Rain Songs

The rainy season has started at the end of October (it helped to clear the haze away, Alhamdulillah) and after yesterday’s post on Haze Songs, I thought it’d be appropriate to post Rain Songs today.

Rain

Umbrella

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Why Does It Always Rain On Me

November Rain

Singin’ In The Rain

Come In Out Of The Rain

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

Raining In My Heart

Come Rain Or Come Shine

A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall

Crying In The Rain

A Little Bit Of Rain

I Think It’s Going To Rain Today

The Rain Song

Sunshine After The Rain

Here Come The Rain

Purple Rain

It’s Raining Men

Rainy Days And Mondays

Haze Songs

Thank God the haze has been over for a few weeks now and I pray that it will never ever return - fat chance when it’s becoming an annual occurrence eh. Well, I can still pray and hope, right? Here are some songs that I think aptly describe the haze situation with amendments to some song titles.

Breathless

Breathe Again

Take My Breath Away

Toxic

Killing Me Softly With This Haze

Beat It

Haze Is All Around Us

I Can’t See Clearly Now

Smoke Gets In Our Eyes

(I Can’t Get No) Ventilation

Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of

Another Day

Bad

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Dirty Day

A Million Haze Songs

Some Days Are Better Than Others

Staring At The (Non-Existent) Sun

Hazard

Linger

Pray For Peace And Love

We will never know why Friday night was chosen to launch the attacks in Paris. It could be because it was the start to the weekend hence ensuring maximum damage, it could be to take advantage of the crowds dining out or meeting up to enjoy some music or watching football, it could be because it was Friday the 13^th. But what we do know is that it doesn’t make sense. Violence and atrocity never make sense no matter how you try to twist it and if someone resorts to violence because he himself was a victim of it, well, I’ll say that two wrongs do not make a right. But I cannot judge because I was never subjected to something so evil or violent to make me react in such a drastic way. And before you accuse me of condoning such an act, stop right there. I’m not and will never condone such a violent senseless act. But I do think that the attackers may have their own crazy twisted logic or reason or agenda for it.

And so it leaves a scar on the rest of us, on the human race. We may think in our safe cocoon or plain ignorance or lazy observance of the world that what didn’t happen to us wouldn’t hurt or affect us. But it does. The 11 September attacks may not have affected the majority of is directly but it does affect all travellers to this day and well into the foreseeable future as we have to declare our liquid, aerosol or gel (LAGs) if we plan to carry them on board. The recent attacks at the end of last week mean that some of us will always be bit hesitant about stepping out, a bit reluctant about enjoying ourselves, and a tad worried because we never know if we might be targeted next. I say attacks because there is violence almost everywhere these days on an almost daily basis. There was an attack in Beirut just a day before the attacks in Paris but it didn’t get coverage. Why? The people in Gaza, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the Rohingyas, they all face violence, hardship and indignity almost every day and yet their plight don’t get as much coverage if at all.

What is also disturbing it that one of the perpetrators had a ticket to the France-Germany match and attempted to enter the stadium. I don’t know about you but whenever I went to the Grove to watch a match on my rare visits there. I never thought there could be someone in the crowd who had plans to hurt or kill others. This would never ever cross my mind. I’m not trying to trivialise the attacks in other parts of Paris or anywhere else for that matter but as a football fan who occasionally goes to watch a live match, I can’t help but think of the effects on the sport (yes, we football fans are guilty of making football more important than what it actually is in the grand scheme of things because it gives us escapism from real life but the hype and whatnot are what makes us the fans we are. And France will be the host country for Euro 2016 in seven months’ time.

Events like this leave us shaken and stirred and instil fear in us. We become a bit more wary and suspicious of others. But we must not let them win. Terrorism has no faith or face and knows no boundaries. It is thus even more imperative for us not to lose our humanity and tolerance just because others are keen to spread hate. We should not let these minority who do not represent the majority of us intimidate us. So how can we respond? We can be braver, by being kinder and more compassionate and understanding of the life we still have to live and as such try to be a better person, sibling, child, parent, member of community and servant of God. We can love and spread love beyond our family and friends to include strangers because clearly love is in short supply otherwise why else would one want to kill others? We can take better care of ourselves by living a healthier lifestyle. Our short fragile life is what we have left so surely it makes sense to love it with an open mind and heart, tolerance, optimism, faith and trust.

Saigon 2015

I bought a ticket to Saigon way back in January. There was an offer in May and I decided to invite my aunt along. Her ticket turned out to cost less than what I paid for mine @&$()!*U(

Saturday, 7 November 2015

I met up with aunt at KLIA and we went to drop off our bags. We decided to go in to the boarding gate immediately and waved her family farewell. The flight was pretty full. There was a slight delay in taking off but we landed on time. I had told aunt that we would be taking the bus to the city.

From the bus station near Chợ Bến Thành, we walked to our hotel. I usually stay in Pham Ngũ Lão but decided to book a hotel closer to Chợ Bến Thành this time as I had aunt to consider. We checked in at 1645 and rested before venturing out to dinner. There are too many Malaysians descending upon the city now which means you won’t have problems finding halal food. We had beef pho at one of the halal restaurants before exploring the night market (I wouldn’t recommend buying anything at the night market as they’re mainly expensive and hardly offer any value for money but it was still fun to just soak in the atmosphere). We then returned to Nguyen An Ninh where better shopping was offered. We spent some time walking up and down the street, browsing stalls, choosing stuff and bargaining. We returned to the hotel quite late tonight.

Sunday, 8 November 2015

I slept poorly the night before and must have lain awake longer than I was asleep. Aunt was happily snoring away beside me argghhhhhh...!!! Managed a brief kip after Suboh and finally got up at 0835 to shower. We had agreed to have a late breakfast today as I wanted to check in for the flight back after breakfast.

We left at 1115 and went to the shops along Le Loi before turning back. We then entered Chợ Bến Thành and I don’t know which is worse: being out in the hot sun or inside the market and suffocating. We headed for the stall selling cotton material (I had Googled it earlier) and found it easily. Unfortunately, there were already about a dozen Malaysians swarming the stall (OK, it was less but it felt like dozens the way they wouldn’t let us near the stall at all). I took some pictures to show Akak (yup, she was the one who wanted those cotton materials) and left.

We then walked to Calmette for lunch at the vegetarian restaurant which I discovered on my last trip in March 2014. It rained while we were having lunch so we waited out the rain before hurrying back to the hotel to rest. I decided an hour-long siesta was in order after the sleepless night.

I left the hotel and explored the area surrounding Chợ Bến Thành at 1545 before entering it. I returned empty-handed however as I wanted to check further with Akak. Rain was imminent and true enough, I was just a block away from the hotel when it rained heavily again. I waited out the rain before hurrying back to the hotel again.

We ventured out for dinner. I decided to buy some spring rolls from a Muslim seller and as she only had that and a pack of doughnuts left, she gave me the doughnuts for free. Thank you, kind lady. I had a couple each of spring rolls and doughnuts for dinner and that was it. More shopping was done after dinner.

Monday, 9 November 2015

I had another poor night. Hardly slept a wink. Bloody hell. Had breakfast before 0900 and went out to the market alone. I already had what I wanted to buy in mind. First stop was the cotton material stall. I managed to buy 4 out 5 material that Akak wanted. I threw in another one of my own choosing. Next stop was at a stall selling drawstring pouches and the next stop was another stall selling medium-sized satin drawstring pouches. After getting those bought and out of the way, I went to find souvenir for myself: buffalo-horn necklaces. I found what I wanted quickly enough but had to change money into Dong as the stall only accepted either VND or USD. It was then when I discovered that there’s a bank/moneychanger in the market! I’d never come across it before. After that, I walked around the area of the market selling food and of all the stalls there, found one selling dates (Egyptian ones). Dad wanted me to buy some should I come across one such stall.

I returned to the hotel laden with the purchases and finished packing.

We ventured out for lunch at almost 2 pm and had Thai vermicelli soup at a vegetarian restaurant.

We stayed in the rest of the evening. I caught up on my sleep. Aunt reminisced on the old days (she and Mummy and two other aunts were adopted by one kind highly respected Domestic Science teacher) and I shed tears as I listened. Mummy may be gone but her memory lives on.

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

I showered before performing Suboh prayers. We went down for breakfast at 0745 and checked out an hour later. I had insisted that we take the bus back to the airport so I helped to steer my aunt’s new suitcase and dragged my suitcase behind. The duffel I placed on my suitcase fell and I tripped over my suitcase and fell down like a sack of potatoes just before we crossed over to the bus station. So near and yet so far, eh. At least I didn’t fall down in the middle of the road. We had help from kind locals who helped us haul our suitcases up and down the bus at the bus station and airport respectively.

We reached the airport at 0940 and dropped off our heavy bags. Then we went in for immigration and security clearance. The flight was quite full. There was a bit of turbulence and we were due to land at 1350 when we felt the plane lift up again and ascend instead. The pilot then announced that the bad weather at KLIA didn’t allow us to land so we had to circle overhead for 20 minutes before getting the go ahead from the control tower. Alhamdulillah.

I will definitely visit Saigon again if I have the rezeki, insyaAllah. But I doubt it will be anytime soon.

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!