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Showing posts with the label KH

Vincent

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Some months back, we bought some early bird tickets to Van Gogh Alive at Pavilion Bukit Jalil. After Chap Goh Meh, we just tried our luck to walk-in, and luckily we managed to get in. The exhibition is basically a multimedia art installation of the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh. Through the use of high tech projectors, we were able to see how his art evolved over the years together with his mental state. There were also some physical exhibitions, like a mock up of his "Bedroom in Arles", and also a field of sunflowers which he was so fascinated with. Although it happened more than a year ago, but I still remember that I showed my black face to KH for being a lacklustre Instagram hubby. Hmmph! 

Wilayah Walkabout

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February 1st is Federal Territory Day, a holiday which commemorates the transfer of Kuala Lumpur to the control of the Federal Government. Prior to 1974, Kuala Lumpur was under the governance of the Selangor State Government. KH and I took the opportunity to paktor  at Petaling Street, the historic heart of Kuala Lumpur. Had no idea about lunch options, so we were lucky that the lady boss from Wu Li Tou Drunken Clam Noodles was very persuasive. The stir-fried noodles were quite flavourful with decent wok qi .  The restaurant was at Jalan Sultan, just a stone's throw away from REXKL, the old Rex Theatre. The theatre was rejuvenated into community and arts hub, and also houses a very Instagram-able BookXcess. The place has the feel of a bookstore maze. There's a food court on the ground floor, with some hipster cafes as well. Further down the road, we found a tong sui shop with some great options called Zhaoji Desserts . The ginger milk pudding comes with a mini hourglass to ti

XVI

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Sixteen years together is no easy feat. Although KH and I had already spent so many years together, we can still say silly things to each other. Poke fun at each other about subjects that have origins from when we started dating. Our inside jokes. Does it mean that we have not progressed? I would like to think that we still maintain the same innocent love that we have for each other. To mark the occasion, we had a wonderful lunch at Entier French Dining located in Alila Bangsar. We had a table with a view, and the natural light really makes the food porn photos pop. A memorable dining experience complete with anniversary cake compliments of the restaurant.  Mei and MiniMei were in town, so we took the opportunity to catch up with them at Chye Seng Foo Coffee in Cheras. Perhaps MiniMei was exhausted from all the social events that her momma dragged her too, so she was a bit sulky. Nothing a little bacon fries couldn't solve. With Mei, she updated us on her situationship and life b

Sore in Surabaya V: CityChill

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With not much planned for the day, we had a leisurely breakfast buffet at the hotel, and later did some exploring of the grounds. One could really wear a tuxedo with pin tails, pair it with a top hat and walking stick, and not look out of place at The Majapahit. But then, you could be mistaken for a poltergeist. My favourite spot is the Cafe 1910 with its grand stained glass windows, and antique furnishing. Too bad we didn't have time for the pool.  Later in the morning, we took a Grab to Masjid Cheng Hoo , a Chinese-Muslim mosque that looks like a Taoist temple with its red Pagoda-like design. Its namesake is Admiral Cheng Ho, who had traveled to the  Malay Archipelago to trade and spread Islam. The mosque is actually pretty small and located behind a basketball court ( many Chinese temples in villages also have a basketball court ), so we were quite baffled when the Grab driver told us that we had arrived. Finished looking around in less than 30 minutes, and we were off to Raja T

Sore in Surabaya IV: Incredible Ijen

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At midnight, Pak Sulaiman drove us out to Paltuding , which is the nearest stop to the Ijen crater. For 2 hours he navigated pitch dark roads, while we dozed in and out of sleep at the backseat. Unlike Bromo, there isn't much decent infrastructure in the vicinity of Ijen, hence tourists have to stay at Bondowoso.  Everyone would wait at the many waroeng s near the carpark, sipping thick local coffee. Met up with our local guide who gave us a couple of 3M respirator masks, and headlamps for our impending trek into the sulphur fumes of Ijen. The hike up was 4KM over a tarred road. Our guide knew every bend of the road, and would update us about how easy or difficult the upcoming stretch was. Such intimate knowledge was picked up from his decades of mining sulphur in Ijen. His shoulders are scarred from carrying 70kg baskets of sulphur in and out of the crater daily. If your legs fail you, you cam pay to use modified carts ( the locals call it 'medicine for the knees' ) that t

Sore in Surabaya III: Beautiful Bromo

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Pak Sulaiman navigated a slew of dark and winding roads to get us to Bromo. Lots of hotels and amenities in the area. The altitude is high, and its so cold that we could see our breath. Our guide is actually from thereabouts. Checked in to the Cafe Lava Hostel at dinner time. Lugged our luggage up a steep flight of stairs, jumped into the shower with its gas powered water heater, and put on our warmest jammies. Sauntered down to the hotel's cafe for a simple dinner of vegetable soup and coffee. Wake up call was at 2:30AM where there was a line of jeeps waiting to take tourists to Bromo to catch the sunrise. At around 3:40 AM, we arrived at a rest area with a lot warungs . Sitting on low stools, we huddled around a small charcoal hearth to keep warm. A lady served us banana fritters and hot coffee. While waiting for the cue to go, we chatted with a Malaysia couple who were in the same warung . Although I was pissed with Batik Air for transit fiasco,  the couple had it way worse with

Sore in Surabaya II: Very Wet

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Woke up puffy-eyed and sleepy for breakfast at 6:00 AM. Finally had a good view of the surroundings at Yanti Homestay. The place is a cluster of rooms with common areas and a warung at the front. After our simple breakfast of a sandwich, omelette, and weak coffee, Pak Sulaiman met up with us with a clove cigarette in hand. One look at the shoes that we were wearing, he shook his head and told us to change into slippers. Together with a local guide, we walked a short distance to the Tumpak Sewu viewing deck. In the Javanese language, Tumpak Sewu means "a thousand waterfalls", and it's really breathtaking. Water flows down 120 meters over a semi-circular gorge with Mount Semeru in the background.   The real adventure began with our descent to the foot of the falls.  One would think that such a beautiful nature spot would be under the governance of park authorities, but in actual fact it's all maintained by locals. The path down was a mixture of trails, bamboo paths, r

Sore in Surabaya I: Terrible Transit

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Remember my cancelled trip to Danang due to well-timed cyclone? To make up for that, KH arranged a trip to Surabaya at the end of November. The itinerary included waterfalls, and volcanoes. Nothing too strenuous he assured me. The night before our departure, KH notified me of some bad news. Surely it wasn't another cyclone! Batik Air had chopped our direct flight to Surabaya into a transit at Jakarta! Because of that, our arrival would be late, making our schedule a little more hectic. The check-in queue at the airport wasn't too bad. And there was small consolation of a check-in cutie in my line of sight. Tall Thai boy from the looks of it. Pretty good leg room on the Batik Air flight, and we were given a cheese bun, and a muffin. At 4PM+7, we landed at Terminal 3 of Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Thinking back, it was 19 years since my last visit, and that terminal didn't exist back then. Pretty large and empty, and for some reason the airport authority has a th

B42 x KH

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Bear with me, this post is still on the topic of my 42nd birthday ( and my 43rd birthday ain't very far away lol ). Dearest KH planned a day out with me, just the two of us. He chose Lalaport BBCC because of the "teamLab: Resonating Microcosms:" art installation. Lalaport busier than usual that day because people were lining up to purchase Westlife concert tickets. The line started all the way in the middle of the mall right out to WoW Plaze where some were under the sun. Thought that concert ticketing is fully online these days. Wonder if it helps to deter scalpers. Funny thing was, the people who were queuing looked way too young for Westlife. Curious.  Before lunch, we headed up to the rooftop get sunburned. The recommended timing for the teamLab thing-y is in the evening, but we weren't particular about it. In the sun, it's a practically a field of shiny chrome Weebles that trigger sounds when you rock them. But I was also reminded of a field of metallic Xenom

Tater In Town: The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything

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Tater was in town again for 'work' and more importantly to spend time with friends! Impeccable timing as well because my 42nd birthday was coming up. Celebrated with a little 'pool party' at the Westin ( Tater missed the cute boys at the front desk ). Thank goodness for the awesome weather and sexy trunks. Our dinner plans were at Lai Ching Yuen , Grand Millennium Hotel. Realized that we seldom have Chinese food with Tater although he's such a rice queen. The restaurant was so empty that it felt like we had booked the whole place. Birthday boozing and coffee session was sponsored by Tater at 443 Bar Lounge .  Great ambience. When I got home and opened the present from Tater, I was wow-ed by the strappy harness style underwear that he got. Definitely need to shave before rocking that pair! Note: Sorry Tater for disrupting your diet plans!

Majestic: Epilogue

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The next morning, we freshened up and headed down for the buffet breakfast. Bumped into the same posse of geilous from yesterday. Once we had our fill, we walked over to the KTM building to admire its neo-Mughal architecture and do some cam-whoring. With nothing much left to do, we packed up, and checked out. Heard good things about Bray , so we gave it a try. Located at the quiet Menara See Hoy Chan, it would seem that they subsist on business from the developer's corporate office staff. The Seafood Stew with Saffron was pretty good (the pesto pairing a bit bizarre), but the ten sen face from the cashier really spoiled our appetite. Not impressed with the expensive almond hazelnut croissant. Unlikely that we would be making a repeat visit.  Waffles was next on our list, so we went looking for If Only . The location was a bit weird, so we had to double back a bit before we successfully found it. Our server was really friendly and she commented that KH and I looked like twins. That

Merry Majestic

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Both KH and I were looking forward to our first overseas trip in a long time. We didn't brave that hellish passport renewal queue at Jalan Duta for nothing. Our tickets to Danang were for the 27th of September. Packed my bags, and ordered my Grab. But it was not to be. Super Typhoon Karding left the Philippines and made its way across the South China Sea, turning into Typhoon Noru. Noru was slated to make landfall at Danang on the 27th, on the same day of our scheduled arrival. Of course, the airport was closed, and all flights cancelled, and our travel plans were blown away by a strong gust of wind. My Grab driver was already halfway to my house when I called him to cancel. He was nice enough not to charge me a single sen. Dragged my luggage back upstairs with a hint of dejection. However, all was not lost. The ever resourceful KH immediately arranged a staycation. Packed my overnight bag, and headed to KL with KH, dressed in my short shorts and rainbow socks. Parked at Lot 10, a