Perth Day 1

milestone unlocked

i've managed to unlock a new milestone recently: travelling to the Australian continent. in all my thirty-**** years of existence, i've never been to 'Ostolia' before, haha! this is my first trip of the year following the husband after a long hiatus. how i miss!

you need a visa to travel to Australia, but you can apply for one online, so you don't have to worry about having to apply 3-4 days in advance, like for some other countries I know =D.

i was actually running on fumes by the time i arrived at the airport (because you know me, running late for everything is 'class' lol), but for some reason just as i was about to reach the check-in counter, i heard the staff at the counter calling my name on the intercom *sweat icon*. don't ask my why, it's never happened before, but i'm grateful i managed to get on the flight. a 5hour+ flight baby! hahaha i must be crazy to want a flight to last as long as it could. i don't think i will ever get over my fascination of airplanes. sighhhhhh.

got my boarding pass!

economy didn't seem too cramped with an empty seat in between me and the other passenger. though at some point the guy got rather tipsy after his first couple of beers, the flight attendant got somewhat miffed. i spent the first part of the flight watching Little Giants. the actress Shawna Waldron used to my be classmate in Glendale. who would've guessed she'd left school to pursue a career in acting. hee. back when i was a kid i used to be a huge fan of Devon Sawa. who's in the same era as me?? =P~

my school friend Shawna

next time you fly, ask for tomato juice. they say it tastes a whole lot nicer in the sky.

tomato juice! =D

the Captain also brought his family along, wife and kid. it isn't that often the 738 gets two days off in Perth so it really is worth tagging along for the trip. the advantage of being the last person to be checked-into a flight is that your bags will definitely come out first =P.

when you're in last, you get your bags first

Danial was also going to Perth this month (it's practically his second home after India haha) but unfortunately his trip didn't overlap with ours. but know who's trip did? Arif. hahahahhahaha. i didn't even know until he called to say he was going to be in Perth one day ahead of us. so ok la, we had a one-man show welcoming committee awaiting us at the hotel at 2 in the morning.

and the two pilots had a sort of mini reunion at the hotel. jauh benor. haha.

Four Points by Sheraton Perth was kinda small, but cozy, situated just across the Perth Arena.

the hotel room

first day:

currency exchange rate: 3.1

we woke up that morning to a cloudy sky; it started drizzling not too long after. i was like whattt the weather forecast predicted sunny skies, it never even mentioned rain! T__T. i did bring one umbrella along for the trip just in case. but it was a blessing because the day continued to stay cool even after the drizzling let up; Arif told us the previous day was quite hot.

morning view from our room window

first things first: was to get on the train to Freemantle. i have no idea whether the other crew were going anywhere that day, so it was just me, the husband and Arif (sorry if we ever bored you that day, but thank you dear we really enjoyed the company =D). googlemaps was our best bet, so off we trooped to get to Perth Station. i'm telling you, these pilots ah, they never fail to get lost on the ground, probably because they don't have their instruments i guess ahahhahahah. we were going round in circles before we finally came across the train station.

seriously, i could've walked in a straight line and get to the station much faster than these two. i only had offline maps to rely on, though.

getting lost on foot

finally found the station

we had to ask around abit for ticket instructions; we purchased a standard ticket for Zone 2 departing from Platform 7 which cost us $4.70 one way per person. these tickets last you for about two hours before they expire, which is kind of cool because you can actually reuse the ticket within the time period. transportation in Prague uses this system as well. i loike.

ticket for One

playing lost tourists

Freemantle is 16 stops away from Perth Station. as soon as we got off, we went to find food. Freemantle reminds me of small towns you see in tv series, like Mystic Falls in the Vampire Diaries, no kidding =P

Freemantle Railway Station

making our way to find food

people recommended to drop by Cicerello's if ever you're in Freemantle. as soon as we arrived at the place, the famished boys ordered the Premium Fish & Chips; i decided to be adventurous and order Breaded Garfish & Chips instead. I've never heard of Garfish in my entire life, and i don't think Garfield is related to the fish either, lol.

Cicerello's
44 Mews Rd, Fremantle WA 6160, Australia
opens daily 9am-8.30pm, Friday & Saturday 9am-9pm

found what we came looking for

Cicerello's!

what's on the menu

they give a generous helping of fat chips, muak nak habiskan. we had to purchase our own sauce - mayo, tartar and sweet chilli (this is a MUST thing to do for all tekak Melayu wahahahah) of which we paid $8 for five sauces. do not convert the price, and everything will be fine =P. if you managed to get your hands on one of those tourist brochures, you can get a discount on your order. better than nothing i must say *still not thinking about the exchange rate*.

Breaded Garfish & Chips

sauce. bahahahhahaha

old fashioned lemonade

with fish and my Old + Fat Teddy Bear

food for two. thanks for being our photographer of the day!

bright & sunny day in Freemantle

breathtaking view

the seagulls there were many, and they would swoop down and eat off any leftovers on unattended tables, coleslaw pun layan, haha. we bumped into the Captain and his family who were also having lunch here; they were heading off to Cottesloe Beach later in the evening. after lunch (i think Arif was already sick of having fish two days in a row hahahah) we took some photos on the pier, and then off we went to find dessert.

trying to get a photo of them seagulls

they even had their own ferris wheel in Freemantle

map of Freemantle

purchased some fridge magnets as souvenirs along the way. even posted a couple of postcards for Ah Wai and Nora, all the way from Freemantle ok. gigih mau cari posto ok just for the postmark, you owe me Gongcha 1, Ah Wai! =P~~~

we stopped walking only after stumbling upon Ben & Jerry's, Arif belanja (yassssssssss tengkiu Arif!!!).

they made a beeline for the store

sedap!

headed back to the city since Arif was departing to KL later that night and he needed shut eye before flight, so we decided to continue exploring the town on our own. drop the husband in a shopping district and he will float; drop him in a museum, he would probably doze off to sleep under a statue or something.

i purchased The Ordinary's Buffet from Priceline, it was much cheaper than purchasing from local PS.

walked past Lush without purchasing anything, hebat, no? i wanted to replenish my shampoo bar but they told me the one i wanted to get was only sold online. haiz. i also walked by Pandora without purchasing anything, haha. i wasn't sure if the Shine collection was available in Malaysia; i was so outdated on charms and beads already. if you think about it, i seriously should've pau-ed an Australian charm from the husband while he was in a generous mood. lol

dropped by Chemist Warehouse to see what was so awesome about the place; i guess if you're looking for reasonably priced supplements and perfume, this is the place. the husband purchased his perfume here. my friend says this is where they sell more of celebrity perfumes, wangi2 pulak tu, hence why my perfume isn't sold here, but Mashi's perfume is! =P

for Mashi. murah tak?

did you know toys is cheap in Perth compared to Malaysia? well, im not sure about most of the other toy brands, but the ones my children collects are freaking cheap - Shopees and Hatchimals. we 'accidentally' came across them in Myers, whoops. they cost way less, so the Daddy borong SEVEN of them to bring back home. pingsan. sebbaik muat luggage T__T.

and that was Day 1 for you. i love love love love the weather! *love*

Perth Arena

isi perut in Kuching

yassssssss! it's been awhile since i went anywhere with the husband. let's go on a makan trip, shall we? so on Friday... i got to follow the husband on a short trip. guess where lilo is going?

guess where lilo is

usually i'd have to find my own transport to get to the hotel, like last year Emma and i took Uber, but this time i got to ride with the crew. haha. privilege ok, especially when you're a nobody in the airline industry.

10 years.

yep, back here after a year

always liked the rooms here

the only things I brought along with me

remember i mentioned (or maybe i didn't sorry) that i was afraid to take the boat across the waterfront because i was with Emma and i was afraid we'd fall in? haha. this time round we took the boat (read: a slightly larger version of the sampan, with a roof over your head) across the river for dinner! haha. sorry i is abit jakun. there are boat services all along the waterfront, you only pay rm1 one-way for the ride across. pretty neat, eh?

a crew member Elan was also on the boat (orang lain semua wet blanket huhu), so the three of us had dinner at My Village Barok. they say the kambing here is splendid, which it is! nampak je pedas when i first laid eyes on the dish. ordering sayur is a must too. nasib dating awal sikit, the place was filling up fast.

midin belacan

scallop bakar

nasi kambing ketok

after a very satisfying dinner, we stopped by Mira's cake house to get kek lapis. i totally forgot to take photos, ruginya -___-. got so many types of kek lapis to choose from here. i've forgotten already which ones we chose, but i particularly remember one that had chocolate chunks innit. so naiiiiiiis!

the next day the husband had an early morning flight (reporting at 7am sighs) so like it or not i had to haul myself out of bed too. told me to find this nice roti canai place, but since he couldn't remember the name - he told me to look for MASTURA.  if you're looking for something to eat for breakfast nearby Hilton you're out of luck - there are barely any shops open at 7am except for this 24-hour place named Warung NUSANTARA.

i don't know how NUSANTARA can be mistaken for MASTURA, can you?

had roti canai and three layer tea - gula apong yey.

heck even my sister's shop isn't opened at this hour. better yet, i didn't even know she had a shop. bila Aya bukak kedai?

BAHAHAHAHHAHA

bila aya bukak kedai?

the husband and Amirul (my walking MAS Wikipedia =P) also mentioned that there was another nice place nearby called Uncle Lim that had good mee kolo/ cendawan (or was it mushroom soup?), located somewhere in between the alleys nearby the hotel but I CANNOT FIND IT T____T.

breakfast

after tummy is full, i went a-walking. cat statues are still there, probably with a fresh paint job haha. last year i was with Emma, this year it's just me and my big fat heavy bag stuffed with kek lapis Sarawak. just as i arrived at the waterfront, it started to rain T___T.

cat statues... still there

took a stroll on the new Darul Hana Bridge (yep, that's the official name of the bridge ok). Darul Hana means a place of peace and tranquility in Arabic. my photo does not do justice to the bridge, it's much more majestic-looking in real life. it was still drizzling when i was walking around the waterfront, so please excuse the crazy lady dragging a luggage bag behind her while trying to juggle a pink umbrella with one hand. why the heck did i not think to just leave my bag behind at reception? #blondemoment

the Darul Hana Bridge

if the skies were sunnier i would've headed off to the Sarawak Cultural Village, but given the lousy weather (and me being alone, no fun - who's going to take photos of me?? lol) i decided that that should be kept for the next time i get the opportunity to go to Kuching again. whenever that is. haha.

so my friend Shasha was in Kuching recently so she told me to look for this Old Court House in the middle of nowhere which was walking distance from the waterfront. just standing from the outside you wouldn't even realize that there's a café tucked nicely within the walls of this court house. they're currently upgrading the place, so even the washroom tiles are amazing! haha.

the Old Court House

fancy toilet / wc

the patrons at the time were mainly mat sallehs dropping by for a cuppa while waiting for the drizzle to let up. so if you're a fan of what they call café hopping, then you might want to stop by. tried their lemon poppy seed cake, to which i find the frosting a bit too lemony-sweet for my liking. practically spent an hour backdating my Hobonichi Weeks here =P.

lovely interior

poppy seed cake

took a Grab to the airport after 2pm-ish because i didn't want to stand around at the airport too long waiting for my ticket to be issued. they put me in the middle seat, and i was all ready to start fuming (because who likes to get stuck in the middle seat? lol) when the husband showed me his ticket (he's paxing back abandoning his set crew haha). coincidental much? turned out we had the whole row to ourselves anyway.

coincidental?

and who comes to Kuching without sampling all the yummy food that you cannot find / does not even come close in the Peninsula? (me apparently, during my first time in Kuching last year. bahahahahah *roll eyes*) the Golden Lounge in Departures serves excellent Laksa Sarawak and Mee Kolo. next time must order big size and must not share with Mister Pilot! (tak puas makan oit) =P~~~~ although I'm sure you can find these dishes at other nice places outside the airport, only i je yang tak jumpe kat mana lagi. lol.

mee kolo and laksa sarawak

so, that concludes my KCH trip and last kopek for 2017; i doubt i'll be going anywhere else until the new year comes rolling around. til next time!

24 hours in Bangkok

received not so favorable news a few days ago, so i'm ditching my current life to follow the husband to Bangkok for a day. gosh i just love last minute trips like these, don't you? LOL. or maybe not. there are pro and cons to short travels like this. i take what i can get.

food. yums.

trying to be artsy

apparently Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi has the largest lobby in Asia. serious. i love the lobby, it's huge. the Captain was so nice for exchanging rooms with us though in my opinion, it wasn't really necessary (because why waste your life cooped up in the room when you can go out and stuff your face??). there were only the two of us, but the room was big enough for a futsal team to camp on the floor. see for yourself.

big living room O_O

spacious fluffy bed

took the train out into the city and headed off to Platinum Mall. i love how they have walkways connecting most of the shopping areas here. all you need is comfy shoes and enough energy kalah Energizer to keep you walking the whole day =P.

weather forecast: sunny and hot.

traffic jam

gosh my hair so red

jalan2 in Bangkok

Platinum Fashion Mall reminds me of Sungei Wang - floors and floors of women's fashion and accessories. the downside is that most of everything is payable in cash, so be prepared to have lots of cash at hand if you plan to buy anything here.

first stop: to isi perut at the foodcourt located at the topmost floor. the husband already forgot which stall he went to last time, so we randomly chose a stall and ordered. i liked the tom yum! (gosh i'm getting hungry again as i type all this) to me tom yum is always more enjoyable in Thailand, be it red or white. hee~

the husband had to have meat in the fray, hence the chicken rice. the dessert was nice! and you'd think the strawberries would be masam-ish, but they weren't - which made me wonder if they were actually artificial strawberries to begin with LOL.

tom yum seafood

halal chicken rice

dessert

there's this famous place in Bangkok that i must try some day called Usman Thai Muslim Food. crew would always go there.

address: 259/9 Sukhumvit Rd, Khwaeng Khlong Tan, Khet Khlong Toei, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110

the husband purchased a velvet watch storage box to keep his collection of watches. i went home with a dress, and a little something for Norley's Imaan. hmmm is that all we bought?

for his watch collection

another place i wanna visit the next time I'm in Bangkok is Asiatique the Riverfront, which opens from 5pm onwards. we ended up not going because got tired of walking around waiting for the place to open, haiz.

they say Healthland is the best place to go for a massage so off we went in an Uber to the branch in Sathorn. mind you, the prices here are way steeper than back home ok. plus they expect you to tip the masseurs too. makes you so glad that your home country doesn't exercise the tipping system; i'd be cracking my head open trying to figure out how much to tip everytime. huhu.

Healthland Sathorn

Healthland

the flight back was in the morning; am really glad the airport was walking distance, it's always a pain trying to figure out how should i get myself to the airport sometimes, especially when you can't simply saunter in last minute like how crew does it. LOL #youaintcrew #beranganjelalilly

the husband bought me sticky mango rice at the airport! ok i lie. he was purchasing this for the rest of his crew and i happened to pass by when he was busy paying for it. bahahahhaha. so kena la kasi bini satu kan?

sticky mango rice

i only wished i took the time to get some good Thai tea before departure!

flight back's practically empty

grilled beef fillet

sampai je terminal already terserempak with two of his batchmates. they were rushing to get to their next flight, whichever gate that is, but still got time to take photo. haha.

mini reunion

usually if the husband has routes to continue before completing his duty on the same day I'd be the one to lug his freaking heavy Tumi luggage bag (plus mine!) to the car first. on this particular day, i guess it was fate that he forgot to pass his bag to me, because guess what, his flight back from BKI got cancelled due to a technical glitch, so he's stuck for another night away from home. haha.

flight cancelled LOL

cameron highlands '17, day 1

the husband is a huge fan of Cameron Highlands, specifically the strawberries. so naturally since the kids were off from school and the roster was clear last weekend, off we went. he even went to purchase his own plugged-in chiller box (all the way from Jakarta lol), we even brought a gigantic cooler box for the trip.

our first pit stop was to get to our homestay in Tanah Rata that i managed to find through friends and the internet. the husband didn't want to spend too much for accommodation (konon) and asked to see if there were any available homestays about at a reasonable price. frankly there are a lot of homestays here, it all depends on whether you're happy or not with its current conditions. if you're a particular person about everything - got aircond or not? got hot water or not? (like my husband) then you're better off checking into a hotel. if possible he wanted to bring the entire contents of his bedroom T__T. at this rate we might as well just rent a U-Haul =D

i got the place for rm250 a night. the owner was a very nice person. informed her what time we'd be arriving, handed over the keys and went on her way. what i didn't know was that her homestay was on the topmost floor of the apartment, specifically the FOURTH floor. with no elevators.  hahahahahhahahahahhahahahahha adeiiiii imagine all the heavylifting of bags up four freaking flights of stairs of seven individuals. die lar.

the weather was awesome, although i think it could be slightly colder. it was slightly drizzling as we arrived.

scenic view from our homestay

The Lord's Cafe, Tanah Rata

it was already 4pm by the time we got everyone settled, so we headed off to the café that i never got to go the last time i was here due to wrong timing. i even messaged the café in advance to ask if they were still open to avoid disappointment =P. as it was, they were still open, yay!!!! the café was really tiny and cozy. not to mention very antique-ish.

btw, do tell me of any interesting café that sell awesome scones, will ya? this is my first time scone-hunting in Cameron (seriously, before this it's always about the sightseeing, vege and the strawberries lol) and i'm open to more scones-cafehopping in the future.

the crazy / famished husband ordered FIVE SCONES for us. one for the maid, one for the husband, one for me, and two for the kids to share. unfortunately despite having an English father-in-law, they no have the England blood in them. i ended up having to polish three of them in one go. #sconesoverdose

my friend Munira always raves about how scones should always come with proper clotted cream if you want to gain the whole scone-eating experience. scones should be eaten warm, for starters. and they should also be served with a slightly larger helping of jam, butter and cream. see the photo? they charge if you want extra sides.

scones!

the Lord's Cafe

budak grumpy baru bangun tido

just before leaving we took a photo of the kids just outside the café. out of nowhere this old English lady joined the crowd and became an extra in the photo. LOL. seems like Sophia's got herself a new grandma! hahahahha.

LOL!

Taman Abang Steamboat & Grill, Tanah Rata

my roommate suggested this place for dinner. in fact you can google and there'd be a lot of good reviews for this place if you're looking forward to a steamboat dinner. steamboat's practically staple here in Cameron Highlands.

Taman Abang Steamboat main entrance

the place was nearby the homestay, but since it was a weekend, we couldn't book in advance, so we headed out early , because we anticipated that the crowd would be huge that night, and we were right. the procedure here is, you have to pay at the counter first before they will give you a table. we were lucky they managed to get a table large enough to seat the 7 of us. everything was free flow. we paid rm175 in total, cash basis please. kids ages 6 and below eat for free.

i didn't take a lot of photos because with four hangry kids you  really need to utilize both hands to tend to them AND to the steamboat (if not, who's going to cook dinner?). they had a considerable amount of choices to eat here, all kinds of veges, meat, seafood, noodles - to mention a few off the top of my head - including ice cream, which was inclusive the total price.

some of the food available

the only photo i have HAHAHAHA

so that's it for day One. it was already late and we wanted to get an early start tomorrow. nanite!

British Airways safety video - director's cut

dreaming of baju raya

... and it's not yet even Ramadhan yet. hahahaha!

Nurita Harith has just released some of her RTW designs on FashionValet. i just love her designs! my only wish is that the cut flattered me better without having to do alteration (for someone short and a stick like me lulz).

i've picked out three of my favourites (on the basis that i'm also color-biased haha):

Azalea Set in Peach

Ixia Kurung Set in Mauve

Nigella Kebaya Set in Icy Blue

if anybody buys these in my size and wants to sell them post raya, please think of me, yeah? =D