As 'relaxing' and 'retreat'-ful going to the farm is, I never quite fully enjoy myself there. Usually due to the fact that the place is just swarming with mosquitoes; and also, out of some odd twist of fate, each of my visits to the farm is usually timed in such a way that I end up spending the second day of my period there (worst day for cramping). So, more often than not, I end up lying around in bed feeling completely uncomfortable and pondering how more beautiful life would be if I were a guy.

This time, though, I made sure to reapply some mozzie repellant every hour or two. In fact, I think I may have gone just a bit overboard but now I'm back in Miri and I have minimal itchiness (about as minimal as I think I can get just short of none).

The visit was not just to celebrate New Year's; it was also a house-warming. That translates into: lots of people (most of whom I don't know), lots of food, lots of drinking, lots of drunk people come midnight, lots of singing, lots of tossing and turning in bed trying to go to sleep while there is lots of singing outside that will inevitably continue into the wee hours... wee, wee, wee hours. As much as I would like to say it is annoying, it is actually something I have missed over the years - a sort of cultural experience I would not get anywhere else. I mean, yeah, there are parties and there are parties with drunk people and there are parties with drunk people singing - but this is different somehow.

I got to use my new blanket that I bought from China. Well, actually, I got to sleep on top of my new blanket that I bought from China. I didn't actually get the chance to use it for its intended use because there were already two people asleep on it.
Pretty hot, ain't it? Bought it in Dali. It's sort of their version of batik. I love walking into my room with this blanket all splayed out. The sudden burst of colour as I open the door is just a visual feast for me.

And the bathroom is right there next to my room. My dad's unique idea of a bathroom - an open air bathroom. Aside from the walls it shares with my room and my parents' room, the other two walls are bare, save the shower curtains you pull when you want to shower. I have yet to shower in that bathroom though. In the daytime, it feels weird showering and having the jungle remain in my peripheral vision, even with the curtains pulled. At night, I get a super-strong feeling of some voyeur out there watching (especially since it's dark and the light in the bathroom will give everyone outside that much clearer a view).

Right outside the upstair's balcony, there is a rambutan tree and there were even some rambutan fruits ripe for picking when we got there. Just reach up and grab.

I didn't go riding this time. Instead, I ran after my dad and snapped away as he rode. Got a few good pictures too. This is one of my favourites. He rides Amy (the horse) right up to the house and it seems so surreal because you have a house and cars and then right in the middle, you have a horse with a rider.
The two colts. They roll around on the ground (which is especially muddy now, since it's monsoon season) and get caked in mud. The one in front is the older one by about a month. I named her Thunder. The younger one is named Storm. We have a theme going here, huh? I like Thunder. She's a funny one. She is really jumpy. When I make sudden movements, she jolts.
Ringing in the New Year with a long, long line of fire crackers.

And some fireworks.

More pictures on my Flickr account... if that damn site will just load.