029: Malaysia, Truly Asia (II)

EDIT: NANOWRIMO STARTS TODAY!

October 21

I forgot to say that the day before, I played ping pong with my mom and chased the loose ball, I fell and bruised my knee so bad that it turned into a green-purple continent on my flesh. Happy times.

So, today we visit Kedah in Malaysia! I actually woke up early because I was told that we were going at the break at dawn. Of course, that was so that I would wake up and be ready in time. I turned out to be the first to shower, eat breakfast and finish packing.

Getting to Kedah was an OK trip. I fell asleep half of the way and they really loved to stop at rest stops. So we ended up at the hotel a little later than the car that was driving later than us. The view as we went up higher on the mountains were breathtaking. It's a pity they couldn't stop at the views to take pictures outside of the car.

We went to an old fort museum in the afternoon however… the museum was doing some renovations so we didn't get to see much of the old fort. We got to see old canon balls which my dad thought were light but turned out to be heavier than they look! We saw some old ceramics salvaged by the archeologists and the difference between old bricks and the new bricks. Apparently, the old bricks also contained coral, eggs and honey! We also received a gift each from the museum. It's sweet and I think it's hand-made.

We then went around some small roads that led to the villages. My father really loves looking at villages and the way they live. He loves to see how much little villages change and how they cope with modern times.

We got to visit another museum, which I could not for the life of me remember what the name is, where the old monarchs married and lived. Everything from the Sultan's weapons, passports, wedding furniture, traditional wedding jeweleries and even the Sultan's sports equipment!

When we returned to the hotel, we had dinner with one of the people my father was to meet up with. It was a nice dinner but it was incredibly oily and the space was quite small that the waiters almost elbowed everybody. I feel like the waiters that attended to us were new and awkward with formal dinners. I really love the prawns and the vegetables they made, though! The place I stayed at was called Sentosa Regency Hotel.

October 22

In the morning, we had a small buffet breakfast before heading to the small roads to see the padi/rice fields. The person who met with us for dinner the night before led the way to the National Rice Museum and on the way there I got to see the rice fields; some before they grew, others where it wa plush and green. The fields looked like soft carpet!

We didn't stay too long at the museum. Saw some stuff, heard some background stories about the Keriang Mountain and how the padi culture continued from the old days. I would have loved to visit the mountain but we didn't actually have enough time to do so because right after the museum we had to rush out to of the city towards Penang!

OH! Did I mention that it had been raining a lot while I was in Malaysia?

So, on our way to the hotel we were staying at in Penang, we again visited small villages. We even got to visit one of the previous Malaysian Prime Minister's house. I was too exhausted to get out and take photos though so I ended up staying in the car, napping.

When we finally arrived at the hotel I felt like as if I didn't belong at all! The hotel was incredibly huge and amazingly beautiful. It had a few restaurants, live music nights, a pool, a pond full of koi and a reflexology path that's surrounded by trees! They even have a golf range! The Hotel Equatorial Penang is almost heavenly.

Honestly, I don't remember much on what I did while I was at Penang. I remember spending most of the day searching for this place that sold different varieties of chocolates and coffees. Ended up spending over RM$600 when we finally got there and then spending the rest of the night in bed, not eating dinner and sleeping after watching a movie on TV.

I do love, though, some things that I saw while we were searching for the place. Some signs on the roads and the fact that people mostly use motorcycles that are old and puttering.

October 23

We started the day with a beautiful buffet breakfast. Toast and pao. Delicious! My parents went back to Kuala Lumpur in the morning because my father wasn't feeling too well and so I ended up staying back with the others. We visited a junk market near a road called Jalan Kulit, which literally translates to Skin Road. There were quite a few awesome things for sale but I was really interested in old radios because that was the task given to me by my parents.

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur late in the afternoon and an hour later I left again to visit a shopping mall with my cousins and their son. The drive there was full of laughter and lots of jumping around in the car. The following three images courtsey of their son's flash photography talent~!

That night, I spent my time packing up my stuff with my mom because she and my cousin asked me to bring stuff back to Brunei for them.

October 24

Honestly, the day I left Kuala Lumpur, I didn't even get to say good-bye to my parents. I flew back home after buying chocolates for my aunt at the airport and spent the day being exhausted after being picked up by little sister.

// One hit K.O.!

028: Malaysia, Truly Asia (I)

October 19th

I flew from Bander Seri Begawan that day towards Kuala Lumpur. My eldest sister was the only person who came over to send me off because everyone else was either busy, unavailable, abroad or too lazy.

During the flight, I received the biggest shock of my life. It was my first time ever traveling on a plane when I had a blocked sinus and a blocked ear. The plane took off and as it went higher and higher, the pressure in my nose and ear was cleared. I could hear again and I was glad… That was until it flew over 25,000 feet. My sinus got blocked again and my ears continued to pop and squeak like crazy. By the time we hit 30,000 feet, the pressure in my cranium was incredibly painful. I felt like dying. Two hours with a pressured cranium with no way of relieving it even when I pressed on some spots on my body that had helped before. I felt like my head was going to literally explode.

As soon as I arrived in Malaysia I was glad for the return of the normal blocked sinus and ear. I thought I was going to go straight home however I had to wait for my mom who was stuck in traffic for almost two to three hours. My mom tells me that when it rains in the city and it's a Friday, the traffic jams are the worst. So what did I do to pass teh time away? I read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy which Peach got me the other day. When I got bored of that one I fooled around with the camera…

My mom finally picked me up after an hour waiting. It wasn't that long but long enough for me to get uncomfortable. All the pressure I had to endure during the flight had exhausted me and I was getting dull headaches, sensitivity to light and really dry throat.

October 20th

I had breakfast with the parents and was still feeling a little woozy. The bags under my eyes are super evident. My dad asked me to go with my mom to wherever she was going that day. I think he just wanted me to accompany my mom and not to help her do the shopping. I watched a bit of TV with him before my mom and I left with my cousin and his wife and child who were staying over at the house. My mom and I went to a mall while my cousin went to another place. We looked around the mall before my mom went to a photo shop and I to a clothes store. I got myself a pair of jeans and my mom ordered a photobook to be printed.

Once all that was done, we went to grab a massage while waiting for this guy who was going to help fix my mom's contraption. It was so deliciously goooooood. I want it.

We bought groceries right after and went home after circling around traffic. We weren't done there, though. We went out again after lunch and visited a shop that sold containers and cups for the bazaar my mother is going to sell in. Got some local veggies and even a corn on the cob that was cooked with open fire.

On our way home, I took pictures of the building conditions and small shops by the road.

And this concludes the first part of Malaysia, Truly Asia series!

// I should write up a draft for the next post! Well…!

027: Quick Update

This past week I've been busty translating a book for my mom. I'm halfway through I believe but it really gets to you especially of you're not really the best translator in the world. Not only do I suck at translating, I actually am not a very good speaker of my own mother tongue! Well, I guess her giving me money was why I said yes [ha. ha. ha.]

If you haven't read the previous blog entry, let me bring you up to date. I got an infection which died down already, I searched for shoes and recently bought a pair, I went to 4 museums/galleries, I went to IKEA with Peach on the first day that I landed in The Netherlands and we bought lights to hook up in his bedroom and now we're here. In mid-August.

I'm thinking that Peach owes me movies and some popcorn because of the amount of work that had to be done especially after procrastinating with assignments! So, not one movie but two! A picnic as well. And maybe a miniature cow.

No pictures today!

026: The Infected

And here we are in Holland, The Netherlands! I've been visiting museums and galleries as well as a lot of shops to try and buy clothes and shoes before I leave the country in September! It's a little silly, I know, to be buying stuffso early on but it's difficult to buy the correct one, you see? I have feet that would shame Shaq's descendants and unwanted curves that would make the beautiful Ursula want to make me a potion without any consequences because she'd be in pain just being in my body shape's presence! It's so difficult, when I return home, to get good and well-fitted clothes as well as undergarments! So I'm dishing out my money on bras and matching underwear! I'm also going to go and search for shoes my size because most of the shoes sold back home are for people with hooves more than feet.

The museums I went to were amazing by the way. The first one I went to was the Rijksmuseum, which held Rembrandt's work as well as his students (and some others) as well as some naval war paintings and objects etc. Right after that, Peach and I spent our time eating and just looking around Amsterdam. Oh, talking about eating, there's a supermarket chain called Albert Heijn and they sell these awesome cheese and herbs croissants! Deliciously herby!

We also went to the Eye Film Museum which is also a cinema. The architectural structure of this building, both externally and internally, is amazing! So beautiful that I believe I want to have a house that is inspired by it! The shades for the ceiling lights are also so beautiful. At the moment, they're showing an exhibition on Stanley Kubrick so if you have the chance, please do try to go! There's also an exhibition going on in the building next to it where the Tidelijkmuseum has taken over for the moment. Apparently, the building they're in used to be owned by the oil company Shell and they've moved out or abandoned it. So the taking over was such an interesting thing to do. Using an unused building for a temporary museum? I know it's not strange or uncommon but there should really be more of that!

We visited W139 Gallery as well. They had a few people's stuff in there which are mostly installations and video work. It was a pity that we didn't get to see the performance art, it would have been interesting.

It was an exciting week for me. Everyday, I was going somewhere either by car, train, bus, tram or ferry! On the first day I was here, I even got to go to IKEA to help Peach with choosing some containers for the home studio and search for some lights and wires to hook up in one of the rooms!

But a streak of fun and excitement always leads to the a downward slope to sadness and pain. I actually got an infection sometime during the evening in the weekend and it was so sudden that it surprised me, Peach and even Peach's mom! I had to be driven to the closest clinic that was open at night because it became worse a couple of hours or so later, so bad that I was in so much pain and I was bleeding real bad. The doctor consulted me, prescribed me some antibiotics and sent us home. Three days later, I'm feeling incredibly better. The infection, I feel, is almost gone and the bleeding had stopped completely on the second day.

// Well… peace, yo.

025: The Watch of Day

Woke up early today! For the past week I've been waking up proper late and I had aching muscles all over. I was sleeping on the floor with a thick yet soft mattress and that apparently was my problem. So I decided to sleep on my friends' incredibly hard couch. And it was almost heavenly~. At the moment it is taken over by a very beautiful guitar and a PS3 controller. Oh… And that is… I believe… Lizzy, my blue, apparently lesbian according to my little sister, hippo pencil case.

So my friend is doing a charity race with his dad for the British Heart Foundation. If you could go and support them by donating (or even just going over there to root for them) I'd totally appreciate it! Here's a link to his donate page at Just Giving. I hope he gets the amount he needs to reach their goals and more! So, good luck to the both of them!

Image was taken and edited without consent and belong to the respectful photographer.

In other news! I went out of the house today to meet up with a couple of my friends from school! Judith is an artist who works with mixed media but especially in the field of sculpture and installation while Maja was an exchange student from Poland who decided to stay in the UK for a little while longer!

We've been trying to get together with another pair for weeks now but they always keep putting it off so we put our foot down and grabbed coffee and cakes at Costa. The only reason I chose that place is because I love their lemon cake! I love lemon cake! I probably shouldn't eat too much of it, though…

Judith sticking a cake in front of me… So I bit it off~

Maja was preparing to stuff her nose into the cream to pose for a photo but I like this better!

I've been slowly falling in love with Lenka's songs again. I actually first heard her song on a CD one of my sisters owned and wouldn't stop listening to one song on repeat while driving. If any of you have any suggestions for what to start listening to, do suggest. It would be greatly appreciated!

I've also finally listened to all of Ke$ha's songs. I say finally because I disliked her songs when they played it forever on the radio, people's computers blasting it out, ringtones etc. and all these just for one song. Yup, TiKToK. However, after listening to all the songs which are pretty good, I really cannot wait for her new album. She mentioned it would be different and I really want to see how she evolves!

Ke$ha made a song with Katy Perry called True Love. I think it's quite a nice piece of music even though it sounds quite familiar. I feel like they both kind of have the same style of music.

Time for a little bit of sad news. I used to own this analogue watch from River Island with a new leather strap (since the old one broke and the nice watch repairmen put a new strap for free). And You read that correctly; I used to have a watch. Even though it was a little annoying to wear when I draw or type, it was still one of my more simple and awesome watch ever. I've asked the student office to contact me if anyone ever hand it over to them.

It looks a little like that. Also, YAYe! for trackpad art!

In this paragraph, I randomly say that I am graduating soon. I should be excited but I'm not. I can't wait to go to The Netherlands, though.

// TIME TO DO SOME WORK!

0024: Gaming Night

This month really started off a bit annoying but hopefully things will look up! I left for London on Friday last because I needed to report to the student office to let them know I was leaving the country this month. However, I was apparently a little too late. So I had to come back on a Monday. So I did go again today. I took a number, waited and when they called me out, they found out that I was a student that wasn't part of the unit and didn't need to report at all. I spent more than £40 of travel money just to be pushed away. Because of what happened on Friday I decided to feel better by cutting my hair.

I don't mind anymore, though. I got to cut my hair on Friday, ate sushi and today, I got to buy barbecue lamb ribs as well as lamb chops. I am incredibly full. And happy.

I played a bit of COD:MW3 with my friends. I am totally crap at it but it was still fun! I've a feeling people were screaming and cursing me for all the misses and making us all lose as a team!

Last night, I bought The Walking Dead on Steam. It was also the first time I started playing the game and I really love it. I've just finished episode one of the game and will probably play the second episode tonight! I wonder what other games are set-up like this?

I've also bought a game called Offspring Fling! If you haven't ever played it I do recommend it!

I wanted to continue reading books but then I forgot that I've finished the books that I've recently bought and the rest of the unread books are all in the boxes. Oh, totally sigh.

Well, it's time to go do something else!

//Like, dance and work out! Draw and do things! Be full of energy and happy!

0023: Short Stories

So, apparently, tomorrow means approximately a week into the future!

June 21

I went to school carrying two guitars because I was selling them off. I ended up selling one that morning and while waiting for potential buyers in the school's cafeteria, I decided to edit the first chapter of my book/novel to see what I could do better.

No one came to buy the second guitar so I went off to start invigilating the degree show exhibition. I completely forgot that I was suposed to print something out for a friend of mine that was needed for the next day.

So, after invigilating, I walked all the way home, up the hill, carrying my bags. As soon as I stepped into my room I remembered. I was torn between printing out for my friend or leaving it and E-mailing her to say that I forgot.

I ended up going down the hill in the rain. I went to scholl to print the form out but turned out that the computer rooms were locked. I called two friends who couldn't pick up and when I called the third, I was absolutely drenched. My friend had a printer, I printed, thanked and walked home again in the rain.

June 22

In the morning, I woke up early. I've been waking up early for a couple of weeks now that it became like clockwork to just stay awake. I waited for some people in the morning who were going to come over to pick up my friend's boxes for the cargo and her form which I printed out yesterday. There was only one man who came to pick up the boxes and form. The man arrived at noon.

A couple of hours later, I went to school to take down the exhibition which had lasted for a week. I helped to take things apart and clear some space. I also picked up my results. I received a Second Class (Lower Division).

I went home a couple of hours later.

June 23

I went out to town to grab lunch but ended up buying drinks for a barbecue that was going to happen in the afternoon. I also had a quick stop at Starbucks and had a panini as well as a caramel frap. They were both delicious!

I grabbed a taxi to go to my friend's house who was holding the barbecue and found out a little too late that her house wasn't really that far from the school. It could have easily taken me less than half an hour to walk to her house but now that I know… The next time she ever invites me again, I'll know where to go. I had a good lunch, a few good drinks, mingled and watched an undersea documentary as well as the first few minutes of The Artist.

I went home, filled the bathtub with hot water and submerged into the depth of heated happiness while watching a movie on the laptop.

June 24

I spent today reading a book as well as having lunch with Maja, a Polish exchange student who I've been friends with since the second semester of the academic year. After the lunch, we went to a park and talked about random stuff. The wind was so cold and Maja had to leave.

I stayed behind to read more of the book. The day was still light then but the wind forced me to pack up and leave.

June 25

I spent the whole fucking day cleaning the house. All three fucking floors after disassemblling furniture.

June 26

People from the British Heart Foundation came in the morning to pick up some furniture I donated to them. They took most away but left the rest in my house because they weren't in acceptable condition even though you could still use them. They will not accept painted chips etc. only becuase it would be difficult for them to sell them. It ended up adding more to my stress.

The weather didn't help either so I went to sleep in the afternoon. I woke up in the evening, ate lunch and dinner, received a phonecall from a friend in which I asked for a favor and she agreed. I went to sleep again.

June 27

This is today!

I woke up from a very bad nightmare and decided that the way I could get rid of it was to run up and down the stairs, which I did. I also did squat jumps. My friend came over to help move my stuff to my other friends' house. We made a second trip to put stuff in the dump or recycling center and then drop more at my friends' house. I went home to shower and rushed to the train station.

I watched the movie Prometheus with a friend of mine and ate at Old Town Restaurant where I call the boss of the place Uncle. We caught a train after half an hour sitting in the restaurant with a full tummy and I got to rant to my friend. I feel sorry for her to hear what I have to say but she was surprised at the person I was talking about herself.

We arrived in Winchester and as we walked through the tunnel, a homeless person asked for cigarettes or change. We said we didn't have any and walked away but then, I had bought take away from Uncle's place and the food was still warm. I was a bit of a distance away from the her and shouted out, "Would you like some food instead?". She said she's not one to push away an offer so I gave her my lunch for tomorrow. I'll find something to eat.

And now, I'm home, typing away.