this one cracks me up.
congratulations to Harith Iskander!
December 15, 2016
December 6, 2016
the company's annual dinner
we had a Masquerade Ball (2010), Awards Night (2011), 80s Night (2012), Casual Night (2013, seriously T_T), Cosplay (2014), Carnival Night (2015).
i survived them all. bahahhahhahahha.
this year, is Prom Night.
and every year it's always a mad rush to get to registrations on time. it's like Amazing Race, you know. you snooze, you lose. siap sms Deb to ask her the fastest way to get to the ballroom if i were to make a run for it in heels. made it with just about a few minutes to spare.
but why bother? i almost never win anything anyways. pfffft.
anyways, behold the food served throughout. wasn't much to shout about, but the food was edible. i only wished they served NORMAL creme brulee instead of GINGER creme brulee. ginger, seriously? huhuhu. it tasted nice and weird at the same time. lol.
they hired a Photo-booth this year round, so there was no door gifts this year - which i didn't mind really. i've forgotten where i kept my power bank and power adapter, to name a few of the stuff that i've gotten from past dinners. woo-hoo! forced my deskmate to put the photo-booth to good use. dragged the husband to take a round. tried cramming as many people as possible into the shot. don't remember how many times i stood in front of the camera until i forgot to take actual photos with my phone camera. whoops.
so this year it was just the three of us bananas, one banana made a mini banana while the other banana migrated to the other side of the world, fufufufu. Ah Wai was having the time of his life in NZ, and Luqy was busy enjoying husband life to even bother coming, lol. sad ok.
Azan, darn you why you no go dinner this year? there wasn't any decent photos of us this year! *cries*
Prom Night is no prom night without a King and Queen crowned. no doubts as to who won this year.
in regards to lucky draw, guess who won again this year, Nadia? grrrrrrr. Mashi won a ps4 hokeh! lucky duck lah her. even Lina won something relevant to her broken foot. hahahaha. i guess i'm gonna hafta settle with this person as consolation prize. tee-hee.
this year i didn't even do my hair. my hair stylist went out of town (smoke coming out of nostrils) and i didn't even think about what i was gonna wear until the actual day of the event.
so i didn't go home empty-handed that night. on my defense, there was nobody around and it was bobbing up and down so innocently in the corner.... ok i bring you home. haha! the kids loved it btw.
my only wish is that they would stay up forever, yes? (darn you helium molecules).
on another note, i'm officially on my own for two months with the four hooligans and 11 cats.
pingsan! and i'm a FTWM! can i resign and do Uber? LOL
i survived them all. bahahhahhahahha.
this year, is Prom Night.
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| Prom Night 2016 venue: Gardens Ballroom |
and every year it's always a mad rush to get to registrations on time. it's like Amazing Race, you know. you snooze, you lose. siap sms Deb to ask her the fastest way to get to the ballroom if i were to make a run for it in heels. made it with just about a few minutes to spare.
but why bother? i almost never win anything anyways. pfffft.
anyways, behold the food served throughout. wasn't much to shout about, but the food was edible. i only wished they served NORMAL creme brulee instead of GINGER creme brulee. ginger, seriously? huhuhu. it tasted nice and weird at the same time. lol.
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| menu |
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| appetizer |
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| starter |
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| main course |
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| dessert |
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| date for the night |
they hired a Photo-booth this year round, so there was no door gifts this year - which i didn't mind really. i've forgotten where i kept my power bank and power adapter, to name a few of the stuff that i've gotten from past dinners. woo-hoo! forced my deskmate to put the photo-booth to good use. dragged the husband to take a round. tried cramming as many people as possible into the shot. don't remember how many times i stood in front of the camera until i forgot to take actual photos with my phone camera. whoops.
so this year it was just the three of us bananas, one banana made a mini banana while the other banana migrated to the other side of the world, fufufufu. Ah Wai was having the time of his life in NZ, and Luqy was busy enjoying husband life to even bother coming, lol. sad ok.
Azan, darn you why you no go dinner this year? there wasn't any decent photos of us this year! *cries*
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| photobooth! |
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| beautiful ladies |
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| selfie time :D |
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| the more the merrier |
Prom Night is no prom night without a King and Queen crowned. no doubts as to who won this year.
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| Prom King & Prom Queen |
in regards to lucky draw, guess who won again this year, Nadia? grrrrrrr. Mashi won a ps4 hokeh! lucky duck lah her. even Lina won something relevant to her broken foot. hahahaha. i guess i'm gonna hafta settle with this person as consolation prize. tee-hee.
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| my consolation prize |
this year i didn't even do my hair. my hair stylist went out of town (smoke coming out of nostrils) and i didn't even think about what i was gonna wear until the actual day of the event.
everything old,
nothing new,
nothing borrowed,
something blue.
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| ootd haha top: some designer from isetan, purchased decades ago; scarf: dUCkscarves in Rose Tea, heels: Clarks, necklace: Axxezz |
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| selfie |
so i didn't go home empty-handed that night. on my defense, there was nobody around and it was bobbing up and down so innocently in the corner.... ok i bring you home. haha! the kids loved it btw.
my only wish is that they would stay up forever, yes? (darn you helium molecules).
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| in case anyone asks... |
on another note, i'm officially on my own for two months with the four hooligans and 11 cats.
pingsan! and i'm a FTWM! can i resign and do Uber? LOL
November 19, 2016
Dinara's graduation
my little girl has finally graduated kindergarten! i'm feeling anxious right about now... T_T who's the one that's entering primary next year - me or her? she doesn't seem too worried about entering a new foreign school all on her own -___-
being the busy PA secretary that i am (lol), i landed in KLIA right about noon. the pilot had to complete another two sectors, so i got my brother to pick me up at the airport and we headed straight to the venue. this year they decided to hold the graduation ceremony in the afternoon. i hope next year they'll split the event based on the children's age. we had to sit through every single class performance before the graduation ceremony actually began. not that i minded, but there was no food and drink available and kids got cranky after awhile. for that reason D3 and E1 was left behind.
at the last minute i realized that Dinara had to wear a black headscarf that day, since she was going to be a soldier for her school performance. unfortunately she doesn't own any save for pink/lightblue/yellow. she most definitely couldn't wear those colors, what kind of askar goes to war wearing pink??! hello, camouflage?
thanks Shenz from @onulaa for helping me out at the very last minute =D. despite me not knowing which hole her head was supposed to go into *laughs*, it definitely was a much neater wear than the headscarf i made her wear last year, i forgot what brand that was from.
the pilot finally made it just about the time the graduation ceremony ended. she was so excited to take photos, haha. and she waved to most of her friends walking by, most of whom i do not recognizebecause they didn't come to her birthday party last August. thanks Abang for helping me out today =).
next year D3 goes to kindergarten. and i'm going to have a massive headache trying to organize getting three kids to school, especially with the different morning / afternoon sessions. huargh.
being the busy PA secretary that i am (lol), i landed in KLIA right about noon. the pilot had to complete another two sectors, so i got my brother to pick me up at the airport and we headed straight to the venue. this year they decided to hold the graduation ceremony in the afternoon. i hope next year they'll split the event based on the children's age. we had to sit through every single class performance before the graduation ceremony actually began. not that i minded, but there was no food and drink available and kids got cranky after awhile. for that reason D3 and E1 was left behind.
at the last minute i realized that Dinara had to wear a black headscarf that day, since she was going to be a soldier for her school performance. unfortunately she doesn't own any save for pink/lightblue/yellow. she most definitely couldn't wear those colors, what kind of askar goes to war wearing pink??! hello, camouflage?
thanks Shenz from @onulaa for helping me out at the very last minute =D. despite me not knowing which hole her head was supposed to go into *laughs*, it definitely was a much neater wear than the headscarf i made her wear last year, i forgot what brand that was from.
the pilot finally made it just about the time the graduation ceremony ended. she was so excited to take photos, haha. and she waved to most of her friends walking by, most of whom i do not recognize
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| Daddy's |
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| happy graduation Dinara! |
next year D3 goes to kindergarten. and i'm going to have a massive headache trying to organize getting three kids to school, especially with the different morning / afternoon sessions. huargh.
November 11, 2016
how planes fly
salam jumaat!
have you ever wondered how planes fly? of how each part of the plane has its own function that enables a big metal bird to defy gravity?
you could scrutinize the following photo below and try to figure out what those technical terms actually mean:
or, if the above is just too mind-boggling for your brain, you can skip the boring parts and just think of it this way:
(i for one like to think of it this way haha)
have you ever wondered how planes fly? of how each part of the plane has its own function that enables a big metal bird to defy gravity?
you could scrutinize the following photo below and try to figure out what those technical terms actually mean:
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| img source: google |
or, if the above is just too mind-boggling for your brain, you can skip the boring parts and just think of it this way:
(i for one like to think of it this way haha)
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| img source: google |
November 10, 2016
the whole election debacle
of course, eyes of every nation was on the presidential election yesterday.
anyways, below images i took from the Star online. thought it might be useful. despite my love for reading, i never excelled in History, the one subject that needs alot of reading (and understanding, most of which i couldn't brain haih).
and here's some interesting trivia on the future President of America. lol. my only kagumness is that for an American who's constantly in the limelight, he doesn't drink and smoke. here's to America!
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| why so serious haha |
anyways, below images i took from the Star online. thought it might be useful. despite my love for reading, i never excelled in History, the one subject that needs alot of reading (and understanding, most of which i couldn't brain haih).
and here's some interesting trivia on the future President of America. lol. my only kagumness is that for an American who's constantly in the limelight, he doesn't drink and smoke. here's to America!
November 5, 2016
grill and bake
today is grill and bake day. the meat, i grilled. the fish, i baked.
verdict? i will always love my salmon raw. haha.
i followed the recipe on coldstoragemy's instagram for the salmon dish. it looked pretty easy to make: wrap everything with foil, add seasoning and bake for 20 minutes. only Dinara was brave enough to eat the salmon, and that's because she's a sushi lover. the kids didn't like the strong pesto taste, so i had to finish everything by myself.
the steak dish was for the husband, who complained that there was no bun and black pepper sauce just like at Coliseum #tukangmasaktakberbayar BUT he finished everything in 5 minutes flat, even i pun tak sempat nak merasa, chis. everything was thrown into the Happy Call grill. i don't know how Mashi leaves everything in the pan while she goes to mandi, i abandon my pan for 5 minutes and everything hangus. HAHAHAHA.
the kids preferred the steak dish (minus the side dishes haha) but unfortunately there wasn't enough to go around, whoops (because whenever i semangat nak masak they would have no semangat to eat, pfffft). my kids are potato freaks; the other half of the potato went into the kids' tummies. ok next time Mommy will make more, k?
verdict? i will always love my salmon raw. haha.
i followed the recipe on coldstoragemy's instagram for the salmon dish. it looked pretty easy to make: wrap everything with foil, add seasoning and bake for 20 minutes. only Dinara was brave enough to eat the salmon, and that's because she's a sushi lover. the kids didn't like the strong pesto taste, so i had to finish everything by myself.
the steak dish was for the husband, who complained that there was no bun and black pepper sauce just like at Coliseum #tukangmasaktakberbayar BUT he finished everything in 5 minutes flat, even i pun tak sempat nak merasa, chis. everything was thrown into the Happy Call grill. i don't know how Mashi leaves everything in the pan while she goes to mandi, i abandon my pan for 5 minutes and everything hangus. HAHAHAHA.
the kids preferred the steak dish (minus the side dishes haha) but unfortunately there wasn't enough to go around, whoops (because whenever i semangat nak masak they would have no semangat to eat, pfffft). my kids are potato freaks; the other half of the potato went into the kids' tummies. ok next time Mommy will make more, k?
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| grilled |
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| baked |
November 2, 2016
Diwali henna partay
happy Deepavali! lol a bit late in wishing because the company is celebrating it today by holding a big Diwali lunch for its social club members (i is anti-social lol).
but i get to do hennat art! Xtina's daughter was specially invited to experiment on us =D. it isn't always you see Chinese interested in henna art. i didn't have any particular design in mind so i just told her to conteng whatever. i am in absolute awe of anyone who is able to draw freehand without requiring an eraser. this is organic henna, btw. the initial color is pale orange, but will darken in the next couple of days. very the cantik.
a friend of mine who wanted to be different that day requested for henna on the inside of his hands, lol. people say the hotter your blood, the darker the henna will be on your skin. ya kah?
updated 03/11:
i guess i'm cold-blooded HAHAHAHA
but i get to do hennat art! Xtina's daughter was specially invited to experiment on us =D. it isn't always you see Chinese interested in henna art. i didn't have any particular design in mind so i just told her to conteng whatever. i am in absolute awe of anyone who is able to draw freehand without requiring an eraser. this is organic henna, btw. the initial color is pale orange, but will darken in the next couple of days. very the cantik.
a friend of mine who wanted to be different that day requested for henna on the inside of his hands, lol. people say the hotter your blood, the darker the henna will be on your skin. ya kah?
updated 03/11:
i guess i'm cold-blooded HAHAHAHA
November 1, 2016
lippies, anyone?
anyone interested to try, but can't afford original price?
recently received, almost like new.
prices stated are exclude postage.
please add RM8 WM/RM12 EM
=)
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| NYX Liquid Suede New unopened Shade: Softspoken RM38 *sold* |
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| Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip Swatched a few times Shade: Instigator RM33 *sold* |
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| Urban Decay Vice Preloved, 2-3 times used Shade: Manic Cream RM53 |
October 31, 2016
trolls the movie
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| img source: google |
True Colors
Anna Kendrick & Justin Timberlake
You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realize
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small
Show me a smile then
Don't be unhappy
Can't remember when
I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I'll be there
And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
I'll see your true colors
Shining through
(True colors)
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow
Like a rainbow
Can't remember when
I last saw you laugh
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
Just call me up
Because you know I'll be there
And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid
(Don't be afraid)
to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow
Like a rainbow
you m.u.s.t. watch this movie!
bring your kids. bring your siblings. bring your grandma along, if you have no one else to watch it with.
bring your kids. bring your siblings. bring your grandma along, if you have no one else to watch it with.
the soundtrack is awesome!
fistbump!
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| img source: google |
October 10, 2016
the barfing session begins
i am literally sleep deprived.
first, it was Dinara. she woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that she barfed all over the bed.
then she was down with fever for two days before she slowly recovered.
Dayana was next. she also woke me up in the middle of the night to let me know she barfed all over my bathroom floor T____T. it was a miracle i didn't end up barfing myself as i hosed away all the mess.
she barfed again that night. and she came down with a fever that lasted 3 days because she refused to drink more water and when she did manage to swallow some food, she barfed it up all over again when she took her meds. sigh.
then it was Kakak Mini's turn. she told me she also barfed a couple of times in the middle of the night (is barfing a midnight thing or something..?). she doesn't believe in our conventional meds, choosing to go for the traditional urut badan instead. she deduces that badan masuk angin as the cause of everyone being sick.
luckily i was still up last night... it was 2am when i heard Emma coughing. i went to check on her only to find that she had barfed all over the floor -____- and just after i got her cleaned up, she pooped loose stools, so i had to clean her up for a second time @_@. i tried to get her to drink milk but she barfed all that up not too long afterwards, so i filled her bottle with water, of which i was relieved to see her finish.
bad luck for me she couldn't settle back to sleep properly so i was half-asleep half-awake the whole night trying to get her to la la land until before i knew it, it was time to wake up already, haiz.
so... we're having a barf party at our house, everyone! T___T
Pia? oh she's ok (for now) (touch 1000 available pieces of wood within reach), she only fell at the playground yesterday and scraped her knees. and spent a good hour howling about it too. hee~.
i'd like to think of it as the stomach flu, because all four of them ended up doing alot of vomiting, accompanied by a slight fever. the doctor i brought Dayana to see casually asked if she went to any rotavirus-infected areas recently.
hmmmm... that could be it. but my friend says that you'd also experience severe diarrhea if you had rotavirus, so i guess it's back to the stomach flu then?
anyways, here i am half asleep typing this entry. i hope the remaining family members don't fall sick, it's so energy consuming to care for a sick person! i should've just taken EL today, my brain is literally not working, sigh. my butt hurts for sitting too long, i have a slight sprain in my shoulders and my eyes are slowly going out of focus. errrr maybe it's a sign of literally ageing. haha.
so if anyone asks, tonight i will be sleeping right after take off. ta~!
first, it was Dinara. she woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that she barfed all over the bed.
then she was down with fever for two days before she slowly recovered.
Dayana was next. she also woke me up in the middle of the night to let me know she barfed all over my bathroom floor T____T. it was a miracle i didn't end up barfing myself as i hosed away all the mess.
she barfed again that night. and she came down with a fever that lasted 3 days because she refused to drink more water and when she did manage to swallow some food, she barfed it up all over again when she took her meds. sigh.
then it was Kakak Mini's turn. she told me she also barfed a couple of times in the middle of the night (is barfing a midnight thing or something..?). she doesn't believe in our conventional meds, choosing to go for the traditional urut badan instead. she deduces that badan masuk angin as the cause of everyone being sick.
luckily i was still up last night... it was 2am when i heard Emma coughing. i went to check on her only to find that she had barfed all over the floor -____- and just after i got her cleaned up, she pooped loose stools, so i had to clean her up for a second time @_@. i tried to get her to drink milk but she barfed all that up not too long afterwards, so i filled her bottle with water, of which i was relieved to see her finish.
bad luck for me she couldn't settle back to sleep properly so i was half-asleep half-awake the whole night trying to get her to la la land until before i knew it, it was time to wake up already, haiz.
so... we're having a barf party at our house, everyone! T___T
Pia? oh she's ok (for now) (touch 1000 available pieces of wood within reach), she only fell at the playground yesterday and scraped her knees. and spent a good hour howling about it too. hee~.
i'd like to think of it as the stomach flu, because all four of them ended up doing alot of vomiting, accompanied by a slight fever. the doctor i brought Dayana to see casually asked if she went to any rotavirus-infected areas recently.
hmmmm... that could be it. but my friend says that you'd also experience severe diarrhea if you had rotavirus, so i guess it's back to the stomach flu then?
anyways, here i am half asleep typing this entry. i hope the remaining family members don't fall sick, it's so energy consuming to care for a sick person! i should've just taken EL today, my brain is literally not working, sigh. my butt hurts for sitting too long, i have a slight sprain in my shoulders and my eyes are slowly going out of focus. errrr maybe it's a sign of literally ageing. haha.
so if anyone asks, tonight i will be sleeping right after take off. ta~!
September 15, 2016
Hyderabad!
Hyderabad, the Arrival
this was the original reason why i had my Indian visa made many months ago: Hyderabad! due to aircraft delays and crappy timing, i wasn't able to fly to India in April =(. heck, i even made a list of places of interest to visit once i was there:
i used my visa three months later to visit Mumbai in July and August (talk about Mumbai overkill lol). this month, the husband finally had Hyderabad in his roster. asked me if i wanted to go? =D.
the Captain said was bewildered as to why i would want to follow them to Hyderabad, because even his wife declined tagging along for the trip. to me if given the choice, Hyderabad would not make it into my list of top ten must-visit destinations, but since there was an opportunity to go, why not? lol.
that being said, i am patiently waiting for the husband to get Japan or Australia on his roster =D, whenever that will be. he usually prefers to swap long flights away for shorter routes *rolls eyes*.
i got lucky this time and got upgraded to Business to and fro. i would say the pros of being seated in Business in a narrow body would be you get a roomier seat and more leg room. you get priority boarding, priority lanes and whatnot. and maybe better choices of food depending on how picky you are. oh but the airline's hospitality in business is awesome i tell you =D
i was previously under the impression that business class lavatories were much larger than economy; they're the same actually (balloon deflating sound), the only pro being that you only share with less than 20 people as compared to more than 100 people in economy on a full flight. #toiletwoes #haha
there's not much to do anyway on night flights except to sleep or watch a movie; so i chose to watch Me Before You. now i'm tempted to read the book. i heard there's an After You book sequel too, i must get my hands on this as well. i don't really like to read e-books, i spend too much time at work already just staring at the computer screen that i feel like i'm getting cross-eyed.
i borrowed this book (in the photo below) from my sister with the intention of reading this inflight but i forgot how much i d-i-s-l-i-k-e Lemony Snicket; his stories are a frustrating read, and he loves to set everything on fire T___T grrrrr a few pages in and already i felt like chucking the book out the plane window if i could open one. i remembered how frustrating it was when i was reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, a tale about the Baudelaire siblings. everything was miserable and when a mystery was about to be explained/solved, something or someone gets burnt down to the ground... the end. 5 books are currently published for the All The Wrong Questions series. i hope i never encounter the other four in bookstores, bahahhahaha.
we landed in Hyderabad past midnight, so i went ahead to clear immigration just in case there was a long queue, even though late night arrivals usually meant lesser passengers. unfortunately wifi connectivity sucked at the airport and i forgot where the crew stays in Hyderabad (i had to fill this up in the immigration form) so i ended up waiting for the crew to disembark anyways T_T. it was raining when we landed in Hyderabad. did you know their hotel is almost 55 minutes away from the airport? jauh betul @_@.
day off in Hyderabad
i was up and early the next day, haha.
this is the first time i had breakfast with someone else other than just me, hahahhaha.the Captain came down first, followed by another three crew members. the husband came down last after telling him a bunch of his colleagues was down here with me. i don't know much about Indian food, so it was a pleasant surprise tasting Puri for the first time, only because Nabilah had it and i got curious, lol. i don't know how they make it, but they're very big and fluffy!
the crew wanted to do abit of shopping so yayyyyy i got to tag along. the last time i went sightseeing in India i roamed the streets of Mumbai all by myself because the rest of the crew was nowhere to be seen. probably they valued their sleep more than sightseeing (or probably they traveled too much already that it was getting a bit old haha). so at 11am the five of us waited at the lobby for the hotel shuttle to bring us to the Sucenderabad General Bazaar, which was about 15 minutes away from the hotel. the inital plan was to go to Charminar (which was 30 minutes away), but because of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival currently going on, they decided to go shop someplace nearer to avoid potential traffic jam in the area. in Hyderabad it's a norm for people to honk excessively; in Malaysia however, some of us take it very personally, lol. and i thought driving in Jakarta was bad.
it was slightly drizzling when we arrived, and i was the only one that brought an umbrella (after experiencing Mumbai weather, it didn't hurt to bring an umbrella to Hyderabad eh lol). there are tons and tons of stores here where you can get practically everything, from sarees to bangles to lace, you name it. a typical street at the General Bazaar looks like in the photo below:
Kajel wanted to get a bunch of kain for her sister, or what you call Salwar Suits (i think that's what they're called, i just googled the term), which are usually sold as a three-piece set: 2.5m top, 2.25m bottom, and the 'selendang'. you then tailor it to a design of your liking. they come in so many designs and colors and in so many different types of material, you'd be crazy not to fall in love with each one.
they even sell lace (lace?) you know, lace that you use to border the linings of your sleeves and outfits to add more bling to them. Kajel tells me they sell them really cheap here compared to back in Malaysia. even Nabilah purchased a couple of laces for herself. there were so many pretty ones to choose from i ended up buying nothing from the store aiyahhhhh.
after Razi purchased his curtains, he and the husband took an early shuttle back to the hotel, stopping to buy lamb briyani on the way back. the three of us continued exploring the area. we met a cow busy doing her shopping at a sundry shop... looking for a new mop or two to mop up milky messes at home no doubt. haha.
one thing that was difficult to find here was a) money changer, and b) public washroom. at one point i reeeeeealllyyy had to go to the bathroom but each and every store we asked said they didn't have one T__T. not many of the locals could speak proper English so we weren't sure whether they even understood us. where do these people go to toilet anyway???? we eventually found a toilet but it was more of an open area divided by cemented walls catered for men, you know what i mean. a bit unhygienic really ewwwwwww. i guess the locals simply go back home to pee if they had to. lucky them, poor tourists.
we eventually found a store owner on the second-floor who allowed us to use his private toilet (which was kept locked), bless him much. we finally did find a public washroom for ladies (refer to the photo below), but when Nabilah went to check it out, she found it locked and out of order T____T. a storekeeper that could converse in English told us that they don't get that many tourists here, hence the no money changer in the area.
we told the shuttle to pick us up at 5pm but due to the rush hour, they were running late by 45 minutes.
Nabilah insisted the driver take us to Himalaya before heading back to the hotel, which was what the agreement was before we even left the hotel. he was reluctant at first because it was already late and evening traffic was horrible and according to him vehicles can be fined if they stop at the side of the road. but he finally relented and allowed us to touch n go at the store. the driver asked for a selfie, i jadi tukang menyibuk je haha.
(btw, these flight attendants and their firm attitudes are really something to admire, i tell you).
i forgot to mention that during the time i was in Hyderabad, the Indians were busy celebrating the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, an eleven-day festival where large idols of the Elephant God are kept for community worship which would eventually be immersed into the nearest body of water. the roads were super crowded with people transporting Lord Ganesh idols when we arrived. this festival is usually observed in the month of Bhadra of the Hindu calender - mid August/September. i'm told that in Malaysia, the Indians celebrate for only one day.
you should've seen the locals, transporting their idols throughout the streets, celebrating by dancing and loud singing. did i mention it was raining? old and young, not even bothered by the rain. back in Malaysia, your mom would be screaming her head off at you to stay out of the rain before you end up sick.
(at this point of time i have yet to learn about Instatories haha)
more information on the festival here.
Hyderabad, the Departure
it was raining heavily as we were leaving the hotel. since it was a late flight departure there weren't that many people at the airport. the queue for immigration was also moving, albeit slow.
i saw an interesting quote on one of the bright displays on the walls while awaiting my turn. that would be me, fuming away haha.
there wasn't much to do at the airport. i couldn't find a single postcard here either. boo. this time i wasn't running late so i took my own sweet time to get to the gate haha.
onboard, Razi was so generous to serve me a huge helping of satay *sweat face*.
and look who i found in the magazine thousands of feet in the air. so famous already, thanks to the collaboration with bowerhaus x dUCk.
the flights i take are usually at night so i don't get to see much out the window. but since my flight left in the wee hours of the morning, i was able to catch sunrise on the way back. =)
til then India. i think my visa would already expire if there ever was a next time =D
this was the original reason why i had my Indian visa made many months ago: Hyderabad! due to aircraft delays and crappy timing, i wasn't able to fly to India in April =(. heck, i even made a list of places of interest to visit once i was there:
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| trip to-go |
i used my visa three months later to visit Mumbai in July and August (talk about Mumbai overkill lol). this month, the husband finally had Hyderabad in his roster. asked me if i wanted to go? =D.
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| third flight out using the same visa |
the Captain said was bewildered as to why i would want to follow them to Hyderabad, because even his wife declined tagging along for the trip. to me if given the choice, Hyderabad would not make it into my list of top ten must-visit destinations, but since there was an opportunity to go, why not? lol.
that being said, i am patiently waiting for the husband to get Japan or Australia on his roster =D, whenever that will be. he usually prefers to swap long flights away for shorter routes *rolls eyes*.
i got lucky this time and got upgraded to Business to and fro. i would say the pros of being seated in Business in a narrow body would be you get a roomier seat and more leg room. you get priority boarding, priority lanes and whatnot. and maybe better choices of food depending on how picky you are. oh but the airline's hospitality in business is awesome i tell you =D
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| supper |
i was previously under the impression that business class lavatories were much larger than economy; they're the same actually (balloon deflating sound), the only pro being that you only share with less than 20 people as compared to more than 100 people in economy on a full flight. #toiletwoes #haha
there's not much to do anyway on night flights except to sleep or watch a movie; so i chose to watch Me Before You. now i'm tempted to read the book. i heard there's an After You book sequel too, i must get my hands on this as well. i don't really like to read e-books, i spend too much time at work already just staring at the computer screen that i feel like i'm getting cross-eyed.
i borrowed this book (in the photo below) from my sister with the intention of reading this inflight but i forgot how much i d-i-s-l-i-k-e Lemony Snicket; his stories are a frustrating read, and he loves to set everything on fire T___T grrrrr a few pages in and already i felt like chucking the book out the plane window if i could open one. i remembered how frustrating it was when i was reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, a tale about the Baudelaire siblings. everything was miserable and when a mystery was about to be explained/solved, something or someone gets burnt down to the ground... the end. 5 books are currently published for the All The Wrong Questions series. i hope i never encounter the other four in bookstores, bahahhahaha.
we landed in Hyderabad past midnight, so i went ahead to clear immigration just in case there was a long queue, even though late night arrivals usually meant lesser passengers. unfortunately wifi connectivity sucked at the airport and i forgot where the crew stays in Hyderabad (i had to fill this up in the immigration form) so i ended up waiting for the crew to disembark anyways T_T. it was raining when we landed in Hyderabad. did you know their hotel is almost 55 minutes away from the airport? jauh betul @_@.
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| Hyderabad weather |
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| situated nearby the Hussain Sagar Lake |
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| the room |
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| door to the bathroom |
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| got bathtub! but forgot to bring Lush bombs |
day off in Hyderabad
i was up and early the next day, haha.
this is the first time i had breakfast with someone else other than just me, hahahhaha.the Captain came down first, followed by another three crew members. the husband came down last after telling him a bunch of his colleagues was down here with me. i don't know much about Indian food, so it was a pleasant surprise tasting Puri for the first time, only because Nabilah had it and i got curious, lol. i don't know how they make it, but they're very big and fluffy!
Puri is an unleavened deep-fried Indian bread, commonly consumed on the Indian subcontinent. It is eaten for breakfast or as a snack or light meal. It is usually served with a curry or bhaji, as in Puri bhaji.
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| puri. this was my first try of this here |
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| chai. almond milk. some sort of waffle. |
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| masala, which tasted more or less like teh tarik |
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| captain and co-pilot |
the crew wanted to do abit of shopping so yayyyyy i got to tag along. the last time i went sightseeing in India i roamed the streets of Mumbai all by myself because the rest of the crew was nowhere to be seen. probably they valued their sleep more than sightseeing (or probably they traveled too much already that it was getting a bit old haha). so at 11am the five of us waited at the lobby for the hotel shuttle to bring us to the Sucenderabad General Bazaar, which was about 15 minutes away from the hotel. the inital plan was to go to Charminar (which was 30 minutes away), but because of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival currently going on, they decided to go shop someplace nearer to avoid potential traffic jam in the area. in Hyderabad it's a norm for people to honk excessively; in Malaysia however, some of us take it very personally, lol. and i thought driving in Jakarta was bad.
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| got Uber here |
it was slightly drizzling when we arrived, and i was the only one that brought an umbrella (after experiencing Mumbai weather, it didn't hurt to bring an umbrella to Hyderabad eh lol). there are tons and tons of stores here where you can get practically everything, from sarees to bangles to lace, you name it. a typical street at the General Bazaar looks like in the photo below:
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| streets of the General Bazaar |
Kajel wanted to get a bunch of kain for her sister, or what you call Salwar Suits (i think that's what they're called, i just googled the term), which are usually sold as a three-piece set: 2.5m top, 2.25m bottom, and the 'selendang'. you then tailor it to a design of your liking. they come in so many designs and colors and in so many different types of material, you'd be crazy not to fall in love with each one.
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| for the cloth lovers |
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| kain lots of kain |
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| more kain |
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| cotton |
they even sell lace (lace?) you know, lace that you use to border the linings of your sleeves and outfits to add more bling to them. Kajel tells me they sell them really cheap here compared to back in Malaysia. even Nabilah purchased a couple of laces for herself. there were so many pretty ones to choose from i ended up buying nothing from the store aiyahhhhh.
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| picking out lace (lace?) |
after Razi purchased his curtains, he and the husband took an early shuttle back to the hotel, stopping to buy lamb briyani on the way back. the three of us continued exploring the area. we met a cow busy doing her shopping at a sundry shop... looking for a new mop or two to mop up milky messes at home no doubt. haha.
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| cows can shop too |
one thing that was difficult to find here was a) money changer, and b) public washroom. at one point i reeeeeealllyyy had to go to the bathroom but each and every store we asked said they didn't have one T__T. not many of the locals could speak proper English so we weren't sure whether they even understood us. where do these people go to toilet anyway???? we eventually found a toilet but it was more of an open area divided by cemented walls catered for men, you know what i mean. a bit unhygienic really ewwwwwww. i guess the locals simply go back home to pee if they had to. lucky them, poor tourists.
we eventually found a store owner on the second-floor who allowed us to use his private toilet (which was kept locked), bless him much. we finally did find a public washroom for ladies (refer to the photo below), but when Nabilah went to check it out, she found it locked and out of order T____T. a storekeeper that could converse in English told us that they don't get that many tourists here, hence the no money changer in the area.
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| public washroom out of order |
we told the shuttle to pick us up at 5pm but due to the rush hour, they were running late by 45 minutes.
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| rush hour traffic |
Nabilah insisted the driver take us to Himalaya before heading back to the hotel, which was what the agreement was before we even left the hotel. he was reluctant at first because it was already late and evening traffic was horrible and according to him vehicles can be fined if they stop at the side of the road. but he finally relented and allowed us to touch n go at the store. the driver asked for a selfie, i jadi tukang menyibuk je haha.
(btw, these flight attendants and their firm attitudes are really something to admire, i tell you).
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| Himalaya pit stop |
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| back at the hotel! |
i forgot to mention that during the time i was in Hyderabad, the Indians were busy celebrating the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, an eleven-day festival where large idols of the Elephant God are kept for community worship which would eventually be immersed into the nearest body of water. the roads were super crowded with people transporting Lord Ganesh idols when we arrived. this festival is usually observed in the month of Bhadra of the Hindu calender - mid August/September. i'm told that in Malaysia, the Indians celebrate for only one day.
you should've seen the locals, transporting their idols throughout the streets, celebrating by dancing and loud singing. did i mention it was raining? old and young, not even bothered by the rain. back in Malaysia, your mom would be screaming her head off at you to stay out of the rain before you end up sick.
(at this point of time i have yet to learn about Instatories haha)
more information on the festival here.
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| Ganesh Chaturthi festival |
Hyderabad, the Departure
it was raining heavily as we were leaving the hotel. since it was a late flight departure there weren't that many people at the airport. the queue for immigration was also moving, albeit slow.
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| Rajiv Ghandi International Airport |
i saw an interesting quote on one of the bright displays on the walls while awaiting my turn. that would be me, fuming away haha.
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| caption of the day |
there wasn't much to do at the airport. i couldn't find a single postcard here either. boo. this time i wasn't running late so i took my own sweet time to get to the gate haha.
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| Departures |
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| raining upon departure |
onboard, Razi was so generous to serve me a huge helping of satay *sweat face*.
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| the infamous satay |
and look who i found in the magazine thousands of feet in the air. so famous already, thanks to the collaboration with bowerhaus x dUCk.
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| vivy thousands of feet in the air |
the flights i take are usually at night so i don't get to see much out the window. but since my flight left in the wee hours of the morning, i was able to catch sunrise on the way back. =)
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| daybreak |
til then India. i think my visa would already expire if there ever was a next time =D
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