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

Autumn In My Heart: Fourth Beat

Thursday, 17 September 2015

I woke up early this morning and left at 0630 for a morning walk. I headed for the old town but didn’t stay long. There were a few joggers pounding the pavement when I left – what a life they have there: the sun, the sea, good food, lovely city. I’d be jogging regularly too. Here, we have to curtail our activities because of the lingering enveloping suffocating haze. Oh but I digress.

I returned back to the B&B within an hour and hit the shower. I packed and waited for breakfast. I wasn’t disappointed: it was another treat today. I decided to pack the food I wasn’t able to finish. I left at 1030 and walked to Piazza Aldo Moro and waited for the bus no. 16 back to the airport. The ticket cost €1 at the ticket office. The 1105 bus came at 1110 and left a couple of minutes later. It was a hot painful sauna-like 45-minute ride and we were all steamed up. I had some fruits before I went through security check.

A close-up of the mini tray of jam bottles and juice and milk bottles. Aren’t the mini bottles, the mini tray and the mini jam bottles just cute?

Our flight arrived late and as such we only took off at 1420. The flight was full and I had trouble finding space in the overhead compartment to store my bag. Well, actually I was among those who were asked to add our bags to those already checked in at no cost but as I was planning to rush out of the airport straight to the city, I stubbornly held on to my suitcase. And of course all the overhead compartments near to my seat (at the very last row of the plane, no less) were already stuffed. In the end, I sought help from the cabin crew and I was lucky to have a patient calm helpful cabin crew to help me out. In the end, he squeezed my back into the space behind the last row across the aisle. The space behind me was already filled with a small can of fire extinguisher.

We landed at Paris Beauvais at 1720 in the grey dreary weather - and it was indeed raining with temperature at 15C (now we’re talking autumn!) - and I rushed out of the plane (of course it took time for the rear door to be opened and for the ground officer to deem it safe for us to disembark. Murphy’s Law!). I bought a bus ticket at €17 no less (a steep increase after paying €1-1.50 in Italy, never mind that I knew the cost beforehand). My bus left at 1545 and we arrived at Porte Maillot bus station. My bag had been shoved further in the bus (yes, just as I was in a hurry) and I had to climb into the bag area to retrieve it. It’d be faster that way than stand there and wait for some knight to come and help me. I crossed over to Le Palais des Congres de Paris and followed signs to the metro.

This was where things got worse. I had been given a Paris pass and thought I could use it for the metro. Well, I couldn’t as the pass could not fit the metro ticket slot. So I queued up at the customer service for 15 minutes only to be met with a blank stare and shrugs by the woman behind the counter. She acted like she’d never seen the pass before. I was getting pretty annoyed and irritated by then so I quickly moved to the ticket machine to buy metro ticket. Well, that was another 5 minutes wasted queuing because when I finished making my selection, the machine refused to accept my note. It would only accept coins. I was already fuming by then and rejoined the slow customer service queue. It took another 15 minutes before I was served and it was already past 7 p.m. Definitely too late for me to go to Goyard at Rue St Honore. I decided to head for Printemps de la Mode Haussmann but when I arrived there at 1950 (it closes at 2000 on Thursdays), I was told they no longer have Goyard shop in the store. Say what??? I was too pissed off to do any shopping so I left and rode the metro back to Porte Maillot. By the way, I really hate Paris Metro. It’s not disabled- or traveller-friendly. Forget it if you have a bike, a stroller, a wheelchair...

I arrived back at Porte Maillot, well, Le Palais des Congres de Paris actually, well after 8 p.m. and wandered there. the shops were all closed and just as I was about sit down, I spotted a supermarket and quickly hurried over. The supermarket was about to close for the day and I just about managed to grab a bottle of mineral water and some biscuits and paid for them. It was then when I realised I had been conversing in Italian with the locals haha.

I made my way back to coach station for my 2215 megabus back to London Victoria. Unlike the bus I rode from Ghent to London, this bus was packed. We also stopped at Lille to pick up a few more passengers before arriving at Calais to clear both French and UK passport control. And unlike the bus ride from Ghent to London, this time, we waited a long time (more than an hour) before we could re-board the bus. Some fellow travellers were sharing similar stories of being delayed by more than 6 hours on their way to Paris because the bus missed the connecting ferry. 6 hours! I saw the immigration people checking the bus thoroughly – the bag hold, the tyres, the seats... when we finally re-boarded the bus and I was getting myself comfortable, a policeman (or border guard?) passed by with a main in handcuffs and brought him down the bus. I exchanged looks with a girl across the aisle, our eyes wide. Such drama!

Friday, 18 September 2015

The bus made the ferry and we had to get down from the bus and get into the ferry. We reached Great Britain 90 minutes later and had to reboard the bus. I slept, well, tried to. We got caught in the traffic in the City of London and only arrived at London Victoria at 0810. I had planned to take a bus to my hotel then thought about it. I had planned to ride the tube a bit today so I decided to take the tube to Finsbury Park instead and joined the thronging crowd.

The Arsenal store at Finsbury Park was already opened when I got there shortly after 9 a.m. Unfortunately, there was no sale so I left empty-handed. I walked to Arsenal station and rode the tube, changing at Holborn for the Central Line. I arrived at the hotel at almost 10 a.m. and went to freshen myself first. Finally, I felt somewhat human again! I left my bag at the porter and took the tube to Leicester Square for Chinatown. From Chinatown, I walked to Oxford Street and did some shopping. I returned to the hotel after 3 p.m. and checked in (I had requested for a double room instead of twin room when I arrived in the morning and thankfully the hotel was able to meet my request).

After shower and prayers, I went out to get some confectionery and crisps to bring home. I also had dinner outside at a halal fast food restaurant.

To be continued

Autumn In My Heart: Third Beat

Tuesday, 15 September 2015

I had breakfast at 0900 this morning. The other guest checked out soon after and I was enjoying my breakfast, the front door opened and in came the owner, evidently back from a morning walk with al cane. They came into the kitchen, well, the dog did first. He saw me and bared his teeth with a low growl. I made some noise and the owner came and admonished him. Ha, served you right. I was ready to be friendly but you couldn’t even reciprocate.

I left at 1015 and walked to the train station. Well, I could have taken bus no. 1 but I decided to walk. It was still pleasant although the temperature was rising of course. I reached the station after 20 minutes and I bought a ticket. It cost €1.95.

The train left at 1045 and I reached the airport stop 5 minutes later. From there, you have to walk up and cross the tracks to the terminal building. I went to the counter for visa check (silly when it was a domestic flight but rules are rules and I didn’t want any trouble later) and was told that I would need to check in my bag – at no cost – as the flight was full.

Well, we took off later than scheduled and of course landed later than scheduled. To make it worse, we had to wait more than 30 minutes before the bags even emerged. Most definitely one significant downside to checking in.

I went out and saw some buses. I also saw the train station. I decided I’d take the bus and went back into the terminal to ask where I could catch bus no. 16 to the city. The girl at the info counter said I could take the train and as for buses, she didn’t know much. Cursing silently, I went down again and what did I see but the red bus no. 16. I paid the driver €1.50 for the ticket. The bus left shortly after and it was a thirty-minute ride to the city. The bus terminated at Piazza Aldo Moro which is near Bari Centrale. I got down and walked the short distance to my B&B.

I tell you, I was so happy I booked that B&B. It was so charming, tastefully and beautifully decorated. I had two single beds in my room and the kitchenette was just outside my room. There was a small table by the door to the flat with brochures on it and the shared bathroom was modern and as far from a hostel’s shared bathroom as it could be. It was cosy, comfortable, strategically located and I haven’t even got to breakfast that they served.

I rested for a bit and ventured out at 1630 when I felt the sun was not as intense. I walked up to the Adriatic Sea, stopping en route at Via Sparano da Bari where I browsed the shops before continuing on to the old town. The old town reminded me of the old towns of Alghero and Cagliari with its narrow winding lanes with buildings stand neck to neck with each other with an exception: there’s a castle in Bari, the Swabian Castle. I was enjoying my aimless stroll when a little girl came up to me and begged for money. She began following me around and I quickly walked away. That put a stop to my wanderings and I left the old town and made my way back to the city.

I wandered in the Murat quarter searching for a supermarket and I found three minimarkets (two Asian ones too!) but they didn’t have what I want. I then returned to the area around the train station and found a halal fast food restaurant. I went in and had a chicken burger for dinner. I then returned to the B&B, had a shower and watched an Italian show. I don’t speak the language but it still had me laughing in stitches.

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

Breakfast was served from 0830 and as I was planning to go to Matera, I requested it to be served at 0830. And my, was I served. The owner came bearing a tray promptly at 0830 and set the heavy tray on the table in my room. The tray was delightful and made me feel like clapping my hands. The cake was handmade by the owner (!!!), the plum jam by his girlfriend (!!!). I had a leisurely breakfast and saved those I could not finish in the fridge.

I walked to the train station (not Trenitalia at Bari Centrale), not Ferrotranviaria (which serves the airport) but Ferrovie AppuloLucane. I had checked the train schedule the evening before and bought a return ticket for the 0951 train for €9.80 (€4.90 a way). The train departed on time and we arrived at Matera at 1125. There were quite a few tourists who alighted too and we were unsure where to head as there was no map or sign at the train station. I decided to cross the street, heading for a red building and my instinct was right. It housed the info centre and the helpful girl gave me a map and pointed the directions to me. I thanked her and set off for the historical area or Sassi. The lady at the info centre told me it would take three hours to cover the ancient area.

So I walked down Via Don Giovanni Minzoni and Via Ascanio Persio to Piazza Vittorio Veneto. After admiring the view from a platform, I walked down the stairs to enter the Sassi. I walked the winding roads, marvelling at the buildings which were dug into the rock. It was truly amazing. There are two parts: Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso. I covered Sasso Barisano first before circling its perimeter to Monastry Sant’Agostino then going down and following the curve of Via Madonna delle Virtu before climbing up to Casa di Ortega. Then I walked to Piazza Duomo and from Piazza Duomo, I went on to cover Sasso Caveoso. I was looking across to Piazza San Pietro Caveoso when suddenly three dogs came bounding over to me and I almost shouted out. Two of them came nearer and looked as if they were either going to attack or wrestle me to the ground and I told them to go away. Fortunately, the owner came shortly after. Phew. Good thing I wasn’t caught yelling at the dogs or threatening to throw stones at them.

I spent less time in Sasso Caveoso compared to Sasso Barisano – for some reason, I didn’t find as much to marvel at. I found myself walking up Via Bruno Buozzi and before long, I was already climbing up and next thing I knew, I was already at Via Casalnuovo and at street level. I was out by 1318 which meant I spent only 1.5 hours in there. I wandered along Via Casalnuovo and even contemplated going into the Sassi again but if I missed the 1424 train back to Bari, I’d have to take the next train at 1622 so I decided I had covered enough and walked back to the station.

Despite arriving late, the train reached Bari at 1557. I had searched for Supermercato Conad on Google Maps the evening before and it turned out there was one near my B&B. So I headed for Conad but left empty-handed as nothing caught my fancy. I had ramen which I bought in Cagliari for dinner. The food which I saved from my breakfast leftover had vanished without a trace.

To be continued

Autumn In My Heart: Second Beat

Sunday, 13 September 2015

Early morning, rise and shine. I went to freshen up before heading to the RyanAir counter for visa check. After that, I joined the thousand or so other people to clear security. It was a long slow process.

In contrast to the sombre boring ambience you get prior to clearing security, the duty-free shops at Stansted are something else. The shops there are bright, modern, fun and attractive and designed to make you want to part with your money. I determinedly walked past them all and headed for my gate. We boarded not long after and took off at 0750. I fell asleep and got up about 40 minutes before we landed.

We landed at 1120 at Alghero-Fertilia Airport. I bought a 75-minute ticket from a machine at the arrival hall for €1 and waited for the hourly bus to the city. It was starting to get hot, hot, hot and even hotter when I got down at via Don Minzoni. My B&B was a two-minute walk away from the bus stop on the third floor (thank God I travelled light eh). The owner met me and showed me to my room and bathroom. It’s not ensuite but I didn’t have to share my bathroom. There were only 3 rooms (one unoccupied), the living room, the kitchen and dining area and the terrace from where you could see the white sand beach of San Giovanni.

I rested for a while and ventured out after 1500. It was still baking hot then (33C!) and while other people were happily walking in the sun, I was seeking shade. It was a ten-minute hot walk to the old town. I walked around the narrow lanes, up the fort overlooking the marina and the Mediterranean, around the towers... the compact historical part was done in less than two hours. It was another 2 plus hours to sunset and as much as I wanted to stay and watch the sunset from the historical area, I decided to return to the B&B.

I had read of a supermarket nearby the B&B and was delighted when I found Supermercato Conad adjacent to Banco di Sardegna which was my landmark for locating the B&B from the airport bus. I bought pizza margherita (which turned out to be salty), a bottle of water (which turned out to be sparkling mineral water eeuwww) and a bag of potato crisps. I then returned to the B&B and had an early dinner. That was when I discovered that there were mosquitoes in Alghero. Dang bloodsuckers, you had to follow me there?!

Monday, 14 September 2015

I woke up early this morning and finished packing. Breakfast was served from 0800 and I was going to take the 0830 bus back to Alghero Airport. See, there’s a direct bus from Alghero Airport to Cagliari (only twice a day though) which to me is a better option than the train as I have to travel to Sassari by bus and then only take the train to Cagliari. The travel time is also longer than if I had travelled direct from the airport so I decided I would catch the 0830 to the airport and the 0945 bus from the airport to Cagliari.

I gobbled my breakfast and hurried down with my bag at 0820. I was at the bus stop a couple of minutes later and waited for the bus. To my pleasant surprise, it arrived promptly at 0830. I had to pay €1.50 for the trip to the airport (yes, it costs more to buy from the driver). We arrived at the airport at 0850 and I sat down to wait for the bus to Cagliari. The bus to Cagliari was a big blue coach and it stopped about 50 metres away from the bus stand to Alghero city. It arrived at 0955 and left at 1003. The fare was €20. I settled down for the ride, changing seats twice to avoid the sun.

We stopped at 1100 for a break at a pump station which had a big convenience store attached for 15 minutes (when I asked, the driver said ten minutes. Guess he was not too particular about timekeeping) before continuing on our journey. We arrived at Piazza Matteotti at 1345 (1/2 hour later than scheduled) and I wandered around first trying to find information on airport transfer. I then walked to Via Pasquale Paoli 77. I don’t know why but I had this feeling that Alghero would be mainly flat while Cagliari would be a hilly city and boy, was I right for both cities. I walked up Largo Carlo Felice to the roundabout and turned right into Via Giuseppe Manno to another roundabout and walked on to Via Giuseppe Garibaldi. I reached the B&B on Via Pasquale Paoli 20 minutes after leaving Piazza Matteotti and checked in.

I rested for a while before venturing out. Man, it was just too hot. 33C and I thought I’d be enjoying a pleasant autumn weather –and I packed for autumn too. Arghhh! I checked the temperature for Bari – it was also as bad as Malaysia (minus the haze). Armed with my rudimentary map (the B&B had run out of maps and the guy told me I could pick up some at the tourist info office near Bastione di Saint Remy), I went back to Via Giuseppe Garibaldi and on an impulse, followed a signora up some alley. I am glad I did so because, my, do they have nice charming alleys there! I walked along one alley and turned into another, all the while snapping pictures. I even found the B&B I had booked earlier and then cancelled just a week before.

I then stumbled onto Viale Enrico Endrich and from there, I had a lovely view of the rooftops of Cagliari. I continued on and spotted an elevator across Viale Regina Elena. I saw a few people above on a landing/platform so I decided to take the elevator up for Piazza Palazzo. Again, I’m glad I did so because the view from up there was even better. I lingered before walking down to Palazzo Viceregio where I found Punto Informazioni (InfoPoint). I left with a map and went up to Piazza dell Indipendenza, up to Piazza Arsenale then turned to Via Ubaldo Badas. You can see the view of another part of the city from here. I saw on a map by the road a sign of Roman ruins so I walked up to find it (you know I love ruins). Then I turned back and walked down a road to the Tower of the Elephant. You could go up the tower at a fee.

I then continued down Via Universita and Via Giuseppe Mazzini to Bastione di Saint Remy. After that, I just wandered around until I arrived at the train station. The B&B owner had advised me to take a train to the airport the following day so I went to check the train schedule. I also went to ask at the info counter of the ARST bus company but was told there is no service to the airport. In view of the info from the airport website, I found this very strange indeed. I then wandered out to the garden of Piazza Matteotti. There were many immigrants there (and indeed around Cagliari): Africans and South Asians. A Bangladeshi peddler told me that there’s only a train service to the airport when I asked about the bus. Hmm.

I walked along Via Roma before climbing the back alleys up to Via Giuseppe Manno and followed the early afternoon route back to the B&B. I continued on to Via Dante where I found a SPAR supermarket. I then returned to the B&B. I was about to have some ramen when I saw al cane in the kitchen. He looked at me and growled. I retreated into my room and stayed there. Well, thank God I didn’t buy another pizza margherita for dinner for I couldn’t use the oven or microwave then, could I, certainly not with al cane there growling at me. So I had the crisps I bought at Alghero and which turned out to be less than satisfactory. They sure didn’t taste like the British crisps I’m addicted to.

To be continued

Autumn In My Heart: First Beat

I had planned to go on a tour in May but found out at the MATTA Fair in March this year that the tour would only take place in end-August/early September and cost way too much. So I changed my mind and bought a ticket to London instead for mid-September. This would be my first trip in early autumn (and probably my last as it completely slipped my mind that we now have our performance appraisal in September instead of October). This was also the lightest that I’ve packed so far. Back when I started returning to Blighty, I used to bring half of my wardrobe along with me. Then there was one time when I unwisely brought a wheel-less bag. Yes, imagine me hauling my bag up and down those stupid tube stairs and changing stations. I was going to fly RyanAir to Italy on this trip and as I refused to pay for check-in bag, I had to keep my cabin bag below 10 kg (I also had to purchase a new cabin bag that meets RyanAir’s specifications). On my previous trips flying RyanAir, I usually checked in my suitcase but made sure it was below 15 kg as I was only prepared to pay £15/€15 for the checked-in bag (a 20-kg checked in bag on RyanAir costs £25/€25) so this time I had to pack 1/3 less than what I normally packed.

Friday, 11 September 2015

CT picked and drove me to KLIA for my morning flight to London. I don’t know why I willingly put myself through 13.5 hours’ of flight every year but apparently I conveniently forget this every time I buy a ticket and only agonise over it just before taking off. My check-in bag weighed 9.7 kg and that was before I removed my powerbank (for some reason, I was told to carry it on board and not check it in). Not bad eh. We were supposed to take off at 0950 but the haze was so bad that there was a delay in taking off. We finally departed at 1030. I was so sleepy as I had a poor night the night before but apart from take-off and a brief spell after the first inflight movie that I watched, sleep eluded me. I watched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and after many failed attempts at sleep, I watched True Story.

We landed at 1630 and finally disembarked at 1645. I rushed to the immigration and cleared it by 1658. There was a long wait for the bag though. Flying Airbus A380 means too many others passengers means an extra-long wait for bags. I then took the tube to Bayswater and arrived at the hotel at almost 1900. After checking in, I went out to get some food before resting.

Saturday, 12 September 2015

I had no specific plans today and although there was an Arsenal home match against the Orcs of all teams, the expensive £ deterred me from purchasing a ticket (I did check for a ticket on Thursday but they were all sold out unless I tried Ticket Exchange). So I checked out at noon and after performing prayers at Malaysia Hall, set out for Knightsbridge. It was a fine early autumn day with beautiful skies and fluffy non-threatening clouds and the temperature was still mild enough. After checking out Octavia at Brompton Road and a brief stop at Harrods, I walked to Mayfair and from there Oxford Street before walking back to the hotel.

I had a light dinner while checking football results before making my way to the easyBus stop near Baker Street to catch the bus to Stansted.

I arrived at the bus stop at 2030 and waited for the bus. easyBus had rescheduled the time to 2100 but 2100 came and no bus came. By then, there were a few National Express coaches had already come and gone. I did ask and was told they charged £12 for the fare. Finally at 2130, one National Express coach pulled up and the driver asked if there were anyone on easyBus as he was willing to take us. It was like he knew we were stranded there. Well, we accepted his offer gratefully and boarded the almost empty coach.

Ahh Stansted. Most RyanAir flights departing from Stansted depart in early morning which means you have to travel very early to get there or overnight at the airport before. A lot of travellers choose to do the latter but the airport is not designed to accommodate us who are willing to overnight there. I would prefer anything but overnighting there but I reckoned I’d rather be there at the airport than risk a broken down vehicle or arriving late at the airport. I sought shelter in the prayer room but of course sleep was elusive.

To be continued

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.

~~~~~~~~

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.

Merdeka Weekend 2015

I spent Merdeka weekend in Penang. I had actually purchased ticket for the Labour Day weekend; however, I decided to burn my ticket and made arrangements to travel to Taiwan instead. As I couldn’t book Berjaya’s Georgetown City Hotel and didn’t want to spend too much on accommodation which I couldn’t claim for (I plan to bring my nieces and nephew on a local trip in December), I booked TheOffice’s residence in Georgetown. I booked the two-bedroom unit but it was also booked by another staff who would be checking in a day earlier so in the end, I booked both units (and not surprisingly was awarded the three-bedroom unit).

I flew on Friday afternoon, 28 August 2015, and landed at 17:05. We took the bus to Georgetown at a fare of RM2.70 (you must pay the exact amount as change is not given and Rapid Penang doesn’t accept Touch ‘n Go card). We hit the peak hour traffic and it took us more than an hour before reaching Georgetown. We alighted at Lebuh King and made our way to the residence. We checked in at the same time as the call for evening prayers.

It was my first time there and I was amazed at the size of the three-bedroom unit. It was huge! Gigantic! Spacious! You can fit six adults in there and still won’t feel like you’ll be bumping into each other all the time unless you’re all in the kitchen at the same time. The dining table can fit 8 people and the living room is huge too with comfortable sofas. You have to walk along a long corridor when you enter to get to the living room and the dining hall and kitchen are on the right (the other side of the corridor). Up ahead is the living room with sliding doors leading to the balcony while on the right is another corridor leading to the three rooms. The first room was the master bedroom (king bed) with its own living room while the two other rooms have twin beds. They are all en-suite.

We walked out to find dinner but would you believe it, we had such problems finding dinner! We walked all the way to Jalan Penang and Lebuh Campbell but most eateries were already closed. The few that were open were stalls and I wasn’t comfortable with their hygiene level. We finally headed back to Lebuh King and had our late dinner (supper, more like) at an Indian restaurant.

On Saturday, 29 August 2015, we went out at 07:30 and went for a morning walk. We covered 6.9 km, not bad as it was my first morning walk/jog even before my LASIK surgery. We returned to the residence and after showering, we took the CAT bus to Jalan Penang. We walked to Seow Fong Lye Kopitiam at Lorong Macalister to have chee cheong fun before returning to Jalan Penang for a browse around the bazaar and Chowrasta Market (ugh). The chee cheong fun was supposed to be great but I found it just OK. Passable and not all that spectacular. 90 minutes after chee cheong fun, we went to Joo Hooi Café (I read about it in the inflight magazine the day before!) and had assam laksa and cendol for lunch. The café was packed to the rafters and we had to stand around before we could find a table but it was good. It proved that the food was good. After all that, we walked to Komtar. I wanted to buy some books but the Popular store at Komtar couldn’t help me so we took the bus to Gurney Plaza. I bought 6 novels there, deciding I’d worry about transporting them back to KL later.

We then walked over to Jalan Burma to catch the bus back to Komtar. From Komtar, we walked to buy some putu mayam at Jalan Dato Keramat then back to Jalan Penang to catch the bus back. Rested for the rest of the afternoon before heading out at 18:30 to find early dinner. We crossed over to the food court at Taman Kota Lama and queued 45 minutes at Hameed Pata Special Mee, no kidding. 45 minutes! I was a bit apprehensive about the noodle colour but any doubt was buried after my first bite of fried noodles. It was good! I reckoned I deserved another plate of noodles after all that wait and had mee rebus too. We returned back around 8 p.m. The residence didn’t subscribe to the Asstro channel showing the Newcastle-Arsenal match so I didn’t see our new signing, Mr Owen Gole, scored another goal for us. I went to bed just after 11. Today, I covered > 16 km on foot!

On Sunday, we went for another morning walk but turned in the opposite direction to that we took the day before. We also stopped at the weekend market at Jalan Kuala Kangsar and bought 3 kg of mangosteens. We also had vegetarian wan tan noodle soup for breakfast. It was a bit bland though. And in Georgetown (not sure about the rest of Penang), you must order drinks with your food or you’ll be charged 30-40 sen.

We walked back to the residence and finished up the mangosteens. Yes, I can eat them all right. I love mangosteens!

It started raining at noon so we waited out the rain and left after prayers. We took the CAT bus and walked to Penang Plaza as I wanted to check out some shop. Then we walked to Penang Times Square, stopping en route at Kek Seng Cafe for durian ice cream, before making our way back. The putu mayam stall wasn’t operating today so we returned empty-handed. Dinner was had indoors as we didn’t feel like venturing out again.

We woke up early on Independence Day and left at 07:30 after breakfast. We took the CAT bus to Komtar and then waited for the first bus to the airport. Bus 401E turned up so we boarded it. It took a while before we finally reached the airport.

We took off on time and landed at 20 minutes to noon. I took the bus back to KL Sentral and made my way back from there. Not sure when the next trip to Penang will take place but it’ll be Georgetown again for me instead of Batu Feringghi etc. I love the old buildings!