Sunshine and Fresh Air

There's no doubt that I'm a city girl. But it's always nice to have a change of speed once in a while.

For me, that usually means going to a different town or city, and getting lost amongst buildings, random markets & museums.

So, imagine my trepidation at having to go on a more nature-y trip. For the entire week preceding this trip, I was whining about not wanting to go. But that's as far as my wet blanket tendencies go. 

So I went along.

Below, the continuation of my whining, laced with omgthisplaceissoprettywhydoesithavetobesohardtogetto?

1. Waking up at 5am so we can take a two hour bus ride and be dropped off at the side of the road? Gahhh... Okay I'm exaggerating. This is the beautiful spot where we got off the bus to continue on by lorry. Yes, by lorry  - which was both terrifying, and awesome.

2. OMG it's a winding road with loads of sharp bends. The kind you have to blast your horn as you approach because it's a blind corner on the side of the hill, with a huge drop off the side of the road. At one point, there was a huge, oil palm filled lorry coming from the other direction and we had to pull over to let it pass. And most of us city folk did what everyone tends to do when someone says "ooh...pretty" - go over to the side of the lorry that offered the better look. That would be the side that was on the edge of the cliff, of course. And of course, yours truly was the one who was in the opposite corner going "Whoah people...back on the safer side of the lorry, please!"

Otherwise, there was lots of clinging to the lorry, and being too worried about losing my phone over the cliff to take any photos. Until we arrived, of course.

3. But the place is so pretty! I don't really get the decor. But it's a nice place!

Gosh...gosh why do hotels always do this? I hate it when they have creepy paintings in the room.

4. More importantly, the food was uh-mayyyy-zinggg. Again, I probably exaggerate. But I've definitely had worse in fancier places. Definite thumbs up on the meals. And here are a couple of highlights that I bothered to take while we weren't too busy digging in. 

5. And now, my favourite bit - the slightly less terrifying lorry rides to and from some of the activities. 

Note the bangku in the corner - for those of us who can't figure out how to get on and off the lorry without one. 

This is one of my favourite shots from the trip.

6. Outdoor activities?! *cue frightening montage in my head of the thousand and one ways I could get injured* So while the rest went white water rafting, me and a couple of others stayed behind to chill out.

I can't help but hear the soundtrack from the Lord of the Rings play in my head while they head downstream. 

I'm a nerd sometimes. I know.

So it wasn't so bad after all. It was great just getting out of the city and soaking in some fresh air and sunshine.

By the beach

Another weekend of my continued effort to keep weekends interesting. This time, to a new place (for me at least), with good company.

This short weekend trip finally allowed me to check Port Dickson off my "places to go to" list, and also just chill out with a bunch of really fun people. Wasn't all that much to do there - which was exactly what we wanted. Strangely, a road trip with a killer playlist & fun people in the car doesn't happen as often as one would think.

Once the actual road trip part is over, other things to do were:

Stay in and play charades - another simple thing we don't quite do enough.

Go grocery shopping - we were supposed to stop by to pick up mixers. We ended up with a whole trolley that looked like full on stock-up-the-household groceries. We're weird shopaholics, I know.

Enjoy a sunset by the beach and then go for a swim, in the pool, of course.

Take silly photos with friends

And then stay in and play more games. Plus eat all that food we bought.

Then wake up the next morning to go food hunting.

One night in Ipoh

Weekends.

How to keep them interesting?

For this lazy girl who loves her comfort zone, the most interesting ones usually involve the least planning. Like this one weekend when I just hopped on the proverbial bandwagon of someone else's plans. 

Try a different mode of transport. 

I'm pretty sure I can count the number of times I've been on a train in Malaysia on one hand. But travelling interstate? A definitive zero.

So when I heard that we were going to be travelling by train for this trip, and that it would only last a bearable two and a half hours, I said why the heck not?

Indulge in food. 

As always, discovering good food in new places is always a plus!

Stay in an awesome place. 

I went only knowing where we were going to stay, and all the thigs people have told me about other Sekeping er...hotels? 

Did not do any research on the one in Ipoh. 

When we got to Sekeping Kong Heng, the first thing I saw was the library. 

Fell in love instantly.

Soak in the place. 

Taking a walk about the town, randomly discovering stuff, and just watching what a Sunday looks like here was pretty awesome. Even better when you have commentary from a former local. 

Doors, windows and lanterns

Sunday night at the Chinese New Year celebrations in the heritage area in downtown Penang.  

Armed with my trusty iPhone and compact camera while the boys play with their big boy cameras, here are some of my favourite shots of the evening. 

 

Festive lanterns against the old buildings in the heritage area. 

Super loving this porch and the tall windows. 

Can you spot the moon? Literally stood at the street corner for a couple of minutes trying to figure out how to get a clear shot. 

One last shot before we left for the night. Some vintage styled building numbering & lamps. 

Decorating the Refrigerator with Souvenir Magnets

A vacation is never complete without souvenirs, we all buy them to remind ourselves of our travels and pack home just about anything from the gift shops; that boomerang from Australia, the Eiffel Tower key chain from Paris, that snow globe from London, that spoon from the States, that huge fan with an elephant from Thailand. We get that instant of gratification when we unpack and then sometimes its off to some cupboard or drawer for safekeeping and soon after forgotten.

I've had my fair share of poorly chosen souvenirs and quite a number have even ended up in the trash. In an attempt not be wasteful, I decided to only buy one souvenir each trip and having limited pocket money back during my varsity days, that one item ended up being a fridge magnet. Years later, collecting magnets from vacations became a tradition. It even became decoration for the refrigerator when my husband and I moved into our very own apartment.

We kept on to that little tradition over the years and recently*, I got myself two lovely magnets from our trip to Singapore, Universal Studios to be exact. One with Sesame Street characters (my daughter loves Elmo) and another more ‘grown up’ one with the Universal Studio Globe.

A nice addition to my very humble collection. It’s a joy to sometimes stand in front of the fridge, looking over the collection and remembering the good times from each trip. Someday, I hope to make a decorating statement when both refrigerator doors are jammed packed with magnets.


*This post was supposed to be up months ago, hence recent. But well, that's the most recent trip I've had.

My obsession with ‘LOVE’

A while ago, I was googling ideas for bedroom decorations  when I came across an article that mentioned that it was good feng shui to have the words LOVE in the master bedroom. Since then, its become a bit of an obsession to find nice pieces of with the words LOVE.

I saw this wooden block on Pinterest (sold on Etsy) and have been on the lookout for a similar piece for quite some time. 

To my delight, I finally found the exact same (well almost) wooden ‘LOVE’ piece from Typo in Singapore. According to the price tag, it is sold for SGD24.95 and MYR59. I decided to buy it there and then despite the high exchange rate. Wasnt sure if it would be available in the KL shop. (Why isn’t there a Typo in Penang???)

Still wrapped up the way it came, my beautiful LOVE is sitting on the shelf above my bed for now. I’ll make sure to find a good spot for it in the new house!

Moustache Houze

Over the past year or so, the whole idea of quaint little cafés seems to have caught on and there seems to be a new one to explore every time I go home. 

The latest one I've checked out: Moustache Houze. 

I love fads. Either going all out and being totally into them, or just being all snarky about how dumb most of them are. But one of the fads I've taken the latter disposition to has to be the whole moustache pattern thing  - I mean seriously what is with wearing a top with moustaches printed all over it? It just makes no sense...and makes me feel a tad squeamish. 
But then again who am I to talk when I put this little pic together? 

So back to the cafe. Seriously how does one build a business around a passing fad? I went doubtful and with my most cynical mindset in play. 

It's still pretty beyond me why people are all so ready to engage with these props & photo ops that don't really mean anything to me. But what the heck, I didn't really like how crowded the counter area was - so I sat around and took pictures while the guys ordered for me.

Because I was there around Halloween.

Am I the only one who finds the floating books with moustaches a little bit of a weird force-fit?

And what quirky little cafe in Penang would be complete without the furniture made from vintage doors or grilles?

Moh Moh Instagramming his drink & cake (green tea and, I think, red bean..ick), while KW and I attempt selfies celebrating our BRFs.

So, this is supposedly the specialty here - their "Special Ice Cube". The lack of the plural form in the name, when there are several flavours available, and two cubes in a glass, totally bugs me. But okay, whatever. It was pretty awesome. These are the kiwi and pineapple ones. 

Pretty much a fruit popsicle in a glass.

Pour soda water into the glass, and voila!

Not particularly loving this place. But would totally go back again to just hang out in the smaller rooms upstairs. Oh yeah, the bathrooms, as we found out from the super cute waiter, are upstairs. You'll need to take your shoes off, and climb up the steep and narrow staircase. Remember to stay clear of the people carrying trays of their drinks and food up to the rooms. And, you know, give people the "Will you walk faster?" look as they balance their trays up the stairs, and you wait practically forever for them to get to the landing so you can go back downstairs. 

Disclaimer: Recently went to dinner with a couple of friends - one an actual food writer, the other a chef. The writer lamented how many a blogger out there writes a lot about food, without knowing head or tail about food at all. My silence led to both of them looking at me while the writer very carefully asked, "Nobody at this table is a food blogger, right?"

"No. Not a food blogger," was what I choked out.

So here it is - read for your own entertainment only. 

My relationship with food solely revolves around eating - in a super normal, don't care what drink goes with what food to be eaten with what piece of cutlery sort of way. And I'm unapologetic about it.

Yum.

Bring along a sunny disposition...and an umbrella

Now, where was I?
Oh yes, food and Legoland.

Awesome food in unexpected places.

So, still a little on the hotel - I think we should have done waaay more reading when picking the hotel. Too late to eat at JB City Square (because it was already past 9pm when we were ready to head out for dinner), and too tired to go anywhere further, we walked around the area surrounding the hotel looking for food. 

It was also the sort of area where GM insisted I not bring along my handbag. Which contained my camera.

So when we finally stumbled upon this dirty back alley somewhere around the hotel that was just lined with food stalls, I did not have my camera handy.

And also I was pretty busy trying to avoid puddles, and keeping an eye out for rodents and other miscellaneous creaturs, which I just knew would be there.

Not very convinced, but really too tired to care, we all decided to give this place a go.

So here are my not very awesome iPhone photos:

From the top row: our boys doing the ordering while Doris and I got settled into our seats at our table, and I figured out how I'd position my seat so I avoid this constant drip of water that was coming from above, somewhere.

Middle row: Food that honestly didn't look like much. When it comes to ikan panggang, all you see is food drenched in oily, and oh so yummy sauce.

I'll let the last row speak for itself. Burp.

Now, the funnest place on earth.

Okay, I exaggerate.

Before the trip, lots of my colleagues were warning me that Legoland is going to be really hot, with little shade. And there also wouldn't be all that much to do. 

All kind of true. But as luck would have it, and as seen in the above pic, it was a pretty cloudy day when we got there. With few rides, and most of them being more suitable for kids, or adults with kids, I pretty much only went on one which was the dragon one. 

If you're one of those need-this-rush-to-feel-alive types, this probably won't do it for you. 

Be prepared to walk. A lot. And keep your eyes peeled.

What is awesome about the place, though, are all the little quirky details that you can just walk around and take in.

Like this fella over here, seen through the window on the way to the dragon ride.

Or these workmen "putting up" the signboards around the park.

And also pirate ships with a big red button just outside the display for you to fire the water canons on the ship at your pals.

Use with discretion - the water fires at approximately adult crotch level (perhaps that's only if you're as short as I am). And will most likely elicit a reflex WTF from your victim, who will feel sheepish after, given the number of kids around.

Other randomly cute things:

I could handle this. I think.

I also thought it was great how organized and child- & family-friendly the place was, what with all the stroller parking areas, and very, and I mean very pleasant staff. 

When it rained over lunchtime, which meant all the cafes were utter pandemonium, all of their staff remained really professional, and were really quick with all the clearing up, setting up extra chairs, rearranging tables to seat more groups etc. etc. I did not expect this at all from anywhere in Malaysia (don't get me started on my rants about customer service) and was really impressed!

By the time we were done with our surpirsingly good seafood tom yam pasta, there was also a balloon artist by the door, keeping all the kids happy campers. No wonder the sound of screaming children (one of my least favourite things in the world) was really quite negligible considering the number of kids there. 

Our next stop after lunch was the City Stage - simply because there still wasn't much we could do while it was still raining. 

When we went inside, I immediately wanted to run away. There's something about those interactive shows that get kids to volunteer, come up on stage, and dance around to annoyingly un-childlike music (in this case it was them trying to teach kids to do the Gangnam style dance, to the sound of Gentleman, ick) that just makes me cringe - even when I was the appropriate age to be one of the kid volunteers. 

So I stood by the entrance, willing the rain to stop, hoping to make a mad dash out of there. 

But damned their super efficient and organized staff, who can very politely but so firmly tell you to go sit down and stop blocking the stroller parking area. 

So we sat down, and my first very cynical thoughts were "So this is what happens to out of work dancers, beatboxers and DJs."

But okay, they were pretty good.

And of course, the trip wouldn't be complete without having bought something.

Presenting.....

my super cute Lego key light.

and my super awesome Stormtrooper! 

Note to self: bring own towel

Sometimes you just a change of pace.

Sometimes you just need to reconnect with the people you used to be a kid with to be kids again. 

Sometimes you're so badly in need of both, you wish you could blow off work on Friday and leave for vacation one day early. 

Or maybe that's just me. 

Travel with people you actually like.

That way the long wait at the airport actually feels like fun; no mobile games, books or magazines required. 

They'll also be the ones who order for you while you arrive fashionably late, just because you want something off the breakfast menu and won't make it in time before they change to the regular menu. And also not call you a diva when you walk back to Starbucks to get your coffee just because you insist McDonald's coffee makes your heart race.

Be secretly happy when the shopping isn't all that great - you're definitely not going to budget.

First stop: Johor Premium Outlets.

It was our first time there, but most of us have heard enough not to expect anything too amazing. And we were, as expected, not particularly wowed.

I went hoping to get myself a new pair of shoes for the gym, but no such luck. Both the Nike and Adidas stores seemed to have more clothes than shoes. Got quite excited at Nike for a second - my favourite designs of sports bras and shorts were on sale - but of course, they were not available in my size. 

So, what were the pretty amazing deals we found at JPO? The deals on things I have absolutely no use for at the moment, of course. And one of them would come in the form of RM 100 for two super cute La Senza sets that would otherwise cost above RM 200 each (according to the store assistant, at least).

So, haul for the day: two super cute knickers from Victoria's Secret and a pair of cute peach-coloured jeans from Gap.

All the while, the boys were so sweet - no complaining whatsoever while the two of us shopped all afternoon. Or maybe it's because they got to hang out and talk about whatever it is they talk about when we girls aren't around. 

Bring your own towel. 

None of us really had much time to do much research for this trip. We just bought the flight tickets and that was that. So as the date of the trip drew nearer, a compromise between number of stars, our budgets and availability had to be made.

We ended up with Citrus Hotel in JB - ranked 13 of 73 hotels in JB on Trip Advisor, with 3.5 stars (4 stars on some travel review platforms). 

Perhaps we should have done more reading, and probably kept in mind that all these travel sites don't really award stars in a standardized manner, because four stars my little tushie. 

Don't get me wrong, they have all the basics - staff were pleasant, beds were comfy, bathrooms are in perfect working order, and food is decent. So here's the rest of it:

About a week before we went on the trip, GM did some research because he was borrowing a colleague's MPV to fit the six of us comfortably during the trip. That was when we found out this hotel does not have its own parking. So be prepared to park along the street, if you can find any lots there, or in JB City Square, which was what we opted for. 

So for RM 198 a night, you get no assurance that you'll get exactly the kind of room you booked, or that all your rooms will be nearby. However, the upside is if you've booked the smallest kind of room, this means you'll likely get bumped up into a bigger, better room if they run out of the kind of room you booked. 

I ended up with the family room, which comes with a double bed and a single bed. And lots of empty floor space because there's no other furniture aside from the beds, a little table with your basic coffee-making needs, and a chair. Oh, and a TV mounted on the wall. The walls are pretty thin so don't expect to get away with laughing and cheering over drinking games - we got ourselves an angry shout from one of the neighbouring rooms.

So, to my upgraded room we go. The place has two lifts: a tiny one that just fits the six of us and our bags, with no wiggle room; and an even tinier one which just fits Jeff, our luggage, me and my claustrophobia.

It's also another one of those hotels that have bathroom doors that don't lock - like completely doesn't have a lock. What is with that? Seriously, is it so expensive to install a door that at least latches from the inside?

Jeff pretty much freaked out that I didn't bring my own towel, while I nonchalantly said that all hotels have towels, it'll be fine.

It wasn't.

First one I unfolded had stains on it. 

Second and third ones were fine, although not quite as white as they should be. They also use that commercial detergent or softener that what seems like all cheap hotels use that smells like...er...some other liquid of similar consistency to softener.

Okay, tired. More on food and Legoland in my next post.