... KL 2008 ...

Like a vivid dream...





1 month isn't long enough. Especially not when you're sick for the entire time. Literally.


Haven't done as much as I wanted. Or could have. And before I knew it, I'm back and feeling like I've just woken up from a somewhat tiring dream.

Being home after 1½ years does come with lots of changes *but apparently, I'm still the same old me, albeit with a much larger tummy*. Everything seems older, more distant, and new spots or stains become so obviously visible to one's eyes. Things that were once familiar still seem the same and yet hesitantly different. But very soon *and too soon for my liking*, I'm so used to it that it's as though one never left.



Now that I'm back here in my room in London, it's again too easy to slip back into my ways and habits here. Yes, I did feel slightly disoriented, as if I'm still on a foreign holiday in one of those service apartments, albeit with all my stuff and junk populating the room. But such a feeling soon disappears *particularly, when one has to work* and again, everything seems just to happy to hide away from my consciousness and slips fleetingly through the grasps of my memory.




Food

First things first, this was a failed mission from the start - what with my horrible cough and prolonged sore throat. But when one's pass the halfway mark and well into the last part of the holiday, does one really care after all that?

The only consoling bit was that I was around for Hari Raya, which meant there were Ramadan delicacies like lemang and *my favourite ^_^* pineapple tarts.

Of course, it was nearly too late by the time I got round to remembering to take pictures, so here's just a few poor quality photos to remember it by.

...some herbal soup place at Low Yat...


...bak kut teh 'n' chu kiok chou...


...chicken 'n' roast pork rice...


...char kuey teow 'n' teh c ping...
*my favourite Sun breakfast ^_^*


...pineapple tarts 'n' hazelnut white coffee...


...teatimes...


...roasted chicken wings for supper...


...mango supreme...

Shopping

Ah, this was much more productive, although I pretty much ended up buying stuff I didn't planned to in the first place and couldn't find the things which I really wanted to get.

At least, did managed to visit the new shopping complexes which have continued mushrooming while I was away - notably, Pavillion and Midvalley Gardens.

Never thought that there was enough space in that huge enclosed roundabout that houses Midvalley Megamall to open a similarly large mall parrallel to the first o.O But one sees the big difference in the pricy products on offer, such that Gardens is pretty deserted compared to the more people-populated Megamall. However, the management is commendable for being able to lease out all the shops available in Gardens, unlike Avenue K *which is still a beautifully lit but pretty forlorn building* and the grossly disappointing montrosity that is Times Square *very confusing layout and getting more lala by the day than Sungei Wang*.

Pavillion, on the other hand, is also rather pricey but the overall concept still makes it a very nice place to hangout. The former site of BBGS, it's location is indeed enviable with popular spots located so conveniently close by and quite a spacious foodcourt with rather presentable food. It also has quite a number of labels not found elsewhere, and with cheaper options like nearby Sungei Wang and public transport accessibility, I ended up going there the most during my brief stay. Think it's my current favourite mall to go to, and didn't make it all the way to One U at all despite it being the one place where I can most likely get what I wanted.

My only complaint was that we saw a rat trotting by *and I say trotting, because it was in no way attempting to hide or run for its life whatsoever* right in front of one food counter and no workers made any apparent reaction to it despite a line of customers looking shocked, suggesting that such rodents make quite an ordinary everyday appearance -_-


Entertainment

Cinema tickets here is still loads cheaper despite the rise in prices since I left. Unfortunately, there weren't many good shows on screen and only got to see Wall-E *the one show I was really looking forward to*, Mamma Mia *a feel good show that I went to teman my mom*, and Eagle Eye *the only other show which looked interesting while I was there, to make my KL trip more worth it :p*. If only I knew that The Dark Knight was going to be showing for more than 2 months in KL, I need not have rushed to see it in London before I went back -_-


Flights

Now, this was a real eye-opener.

It being my first time flying Emirates, I wasn't quite as prepared as I'd like to be for the journey to and from KL, given that I had no idea they were only going to serve 1 proper meal per flight. This meant that I had only 2 meals over the span of 21+ hours and had to save and scrounge whatever snacks I had. I supposed this is not so unexpected given that the flights were only 7-8 hours each, but unlike other flights I've been on, there were no selection of sandwiches or snacks on the menu available for passengers, between meals on request. Also, the check-in lady at Gatwick somehow assigned me seats at the very rear of the plane for both flights, resulting in snacks being very limited or none left by the time the trolley reached me =( At least, there were no toilets at the rear of the Airbus planes.

The meals themselves were nothing to shout about, despite the menu saying that passengers could enjoy 'Emirates' award-winning cuisine'. I must say, I very much prefer the food on Sri Lanka *tasty, definitely no beef, plus an extra option for vegetarians*, or even Cathay Pacific. Plus the service was a bit lacking - although they were polite and all *except for a couple of Malaysian stewardesses who were rude and apparently ignoring me*, there were times where they totally forgot to serve me my meal or didn't come back at all after saying they would.

But I love the Emirates in-flight Ice entertainment system. It's a really cool touch-screen personal entertainment system where you can not only choose any movie available *at least 50 movies on selection* to watch at any time you like *don't have to wait for the whole plane screening*, but can also fastforward, rewind, or pause! Think it's only available on large Boeing planes, as the Airbuses didn't seem to have them. So I only got to experience the Ice system on the flights between Dubai and KL. Personally, I'd prefer a Boeing anytime to an Airbus.

It's actually quite good to fly at this time of the year, as most of the latest summer release blockbuster movies will be available on flights by Sept - Oct. This time round, I got to see My Blueberry Nights, The Forbidden Kingdom, Hancock, Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Iron Man *the very last bit without audio as they had already collected the headsets for touch down - yes, it can still play during take-off / landing*, Meet Dave, The Incredible Hulk, and even bits from Independence Day *a classic one that I'd always enjoy*. Too bad the Ice entertainment is only available on 1 part of the flight, and I couldn't really enjoy it on my way out from KL as I had to try to sleep on that night flight to avoid any jetlag.

Hm, I shall consider going back in Oct the next time I fly. That is, if I can wait that long.





That was pretty much it. Aside from meeting up with friends, family, and dog. Which wasn't much, given many friends weren't around and I'd missed all those weddings and gatherings earlier in the year.


Well, at least I got down to a bit of piano playing when I had time. But even that wasn't as satisfying since it works best for me when I'm feeling melancholic / sad / dreamy / frustrated / lost / depressed / angry / pointless / ... which isn't exactly what you wanna feel on a holiday back home.



Oh, and I had spent more than RM2.5k in KL o.O Not counting the flights. Surprisingly, my baggage was not overweight *only 20.1kg*.


By the way, I also weighed myself after doing the packing, and I'm still at the same weight as before I left, despite looking definitely fatter! But my brief happiness was indeed shortlived as this meant that what little muscles I had then, had now fully turned into fat =(





And now I'm back. Can feel the homesickness setting in. Though I never yet felt homesick since I came here to work, I knew it'll hit me once I'm back from this trip. And it's worse since I hadn't really done much at home and was ill the whole time. Not to mention that I have my exam results coming out at the end of this week, and I suspect I failed.





Really don't feel like doing anything. Not even cooking. Not for a few weeks or so. At least.





... disoriented.