its has been exactly 14 days since we have fasted! time flies, quickly. next thing you know, it'll be Eid! can't wait. but these coming weeks i'll be rather busy, trying to get my cookies out!
baked the first batch last weekend, managed to bake only 2 types of cookies - cornflakes and chocolate chips. well my intention is to bake for me parents and in-laws. but however i took some home with me. hehe.
as i was baking, mom's friend came over since they were meeting up for dins. so she sat down and looked, a couple of words were uttered, i just kept on baking... then i asked, "aunty sorry for being direct, are you fasting?" she said, "no"... i told her to try the cookies if she wanted, and let me know if it was too sweet or lack of it. she looked at me and raised her voice, wow! i want 200 of your chocolate chip, and 100 of your cornflakes. (i must have done something right!) wee-hee, then she slowed down and asked, are you selling those? i said i can if you want, i'll give it to you at the end of the second week of puasa... which is this weekend *sigh* will be slightly busy but hey it's rezeki, i don't mind receiving some pocket money before Raya.
mom was busy making her legendary "pergedel/mashed potatoes with beef" for her soto soup... i was oh-so-tempted-please-help-me-god! *woosa*woosa* be patient... managed to overcome the temptation, not till she started frying them.
"dang mama, why you have to temp me like that??!" (*ignoring*ignoring the smell)
then the aunty spoke to me again, asking me some questions... she asked about school, life, and everything else, i spoke very little, yes rare but i was just trying to get it over and done with, with baking! i was tired. then, she asked the most sensitive question of all... jeng-jeng-jeng... how old are you??
alamak!! the cookie dough was on my forehead as i smack it lightly!... i smiled, how old do you think i am aunty?
she said, at most you're 16 or 17? i was grinning from ear-to-ear like there was a hanger in my mouth! errr.... yessss... i was, 10 YEARS ago. yarabi. I AM OLD! damn it, any conversation you have, if you have to refer to more than 5 years ago is bad... baddddd i tell ya!
but she made my day though. she really did! whoo-pee-doo-dee!
hmm... now i'm thinking i should give her discounts on the cookies. hahaha... gila tak boleh belarr! just cause of some compliment :D so so *cheap, i can be bought!
_________________________________________________________
anyway, after the baking weekend, mom was rather shattered and devastated with the maid that had been with the family for the last 13 years of our lives left, due to the fact that her sister has been constantly poisoning her mind. what a f***ing beeee-yooootcccch! the sister has only been with us for the last 3 months and she managed to turn the whole scenario into a freak show!
heart goes to you mom, will do my very best to accommodate for anything, at anytime for you guys. love and kisses.
abang! i cleaned your room yesterday, you owe me another watch... hehe... by the way loved loved the birthday prezzie. seriously... thanks again.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
racing hearts, and heated arguments!
last saturday a group of friends decided to break their fast together, it was a potluck thing and some of us decided to cook and some decided to buy... it was a rather nice and quiet evening, we were enjoying each others company, catching up, got our hearts racing with juicy informations, made fun of each other, you know the usuals.
it was quiet till they decided to play taboo! oh gosh... it was a terrible mistake i thought at first, the boys wanted to challenge the girls! and there was only 3 girls, and 4 guys. unfair right? no they said it was alright, and that we would have an advantage due to the fact that we are able to go for an extra round because we were lacking of 1 player! so we agreed.
we had to explain the game to the new comers, but it wasn't long cause they had already heard bout the game and they were fast learners.
let the challenge begin.
it was pretty mellow for the first 10 minutes, as soon as everyone was into it oh gosh, it seemed like we were in the middle of heritage row without the crazy music background and no plastics! it was hilarious... everyone was screaming on top of their lungs, just to make sure they're heard by their own team mates...
the thing i noticed about this game is that, when you are describing the word that you'd want them to guess, you have to be at your best - calm! "memang tak lahhhh!" the boys were distracting us to make sure we don't score any points when it was our turn, and us girls being the lovely sweet girls that we are, blurrr duduk diam when its their turn...
but suddenly, they saw the uglier side of us when they decided to forfeit the 2 points that we had earn fair and square! but according to them its invalid! DAMN IT. then all the bitches were all on duty out of a sudden! haha... honestly, we earned the "banana split" and "monica lewinsky" answer fairly!! they screamed and distracted us in every possible way, they were squeezing the timer thingy at our faces and all... wow the things we do to win huh?
we decided collaboratively that we had to forfeit the 1 point that they answered based on the fact that one of the guys were looking at the CARD! which was for the word "tool" i guess, and we screamed loudly as the time ran out! hahaha... i think they went deaf for good 5 minutes!
see boys, we're extremely talented! we're smart and loud, it may just be the 3 of us, but we're feisty :D
we played more than 15 rounds, and based on the scores - the best team won! US fiesty ladies. WOO HOO...
taboo is not for the faint hearted, and i kid you not!
it was quiet till they decided to play taboo! oh gosh... it was a terrible mistake i thought at first, the boys wanted to challenge the girls! and there was only 3 girls, and 4 guys. unfair right? no they said it was alright, and that we would have an advantage due to the fact that we are able to go for an extra round because we were lacking of 1 player! so we agreed.
we had to explain the game to the new comers, but it wasn't long cause they had already heard bout the game and they were fast learners.
let the challenge begin.
it was pretty mellow for the first 10 minutes, as soon as everyone was into it oh gosh, it seemed like we were in the middle of heritage row without the crazy music background and no plastics! it was hilarious... everyone was screaming on top of their lungs, just to make sure they're heard by their own team mates...
the thing i noticed about this game is that, when you are describing the word that you'd want them to guess, you have to be at your best - calm! "memang tak lahhhh!" the boys were distracting us to make sure we don't score any points when it was our turn, and us girls being the lovely sweet girls that we are, blurrr duduk diam when its their turn...
but suddenly, they saw the uglier side of us when they decided to forfeit the 2 points that we had earn fair and square! but according to them its invalid! DAMN IT. then all the bitches were all on duty out of a sudden! haha... honestly, we earned the "banana split" and "monica lewinsky" answer fairly!! they screamed and distracted us in every possible way, they were squeezing the timer thingy at our faces and all... wow the things we do to win huh?
we decided collaboratively that we had to forfeit the 1 point that they answered based on the fact that one of the guys were looking at the CARD! which was for the word "tool" i guess, and we screamed loudly as the time ran out! hahaha... i think they went deaf for good 5 minutes!
see boys, we're extremely talented! we're smart and loud, it may just be the 3 of us, but we're feisty :D
we played more than 15 rounds, and based on the scores - the best team won! US fiesty ladies. WOO HOO...
taboo is not for the faint hearted, and i kid you not!
Friday, September 21, 2007
in a petty agony...
day by day, there has never been a single minute that i have been able to get my mind of dubai... all i could think about is the fact that i've applied for jobs there and i'm hoping that there will be an opportunity for me to do so. oh gosh, i think i've been putting a lot of pressure onto myself... but then again this is what i want to do, and i'm not just speaking for me here, hubs is just waiting for the right opportunity too!
everyday, every morning, i wake up - check my emails, in *hope *wishing that the particular magical email will appear! but it has been at least 2 months and no replies. i know its the cold hard reality that i will have to accept, and i do... but i'm not giving up! even if it means i have to work here for another year or so.
we had our talk yesterday, hubs and myself... well it wasn't about consoling each other but rather talk about the reality here, can't just live in my dreamy dubai dreams, although i wish we could!! we have decided to have a cut off date, till then if we don't hear anything from dubai then we'll just stay and work here... for the time being...
but like i said, not giving up on my dreams...
been viewing a couple of positions in a couple of companies, looks pretty promising... so yeah, ladies and gents do pray for me yeah?
i am not giving up on... my dubai, though... that seems to be the only option for now...
na' ahh... hell no, that's not happening in my watch, doesn't matter this is just a small hiccup.
ahh dubai...
i would love to see you my sweet dubai... soon...
-smell the fresh air
-be free, away from everything
-able to stand on my two feet, facing the challenges on my own
-a great eye opener
-being exposed to a great number of expatriates, no not referring to the kabayans
-have to admit, shopping there is great too
-be able to own our own property there
-be adventurous with all the outdoor activities
-attend all the interesting concerts *waiting for timbaland
-purchase the never ending good-looking cars!
-raise a family there
-go to all the pretty looking restaurants/clubs
-accessible and easy to travel to the neighboring countries especially to *europe, i like!
yeah i know i don't have to justify why i chose dubai in specific... but i thought i'd just share bits of the information with you...
who knows maybe months down the road, my "rezeki" to work there will be granted...
everyday, every morning, i wake up - check my emails, in *hope *wishing that the particular magical email will appear! but it has been at least 2 months and no replies. i know its the cold hard reality that i will have to accept, and i do... but i'm not giving up! even if it means i have to work here for another year or so.
we had our talk yesterday, hubs and myself... well it wasn't about consoling each other but rather talk about the reality here, can't just live in my dreamy dubai dreams, although i wish we could!! we have decided to have a cut off date, till then if we don't hear anything from dubai then we'll just stay and work here... for the time being...
but like i said, not giving up on my dreams...
been viewing a couple of positions in a couple of companies, looks pretty promising... so yeah, ladies and gents do pray for me yeah?
i am not giving up on... my dubai, though... that seems to be the only option for now...
na' ahh... hell no, that's not happening in my watch, doesn't matter this is just a small hiccup.
ahh dubai...
i would love to see you my sweet dubai... soon...
-smell the fresh air
-be free, away from everything
-able to stand on my two feet, facing the challenges on my own
-a great eye opener
-being exposed to a great number of expatriates, no not referring to the kabayans
-have to admit, shopping there is great too
-be able to own our own property there
-be adventurous with all the outdoor activities
-attend all the interesting concerts *waiting for timbaland
-purchase the never ending good-looking cars!
-raise a family there
-go to all the pretty looking restaurants/clubs
-accessible and easy to travel to the neighboring countries especially to *europe, i like!
yeah i know i don't have to justify why i chose dubai in specific... but i thought i'd just share bits of the information with you...
who knows maybe months down the road, my "rezeki" to work there will be granted...
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
tv addict!
it's been a while since i last blogged, seriously! either i feel too lazy or my brain is just not functioning properly :) (or slower, maybe) but i know for sure these past few days i've been getting all comfortable with my sofa or bed watching vcd, dvd, tv, be it series, movies, or reality show i was just up for it! i've been getting my self all occupied to get my mind off from my hunger pangs... actually, it hasn't been that bad la, i'm just exaggerating trying to find excuses for why i've been hogging the tv!
recently i've been watching this new series called greek, all about college kids being in fraternity and sorority house, those who throws really good parties and have all the hotties, and those who has boring occassion sipping their afternoon tea. yeap, from one extreme to the other! i like all the unknown casts... its refreshing! however, the first season is rather short, its from episode 1-10.
okay, moving on...
now i'm watching friday night lights, well i wouldn't say religiously but it's pretty addictive to me, i'm always intrigued to find out what's going to happen in this episode and it leads to the next one, and before you know it i've seen at least 4-5 episodes in one sitting! so yeah, my sleeping habits (is rather off now...) the high school's american football team "panther" being led by this extremely crazy supportive coach! and everything that goes on in the town is highly dependant on their winnings and stuff, can you imagine the pressure? they have the best quaterback but he there was a terrible mishap, he had the perrrrfeccctessst life then, absolutely gorgeous girlfriend, applying for scholarship and all, great team... and lost almost everything when the mishap happened... so yeah, you should watch it! pretty entertaining.
also not forgetting a new dramatic series, the company! its regarding 3 best friends who studied in harvard is currently working for different intelligence, the CIA, the KGB and etc. a bit slow, but bearable.
recently i've been watching this new series called greek, all about college kids being in fraternity and sorority house, those who throws really good parties and have all the hotties, and those who has boring occassion sipping their afternoon tea. yeap, from one extreme to the other! i like all the unknown casts... its refreshing! however, the first season is rather short, its from episode 1-10.
okay, moving on...
now i'm watching friday night lights, well i wouldn't say religiously but it's pretty addictive to me, i'm always intrigued to find out what's going to happen in this episode and it leads to the next one, and before you know it i've seen at least 4-5 episodes in one sitting! so yeah, my sleeping habits (is rather off now...) the high school's american football team "panther" being led by this extremely crazy supportive coach! and everything that goes on in the town is highly dependant on their winnings and stuff, can you imagine the pressure? they have the best quaterback but he there was a terrible mishap, he had the perrrrfeccctessst life then, absolutely gorgeous girlfriend, applying for scholarship and all, great team... and lost almost everything when the mishap happened... so yeah, you should watch it! pretty entertaining.
also not forgetting a new dramatic series, the company! its regarding 3 best friends who studied in harvard is currently working for different intelligence, the CIA, the KGB and etc. a bit slow, but bearable.
entourage season 4 also just ended after the 12th episode! i was quite disappointed! it ended to fast for this season damn it. i just love jeremy piven's character ari gold! he is totally hilarious. a nut case who has a knock out looking wife, and runs his own talent agency! so so so inspiring, but i don't think so i can stomach his "muka tebalness!" season 4 is a must watch.
i've been wanting to watch how i met your mother! so yeah that is currently in the progress now...
ooohhh ohhhh, i was excited earlier as they have released the first episode of the 3rd season for prison break! i just want to know what exactly scofield have up his sleeves...
and i can't wait for the release of heroes, and ugly betty end of this month! woohoo... which is just a couple of days more... hooray.as for movies:
- saw the first 10 minutes of nacho libre - hate it!
- watched knocked up - hate it! no anti-climax what so ever.
- little miss sunshine - slow, weird, good cast - a so so movie.
- invincible - pretty inspiring - bearable movie.
- glory road - highly recommended!
so this is how i entertain my self for now! sad huh? well its okay i'm enjoying the perks of being a housewife as of this moment... it's just a temporary thing!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
welcoming the holy month, Ramadhan
as the cresent moon is sighted the Holy month of Ramadhan begins...
it is a time of reflection...
a time of prayers...
a time of devotion...
a time of remembrance...
i would like to take this opportunity to wish all the umat islam, "selamat berpuasa semoga mendapat barakah Ramadhan sepenuhnya".
i wasn't able to enjoy the eve of the fasting month as i was sitting for my t.o.e.f.l test which was delayed and made it more unbearable... but alhamdulillah, everything went well... i hope, and pray that it does...
...and my prayer goes out to the recent mishap at the western coast of indonesia, padang.
it is a time of reflection...
a time of prayers...
a time of devotion...
a time of remembrance...
i would like to take this opportunity to wish all the umat islam, "selamat berpuasa semoga mendapat barakah Ramadhan sepenuhnya".
i wasn't able to enjoy the eve of the fasting month as i was sitting for my t.o.e.f.l test which was delayed and made it more unbearable... but alhamdulillah, everything went well... i hope, and pray that it does...
...and my prayer goes out to the recent mishap at the western coast of indonesia, padang.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
great encounter...
early in the morning at 7 a.m. i received a message from ma, asking if i was awake yet... but of course i did not reply to that as i was still in la-la-land, and then another one came in after 15 minutes asking me out for breakfast. i think she finally gave up on waiting for me to reply her message, she decided to just call... finally i was woken up by the song that she totally hates by sean kingston, "beautiful girl" and i set this tone especially for her!
agreed to meet her for breakfast, oh wait, agreed to pick her up for breakfast actually... so yeah went through the morning jam, which wasn't as bad to be honest! i expected to reach at her place after an hour or so, since that is the common thing we malaysians go through every morning of the weekday.
anyway, finally got there and headed to FAM, as we were eating she saw my grandfathers good friend! yes, you read that right! it was my late granfathers good friend, Raja Che Zaitun "mak ungku". a woman who was 78 years old, on her own... choosing her own yong-tau-foo... dressed in her kaftan with her curly hair, and her strong physique. i was amazed, by just looking at her. mom approached her and asked if she remembered mom. mak ungku was rather excited, and said yes, yes i'll join you in a bit and so she sat...
they were asking each other loads of questions, i was just trying to keep up... mom told her that she was still in great shape, for a person her age, and she wasn't forgetful and all...
she said i should tell you a story, but i think you might think i'm crazy!! because my 4 boys, said i was...
mak ungku sharing her experience...
about 4 years ago, as i was driving on the road, out of a sudden i lost my memory... i had to stop the car at the side of the road and waited for at least 2 hours or so, as i could not even identify myself. slowly i regain my memory and made my way back home. the next day i went to the hospital, for a medical check-up and i told them about my situation. doctor discovered a whole lot of other things that was wrong with me, for a person of my age... and told me that my brain cells was slowly giving up on me. i was rather unsatisfied with the first check up i had to go for a second opinion, and was at university hospital, they came back with a worse report, as i was walking i saw ungku aziz, and asked him at his age how did he maintain his sanity? and not lose his memory and all? all he said was just to pick up some hobby that would make my brain cells work, which is to STUDY! acquire more knowledge.
... and so she did...
she was interested in taking language courses, so she was at a prestige institute and acquired more on that, but they told her they will not be able to accommodate her. for the fact that she is old and they did not want to jepordize the standards of the school!
as i was still determined, i checked out our local university, and uitm had offered these language course... and so i enrolled... i think the registrar, emphatized with my situation and agreed.
and now... after 4 years, i have learned 4 other languages... i speak french, spanish, german and mandarin. I KID YOU NOT! i was impressed with mak ungku's capabilities, half the time she was speaking in french and explaining it to us. she told us of her experience on her practical exam last year, she was in paris, she decided to do a cooking show explaining how to cook our famous "nasi beriyani" but in french, it was all recorded, and she was interviewed and covered in our local papers!
she kept us really entertained! i was in awe, i could not believe my ears, and eyes!! i was looking at a 78 year old woman, who was a linguist!! she wrote a beautiful poem for her lecturer for her exam yesterday and she recited it for us. WOW. i loved it. of course i can't explain it to you, but it seems like it's a part of her mother tounge. impressive. she also recited some parts of the quran as she said he had given lectures in london for the malaysians performing their umrah, she translated from malay-english-french... she was just happy sharing her moments and experiences with us... i think the rest of the patrons were also impressed by listening to her speak. i would have to admire her for her determination!
then she said to mom, this was the only way she kept her sanity, she had to find things that would get her brain cells active, and that is how she managed to not lose her memory... then she looked at us and asked, "you must think i'm crazy right?" i laughed and said no, not crazy think i have nothing but admiration for your courage and determination... it was such a great encounter. seriously, i guess if you really put your mind to it, you're able to achieve anything that you strive for, insyallah.
it was really pleasant meeting her... such a beautiful person with colorful personality, with vast experiences. that really made my day.
agreed to meet her for breakfast, oh wait, agreed to pick her up for breakfast actually... so yeah went through the morning jam, which wasn't as bad to be honest! i expected to reach at her place after an hour or so, since that is the common thing we malaysians go through every morning of the weekday.
anyway, finally got there and headed to FAM, as we were eating she saw my grandfathers good friend! yes, you read that right! it was my late granfathers good friend, Raja Che Zaitun "mak ungku". a woman who was 78 years old, on her own... choosing her own yong-tau-foo... dressed in her kaftan with her curly hair, and her strong physique. i was amazed, by just looking at her. mom approached her and asked if she remembered mom. mak ungku was rather excited, and said yes, yes i'll join you in a bit and so she sat...
they were asking each other loads of questions, i was just trying to keep up... mom told her that she was still in great shape, for a person her age, and she wasn't forgetful and all...
she said i should tell you a story, but i think you might think i'm crazy!! because my 4 boys, said i was...
mak ungku sharing her experience...
about 4 years ago, as i was driving on the road, out of a sudden i lost my memory... i had to stop the car at the side of the road and waited for at least 2 hours or so, as i could not even identify myself. slowly i regain my memory and made my way back home. the next day i went to the hospital, for a medical check-up and i told them about my situation. doctor discovered a whole lot of other things that was wrong with me, for a person of my age... and told me that my brain cells was slowly giving up on me. i was rather unsatisfied with the first check up i had to go for a second opinion, and was at university hospital, they came back with a worse report, as i was walking i saw ungku aziz, and asked him at his age how did he maintain his sanity? and not lose his memory and all? all he said was just to pick up some hobby that would make my brain cells work, which is to STUDY! acquire more knowledge.
... and so she did...
she was interested in taking language courses, so she was at a prestige institute and acquired more on that, but they told her they will not be able to accommodate her. for the fact that she is old and they did not want to jepordize the standards of the school!
as i was still determined, i checked out our local university, and uitm had offered these language course... and so i enrolled... i think the registrar, emphatized with my situation and agreed.
and now... after 4 years, i have learned 4 other languages... i speak french, spanish, german and mandarin. I KID YOU NOT! i was impressed with mak ungku's capabilities, half the time she was speaking in french and explaining it to us. she told us of her experience on her practical exam last year, she was in paris, she decided to do a cooking show explaining how to cook our famous "nasi beriyani" but in french, it was all recorded, and she was interviewed and covered in our local papers!
she kept us really entertained! i was in awe, i could not believe my ears, and eyes!! i was looking at a 78 year old woman, who was a linguist!! she wrote a beautiful poem for her lecturer for her exam yesterday and she recited it for us. WOW. i loved it. of course i can't explain it to you, but it seems like it's a part of her mother tounge. impressive. she also recited some parts of the quran as she said he had given lectures in london for the malaysians performing their umrah, she translated from malay-english-french... she was just happy sharing her moments and experiences with us... i think the rest of the patrons were also impressed by listening to her speak. i would have to admire her for her determination!
then she said to mom, this was the only way she kept her sanity, she had to find things that would get her brain cells active, and that is how she managed to not lose her memory... then she looked at us and asked, "you must think i'm crazy right?" i laughed and said no, not crazy think i have nothing but admiration for your courage and determination... it was such a great encounter. seriously, i guess if you really put your mind to it, you're able to achieve anything that you strive for, insyallah.
it was really pleasant meeting her... such a beautiful person with colorful personality, with vast experiences. that really made my day.
Friday, September 7, 2007
last day in bkk
sunday 02.09.2007
we had loads in our itinerary today.
1. MBK - shop
2. Siam Paragon - more shopping, and lunch
3. Lumphini Night Market - browsing, and shopping... again
4. Vertigo @ Banyan Tree Hotel - check out the scene
5. Cabbages and Condoms - for dinner
okay maybe out of the 5 places we wanted to go to, we went to 4 and changed some of the itinerary...
MBK, a shopping mall that has the same layout as sungei wang, except for one thing! they have really nice looking fake goodies! i kid you not. it's booo-ti-ful! they've got handbags, wallets, luggages, jerseys, and many many more. the beauty about this place is that they would actually show you the product between the low quality and the high quality ones, and you could negotiate on the prices! its pretty fun to haggle your way through, such a great achievement. but sometimes after a while you'll be thinking, "oh shit, i could have gotten it at a cheaper price, BODOH! why did i agree to that!!" hahaha... boohoo.
Siam Paragon, placed in the heart of the bangkok! you need to get onto the mrt then into the bts train... just to get to this mall. a place similar to our KLCC, but i gotta tell you, they have wider brand range in paragon... "HEAVEN". KLCC is nothing compared to this mall (in terms of shops of course, not the looks!)... the labels that was available there was: karen millen, paul smith, d&g, ferragamo, LV, gucci, bottega vanetta, dkny, chanel, dior, hermes, hugo boss, armani, jimmy choo's and anything that you can think of that belongs at high-street! almost went crazy "window shopping" of course, can't afford to splurge here, or else i would have to work in bangkok for at least a year or two just to settle all the debt just in case i swipe and use the credit card.
had lunch at their high class food court, seriously their concept is similar to marche except for you're not given a passport, you're given a card, place your order and swipe it, cool eh? they deliver the food to you, and then you just pay at the cashier after, the ambiance, the cool techy stuff that they installed was pretty impressive. not forgetting, do check out the desserts on the lower ground of the mall... its to die for! especially the ice-creams. yummay.
back to hotel and rested
out for dins and headed to cabbages and condoms, it was an experience! food is delicious, and affordable, place is filled with lights, or shall i say lamps that is made out of condoms, pretty creative i must add. i think every dollar spent there will be placed or given to certain aids foundation, which i think is definitely for a good cause, so yeah... put your money to good use! instead of slotting it in between the bikinis of the girls or trannies at ping-pong street yeah? thanks for recommending the place to us cikz.
Lumphini night market, is similar to the ping-pong night market except for its way hotter and there are no half naked chicks walking around in the run-down clubs... the items there was more than what ping-pong market had to offer though, i had gotten the other 2 of my little miss* t-shirt collection from the market... one is miss chatty, and the other is miss greedy.
right after that we made our way to pat-pong night market in the tuk-tuk to do some last minute shopping and to exploit the masseusse there :)
we totally scrapped the idea of going to vertigo, i could not open my eyes as we were waiting for a cabbie! and as soon as i got in the cab and i just crashed... which is rather a rare sight.
we had loads in our itinerary today.
1. MBK - shop
2. Siam Paragon - more shopping, and lunch
3. Lumphini Night Market - browsing, and shopping... again
4. Vertigo @ Banyan Tree Hotel - check out the scene
5. Cabbages and Condoms - for dinner
okay maybe out of the 5 places we wanted to go to, we went to 4 and changed some of the itinerary...
MBK, a shopping mall that has the same layout as sungei wang, except for one thing! they have really nice looking fake goodies! i kid you not. it's booo-ti-ful! they've got handbags, wallets, luggages, jerseys, and many many more. the beauty about this place is that they would actually show you the product between the low quality and the high quality ones, and you could negotiate on the prices! its pretty fun to haggle your way through, such a great achievement. but sometimes after a while you'll be thinking, "oh shit, i could have gotten it at a cheaper price, BODOH! why did i agree to that!!" hahaha... boohoo.
Siam Paragon, placed in the heart of the bangkok! you need to get onto the mrt then into the bts train... just to get to this mall. a place similar to our KLCC, but i gotta tell you, they have wider brand range in paragon... "HEAVEN". KLCC is nothing compared to this mall (in terms of shops of course, not the looks!)... the labels that was available there was: karen millen, paul smith, d&g, ferragamo, LV, gucci, bottega vanetta, dkny, chanel, dior, hermes, hugo boss, armani, jimmy choo's and anything that you can think of that belongs at high-street! almost went crazy "window shopping" of course, can't afford to splurge here, or else i would have to work in bangkok for at least a year or two just to settle all the debt just in case i swipe and use the credit card.
had lunch at their high class food court, seriously their concept is similar to marche except for you're not given a passport, you're given a card, place your order and swipe it, cool eh? they deliver the food to you, and then you just pay at the cashier after, the ambiance, the cool techy stuff that they installed was pretty impressive. not forgetting, do check out the desserts on the lower ground of the mall... its to die for! especially the ice-creams. yummay.
back to hotel and rested
out for dins and headed to cabbages and condoms, it was an experience! food is delicious, and affordable, place is filled with lights, or shall i say lamps that is made out of condoms, pretty creative i must add. i think every dollar spent there will be placed or given to certain aids foundation, which i think is definitely for a good cause, so yeah... put your money to good use! instead of slotting it in between the bikinis of the girls or trannies at ping-pong street yeah? thanks for recommending the place to us cikz.
Lumphini night market, is similar to the ping-pong night market except for its way hotter and there are no half naked chicks walking around in the run-down clubs... the items there was more than what ping-pong market had to offer though, i had gotten the other 2 of my little miss* t-shirt collection from the market... one is miss chatty, and the other is miss greedy.
right after that we made our way to pat-pong night market in the tuk-tuk to do some last minute shopping and to exploit the masseusse there :)
we totally scrapped the idea of going to vertigo, i could not open my eyes as we were waiting for a cabbie! and as soon as i got in the cab and i just crashed... which is rather a rare sight.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
priceless!
saturday 01.09.2007
after hearing rave reviews on the most hyped-up place in bangkok, we just had to check out cha-tu-chak. i was curious to find out what kind of things they had to offer us easily deceived buyers! the place wasn't far for us as it was just a couple of stops away from where we stayed, it probably took us 15 minutes to get there. there's apparently 3 stops to cha-tu-chak and the best was to stop at "kampheng phet" (yes, i know what a name!) anyway, this stop leads you directly to my weakness "clothes". holy molly!! "heaven"
we arrived at 11 or so, and mind you it was HOT as HELL. please, highly recommend! for you to wear the skimpiest of your clothes, if you think you're going to look all sluttish, fret not its the common look you get in bangkok anyway! except for the fact that you're not latched onto some "mat salleh" hihi.
okay, just to inform you cha-tu-chak is a weekend market and the size of this place is 7football fields combined together, different sections will see different stuff from clothings, textiles, animals, household goods, food, handbags, all the fake goodies and many many more!! the prices varies for the goods sold from 4 baht - hundreds or even thousands! depends on your taste, as for me my taste wasn't as exquisite, i was happy purchasing all the cheap goodies! hihi... i like.
we walked and walked... and walked even more as for me i was moving around like a headless chicken not knowing where to go and what to do... yes aside from constantly stopping at every little cubicle that sells dresses and stuff! what else is there to do but to shop right? indeed, that was what i did for at least 4 hours... but to be honest this time round i did not go all crazy grabbing every little thing i liked. which was rather odd for me.
another thing i would advice you is to bring a face towel as you will be sweating like a bitch, and i kid you not. as the crowd comes in, the place will be filled with body heat and you'd feel like the sun is getting nearer, and it gets hotter! you'll be drenched in your smelly sweat. but hey, i guess its just a must when you're there to endure all these things all together. things we do to shop huh?
they have loads of little stalls for you to purchase your drinks, and small carts with the funky looking and colored popsicle to cool you down, and these things would cost you lesser than RM1 so yeah no biggie. for those who is particular about what they eat, there is a muslim community there selling delicious delicacies from rice with dishes and the famous beef ball noodles. don't worry you won't starve to death there.
finally, we decided to sit down and enjoy the wonderful coconut drink which was heaven sent... ahhh... and my goodness please wear the most comfortable shoe wear that you have, if you think you could walk in those extremely expensive shoes to look good, then you're screwed! just take the cheapest slippers on sandals that you have in your shoe cabinet and be happy with it. don't tell me i didn't warn you. well the worse that could happen to you is that you'll be walking around with the slippers that you can purchase from the market itself, the ones with the beads that you buy for approximately RM40 here and only pay 18baht there or you can buy those funky looking birkenstock for almost the same amount, your choice.
as i looked at the stuff that i had gotten, i told hubs that i could not proceed any longer as my legs felt like it was about to drop off or go into a coma! i was tired. yes, the little miss greedy was getting all tired and just needed to get back as quickly as possible to shower and get out of the smelly clothes!
the weekend market activity ended at 4p.m. for the both of us. we decided to drag our tired asses back to the hotel. phew!
**
managed to get my eyes shut for an hour, then got ready to head to the 'red light district' called "patpong" night market. well if you ask me, its more like "pingpong" night market... because that would be the most common invitation that you'll get!
got there about 8p.m. and we were hunting for a good seafood restaurant, as we were both hungry and ready to pig out! so finally we saw a nice looking restaurant at the heart of the place and decided yeah, why not since they had the menu written in english. we just had to make sure that we knew what we were ordering. as you can see i'm fussy when i travel, don't want to simply order something and i was going to regret about it later.
anyway, we had pad-thai noodle with the seafood tom yam, some fried squid with dried chillies and the best deep fried garoupa with garlic made for (lazy eaters like myself!) what the chef did was fillet the fish and fried it with batter and fried the bones which had the head attached to it still and then placed all the fillet ontop of the bones to make it look as if they fried the whole thing together... really it was superb! you did not have to cut the fish on your own it was already done for you... hihi... NICE!
finally when we were done with dinner as we paid the shockingly expensive dins, we decided to take the receipt well for memory sake or to make sure we don't go there again, could be either one... we had a little chat with the manager...
manager: (smiled) sir, no sip?
us: (looking confused) sip? sip what?
manager: (looked at the booklet) and said again, no sip?
us: (what the heck is he talking about?) finally, we got the message, and figured out he was asking for TIP! not sip!! bodohlah jugak right? i thought what the f***! is he asking us to sip.
yeah, word of advice when you're in bangkok be prepared with all the small change you can get cause the tip is much expected of the tourists!
walked around the 'patpong/pingpong' market and we were approached like 20 times by all the vultures from all the clubs there, they had this extremely disgusting aura! they creep up behind you and say, "SPECIAL SHOW?" we have "PING PONG SHOW" you want? see special show? that's all they know i guess, and then they will present you with the most shocking MENU. its called the "pussy menu" (pardon my french)... and it has all the description of all the shows they're able to entertain you with.
i looked at hubs and said, "i'm good to go if you're up for it. but just to inform you in advance, i will not be seating, drinking, touching anything that is served from any of these clubs or these girls..."
he then turned around and said, "its okay babe, i think i'll pass! the menu looked scary! thank god for that, seriously!
then one of the shops had football jerseys for sale, so hubs stood there looking at the teams they had, the guy looked and asked, "what team you looking for?" he said, "its okay i'm still looking"...
the guy had the cheek to look at us and say, "better don't look, buy better! no need to look" besterd!! okay so we walked, and ended up at this massage parlour... seriously we had a good bargain on it, 250baht for 1 hour for foot massage or thai massage. seriously? after the amount of walking we did today it was rather difficult for us to pass the opportunity to exploit them :)
ahh... when we were done we had to rush back with a cab as it was raining heavily, and the cabbie was getting all mad, but thank god for the fact that we could not understand a single word he was uttering! the beauty of them not being able to speak in english.
after hearing rave reviews on the most hyped-up place in bangkok, we just had to check out cha-tu-chak. i was curious to find out what kind of things they had to offer us easily deceived buyers! the place wasn't far for us as it was just a couple of stops away from where we stayed, it probably took us 15 minutes to get there. there's apparently 3 stops to cha-tu-chak and the best was to stop at "kampheng phet" (yes, i know what a name!) anyway, this stop leads you directly to my weakness "clothes". holy molly!! "heaven"
we arrived at 11 or so, and mind you it was HOT as HELL. please, highly recommend! for you to wear the skimpiest of your clothes, if you think you're going to look all sluttish, fret not its the common look you get in bangkok anyway! except for the fact that you're not latched onto some "mat salleh" hihi.
okay, just to inform you cha-tu-chak is a weekend market and the size of this place is 7football fields combined together, different sections will see different stuff from clothings, textiles, animals, household goods, food, handbags, all the fake goodies and many many more!! the prices varies for the goods sold from 4 baht - hundreds or even thousands! depends on your taste, as for me my taste wasn't as exquisite, i was happy purchasing all the cheap goodies! hihi... i like.
we walked and walked... and walked even more as for me i was moving around like a headless chicken not knowing where to go and what to do... yes aside from constantly stopping at every little cubicle that sells dresses and stuff! what else is there to do but to shop right? indeed, that was what i did for at least 4 hours... but to be honest this time round i did not go all crazy grabbing every little thing i liked. which was rather odd for me.
another thing i would advice you is to bring a face towel as you will be sweating like a bitch, and i kid you not. as the crowd comes in, the place will be filled with body heat and you'd feel like the sun is getting nearer, and it gets hotter! you'll be drenched in your smelly sweat. but hey, i guess its just a must when you're there to endure all these things all together. things we do to shop huh?
they have loads of little stalls for you to purchase your drinks, and small carts with the funky looking and colored popsicle to cool you down, and these things would cost you lesser than RM1 so yeah no biggie. for those who is particular about what they eat, there is a muslim community there selling delicious delicacies from rice with dishes and the famous beef ball noodles. don't worry you won't starve to death there.
finally, we decided to sit down and enjoy the wonderful coconut drink which was heaven sent... ahhh... and my goodness please wear the most comfortable shoe wear that you have, if you think you could walk in those extremely expensive shoes to look good, then you're screwed! just take the cheapest slippers on sandals that you have in your shoe cabinet and be happy with it. don't tell me i didn't warn you. well the worse that could happen to you is that you'll be walking around with the slippers that you can purchase from the market itself, the ones with the beads that you buy for approximately RM40 here and only pay 18baht there or you can buy those funky looking birkenstock for almost the same amount, your choice.
as i looked at the stuff that i had gotten, i told hubs that i could not proceed any longer as my legs felt like it was about to drop off or go into a coma! i was tired. yes, the little miss greedy was getting all tired and just needed to get back as quickly as possible to shower and get out of the smelly clothes!
the weekend market activity ended at 4p.m. for the both of us. we decided to drag our tired asses back to the hotel. phew!
**
managed to get my eyes shut for an hour, then got ready to head to the 'red light district' called "patpong" night market. well if you ask me, its more like "pingpong" night market... because that would be the most common invitation that you'll get!
got there about 8p.m. and we were hunting for a good seafood restaurant, as we were both hungry and ready to pig out! so finally we saw a nice looking restaurant at the heart of the place and decided yeah, why not since they had the menu written in english. we just had to make sure that we knew what we were ordering. as you can see i'm fussy when i travel, don't want to simply order something and i was going to regret about it later.
anyway, we had pad-thai noodle with the seafood tom yam, some fried squid with dried chillies and the best deep fried garoupa with garlic made for (lazy eaters like myself!) what the chef did was fillet the fish and fried it with batter and fried the bones which had the head attached to it still and then placed all the fillet ontop of the bones to make it look as if they fried the whole thing together... really it was superb! you did not have to cut the fish on your own it was already done for you... hihi... NICE!
finally when we were done with dinner as we paid the shockingly expensive dins, we decided to take the receipt well for memory sake or to make sure we don't go there again, could be either one... we had a little chat with the manager...
manager: (smiled) sir, no sip?
us: (looking confused) sip? sip what?
manager: (looked at the booklet) and said again, no sip?
us: (what the heck is he talking about?) finally, we got the message, and figured out he was asking for TIP! not sip!! bodohlah jugak right? i thought what the f***! is he asking us to sip.
yeah, word of advice when you're in bangkok be prepared with all the small change you can get cause the tip is much expected of the tourists!
walked around the 'patpong/pingpong' market and we were approached like 20 times by all the vultures from all the clubs there, they had this extremely disgusting aura! they creep up behind you and say, "SPECIAL SHOW?" we have "PING PONG SHOW" you want? see special show? that's all they know i guess, and then they will present you with the most shocking MENU. its called the "pussy menu" (pardon my french)... and it has all the description of all the shows they're able to entertain you with.
i looked at hubs and said, "i'm good to go if you're up for it. but just to inform you in advance, i will not be seating, drinking, touching anything that is served from any of these clubs or these girls..."
he then turned around and said, "its okay babe, i think i'll pass! the menu looked scary! thank god for that, seriously!
then one of the shops had football jerseys for sale, so hubs stood there looking at the teams they had, the guy looked and asked, "what team you looking for?" he said, "its okay i'm still looking"...
the guy had the cheek to look at us and say, "better don't look, buy better! no need to look" besterd!! okay so we walked, and ended up at this massage parlour... seriously we had a good bargain on it, 250baht for 1 hour for foot massage or thai massage. seriously? after the amount of walking we did today it was rather difficult for us to pass the opportunity to exploit them :)
ahh... when we were done we had to rush back with a cab as it was raining heavily, and the cabbie was getting all mad, but thank god for the fact that we could not understand a single word he was uttering! the beauty of them not being able to speak in english.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
confessions of the "timid" traveller
i would very much like to admit that i'm a jet-setter, but that is rather untrue... we just travel when time and money permits... when money doesn't and we still want to go, we will but we'll face the music later. hehe.
our recent destination was Bangkok. the last time i was there was approximately 12 years ago, so i would assume a lot of things has changed, and its true... only for the public transportation bit... the rest remains the same: the jam, the red-light district, the SPG's (by the way i have the lads to blame not the lass, will explain later), the delicious food, and your bargaining power :)
upon arriving at the suvarnabhumi airport i was rather excited and tired due to the anxiety attack that i usually get when i'm on the plane, all we wanted to do was get to the hotel as fast as we could so we could wash away the smell of the airplane and our sweat. hehe. but seriously it took the immigration officer at least 30 minutes to clear a line with 10 people (that was sucky). quickly grabbed our luggages, and dashed out to the exit looking for the first taxi service that they had at the airport.
lady: where to?
us: chaophya park hotel, ratchadapisek rd.
lady: how many persons?
us: 2
lady: that cost chu 1900 baht...
me: WHAT? (i almost dropped my bags, and tripped over it)
(we whispered to each other, what the heck? its going to cost us RM 190 just to get to the hotel. okay forget about it, i'm going to ignore the signage in the airport that tells us to beware of the unregistered taxi's!! let's get conned...)
there was none to con us for that particular moment of time. thank god.
suddenly, there was a light shining from above leading us to another taxi company (so dramatic, i know!), walked over and the guy quoted us 1100 baht, yeay... we save 800 baht which could get ME at least 7 dresses from cha-tuk-chak! hahaha... "yes, being being little miss greedy that i am".
they assigned us to the black cabs that's used in london, ahh brings back good memories... anyway the driver who took us around was rather humble and the journey took us longer than we wanted to... he told us that if we wanted to smoke to go right ahead, he played old english songs for us just to make us feel comfortable. after 10 minutes of driving, he stopped the car i could say at the side of the high-way, to use the bathroom of one of the villages, and to ask for directions to get to our hotel.
another 20 minutes has passed, and we still have not reached to the destination... i was getting a little agitated, and we got stuck in the jam... "ouch, ouch, ouch" then every little chance he got he would scroll down the window and ask for the directions again, and again... and again...
i think towards the end of the night he has asked approximately 25 people, and we were in the car for 1 hour and 20 minutes already. ALL WE WANTED WAS JUST TO CHECK IN, SHOWER, HAVE OUR DINS AND SLEEP. okaylah, that's a bit too much to ask for now.. since he's having trouble remembering the directions... finally, hubs looked at the map that we printed out, we remembered the landmark which was robinsons, hubs guided him right to the hotel... thank god for us being the tourist, we're always intrigue to know our way around...
he kept on thanking hubs for showing him the way, it was rather difficult for us to communicate as they speak very little english and we speak no thai at all. i kept on laughing as i was reading the ads that was placed along the journey, "long time stay apartment" no wonder all the girls who speaks to these "mat salleh" starts saying, "me love you long time"...
the driver introduced himself as MAN, and mentioned to hubs that he wanted to go for dins but only had 20Baht with him, we assumed he wanted to take us out for dins, but then again why would he want to do that, he was telling us to give him a big fat juicy tip! hahaha... okay so we might have made a fool out of ourselves by going for dins with him then.
FINALLY, after 1 hour and 40 minutes we arrived at the hotel. checked in. and met hubs schoolmates had a short chat. then showered, and we left for dins. we were excited to check out the mrt, it's really organize and comfortable, the ride is rather affordable from one point to the next 5-6 stops will only cost you up to 20Baht well slightly lesser than RM2. cool eh?
we stopped at thailand cultural centre, the robinsons mall and looked for our first local food restaurant... but ALL THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED WAS THE PORK this and PORK that!! yummay right? HAHAHA... every little food has to have the pork in it, even the salads... come on... have some mercy on us! okay, i was just tired and hungry, screw looking for the local food... we went straight for the spaghetti house. so much for being in bangkok huh? so far that's what we endured on the first day...
oh did i mention that our flight was delayed? flight was suppose to be around 1:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. but we finally departed by 3:45 p.m.
the whole day was filled with nothing but WAITING... day 2 will be continued soon, i need to catch my breath for now.
mode: little miss chatty
our recent destination was Bangkok. the last time i was there was approximately 12 years ago, so i would assume a lot of things has changed, and its true... only for the public transportation bit... the rest remains the same: the jam, the red-light district, the SPG's (by the way i have the lads to blame not the lass, will explain later), the delicious food, and your bargaining power :)
upon arriving at the suvarnabhumi airport i was rather excited and tired due to the anxiety attack that i usually get when i'm on the plane, all we wanted to do was get to the hotel as fast as we could so we could wash away the smell of the airplane and our sweat. hehe. but seriously it took the immigration officer at least 30 minutes to clear a line with 10 people (that was sucky). quickly grabbed our luggages, and dashed out to the exit looking for the first taxi service that they had at the airport.
lady: where to?
us: chaophya park hotel, ratchadapisek rd.
lady: how many persons?
us: 2
lady: that cost chu 1900 baht...
me: WHAT? (i almost dropped my bags, and tripped over it)
(we whispered to each other, what the heck? its going to cost us RM 190 just to get to the hotel. okay forget about it, i'm going to ignore the signage in the airport that tells us to beware of the unregistered taxi's!! let's get conned...)
there was none to con us for that particular moment of time. thank god.
suddenly, there was a light shining from above leading us to another taxi company (so dramatic, i know!), walked over and the guy quoted us 1100 baht, yeay... we save 800 baht which could get ME at least 7 dresses from cha-tuk-chak! hahaha... "yes, being being little miss greedy that i am".
they assigned us to the black cabs that's used in london, ahh brings back good memories... anyway the driver who took us around was rather humble and the journey took us longer than we wanted to... he told us that if we wanted to smoke to go right ahead, he played old english songs for us just to make us feel comfortable. after 10 minutes of driving, he stopped the car i could say at the side of the high-way, to use the bathroom of one of the villages, and to ask for directions to get to our hotel.
another 20 minutes has passed, and we still have not reached to the destination... i was getting a little agitated, and we got stuck in the jam... "ouch, ouch, ouch" then every little chance he got he would scroll down the window and ask for the directions again, and again... and again...
i think towards the end of the night he has asked approximately 25 people, and we were in the car for 1 hour and 20 minutes already. ALL WE WANTED WAS JUST TO CHECK IN, SHOWER, HAVE OUR DINS AND SLEEP. okaylah, that's a bit too much to ask for now.. since he's having trouble remembering the directions... finally, hubs looked at the map that we printed out, we remembered the landmark which was robinsons, hubs guided him right to the hotel... thank god for us being the tourist, we're always intrigue to know our way around...
he kept on thanking hubs for showing him the way, it was rather difficult for us to communicate as they speak very little english and we speak no thai at all. i kept on laughing as i was reading the ads that was placed along the journey, "long time stay apartment" no wonder all the girls who speaks to these "mat salleh" starts saying, "me love you long time"...
the driver introduced himself as MAN, and mentioned to hubs that he wanted to go for dins but only had 20Baht with him, we assumed he wanted to take us out for dins, but then again why would he want to do that, he was telling us to give him a big fat juicy tip! hahaha... okay so we might have made a fool out of ourselves by going for dins with him then.
FINALLY, after 1 hour and 40 minutes we arrived at the hotel. checked in. and met hubs schoolmates had a short chat. then showered, and we left for dins. we were excited to check out the mrt, it's really organize and comfortable, the ride is rather affordable from one point to the next 5-6 stops will only cost you up to 20Baht well slightly lesser than RM2. cool eh?
we stopped at thailand cultural centre, the robinsons mall and looked for our first local food restaurant... but ALL THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED WAS THE PORK this and PORK that!! yummay right? HAHAHA... every little food has to have the pork in it, even the salads... come on... have some mercy on us! okay, i was just tired and hungry, screw looking for the local food... we went straight for the spaghetti house. so much for being in bangkok huh? so far that's what we endured on the first day...
oh did i mention that our flight was delayed? flight was suppose to be around 1:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. but we finally departed by 3:45 p.m.
the whole day was filled with nothing but WAITING... day 2 will be continued soon, i need to catch my breath for now.
mode: little miss chatty
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