Spring In My Step: Step V

Saturday, 6 May 2017

We had to get down to clear the French immigration then got on the bus and get down again after a few minutes to clear the British immigration. The British immigration was very strict; all officers were questioning those at their respective counters thoroughly. I remember once I had to show the football match ticket to the silly immigration lady who asked if I was going to watch Arsenal play in the Champions League. Anyway, this time I cleared within a couple of minutes then returned back to the bus.

As it was already Suboh, I decided to perform prayers first before attempting to sleep.

When I next woke up, we were already in England. The few trips I had before on overnight coaches from continental Europe to London, we had to drive up to the ferry and after the coach had been parked in the parking bay, passengers had to disembark and go up to the ferry decks before returning to the coach just before we arrived in England. This time, we just stayed in the bus throughout. I must have managed to doze off because I had no recollection of the ferry crossing at all. In fact, I was even wondering if we had even crossed the Strait of Dover until I looked out and saw we were on the left side of the road again. Before long, we were driving in Greater London as I could discern from the bus stop signs.

We pulled into London Victoria Coach Station at 04:45, 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. It was cold and I decided I would stay in the station until about 06:30 before leaving. Sleep was elusive so I decided to finish my book.

I left at 06:25 and walked to Victoria Station and took the tube to Marylebone station. I had earlier bought train ticket to Bicester Village for £5.50 each way (to my surprise, a return ticket would cost me more) and I managed to arrive and board the train by 06:55 (despite having to change tubes). The train left on time at 07:05 and I reached Bicester Village at 07:56. Yes, pretty early considering the shops are only open from 09:00 but I had planned to freshen up first. The bathroom was a dream and after freshening up, I went out and asked a man cleaning the car park directions to Bicester Village. He answered me in Indonesian; turned out he’s from Timur Leste and has holds both Timur Leste and Portuguese passports. We chatted for quite a while until the Visitor Centre opened and I left my bags there (complimentary! What a relief not to have to haul my bags along!) before walking to the Village. It was barely 09:00 and the shops were not opened yet although a few opened a few short minutes later. There were already quite a few other shoppers who had the same idea of me of arriving early and some came with huge oversize suitcases too!

Daffodils in May (!) at Bicester Village. I love the landscape there

I walked around and went into a few stores. After a while, I went to find Tesco. There were some roadworks and the Village was also undergoing an expansion (more shops were being built) so I had to cross the road and follow the temporary pedestrian route. I was surprised to find a Tesco Superstore this time and a bit further than before (it wasn’t Tesco Superstore that I went to before which was so much nearer). Turned out that the Tesco I went to earlier (and indeed quite near to the Village) had been demolished to make way for the Village expansion and the Superstore was built as replacement. I bought a set of meal deal (salad, a bottle of juice and a small pack of crisps) then returned to the Village.

I walked around the Village again but nothing much caught my fancy (I did see a Swarovski bracelet but it looked far too big for my wrist). There was a long queue outside Pandora (and a crowd in the store – I’m not into Pandora so I didn’t join in) and inside Cath Kidston. The Saturday crowd began to build and I even sighted and overheard some Malays (someone was commenting on if LV went on sale as she passed by me but I didn’t listen to the rest of her sentence).

I left empty-handed and returned to the Visitor Centre at noon and charged my devices. At 12:45, I went to get my left bags from the reception then went to the bathroom before going to the platform. We reached Marylebone at 13:50 and then I had to navigate the tube and stupid stairs to Goldhawk Road. This is one reason why I dislike taking the tube: the stairs. Sure, there are escalators but there are areas where there are only stairs. I finally reached Goldhawk Road station at 14:30 I think. This was my first time in Shepherd’s Bush. I dropped by Shepherd’s Bush Market before continuing on to Saint Stephen’s Avenue to the Airbnb room which I had paid for the next two nights.

After getting my keys (my host had provided me detailed instruction), I had a shower and hand laundered my clothes. I left after performing prayers and walked to Shepherd’s Bush station, stopping along the way to browse Argos catalogue (sis had asked me to find a cooler bag for her). I then took the train to Island Gardens, changing trains at Bank station, and took the underground tunnel across to Greenwich. The day was overcast but it wasn’t that cold.

I walked up to Greenwich Park and then back down (I even saw a fox! But was too slow to take my camera out to take a photo before it ran away) and then walked along the river before crossing the underground tunnel and taking the trains back to Shepherd’s Bush. I bought fish and chips from a restaurant and had it back at the flat.

London skyline from Greenwich Park

Sunday, 7 May 2017

I woke for morning prayers and went back to bed and woke up again at 08:45! I hurriedly showered and had breakfast and then left to take a bus. It was so convenient there: walk out to Goldhawk Road a few metres away and bus 94 will take you all the way to Piccadilly Circus. The journey took about 45 minutes but I wasn’t in any real hurry. I had forgotten that the shops opened late on Sunday so my waking up late wasn’t a problem; even if I had left earlier, the shops were closed anyway. From Piccadilly Circus, I walked to nearby Chinatown then back to Oxford Street. I had wanted to find some books at any charity shop and decided to walk to Knightsbridge but the charity shop there didn’t have any books so instead I stopped and Harrods for a while before returning to Oxford Street via Mayfair. I took bus 94 back to the flat (and sneaked a peek over a gentleman’s shoulder to find out the footie status). Back at the flat, I repacked my purchases and stuff. Having walked at least 32.1 km today, I stayed in for the rest of the evening. Having finished all the books I brought along for the trip, I was feeling bored with nothing to read – my host or her housemate are not readers at all.

The Spirit of Soho mural

Monday, 8 May 2017

I woke up for prayers and again at 08:00. I left the flat and walked to W12 Shopping Centre to find chocolates and books. Brrr! It felt like 8 February instead of 8 May today, it was sooo cold. I returned after an hour and packed again.

I left the flat after a light meal and walked down to Hammersmith station. It’s the nearest tube station on the Piccadilly line and more importantly, it has step-free access. I’d rather walk than take the stairs with my bags, thank you very much. It took me 20 minutes of struggling but I reached the station and got the lift to the platform just as a train was approaching. Alhamudillah! It took 30 minutes to reach Terminal 4 of Heathrow.

After dropping off my bags, I went to VAT claim office at Level 1 (I was tempted to ask the women ahead of me what their jobs were because their receipts were so long!) and after having had my forms checked, I returned to Level 5 and went through security. There was no immigration check though. I then went to find the prayer room (near to Gate 3).

Our flight was delayed slightly due to the late arrival of the airplane. It was an A380 and it was empty so a few of us changed places and went in front to stretch out). I watched La La Land (I must be one of the minority few who didn’t think much of the movie, I even fast-forwarded it a few times).

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

We landed late in Doha of course (because of the late departure; good thing I had performed prayers) but this time we didn’t have to take the bus to the terminal or undergo the transfer process. We took off on time and I tried to catch some kip.

We landed at KLIA at 15:15 and my bags only appeared at 16:15 and 16:20. I took the 16:40 train to KL Sentral then LRT to Ampang Park and then the bus back to Ampang Point, arriving into the thunderstorm and torrential downpour in Ampang.

So that was my trip. I managed to finish 4 books (should have been more but I ran out of books) and covered eight new UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Alhamdulillah for the rezeki.

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Wishing everyone a blessed Ramadan Kareem. May our ibadah be accepted and continue on beyond Ramadan, insyaAllah.

Spring In My Step: Step IV

Friday, 5 May 2017

I exited the terminal building after midnight and sat on a bench. After a while, I moved to join a couple in a restaurant sidewalk. I don’t think I managed to even doze off. Maybe I did for a very short while before I was woken up by a woman who was playing with her smart phone. Shame, if only owning a smart phone makes one smart.

It got progressively colder by the minute and I was soon shivering. I stomped my feet, wrapped myself up in another layer of scarf, dug my hands into my jacket pocket but it still remained cold.

The building finally opened at 04:00 and we rushed inside. I went to use the bathroom to freshen myself up and perform ablutions. I went to have my ticket and passport checked after performing morning prayers before going through security check.

We emerged into the cold Pisa morning to find a very heavy fog but went to board the plane anyway. As luck would have it, I was again assigned to the very last row, row 33 but by the aisle this time. We waited for take-off and when the door closed, I went to use the bathroom and then changed seats to the row in front (all three seats were empty). I must have dozed off for when I got up, the plane was on the runway. I thought we had landed (checked my watch and it showed it had been two hours since we boarded the plane and our flight time was supposed to take less than two hours) but no, we were only just taking off! We were delayed by the thick fog or mist or whatever you call it. Well, at least this delay meant I could catch some kip so I dozed back off to sleep and only woke up as we were about to make our descent.

This was how thick the fog was

We landed at Paris Beauvais Airport after 10:00 and I was attended to by a gruff immigration officer who asked me questions in French. I went eh and probably spoke Italian back to him. He checked with his colleague who confirmed that Malaysians do not need Schengen visa to enter France. Duh, I almost blurted out, aren’t you supposed to know all these? Of the ASEAN countries, only Malaysians, Bruneians and Singaporeans don’t need Schengen visa.

I wasn’t in a hurry and wanted to charge my devices for a bit and also get online so I left the terminal after an hour and walked to the bus stand. However, the few of us who were there were told to wait in the terminal as the next bus would depart in an hour’s time. So I went back to the terminal building and continued charging my devices. I had bought the bus ticket online just before departing for Europe and it gave a small saving compared to buying it from the ticket office (Malaysia is not stated in the list of countries, I had to scroll down until I found it spelt in Arabic. Not sure how Malaysians who can’t read Arabic would be able to buy the bus ticket online). I returned to the bus stand 50 minutes later and we finally boarded the bus at 12:45.

The bus arrived at Porte Maillot after 14:00 and after buying a bottle of water from a supermarket in Palais descongrès de Paris, I headed for the métro station but it was closed. So I studied the map I picked up on the bus and decided to walk to the next station. It took about six minutes to walk to Argentine and knowing how inaccessible and not-travel friendly most of the metro stations are, I decided to walk on. So I walked along Avenue de la Grande Armée to Arc de Triomphe to Avenue des Champs-Élysées until I reached Place de la Concorde. It was a lovely spring day and it was pleasant to walk in that weather. I then turned left to Rue de Rivoli before crossing over to Rue Cambon. All in all, it was a 4-km or a 2.5-mile-walk and took me about 50 minutes. No sweat.

Today was shopping day and I had already set my target on Fauré Le Page Daily Battle and Delage Lulu totes. Rue Cambon is more famous for Chanel flagship store but I have enough Chanel bags and am weaning myself of LV and Chanel. Besides, the Chanel boutique looked to be under renovation. After Fauré Le Page, I went to Rue du Mont Thabor to find Delage but had to return to Fauré Le Page when I couldn’t locate it. The lady who attended to me help to call Delage and told me it was a showroom and I would have to take the elevator to level 3. I spent some time at Delage and finally found a Lulu bag that I wanted. The credit card machine was down though so I had to pay via PayPal. I did state my reservation about using PayPal (the exchange rates are just horrible) and the kind bloke said he would give me a 5% discount to make up for the exchange rate charge (and I still got to claim tax refund too!). After concluding my transaction, I asked him for a favour: to use the bathroom (sure, no problem) and if I could use some space in the reception to perform prayers. He suggested for me to use the showroom instead and after asking twice if he didn’t mind, I thanked him profusely. Wow, I had been expecting a hostile reception from some locals (Islamphobia and indeed this was why I didn’t care to rush to the city centre as I wanted to minimise the time spent downtown) but this kind bloke was so understanding and helpful.

I had to return to Fauré Le Page, yes, again as they had given me the wrong tax refund form (it was issued to a Filipino girl and I only realised it when I was talking to the kind bloke at Delage). While waiting for the right tax refund form printed out, I unpacked my LeSportsac shopping tote and put in the two new totes I just bought (one into another and then both into the LeSportsac). I then folded the paperbags and shoved them into my suitcase. I think the sales assistants were all gaping at me but I was going to bring along those totes in their paperbags. It just wasn’t practical and I would bump into everyone.

I left the store and studied the metro map and decided that instead of taking the metro from Concorde station, I would walk to Madeleine and take line 14 to Bercy. This meant I wouldn’t have to change lines (especially with my bags which have since multiplied...). So I walked up Rue Cambon to Boulevard des Capucines and asked for directions to the station. I was purchasing the ticket and riding the train within minutes.

It was barely 19:00 when I reached Bercy. I exited the station and there were already signs directing the way to Ouibus. I went to check out the bus station before going out to explore the neighbourhood. i returned back to the bus station after purchasing a fish burger from an Algerian (?) restaurant. I sat down and had my early dinner while charging my devices and logging on to social media.

My bus was leaving at 21:00 and I went to queue at 20:30. I was surprised to see a lot of people queuing up to board the bus; turned out the bus would stop en route in Lille and some of them would disembark there. We left just after 21:00 and I dozed off until we reached Lille. The bus stopped for about half an hour in Lille and I took the opportunity to go to the washroom and perform ablutions.

To be continued

Short And Bittersweet

I decided to check on TheOrganisation’s resort in Port Dickson last Thursday and was delighted to see there were some vacancies for last Friday evening (no such luck for Saturday evening though so we settle for what we can get). After some initial hiccup (the system closes on Thursday for balloting), I managed to book a unit. We left KL late though – yes, a Friday and it was raining – and arrived at the resort after 9 p.m.

I had brought some food along so we didn’t need to venture out again for dinner. We went for a short walk around the resort before retiring. We had planned to go for a morning walk to Tanjung Tuan (Cape Rachado) the next morning.

On Saturday, we set off at 06:50 and walked to Tanjung Tuan. We came across more people as we neared the Tanjung Tuan Recreational Forest – unlike us, they all drove there! We climbed up the hill to the lighthouse and spent a while to enjoy the view. Sighting a trail, we decided to check it out in the hope that it would lead us to a beach that we could walk back from. The trail started off OK but not long after, we had to go down and my, the steps were steep alright in most places. I remarked that I really hoped we wouldn’t need to climb back up the trail for I doubted I could do it. Even getting down the steep steps required effort. The dry weather of late meant the trail stayed dry and not slippery.

 We reached the foot of the lighthouse after a 2.7-km walk

 View from the lighthouse

Well, we got to a secluded beach alright and when we cut across some woods, we came upon another stretch of beach. This time, there were a group of other young people so we asked them if there was another route out. Unfortunately there wasn’t so we had no choice but to turn back and trudge up the steep steps. I was gasping for breath and breathing heavily even after a few metres. I have no stamina... O.O

 The first secluded beach

 The second secluded beach

Sign at the start of the trail. 270 metres felt like 2.7 km!

I finally reached the lighthouse and we walked down. There were more people coming up the hill to the lighthouse by then. We passed the turning to Pantai Cermin and on a whim, I decided to check out the beach. And a good thing too, for when we reached the beach, I sighted the resort neighbouring ours. We decided to walk along the beach back and guess what, it was less than a km away! We walked a total of 7.04 km or 11,512 steps (the steps I took) in 110 minutes.

Pantai Cermin

I quickly made breakfast before showering and performing Dhuha prayers. We quickly packed and left just after 10:00, 13 hours after we arrived. A short stay alright but we managed to pack so much in those hours! A night stroll, a morning walk/hike/climb/trudge/waddle and even a walk along the beach! So yeah, it was a short and bittersweet trip (bittersweet because I almost passed out from climbing back up the steep trail).

We drove to DPulze, Cyberjaya, and managed to catch the 11:45 Batman v Superman movie. We went to perform prayers at the prayer room. I wonder why Muslims are ignorant and wasteful. We know that we are in the midst of an unbearably hot and dry weather and yet people still waste a LOT of water performing ablutions. Do they think Allah is happy with this wasteful act? God gives us brains to think and eyes to observe. I even heard someone turning on the tap at full blast like she was in the shower instead of performing ablutions. Come on people, think and be considerate! Even if we are not facing a drought, do you think it’s right to waste so much water? God does not like wasteful behaviour and I would imagine He would like it even less if it’s allegedly in the course of performing ibadah.

After that, we drove to Mitsui Outlet Park. I wanted to find a new pair of trousers that I could wear on my trips. The linen one I bought at Uniqlo had some tear in the right side in Beirut and it was a good thing I brought my travel sewing kit along to patch it up. I finally found one pair of chinos at Cotton On (my first ever purchase there) and tried it on.

We had a quick visit to the first floor, a quick browse, a speedy purchase at Sasa and went to pay for the parking. I was still debating about the pair of chinos at Cotton On and decided to buy it only after we’d paid for parking so it was a quick dash back to the shop to grab it and pay. All in all, we stayed for 70 minutes (one hour of parking plus ten minutes out of the 15 allocated to you to exit). Talk about I came, I saw and I bought eh.

We headed back to KL after that. So that was how I spent 23 hours of last weekend ;)

Autumn In My Heart: Fifth Beat

Saturday, 19 September 2015

I wasn’t in a hurry this morning and only left the hotel at 1100. I walked to Oxfam at Westbourne Grove but nothing caught my fancy. I retraced my steps and from my hotel, walked to Mount Street. I had done some research the evening before and thanks to this article, turned a 180^◦ and decided to buy a Moynat Cabas tote instead of Goyard Saint Louis. So maybe it was a good thing I didn’t manage to get it in Paris after all, silver lining and all that.

I was welcomed very warmly at Moynat and asked to see the tote bags. I was told one of them was being discontinued. The store only had the Petit Model (PM or small size) and Grand Model (GM or large) sizes. The Moyen Model (MM or medium) had sold out back in early August and they still hadn’t received any new stock as the artisans in Paris were off on their summer holidays. So I decided to bite the bullet and go for the GM size (even though I find my Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM a bit large). The friendly sales assistant also explained that they could ship it to me at cost (minus 20% VAT) but I would be subject to possible import duty back home on top of the insurance and posting costs. Well, I managed to ride on The Connaught’s wifi and sent WA message to Yan who told me that there may not be an import duty on bags (I double checked this, no import duty on bags) but I would be subject to 6% GST on the value of the bag when the bag arrives home. What??!!! I sat down at some seats and contemplated: should I get the bag there or ask them to post? I could ask the Paris store to post too for that matter but would still be subject to that blasted GST. Finally I decided to just get the bag. So I went back to Moynat and swiped my plastic. Oh, in the interim, I did go to Goyard a few doors away but was told both times that the store was full. Well, that did it. Moynat for me then, thank you very much.

At Moynat

I walked to Oxford Street and continued on to Cancer Research shop at Marylebone High Street. I was in luck this time and bought some accessories. I also picked a couple more accessories at another charity shop on the walk back to my hotel.

Accessories that I bought

I went out again shortly after arriving at the hotel to get some food.

Sunday, 20 September 2015

I checked out at noon after a late breakfast and a light lunch. After storing my bags (yes, plural. They had since doubled!), I headed for Malaysia Hall to perform prayers. Then I walked to Whiteleys to browse before settling down with my book. I’d completed my shopping anyway.

I went back to the hotel after 5, collected my bags and walked to Bayswater Road to catch a bus to Shepherd’s Bush. The traffic was surprisingly heavy then; we heard a few ambulance and police car sirens as we waited. I finally got bus 148 but it was a slow ride before I finally alighted at Royal Crescent Gardens. From there, I walked the short distance to the bus stop. When I discovered that easyBus has started serving London Heathrow, I decided to take it as I didn’t want to struggle up and down the tube stairs and change stations. The online ticket was only £1 (+ £0.50 for credit card fee).

The bus was late and I was already starting to panic and contemplating my options. It arrived at 1835, 15 minutes later than scheduled. It was the heavy traffic that caused the delay. I don’t know how easyBus broke even for that trip as I was the sole passenger. It didn’t take long to reach Heathrow from the stop at Shepherd’s Bush. We arrived at Heathrow Airport Central Bus Station at Terminal 2 at 1910 and I followed directions to Heathrow Express. For Heathrow Terminal 4, you actually need to take Heathrow Connect but just follow signs to Heathrow Express and it would lead you to Heathrow Connect. I managed to board the Heathrow Connect train with 10 seconds to spare. Phew! Had I missed that, I’d have to wait ten minutes for the next train. We arrived at Terminal 4 four minutes later and I immediately took the lift up to the departure level to check in. It wasn’t 8 p.m. yet and already there was a long queue. I had to wait a while to drop my bags because there were only two counters for bag drop.

I immediately went in after dropping my bags (they totalled less than 15 kg!) and went in. There was a long queue to clear security and another long one at Travellex for VAT refund (after getting my form stamped by the brusque, stern but efficient custom officer). It was almost 9 when I was done and I hurried to the multi-faith prayer to perform prayers. The announcement to board was made very soon after I finished so there wasn’t any time to browse the duty-free.

We took off pretty much on schedule. Sleep eluded me again. As usual.

Monday, 21 September 2015

We landed at KLIA at 1800. I had anticipated it would take a while to unload the plane so I went to perform prayers first. I only had to wait about 7 minutes after performing prayers before my bags came out. I had dinner in Cyberjaya and only reached home at 2110.

So that was my early autumn trip. I’m not sure if there will be another autumn trip to Europe and in any case, it’s getting ridiculously expensive to go to Europe or indeed anywhere with the weakening Ringgit.

The End

Saturday Roundup

I’m currently broke, no thanks to being cheated during Ramadan (damn you to hell) and the LASIK surgery, also in Ramadan. So these few months, I’ve been curbing my shopping habit (still managed to purchase some gorgeous arm candies though, all from my favourite brands heh) and looking for deals/bargains as I always do.

On another note, I’ve been tidying up my closet, drawers and dresser since I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organising by Marie Kondo. Maybe one day I’ll share what I garner from this book. So what I found from all this tidying up is that I already have enough clothes. It’ll be some time before I purchase another piece of inner- or outerwear. I’ve stopped purchasing shoes for some time now as I concentrate more on collecting handbags. I’m a bagaholic, remember. And besides, I can will them later to my sister and nieces. So while I’ve stopped buying clothes and shoes, I still can’t stop lusting over handbags (and I love luxury branded ones) and accessories.

I’ve been planning to visit Mitsui Outlet Park (MOP) since the recent trip to Johor Premium Outlets but decided not to visit it when it just opened as I read that there were quite a few stores which had yet to open. (And besides, there’s the money issue as I mentioned above.) We finally decided to descend upon MOP last Saturday, 5 September 2015, after paying the MATTA Fair a quick visit.

Well, most shop lots at MOP are already opened for business. There is a huge parking area outside (and yet we sighted some cars parking outside the park when we exited) at RM2/hour or part thereof. The mall is spacious, or rather I didn’t feel it was very packed although there was a crowd alright. We wandered around and even checked the food court. Oh uh. The food and drinks aren’t kindly priced even at the food court especially if you bring your family along but there’s a myNEWS.com shop where you can buy sandwiches, crisps, snacks, cookies and drinks among other things at more reasonable prices (still higher than high street prices though methinks). We wandered from one store to another – I was looking out for accessories – but nothing really caught my fancy so after being there slightly longer than 2 hours, we left (and not long after, got caught in a heavy downpour all the way to Cyberjaya where we had early dinner at Salam Noodles at Shaftsbury Square. I love what I had and would definitely recommend the place).

Would I return? I find MOP a bit underwhelming but then again, I’ve always been a fussy lass. I might return but not anytime soon. As for JPO, I doubt there’ll be a third trip.

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I know I haven’t been writing much of late. I’m not abandoning this blog anytime soon, at least I don’t plan to! Sometimes there are times when I really feel I want to share something but can’t seem to put them into words. Writer’s block? Maybe. Anyway, July and August 2015 have been challenging months, financially, mentally and physically. Yes, August had been an especially testing, trying and tiring month indeed as we dealt with my dad’s health (which I mentioned about here) and I’ll just say that I’m glad to see the back of these couple of months. I hope it’ll be better from now on but we all know that our bodies and health deteriorate. I can only pray for my loved ones’ continued good health and wealth. Amen.

The End Of An Era

Isetan Lot 10 will close its doors and will cease to operate from 3 August 2015. This also means it’s the last three days to shop there. I will miss it very much: after all, this is the place I head for almost every Friday and sometimes during the weekends too. I became an Isetan cardmember when Isetan first opened its doors at Lot 10 way back when, when I was still a student. I like Isetan KLCC but I always feel it’s slightly pricier (because Isetan Lot 10 carries more sale items or items with higher discounts). I’m indifferent to Isetan The Gardens while Isetan 1 Utama is too far for me to shop there (it doesn’t impress me either).

Like I said, I will miss Isetan Lot 10 very much and feel its absence greatly. Now, where will I spend my Friday lunchtime?

No More Trip To Singers

The Ringgit has depreciated such against other major currencies in the past year that for the first time in years, I won’t be going to Singers for the sale this year. I decided to instead give Johor Premium Outlets another chance and, availing the Firefly anniversary offer, I bought flight to Senai for last Saturday.

We were supposed to land at 09:40 but due to the busy air space (at least that was what I understood from the captain’s announcement), we only touched down at 09:55. We had planned to make a short trip to JB before going to JPO and the next bus from the airport was at 10. We rushed out and hurried through the terminal but when we walked out only a couple of minutes past 10, there was no bus. We turned back to ask at the bus counter. I certainly didn’t want to wait another 58 minutes for the next bus to the city so I asked what other options we had. The friendly and helpful lady told us we could take a bus to Kulai or Larkin and then change for a bus to the city. So we thanked her and went out again to wait.

We didn’t have to wait long. A bus drew up about five minutes later and we asked if we could take it to Kulai (I saw the destinations on a board in front of the bus) and from there, changed for another to JB. He confirmed that indeed we could, so we paid him the RM1.30 fare and settled in. It was a short ride. He stopped the bus like five minutes later and told us to take a bus from the bus stop across the road so we got down and crossed over. And luck was again with us for a bus bound for the city came within less than five minutes. And a local woman told me that it was easier for us to take the bus to JB from there than from Larkin as there’s only one bus from Larkin to JB whereas there are a few services from Kulai to JB. We paid RM3 this time. The direct Causeway Link bus from the airport to the city would have cost us RM8 and like I said earlier, would have caused us to spend a long waiting time at the airport.

We reached Jalan Wong Ah Fook at 11:11 and everyone went down as it was the last stop. It was threatening to rain and as we had seen half of JB from the bus – in the air-conditioned comfort no less – we decided to head for City Square. We wandered around then went to check out the food court. As it was still early, we decided to cross over to JB Sentral to see if it had any eatery.

It was pouring by the time we crossed over to JB Sentral but we were dry as there is a covered overhead bridge linking City Square with JB Sentral. We weren’t impressed with the dining options and I looked across again and spotted Komtar. So we crossed back and headed for Komtar. It looked recently renovated: everything looked shiny, clean, modern and new. And the crowd was not large either. We went to the food court and although there were not as many options as there were at City Square, we decided to have our lunch there. I’m glad we did as the kuay teow bandung I ordered was prepared from stretch and was richly spiced (but not spicy!) and tasteful.

We went to use the washrooms and as the prayer rooms were nearby and it was already time for Zuhor prayers, we decided to perform prayers there (we had planned to do so at JPO). And again, I’m so glad we performed prayers there as the prayer room was clean, spacious and comfortable. The one at JPO was very much smaller and had no feet mat. Ugh.

We hurried back to JB Sentral as we were going to take the 13:30 JPO1 bus to JPO. The bus arrived at 13:27 and we queued up (some had to be told to queue, but of course. Lovely Malaysians with manners huh). The fare was RM4.50 and I settled down for a kip as I was already up before 04:00 a.m. It rained along the way.

We arrived at JPO just before 3 p.m. and took our time walking in and out of stores. I think I must have gone into 90% of the stores there. There were stores that I went to twice. In the end, I bought a leather belt from Hugo Boss as it was in my size (surprise, surprise. It’s always been hard for me to buy a European brand belt in Malaysia as they always seem to sell the bigger sizes). That was it. I must have walked miles at JPO and had only that belt to show for it. Ah well, I’m a wise shopper heh.

We went to the bus stand for the 18:35 bus to the airport. The bus arrived early and the driver told us of the complimentary ride to and fro Senai Airport but that we needed to get the vouchers for the centre’s information office. We rushed back to the information office, asked for the complimentary bus vouchers then rushed back to the bus. Phew! I think you can get the complimentary bus voucher at the bus counter at the airport.

We went to get the airline sticker for our brolly and then walked out to A&W beyond the roundabout just outside the airport for dinner. The flight left on time, we landed on time but had to endure a long wait for the bus back to KL.

Anyway shoppers, no reason to head down to JPO anymore: Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA Sepang opens from 30 May 2015!!! There are stores common to both outlets and there are stores that exist in one but not the other. For me, two visits to JPO are enough.

Confessions Of A Bagaholic

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to brag but just to share my obsession/passion/interest in fashion particularly bags (I believe bags make a fashion statement too). And yes, I’m a huge fan and enthusiast of designer bags and accessories

I have always liked the finer material things in life (yes, I’m a Material Girl. You can blame capitalism for that), something which Mummy encouraged (her advice always ran on the lines of: ‘Don’t be stingy with yourself. If you earn good money, spend on yourself and buy good quality things’) and which prompted Akak to say ‘She always wants branded stuff.’

Well, as Shakespeare put it: Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting.

When I started work, I first used a Next bag I purchased in England solely for work purposes. Akak also gave me a bag she brought over from Japan and I used that bag too (until one day I found some bastard had sliced through the bag. He didn’t get anything though) before changing bags. I had since used high street brand bags (Morgan, Guess, Pepe Jeans) and even unbranded bags to work. My principle is unbranded is better than a counterfeit bag anytime any day. And if I couldn’t afford it yet, I would save up until I could afford it and not buy a fake counterfeit version of it.

My first branded designer bag is from Christian Dior. I spent some time agonising if I should purchase it before finally taking the plunge. It is a small to medium size leather bag with adjustable ‘button’ strap and it looks like the bag below, in the exact same colour. It has a magnetic flap to open and close the bag. I still have and use it to this day and the CD logo still shines. Truly vintage.

I then went heavily into Gucci and to date I have at least a dozen Gucci bags ranging from the usual hobo bags to Boston bags in various finish, sizes and colours, from backpack, sling bag/cross body (like the Louis Vuitton Bloomsbury but with flower print), small totes and shopping totes.

My Gucci flower crossbody looks similar to this (the prints show differently on each piece). I have to be very careful with the vachetta leather bit though

I also ventured into other brands like Valentino, Bally, Celine, Ferragamo, Fendi and Mulberry (one bag each of various sizes and designs), Tod’s (two bags) and Prada (four). I think that’s enough for those brands for now. I also have a few pouches and small leather goods from Bally, Ferragamo, Gucci, Prada and Tod’s. I just love pouches!

As for Louis Vuitton, I only like certain materials and designs of the brand. I don’t like the monogram canvas because I feel it’s too common and too easily faked and this has put me off LV for a very long time. I’ve only started buying LV last year and only have a few pieces (Vernis Pochette, Neverfull MM, Speedy Bandoulière 30 and Bloomsbury PM). I don’t really plan to venture beyond but hey, never say never.

And here’s another confession: I’m slowly weaning myself off Gucci. I have enough Gucci bags for now to last me a lifetime, syukur Alhamdulillah. It’s not that I suddenly hate the brand, no, in fact I will still invest in their accessories and small leather items. But I’m now focussing on investing in Chanel.

For my travels, I prefer using LeSportsac bags and Longchamp Le Pliage or the more casual Gucci sling/cross body or backpack or the Prada sling/cross body - depending on the destination and duration of travel (for my Europe trips, I also use my durable Samsonite backpack). 

My Samsonite Swoop looks exactly like this

And hey, a girl can never have too many bags (or shoes and accessories for that matter!). Besides, I can leave them behind for my sister and my two nieces. One thing though: I dislike Coach for the same reason I dislike LV monogram canvas. And they are all Made in China. Coach bags cost a lot less than other brands but why pay that amount for something Made in China? Might as well buy from Furla or Ferragamo which offer similarly affordable bags and yet all Made in Italy.

GSS Trip

I had planned to travel south to check out the Great Singapore Sale; this would be my fifth GSS trip since I started it in 2009. As I don’t like to spend too long and too much in Singers, I decided to take the night train and fly back. So I bought a lower berth ticket from KTMB last month (you can buy it only one month in advance) and a JetStar single ticket flight back.

I left on Friday evening. The train left KL Sentral at 2317 (scheduled ETA was 2300) and I managed to grab some shuteye. Of course I was shaken up from my slumber a few times by the train whistles and vibrations and other passengers’ snores but despite all that, I think I slept better than I had on previous trips.

We pulled into JB Sentral after 6 am and left after 30 minutes. Some immigration officers came on board to check our passports. They didn’t stamp our passports though.

It was well after 7 am when the train finally pulled out of JB Sentral and it should have been light (it gets light earlier down south) but the buildings were blurry. The city was still shrouded in haze and it felt like we were in Twilight Zone.

It got worse on the Causeway and continued all the way into Singapore.

After clearing immigration, I walked out and crossed the street to the shop blocks. I bought some water and asked for directions to Marsiling MRT station. I was advised by both women I asked that it was too far to walk and that I should just take the bus. The bus fare only cost S$1.10. Well, I didn’t mind walking and besides, it was still early. Whatever was I going to do if I reach downtown early anyway. So I left and walked up the road, following the simple rudimentary map I had printed earlier. And what do you know, it took only 15 minutes to get to the MRT station – and that included waiting at the lights to cross the road and stopping to determine my direction.

Singers had introduced a new MRT ticket since my last visit. Previously, you paid for the ticket and a S$1 refundable deposit on top of the fare which you could get back at the ticket machine once you reached your destination. The new ticket is now paper-based but you could still tap to enter the station and you don’t have to bother with getting your deposit back as the new ticket does not ask for deposit. I rode the train for 50 minutes to Newton. From Newton station, I walked down Scotts Road to Royal Plaza hotel. Almost missed it because there was a major refurbishment at the hotel entrance. I used the bathroom to freshen up and change clothes. After that, I sat at the lobby and read while waiting.

I left the hotel lobby after 10 and went to DFS Galleria next door. The best part about arriving early is that you beat the crowd. I went into a few stores to browse but left empty-handed. Next, I crossed over to Far East Plaza. As most shops were still closed, I left and decided to head for ION Orchard. I got diverted, however, by a sale sign and went to Marriott to check it out. It was OK. I didn’t find anything to catch my fancy though. Seeing I was on that side of Orchard Road, I continued on to Lucky Plaza then took the underground walkway to Ngee Ann City. Checked out Chanel before the queue started and then walked around before finally making my way to ION Orchard. There wasn’t any Nike store there though so I retraced my steps back to Wisma Atria. I bought a flower brooch and as it was already lunchtime (much to my surprise. When did the time pass?), headed up to fourth floor to have lunch.

After lunch, I went back to Ngee Ann City and Takashimaya before crossing over to Paragon. Thank God the sky had cleared by then and we enjoyed a lovely bright sunny afternoon. I found a Nike store in Paragon and although it still stocked Arsenal’s shirt in boys’ sizes L and XL, they were still retailing at S$79. Excuse me? So I left without buying anything.

I went to Al-Falah Mosque nearby to perform prayers before returning to Lucky Plaza. I had by then grown tired of Singers. There was nothing that spoke to me or shouted at me and I wondered why I even bothered coming in the first place. After Lucky Plaza, I returned to Far East Plaza for a short while before thinking, sod it, I’d had enough. So I went to Orchard MRT and took the train to Changi Airport.

I had an early dinner at Changi and went in early. Nothing appealed at me at duty-free either and that was then when I knew this would be my last GSS trip in a while. Never say never though. I may return one fine day but not anytime soon.

The plane took off later than scheduled and as a result, we were made to circle the airspace as there was a heavy air traffic going into KLIA. Duh! I had to hold my bladder all the while and had to rush out to use the bathroom. Then I had to rush to catch the 9:20 pm train back to KL. I just about made it panting and gasping, with 20 seconds to spare. Never mind. I much prefer that than having to wait another 20 minutes for the next train. I hate waiting!

So that was my last GSS trip for the time being (I keep wanting to type GST. No, not the Goods and Services Tax but Chanel GST. Heh). Let me know if you had better luck than me at GSS: better bargains, better shopping experience etc.