One of the best selling condom brands from China, it's not difficult to see why. For one, the name connotes images of romantic trysts rather than just safe sex. Then there is the picture of Beckham with a ferocious tiger draped across his shoulders. Can't be just any old dead tiger, so hats off to the makers for finding one that looked like it died from over-excitement in the mating process.

Lastly, these condoms claim to contain lesser lead and toxins. WOW. Most other condoms are only made from pure latex. The most important selling point is Beckham looking all seductive and virile. There is the small matter of him not endorsing any condom brands but the manufacturers probably know that men in heat don't care.

With the success of Long Love, it's no surprise that Beckham goes on to endorse anti-impotence drug, USA Selikon. The same drug that helps Sean Connery remain James Bond forever and surprises Keanu Reeves' girlfriend in a good way. Some men in Singapore would be ecstatic at the news. Again, none of the celebrities mentioned have endorsed USA Selikon but this seems to be a moot point in the maker's mind.

Prelude: I had to change plans 3 times due to bad weather and inaccessibility. When all the reservations were finally made, I was so proud of myself! Next step was keeping it a secret. I kept dropping hints and teasing Kelly that we are going to the capital of love. Which totally threw him off track. He didn't crack my secret UNTIL I blurted it out.

Kelly was telling me that he had a lot of work to catch up on and I said "You will have a lot of time to work in Palm Springs." OOPS. Damn pissed with myself. Palm Springs is located in the middle of the desert and also known as the gay capital of California, hence the LOVE hints.



It was a great Saturday. Clouds were hanging low,


and mountains were floating in the sky.


Near Palm Springs, we saw many many wind generators.


A row of palm trees gives Palm Springs its namesake.


Our first stop, Joshua Tree National Park.


Declared a U.S National Park in 1994, the park straddles 2 deserts.


Mojave Desert, which is cooler, wetter and slightly higher than Colorado Desert, is home to the Joshua tree.


The tree's name was given by a group of Latter Day Saints who crossed Mojave Desert in mid-19th century. Its unique shape reminded them of biblical Joshua who raised his hands to the sky to make the sun stand still by God's command.


I have a tree on top of my head!


Besides Joshua trees, the landscape is dominated by these huge piles of rocks. Formed more than a million years ago when molten liquid heated by the movements of earth's crusts, oozed upwards and cooled below the surface.


The park is huge and there are many vista points. We decided to drive to Keys View where we would get a panoramic view of Coachella Valley, Salton sea and San Andreas fault.


Yes! That is where the famous Coachella valley music and arts festival is held every year.


The San Andreas fault is a lateral movement of the Pacific and North America plate. It's fascinating to see it for real after all those geography lessons in school.


I'm a happy Joshua tree!


Erm. Kelly looks like he's rocking out at a Coachella concert.


The sun was starting to set so we left Keys View but had time to make one last stop.


Looks very flintstones hor?


The tiny tiny people gives you a perspective of how big the rocks are. And this picture only showed the tip of the rock!


kekeke, looks like a shiny bald head to me!


Brrrr... though the sun was shining, it was cold in the desert.


These are the Chollo cacti also known as jumping cacti. Beware! Brush against the cactus and the needles will embed itself onto your skin. It's like mimosa plant but more painful.

After the national park, we checked into a top hotel which had received rave reviews online. Well, whoever wrote those reviews didn't get to their room this way.
1) From the first floor, take an elevator to the fourth floor.
2) Walk through hallway no.1.
3) Walk through hallway no.2.
4) Walk through hallway no.3.
5) Take the elevator at the end of hallway no.3 to the first floor.

Obviously the architect didn't consider the visitors staying at the hotel. Adding to our grouchiness? We were carrying a ton of stuff and got lost. Had to take more elevators and cross more hallways. That's not all. We finally found our room but it had 2 single beds! ARGH!

Back when I booked our room online, I called the hotel to make sure we would get a room with a king bed. Since I had taken the extra precaution, I wasn't happy at all to get 2 single beds on Valentine's Day.

So I called front desk to nicely request for another room. The receptionist replied that they TOOK NOTE of my request but it was a REQUEST and emphasized that they didn't GUARANTEE I would get the room I want. He further insisted it was our fault for not checking it on time. I didn't raise my voice throughout the call but I was frustrated by his rude tone especially after the tedious trek to our room.

The hotel was 100% occupied so we couldn't get another room. So be it but if customer service had responded in the following ways, Kelly and I would be happy campers.
1) Not make me seem like a brat for insisting on a king bed on VALENTINE's day

2) I have an accent but I understand English well enough. There is not need to enunciated TOOK NOTE, REQUEST, GUARANTEE and NOT CHECKING IN ON TIME. How irritating is that?

3) He acknowledged I called ahead of time to make a request. I acknowledged that he couldn't move us to another room since the hotel's full. But for a top hotel, can't he have offerd us something to make up for his oversight? Even a coupon for free Starbucks coffee would have been appreciated.

So unless you want a long walk to your room, bad customer service and rundown rooms, stay somewhere other than JW Marriott Resort and Spa at Palm Desert. Oh, the mattress cover on one of the beds was torn too.

Long story but after we rested a bit, we went out for dinner at Zin Bistro in Palm Springs downtown. They have a walk of fame like Hollywood! But I only recognise one name.


Highly recommend the restaurant. Service was wonderful and the food was good. I had crab and avocado salad, butternut bisque, foie gras stuffed quails and chanterelle mushrooms and belgian chocolate.


Kelly had beef carpaccio, mushroom and truffle soup, short ribs and belgian chocolate.

If we ever go back there, I want to have dinner at Zin Bistro again!

Our room had one saving grace. The view of snow capped mountains and a man-made lagoon.


The hotel offers gondola rides, hence the huge lagoon. With the beautiful view, I think this ride is worthier than the one at Venetian Vegas.


Though I am a sucker for tourist traps, we had a 2 hour ride to LA and needed to start our day early. So no gondola rides.


Today we are going to Mount San Jacinto for some fun in the snow!


After driving some way up the mountain, we arrive at the ticket booth. The line to get tickets was so long! Note that we are currently at 2643ft above sea level.


Our destination is the peak at 8516ft. Which means we need to ascend 5873ft to get there!


Good thing they have the aerial tramway.


This tram not only climbs up to the peak, it also spins 360degrees so riders can get a panaromic view of the surroundings.


Excited to start the ride...


Look at the slant of the cable lines in the last picture. It's a really steep way to the top which makes me wonder how they built the tramway!


As the tram ascended, the landscape changed from dry ground to snowy peaks. We also saw the entire Palm Springs city.


I really hate it when we go over one of these supporting tower. The tram would shake so violently that it felt like we were going to drop to our deaths. My heart would leap out of my mouth. See video in my next post.

The first time it happened, a group of people involuntarily went 'wooooah!'. That made everyone laugh and it became a group thing to do each time we went over a tower. Sure calmed my nerves when I laughed at our collective 'WOOOOAH!'.


We have reached the Mount San Jacinto mountain peak!




Kelly does an introduction to San Jacinto in the next post.


But no time to waste when fun awaits!


We had to go down these slopes to where the thick snow lies.


Can you tell I was wearing 4 layers?


Kelly too!


The Mountain Station.


Winter wonderland!


OF COURSE we must have snowfight!


And this is why I hit no one. My angle is all wrong. After Kelly won, we switched to tobaganning. This was my first time! Look at the videos in our next post!





And a glamourous finish!


Kelly took the tobaggan up for his turn. Climbing the slope in mushy snow is quite the exercise, like running on sand at an angle!






Look at the third picture. Doesn't Kelly look like he's on a magic carpet? This is what happens when you hit a hump, you fly off the ground! In the last picture, Kelly's posture looks like a hero who has just saved the world. Cue the grand music!


Kids sliding down the hill!


This boy so drama queen.


I haven't made a snowman before so I really wanted to make one before we left San Jacinto. But the snow wasn't clumpy enough so we ended up with a tiny tiny snowman. Looks more like an alien?

Bye Palm Springs! I had fun, hope to see you again!