Going China...

The clock in my laptops is now 12.38am and am still awake while my bf knocked out on the bed like a dead frog...He has yet to pack his stuff and is expecting me to pack it for him (as usual).

He told me just throw in whatever is necessary like his shaver, toothbrush, "undies" and jacket...Cos the rest he's going to buy it there. Woo Hoo...We are finally going to China and I know he needed the break cos' he had a long and pressure week in work.

He had non-stop interview, meeting and datelines to finish before leaving to China for 6 days! Our Airasia flight is at 6am. So, we need to leave from Bangsar at 4am! So, I guess I'm gonna try to stay awake till then cos if I knocked out like him, I'll be dead tired after that. So, I rather conserve my sleep till the plane. Hopefully I can get some shut eyes in their straight rigid seat.

Where the hell am I going? Well, my actual destination is Guangzhou but due to the price difference between K.L-Guangzhou (RM 700++) and K.L-Macau (RM 520-inclusive airport tax), we decided to take the latter one. Once arrive, we will either take the bus/ train (depending on the situation) to Shenzhen.

Luckily, my supplier will be picking us from Shenzhen and as usual treat us to a BIG fat lunch...HAhahaha...We are going to stay in Shenzhen for 2 days and then head to Guangzhou for their biggest , "Premium & Gift Fair". And our last day will be back to Macau in which I hope to sight-see and visit their new Casino. Woo...Hooo...Oh and not forgetting eating their famous Portuguese Tarts & Pork Burger!

Anyway, will be bringing my laptop along...hopefully i can do my posting with pictures while I'm there. If not I will be back to my posting after the 1st May.

Ciao guys....

The Forbidden Kingdom

Yesterday, my bf managed to get us tickets to watch my long awaited movie, "The Forbidden Kingdom".

When I first heard the rumors of a possible movie collaboration between Jet Li and Jackie Chan, I was crossing my fingers, hoping it will be a reality this time.

I was always a die-hard fan of Jet Li since he made his movie debut , "Once Upon a Time in China".


I was so inspired by his Kung-fu stunts thatI even went scouting around to learn Kungfu (I was 15 that time when I started). After his breakthrough success with "Once a Upon a Time in China", I'd never missed any of his movie since then.

I was even crazy enough to watch all his movie twice in the cinema and bought his home videos (No VCD/DVDs then) and would watch it like 2-3 times a month. I even had posters pasted all over my room and a notebook with a collection of articles & pictures from newspaper! That was like 10 years back, but hey I'm still a big big fan of Jet li now (of course not as crazy as last time)...As for Jackie Chan, I was not a big fan but I do admired his stunts skill. You could say both are from different school of martial arts.

Jet li was trained in Shaolin Kungfu and Jackie Chan was trained in acrobatic stunts. So, they both complement each other like a "yin" and "yang", as Jet li quoted in one of his interview.

Anyway, cutting the story short....the stunts and martial arts showcased in the movie was really good. I have to give credit to the special effects used in the movie. It reminded me of the movie, "Storm Riders". Anyway, they even made the American teenager, played by "Michael Angarano" (Never seen him before...guess he must be new) looked good doing Kung-fu, all thanks to "Yuen Wo Ping"(The same choreographer for Matrix).

I love the Jet Li and Jackie Chan's fighting scene together cos both were equally cool with their own signature moves. Jackie was playing the role of a drunken master and Jet Li the monk. There was even some kung-fu move of "Praying mantis" and "Tiger".

The producer managed to inflict humor into their fighting scene too. But you could really see both have aged but they are still fighting like a 20 year old!

So, hats down to both of them who I think still is good at what they are doing and the best representation of real martial artist!

Though, there were hypes about Tony Jaa,(actor in the movie "Ombak") being the next replacement to Jackie and Jet li, I still think he has a long road to go before reaching that kind of stardom and ticket sales.

The verdict: Worth every penny and it's a must watch for die-hard fans. It's an overall feel good movie, with cool graphic, kung-fu stunts and humor. It is also now the No.1 box office movie in America, raking around 21.4 million beating the highly anticipated movie, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Oh, and there is a small surprise at the end too.Happy watching people.

My Long Awaited Billy's Workout Kit

Woo hoo...Today my long awaited package that I ordered from Amazon finally arrived @ my house. And, what package am I talking about?

Well, it's none other than my favorite home workout teacher, Billy Blanks. Billy who, you may ask...He was the one who created the "Taebo" workout in which he integrates classic technique from martial arts,boxing and dance moves.

I was introduced to "Taebo" from a college friend of mind who was a fitness freak. From there, I was hooked and kind of jumped start my pathway to exercise and healthy eating! 4 years ago, you could easily purchase his CDs @ any "Speedy" video stores. Unfortunately, now you won't be able to find any of his CDs, thus you have to order it online.

There's also another problem when you order his CD, they only do shipment to U.S and Canada. Luckily, I have a friend staying in West Virginia, U.S which I directed it over there. Then,I have it courier to Malaysia.

This "Billy Blanks Bootcamp" Cd contain 3 DVDS ("Basic Training Bootcamp", "Ultimate Bootcamp" & "Ab Bootcamp") with his "Billy Band" (This is a 2-pc bands for toning during the workout). How much did it cost me??

The cost of CD :RM 87.00
Courier fee from U.S to Malaysia:RM 70.00
Total Cost :RM 157.00 (Is it worth it? Well, with the courier charges it was not...)

Well, if it's not because of the bands, I would have waited for my friend to come back to Malaysia next year. I'd tried searching for the similar bands here in our fitness store, but most of them sell the single long band.

The difference between his bands and the normal band sold here, is that you can hook it over your shoes and start your kick-boxing exercise. Whereas the single band is purely for toning and not for jumping around.


How did I find it? Since it cost me so much to get it, it better be good.....And the verdict: One of the most challenging workout from Billy's range. Nevermind my sweat that kept dripping, I was huffing and puffing trying to keep up!

Imagine using resistance band to box, kick and tone....I can guarantee you that by the end of the workout, your energy is down to ground ZERO. I would highly recommend to anyone who truly wants to see a change in their body shape cos it is one of the best toning and cardio exercise combo!

...

The Myth About Cheating....

Recently, my good friend confided in me about her problem with the bf. She was crying to me on the phone telling me about her big argument with her bf.

The issue was jealousy….possesive, maybe? After hours of whining over the phone, I finally got the whole picture. It was just a simple Latin dance lesson that she wanted to learn. This good friend of mine has always fancy Latin dance (E.g. Cha Cha, Rumba, Salsa….and such).

She loves watching this U.S reality program called, “Dancing with the Stars” and practically fantasized herself performing those spinning stunts! Well, when she told her bf about her interest to learn Salsa , he practically jumped at her and said,” I can’t imagine other men touching or holding my gf!”

I was like, “Eeeer...Ok, What era are we in again? Isn’t this Cave’s Men School of Thought?” Well, I can’t really blame her bf cos he had a bad experience with his ex-gf. Apparently, while the two was dating, she was sleeping with the ex! So, can you imagine how hurt he was and maybe that’s the reason he find it hard to trust a women again.

Having said that, I still feel that each individual is different and he should have more trust in her. Or better still, he should just learn salsa with her? Anyway, I found an article about the myth of cheating by Tracey Cox....It is extremely beneficial for those who want to know whether men cheat more often than women or whether you should confess if you’ve had an affair. And better yet, is cheating all about SEX?

Myth #1: People cheat because they're unhappy at home.

If you're female, this is usually the case. Women in long-term marriages who are having affairs report low satisfaction with their marriage. For men, on the other hand, that's not necessarily the case. Many men who love their partners and have great sex at home NEVER turn down an opportunity for a bit on the side if they think they can get away with it.

In one study, 56% of cheating men surveyed said their marriages were very happy. Only 34% of unfaithful women agreed.

Myth #2: Men cheat much more than women do.

This used to be the case, but now the infidelity scales are balancing out. Why? Women cheat for the same reasons as men: It's someone new. It's naughty (and therefore nice). But there are other reasons women cite: The affair was a "reward" for being an unappreciated wife and mother or for putting up with a partner who wasn't affectionate, didn't listen or ignored them.

It was an "ego boost." (Gone are the days when we'd treat ourselves to a new lipstick or haircut to cheer ourselves up.) We're still not as blase about affairs as men—women are more likely to feel guilty—but given that studies show we're much better at lying, we're also more likely to get away with it.

It's also a myth that it's men who try to turn friendships into affairs. Most unfaithful men see affairs as high opportunity and low involvement. On the contrary, it tends to be women who push platonic relationships from friendship to love and fantasy to reality, according to psychologists.

Women get more emotionally involved and are keen to test out friendships to determine if they'd make for better relationships than their current situations. So she's often seeking a potential soul mate; he's just having fun.

Myth #3: Affairs are mostly about sex.

Some affairs are about sex and most certainly include sex because sex with someone else is forbidden, making it very appealing. But sex is not always the reason people cheat. Affairs are a way for people to get something they're not getting from the relationship they're in. It's that simple. What's not so simple is defining what it is that's missing.

In fact, oftentimes the cheating partner isn't aware of it. Some people are searching for something they lost as a child, others for lost youth. Some people cheat on "perfect" partners because they're sick of perfection. It's not always about sex.

Myth #4: If he cheats on you, he doesn't love you.

It may feel that way, but it's not necessarily the case. It does, however, mean he doesn't respect you enough to honor the commitment you've made to one another and that he has a different value system than yours. Some people are more than capable of separating sex from love and physically sleeping with someone else doesn't affect their love for you.

Generally, men tend to have sex-based affairs, not emotional or "love-based" affairs. But, the decision you need to make is whether his definition of love is enough for you

Myth #5: Sex with an ex isn't cheating because you've been there, done that.

Sleeping with an ex is the sexual slip-up people most commonly expect to get away with. It doesn't feel like you're being unfaithful—it's not as if it's with someone new who might expect the sex to turn into a relationship—right? Wrong. Sadly, this is exactly why sex with an ex can have disastrous consequences.

You might be having a shag for old times sake, but your ex may be doing it as a desperate bid to rekindle the relationship. So you have to break it off (again) and explain to your current partner why you're suddenly getting e-mails or calls from him after all this time. The chances of getting found out are actually higher than if you'd had sex with a stranger because strangers won't feel the need to write a long, incriminating closure e-mail.

Myth #6: You can affair-proof your relationship.

You can lower the chances of an affair in your relationship, but there are never any guarantees. The next best thing? Choose the right partner. Choosing the right person is more important than keeping them happy once you've got them because things like morals, values systems and family backgrounds are much stronger influences on whether someone will cheat (or not).

Myth #7: If he has a history of cheating, he'll probably cheat on you too.

This one is almost always true. If your partner's cheated on almost everyone they've been out with—and nothing has happened to make them rethink their behavior—they'll almost certainly do the same to you.

Myth #8: You should always confess if you've had an affair.

If the affair is known or strongly suspected, you're better off telling. You've got more chance of rescuing your relationship after a voluntary confession than after an unwanted discovery. But if it's unlikely to be discovered, there are also valid reasons for keeping your mouth shut. For example, some experts will advise you not to tell if your partner's not the strongest person emotionally.

News of an affair isn't exactly going to give them a leg up on that steep, bumpy road to high self-esteem! Telling is going to wipe out any trust they'd mustered up, and it could take years to rebuild (if, indeed, that's possible).

Instead, work out why you had the affair in the first place. What were you getting from it that you aren't getting from the relationship you're in? Is it possible to create that with the person you're already with?

The worst possible reason to confess an affair is to make yourself feel better. True, it will lift the guilt off your shoulders. But it will plonk a whole heap of pain on your partner's. You made the mistake, now deal with the consequences.

(This is true, my sis’s ex told my sis about his 2 affairs during their 4 year r/ship. My sis could not take it and broke off the engagement. Though she loved him dearly, she just could not shrugged off the idea of him cheated on her. He thought he was being honest and open about it before marriage but boy did he make a BIG mistake! What do you think guys? Should you come out clean with your partner if you cheated? )

Myth #9: Cheating doesn't count if no one finds out about it.

Does cheating really matter if there's absolutely no chance you'd ever get found out, you will never see the person again, you had safe sex, it meant nothing and you told no one? It completely depends on your personality.

If you genuinely see nothing wrong with what you did, it probably doesn't. There's just one problem with this theory: Very few people truly believe there's nothing wrong with cheating. Even dodgy people are aware they're doing something "wrong" and this is where it all unravels, as your perception of your partner changes.

You're one up on him because you got away with something. This makes him appear either naive and too trusting, or vulnerable and hopelessly helpless. Good relationships are based on mutual admiration and respect, not pitying your partner or secretly thinking they're ignorant.

Myth #10: If there's no sex involved, it's not an affair.

“Emotional infidelity”—deep, passionate connections between people who often aren't even aware they've crossed the line from platonic friendship to romantic love—is the biggest threat a marriage can face. More than 80% of unfaithful people have affairs with someone who'd started out as "just a friend," very often a workmate.

In fact, one study showed that 50% of unfaithful women and 62% of unfaithful men were involved with someone at work. Intense but invisible, erotic but unconsumed, emotional infidelity is dangerous, addictive and way too easy to get away with. If you're often pretending you're single when you're not; if you send secret texts or emails; if you share intimate details of your life with people you fancy and lie to your partner about seeing them, you're an emotional cheater.

Myth #11: Fantasizing about someone else means you're about to be unfaithful.

While many sex therapists will actually encourage couples in long-term relationships to fantasize about other people to cope with temptation—logic being, it's okay to be unfaithful in your head, just not your bed—others say it's risky. They say affairs start in the mind and fantasy sex can make you want the real thing even more.

The whole point of fantasies, after all, is to conjure up brilliantly perfect sex. While the real life unfaithful encounter is likely to be far less exciting and imperfect, strong images can increase the craving to stray.

(Woo hoo….now I have a license to fantasize about Brad Pitt or even Johnny Depp…Hmmm…)

Myth #12: Affairs can "save" relationships.

This is a myth perpetuated by cheating people as justification for what they've done. And it's false. Can you imagine a couple ever saying “Boy, that affair was the best thing to ever happen to us?” That's because you won't.

Affairs usually involve breaking a vow, lying on a regular basis and betraying trust. Even those who survive find the relationship tinged with resentment, sadness and guilt.

(I for one totally agree with this statement that is just plain justification by people who cheated on their partners. How can affair turns out the best thing that ever happen in a relationship? It’s a selfish act of having the best of both worlds! After an affair it is extremely hard for the person to sincerely trust his/her cheating partner again. Sure, you wish to hold on to the phrase of “Forgive and Forget…” but come on, how many of you truly forgave your cheating partner? The wounds that were cut open can never truly heal cos there is still so much scars to be seen…..

...

The Unknown Calories in Alcohol.....

Now is 9.57am, Friday, April 11 2008 and I'm having a bad headache. Too much party perhaps?

Too much drinking, Nah.... It's true I came back this morning at 2AM from my boyfriend uncle's 25th anniversary. Yup and it was a Thursday night and boy can you imagine the tiredness you will get the next day? I wish I could call it a day but work have to go on....How sad.

Luckily, my work is mobile and flexible so I can still afford a little time-off/"Ular"(as my bf would put it). The party was held at this beautiful restaurant called, "ISHq" is located at Crowne Plaza, K.L. It has a very cozy ambience and a touch of Indian/Middle East decor to it.

I was in awed when I stepped into the restaurant looking at the lighting, the flooring and the mini fountain at the middle of the dining tables. The fountain even has some floating Orchids and Chrysanthemum, which added a sense of calmness to it. And my bf's cousin, Nance who works there got us a booking of 45 ppl, buffet style. The food served was Northern Indian style.

Every inch of the food was delicious and yummy. I usually go for 1 serving even for buffet style but this was too tempting to resist for 2nd and 3rd round. I had like 3 of their Naan bread cos it was so soft as compare to our normal "Mamak stalls" (Our Malaysian road side food stalls operated by Indian Muslim). What Punjabi party will do without serving of alcohol right? There was practically free flow of Beers, Vodka and Whisky. Practically, people there are drinking more than they are eating...so what a waste I would say.

And what a coincidence today while checking my mail, I’ve got and email talking all about booze! Well just to shed some lights to those beer drinkers and just watch out how many calories you are actually consuming in….

BEERS
Regular Beer: 153 calories (It takes you 45 minutes to walk it off)
Light Beers: 103 calories (It takes you 30 minutes to walk it off)
Dark Ale: 185 calories (It takes you 51 minutes to walk it off)

COCKTAILS

Bloody Mary:125 calories (10 oz.). It takes 34 minutes to walk it off.
Cosmopolitan : 213 calories (4 oz.). It takes 59 minutes to walk it off.
Pina Colada :303 calories (8 oz.). It takes 83 minutes to walk it off.
Apple Martini :235 calories (4 oz.). It takes 65 minutes to walk it off.
Gin & Tonic:143 calories (6 oz.). It takes 39 minutes to walk it off.
Rum & Coke:156 calories (6.5 oz.). It takes 43 minutes to walk it off.
Red Bull & Vodka:177 calories (9.3 oz.). It takes 49 minutes to walk it.
Long Island Iced Tea:276 calories (8.3 oz.). It takes 76 minutes to walk it off.
Margarita: 800 calories!! (If you're craving a margarita, stick to the smallest size and order it on the rocks. Save a few hundred calories by staying away from any cocktail that could be a dessert (anything with chocolate, cream, multiple liquors or fruit juice). Stick vodka soda.)

TIPS

An easy way to cut down on your drink calories is to use Low-calorie or Zero-calorie mixers. Using Diet Coke instead of Classic in your Rum and Coke will save you 61 calories. Don't forget to ask for diet tonic or soda water.

Regular tonic has as many calories as a can of Coca-Cola. What about trying your drink with soda water and a splash of your favorite juice to save 50 or 60 calories?

WINES

Red wine:129 calories (5 oz.). It takes 35 minutes to walk it off.
White wine, dry:120 calories (5 oz.). It takes 33 minutes to walk it off.
White wine, sweet:141 calories (5 oz.). It takes 36 minutes to walk it off.
Rose wine:102 calories (5 oz.). It takes 28 minutes to walk it off.
Sparkling wine: 68 calories (4.1 oz.). It takes 21 minutes to walk it off.

You guys probably heard the stories buzzing around the health benefits of wine, but, just like dark chocolate, a small amount can go a long way. Just stick to one 5-ounce glass(And I mean 1 glass) of your favorite wine, or have a white wine spritzer cut the calories in half.

Sweet wines and dessert wines have about 50 calories more than dry wines per serving. So, too many glasses of those red wines are also equivalent of you drinking beers.

For those interested to book a place for their event or just normal dine-in you, the address is below:

ISHq Restaurants
Main Lobby,
Crowne Plaza Kuala Lumpur
Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Telephone: +603 2144 3440
Fax: +603 2144 3442

...

The Real Truth About Chocolates-REVEALED!!

I loves chocolates...but due to the high calories found in them I practically stopped myself from eating more than 1 mini piece of chocolate.

How sad!!I used to gobbled down tons of it...and i mean tons. Back in high school, I could really finished the whole 500grams of chocolate bar by myself...Serious! I remember when after my recovery from "chickenpox" , the first thing that I grab from the refrigerator was my favorite "Ferrero Rochere","Hersheys" and "Kit Kat".


However, when they started the buzz about chocolates being good for your health, I went back to eating it again. And yesterday I got an email from this diet expert, "Madelyn Fernstorm" revealing the the real truth about chocolates.

THE TRUTH-REVEALED........

1. Chocolate comes from a plant – it’s the seeds (within the pods) of the cocoa tree. It’s naturally very bitter; if you munched on a cocoa bean, you would find a very harsh and bitter taste, nothing like chocolate as we know it. It contain 0% sugar.

2. Cocoa solids contain a special antioxidant is found in cocoa solids, called “Flavanols”, which are where the health-promoting heart healthy claims of chocolate come from. This is dose related, meaning the more you eat, the more flavanols you consume. As a comparison, it takes nearly four ounces (that’s 3-4 regular size dark chocolate bars), consumed every day to promote a reduction in blood pressure!

That’s 500 calories and 42 grams of fat!So what is "Flavanol"? It is believe that it could lower down blood pressure and and increase blood flow to brain in which it raises the potential of treatment to "Dementia". So, at the end of the day, ask yourself this, "Are your health benefits worth the calories?" However, Flavanol is also found in other type of food including red wine, and black and green tea.

3. Cocoa are used to make different types of chocolates ranging from Milk chocolate (Lots of sugar, added milk, less cocoa solids), Dark chocolate (Limited sugar and lots of cocoa solids) to White chocolate (Not classified as chocolate at all cos' it has no cocoa solids only milk and sugar)

4. Is it health food? It’s not health food. But it does contain Flavanol. Problem when this cocoa is cook up and processed, alot of the flavanols are removed because they imparts bitter taste.


Recently Mars, a candy company (Hagen Schroeter of Mars Inc.) has released their new line of products called, "Cocoa Via" which is high in Flavanols and low in calories (1 bar=80-100calories).

Too bad is it not sold here in Malaysia cos I will be the first to grab it! However, if you must eat chocolates, I strongly suggest you choose those Dark chocolates as research has shown that it contain more Flavanols and lower in sugar and calories!

And bottom line is just enjoy a modest amount of chocolate serving and please don't treat it as a health benefit! Cos, remember high consumption of chocolates also=to increase of waistline!

...

Letter of Complaint to Tour Agent...

I have decided to post up our email to the irresponsible tour agent called Sedunia Travel in which cost us alot of inconvenience during our trip to Dubai. If you guys have read my Dubai experience on earlier post, you will know what I mean.

From the first day of arrival in which we got the shocked of our life of being sent to a hotel that looks like our 2 star "Bukit Bintang" prostitute hotel to the local tour operator who never did contact/update us on our half day tour & cruise!

We spent hours and days to contact the local tour agent (which was arranged by Sedunia) to let them know our changed of venue from the prostitute hotel to Laura's uncle condominium ....and yet his line could not get through. Needless to say more...this was our letter when we touched down to Malaysia!!

OUR EMAIL TO SEDUNIA TRAVEL:

Emmy, we are very disappointed with the arrangement in accommodation and city tour.

Please see the below comments and i want an explanation from your management.

• The hotel you booked was located in the red light street and it's very inappropriate for 2 ladies to put up in this Fortune Hotel in Al Rigga Road.

• The hotel service was very rude and unpleasant, they want to keep our passports til the following dayand we see no good reasons for the keepsake. I've traveled other countries before and i've never encountered hotel staff to keep passport.

We need passports to move around. What if we were caught up and we have no documents (like passport) to present? We have to insist our passports by slight argument and made us wait at the lobby area for 20-25 minutes. We had some much qualms about taking our passport and we have strange treatment from the people at the lobby.

• There were no drinking water provided in the hotel room, we ended up paying DHR10.00 for a bottle of drinking water.

• We have to check-out at 9pm-9.30pm ( Dubai time) & it's 1am Malaysian time to look for somewhere else to stay.

• City tour was not arranged well and there were no one called us about our tour in advance. We have to call you from Dubai to make sure. No effort from your agent and your goodself. Your representative agent only called on the 26/02/08 and gave us only 1 hour to prepare ourselves.

They are supposed to take us to spice market but ended up did not go due to the driver was in a rush to fetch some tourist to desert safari. The driver was not designatedfor taking us for city tour. We practically stop in few places and photo stop in the car, except for Jumeirah beach & museum. The driver was really in a rush to pick other tourist to go their meet point for desert safari.

Tasha and me are very unhappy with entire tour including the accommodation and other arrangements. We are expecting an explanation and compensation for our traveling expenses.

We hope understand that we have to face so many difficulties during our trip in Dubai.

cheers

Laura & Tasha

A REPLY EMAIL FROM SEDUNIA TRAVEL:
Dear Laura/Tasha,

The hotel is a 3 star tourist class hotel and is not located in a Red light district area. It is the general practice of some hotels to request for the safe keeping of passports whilst others just require an imprint of the credit card. We had lodged a complaint to the hotel via our operator regarding the purported rudeness of the staff.

For your information reconfirmation of the city tour & other transfers were not necessary as we have already made all the necessary arrangements with our tour operators for pick up in the arranged hotel. But as in your case you changed your hotel and only on the 26th Feb we know about it and we had a challenging task to inform our operator on time to change the pickup point.

Nevertheless as soon as they were open the next day we immediately informed our operator the change of hotel and the new pick up point at Escape Tower.As you are aware there is a time difference of 4 hours between Kuala Lumpur & Dubai.

The emergency contact number was not reachable as the designated driver had meet an accident & had been hospitalized therefore our operator had to arrange another driver with another number which we apologise was not communicated you as the change was done at the very last minute.

With regards of the flight date change Emmy had checked and confirmed there were be no penalty if you extended the date of your return flight to the 29th Feb. In addition she advised it was better for you to call Gulf Air office in Dubai to make the changes as at that time you were not able to make a decision on the extended date.

We did not make any changes at all.

I am grateful for your business and hope you will accept my apology for this incident.

It is unfortunate, but occasionally delay of responding and communication happen despite how careful or well trained the personnel are.

(PLease note the letter written in which he did not apologize and still insisted his staff was careful and well-trained....I could laugh!!)

We will take the necessary steps to ensure that such incident do not happen.

Thanks for bringing the situation to my attention and for being so patient.

Best regards.

...

My Dubai Trip-Day 4

Phew, another hectic week for me...and thank god it's Friday! Just finished my dinner and decided to continue posting my last day of my Dubai trip here. Some of you may wonder how their building looks like, and all I could say is " Magnificento" and totally unique. Each one of the building has it's own touch and flavor! It's classy and very detail. Picture this, our Malaysia proudest architecture building is KLCC right, so imagine dozen of it found in Dubai. And their shopping mall is so beautiful and ours is really nothing compare to theirs! I'd took pictures of the Jumeirah shopping mall...Tell me what you think.


















































































































There are more open over there...They even have an open beach where there's alot of "Kwai Lo" sun tan with their bikinis!





Finally after our half day tour which was part of the tour package on Day 4...we were hungry and requested to be driven to a typical local food. And you be surprise that you will find more Pakistani and Indian restaurants than their local Middle East restaurant! How cliche can you get? I was then told by their locals that the majority of their population is made out of 20-80, meaning 20%="Dubaian" and 80%=foreigners (Mostly Indian and Pakistan). This foreigners job are mostly taxi driver or tour guide! You also be surprise that pork is actually allowed there. I was told that the locals don't mind going into restaurants that sell pork but they of course won't eat those dishes with pork in it. Hmmmm...It makes you think ain't it cos comparatively with our country, Malaysia...we are more close-minded than them! Anyway, both of us went into a Pakistani restaurant and called for dishes like "Capati", Naan Bread served with chicken.







No kidding...look at picture below of what I meant soft! It was more yummy than our local "Capati"

My Dubai Trip-Day 3

Thanks to Laura's uncle who helped us arranged a ride of our life that I will always remember! The ride that I'm referring to was their infamous "Safari Desert" ride which cost us roughly RM 140/per person. The name was indeed deceiving....I was picturing, "Land Rover-camels-rattle snakes-lizard-sands-and more sands". Well, I did see some camels along the way and it was really cool. You could actually hear the sound of their feet...like "tak, tak, tak". Hmmm...how should I put it. The sound was similar to "Equestrian" horse tapping elegantly! Get my drift? Okay, good.. Anyway, the experience was way beyond my expectation!!


1pM: We were picked up at our condo by this Paskistan tour-guide that i referred to as "Ali" (Can't really recall his name..). He was really friendly and told us he had to detour to another hotel to pick up a family of 4. When he called the husband, apparently they were in a cab caught in a heavy jam. Ali was kind enough to talked to the cabby to drive him to a meeting point where he'll pick them up. So, since our Desert Safari won't start until 3pm....Ali was so nice to us and drove us to see the King's palace. Never in my life have I've seen so many peacocks surrounding the outside garden entrance to the palace. It was so magnificent and magical......

2.30PM: After picking them up, we went straight for our ride in a modified Land Rover. Before we even start, he had to deflate the tyre so he can maneuver it easily. He then asked us to strap on our seat belt and hold on to the seat handle. When, the vehicle started to move, it was like a wild roller coaster ride! One minute we were sliding to the right then left....and another minute going on top then down the hill! Ali was so expert driving the Land Rover with one hand on the steering wheel and another inchanging the gear! Do you know that, this kind of tour guide need another license called, "Desert License"? I guess with his kind of skill, he will have no problem driving in K.L. Hahahah....

5pm: The wild ride was finally over..."Thank god!" Cos a minute longer, I would have thrown out my breakfast and lunch!!!....Don't get me wrong,I love the ride but my stomach can't take it! Anyway, it was a surprise that this package also includes dinner....(Sorry guys, no pictures can be shown here...so just use your imagination!). We were then driven to their camp site where you'll get a camel ride (Only 2 rounds!), free "Henna" drawing, "Eat-all-You-Can" buffet, free flow of "shisha", and coffee. They were even serving beers and alcohol (It used to be free -flow but the Ali told us that they had to stop it cos it got out of control! Apparently, the "Mat Salleh"( Better known as English people) got themselves so drunk and disturb others who were not....). The food was the typical Arabic food like hummus, pita bread, chicken, lamb, raisin rice and etc..The best part was they even included the "Belly dancing" show while you enjoy your food. So, it was a typical Arabic style....how chic!

My Dubai Trip-Day 1

Finally, I managed to select a few pictures taken in Dubai to be featured here (trust me it was NOT easy!!). Yup, I was lucky enough to make a trip to Dubai on the 23rd February, Saturday....Well it was a business and also partly leisure as well. There were organizing a food Exhibition, called "Gulf Food" where all the food manufacturers and hoteliers will be exhibiting there.
We wanted to check out how we will fare if we were to participate at their event on 2010 as packaging designer. We wanted to explore a wider market with our service. Plus, I always wanted to see this 7 star hotel, "Burj Al Arab" after watching on some documentary channel, the way they construct the hotel from scratch. Oh and not forgetting the man-made island that shaped like a palm tree located at Jumeirah. It was truly magnificent! Well, I'll just summarize what I did and you guys will get a clearer picture. Read on....


11.30am: Boarded the plane at KLIA. It was the first time I took the Gulf Air. Hey, it was the cheapest package. I really wanted to try the Emirates but the price was a "killer". I got the package with returns+hotel+half day trip+night cruise at RM3600 in comparison with Emirates that charges RM 4800. So, you do the math! I was nervous of course, thinking it'll be full of middle east people with cloak over their head and we'll be the only Chinese. Luckily, there were some "Kwai Lo"(means Englishmen in Chinese in a polite way. Impolite or rather direct translation would be "ghost man"). The good news was their service was good cos they kept serving us snacks before and after our main meal. We were even given a decent menu, laminated card to choose what type of food we want. You can choose either their local style of "Briyani" with chicken or Pasta with chicken. I chose the latter one.






7 hours later: We reached Bahrain as our pit stop. On the screen where they show you where you are now, and we just passed by Dubai to stop at Bahrain! So, now we had to wait for another 2 hours at the Bahrain airport just to transit back to Dubai. What choice do we have cos Gulf Air is own by Bahrain and no matter what, you have to transit there.

2 hours later: We finally touched down at Dubai but there were 4 hours time difference between Malaysia and Dubai. It was only 5pm in Dubai but 9Pm in Malaysia! My stomach was growling like nobody business and I can't wait to get to our hotel in which the tour agent told us was a 4 star. Along the way I was imagining a hot long shower then jumping into a nice comfy bed. To our shocked, we were driven to some street that looks like our "Chow Kit" or "Bukit Bintang" back area where they are filled with 2 stars hotels for prostitution activities! When we got out, I asked Laura, "Are you sure this is our hotel". I was standing at the front door in disbelief....

At the hotel: When we stepped in, the concierge was rude and threw us some weird look. I looked around and saw 2 Asian girls sitting at the sofa and 1 "Kwai Lo" sitting by himself. To my left was a tiny shabby-looking cafeteria. To my right was some run-down pub with some kind of cheap music/band playing at the background. After handing over our passports, he gave us the key and asked the bell boy to carry our luggages up. I was standing there tapping my shoes waiting to collect back our passports and guess what happen next? He told us to go up to our room and he'll send it back tomorrow morning. I said, "What??, No, we want our passport back!" Luckily, Laura's uncle is currently working in Dubai at some construction company called "Zealan" . We called to check. And he told us that there is no such practice in Dubai. So, we sat stand at the counter, refused to budge and he had no choice but to give in. When i asked for our complimentary breakfast voucher, he told us he will send it to our room tomorrow. Pointing towards the "cheapo" cafeteria, i asked, "Is that where we are going to have our breakfast??" He just answer like he doesn't bother, " Yeah".

In the room: Upon unlocking the room, it was a tiny room with 2 single beds, a T.V that doesn't work and shower head that fell apart. The best part was that there were NO WATER at all. I thought every hotel should have at least 2 complimentary bottle of water! Ok, so i thought to myself that maybe water is expensive in Dubai cos we are in a dessert after all. Well, at least give us a pot or something to boil our water right? Well, there was none to be found. And the refrigerator is the best joke of the day cos there was NO snacks in it!! So i just looked at Laura and said, "Confirm.This is a hotel is for prostitute and 1 night stand people, so who needs water right?". Laura looked at me in distressed and felt like breaking down any moment. And,right at that moment, the phone rang and it was her uncle. He was so worried about us and offered to pick us up and stay in his company's condominium.

11pm(Dubai time) @ Laura's uncle Condominium: It was definitely a luxury for us. What a big difference! I felt like heaven here compare to the stupid hotel (Btw, the hotel name is "Fortune Hotel" located at Rigga Road) that looks like hell. The whole place was so spacious with huge kitchen and dining area. There were 3 rooms with 1 maid's room.

My Dubai Trip-Day 2

4am (Dubai time): I woke up with my stomach growling cos it was already 8am in Malaysia. This is my usual time for breakfast. The day was still dark but I was already searching for food to feed my hunger. Weather was cold. Temperature dropped to 10 degrees at night. I was shivering and longing for our Malaysian hot weather! I gobbled down some bread and headed back to sleep.

8am: Woke up again and got myself ready to head down to "Gulf Food Exhibition". I really thank god that we were staying here cos the Exhibition Centre is just 15 minutes away across from our condo.




Exhibition Centre: One word, "WOW". It was really impressive. Much better than our KlCC Convention Centre. Looking around, we were surrounded by "really" beautiful women with attractive features, with modern clothing! Before coming to Dubai, I was skeptical on the dressing and whether we should be covering our head with scarfs. Let me tell you that Dubai women have better fashion sense than some of us. Even women with scarfs have their own style of wearing it and making them look hip/modern. We just have to accept the fact that no one will even throw us a glance! And men over there....Let's not even go there! Most of them have either the looks or body/height. Our Malaysians are in no league with them. The most ordinary guy who works as a ticket collector looked like "Pierce Brosnan". So what else can i say? So then, before into the hall, we headed down to their Coffee Bean......










Inside Exhibition Hall: The booth design was amazing. It was very well organized with 1 side processed food, 1 side sweets and dessert and etc etc..... As i strolled along, they were giving out free samples to try. I was just picking and eating...& eating.....& more eating.....I guess it covered my lunch! I tried their local version of "hotdogs". I even lined up for some free scoops of "Gelato" cos back in Malaysia, one scoop will cost you RM 6.00! Hey wouldn't you be rushing in too?? Oh, and the surprising thing was there was a huge chunk of pork being exhibited there. When I went near to check, the guy came out and nodded and said, "It's allowed"!! And what do you know, when I asked Laura's uncle, he told us that the restaurant over there is allow to serve pork. And the locals will even walk into the restaurant that sells pork but order non-pork dishes of course. Hmmmm...makes you think doesn't it....








5PM: We were both exhausted and drained out with all the walking and surveying...It's time to head back to our condo and relax. We went out trying to catch a cab and there was no cab to be found! How strange....We continued walking like a couple of lost souls wondering around for almost 40 minutes. We were directed up, down, left and right and finally spotted a sign that says, " Shuttle Bus to Carpark & Taxi Stands". We went up to a crammed bus and were ferried to a dusty open-air construction area.

Construction Site: As we got down from the bus, we were shocked to see the massive lines. I could easily say there were about 300 hundred over people waiting for merely 30-40 cabs! We waited in line for 3 hours for our cab!




P.s. Please watch out for my next entry which is the Day 3.....More photos and excitement on the way!!!

The Post-Election Syndrome.....

As our nation cast their vote and their right as a Malaysian citizen on Saturday, 8 March 2008 which marked down as one of the most historical event after 50 years. I myself, who after 28 years of living and breathing the air of Malaysia also did my rightful duty to vote for the first time. It was a nerve wrecking event as I did not know what to expect. Questions like, "Will I cross it wrongly?", " Will I get stuck in massive jam?", "Will I get influence to swing my votes?" This were the thoughts that kept running through my head as I headed down to my assigned location @ 10.15am, which was my primary school, "Sekolah Kebangsaan Kepong Baru". Yup, I'm a Kepong girl, and I'm proud of it....although many snickered and laughed when I mentioned where I'm from. For some who are not familiar with Malaysia, Kepong has always been associated with "gangsterism" and "money-laundering" activities. In fact the case of a couple who got shot was just kilometres away from where I'm staying! One could say Kepong is something similar to America's black area like the "Bronx". But of course the difference is that people in Kepong are filthy rich but they are look down upon...... probably because the way they dressed? However, there are huge changes in the past years and not as dangerous as one would think so. Roads are wider and cleaner, crime has lessen and big shopping mart like "Carrefour" and "Jusco" had been built around there. Prices on the house has quadruple!Plus, you could find some very delicious & famous delicacy around, like our "Bak Kut Teh"( A popular Chinese soup dish with meat)!Anyhow, I could go on debating about this till dawn, which totally defeat my entry for today.

As I was saying, upon stepping back to my old school, it somehow transported me back to my childhood memories. Memories like, "Hey i used to pee here", "That's my canteen", "That's where we used to squat near the drain, learning how to brushed out teeth"! Then, my cell phone suddenly rang and my sis was on the other line, " Hey, don't forget to cross the party that you wanted to elect and not the other way around!"(with the typical Chinese cum "si-lai"/aunty accent). That's her advised...Hmmm... Anyway, as I got my number and designated room to cast my vote, I was lucky that my line was short compare to all the other rooms. "Woo hoo"....But one thing I noticed while standing there was how "cheap" the voting booth looks! I always picture it that as a solid plastic material with some red-maroon curtains covering it...Probably i watched too many Americans movie! But the one thing I didn't like was the use of 2B pencil to vote? What the F**k? Are we still in some primary school that still uses pencil to make such important decision in your life? My first thought was that, anybody can just erase it and cross out the party that was suppose to win! Why can't the SPR (The official Malaysian electoral commision that governs the election process), provide us with some pen?

Sunday 9th March 2008: I got up sleepily at 10.15am yet excited to the breath of fresh air.....waking up to a new change of government! Yes, like many other Malaysians I stayed up till 4AM waiting for the result to be announced, which never in my life did unless if I'm out partying....The result was in and that the opposition (DAP-PKR-PAS) has took 5 states (Selangor, Penang, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan) and and 2 which is the major states . Me, who is part of Selangor state will definitely embrace the change and hope for the better. I definitely would like to see more changes in terms of business opportunity in which the past has hindered my company (yes, I own a company called "Antswork Communications Sdn Bhd) due to corruption. So I do hope the new state government would do something to bring in more investor and fight corruption as well as better usage of our tax money (Instead of "stupidly" spending a whopping 90 millions on projects like sending A person up the space and called him an "Angkasawan" =Astronaut)

I was celebrating the new change @ Cafe 888, located at Kota Damansara, PJ with my bf and friends while receiving non-stop sms and calls of joy! It was also a double joy for me as i got to know that 3 bloggers who contested for the seat also won. Hats down to one of the famous blogger was Jeff Ooi who managed to raise the money from his blog asking people to contribute for his campaign up to RM120k! I have never been following his blog but is now a big fan of his! He is an inspiration to all bloggers and also to Malaysian who fight for their right....I think his biggest appeal was that he knows what we wanted and needed. He was just an ordinary person with some journalism background that speaks the truth. He even played guitar and sang songs during one of the campaign! How cool was that. I just hope he will now live up to the Malaysian's expectation who voted for him and do the right thing...

So, for now everyone is still in shocked with the opposition's "tsunami" win and is slowly getting back to work! Well on my side, life still goes on but the only difference is I will be reading more on the front page news and learning who is the new state MP!

Happy Chinese New Year

Yeah...Chinese New Year is finally here again...Wow how times passes us by. For a moment there, i can still remember my childhood new year filled with sweet goodies like Mandarin orange,and "Kuih Kapit "( A chinese crispy thin waffle like. It is made out of coconut, eggs, and rice flour and is poured into a hot mould like a waffle maker. However, this process is much harder in which waffle maker runs on electric while this mould is bake under hot charcoal. Once it's done, it is carefully folded in either a roll or triangle shape). Talking about this is making my mouth water now. Hahaha...

My parents had just spent RM 1000++ on Chinese new year goods this year. He stuffed on loads of chocolates, cookies and potato chips!! Why? Well, that's because it's the first time after so long that my sis and bro from abroad is coming back to Malaysia and celebrate this new year with us. Plus, this round, my sis will be bringing her kid from UK, which i have not seen after giving birth. So, this year i would say that it is indeed a true CNY spirit for our family.

As for the "Angpau" (Red packet envelope) part, my target this year is to collect a minimum of RM500. HAhaha....Big dreams huh? Well, not to some of my friends who have track record of collecting up to RM 1000++! So CNY is a money making time for them! For me, the most i remember was only RM 300. Why? Cos i have some stingy relatives who only give RM 2!! Can you believe that they are still people giving RM2?? And my mom will be happily giving them RM 10.....It is so unfair. I think i collect more from my friend's parents then my own relatives! And my dad called them blood sucker cos every year when they come to our house, they will gobble down our home cooked food....And when we go over to their place, the only thing offer to us is just packet drink and a couple of crummy biscuits! Hmmmm...I think i should stop complaining and start getting into the joyful mood of CNY right?

Ok, Happy Chinese New Year to all who is celebrating it. And for those who are not, well.....Happy Holiday. Enjoy while you still can cos after this is back to work again!

"Fuzing" your waist with gloss

"Tut -tut".....and i was woken up by my h/p alarm, got up feeling groggy ....went to bathroom and brushed my teeth-eyes closed, then washed my face. Went down to cooked my normal oatmeal with added raisins and almonds...sat down and read my usual NST paper while scooping through my delicious breakfast...And so this are pretty much my normal daily routines before getting ready to work. As usual while reading through some of our Malaysian politics,U.S elections (which are the hot topics nowadays...), some celebrity gossips...something caught my eyes, "Lips, not hips"! As i sunk my eyes on it and read further...it was actually promoting a new lip gloss in which helps you to curb your hunger. The brand is called Fuze Slenderize Gloss. Apparently it is said to contain ingredients like SuperCitrimax, a plant extract that helps keep hunger pangs and stop the body from turning Carbohydrates to Fat!! It was also mentioned that they have another ingredients that enable you to speed up your body metabolism and boost energy....Is that for real? Good news to people who is trying to lose weight huh....I was so interested in this product and thus went online to do some research...And found that the same company producing the so called, "slim-down lipgloss" also has been producing Fuze diet drink in which proves to be a favorite among celebrity like Katie Holmes and Jessica Simpsons. Anyway, i'm not sure whether you can get this lipsticks here but it cost you around RM 61.65 for it. It is definitely a little bit more expensive than the usual lipsticks over the counter....But hey if it really works, why not huh? You can look good and lose weight at the same time...It's every women dream! Plus it is said to taste fruity and comes in many shades like Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry Melon and Dragon Fruit Melon (sounds yummy too)....I hope it contains no calories because it it is as tasty as it sound, I'll be gulping by tube-load!

p.s.s I hope they pay me some royalty for indirect advertisement....Anyone out there? Hmmmm....

Guilty Indulgence...

Feeling really bored now cos my bf is busy with his "Heroes" marathon. Apparently, "Star World" is doing a marathon day for Heroes from 12pm till.....god knows what time. It's not like I'm against the series or anything but i prefer "Desperate Housewives" or "Ugly Betty"...Hahaha...I don't even mind doing a repeat on it cos it's funny. Heroes to me, one time is enough. But my bf wants to watch it over and over again...I guess every man dreams of having some superpower...He wants to have the ability to fly!! That's why his all time favorite hero is still "Superman"!! Hmmm....what is all this flying stuff?He is not the only guy i knew who would like to possess this power, alot of my guys friends too want to fly or jump from building to building like "Spiderman". Maybe, it does prove we actually evolve from apes?? Hahaha...

Anyway, thought of just posting up the photos of me and nephew, Tristen during Christmas day.


This is me,Tristen and my sis-in-law, Zelda...We were having our Christmas lunch before heading home to k.l


Isn't he cute.....


This is Chocolate Brownies...Really really good. Oh and not to mention those calories!!



This is normal Chocolate cake...but it was equally delicious. So, imagine us eating this and packing those extra pounds!! HAhaha...but what the heck it's holiday so i can afford to cut myself some slacks right? But really, who could resist such temptation? It's my sis-in-law "la"...she was the one who ordered both cakes...and it was just right in front of me! It would be sinful to say NO. HAhahah...Oh well, back to my treadmill again!!

Christmas bash @ Singapore (DAY 1)

Phew...Finally.....I managed to sneaked up a little time @ my favorite coffee place, Starbucks (Yeah it's a cut-throat cup of coffee, but hey I luv my hot Latte and quiet environtment!) to upload my my last year Christmas experience in Singapore. I know, i know it is a little bit "yesterday" news since we have already enter the new year of 2008. What the heck, as long as it is still fresh in my mind i might as well write something about it eh? Here are the photos from day 1 of arrival till our last day of Christmas day.


We did a quick pit stop before entering Singapore. Was hungry and tired cos we started the journey at 7pm from Seremban highway. So you can imagine how tired it was to drive at night! Of course, i was not the one driving...Hahahah..




The tasteless "Beehoon" soup!!



Filling up the forms b4 reaching Tuas!



Our first photo taking upon arrival to my Bf's sis place located at Pasir Ris.




Our daily routine breakfast @ the nice dining table....



The 3 Stooges.....



The next day, we went to the Singapore's petting zoo.....



Some animals we saw at the petting zoo....



Trying to pose "smart"....





Mankind Evolution.....


I should get an award for this...Any producer out there?? Cast me please....



We were stuck in a sudden heavy downpour at the zoo. We had no choice but to find the nearest shelter and call for help!!



After calling the zoo's hotline...the "zoolian" was kind enough to send someone to pick us up!!