Lykke Li. I like.

Sometimes you take an instant liking to a song the moment you hear the voice, and get excited thinking that it’s the latest from one of your favourite artistes. In this case, I thought it was Alison from Cranes.

But no. It’s by somebody from Ikea Land.

The same feeling I got when I first heard Duffy over the airwaves. Destined for bigger things and likely to stay longer than the typical fly by night artistes.

Love the posted acoustic version … and this … and this …

Worth a trip to Gramophone soon … rather the usual session on Limewire.

The F1 fever is back in town and I took the opportunity last Friday to join the Alphadslr group for an outing, organised by the people at Sony. My first time shooting an F1 event, so just brought along a couple of old Minolta lenses including the rare and much touted 28-135mm f4-4.5 a.k.a. The Secret Handshake, that I acquired recently. Ended up using the 70-210mm f4 more due to its longer reach.

Met the familiar faces of Alphadslr early around 12pm at Chevron House’s Mos Burger, and got to know a few more who were friendly and entertaining.  We made our way to DXO, the venue for Sony’s carnival, only around 3pm but a few like yours truly, got sidetracked and ended up along the barrier shooting the passing cars instead of entering DXO. So much for the free food and drinks.

Shooting speeding cars entails more on panning and I got my share of practice that day. Too much that it grew monotonous after a while and I decided to leave earlier than expected, especially since Katy Perry wasn’t performing as a sideline event that night. The Australian act, Strange Fruit, was entertaining enough though for me to hang around at the Padang before making my way to the exit.

You don’t need C.S.I. to appreciate this destructive lot. Love the explosion at 3:10 that even freaked them out.

Our darling daughter turned 3 yesterday and to commemorate the event, we had just a simple dinner at The Central’s Manhattan Fish Market before heading home for a small birthday party with family members. It’s a pity that her birthday always fall during the fasting month for the past 3 years so a birthday bash with friends and relatives were never planned. But still, the age of 3 is quite a big thing when it comes to toddlers, when they appreciate the company of their own little friends more and understand better the concept of a birthday party. She’s been harping about her own birthday, especially after she’s been to those of her cousins. The usual suspects, Elmo, Noddy, Thomas (or as she pronounced it Tore-nurse), feature regularly in her little conversations with us when it came to her birthday party.

So we will probably have one for her. Not this month for sure, but belated in November.

I guess when it comes to organising one, the venue plays a big part. Still looking around for a suitable location. Could be just a chalet as what we’ve been to for a couple of her cousins’ birthdays or a room big enough for fifty people perhaps. Frankly, I would prefer an outdoor park for the kids to just run around. We’ll see.

On a personal note, it’s been almost a month since my last update on this blog. Just one of those things I guess like what most bloggers go through, when the desire to jot down one’s personal statements on this virtual platform is no longer there. Blame it on Facebook and Twitter.

Short of saying I’m quitting for good, I’ll just keep things at random mode for now. Just a virtual diary to return to whenever something significant, at least I think so, pops up. Besides, a few posts on this blog of mine have proved very crucial when trying to recall the dates of certain happenings, for arguments’ sake with incompetent government board officers. Like when somebody lost her passport, not for the first time, nor the second, but the third time.

Tonight’s the night.

Till the day I walk through the gates of Emirates Stadium … I’ll be watching faithfully on the screen as you win, draw and lose, for a fair weather fan I’m not.

A trophy or two this season would be nice though. Smoke them Arshavin.

More than a week since the trip ended and only now am I able to do a post on it. 3000+ worth of pictures taken. A great camaraderie forged.

4 days of almost continuous photography with a group of shutterbugs from Alphadslr, from the moment we stepped on the tarmac of the airport at Yogyakarta until our return to Changi Airport. It was a very fruitful trip and went so smoothly that there are already talks of doing another one at a different location. Amazing how people with different personalities can gel so well simply because of a common share of interest.

Basically, Kok Mun handled transportation, Tak Wai the hotel at Borobudur and myself the one in town. Every single destination in our original itinerary was met and even a model shoot at the last minute was organised by our driver, Jodi, on our final day in Yogyakarta. We practically did almost all aspects of photography to say the least. I went equipped with only my Sony kit lens and old Minolta lenses, while the rest were armed with thousands of dollars worth of Carl Zeiss lenses.

Upon arrival in Yogyakarta, we stopped by the famous Ayam Goreng Suharti restaurant for lunch before proceeding to Mendut and subsequently, Manohara Resort Hotel, which was supposed to be the base for our exploration of Borobudur. Top-tier accommodation it’s not but at least we didn’t need to travel far, or so we thought. It turned out our sunrise shoot of Borobudur the next morning was to be from an isolated hilltop location, which we had to wake up early around 4 am for and pillion-ride a group of motorcycle gang through the dark village roads. The unexpected surprise came when we got off at the base of the hill and were told to climb Telomoyo Hill. The whole thing reminded me of the dreaded dawn attack during my military days. With the aid of only 2 torchlights, we made our way up through the dark forested areas. The groans and pantings heard throughout the climb was suffice to indicate that we were ill-prepared. But all that disappeared when we saw the ray of sunlight peeking from behind a cluster of mountains and the ghostly mist engulfing the land below them, with the top of Borobudur appearing and disappearing from time to time. Totally surreal.

Following our descent a few hours later, we headed back to our hotel. Safety didn’t seem to be an issue with a few as we kept shooting the local folks even from the back of the motorcycles.

Borobudur is just a sight to behold. I do appreciate great architecture, irregardless of their originally intended purpose. Walking around the various levels of the UNESCO World Heritage site, every single detail from the carved reliefs on the weathered walls to the numerous stupas at the top were laden with symbolic meanings. On a lighter note, 1 particular stupa had various people climbing it, in all sort of weird positions,  trying to touch the right ring finger of a sitting Buddha for good luck. All thanks goes out to Sir Stamford Raffles for bothering to have this magnificent structure excavated from its volcanic ash grave.

Upon checking out of Manohara Resort Hotel, we headed to Hotel Novotel Yogyakarta, our base for the following 3 days.

On our third day, we woke up early at 3 am and travelled for about one and a half hours to Kali Adem, a mountainous region where we were to shoot our second sunrise from. Within less than an hour upon our arrival, the dark blue starry sky was broken by the first ray of sunlight and revealed before our eyes, the most active volcano in Indonesia, Merapi, with smoke still bellowing out from the top. Words can’t describe the feeling of being in close proximity to such might. We also walked past a ‘river bed’ where molten rock and lava flowed when Merapi last erupted in 2006.

From Kali Adem, we went to Kali Urang, a picturesque area where natural spring water flowed through. With the towering trees around us, I couldn’t help but recall the old ‘Salem High Country’ television advertisements. So similar yet I didn’t have to travel to some faraway country to experience it.

Our packed third day itinerary continued onwards to Prambanan. But not before stopping by a paddy field in Selorejo, where a group of women were busy working on it. Totally unplanned for yet I really love the shots we got at this particular location, especially of 1 old woman who was the most boisterous of the lot and full of character. A few of us later chipped in a couple of Rupiahs for wasting their time being impromptu models for us.

Prambanan has a few temples standing with quite a few still being re-built following the earthquake 3 years ago that toppled them. The place was crowded and I didn’t get many good shots there. However, while exploring the Sewu temples alone, I had a chance encounter with a staff who was helping with the restoration effort and given a personal tour of restricted areas being repaired and also briefed on the building fundamentals of the temples. The crumbled temple pieces strewn all over the area basically resembled loose pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle.

Our next destination was Ratu Boko. An interesting place that deserved more exploration time given our tight schedule. The sunset in front of the place was obviously the star attraction judging by the number of photographers who had already picked their spots by the time we arrived. Not exactly the best sunset I’ve seen compared to other locations in Yogyakarta, but the surrounding structures around the place made for interesting silhouettes.

And when one is in Yogyakarta, watching the Ramayana Ballet is a must. It’s a 4-part art performance that’s beautifully choreographed containing rather touching stories based on the legend of Ramayana. Depending on when one visits, a different story might be told. So after dinner at an adjoining restaurant, we ended our third night in Yogyakarta watching it. Hardly any word was uttered by the characters yet through the make-up and movements, the story unfolded itself and became easily comprehended.

We finally didn’t have to wake up so early on our last day in Yogyakarta. After breakfast, we headed to Imogiri, a cemetery ground for the Javanese royalty. 345 steps up were enough to sap the energy out of us, especially when guided by an elderly man who insisted that we followed diligently behind him through the various parts of the compound. I could barely understand what he said, let alone the rest. The need to change and dress in traditional Javanese garbs was the main reason why we didn’t go into the 3 prominent graves of past rulers. I did catch sight of a few members of the royal family who were gathering inside a restricted area while we there though.

We then returned to our hotel before proceeding for lunch at Iga Bakar, that serves kick ass ribs. Forget about Tony Roma’s, this one is streets ahead better. The following stops were Taman Sari and Parangtritis. The former used to be the Sultan’s water palace, that was unfortunately undergoing renovation to the pool area when we arrived. Parangtritis, on the other hand, is one long beach area with powdery dark brown sand and very strong waves. Definitely not a place for swimming unless one wants to come back in a body bag. Seriously.

Actually, I don’t know why I bother posting this since words don’t do justice to Yogyakarta’s beauty. The hundreds of pictures posted in my Flickr and Facebook accounts are what I will return to whenever I miss Yogyakarta. It’s simply a place every person with Javanese ancestory need to visit to appreciate. I know for sure I need to return someday, for 4 full days are just not enough to cover the region, even if one wakes up to explore before dawn and return close to midnight.

The people are polite and friendly. The food aplenty to tempt one’s tastebud. And yes. We did eat the famous Gudeg.

An enchanting place in its own right, even after major natural catastrophes.

This Jawa Murtad is heading to a place tomorrow that I have always longed to go to. A journey of discovery pertaining to my heritage. This time around not with my own family, partly due to the risks involved at some of the destinations, but with a group of shutterbugs.

Looking forward to exploring places and witnessing events, such as the followings, when I’m there for the next few days.

• Mendut Temple
• Borobudur
• Kraton
• Water Palace
• Mount Merapi
• Prambanan Temple
• Ramayana Ballet
• Imogiri
• ParangTritis Beach

Perhaps the result of watching too many crappy Malay movies, some people misinterpreted ‘passed out’ as being dead. In actual fact, she was admitted to I.C.U. due to a stroke.

Here’s hoping that she makes it through.

The only one that seems to be treading a different line and dares to go against the mainstream.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

25th July 2009

I wasn’t expecting Yasmin Ahmad to die at 11.25 pm this evening while I was watching Sepet. A great talent lost within the Malay community.

Getting addictive this Facebook thingie. Especially when I stumble upon groups championing for causes or interests I can  relate to or simply like this particular one, archiving old pictures of Malays contributed sometimes by their descendants, mainly in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Some are truly gritty stuff, like that of freedom fighters and mystical figures, in their heyday and a few, in death. There are also a few of famous personalities and those from the political arena.

But what I find most fascinating are the pictures that really capture the poignant moments of their lives. The top 6 are a few of my favourite ones. The first 2 artistically captured, the following 3, their livelihoods, and the last one I find very nostalgic personally. The old television, most likely a Telefunken, in its wooden casing and stand taking centrestage while the children gawk in front of it.

Already contributed a few pictures from my personal collection to the site and most likely will scan a few more soon.

Malaysia Boleh!

Now this is real talent. Not one of those ‘I-went-to-London-to-record-an-album-at-my-own-expense-so-my-countrymen-will-think-I-have-talent-and-am-very-famous-worldwide’.

More please …

Based on the miniscule floor plans available on the developer’s website, I built up the new house visually from the foundation up to the roof so as to get a better feel of its potential, interior and exterior wise. The exterior view needs some touching up but at least the form is there.

Still wondering how to tackle the issue pertaining to the ugly concrete drains along the house. Perhaps timber works going over them with allowances for drainage? Astro turfing very likely to replace the ones they’ll be providing. And definitely this to take the helm of the entire outdoor area.

And to realise the dream of having an island kitchen, a good size one with ample space for food preparation and cooking, the utility room on the first storey will have to go. Should check with the developer whether it’s possible for them not to build one in our unit before handing over. I can almost see the bustlling of activities in both the dry and wet kitchens; the dirty works in the latter. An LCD television will also be incorporated into the dry kitchen.

This is going to be one contemporary-designed house if I have my way, provided the rest don’t push for their English-style decor. That’s so passe.

A little picnic by the sun decks in front of Club Islander. A few dips inside the sea for a father and his daughter. A couple of shots by 2 shutterbugs. A quick dinner at Vivocity before returning home.

Everything happened except the last. Perhaps Michael Jackson’s death earlier in the day had made these fans of his lose their marbles and dump the original day’s itinerary, heading to Marina Mandarin instead to drown their sorrows while listening to Michael Jackson in the car. So we rushed through the entire Marina Square floors to buy our takeaway food and return to our rooms to watch the Michael Jackson tribute on Star World that never materialised.

The continuous coverage of the King of Pop on almost all cable channels was enough to set somebody to tears late in the night. Not me. Somebody.

An enjoyable yet sombre day. A monthly thing perhaps for Le Cirque De Voyages?

It finally happened. Michael Jackson is dead and no longer will he be in the news for all the wrong reasons. I basically stopped listening to his songs after the album Bad came out and like many, believe he was at his peak only during the Thriller days. The man was an icon and a genius when it came to music.

• Ben
• Don’t Stop ’till You Get Enough
• Rock With You
• Off The Wall
• Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
• Thriller
• Beat It
• Billie Jean
• Human Nature
• P.Y.T.

All the songs that I love from the man … before it all started falling apart.

Rest in peace Michael.

It’s been a while since I last heard this one.

The beautiful cover of Tears For Fears’ Mad World.

Our Langkawi trip for this June was postponed as some didn’t feel too comfortable with the spread of the H1N1 virus on board some flights. So Bon Ton it’s not. Instead we settled for a road trip through 3 states in Malaysia; Pahang, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur, after knowing that the resort we wanted to go to in Pulau Redang was fully-booked during that period.

I chose Impiana Resort Cherating as our first accommodation as it’s located right smack between the Pahang and Terengganu border. The 2 rooms booked were large with their own living rooms. The resort probably has seen better days judging by the condition of the surrounding facilities. The beach was fine and conducive for swimming although we didn’t even go in as most of the time was spent binging on the local food and shopping. The swimming pool is definitely not worth soaking in. It may look inviting from afar with a waterfall in the middle of it, until on close inspection you realise that the water’s falling from the murky pond near the main entrance. Needless to say I didn’t see a single guest dumb enough to dive in. The resort’s staff service was not that great to start with when we had our lunch there upon arrival, but the surprise call from the female manager an hour later did help to sooth some nerves. The Indonesian hospitality is still tops.

It was actually my second time in Cherating and hoping to see the beautiful sunrise in front of the coast yet again, it was disappointing that it didn’t turn out as nice while sitting alone by the beach with a cigarette in hand at the break of dawn.

It being a road trip, most of our stops for food were along the roadside stalls between Pahang and Terengganu. The Ikan Bakar at Restoran Sri Gelombang had a delicious ‘Asam Pedas’ twist to the usual ones we get in Singapore. That coupled with the fresh lemang, keropok losong and durians definitely delayed our arrival in Kuala Lumpur on the third day. It was interesting how one knows which state one’s in based on the trucks that rolled by the windscreen. The ones in Pahang were carrying big logs and those in Terengganu carrying oil. And Terengganu seems like such a clean and developed state as compared to most other Malaysian states, barring Kuala Lumpur. We also saw a few Orang Asli along the road through Pahang. I would love the chance to discover their lives even deeper.

I’ve booked Crown Regency Serviced Suites a couple of times over the years but have always opted for another place of accommodation and given it a miss at the last minute. This time around it materialised since credit card bookings cannot be dumped as easily as verbal bookings. A reasonably-priced 3 bedroom suite comfortable for 7 of us, but I find the lighting inside the bathrooms rather lacking resulting in a gloomy feel as compared to other places we’ve stayed in. The parking area is also a nightmare and does not tally with the image the place is trying to portray. Great location for clubbing though. Too bad I arrived a decade too late.

The usual restaurant and cafe hopping around Pavilion and The Curve occured during our stay. We regretted not having check out the Kampong Baru area the previous evening though, as it looked interesting. A quick lunch at Shazana Pau Shop & Cafe and we returned to The Curve to shop for some things  at Debenhams that we missed earlier before heading back to Singapore.

With the H1N1 bug making the rounds, we decided to postpone flying to Langkawi and go on a road trip for a few days instead starting tomorrow morning to Pahang, Terengganu and last but not least, our food haven, Kuala Lumpur. I look forward to waking up early at dawn to catch the always beautiful sunrise along the coast of Cherating and hopefully the Terengganu crowd, especially the women folks, have come down from their high horses and become friendlier.

It’ll be another month plus before I embark on a solo trip with a group of guys to Yogyakarta for a photography expedition. A homecoming of sorts for this Jawa Murtad. Release not your fury Mount Merapi.

We finally managed to check out Safra’s new clubhouse at Jurong West last Wednesday, after more than a week of its official opening.  Funny how I’ve always shunned going to any of the Safra clubhouses before, yet find them worth visiting now upon being released from the army for good.

The main thing while we were there was to check out the facilities for Ooyah to enjoy, like the large indoor playground, children’s gymnasium and the swimming pool. She didn’t like the indoor playground that much due to the loud sound emitted by a feature in the playground and the kids gymnasium was meant more for kids 3 years and above. So she’ll probably be enrolled there when she reaches 3. The swimming pool was alright but I think the one at CSC Bukit Batok is much better. At 1.8 metre at the deepest end, Safra Jurong’s swimming pool is really meant for swimmers and not one to carry a toddler into. The children’s swimming pool is quite decent though with its interactive water elements.

A few restaurants and cafes are also located within the premises, like the Halal version of Han’s, aptly called Hanis. We have yet to check out the rest.

Strange way to go man.

The very last person I’d expect to pull off a Michael Hutchence.

Stretched a tad too much …

The Teban Posse finally made a downpayment on a cluster house in Johor last Sunday. It’s been more than a month of searching for the right unit and we almost confirmed one in Setia Eco Gardens the previous week, but decided to wait a while longer upon receiving a tip-off from a reliable source.

Frankly, I’m not easily convinced when anybody mentions that houses in Johor are worthy investments; Kuala Lumpur has always been my target. But having seen this particular mixed golf residential development, it made little sense not to buy a unit there, given its location right inside the Iskandar Development Region and handled by an established developer. Famous designers were also engaged to supply their talents for the project. When I realised that Argentinean architect Ernesto Bedmar of Bedmar & Shi was commissioned to design the clubhouse, I immediately knew the likely design criterias the developer had in mind. Add to that an 18-hole international championship golf course blended into the residences, designed by renowned Australian golf course architect Ross Watson. This is definitely not the typical run-of-the-mill residential developments that have sprouted all over Johor the past few years, where the values plummet soon after and eventually leave the residents in limbo due to unreliable managements and safety issues.

We changed from our originally intended purchase of a link house to a cluster one, since the latter is much sought-after and doesn’t have the ‘terrace house’ feel of the former. The estimated completion date of our unit is August 2010, that leaves us with more time to design the interior and landscape and also for a few to pick up some ’skills’. Having seen some of the showroom units, a few ideas have cropped up. For one, an island kitchen seems probable, done ‘Arclinea’ style by yours truly. The only issue would be transforming the garden area bigger visually with the right landscape, a trade-off against the link house. A designated spot for a big BBQ grill is also a must.

Our weekend home away from Singapore. Excited are we.

The Singapore Arts Festival is back and having missed the opening ceremony, I decided to head down to the Marina Barrage last evening to catch the second performance of Hélios II, by French urban theatre extraordinaires La Compagnie Malabar. Took advantage of the free shuttle service from Marina Bay MRT station to the venue, which was surprisingly fuss-free as the buses arrived rather fast. The only snag was the slight traffic jam halfway through the journey caused by those who decided to drive or take taxis to the venue.

It was already around 5 minutes into the performance by the time I stepped into the smoke-filled place and greeted by what looked like one giant praying mantis, with a couple of men on its back churning out some ambient trance music. It was quite a spectacle as numerous stilt walkers followed behind and mingled with the crowd. The weather was quite humid though, and it got worst once the crowd gathered nearer to the central fountain to catch a better glimpse of the ‘praying mantis’ and its followers who settled behind it and engaged in a few performances. Frankly, I don’t really know what to make of it except that they remind me of Cirque Du Soleil performances. A couple of shots and I soon boarded the shuttle bus as it made its way to Tanjong Pagar MRT station.

Hopefully if I have the time, I’ll probably drop by a few more performances during the festival.

Alone on a public holiday while Fadelinah and Ooyah are back in Kuala Lumpur with the Teban posse, I seized the opportunity to venture to the Sungai Buloh Wetland Reserve this afternoon. Thought it would be worth a trip to this rather isolated location where I would probably be able to take a few shots of some wild life, and perhaps even a detour to the Kranji War Memorial after that before heading home. Alas, only managed the former as it proved to be rather tiring walking around the compounds of the reserve. Not really that much wild life to take pictures of anyway. Should have taken heed of what one regular of the place mentioned; that the birds are aplenty only in the early hours of the morning and mostly disappear by noon. Did see a few tree-climbing crabs though, and a couple of jumping fishes while walking down the planked bridges around the mangrove swamps.

Navigating the reserve without the map supplied at the entrance could be risky, as the signs at various junctions of the reserve are misleading and could lead to one circling the same routes with neither a hint of the exit. However, there are a few vantage points offering panoramic views of the surroundings, should one need a quicker guide to it. I didn’t realise the reserve is that close to Malaysia until I saw a few familiar buildings along the Straits of Johor while at the edge of one of the mangrove swamps.

Not too sure if I’ll visit the place again, since I would probably get to see more birds inside Chinese Garden itself on any given early morning.

Nightmares are made of these.

Mr Potatohead on stage swirling a pair of panties in his hand.

A female audience holding a dildo in her hand.

Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and Samantha Fox holding hands.

And the fact that I queued in front of the cashier decades ago … with cassette tapes of these people in my own hands.

Just completed this particular kitchen this evening, for one very demanding but gentlemanly client (full payment was made even before we started work). A simple case where money is no object but the available space does not allow for me to take full advantage of its potential. Nonetheless, it’s in line with Arclinea’s image and for that I’m one happy designer.

Coffee Solid Ray door fronts and Cashmere Caesarstone worktop with coloured sandblasted glass wall cladding used for this kitchen; fully-equipped with Miele appliances.

Understood from his driver that it’ll only be used for 6 months before the client move to a bigger residence. Fingers crossed that I’ll be called upon again to design the new one.

A tad late to go to JB yesterday and we ended up visiting a local historical site instead. Besides, returning to the expected traffic jam at the Second Link in the evening didn’t seem very enticing.

Reflections at Bukit Chandu is a museum showcasing the heroic deeds of the men of the 1st and 2nd Battalion Malay Regiment, who defended the western sector of Singapore with all their might, 2 days before its surrender to the Japanese in 1942. I’m not going to divulge in detail about what exactly exist in the place as I was too busy taking pictures while the rest of the family browsed through the various displays. The fact that the caretaker warned us that we had only less than 30 minutes before closing time put paid to any personal discoveries and appreciation of the place. Nonetheless, I did manage to notice a few interesting items like personal artifacts left behind by the men involved in the battle and also an interactive visual display on the first floor, where the narrator described the events that took place during the battle. There are also a few statues within the vicinity like those of Leftenan Adnan. A few coloured hand drawings by survivors of the Japanese atrocities are quite saddening, like that depicting family members of one tied to trees and bayoneted to death, including little children.

The area around the main building sure looks spooky and the fact that the men actually died around the hill only heightens the supernatural factor of it all. Judging by a few used condoms scattered around the car park area, I guess those who went there for some ‘personal’ action during the night had no problem with ghosts and the likes. The caretaker did mention to us while we were on our way out that both his colleague and him sometimes find the windows on the second floor opened, even though they’ve made sure all were closed before they closed the place. That and a few more incidents that have ruffled them, yet they’ve grown accustomed to after 7 years on the job.

Perhaps I need to return to really appreciate the place … on a bright day with a lot more people around.

Never have I spent less than 2 nights in Kuala Lumpur, but I did this morning. It being a long weekend due to Labour Day, my earlier thoughts of us flying off to a nearby destination was put on hold upon missing out on some good travel offers. Instead, we decided to take up Fadelinah’s colleague’s offer to travel with her daughter and her to Kuala Lumpur to see her husband. So at 4 am Friday morning, we set out on one hell of a car ride with Cikgu Nurul. We reached Kuala Lumpur in less than 3 and a half hours with her fast and at times, stomach-churning driving. The fact that we started early and avoided the usual public holiday traffic jam really helped; going through both customs was a breeze. I think it would have taken much longer if we were to travel by plane, especially with all that waiting at the airport and taxi ride from Sepang.

Upon fetching Cikgu Nurul’s husband near Damansara, we headed to Medan Selera at Jalan Raja Muda Abd. Aziz, where I had one of my food wish list for the trip granted. The good old Malaysian roti canai, with curry, dhal and chilli anchovies. Soon after, we did a short visit to one of Cikgu Nurul’s relatives home before heading to The Ascott Kuala Lumpur where they dropped us off to check in.

A day is hardly enough time for one to try most of the great food in Kuala Lumpur. No going back to The Curve, Bangsar or Kajang. Just quick visits to eateries nearby Bukit Bintang. We returned to Tony Roma’s at The Pavilion for their full rack, where Fadelinah and I both agreed after the meal that it would probably be our last time there. We’ve had our fill of the place. That was followed by a short taxi ride to Berjaya Times Square, where we just had to sample a few of Krispy Kreme’s donut offerings. They’ve recently opened there on 26th April, where there was a really long queue and the first customer actually received a free one-year supply of their donuts. Another branch will be opened at The Pavilion in a few months time. Krispy Kreme donuts are supposedly the best but it was far from it based on what we tasted. The only one that I liked was Glazed Cruller. As much as I hate to admit it, J. Co Donuts & Coffee’s are better. Luckily we ordered just 6 to sample, and to think that we had actually wanted to order 3 dozens to bring back to Singapore.

By then, we were getting tired and returned to our hotel to enjoy whatever’s left of the night, like enjoying the view of Kuala Lumpur’s night cityscapes from the 22nd floor Sky Lounge before returning to our 32nd floor apartment to watch a movie. The rather limited yet tasty breakfast at Sky Lounge the next morning was followed by our usual dips in the swimming pool, before heading to Madam Kwan’s in KLCC for lunch. Definitely a place not worth the hype. 2 hours later, we were back inside Cikgu Nurul’s car heading home.

A day is just not enough.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I don’t really know why this particular video only started making headlines the past 2 months, although it happened way back in 2007 in Kuala Lumpur and the bitch is now probably out after her 2 years jail sentence. A sentence too light considering the trauma she afflicted on the poor toddler, physically and mentally. TV3’s 360 programme recently featured it and I tried my best to fight back tears looking at the kicks she landed on the totally defenceless little girl while being watched by her equally innocent little sibling on the baby chair. The maid even stepped on her with both legs, enough to damage an adult, let alone a toddler.

Ooyah was by my side when we were watching it and I really feel sorry for the victim’s parents. I sure hope the little girl came out of the ordeal without much damage. 2 years was not enough. It should have at least been a lifetime. Actually, if I was the parent, I’d bring the maid to an isolated location and subject her to a slow and very painful death. There are instances whereby the law doesn’t matter anymore.

It’s just another case that heightens my reluctance towards hiring a maid for our own home. I simply don’t trust maids to take care of my family members. Just looking at the way the maids handle their charges while bringing them to Ooyah’s playgroup is enough for me to never consider hiring one. Even our neighbour’s seemingly docile Indonesian maid recently ran away with her Malaysian boyfriend around 2 am after receiving her pay the day before. Who knows what happened during his clandestine visits.

A helper isn’t of much help when you’re not at peace with what she really does in your own home while you’re away.

Used to be that whenever we found ourselves within the vicinity of Holland Village, our first stop would be Provence Bakery & Cafe, where we would rush over to the counter and ask the staff if their wassants were still available. More than likely we would end up empty-handed if we came later than 1 pm. Their wassants are so good that reservations are usually made over the phone by customers a day in advance.

They basically come in 2 varieties, the chocolate and custard wassants. The former, especially, I can never get tired of and usually eat more than 10 at one go. That’s not to say that they only bake wassants, they do have more confections and breads available for sale but one has a better chance of getting those than the snail-looking wassants. Priced at $6 for a pack of 10, it’s always better to get at least 2 packs since they will disappear quickly the moment you reach home, converting even those who shun such stuff into addicts.

So it was almost God-sent when I saw that they’ve opened up a small take-and-go outlet in front of West Coast Plaza, called Petit Provence. Managed by 2 staff, the wassants tend to be more readily available than the main outlet. We usually make a detour to the place while en route home to grab a few packs these days.

Space Cowboy : Kamu ada lagu itu enggak? Errr … ada tik, tik, tik?

Salesgirl : Tik, tik, tik?

Space Cowboy : Errr … groupnya Kotak. *after suddenly remembering the group’s name*

Salesgirl : Ohhh … ni CD nya.

Space Cowboy: CD ini takda lagu tik, tik, tik deh.

Salesgirl: Ini dia, nombor 7, ‘Masih Cinta’. *then she starts singing it for me*

Space Cowboy: Ohhhhhh …

The freaking song has been playing inside my head throughout the whole Jakarta trip that I just needed to get the CD for memories sake. I hereby join the league of Indonesian music freaks. Thank God it’s not Kucing Garong, or else I’m fucked.

And yes … Gua Masih Cinta Jakarta.