will i am's delayed diary

Believe it or not, KH and I woke up at 2:30 AM to have sex . Our slumber was interrupted by a power outage! Pitch black, except for the lights from the motorcycle of the maintenance guy. We went out to the patio to take a look, and were rewarded with a sky full of stars. KH's smartphone did a better job of capturing the night sky. In half an hour, the power was back on, and we went back to the warmth of the bed, and each other bodies.  Actually, our room booking was inclusive of breakfast, but KH kinda missed that detail. Still in our jammies ( not tanktop and jockstrap la ), we walked out the main entrance to a few shops that were located on the other side of the access road. The Poring Station Restaurant served breakfast to the staff at the Poring Hot Springs. We had a delicious plate of fried noodles with a piece of fried chicken. The local coffee was Sabah standard ( read: diluted ).  KH and I decided that we weren't going to soak in the hot springs. For one, the tubs were

With no concrete plan for the day, we headed to Mount Rosary on a whim. Took a short hike in the blazing hot sun. Along the trail were wooden crosses used by pilgrims as a prayer stop. In the end, we were greeted by a locked gate. The locals suggested that we try the main entrance, but that was locked too. Disappointed, and drained, we headed to Ranau. Looked around the Church of St. Peter Claver ( lively youth group here ), and then headed for lunch at the  Ranau Hakka Food Court . Super popular judging by the crowd and the chaotic traffic and parking situation. Not impressed by the food and the price though. The Mee Tuaran was disappointing and the guy from Gerai Abang Sado was not  sado  lorrr. Sabah Tea Resort is the poor cousin of West Malaysia's Boh Tea Plantation. Our arrival was greeted with the deafening sound of cicadas, much louder than what I experienced in Hokkaido during the summer. The parking lot was vacant, but at least the cafe was open. The cafe gave a view of th

Woke up before 6AM to catch the sunrise. Had to be dragged from beneath the covers. Our room had a balcony with an amazing view, but the horizon wasn't very clear. We weren't the only ones up and about, our PRC neighbours were also awake. And some fella was already banging away, starting on renovations ( the horror! ). Once we were satisfied with our photos, we freshened up and made some coffee. Took a short tour around the grounds after that. When it was time for some proper exploring, I realized that the rear tyre of our rental was kind of flat! Gosh. Drove down to the Shell station at Pekan Kundasang to get it inflated before hunting for a place to get it patched. It was a Sunday, so we had to pray hard.  Made a stop at Kinabalu Park, paid the conservation fee, and pretended that I was there to climb Mt. Kinabalu. Circled the grounds on foot, and surprisingly KH was not in the mood to explore the mini trails found along the way. At the main entrance, a whole bunch of hikers

In early March, the general populace was still very cautious about traveling although most COVID restrictions had been loosened. KH jumped on the opportunity and got us a couple of flight tickets to Sabah. A mere RM300 for MAS return tickets. At the boarding gate, I realized something strange~ our fellow passengers were lugging around large plastic bags of bread! Did a quick check on Google and this headline popped up:  "Did You Know Gardenia Products are Sold For Almost 3x the Price in Sabah and Sarawak?"  No wonder. But still, I didn't verify this fact while I was in Sabah. While boarding, a Sabahan made small talk with a tourist who was planning to explore the whole state in 3 weeks. She was obviously amused. We cleared immigration using our NRIC. I stuffed the white immigration slip deep into my wallet because losing it is a big hassle. KKIA was pretty quiet, and some areas of the arrival hall wasn't well-lit. The first thing we had to do was collect our car from

For her birthday, SK requested for a trip to Genting. KH was the designated driver, and Lifebook joined us as well. Our first stop was Genting Premium Outlets. Business wasn't half bad as the crowds had started to return. It was a productive visit for SK ( no surprises here ), Lifebook ( no surprises here either ), and mum. The birthday girl settled her own birthday lunch. She made reservations at Sempah T-Farm , a private dining restaurant operating out of a farm located in the hills. The path up to the farm was lined with ginger plants, all sorts of creepers, and even waddling ducks. At the end of the path was al fresco dining area, with chickens running about, and dogs napping on the cool cement floor. And it was no surprise that there were photography spots to to take advantage of the rustic scenes.     The food came in courses, making use of fresh ingredients from the farm. The chicken soup and the prawn dish were my favourites. Some hits and misses, but overall, we would have

'Twas a short trip, we check out on Boxing Day. We picked up mum as well, as The Tribe was not done with their travels. First activity of the day was breakfast at the famous Cecil Street Market . Many stalls were not open, and it was a Sunday. Does not compute. We found a table near the entrance, and went hunting for food. I queued for Lum Lai Duck Meat Koay Teow Th’ng , while KH joined the queue for Chulia Street Curry Noodles. My queue cleared pretty quickly, and I managed to carry the hot bowl of soup noodles back to the table with my shaky hands. KH didn't enjoy my success, and gave up because his line didn't move. He returned with Hokkien Mee instead. Many of the market's kuih stalls were near our table, so we had an easy time to make a selection. I made another round, and randomly bought a packet of nasi lemak from a grumpy old lady. I didn't quite get the price, so I just gave her RM50, and I got a balance of RM47.50 back. The price shocked me because it came

KH took a long nap, but I fiddled with my phone instead. Our dinner plans were at Kirishima , Cititel. The Japanese restaurant was an easy walk from our hotel, passing by the famous Chowrasta Market. Only after we were seated that KH made a funny face and declared that he chose the wrong venue. A glitch in his memory. LOL. Managed to meet up with Pooh, and Drew2.0, who is a friends with KH ( very young, still studying ). Not impressed with the food. Got Drew2.0 to recommend us a place for drinks and he didn't disappoint. He led us to Chulia Street which was pretty happening. Parking was a bit of a challenge, but we managed to get a spot, and walk the rest of the way.  The LGBT speakeasy bar was located at a back lane, and we were buzzed in. A very intimate setting, just like a Japanese Izakaya place. Everyone sat at the bar counter ( and everyone seemed to know each other ), with the raucous bartender duo as the focal point. Didn't know what to order, so we just let the bartend

Bright and early the next morning, we ventured to Kafe Ping Hooi for breakfast with The Tribe. The place is home to Tiger Char Kway Teow, KH's top pick for his Penang CKT fix. The place is definitely maintains an old school vibe with wooden booths and vintage mosaic flooring. The Loh Bak is also quite amazing. Cutiepie's parents had invited us to a Christmas lunch at their house, so we had find a place to kill some time. Queensbay Mall was pretty close to Paya Terubong, so that was our pick. Their creative director's choice of fire-red Christmas trees is really out of this world. Wonder if the decision is related to the fact that CNY is hot on the heels of Christmas. Did some aimless shopping, and later ended up at Coffee Bean for our daily allowance of caffeine.  It was nice to visit Cutiepie's childhood home, and see how a traditional Catholic household celebrates Christmas. Glad to see her parents, and I got to meet her sister too. The hot day was remedied with cold

One power nap later, KH and I were ready to start our Penang adventure. First order of business was dinner. The Tribe and my mum were already waiting for us at Lorong Baru , which was just a short walk away from our hotel. Plenty of good food at that open air night market. Before I tucked into those Penang goodies, I started with curry noodles that my sister packed from Kuala Sepetang. Who would have thought that a pack of cold curry noodles could taste so good? Imagine when its piping hot! According to my mum, the curry is made from a seafood stock that's full of prawns! Then we started on the yummy Penang food~ Char Kway Teow , Lobak , ABC ( the syrup they use is out of this world ), and the vile Heko CCF . And it was such a small world that we bumped into Sol at the makan-makan place. We still had time to kill before midnight mass at Our Lady of Sorrows, so went searching for dessert. Mama Bang was a mistake. After we had cam-whored at the shop, we took one look at the menu, a