Win a pair of Crocs!

When i was young, my taste buds taught me that "something healthy is never yummy". Today, my taste buds have accustomed to healthier eating and i can eat salads without dressing.

Unfortunately, its not the same with fashion. If it's ugly, no matter what, my taste will not become accustomed to it and i'll not wear it. However, there are people who swear comfort over style! Thus the relentless evil jokes over Crocs and Crocs fans.

Fortunately, Crocs took the jabs seriously. Like the social outcast in school who became a hottie overnight, Crocs underwent a make-over some 5 (?) seasons ago.

And i, became an advocate.

The first pair that bought me over was the hot pink wedges. Admittedly, style factor wasn't the most unique but i was already pretty surprised with the decent design. It is my default pair for traveling, it is water-proof, i've never found another pair of heels that gives such comfort, walking and standing for more than 12 hours.

Then, my second pair was a hit and miss. I thought the Boat Shoe scored high on style factor, however the leather was so hard that it never did soften. Their work shoe range was also the same. 

I'm not giving up yet though, because i'm convinced that Crocs is indeed comfortable. However, most females pride vanity over comfort. Although increasingly, i keep telling myself to put comfort over vanity.

With Crocs Fall/Holiday season, it seems like they've some designs that score both on style AND comfort!

Leopard prints are out, it's giraffe now!

Shimmery white, this reminds me of our Esplanade.

 Look who i bumped into the store? Oli Pettigrew, celebrity ambassador for Crocs.

Hello, hello? Earth to Oli, earth go Oli.

As part of the brand's New Crocs New You campaign, they have launched a website where you click around an interactive video to get styling tips. 

I ACTUALLY enjoyed going through the site, it was simple to play, the models were pretty, it loaded quickly AND ok, i admit i chose the UGLIEST Crocs options and i was pretty impressed with the fashion styling that went with it. The Crocs that on its own look hideous like  the Cobbler clog

ACTUALLY looks very nice when paired with skinny jeans! See model below in, 4th picture from the left.

Never would i expect this super molded weave boot can also be part of party fashion. See model in first box from right.

Besides, you get to enter a lucky draw for a stay in Capella AND get a shopping coupon if you just visit the site and play. No strings attached!

However, here's a little bit more effort if you want to WIN a pair off my blog.
I asked Oli which is his favourite pair for a man,  he pointed this

A mix of denim and suede, it is a pair that matches with anything (berms, jeans etc) and everything (berms, jeans etc).

 As for the ladies? Oli thinks this.

 Looking classy and comfortable (wedge heel), it gives ladies the height without the pain!

 It is also my favourite pair of the range.

 With the hard front, you can kick attackers in the nuts.

Get your own pair (prices start from $59.90) by leaving a comment with your name, email and gender. Also, tell me why you'll want the New Crocs. One male and one female will be picked and my decision will be final on the most creative entry.

If you win, you may choose another design than Oli's recommendation.  Good luck!

CONGRATULATIONS CRASON AND JAZREEL.
Contest ends 10 October 2012.

Crocs: Feel Good Revolution

Crocs has come far. Admittedly, when it was first launched, i thought it was a fashion disaster. I never thought i would see myself in one.

Until Crocs offered me a pair and it was undeniably comfortable to walk and walk and walk in them. It is also super light to pack into the suitcase for travel.

This is my first pair of Crocs retailing at SGD 169.

Crocs started off as the shoe that everyone made fun of. So they introduced cute little pins that you can purchase to customize and perhaps make it look a little better.

That didn't quite work for me but now, they have more visually appealing designs which came as a pleasant surprise!

 

This is not found in Singapore but so cute!

The men are not left out too. Loafer is the trend these days.

Who says you need to sacrifice comfort for vanity? With Crocs feel good revolution and prettier designs, you can have your cake and eat it too.

For store locations, click here.

Bangkok, Heaven for Shopaholics.

Aware of the flood situation in Bangkok, i went prepared with Crocs that will probably float and water-resistant material bag. Speaking of Crocs, you wouldn't believe (so did i) that they now have a lot nicer designs. It's like the ugly duckling who transformed into a swan.

Because of its prettier designs now, i felt convinced to give Crocs a chance. It turns out to be a perfect pair of wedges, especially for travel!

 It is light.

As compared to my other pair that is 1kg! No wonder we always remove our shoes when stepping onto the scale for vanity's sake.

Before i get into the highlights of my trip, let me say i will not be buying anymore group travel deals! I felt so cheated by www.atcrazy.com

The latest group buying deal website to come into the picture, it is by Asia Travels. Which i thought is credible and trust-worthy for travel deals but i was wrong.

Catching the deal sometime in Sept, i read the fine print and thought i was making the right decision. It was $228 + $180 tax = $408 per person in total. I thought that was swell seeing that we take a proper carrier and 5 star accommodation. Also, i looked up the budget airlines and flights to Bangkok over the weekends can be exceptionally expensive, as much as $300.

Making sure that the fine print includes departure dates encompassing the weekends and favourable timings, i made the purchase. As soon as the deal was open for reservations, i called in to Asia Travel. THEY TOLD ME FLIGHTS WERE FULLY BOOKED.

I said, "how can that be! I must be one of the firsts to make a reservation and it's not as if you sold 3000 deals but just 156."

Steven then told me, "weeeell, if you want to take the first flight out/ last flight back/ weekend flight, you have to pay extra."

I was extremely displeased. Then the flood happened and prices dropped etc. Long story short, travel group buy turned out to be unwise.

I could have complained to CASE but just didn't want to go through the hassle, so i didn't let that dampen my holiday mood.

Took my mum as her birthday treat.

Bangkok to most Singaporeans is food, shopping and massage. I dragged my mum to a forensics museum.

Described by an ex colleague who was a former policeman, the route to location was a fairly complicated one where you have to hop onto a bus that won't stop, jump off a moving bum boat etc.

All i did was hail a taxi from my hotel in Silom, got the bellboy to give instructions (taxi drivers are not too good with English), set the meter running and soon i arrive all under sgd 4.

Address : 2nd floor, Adulaydejvigrom Building, Siriraj Hospital, 2 Phrannok Road

Getting there : Take cab (about 30 mins from Silom Road)

Opening Hours : Mon – Sat, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Entrance Fee : 40 baht (foreigners)

 The building is amidst many buildings, the entire area is a hospital cum medical school i believe. Look out for a green sign indicating 'Museum' on the building as the taxi driver is unlikely to know exactly which building it is. This is not the usual tourist spot.

It's a pity that the text on everything was only in Thai. We could only observe and make up stories in our minds. The first hall was the most gruesome of all. Featuring deformed preserved real babies. Photos were not allowed and guards patrol the museums but i snuck in a couple. Although the thought of baby haunting did flash across my mind, i took the risk for the sake of story telling.

Having watched too much horror movies, i did not dare press my nose against the glass to examine the subjects closely. I was half expecting their eyes to flash open at me.

Then in the next hall, was like an exhibition of Faces of Death.

I did not manage to sneak pictures as the guard probably had suspicions of me and stuck close by. There were many death pictures, literally. Mostly pictures of murder victims or accident victims, here you can see photos of children crushed by machines, suicide bombers body blown to pieces, a dead body with tire marks (steamroller probably rolled over him), a victim with a severed head (train accident) and the likes. 

There were rows and rows of physical skulls, one showing how a victim's fractured skull looked like when hammered with an object, another showing a clean bullet shot in from the left but where it exits through the right, it was a hair-line crack.

It was all pretty interesting, and alot more real than graphic effects in a movie. Alas, all description was in Thai. Then, there were also jars and jars of livers, kidneys, stomachs and body parts. My mum says they look like TUR KWA (pig's liver) and makes her want to eat 猪肚 (pig's stomach). 

Well, both my mum and me happen to be Scorpios. We've dark minds.

I managed to sneak another photo and this was a preserved corpse of a rape murderer sentenced to death. Next to it was another preserved corpse who died naturally. If you look closely, there is yellow pus coming out from the rape murderer but none from the good guy. I suspect the rape murderer was sentenced to death via the electric chair thus the body reaction, explaining the pus.

You can buy postcards as souvenirs, and i can see there are many other sick people with such interests like me. They are EVEN SOLD OUT!

 While you are there, take time to explore other mini museums around. They all have NO English translations, can be rather boring but still....

They have prehistoric exhibits (basically displays lots and lots of prehistoric rocks), parasite exhibits;this was closed. I visited Tokyo's one before but there was also no English translation! :( I gave up visiting the rest when my mum complained she was bored.

Then we got "cheated" at Sam Bun Dee Seafood Restaurant, a place a taxi driver recommended. 1 curry crab (sgd 50), chill prawns (sgd 66), tom yum soup (sgd 12) and kang kong (sgd 12) with rice and 2 coconuts came up to about $200 for 2!! Way too expensive for Thailand.

We didn't think it was anything amiss because my brother who frequents Bangkok did recommend to us about Sam Bun Dee that was supposedly cheap and good. When we returned to check with him, he mentioned we went to the tourist trap with the same name!

I only had 2 full days to spend in Bangkok, despite sleeping 3 nights there (grrrrrrrr Travel Group Deal),  so it was shop shop and shop.

 I must say with that loot and 10 hours of walking on both days, my Crocs have served me well! My feet didn't ache one bit! Crocs may not have the best designs, but it has the best interests for our feet definitely.

I'm not quite sure why i'm uploading photos of my buys but i bet you would like to pry!

Spent both days at Platinum Mall, Thailand's largest wholesale center. The more pieces you buy from the same shop, you get the wholesale rate which could range from sgd 2-4 cheaper per piece. I bought accessories at $6-$8, most expensive at $20, watches at $14.

Shoes were $14-$16, with better designs and quality at $100.

If only i can fly like Superman.