I realised that I had closed 2012 without making any resolutions for the new year. As I move along in life, I realise I have less need to make resolutions. I am already grateful for the life which I have now. Any problems I may have or which may arise along the way, I have no doubt that God will be with me to guide me through it. I do not fear. So really, I have not made any new year resolutions. But truth be told, at the back of my head, is that 'project' which I feel I've been prodded by God to accomplish. So maybe THAT. But for now, no details.
Hubs and I hit the road again after the Christmas celebrations. It meant I had to miss my epic VJC reunion for the 'pioneers' of the JC (1984, 85 and 86 batches) but I'm not too sad because I am in regular contact with a small group of my former '85-86 schoolmates anyway. For the past few years, hubs and I have gone away (just the two of us) just before New Year's Day. It's to relax after the Christmas celebrations. The weather is usually cool, the office isn't as busy because most of our associates are closed anyway and the kids would still be on holiday. Perfect time. But because we prefer to spend New Year's eve with the kids, we don't really have much time away. We'll usually rush back before New Year's eve. It's OK. 2 or 3 nights away alone is good enough for a couple to rejuvenate! All married couples need alone time and it doesn't matter where you are. Escape time is more like it and Mike and I just love taking more short trips over fewer long trips anyway. This time round, we had a hotel stay which included some Balinese spa pampering. I had to be careful about my 'ex-fractured' toes not being massaged but apart from that, it was some much needed pampering. Just nice for me but hubs found it too 'light' for his liking.
Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (food street).
We went to Jalan Alor for dinner one night. Ok lah. So so only. Have tasted better food elsewhere in Malaysia. The highlight for this trip though, was a visit to Danau Kota Uptown.
Danau Kota 'Uptown' Setapak
Danau Kota 'Uptown' Setapak
Mainly selling clothes and shoes. We tried our best to cover the whole place but I gave up and gave the last two rows a miss. My feet just couldn't take it anymore and that's after swishing down 2 cans of coke too. Me, giving up an opportunity to shop. Yes, it's that huge. It's a huge fenced area with tents, tents and more tents. Give it a miss if it rains because it's in the open. But otherwise, quite a nice place to experience. We didn't know where this place was. Had only heard of it from another cab driver who'd told us that this place 'uptown' was huge, prices were cheaper than town or Chinatown (yes, they are a tad though I wouldn't bother to go all the way there to get a shirt a few dollars less, taking into account the distance it is from KL town itself). Believe or not, there are many 'uptowns' in Malaysia. I only discovered that when I tried to locate this place. Couldn't define which one the cabby had tried to recommend so we decided to ask around instead, describing it as sprawling and opened till the wee hours of the morning. I tried to remember the route there so we can drive there one day but gave up half way. Will need to rely on the GPS but only if the dumb Marbella we own doesn't decide to bring us via a twilight zone route.
A relatively friendly cabby took us there for RM20 (about SGD8 - of course not following the metre lah but considering it was jammed in the Bukit Bintang area when we had spoken to him, it's not too bad). He was a bit worried we wouldn't be able to find a cab back to our hotel in town so he'd given us his name card too. Then he made sure to tell us which side of the road to wait for the cab so it'd be in the direction of the hotel. He reminded me to hold on to my bag (watching out especially for motorcyclists). Coming back, we took a metered cab and really, including the surcharge (yes, there's a midnight charge of I think RM3) the difference was only a few ringgit short of the trip there so we hadn't been ripped off that much earlier. Is it safe? I didn't feel unsafe at all. It's quite crowded. Also, easy to catch a cab in the wee hours of the morning. But of course, as always, my arms and shoulders ached from gripping my handbag too tight.
Why do we keep hopping over to Malaysia? Good exchange rate, lah. Why you think! Also time constraints. Anyway, we prefer travelling around Asia. Just love soaking in the ethnicity of Asian cities : )
Singapore is right smack in the middle of South-East Asian countries. It's so convenient to just book a ticket and go. So fun! We've been to Europe and find European cities a tad less exciting. He and I feel no urge to go anymore for the moment (although the kids would like to). Asia is definitely more vibrant. He and I are the type where we can't sit still during a holiday. There's so much to explore. You just need to know where to look.
Am already staring at the calendar. Can't wait for our next trip! Have a great year ahead!
No comments:
Post a Comment