The Great Chinese Adventure Part 1: Xi'an

Ten days. Six cities. One girl.

Our first stop was the historical city of Xi'an - most famous for being the home of the Terracotta Warriors. Some 16,000 carved warriors, all different faces. If that doesn't fascinate you in the least, maybe you should lay off the pot.

Xi'an is a lovely city and contrary to the popular belief that all cities in China are dirty(-ish), Xi'an is anything but. It's a walled city, surrounded by a fantastic fort. It's the start of spring so the air is still cool and crisp, with a hint of sun in the afternoon. Lovely for a walk. I'll let the photos to the talking:

Hyatt Regency, Xi'an, my home for two days.
A mausoleum of one of the many Emperor's of China (his name escapes me right now) Sprawling gardens, beautiful landscapes. So the very pretty...

Batu Caves of Xi'an, heh heh. You have to climb a gazillion steps to get to the top. This is me, still want to 'posing glamour' in case I die of a heart of attack on the way up.

I survived the gazillion steps and the huffing and puffing was worth the view!

Rule no. 1 in China: Bargain like your life depended on it. But Rule no.2: Be prepared for verbal abuse if you fail to actually PURCHASE anything after haggling.

Eating is a FREAKIN' BIG DEAL in China. A very painful lesson. A minimum of 13 dishes every meal. Die la. I had vegetarian noodles and stewed lamb oozing out of my nose and ears by the end of my trip...

...But having some beer to wash it down made the torture less painful. Heh.

We visited Moslem Street. Great place for shopping. Fascinating to hear Chinese women in headscarves greet you with 'Assalamualaikum'.

So much to see, so little time! China has excellent bargains. Too bad MAS has a baggage limit.

Believe it or not, this is not a temple but a mosque.


And finally, nothing like a bit of retail therapy to make me forget I don't like cold weather. Hooray!


In the next episode: Join Fridaycat as she makes her way to sunny Hainan island!

Sob.

I'm back from China and Hong Kong.

And instead of four lovely cats greeting me, only three stood at my door.

I'm not in the mood to blog for now. Hope you all understand.

Pack. Unpack. Pack. Unpack.

I am so bad at packing. Because of this, I started packing on Sunday evening, eventhough I leave on Thursday. My packing-smart deficiency stems from a) my indecisiveness and b)planning my trip to a fault.

But it's almost ten pm on Wednesday and I think i've pretty much finalised my suitcase. For now. Ok, for sure. I leave tomorrow morning so I SHOULD be done. The real challenge in packing for this trip is that I have to consider the cold (in Xi'an) and the tropical (Haikou and Sanya). I hear Hong Kong is somewhere in between. It's really weird to pack your heavy coat and bikini in the same suitcase though...

Anyway, this will be a brief one. Just saying 'tata for now' till I get hold of an internet connection. Yes I will take care, yes I will have fun and yes I will take loads of pictures. Don't miss me too much now...

About time.

I have been bitching about my handphone for the longest time. Granted, I had my heart set on it 3 years ago but with time (and a single emotional massacre), I've had enough of my old Nokia. Annoying and it reminded me too much of my ex-boyfriend seeing that it was a Christmas gift from him. Ugh. Can you say, "move on"?

Yes, I know it looks like a sanitary pad.

It started with small problems: the screen blanking out. The rubber keypad peeling off. The keys jamming up while I'm sms-ing. And last Friday, it finally kicked the bucket: The aerial went kaput and everytime I flip the damn thing open, my service bar goes down to zero and I can't make/receive any calls or send out/receive any text messages. At first I started cursing my service provider, DiGi (kesian DiGi, kena maki for no reason) but when I switched to my Celcom sim card, I still had the same problem. Simple conclusion: Phone dead.

I secretly rejoiced. Now I officially had a reason to buy a new phone! Sunday I went phone hunting with Sel. Conversation as follows:

Sel: Ok, so what do you want in a phone?
Me: Absoulutely no more flip phones. And I want it in pink. And it has to be a Nokia.

(one hour later)

Me: (paying for my Nokia 6085: a flip phone and NOT pink) Well, at least it's a Nokia.
Sel: Riiiight.

Ladies and gents, I present to you my new lifeline.

I am so damn sakai. This is officially the first phone I've ever owned that has a camera, MMS, Bluetooth and plays real tunes (not those generic polyphonic ring ring ones....Hey, this is exciting stuff for me, ok?). It might not be pink but to make up for that, I bought a pink bag thingy to keep the phone in, heh. Oh and it even comes with a 1 gig memory card. I dunno what I need a 1 gig memory card for but I'm pretty sure I'll figure it out.

When I told Haw about my new phone, he was impressed but remained loyal to his no fuss no muss handphone. "I don't need all those extras," he said and, knowing him, I believe him. If he had his way, I bet you Mr. Simplicity would even settle for a blanket and a bonfire to get his message across. But I know what he means: All you really need a phone for is a) to make phonecalls and b)send text messages. Everything else is icing on the cake.

But I still think my real music ringing tone is SO cool.

I'm gonna go ooh and aah at my phone some more...

On the go.

My working week may be officially over but come weekend, I still have the rest of my life to organise.

For those not in the know, I'll be flying to China and Hong Kong (which is technically still China but we won't go into that) on March 22nd right up till the 1st of April. No, my imaginary millionaire sugar daddy isn't whisking me away, rather it's a trip with the bosses. Whatever it is, we're probably thinking the same thing : FREE TRIP! And yes, I am excited about it. We'll be going to Xian (home of the Terracotta warriors - if you don't know who they are, go Google already) which I heard is c-c-c-cold this time of the year.

The warriors of Xian

Let's play Spot The City...

Next we'll fly to the city if Haikou on Hainan island, which is south of the mainland, followed by Sanya (if i'm not mistaken, i think the Miss World pageant was held here few years back). Our final stop is:

Hong Kong!

Oh yes, it'll be a whole lot of plane and hotel-hopping, but honestly, I ain't complaining. So anyway, this is the last weekend I have to get some shopping done for my trip - travel size toiletries, comfy shoes and a sweater for the chilly nights. Also been stocking up on meds - better safe than sorry. In the evening, I had dinner with my Cubby's parents - Thai food, absolutely satisfying to the last bite. I haven't seen his parents for a while so it's always nice to catch up with them.

I promise more entries before I leave this Thursday!

Why bah.

Quick gripe: I don't if there's a sea monster gnawing the cables under the ocean or a damn earthquake inTimbuktu - Streamyx needs to pull their socks up!

What is dis oh? It's like every little world event affects the internet line. "Our CEO is scratching his armpit so Streamyx will be down for the next few hours." Bullcrap.

Last night, I couldn't get online at ALL and after three hours of trying, I finally did. Only to be rudely disconnected after 25 minutes. Good thing I finished chatting with my Cubby or there would be hell to pay. I lost my blog entry but i was feeling generous and let it go. Bah.

I've been busy. I have LOADS of photos to show you but until Streamyx behaves, I'll have to put that on hold. In a nutshell, I've been travelling land, sea and air, mostly for work. But it's all good. We recently got our official Events shirt made. And this is what they came up with:

Presenting, tukang mop lantai hospital! What were they thinking? And the sleeves! I can't even begin to describe the horror. The only saving grace is the back:

I like the Sabah logo thingy. And the cut makes my shoulders look broader, haha. It's decent lah from the back. Maybe I have to start walking with my back facing people whenever I wear this shirt. Oh and another gripe? You can't wear a coloured bra with this - the shirt is kinda see through. Can you imagine if it rains?
Except I doubt i'll look that happy (or model-esque) when it happens.

More updates, stay tuned.

"Take a look at my girlfriend, cuz she's the only one i got..."

- Cupid's Chokehold, Gym Class Heroes, song I can't get enough of lately. Check it out.

Streamyx, we have a problem...

Aiya, so many things to blog about but so little time! And streamyx being a pain in the ass isn't helping. I haven't been able to log on at home for the last two days. Is anyone else having this problem? (yes I paid my bills, I'm not an idiot). So here I am at the office, making a quick one to let my loyal blog readers know I'm alive and kicking.

And will be back once I kick some streamyx ass.

Friday night bla blas.

So no, I'm not spending Friday night doing anything remotely exciting. It's just a little past 11pm and I'm getting ready to hit the sack. It's been a VERY long three days, work-wise and I am looking forward to sleeping without worrying about the alarm clock waking me up in the morning. Simple pleasures.

Ok, my life in random order:

1. My relatives from Manila are visiting this weekend. I took Monday and Tuesday off so I could spend more time with them, seeing this is their first time to KK. Gonna hit the islands, have loads of seafood and just forget about work for a couple of days (ok, i lied. I brought some work home...)

2. I saw a car accident happen right before my very eyes this evening as I was driving home from dinner. This red car was zipping through the lanes, overtaking everyone and then after it passed me, it just flipped over the divider and crashed into the bus stop on the other side of the road! My heart was beating so fast and I hope to God the guy was wearing a seatbelt because the car was smashed up pretty bad. If I'm shaken up watching that, imagine what the guy inside must be going though...

3. I came home from work at 10pm last night to have my mum tell me my cat Sabrina has been missing 24 hours. It never came home for meals or nap time. So off i went hunting with my torchlight, calling for Sabrina around my neighbourhood. I had so many awful thoughts in my head. After some time, I gave up and realised how physically exhausted I was. Unfortunately, my mind couldn't switch off all night, worrying about my sayang.

4. .....Sabrina shows up in the morning, unscathed.

5. Two meetings today. Nuff said.

6. I have to get my passport done on Monday. You'll have to stay tuned to see where Fridaycat is headed!

7. I'm kinda addicted to Katherine McPhee's 'Over It', her single from her debut album. I've never been a fan of hers and this song isn't gonna blow you away. But maybe it's just because I relate to the song more than I realise. Have a listen.

8. My cubby's experiencing some bad weather in Toronto now. In fact classes have been cancelled due to the snow storms and they even had their power supply interrupted (I think it still is). No chat tonight then. I hope he bundles up.

I think i'll watch a dvd now. Yep, another exciting night for this sleepy cat.

"Moving on, it's my time. You never were a friend of mine."
-Katharine McPhee (of American Idol fame), 'Over It'

On the hunt.

My Sunday began at 4:30am. Trust me, I rose...but i didn't shine. And what would possess me to do an insane thing like that? Why, the annual KK City Tourism Treasure Hunt of course! My colleagues and I joined last year and had a blast, so no harm in doing in again right? We had the same team sans Haw, so our new driver was Fauzan (who also happens to be the Company driver). So what does the hunt entail? Basically, you get a bunch of clues to solve by roaming around the city, checking out signboards and completing challenges to score points. Time is limited so you and your team have to plan well. And at 6am, it takes a while to get your brain up and running.
First up, 'decorating' the car. Team 93, anda bersedia?

My team: Barney's Band. You know, the purple kinda grows on you after a while...

Yep, feet are in order. I wore the same pair of Nikes i had on last year. Heh, mana la tau bawa nasib...

This year, they made us 'warm up' before the flag off. Stretching i can handle. But no one should be forced to the Pocho Pocho at 6:30am.

Charlie - rearing to go like the rest of us.

And we're off! I love (trying to) solve the puzzles. I'm such a geek, I know.

Jusliah: "Maybe if you stopped taking photos you could help me here?"

Panas but there's always time to take a photo!

These are some of the 'treasures' we had to source for. We had to go to four locations before we found a 'lokan' (a local shellfish).

One of our pit stops was Monsopiad Cultural Village. You'd be surprised how many KK folks have no idea where this place is, tsk tsk...

Time to walk on stilts or as they call it in Kadazandusun, mamarampanau. Big man to contestant: "You don't cheat ah..."

And we also had to carry bags of rice. 60 seconds for teams of two to identify specific 4 rice brands lined up in a warehouse. They then have to carry the rice sacks to the starting point. We didn't do too well here. Hey, YOU try identify 4 brands among what seems like 5 million...

Exhausted and not fussy about chairs, the day finally ends. We didn't win anything this year (we were fourth last year!) but I had a fantastic time. So fantastic that I'm looking forward to next years' hunt!

Nip/Tuck

I've been hooked on this for the past week. I got my cousin from Manila to buy the DVD set, Seasons 1-3 and I've couch potato-ing ever since I slipped the first disc in.

I caught the first few episodes during my trip to KL some 2 years ago. I bunked at my ex-boyfriend's apartment (don't give me that look) and while he went out clubbing over the weekend, I indulged in his DVD set (see, i told you not to give me that look).

Anyway, ever since that day, I've been meaning to pick up where I left off but never got around to it. Till today. If you've never heard of this series, then boo to you. It's about two plastic surgeons in Miami, one a (questionable) family man who seems more 'married' to his job than his wife and the other a dashing, devil-may-care, unscrupulous, beds anything with boobs type of guy. As with any series, its loaded with drama, splashes of witty dialogue yadda yadda yadda but what makes this series a man among the boys is its no holds barred footage of plastic surgery in action. It'll make you go, "Holy crap, he's flipping her stomach out!" but still keep you glued. Like watching a really bad accident on the road - You just can't turn away although you know you should. Needless to say, it is SO worth it to get the DVD set because it's uncensored. I think they were (are?) showing it on Malaysian TV but with amount of gore and sex(y) scenes, I'll be impressed if at least 15 minutes of the show gets through our censors.

"So we'll just add another boob here..."

Nip/Tuck will make you ask a lot of questions. First up, would YOU get plastic surgery? Where? Why? It leaves you in a very interesting quandary: Plastic surgeons are often accused of making a quick buck at the expense of making women feel 'imperfect', hence they will recommend areas that need 'fixing'. But are they really the bad guys here when in the long run the women who've had plastic surgery actually feel better about themselves?

Michael Jackson: A big plastic surgery 'Don't'

In one of the episodes, a psychologist tells the surgeon that one of the potential clients (overweight and not exactly Prom Queen material) should not undergo surgery as she was suffering from depression due to low self-esteem. Basically, the girl in question had been suffering from depression for years because she never felt pretty. Now with enough money, she can finally get liposuction and the whole works.

Now here's the interesting part. The psychologist and surgeon do not see eye to eye. Surgeon thinks giving her plastic surgery will do her more good than any anti-depressant drug she's been taking. While Psychologist thinks the only reason she feels ugly is because she's depressed. (Chicken and egg anyone?) Long story short, they deny her surgery. She blows her brains out.

I'm telling you, this show is riveting. Stay tuned.

Ang Pows: Reason #233 for Staying Unmarried Another Year.

It was another Chinese New Year celebration at the Leong residence. As if on cue, our Chinese-ness will rear its shiny red head once a year. Hence, the lanterns, family reunion dinner, purchasing illegal fireworks and ANG POWS!


Every year, the lucky unmarried individuals 'kow-tow' to the 'Marrieds' to get those lovely red packets filled with moolah. I know it's a whole fun deal for the kids but for mid-20 to 30 year olds who are still collecting the ang pows, it's like getting paid for staying single another year!


As the years pass, my eldest brother doesn't find it so amusing anymore...




Of course, the ang pow collection time is always followed by cries of "Aiyah, bila la you all want to kahwin?!" What, and give up these every Chinese New Year???
Me and my cousins flaunting our earnings for the year. Find us a guy worth marrying and we'll give these up. Of course the aunties and uncles are making it tougher each year. It used to just be kisses on both cheeks and bowing down three times in respect. THIS year...I actually had to mimic a lion dance. So hilang glamour. That Leong sense of humour is both a curse and blessing, i tell you.



So what do you do once you receive these auspicious red packets? In the true spirit of Chinese New Year, there is only one thing to do:

GAMBLE!




All in all, it was festive, loud and prosperous Chinese New Year spent with flesh and blood. On the eve, we all gathered at our kampung in Papar (just a 40-minute drive from home) and let the good times roll. Me and my cousins pictured below (incomplete as some are far far away and one particular one in the jungle) :

I like this photo of my bro and cousin Brian (right). But spot the monkeys:


Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

Warning - Holiday mooditis strikes again

Kawan kawan...Am still in holiday mood. Be right back with more tales of the Fridaycat!

140206

He takes out a box from the glove compartment. A tiny card follows suit. "It's not much, but..." he says, handing it to me. "I didn't get you anything," I say, a bit embarassed by my lack of thoughtfulness. I open the card first. A small spray-painted heart with cats crawling around. It makes me smile. I open the box. He holds his breath. "I hope you like it," he says. I have no words as I trail my finger along the pendant. "Did you make this yourself?" I ask. He gives me a goofy grin. "It's a small thing..." he says. I wore it around my neck. It was perfect.

Just like him and his goofy grin.

CSI:KK

Time: 5:54 pm
The crime: Homicide

The victim:

The suspect:

Meet Blanket. Harmless, lovable domesticated pet by day...And ruthless killer by night. Actually, he kills anytime of the day. I have four cats but Blanket takes the crown as the deadliest hunter among them all. He's always been active but the last few days he's been on a killing rampage!

It started with blood trails in the living room and I panicked, thinking one of my cats was injured. And then i heard a 'thump thump' in my brother's room. Lo and behold Blanket was happily tossing a semi-dead sparrow in the air. Feathers everywhere. Dad cleans the mess.

9 hours later, I come home from work and the minute I step in, it doesn't look good. Feathers EVERYWHERE. Up the stairs, in the kitchen, in my mum's bedroom. And just as I feared, Victim #2 (see pic) was lying lifeless near the TV. I clean the mess.

The next day, Blanket gets adventurous and more daring. He leaps and bounds into the living room with a bigger and furrier victim. My parents panic and give chase.

Dad: Suspect is on the move, go go go!
Mum: We have a victim down, calling for back up...

You'll never guess what Blanket caught.

A baby rabbit.

It was still alive albeit freaked out beyond belief when my mum saved it from Blanket's jaws of death. We tried to nurse it back to health. My brother ran out to buy rabbit feed, mum got the basket and blanket (no, not the murdering-cat type ofBlanket) ready. I cuddled it and fell in love in an instant - its a baby rabbit, how could you not? I'm guessing it belongs to someone in the neighbourhood but before I could knock on doors, it died the next morning.

Woe is he who crosses the path of the merciless Blanket.

Purr.

It's Saturday night. I'm wearing my favourite satin pajamas in bed, listening to Lily Allen and blogging. I've got an 'online date' with Haw and then I'm gonna hit the sack and not worry about the alarm clock waking me up because it's Sunday.

Bliss.

*sob*

I know it's getting to that time of the month when I get emotional a wee bit easily. I was watching National Geographic and they had something like 'Most Shocking Scenes' from the animal kingdom. Everything made me go "wow, that's amazing" until they showed a clip of a female hippo and her baby waddling in the water. She was going to 'introduce' her baby to a herd of hippos nearby, hoping to get accepted.

But things go horribly wrong.

One of the male hippos (alpha male i assume) isn't too crazy about junior seeing he isn't his offspring. Suddenly, there's chaos. The alpha male goes haywire, opening his jaws wide and thrashing in the water. Mummy hippo panics and leads her baby to safety. BUT the water gets too murky and the baby loses sight of mummy. Next thing you know, alpha male approaches baby hippo and has him in his jaws! He PICKS UP the baby hippo in his mouth and starts swinging the baby left and right. The baby hippo makes the most heart-wrenching squeals, totally helpless as alpha male drags him into the water and the baby slowly dies.

It was the most disturbing thing.

Mummy hippo comes back and nudges baby hippo, trying to revive him. OMG apa lagi...I start sobbing. And sobbing. And sobbing. Damn National Geographic. Damn PMS. Damn alpha male hippo. Why can't you men just get along?

Sigh. So anyway, I played futsal which is a great adrenaline rush and pick-me-up. We played with the Tourism Malaysia ladies. It was good fun and despite the fact I thought my heart was pumping so hard it was going to pop out of my chest, I managed to score four goals! Not bad for a shorty non-athletic me, eh?

Anyway, I gotta rub my sore feet seeing the person who normally does that is in the northern hemisphere *ehem, koff koff*. Gonna sleep like a baby tonight.

Hope i don't dream about hippos.

Feels right.

Ever have those days when you feel everything is in control and in place? Those moments are so rare that when I catch a whiff of it, I embrace it whole-heartedly. Today is one of those days. I may be extra swamped with work and chasing impossible deadlines, but somehow I've never felt more in control of my life.

And for the first time in a long time, I'm starting to find some peace of mind and enjoying the simplicity of my life. In some strange way, I've always found comfort in routine and the familiar. And lately, with my mum away for a break in Manila and our hired help officially gone, I have no choice but to go 'domestic' - dishes, laundry, picking up after my brother. After a long day at the office, the last thing you wanna do are chores but I find something therapeutic about it. Scrubbing the sink till it's spotless and arranging the glasses and cups according to function (cups are for coffee, glasses for water thankyouverymuch) keep me happy.

I even went shopping alone on Sunday - always a nice 'me' moment. I browsed the bookstore for an hour, went boutique-hopping and when I got hungry, I bought a hotdog and some orange juice and sat down to eat it. I paid all my bills on time and even went to the bank to make sure my finances were in order.

And for the icing on my cake, I just think of Haw and despite the gazillion miles between us, he still makes me smile.

I'll probably be ranting about something else come tomorrow but today, life feels right.

I almost forgot how good it feels.

Bag lady.

I've been bad, I know. I was in Sandakan on Friday, working on most of Saturday and on Sunday...I was just lazy. So for now, I bring you into the bag of Fridaycat. Inspired by Cindy & Jacq.

First of all, I don't carry a backpack with me although my contents might imply otherwise. I'm amazed I lug around this much stuff. Small bags are for wimps, haha.

1. My Feng Shui ally charms. Why not?
2. My pink coin purse, gift from Mia. My wallet can't hold coins.
3. Important meds: Panadol and my allergy pills. I get a bad case of the sneezies sometimes.
4. My thumbdrive. Penting dis.
5. Lipstick holder from China. A gift from one of my bosses.
6. (oops 6 is supposed to the rubber hair tie, forgot to label)
7. My Sonia compact powder.
8. Three lipsticks and lipgloss. I love mixing my lippies to get the perfect shade.
9. Clorets. Bad breath is a big no no.
10. Scholl Refreshing foot spray - I'm very self-conscious about my feet.
11. The bag to hold all my make-up, a gift from Sel.
12. My wallet, my life!
13. Tissue
14. Kacang from MAS. I dunno how that got in there.
15 & 16. My handphones. One for office calls, one for personal calls.
17. Notebook - part of the job.
18. My sunnies. Birthday gift from Haw.
19. Namecard holder
20. Three pens. I have this habit of picking up a pen and chucking it into my bag before i leave the house or the office, just in case I don't already have one in the bag. Hence, three (sometimes four or five) pens. And counting...

There you have it. Wow, I should downsize but I can't think of a single thing I DON'T need in there.

Maybe I'll just bring 2 pens.

Mari mari, try my Tandoori!

So cooking isn't exactly my forte. I can make a decent meal if i really, truly have to and, you'd be surprised to know, I actually enjoy being in the kitchen. The cleaning up bit kinda sucks though. On Saturday I was offered a chance to 'brush up' my cooking skills at Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort. And not just ANY cooking class mind you - i was about to discover the world of Indian fare at the award-winning Naan Restaurant.

We started off with an introduction to India's many spices. And BOY OH BOY do they have spices. I kinda lost track after spice number 623.

They mispelled my name not once but twice (see last photo for evidence).

Super Chef Rajju of the day who hails all the way from India, briefing us on cooking do's and don'ts. "This is a knife. Please do not be putting your fingers between board and blade."

Getting down to basics. I was given the task of dicing up tomatoes for the day.

Chef: Just cut here, and cut here. You think you can do that?

Me: *there goes my French manicure*

Azlinah, bless her soul, stood beside me throughout the process, making sure my fingers stayed intact.

Me: Slice, slice, slice...Hey I'm getting the hang of this!

Azlinah: *this is going to take forever*

Hooray, Mel can dice up tomatoes! The world is alright again!

One of the reporters, Joe, taking a whiff of the delicious chicken which has just popped out of the tandoor (the huge coal-burning cooking thingy). Ok Joe, step away from the chicken...

The best part: Chowing down! The chicken tikka was my favourite. We made several dishes, including chappati from scratch. Impressive eh?

Indian cooking is no walk in the park. One dish uses at least 6 spices, half of which I could not pronounce. There was also loads of oil, butter (mmm), yogurt and cream. Not for the cholesterol-conscious, I can safely say. But the explosion of flavours and the heavenly aroma are out of this world. Do you know what torture is? Standing in the kitchen, sniffing away the delicious scents and realising we have another three dishes to go before we get to eat ANY of it. Sigh. Just to let you guys know, the cooking class is an ongoing thing organised by the resort and anyone can join. It's RM120.00 per head and includes the three-hour cooking class, lunch and a certificate.

So did Fridaycat have a good time going Indian?

I think so.