8 chicks and a jakarta-bandung trip

What do you get when 8 shopping-crazed, loud(foul)-mouthed, food-obsessed women travel together on the world's cheapest airline to go to the land where they think love and happiness can be bought and sold?

Utter chaos, tired feet and increased waistline.



Happynye Miss Preggers naik flight murahan...


Preggers lookalikes pun happy jugak

This January-planned trip took place on April 1st - where seven friends (three of whom I've known since I was 13!) and I flew from KL to Jakarta and went on road to Bandung. Itu namanya cheapskate - we didn't want to pay the extra RM200 for a direct flight to Bandung. Whether it was worth it or not still remains debatable.

Day 1

Having coffee at one of the rest areas along the Jakarta-Bandung highway

We arrived in Jakarta at about midnite - and our supir Pak Yanto was there to drive us straight to Bandung. The journey took us about 3 hours, with the midnite macet and Jakarta weekend traffic and heavy rain in the last leg of the trip. At around 3 am we reached Hotel Utari, Jln Juanda, Bandung. The Hotel has a nice colonial feel to it, although a bit spooky-looking. It reminded me of the government house we used to stay in in the 80's at Jalan Skudai, JB.

Thank you to a certain someone for staying up just to make sure I got to the hotel safe and sound.

Day 2

Shopaholics anonymous in Pregio

I woke up to the sound of Bandung traffic. It was so quiet when we arrived and now I felt like I was sleeping on the streets of Chow Kit Road during rush hour. Our room was facing the main road and definitely not sound proof. In fact I think the acoustics were so good that it actually amplified the sounds of the street. Dang! I couldn't even do my morning business because the noise was just sooooo distracting. Tried to whack as much cili padi as I could with the nasi goreng breakfast, praying that it would help induce bowel movement. Sorry, too much information!!!

5 a Sec, somewhere in Bandung

Patradissa Guest House

We asked Pak Edy (our supir's boss) if there were any other hotels around that are as cheap or cheaper. He recommended Patradissa Guest House (can't remember on which road) located across the city council building (Pemerintah Kota Bandung) which was just a 5-minute drive away. So we checked out of Utari and checked into Patradissa.

Rina almost bought all the telekungs in here...

Got a text from my mum, asking if I could get her a "sutera kaca but classic design and not modern design OR a purple handbag". Pak Yanto took us to this batik place (dang! tak ingat nama tempat lagi!) Couldn't find the sutera kaca. That's it, at this point I was like - PURPLE HANDBAG. Then we headed straight to Pasar Baru. Pasar Baru is a must-visit - all sorts of embroidered clothes, batik, scarves, accessories, textile, knick knacks, you name it. Still no sutera kaca. But Rina bought a dozen telekungs, one for each prayer time. And I bought Benazir Bhutto scarves, among many many other things, in preparation of me donning the hijab in the near (distant) future. Err...

In awe of the Sambal Ijo at Pak Chi Met's...

We also had the nicest food court lunch ever at Pak Chi Met's at Pasar Baru. The sambal was heavenly. Again, another catalyst.

With 7 floors filled to the brim with goodies, we spent the whole day there. By the end of the day, feet aching, we head on to Roger's Spa. Tapi disebabkan oleh kegelojohan bershopping, we stopped by at an FO for a while (Happening Boutique) before Roger's. At Roger's there were only a few spots for Body Massage so I opted for a Face Massage package. And added on Accu-Pressure, Whitening Mask, Collagen Mask and Ear-Candling Therapy and had my brows trimmed for the hell of it.


We had dinner at Popeye's after that - hoping that the mash would be as good as the one in the States (but I forgot that the one in the States had bacon bits in it :P). Food was so so, service was utter crap. Rina tapaued some Dunkin' Donuts and Sate Kambing for us to pig out before we sleep.

Sebab bilik dah tak muat, pakai corridor je letak plastic bags...

Back at the hotel, more laughs, more calories, and packing.


Day 3


In the morning we did all the FOs at Jalan Juanda. Grande, JetSet, Victoria, the works la. Can't even remember the names of the FOs anymore.

Out of all that, I made a gazzillion purchases. But one really weird one - a Burberry Trench Coat. Not a winter one though, a spring coat kinda thing. Now somebody has to take me somewhere cold... Or as Dalie suggested, "Maybe you could wear that with nothing underneath and show up at your boyfriend's door." Too much TV. Sama macam si Rainmaker tu.

We ate like there's no tomorrow at Dapur Sangkuriang

We decided to have Sundanese food for lunch (again) and had a smackalicious one at Dapur Sangkuriang, a stone's throw from Rumah Mode. Rumah Mode is arguably the best FO there is in Bandung. I completely went nuts there. We also went to Toko Diaz where they have a massive collection of handbags. I got my mom's purple Gucci there, and got myself a new Gucci red wallet.

Dinner was at Bakso Malang - just realized that I also ate at the Jakarta branch when I was in Jakarta last year. Ish. Nothing to shout about. I had Bakso Komplit, or something that sounds like that.

Sangat yummy baby...

After dinner, Ida the preggers CRAVED for another round of the Banana and Cheese dessert so we tapaued some from a nearby stall.

Day 4

It's a sign from above... right in front of Martha Tilaar was this John & Fred Tailor.

Last minute shopping at Pasar Baru - but Rina and I decided to head on to a spa. I badly needed a hairwash. Pak Yanto took us to Martha Tilaar Spa and Saloon. Got a L'oreal Hair Treatment and Hand, Head and Shoulder Massage for around RM20. Try to top that! Rina had a Facial. Unfortunately, the Martha Tilaar girl got too enthusiastic in curling in my hair so I ended up looking like a minah indon yang baru turun kapal.

Check out my Martha Tilaar curls man...geli.

Then we had to pick up the girls at Pasar Baru, but before that we made a pit stop to tapau some Batagor at Batagor Kingsley (not related in any way or form to Ben Kingsley). Batagor is a local snack made of fish paste and fried tofu, much like yong taufu but tastes much much better. No picture of this lah.

After picking up the girls at Pasar Baru we headed to Kartika Sari to buy brownie kukus and other sweet stuff to bring back. I also bought a box of Pisang Molen and instant Bandrek (Ginger Tea) for my bibik who's forever flatulent. We then went back to our hotel to pack up and head on to the Airport!

Bandung to Jakarta.

We had to rent another van just for our LUGGAGE :P BELIEVE IT!

When we arrived in Jakarta. Gridlock bumper to bumper. At times it was just a standstill. This is the time when anxious SMSes were traded. Cry.

At the Angke exit, dead silence in the van. You can hear an ant fart. We were scared shitless - what if we missed our flight? Rina would have to sell all her 12 telekungs, I would have to sell my soul to the devil (because I had no money on me whatsoever) and we would all be in limbo at the airport... until god knows when...

6 bloody hours.

It was a scene out of The Amazing Race at Soekarno Hatta. We were rushing for trolleys and finally managed to reach the airline-that-shall-not-be-named counter. Intan was the first to check in, and she had to pay excess baggage at the other counter - so she went to the ATM and lined up at the excess baggage fee counter. When it came to Ida's turn, the Sundel bolong-looking woman in red asked her to pay right there and then and had the NERVE to ask Ida to "pinjam la kawan-kawan kalau tak cukup duit". At that point I only had Rp200,000 on me. And it wasn't enough for Ida's excess baggage fee yang macam duit hantaran anak Tan Sri tu. Naja had just enough - that was also cash she had to borrow from me. Rina and Dalina were at the other side of the queue.

And then the unthinkable happened. Ida in her fit of panic, turned to the golfer-looking Malay guy at the next aisle and asked "Do you have any money? Boleh tak I pinjam dulu. Lepas tu I ganti."

The guy, stunned, answered: "Err.. kejap eh, I settle I punya dulu. Kalau ada extra I bagi you."

My jaw dropped. Aduh.. .kawan aku ni gi mintak duit kat total stranger la pulakkkkk.

I screamed at Sundel Bolong, "Excuse me, can you just let her take out her money first so that she can pay at the other counter??? Can't you see that there's a freaking queue? Use your common sense la!"

Please note eh - everyone was looking at us at this point but we were just so shameless. If I were one of them I'd just mutter underneath my breath, "Tu lah, shopping tak ingat dunia, nak bayar excess baggage dah takde duit."

So in the end Sundel Bolong relented and let Ida off the hook. She checked me in without even looking at me. And thank god I had enough for my airport tax and excess baggage. And I almost got my sambal pecel taken away but I won the argument that it is not cairan but pepejal. So they let it through hand luggage.

Singapore from my window. Counting the minutes to land in KL.

We finally boarded the plane, still not totally relaxed because we knew there would be more drama when we get back to KL. (ie. customs checkpoint). The airliner with stewardesses that looked like something out of an 80's cheap magazine landed circa 11.30 pm. At the customs checkpoint - Hana's and my luggage were checked together, two customs gentlemen opened up our bursting-at-the-seams cheap bags and asked, "Berapa hari dekat Bandung?" It's as if a bimbo-switch was turned on in a split second - Hana went, "Errr.. 3 days, eh... 4 lah.."

Then I added, with a higher than usual pitch voice "Berapa hari eh Hana, 3 kot.. eh.. tak tau la bang, kaki saya dah sakit dah ni..." Hana then muttered something really, really bimbo-ish to which the customs guy replied, "Tu la, dah penat shopping lepas ni mesti terbongkang..."

Smile. Flutter (ikut Aiz). Flutter. Flutter, although sans falsies. Smile again. Put on a damsel in distress face. Make eye contact. Smile again. Twirl my hair. Tilt my head to the right. Tilt my head to the left. Smile.

"Ok lah, boleh tutup beg." Phew. Phew. Phew. Customs guy let us through.

Rina and Dalina got taxed a bit, I suppose someone's gotta be the victim la kan. Or maybe they just need Auto Bimbo 101 lessons from Hana and I. I know Dalina should've worn that Banana Republic top that night. Gerenti lepas.

Funny, but I've never felt better coming home from any overseas trip. It was the best trip ever with the girls, and the best homecoming I've ever had in a million years.

Can't wait to do Bandung again.

sweet thang

Before I start putting up pics of our Bandung sojourn, I wanna thank meandmylife for these wonderful cupcakes last week (or was it two weeks back?).

These really made my day. Really.

Especially this one... in honour of me getting a haircut.. tee hee... Scissors and hair dryer, geddit?

5 signs i'm growing fat

1. I had a whole portion of Nasi Kukus Ayam Kampung for lunch and still have space for Pengat Durian for tea. Symptoms of perut dah mengembang. Yeah, yeah, some of you are smirking thinking about my photos on Spena's FB.

2. The only way to hide my double chin is to look up to the sky when a stalker was taking my photo. It worked.

3. Climbing up the stairs from 36th floor to 37th floor seems a very uphill task. One flight of stairs and I'm struggling for air.


4. Right after a rice and asam pedas dinner I can down an ice blended mocha with such ease. Followed by a glass of ginger and mint tea or some sh*t like that.

5. Everyone starts a conversation with me with "You look happier now." Followed by ..."Er.. rasanya dah gain weight sikit la..." Some were not so kind, "Are you pregnant?"

a solution to my headaches

I decided to cut my hair over lunch break.

It was a split second decision.

Just like that. Snip, snip. All gone.

Sorry, I know you'd miss my curls. Tapi curls tu pun sebenarnya fake ok.

a very chee-fee-bai-fai day, but saved by a wonderful karaoke session

Yesterday was a betch.

I got in the office at 8:15 am and usual browsed the morning dailies. Didn't plan to splurge on any sinful mamak offerings for breakfast, so I had a Nestle yogurt, plain. But 15 minutes later, I had this stupid craving for paper thosai from the mamak at the food court. So I finally gave in to my epicurean affection for mamak breakfast. As soon as I finished my second breakfast with Ita and Cake, I bumped into my boss at the lift lobby. Alamak. Mesti dia ingat saya suka melepak kat mamak pagi2 sampai tak sedar diri.

As soon as I got to my "concubine", my boss buzzed me. Standard lah, dah nampak orang gi breakfast tadi, startlah dumping all sorts of shitty crap on me. (oh god, i said dump, shit and crap in one sentence). Then the tough questions came, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety.... A big event is coming up on the 1st of April and a lot of things still need to be ironed out. But as my boss, he sure as hell knows that there's no use in making me more anxious about things that are not done. Boleh tolong jangan bagi saya panic boleh tak? Nangis ni tau.

At 9:45 am I was still in my boss' room, having a discussion on a media release. I had a 10am at KLCC, so I was like ... "err.. can I go now.. cuz I have a meeting in like, 15 minutes?"

Boss: What time are you coming back to the office?

Me: Huh? When the meeting ends lah.

Boss: Ya, like what time?

Me: I wouldn't know, I'm not the one chairing the meeting!

Boss: So you're NOT planning to come back to the office? *smirking*

Me: Of course I'll come back la! Ok lah, I come back at noon. Sheesh.

Persetan. What kind of statement is that, "You're not planning to come back to the office?" Am I perceived as someone who likes to skive off work? I know I'm guilty of long lunches but hey what about the long hours that I've put in? I'm online 24/7 for him and I don't even have a BlackBerry. I will even reply his emails at midnite. In bed. Thank god I don't have a husband. Damn. Don't tell me any of that went unnoticed?

Oh the above was a non-event la actually. What happened after almost cost me my life! Well maybe not life la, but would've cost me a few hundred bucks at least.

After that, I happily drove like a law-abiding citizen to KLCC, as I got into Jalan Ampang (I was in the middle lane), right in front of Wisma MCA, a brown bus swerved into my lane, without even signalling, missing the front part of my car by a few inches. It was such a fcking close call ok. I swear to god if I had gone any faster. BAMMM!!

Kimax! Saya ingat itu adalah Metrobus driven by an Indon bastard, because that kind of psycho driving is so typical of Metrobus kan... Tapi rupa-rupanya.... OH.... tidak....

Right in front of me, in black letters at the back of the bus was "Fiat Sapientia Virtus".

This almost killed me.

Bladihell!

Are they out to get me? Suddenly I remembered this post that I had written about graduates of our so-called Eton of the East (barf barf, puke puke).

I got at the KL Convention Centre car park safe as sound, thank god. The open car park was full, as expected. So I drove to the side entrance to get to the basement car park and as soon as I got there this young chap was putting up the orange cones and a sign that says "Car Park Full". He said, "Akak kena parking kat Suria kak!"

To cut a long story short, I had a field day walking around KL Convention Centre and Suria in my 3-inch heels. And it wasn't Manolos, so my poor feet was just tortured to the max.

In a nutshell - sakit hati, almost mati, sakit kaki...

I thought the day couldn't be saved, but at night we had a fun karaoke session at where else until 3 in the morning. Me likey.

Thank you for saving my day.

my medina

I can still remember the day she was born, four years ago. The air-conditioner in the labour room went bust, and a thunderstorm was brewing outside. I was soaked in sweat and two nurses had to use old newspaper to kipas me, while another massaged my back to ease the labour pains. Medina came out right after 4 pm, after a duel with death. At least that's what it seemed to me at that time. Out of the three deliveries (all without epidural, ladies), Medina's was the hardest.

And ironically, growing up, she was the easiest one to take care of. She's an old soul, she's a nurturer - she'll make sure everything is in order, very Monicaesque, very independent, and you can take her just about anywhere. As long as you've got food and drinks in tow.

We celebrated Medina's birthday on election day, although her actual birthday was on the 4th of March, because that's the ONLY time that her busy mom is available. I'd like to thank Medina's Auntie Nazra for these beautiful shots:

She absolutely adores fried chicken. Or any other food for that matter lah. Just like her Mama.


She is the ULTIMATE Drama Queen, blessed with a flexible rubber face like Jim Carrey.

Unfortunaly, her younger brother, Yunus Aynaoui is such a terror typhoon. We had to sing two birthday songs, one for Yunus la, obviously. He believes that every birthday party he attends must be his. Egomaniac. Any baby shrinks out there?

Happy birthday, Madge!

i'm no politician but...

Please bear with me, since these are delusional, random notes and I'm under the influence of antihistamines, albeit in legal doses.

Today, we celebrate the political diversity in Malaysia, as BN suffered from its fall from grace.

I am, like the majority of the people in Malaysia, a victim of the skyrocketing prices of everything from petrol to flour to my favourite ice cream, Ben & Jerry's. (It was RM26 before, and now it's RM31.80 at Cold Storage)! Oh, oh, oh... and my favourite snack, Arnotts' Shapes used to sell for RM5.29 and now is more than 7 effing ringgit. And they say we should voted for the Opposition, because the current government is to be blamed for all this.

Well, I didn't vote, because I didn't register. But if I had, I would've voted for BN. Still. Why?

Well firstly, it's because I don't bite the hands that feed me. 5 years of scholarship in the States from a BN-led government meant a lot to me. And they didn't even force me to serve the country. I'm indebted, for life.

Number two is that, I'm a sucker for history and political legacy. Umno fought for the Malays, and I am a Malay. That's it. I feel the need to cling to something that preaches the unifying factor of being a Malay and the meaning of Malayness. And no, I am not a racist for saying this.

Number three is because I am a Johorean. This ties back to number two, but I feel that having lived and grow up in this state I feel blessed. I think the state is politically sophisticated and we have a balanced view of religion and secularism. Iyer, Aiz cakap orang Johor memang kerek. Where else can a politician whose sex video became public can walk around without having to fear of being judged by his vice? We embraced him for his strengths, and not his weakness (not literally, though. Did you guys see the video??? Dang!!).

But I must say that I'm truly dissapointed at how BN handled the whole campaigning process - putting iffy candidates in Selangor and KL (what were you thinking Sleepy???), complacency and sheer overconfidence (someone told me Budak Jawa was not even campaigning at Shah Alam), and just the lack of an ass-whooper in the party is truly sad.

Lepas tu, bila BN dah kalah in certain states, ada orang tu cakap, "Dah kalah, kalah la.. nak buat macam mana... (dengan loghat utara)"

The person who said that out to resign and be cast into oblivion.

Ouch.