my brother drives the E30.
I guess we just somehow became a beemer family cos my dad got into it first, then as my brother became old enough to be an automobile freak (he spends hours polishing and fixing up his car), i too became emotionally-inclined to desire a BMW.
Can you blame me?
Their models are absolutely beautiful and are known for their engineering excellence.
Every time i turn on my car, the deep sexy hum of its engine makes my heart fill with what i can best describe as joyful satisfaction.
The only thing about my Z3 that’s inconvenient at times is when i need a bigger vehicle.
What if Clem and i end up having a family in a few years’ time? :p
We did talk about this recently and i said, “Maybe we could get an X1.”
Haha, what? A potential soccer mom can dream right.
As for one that suits Clem, i think the 6 Series coupe will suffice just fine 😉 (I myself prefer smaller cars tho)
As for smaller BMWs, who knows, maybe as the years go by and i feel that the Z3 is getting too old for me and i wanna change models, i’d go for the 1-series.
There’s some secret club for the 1 Series that’s recently been going on online, and even *i* don’t really know what’s it about…
BMW just posted a video on YouTube, and it seems to have been shot in KL!
Watch it and tell me what you think…
I’m not sure what it means…
Is this for everyone who already owns a 1 Series?
Or people who are fitting to be owners of the 1 Series???
Maybe it’s to signify the ONE special moment in our lives?
All i know is that those who are successful get to win exclusive prizes… now if BMW says these prizes are exclusive, i believe them!
My best guess is that they’re giving away a 1 Series away to one special person!?
Or maybe they’re giving away a 1 Series AND cash AND a NICE BIG HOLIDAY to one special person…
