Still Hanging On

After the disastrous first two European matches, we hosted Bayern München last night. The very same Bayern München which had won 12 matches and drawn one and not conceded more than one goal per match in their season’s previous 13 matches. The same team which had not failed to score a goal in any game thus far this season.

And yet, and yet. Despite completing more than three times as many passes as Arsenal and having more than two-thirds of possession, they had none of the goals.

Oh sure, we are still bottom of the group and we still have to travel to Munich. But it’s not everyday that you can beat Bayern München which have, among others, Thomas Müller, Robert Lewandowski, Philip Lahm, Douglas Costa and not to forget, Ballon D’Or contender, Manuel Neuer.

 My poor baby ;'(

For more pictures, go here.

Vacation Caution

I noticed that when I travelled with Lin before, I was a bit more careless and less alert of my surroundings. Maybe in my subconscious mind, I felt I was safer because there was another person with me and I felt that person could watch out for me. Of course I shouldn’t feel that way because we could both be targets or we could be attacked when we got separated even for a short while.

In fact, I was almost attacked by a group of girls while crossing the street in London. It was July 1999 and we had just landed and were killing time along Oxford Street before we could check into our hotel. The girls were coming our way and one of them had a long scarf and she was playing with it, spreading it out around her. I remembered wondering as I looked at her why she would bother with the long scarf at the height of summer. Suddenly Lin called out (she was a few metres behind me) to watch out. The girl with the scarf was going to grab my handbag and the scarf was either to shield her action or slow my response down. I was too shocked to pursue them and in any case, they walked away as if nothing had happened. Well, nothing did happen but I could have had my handbag ripped off me.

The next incident happened in Prague in May 2004. We were peering in a restaurant, admiring the tables set with the gleaming cutlery and crystal glassware and chandeliers when I heard someone unzipping my backpack. I could practically feel it too. And mind you, like I said, we were peering through the glass into a restaurant. I looked up as I wanted to catch the reflection of the perpetrator but I couldn’t see anyone. Maybe the person was shorter than vertically-challenged me, maybe the person was standing off to the side and not behind me, or maybe s/he had fled. I turned around quickly but saw no one. My backpack was opened though.

A few days after that, we were in Barcelona. It was siesta time and many shops were closed but El Corte Inglés at Plaça Catalunya at the top of La Rambla was open so we went there to seek some air-conditioned relief and retail therapy. When I met up with Lin again, she told me that she discovered her bag was opened when her mobile phone rang. It was a good thing that nothing was stolen. The phone call helped saved her from being a victim.

We were boarding the Leonardo Express at Roma Termini heading for the airport for our flight home in May 2006 when two teenage girls came up and offered to help us with our bags. It turned out one was ‘helping’ me while the other was helping herself by opening my backpack. She succeeded in unzipping it too. I only realised when a girl walking on the platform shouted at me, ‘Hey, watch out! Watch your bag!’ The two girls acted like nothing happened and walked down the train, cool as cucumber. And it wasn’t as if I could give them chase either, not when the train was about to depart and I had a flight to catch. They looked like gypsy girls.

We were in Poland in May 2007 when it finally happened. I was pickpocketed in Warsaw while riding a bus and lost all my money. I lost Euros, USD, PLN and even MYR. Good thing Lin was with me and helped me survive the next couple of days. And good thing too that I still had my passport. We went to Citibank to see if they could help lodge the loss of my card but they were among the most unfriendly unhelpful lot I’d ever had the misfortune to meet. I had my friend in KL transfer over money via Western Union which I collected in Paris a couple of days later.

I was in Rome again alone in May 2008 on my last leg before flying back home. At breakfast the morning after I arrived, an American fellow lodger informed that he was pickpocketed on the subway the day before.

Alhamdulillah, nothing untoward has happened so far on my solo trips. On my recent trip, however, I was accosted by two females who looked like a mother with a teenage daughter (only the mother didn’t look old enough to have a teenage daughter). It was past 8 p.m. and I was walking along a bright deserted corridor in Le Palais des Congres de Paris searching for the washroom (the shops were closed but the mall area was still open so you could still browse the shop windows). They came up and asked me how to get to either Galaries Lafayette or Printemps Haussmann (the two are nearby anyway) and I told them I didn’t know. I tried to walk off but they pestered me and flung a map in front of me and I was forced to look at the map. I again told them I didn’t know as I wasn’t a local; instead I showed them the nearest metro to where we were i.e. Porte Maillot and told them that they had to ride the metro to Havre-Caumartin or Saint-Lazare. I also told them that the stores were already closed and as such there was no point in going then. I could sense them crowding closer around me but funnily I didn’t feel any danger. Maybe I was too trusting and thought they were genuine lost tourists too although I did check to see if my Speedy was zipped properly. I kept repeating that I wasn’t a local and that I couldn’t help them much. Then I turned and, phew, saw a lady who looked like a Parisian walking towards us and told them to ask the lady instead before walking off. I met them again when I walked back from the washroom. It was a few days later when I thought back about this incident and wondered if they were trying to rob me. I’d read about the daylight mugging in Paris before (but it somehow slipped my mind that evening). Yes, especially in the metro and you can even get pickpocketed in the Louvre too, love.

I don’t have a lot of advice on how to avoid being mugged or robbed or pickpocketed – after all, I was a victim myself. I have been more careful since then though: I carry my bag in front of me especially in crowded areas, I carry little cash when going out in the evening and I place my wallet in the bag compartment closest to my body. Try to travel light as you’ll be less distracted with having to keep track of your bags and consequently less vulnerable to pickpockets. You can refer to this on avoiding being an easy prey and the infopage by the American Embassy on how to avoid becoming a pickpocket victim in Paris or indeed any other city.

Safe trips, everyone!

How I Packed For My Recent Trip

I’m a novice at packing light. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I used to bring half of my wardrobe along with me to Europe (and on one trip, even packed them in a non-trolley bag!). I’d like to think that I’ve learnt how to pack smarter over time by observing how Lin and SM packed their bags, by reading articles and blogs and experimenting on my own. I had gone on a few regional trips by AirAsia without checking in my bag but those were usually short trips averaging 4 days and 3 nights. The challenge then for me was to pack for a trip to Europe that lasts between 12 to 16 days.

When I bought my RyanAir tickets in mid-March for the trip last month, I decided not to pay for checking in my bag. RyanAir allows one cabin bag up to 10 kg with maximum dimensions of 55 cm*40 cm*20 cm and one small bag up to 35*20*20 cm. I had to buy a new bag (Delsey is one brand which carries luggage bags fitting those dimensions. One downside to the Delsey is the lack of a handle on the side of the bag. That made it difficult to place the bag sideways onto conveyor belts. The upside is it has two wheels which I like as I dislike four-wheel bags. Oh, I fantasised buying a Louis Vuitton Pegase but it’s too darn expensive and besides, it’s not light. It will eat up my cabin bag weight allowance) and decided to debut my Speedy Bandoulière 30 as it has a strap (as you may already know, bandoulière means shoulder strap) and it does look like a small version of the Louis Vuitton Keepall.

So how did I pack? I didn’t bring my Total Pillow on this trip (although actually I might be able to squeeze it in my suitcase). Nor did I bring a loaf of Gardenia bread as I usually do or my mug with lid. Speedy B 30 is not that big; I was wishing I had bought the Speedy B 35 instead. Still, I was determined to make it work. What did I pack? I packed for autumn (Sardinia and south east Italy turned out to be hot, hot, hot though) and packed only the following in the Delsey bag:

1.   A light towel just in case (some hostels don’t provide towels and some that do, provide very small ones. More of hand-towel size rather than bath-towel size), nightwear, one batik sarong (to line beds if I feared bedbugs or to be worn to the bathroom), three pairs of socks and one pair of socks to be worn to bed in one large suitcase organiser (some call this packing cube). I placed this suitcase organiser/packing cube flat at the bottom on the right side of the bag closest to the wheels;

I bought a set of three packing cubes (they come in different sizes) online. This is the largest size

2.   Four tops (two long-sleeved shirts and two long-sleeved jumpers), a cardigan and my Uniqlo trousers – and yes, I rolled them all up - in another large suitcase organiser. I used Samsonite packing cube for this. This organiser/packing cube is placed on top of the previous organiser;

3.   Innerwear, three scarves and one small shawl in one small Samsonite suitcase organiser/packing cube. This organiser is wedged vertically between the two large organisers and the edge of the suitcase;

4.   Toiletries in one medium pouch. I also brought one smaller pouch to place toiletries;

5.   A LeSportsac Square Cosmetic pouch containing my travel adapter (with USB ports) and camera battery charger;

6.   A drawstring pouch with my travel prayer attire in it;

7.   A 2-in-1 novel;

8.   Panty liners and sanitary pads in one plastic pouch and cotton wool pads packed in a small plastic bag;

9.   Vitamins and supplements;

10. Washing detergent and a small container of mini bath soap;

11. A packet of 3-in-1 Snickers and 3 sachets of instant soup;

I used to put my detergent in a small square container but it takes up space and I find I don’t use all that much detergent anyway. While sorting my toiletries, I came across a sachet of detergent provided by Conrad Hong Kong. So for this trip, I borrowed the idea and packed my detergent in a small plastic bag that used to contain pill tablets (the detergent I packed turned out to be more than enough) and packed that bag into a bigger plastic bag. I also brought a small container of bath soap to launder delicate innerwear. As for vitamins and supplements, instead of using pill boxes, I mixed them into two small Tupperware containers

12. A jacket (which I just rolled instead of putting in any of my suitcase organiser). I did consider bringing my trench coat but was glad I didn’t as it was very hot in Italy and still pleasantly mild in London and Paris;

13. A small LeSportsac bag which I used as shopping bag and to hold my water bottle and novel (I only fit my novel and water bottle into my Speedy B when I was flying to stick to RyanAir specifications. The Speedy got too heavy then; this bag is to distribute weight between my two shoulders when I was out and about);

14. A foldable travel duffle bag which I got from the travel agent after returning from my Turkey trip;

15. A pair of flip flops and a pair of lightweight bedroom slippers;

The total amount of footwear that I brought on the trip. I wore the flip flop to walk around the B&Bs I stayed at and even outdoors (practical in Italy!). I’m used to wearing house slippers so I always try to remember to pack a pair of lightweight bedroom slippers

16. A lightweight prayer mat in a pouch. I placed my compass in the same pouch; and

17. One other lightweight foldable shopping bag.

I placed the last four items (foldable travel duffle bag, prayer mat, flip flops and bedroom slippers and shopping bag) in the external compartment of my Delsey. I wore a short-sleeved top and a light shirt on the flight (to and fro KL), a pair of trousers and scarf.

This was how everything looked like packed.

Apologies for the blurred photo

That H&M bag contains my shawl, my bucket hat, eye cover and ear plugs

 Suitcase when zipped up

All packed up and ready to go!

In my Speedy, I had the following:

1.  Pochette Accessoires (the old one, not Pochette Accessoires NM) containing my LeSportsac3-Zip Cosmetic pouch (which I used as my lightweight travel wallet as I find it very convenient. I placed my cards in the bottom most compartment, foreign currencies and Ringgit in the medium compartment and another set of foreign currencies in the biggest compartment), my key pouch, passport and iPhone;

2.  A pouch for my iPad mini, Apple Lightning and SIM eject tool;

3.  A 4-in-1 Reader’s Digest book;

4.  My water bottle;

5.  My sunglasses;

6.  A small H&M carrier bag which contained my shawl, bucket hat, eye cover and ear plugs; and

7.  My Leica camera (I put it in another LeSportsac Square Cosmetic). Yes, I still prefer taking pictures with my camera.

As you can imagine, my Speedy was quite heavy already; hence why I brought along another bag to hold my book and water bottle at any destination.

At KLIA on the morning of departure. You can’t see my LeSportsac bag but I was toting it behind me

For toiletries, I brought the really mini travel sizes where I could find them. I also packed sample toiletry sachets. Miss Jeslyn Gouk, Counter Manager of Sisley skincare counter at Isetan KLCC, taught me how to use these sachets. Do NOT tear at the usual tear point (sorry, I’m not sure what it’s called). You need to bring along your small sewing kit (most good hotels provide this in the room) and some paper clips. Use the needle to poke a small hole in the sachet but don’t poke through! You can then squeeze the required amount from the hole before folding the sachet and securing it with the paper clip(s). It saves you from unnecessary wastage than if you had just ripped the sachet open. This method ensures you squeeze just the amount you need and trust me, those little sachets can actually last you days. In my ignorant days, I once brought a sachet, tore it open at the usual point and ended up throwing the rest of the content away as I didn’t know what to do with it. Thanks to Miss Jeslyn, I know better now.

 My toiletries. I also brought along some lubricant eye drops in single-use containers and a couple of sachets of shower gel. As for fragrance, I brought it in solid form so I didn’t have to declare it at security. I also brought a small bottle of Carrie Junior baby oil as it’s very dry in Europe (bottom left-hand corner, next to eye drops. I love the scent, it smells so much better than Johnson’s baby oil)

 Where previously I didn’t know what to do with sample skincare sachets such as this apart from a one-off or overnight use, I now find them very convenient. Just use the needle from your travel sewing kit to poke a hole (top right-hand of this photo, in red circle) and squeeze out the required amount

Then use paper clips to securely close the sachet. No spillage or wastage - guaranteed!

For more tips on how to pack when travelling to Europe (maybe not applicable if you follow a tour), go here and here. For an infograph, go here or refer below.

One trip obviously does not make me an expert on packing and travelling light and I’m still learning how to further improve this. Still, I managed to reduce 5 kg off my bag weight about a decade ago and a further 5 kg on this trip. Me, who used to worry about not packing enough and bringing more clothes than necessary and skincare in regular size!

Kota Bharu Day Trip

There was a Firefly free seats offer in early April, shortly after GST came into effect. I browsed and found free seats to Johor Bahru and Kota Bharu. I chose to visit Johor Bahru in mid-May and Kota Bharu in early October (so that I get to travel every month. Well, almost every month).

It so happened that I lost my anklet again (fourth anklet I’ve lost now. One when my house was burgled and three disentangled themselves from me) at KLIA when I arrived back from London. Yes, I’m a dazed ditsy scatterbrain and I have jewellery drop off and slip off me without realising it. I only realised it in the car; it must have slid off while I was performing prayers. It was getting loose and I told myself during the flight to get it fixed during the weekend but it decided to slip off before I could send it to be fixed. So I decided I would look for an anklet in Kota Bharu, never mind that I’m broke. Gold jewellery costs less in the East Coast after all.

I arrived at Subang Airport at 0745 on Saturday, 3 October 2015. Firefly cancelled its flights the previous Saturday due to the bad haze and I was praying hard that my flight to and fro would not be cancelled. Otherwise, well, I guess I’d have to take the night bus back to KL (if I was already there). After informing the Firefly counter that I had my long brolly with me and being given a tag, I headed to the ATM to withdraw some cash (I had already withdrawn some money the day before but decided I needed more; after all, I would need cash at Siti Khadijah Market). I popped in my card and waited. A bloke came over and stood next to me at the other ATM machine.

It was taking sometime and I was beginning to worry especially when I heard that the next ATM machine was furiously processing the bloke’s request. I waited and waited and suddenly a message appeared saying that my card had been swallowed. Oh no! The bloke looked at me and asked what was happening when he saw me frantically pushing the Cancel button. I told him and he suggested I asked at the Bureau de Change. So I hurried over to ask.

The lady at the Bureau de Change listened to me sympathetically but told me she couldn’t help as she didn’t have the key (I know ATM machines are serviced every few days by a different team but thought I’d just try my luck). She then suggested I do a cardless withdrawal and guided me how to do it (you need to go to Accounts & Banking > Transfers > Cardless Withdrawal and then choose either Favourite Cardless Withdrawal or Open Cardless Withdrawal. Good thing I had my iPad with me then. I tried but the option was either RM100, RM200 or RM300 (maximum is only RM300/day) – and you need to bear the service charge of RM1 plus 6% GST WTH. Well, I refused to pay the service charge and the accompanying GST so I cancelled the transaction. The BDC lady also advised me to call my bank and cancel my card. It was then when there was an announcement for us to go to the boarding gate immediately.

After clearing security, I called my bank and finally got through. I was still on the phone with my bank when I boarded the plane! Good thing the cabin crew didn’t tick me off and they had every right too. Maybe they sensed my desperate and panicked face. I got off the phone just as we were about to taxi off.

We took off 9 minutes before ETD (efficient!!!) landed at clear Kota Bharu at 0930. After collecting my brolly and visiting the bathroom, I walked out of the terminal to the main road, Jalan Pengkalan Chepa. I had read that a Cityliner bus services the route and I was very lucky for the bus no. 9 pulled up within two minutes. The fare was RM1.80 and the driver gives you back your change (unlike in Penang where you have to pay the exact fare or pay to the nearest Ringgit and not get your change back). It took us 22 minutes to reach Kota Bharu Bus Station, which is less than 100 metres away from Siti Khadijah Market. It was that near! I couldn’t believe how convenient it was. A direct bus to the city, a 22-minute ride, a bus station right smack in the city... amazing!

Where I alighted. The bus I took from the airport was that white one

Kota Bharu Bus Station

I headed first to the food court across from Siti Khadijah Market and searched for Kak Ani stall which was suggested by my colleague. I sat down and ordered a bowl of kuay teow sup perut and hot lemon tea (I was given hot lemon drink instead). It was all right. There were shreds of water spinach and I have stopped eating water spinach as it is windy so I had to set those aside. The meal cost a whopping RM6. I had expected to pay less than RM5 for it.

These brands are not available in KL

My less-than-satisfactory kuay teow sup perut and warm lemon drink

After that, I headed out to Jalan Buluh Kubu and went into every gold shop there was. It was easy because the conversation would go like this:

Me: Ada gelang kaki emas putih? (Do you have anklet in white gold?)

Shopowner/sales assistant: Tok dok (Nope)
Me: OK, terima kasih. (OK, thank you.) (After a few shops, I had ‘Kthxbai’ echoing and reverberating in my mind)

in all but three of the gold shop. I know Kelantanese prefer yellow gold but I was hoping some of the Chinese-owned shops would have white gold but I guess they wanted to meet the demand of their customers. So although I may have a daunting task, it was easy because hardly any shops carried white gold anklets. I even checked out those shops at Jalan Temenggong and Jalan Belakang Istana. The first shop that carried white gold anklets had only 3 pieces and they also accepted Maybank2u. How great is that? The sales assistant told me there is a surcharge for credit card payments.

After visiting all the gold shops there were in the vicinity, I decided to go to Siti Khadijah market to do some shopping. After all, I had to pay in cash and if I decided to buy the anklet in the first shop, I could pay the balance via Maybank2u. So I sauntered over to the market and headed to the second floor (top-most floor). I browsed a few stalls before finally stopping at one and buying some batik sarong. I also bought some pelikat sarong at a nearby stall. No, I don’t wear batik sarong but I find them a great fantastic souvenir to give away. I gave my Filipino mate and Algerian guests batik sarong and they all loved their sarong. The humble batik sarong is colourful and so versatile: I told my mates that they could use it as sarong, fold it as a skirt, a pareo, sling it across the shoulders and carry a baby... me, I bring it on my trips to line the bed (if I’m afraid of bed bugs) or wear it as sarong if I have to pop off to the shared bathroom in a hostel.

After the purchase, I walked around the market then left. It was nearing 1 p.m. so I headed to Parkson Kota Bharu Trade Centre for some air-conditioning relief and rest. I had some light snack and read my book. After an hour, I got up and went to the first gold shop and bought my anklet. I bargained of course and the kind man agreed to give a bit more discount. Alhamdulillah!

I then headed to Masjid Al-Baroah for prayers before turning back to Buluh Kubu food court. I had sighted nasi air before and I had it for my late lunch with warm lai chee kang. It was good, really good.

 Afternoon meal of nasi air (literally watery rice) and warm lai chee kang

Close-up of nasi air. It was very good!

After that, I returned to Kota Bharu Trade Centre. I wandered around before sitting down to read my book again. I left at 5 and bought some fish sausage from a stall before heading to the bus station. The bus arrived after 5 minutes and we were allowed to sit on the bus before the bus started its trip. a friendly middle-aged lady sat next to me and we chatted. It seemed like travelling alone for a day trip is a strange concept to the lady and those who asked me at the market. Day trip? Why not overnight? I explained that a day trip was enough and I needn’t have to bring an overnight case.

Back to the bus stop. That bloke was our driver

Just before reaching the airport, I saw a lot of cars parked along the opposite road. The lady told me the locals liked to go there, park their vehicles and watch planes landing and taking off. Hmm, I wonder if there’s a lot of air traffic. Sure MAS, Firefly, AirAsia and Malindo fly to Kota Bharu but I don’t think the flights are all that frequent. How many flights are there in a day? I guess those spectators know better as it’s their favourite past-time. It looked fun and there was also a van selling drinks to the spectators.

We took off before ETD (thank God the flight wasn’t cancelled, phew!) and we landed at hazy Subang at 2045. I would definitely do this again if there’re any more offers. And why not when it’s such a convenient city to visit.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

After the disastrous result against Olympiacos earlier in the week, the 3-0 victory was just what the doctor ordered. Oh if only you play like this in every match, life would be so much simpler and not as stressful, Arsenal. I’ll let the pictures do the talking again.

My baby has yet to open his account this season. Better luck next time, less rush and don’t overthink, Rambo