VIENTIANE, LAOS

I presume everyone is aware where that is right … So I’m not gonna start with it’s location except that it is the capital of Laos. Am lazy that much. Upon our arrival, we discovered that it is the dry season resulting the Mekong being half dried up! I mean it literally. HALF OF ITS SIZE WERE DRY LIKE THE DESERT! No kidding. Also, we learnt that the Mekong River is border to Thailand. So yeap, immediately after the Mekong River stands Thailand. Although there’s a sandbag in the middle of the Mekong River but that doesn’t really count. I was kinda excited the night before (as usual) and only got about 3.5 hours of sleep. I thought I would be dead tired when I woke up but when YL came to pick us up with the cab (a very comfortable one) I was delighted to see them and I was my usual chatty self. *beam* That’s the thing with AirAsia flights, it’s freaking early rendering passengers waking up as early as 4 or 5 am! But I guess that’s travelling!

The Laotian people are really, really nice. When I was walking in the city centre, having food, sipping cocktail & purchasing items, I didn’t get the in-your-face-tourism thingy at all. Even when it comes to shopping, they aren’t crude like the Vietnamese nor pushy like the Thai. They seem really down to earth and have a gentle disposition. Oddly, I felt safe walking in Vientiane and there’s no such thing as bag snatchers, like here in KL. And the cocktails concoctions and FOOD are to die for. And cheap too! We were really lucky as there’s this place called The Spirit House, located just next to our hotel. It has about er … I would say about 40 odd of its own cocktail concoctions and they were SUPER DARN good! I haven’t had anything so good as compared in KL before. As for food consumption, the Laotian consumes an abundance of vegetables. And I do mean a lot. Most dishes, whether you are having just a simple soupy noodle, steamboat, rice etc … it is always accompanied by a plate of fresh, raw vegetables and this includes minty leaves and coriander which is my favourite. Their local food rarely contain anything rich in carbohydrate, except rice which it is not their preferred diet and so are pretty healthy. Even their noodles are vermicelli and not the yellow noodles. It’s no wonder the Laotian people are so slim. And I do mean slim. I didn’t even see a single plump person. All in all, I enjoyed everything from the food, to the drinks, to the spa, to the walking & shopping tremendously! I recommend you lot to go as it is always interesting to see the lives of the third world country. Laos is still pretty much undeveloped and is still in its origin. Many people have asked me before as to the reason why Laos was the chosen destination. I don’t quite know myself but I think it’s best to vary your travel destination within a bit of glamour to a bit of rough edge. If all were the same, it would indeed be boring innit! Also, at this crucial credit crunch in time, places like Laos doesn't make a big hole in your bank account.

Beau Rivage Mekong

I wasn’t so sure about the hotel that we were booked in, predominantly because of it’s pink painted walls. But after we checked in and when we were showed our rooms, I like it immediately. You see, there were 2 theme colours for each of the rooms, i.e. either all in baby blue or pink. From the online pictures, the pink room looked a bit bright. So I had a mental note to request for a blue coloured room should it indeed look funny. But the pink were a light shade and it has a soothing effect. Whereas the baby blue room looked a bit gloomy to me. The layout of the room was done very aptly because every corner of the room were well used. The service was good and as it is located in a discreet area (albeit not a long walk into the city centre) we didn’t have much noise which meant we slept well every night. The Beau Rivage Hotel was rated amongst the top 3 hotels to stay in Vientiane by tripadvisor.com. Indeed, disappointed we were not. It is opened and managed by an Australian ex-civil servant. He came to Laos about 5 years ago and hasn’t left since.

      I really like the idea of those reading lights. Handy!

                       Frontage of Beau Rivage Mekong.

Mekong River

 Walkable dried Mekong river. The dry season will last till November.

 

                                    Sunset by Mekong.

  

  So dry that they even made a plantation out of the riverbed.

 

 

Food

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           (Clockwise) Steamed cutlet fish, raw vege & kaolaap.

 

 Vermicelli noodle soup with pork + raw vegetables. This is my fav!

      Unnamed corner kopitiam, where we had the above noodles.

 

Vietnamese steamboat with scrumptious sausages! I was too busy eating.

Rice paper for wrapping, lots of mint, coriander and the sauces are delicious!

Vieng Savanh (wherein we had the steamboat) at the Chinatown area.

Got these at the Pimphone store for RM10 each. Have yet to try.

 

BBQ pork ribs for RM12 at The Spirit House. It’s so YUMMMY!

        Castro mojito, wherein Beerlao is added. A good drink!

The boombastic Margerita at The Spirit House. Honestly, is it the best Margerita I’ve ever had. We started drinking from 5pm onwards on an everyday basis. Looks like I gotta do a big detox now.

So, a lot has happened in the past 2 weeks. I was supposed to attend my cousin's wedding on 7th March, 2008 at the Crown Plaza Mutiara Hotel, including the tea ceremony during the daytime but it was not to be. Something unexpected took place in Penang and I flee back in a haste. Although my mom did say that there was not a need for me to do so. But how could I not. Couldn't just sit twiddling my thumb and wait, could I! Initially, I thought I had to do without my trip to Laos but as luck would have it, things got much better in a matter of days and I flew back to KL just one night before leaving for Vientiane. I'm glad everything worked out fine. *me thank my lucky star* Coming up next: Vientiane, Laos.

Miss Venezuela/Universe 2009

Oh my god, she really is so god damn pretty and I really like her hair. I've been trying to curl my hair but it can never look as good as it does on her. What's their secret ? Do I need to attend lessons as how to curl your hair ? *he he*

Oh right, it's probably done by professionals horrrr .....

[featured pic: Stephanie Fernandez]

Literature OD

I think I read too many literature novels for the time being. Ergo, I stopped reading "The Night Watch" by Sarah Waters and dived in for a chick lit. Has anyone ever read anything by Adele Parks ? I'm reading her latest novel, "Tell Me Something x". Hmm, it's alright. The novel is written from a first person point of view and it doesn't contain much humour. It has an attractive book cover ... I think the author is a fan with *sex on legs*. Most of her other books have covers as such too. I like them too. *he he* Anyway, Amazon.com claims it as "Another sure hit". Hmm, not too sure about that. Anyway, I'm only on Chapter 9 at the moment. So, we'll see how it goes.

On a different note, I've been thinking about something i.e. when someone says something offensive to you, should one tell how she/he feels? Or should one just swallow with a faint hope that it won't occur again? Or should one argue and try to make the other person see one's point of view? Sometimes you wonder whether is it really worth it, all these troubles .. all these arguments ...

Should we treat the ones who doesn't earn nor has a proper job with disdain and less respect, because they do not conform to society level or somehow do not live up to familial expectations or simply because they choose to? Does it mean that they have no social purpose and are render useless ? Or is one life a different life altogether ? Are people entitled to their choices in life, no matter how negative it sounds and should not be judge? I really don't know sometimes. I think I have been reading to many novels on Living Social.

Just something to think about.

For some reason, I really like this picture. Though it could have been better, if taken with a better angle. But I haven't got wide angle in my Canon Ixus. Speaking of that, I dropped it the other day with a loud 'thud' and the lenses are all shattered. Time to get a new one.

INDECISIVE MIND

Well, it has been a rather lazy day. Not that my days are busy thesedays. Am itching to start work again and I hope to find a good offer out there. Times are bad but no harm to be optimistic and hopeful right. Anyway, had my lunch at about 2pm at The Curve. Lately, I've been eating a little unhealthily, lots of fried stuff and seafood. I think I had seafood a dozen times from CNY till now. I really, really need to stop for a while. Anyhow. I got bored of my old blue-ish layout. I think I was having an identity crisis as I couldn't decide on which background but finally settled on this lovely lavender pink one. Ok right ?

THE ROBBER BRIDE

I have known of the author, Margaret Atwood for sometime now but it wasn't till of late that I actually read any of her books. I just literally finished reading one of her literature novels, The Robber Bride. I could really relate to this story. Although it is just fiction, the storyline of the book is a pretty accurate manifestation of our social living. It shows how friendship are form, through strangers, inexplicably linked through a series of unfortunate events and what one will do when there is none to turn to, especially in that horrible and gloomy hour of one's life. I do not wish to be a spoiler but the story is basically about four women and how one of them affects their life. Let's call her Miss Z. She at point in time, destroy each of their lives but also saves them in which I think she prolly did some of them a favour. I know that's a paradoxical statement but it is interesting to note that the other three ladies will never be able to truly see it as a favour. To know more, you have to read the book. I give two thumbs up as I truly did enjoyed reading this book. I might read another one of Margaret Atwood's novel next, The Blind Assassin, wherein she was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 2000.

14.02 Weekend – Malacca Historical City

That’s where I was for the 14.02 weekend. The minute we arrived in Malacca, it was swarming with horde of people and copious cars were heading into the main part of the old town, i.e. Jonkers Street. It was jammed up all over. It was a fine day, with lots of sunshine, clear blue sky and little breeze. We were in search for our intended accommodation, none than the other - Majestic Hotel (“MH”) which is an establishment by the YTL Group. Incidentally, it is also the same group which manages Pangkor Laut Resort and Tanjung Jara Resort. The street orientation in Malacca City Centre is very tiny but neat. So we thought MH would be an easy find. Furthermore, we have the location map to aid us, albeit not a very good one. After a few rounds, we discovered that MH was located on the road which didn’t have any road sign to it. But once it was found, MH was almost a perfect embodiment of typical old architecture found in Malacca. It reminded me very much of my old house in Logan Road, Penang. The plants are well trimmed and I just simply adore the cute little windows. The room had a quaint charm with its wooden flooring and lovely china. All we did was eat, sleep, massage and eat eat eat. If spa is your kinda thing, I do highly recommend the lomi-lomi massage. It was soooo good, even better than the one I had at the Spa Village, Ritz-Carlton in KL. The masseur managed to get rid of all my tight knots at my shoulder. It was a really good experience, particularly especially when we were looking for an old quaint charm and we got it at Majestic Hotel. Here are some pictures taken at Majestic Hotel. To view the actual size of the picture, please click on the thumbnail.

                  The frontage of the Majestic Hotel

                       Lobby area.

            Floor tiles of the lobby area.

Coffee house, where we had our breakfast.

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              Attempt at arty shot.

Four posted bed. To the left, is where the bathroom is, with a wide sliding door. Sexy.

                   The bathroom.

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           I like these bathroom tiles.

                   Library area.

         Floor tiles of the library area.

PICTORIAL ENTRY

I was quite a sentimental person, even as a child. Whilst I was doing some spring-cleaning back in Penang in order to accost the CNY, I came across some old photos taken when I was really young. (note: I am hardly sentimental now.) Thesedays, I live by "Out with the old, in with the new". For clarification purposes, this is in relation to stuff and junk and not men k!

The photo featured above was taken in one of the school premises (think it was a dilapidated tennis court) back in Nov 1995. I remembered it very clearly because it was the very last day of our SPM exams and we were all so happy! NO MORE STUDYING! We were walking out of our school, heading towards the main gate to get our lunch and head into town. Oh man, at that time, it was such a liberating feeling. All four of us have been studying our asses off and since we didn't have to do that anymore, we were estatic! Not to mentioned relieved too.

These were my main friends during high school days. From left to right, Maureen, me, Sharifah & Florence. Actually Maureen wasn't really close to us, she comes and go in this tiny group. They used to call us the 'Muhibah' because we each represent the main race in M'sia.

Amongst all, Florence & I are closest for we have known each other since primary school at 12 years old. That's a good 20 years. We were classmates and she used to live just about a 5 mins walk from my house. We decided to enter the same secondary school and we did everything together. Going to school, breakfast, recess, lunch ... shopping .. etc. Sharifah became close to us when she was 13, at Form 1. She wasn't a typical malay gal and she was fun. Best of all, she speaks good English. So all hell broke lose when the three of us got into the same class for the last 2 years of our secondary school, i.e. Form 4 & 5. Florence or Flo (we used to call her then) were the matured one amongst us. Sharifah or Shark (we used to call her then) were my partner in crime and Flo would run the strip of morales with us .... but after a few attemps in making us good, which she failed, she joined us in our mischievous prank too! Wahahahha. And we used to sit side by side to one another in class. Very convenient.

As I know, Florence got married in 2004 and she had a baby in 2006. I didn't attend her wedding as I was in the UK but I think my parents attended it on my behalf. Sharifah was working in KL but moved back to Penang in 2006, the year I moved to KL. She got married in 2008. I got a call from her when I was in Hong Kong, just one day before her wedding and of cos, to inform me that she was getting married. One day before. Hmmm ... and I met Maureen in Penang, during one of my night out in 2005. Think it was SS. She was working at the door. If I remembered correctly, she was in events.

I haven't seen any of them for a long time. Florence was the last person I saw, back in 2005 when I just got back from the UK. We were all so close once. Funny how things change.

CNY is still happening. At my last entry, I left this blog in a very disgruntled manner. Admittedly, things picked up from then. Visited relatives. Thank god it is only a 1 day affair. I don't think I can handle it if it was too long. I was hoping to meet my cousins this time 'round but they had already left for the capital city on the 2nd day of CNY. My eldest (paternal side) cousin is getting married and I think she had her registration of marriage on the Friday just passed.

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Well, that was a long sidetracking. All in all, CNY was quiet this year. But it is usually quiet for most years. Just the way I like it. Short and sweet is the best way to go about it. Left for KL on Friday and I left my book, A Mighty Heart in the plane. I got distracted with this little girl I met, Chloe seated next to me. She's 3 years old and she's such an enchanting little girl. I think I'll just start on this book I picked up at the airport, Mayada, Daugter of Iraq. Hope it won't be too emotional.

Saw Underworld III, Rise of the Lycans on Friday night. It was alright. I still prefer the Underworld I, with Kate Beckinsale in it. Caught a couple of previews before the start of Underworld III and I wanna really see the following:-

1. Watchmen
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Valkyrie
5. Changeling
6. A Mighty Heart