under the blanket

It wasn't supposed to be a dirty weekend at Bintan. But it ended up that way when I decided to indulge in a Mud Detox Wrap. Could not resist even though (1) I need to save money, (2) I know it does not really detox, and (3) a massage would probably have been more helpful for this chronic shoulder ache.

But it was fantastic to get away -- 45 minutes by ferry and we were in a foreign land! -- and just lie by the pool with an open Vogue flapping in the sea breeze. What's more fantastic is that I didn't pay a cent for the Angsana hotel stay and enormous buffet dinner on the beach. Yet another perk of working in a newsroom and having a kind and generous journalist friend. [Thank you, Clare!]

Of course, it helps that I'm shameless when it comes to freeloading.