one-day gallivanting in ipoh and shopping

took a day off work last thursday to go gallivanting in ipoh. it was a planned trip for this month since there were a few errands to run and what better time to take leave when things were slowest at the office and every second felt like a minute.

the day in ipoh started with coffee at burps and giggles in ipoh old town. this place is really interesting and one marvels at how much it has been transformed into a chic and cool place to hang out to have coffee and wine. i am not talking about ipoh white coffee here. we are talking about lattes and cappucinos and espressos....but i will reserve my coffee review for another place. the coffee here was just so-so. i think the bean was over-roasted as my latte was slightly bitter.

there are a few cafes to choose from when one is here on jalan sultan yusof. there are many reviews on blogs so you can read up on them before deciding which to go. i plan to go to everyone of them here in this block of building if possible. but let us start with one first.

the entrance of burps and giggles....yes, that is the name of the cafe. this cafe takes up three shop lots if i count them correctly and one can go explore the interior of these three shops via the back lane.

this is one exit into the backlane from the shop that i entered.

the middle shop if i am not mistaken.

this is the back lane.

the counter of the shop i entered via the main door.

interesting work of art on the wall and welcoming cushions.

lots of antique stuff lying around the three shops if you take time to go and check them out.

my latte.

my pistachio croissant.....i regretted choosing this as it was quite sweet to my liking. i would choose buttered croissant next time or chocolate one.  they serve burgers from 11 a.m. onwards. besides pastry, they also have spaghetti dishes.

i like this place because of its ambience. i wish they have cooked breakfast like what they have in melbourne. it would have been cosier that way with that cup of warm latte. well, i hope someone will tell the boss and they will consider a bigger kitchen.

be early if you plan to visit at weekends. i heard there are queues. sekeping kong heng is also here on this block and i bet it would provide you a good place to spend the night in this area of the city. definitely worth checking out. i will be back.

after coffee, it was to another part of the old town- to a building that i had last visited during my secondary school day when i had to go looking for a pair of running spikes for my athletics activity- yik fong complex.

the exterior of the building has not changed much.....

and i bet the interior too remains quiet similar to those years.

i was looking for a tailor to make a shirt for the office. but luck was not on my side, the tailor chose to close his shop on that day. haiz......not really a wasted trip though. that gives me an excuse to go again and then to have more coffee on the next trip. haha.

since i was already in the area, i did a little walkabout hoping to find some plastic containers to put shoes. walking around this area brought one back to the past.

where would one find such a shop selling these weighing machines???

well, my search for that plastic container was not successful but i had a great time 'window shopping'.

lunch was back to the old town area near burps and giggles. see, i really love ipoh old town.
was so eager to try thean cun's kai si hor fun (chicken hor fun) but the stall chose to close on that day. haiz.....that was really frustrating. so i went to kong heng's instead.

my kai si hor fun and a plate of beansprouts. yummy!!! they were really good. the broth for the hor fun was really sweet and the hor fun was smooth and slids into the mouth easily. gosh, i am salivating typig this.

went next door to get chicken curry puffs, egg tarts and kaya puffs to bring home. good good good.

oh, when you are around the area, don't forget to check out the street art by lithuanian artist- ernest zacharevic, the one who drew all the famous street art pieces in penang. this one shows a packet of kopi o hanging on the door. well, zoom in if you can't see that packet of kopi o.

oh, what were the errands i had to run in ipoh? well, firstly, i went to close my bank account at alliance bank and got the rm500 i won in the star contest last year out. yippe.....finally, the money was mine....only for a while..haha...because....

the second errand on the list was to go buy sunglasses- ray ban aviator in particular........
and in the end, i got two pairs....so that rm500 was definitely not enough.

gosh, i just couldn't resist it.
i tried on a few pairs at the shop, and then i shortlisted two. took photos of me wearing the two pairs of sunnies, and everyone said i looked better in the first. but it was not the one i had in mind before i came. i was planning to get a pair of aviator initially.

so this is the pair of club master which everyone said i looked good wearing.

and this is the pair of mercury polarised aviator which is uber cool. hehe.....
the shop really gave  a good price, hence i got two. what the heck, two pairs of sunnies for different occassions and different weather.
the club master will be for less sunnier days while the aviator is really suitable for hot sunny day while driving. the lenses are really 'cooling'. i am one happy ray ban owner.

errands done....it was then to the final destinaton of the day- aeon station 18 for a movie- captain america.

it was not a bad movie and my only complaint was the numerous bullets and ammunitions used. gosh...it was bullet non-stop and one wonders how the movie can get pg-13 rating. there was no gory violence whatsoever, but the bullets....haiz...yeah, it was the bullets that i could think of. lol.

found the dvd to the journey in speedy. yippe...got it for mom and i think this movie is worth keeping. support malaysian product.

it was a week of shopping only. i also supported malaysian batik.

the two pieces of batik cloth i got from a boutique in tm itself. these are exclusive hand-painted batik on crepe (silk wool) which i will make into baju kurung. again, they are for the office of course. i love the yellow piece because of its modern geometric drawings. well, i will take a photo and show you the final result when they are done. yes, i have already sent them to the tailor. can't wait to see the end result myself.

and the shopping ain't over yet for this week. gosh....this is a big big purchase. a car!!!! to change my 2005 vios.

the finalists are honda city i-vtech or toyota vios-g. love the modern technology used in the city....but in the end, it is reliability i am looking for, so the vios wins. all reviews say vios has softer suspension which will be more suitable for my kind of driving and i believe the vios will not give me much trouble. well, my current vios which is already almost 9 years old has never given me much problem. the g variant comes with leather seats yo. that would be kinda luxurious eh? i read that vios provides better seat comfort from reviews.....so that is another plus point since nowadays i spend everyday driving. can't wait to test drive the car this coming saturday. and i also want to test drive honda city just to test the differences. dad prefers vios too and he is my adviser when it comes to getting a car.

just watch this space to know my final decision come next weekend. i will be enjoying my working week as the schedules are kind of pack....and i like to be busy.  so yeah to a busy week.

a lull in the office

it has been a quiet day at work. today is the first time i work officially on a school holiday.
all ex-colleagues are officially on holidays but here i am working.

but it is not really a bad thing. attended a talk in the morning and updated myself on some latest changes in the system. managed to complete a module i started last week.
tomorrow am going to complete some more unfinished stuff on the computer and get some forms done. so it is going to be a productive week despite the lull at the office. there might be a day of meeting in kl some time this week too....hopefully not on thursday. i have planned a trip to ipoh this thursday and have even applied for my leave.

one thing i miss about working in the office is the chance to get out and sweat it out on the field. the joy of getting wet and getting fit doing all sorts of stretching exercises and training kids and pushing them to their limits.

i still tried to make it to their competition last weekend and it felt great. although i did not see them win any medals, they had already won those that i anticipated. bravo!

and last week, my new favourite leather bracelet came by post.

it is from alexander mcqueen and it was onsale at shopbop. woohoo!!! no more hesitation. ordered!! it was so cool and in a colour that i don't have. haven't had the chance to wear it yet....but i am sure i will find occasions for it.

my rubber bracelets business is still open now and i have orders yet to be completed. this is due to the requests for certain colours which are unavailable that what i have in stock.

metallic colours. the bands are more durable than the rest but the colours are quite dark.

a few flourescent colours but the colours which i am desperate for are primary colours. i need red, black and white! gosh....i have another order yet to come and i am keeping my fingers crossed that it includes black and white and red. what i see online is not what i get.

and one some days when i am craving for ice-cream nowadays, i can always make a turn into the highway on my way home and stop at tapah rest area to get my fix of baskin robbins. haha....too bad, this side of the rest area usually does not stock rum and raisin. why oh why?!!! i want my rum and rasisin! it was fun eating in the car on the way home last friday. haha. no spill in the car....i was really careful.

the weather is great outside. i am going to walk over to the window to enjoy some sunlight now. the air-conditioner in the office is drying my skin. i hate it. till next time.

last week in kl

the whole world is watching malaysia at the moment and everyone i know with a heart is praying for mh370. it is the top news everywhere and on facebook, one can't really ignore it. i have relative of friend who was on that flight, an ex-colleague of a friend who was on that flight, and crew members who are friend of friend. the world is not so big after all.

there is nothing much we can do now, except to pray and hope for the best. waiting is agonizing, what more to the loved ones of those affected. i also keep checking for news update at every opportunity i have and really hope for some news regarding the flight.

i am going to share what i did last week in this post.

last week, i had the opportunity to attend a course in kl for 4 days ......and of all places, they put us all in chow kit!! gosh, how many people have actually been to that area? i have to say it was the first for me! well, now i can say i have been there and i am quite good at using the monorail system.

the drive to kl was a really hazy one. it was really hazy in kl last week but it rained on two days we were there. my friend said i brought the haze with me.

i had the opportunities to catch up with senior i had not met since college days and also go out for a drink with another friend at midnight. gosh...no wonder my eyes were all puffy in the last few days of the course right? shhhhh....

the hotel we were put at- hotel city villa. gosh...this could be the worst hotel i have ever stayed in. the place was infested with baby cockroaches!! i killed seven of them and let 2 escape. i also saw them at the buffet spread area. thank god no one came down with diarrhoea. the rooms were cold as well since the air-conditioning was centralised. i had to sleep with my socks on....and one stupid thing was- it never occured to me to ask for an extra blanket. really dumb!!! no one asked. haiz...stupid really!

finding the hotel was also quite a task. many got lost but luckily, i managed with the help of waze. phew! the only good thing about this hotel was its close proximity to chow kit monorail station. it was just at the junction of this road.....so off i went on the monorail everyday at every opportunity i had.

the staircase leading to the lobby from level 3 car park. yup, no lift from the carpark. it's like the clock has been turned back right??

the hazy situation from the room...and the twin towers not far away.

the blanket and sheets were really thing.....that two layers could not keep me warm at all.

there was no flat screen tv. it was just a small one still with antenna attached. really antique.

i scooted off to kl sentral on the first day itself to meet my senior and got a free power bank from it. it was a really sleek one. hence, my trip to see sentral all the way from chow kit was not a waste.

as for the other days.....3 days in a row!!! this was where i got off:

bukit bintang. so what did i do there?? shopping lah what else? i also went to get myself a hair wash in lot 10. the water from the shower in the hotel was only a trickle and i couldn't imagine how long i would be standing under the shower to wash my long hair. so what the heck, i need a little pampering, hence the hair salon trip.

lounge bottom to keep me warm

went to h&m twice. now i know where i can get my knee-length skirts for work. the fit me perfectly as if they were tailored for me. haha...so i couldn't resist when i found 3 in different materials and colours. also got myself a linen pants...yeah....nice. no need alteration. the length is just right.

a linen jacket but am not sure if this is appropriate for work since they emphazised on black and dark colour suits.
below: a thinner jacket....a single layer one. this is for not so cold moment during work....in the shade of brown.

after a beautiful and glamourous blow dry session at the salon. i really love the blow and i think i am going to perm my hair this way soon, when i have enough time to sit at a salon for a perm session. these big curls suit me to a T ;)

on the last day, i went to klcc before heading back to bidor....but again, i had to make my way to pavilion for lunch with my friend. so i parked my car at klcc and walked all the way to and fro pavilion. phew!

too bad isetan's member sales did not start on thursday. it only started on friday! haiz....just one day away. anyway, i still managed to get some stuff.

that heart thingy is a tape dispenser haha....am so happy to have found it since i saw it in the newspaper during valentine's day. this is a tape dispenser with a difference.

got myself a yearly planner at typo. actually a kid wanted me to help her look for one...and in the end i got 2. one for her, and one for me. it was only rm5. of course i have done some modifications on the cover.....stickers have been pasted on kate moss' face because i don't feel like looking at her when i do my daily planning activity on the planner. sorry kate.

kiehl's products. one jar of moisturiser for mom and the rest are mine. have to put stock in tm and also in bidor. gosh...kinda troublesome when you have two places which you call your bases.

another pair of flats from charles and keith. i really like the height of the heels so i guess i will be scouring charles and keith from time to time to get flats in different colours and designs to match my clothes. they are quite comfortable as well. phew!

picked my aunt's birthday gift from la mer. i wonder when she will be able to get her hands on them haha.

and finally, a vga adapter for my macbook so i can connect it to projector for presentation. yeah! now i can fully utilise my macbook for work. phew! and i thought i had to buy another notebook when i first got my new job.

so i only left klcc at 5pm on that last day....and of course was caught in the jam at duta tol. sucks!!

but once i passed the hill in front, it was smooth driving all the way. phew! what a course. i think i had most fun in bukit bintang and not in chow kit.
my friend also picked me up in chow kit and we went for our midnight drink at changkat bukit bintang. and that night, i slept slightly better due to the after effect of taking 2 margaritas. yummy. it helped me to fall asleep fast, but i still woke up when the body could not stand the cold air-conditioner.

it was a good break in kl.

it is back to work this week.

oh, my taylor swift concert tickets have arrived. they are worth something now eh since all tickets were sold out in 30 minutes. was really happy with my deft hands at buying them as soon as they went on sale.

no new rubber band colours to show this week. urrghhh...those bands are taking forever to reach me!! all my clients are growing impatient!! haha....i don't want to lose them of course....the excitement has to continue.

anyway, i have made 3 of these using the existing colours and they ain't bad at all right? so colourful.

ok...time to head back to the office now. remember to pray for mh370.