In Love with Randall

I showed my dad the photo of the batik shirt I wanted to get him and he liked it, so after I cut-short my mengaji session (the ustad was surprised that I suddenly wanted to stop haha) and went for lunch at Busana (again! but this time I knew I wanted to eat Laksa Utara), I dropped by Noor Arfa to purchase it. Of course, something caught my eye when I was there, a long flowy cotton top (long below the knee) which I have no idea when or where I'm gonna where it. But it was nice. Hehe.

It's so nice and soft and flowyyyy.... (Notice I changed the label? Isn't it cute?)

After work I went over to Sacoor Brothers to collect my jeans I bought last week. Unfortunately it was still a bit long so I had to get it altered again. And wait another week. Again. Did I tell you that Sacoor Brothers is having an opening sale, storewide 30% off, buy two or more - 40% off! Of course the starting price is expensive, in fact I don't think I've ever purchased any SB stuff at the original price, but the quality is good. Plus, they always give you a "Happy Days" coupon which entitles you to more discounts the next time around. Not all Happy Days are worth, sometimes the sale has more to offer so you have to do your own calculations. But Happy Days are one of the reasons I keep coming back. As usual I was offered coffee and chocolate but I opted for Evian only and left the choc alone.

They pamper you with free coffee and Ferrero Rocher choc... How can you not love this store?

After that I went to pray and met up with the BF and had teppanyaki for dinner.

Yes while he was being the goody and berdoa, I happily snapped a photo!

We dropped by BCBG just to see if there were any other interesting items on sale but nothing attracted me, either that too expensive. Hehe. So we made our way to his car, for me to collect Randall...

What's in here? What's in here?

Wait for it....

Wait for it....

Tadaa!!! Say hello to Randall!

Ok, so the photos above don't really tell much. Randall is my new pair of blue pants. I reserved this on Wednesday last week because the sale started on Thursday - love the sales assistant who told me about it. But I was afraid they'd release it so I got the BF to go get it. Hehe. I don't know what material it is (haven't checked the label), but it sure as hell is soft and comfy and flowy. It's a size XS, i.e. I cannot grow any fatter than I am right now. It's a bit long unless I wear it constantly with 5" heels, which I won't so I'm getting it shortened by one of 'em tailors in Campbell. I just love the way it looks and feels, totally worth the RM350 I paid for it (and that's after 50% off!), so much so that I'm thinking of getting the white version of Randall. Although, I would have to check on its transparency, if it's really white or off-white... But then again, I don't have an off-white pants yet.........

Outfit of the day : Bag - Coach, Top - MNG, Pants - Executive (old), Heels - Manolo Blahnik

Hehe. What are you waiting for? Go check out Sacoor Brothers and BCBG now!

Coach, Lunch and Noor Arfa Batik

I arrived at work quite early for some reason there wasn't much traffic. Called Tasha up but she hadn't even left her house yet. So I just waited at the office, had breakfast (packed Mommy's yummy mihun goreng!) and dropped off my safety shoes to be fixed. After chowing down breakfast I got a whatsapp from Tasha telling me to drop by her room to pick up....

Say hello to my new Coach Kristin Leather Hobo!

Nice kan? kan? kan?

She got this when she went for training in US middle of the year along with other bags but I only decided to get this bag recently. Great that she doesn't need the money, so it's payable when able! (Well not really but she did give an installment.)

Had been wanting to try the new foodcourt at the new MARA building, Busana. It's a new "mall" which is connected to a new hotel too. Not sure if there are new offices too. I hope the mall doesn't turn out to be a flop.

My nasi campur was pretty expensive, RM5 for 2 types of vege, nasi separuh and a few stalks of lady's fingers. And of course me being greedy, I went over to the other stall to get a small piece of ikan pari for RM 3.

Now of course, the real intention I dragged my colleagues out there for lunch was so that I could drop by the Noor Arfa Batik boutique. Unfortunately it was getting late and the rest of the lunch group weren't really interested so we went off not buying anything. They drifted to another shop on the same floor but I had to go to the bank so I went down via the escalator... where I found the promotion buntings of Noor Arfa "Ask for special discount!", "Only RM10 for membership and you get 40% off!".

Me being a sucker for cheap marketing, of course fell for that trap. I didn't go immediately back up the escalator (it wasn't working so I could go up and down freely) since I was rushing to get to the bank, but of course those buntings lingered in my mind for the rest of the day. I made a deal with myself to complete my work for the day before I go back to the store by 7PM (I called them up to check what time they closed). I managed to finish by 6.30PM and hurried over to Busana. Before even stepping into the store I already asked the sales girl how do I sign up as a member. Heheh. There were 3 ladies working there out of which one was friendlier than the two. The two were practically stuck to the cashier counter, but at least one of them later went around the store when a few makciks came in. And she did help me tie the pareo. Ah yes. What did I purchase?

Cotton Kaftan top, Silk Kaftan Top with Long Sleeves, Pareo - Noor Arfa Batik

The silk pareo was the most expensive retailing at RM279 but of course with the 40% off, it went down to a more acceptable price. Haha. I wanted to get my dad a shirt since he couldn't find one at the KT airport the other day, but I wasn't sure if he'd like the pattern. So I snapped a photo of the shirt to show him at home.

Went home, trying to hide the purchase and bag from my mom but kantoi-ed halfway. She didn't do her usual Pegawai Kastam check though, so I was lucky. Heheh.

Can't wait to wear the cotton kaftan top at Phuket! What about you? Do you like batik?

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha

Went to my aunt's place at Kuala Terengganu for Raya Haji. It has been awhile since we really celebrated Raya Haji so it was quite a big thing for us. Plus this year my family did a korban.

I didn't plan on watching the slaughter coz I pity the cow, but I had to send the camera to my dad so ended up watching. Behind a tree. Haha. I still think they could've handled the cow better.

We stayed at Tanjong Vista Hotel for 3 nights. We took the Superior Deluxe room and it was quite decent. Clean and neat, think the hotel is quite new. Hope they maintain it. It could do with a sofa set or something. And perhaps a slightly larger TV. Haha. You won't be spoilt for choice for breakfast, but honestly, tell me can you really eat ALL the food spread out at a hotel breakfast buffet like Mandarin Oriental? The only thing I didn't fancy was the sweetness of everything! (Well except for the porridge and its salty condiments.) But that is expected out of the north-east states, Terengganu and Kelantan.

The korban was on Friday, but we had kenduri on Saturday. We didn't really feel as though we were celebrating on Friday coz everyone seemed to be busy preparing for Saturday. (Ok my sister and I just lazed around and washed up some dishes)

Outfit for Day 1 : Shawl - Dirs Gallery, Kaftan - Jalan TAR, Heels - Vincci - old, Bag - old

Nasi Goreng Tanjong, Tomyam Seafood, Chicken Wings, Char Kuey Teow. Yumm!!

 We came back in the evening and I took a ride with Shahrul to town. Went to Mydin to buy some stuff. Mydin Mall mind you. Haha. Since we were too lazy to get out for dinner, my sister and I ordered room service.

We woke up on Saturday and had this view from our window. 

Beautiful. Unfiltered. Masha Allah.

Outfit for Day 2 : Shawl - Dirs Gallery, Kaftan - Pasar Buluh Kubu, Kota Baru, Necklace - Diva, Bangle - part of a set from Rubi

 Day 2 was also spent lazing around and a bit of eating. Then came the time to shop!! Or at least I thought so. I went to the much-hyped Pasar Payang but came back empty handed! Amazing right! I found the starting prices were more than Pasar Buluh Kubu in Kelantan (where I dropped by after my Perhentian trip here) and perhaps it was the crowd and all that didn't appeal to me. It could've been because it was festive season the prices went up, or perhaps it's more commercialized than PBK. Anyway, I think I have spent enough in KL to not have to spend in KT. Or so I thought.

I woke up to this view on Sunday.

Another beauty. Unfiltered.

Packed up, had breakfast, went to the airport, and got my dad to buy me this. Teeheehee~

Cotton Kaftan Top - Noor Arfa Batik

Well, technically Dad volunteered. I said the sleeves are too short for me to wear outside and I didn't want to wear anything on the inside as it will spoil the look. He told me to wear it at home and I was like "So expensive to wear at home!". He said I should wear nice things at home instead of my normal shabby tshirts or singlets and frayed shorts. Haha. So he paid RM60 and I paid the RM9 balance. Hehehe. Can't believe I still have the conning art in me still. I also got myself a Batik Painting Kit for RM20. Not sure when will I actually paint it though. Hahah.

Well that pretty much sums up Raya Haji! Thanks for reading and hope you had a wonderful Raya Haji. Someday I hope to actually get to perform the Hajj, but for next year, my target's Umrah and korban a whole cow. InsyaAllah :)

Lunch at Kak Mah's, Dinner at Ishq

The Phuket Group (Rahim, Sha, Sufia and I) had lunch today at Kedai Tomyam Kak Mah opposite UniKL at Jalan Raja Abdullah. The first time I went to that place I was expecting, well... someone who looks like Kak Mah or her family. I didn't know the owners were pure Thai, so I called up my aunt to check if I got the correct place. Haha. Convinced the three of them to come over for lunch and met them there. Reached quite late coz I picked up Afiq along the way. Lunch was good as usual. It was funny to see Rahim and Afiq sweating profusely whilst us girls just had a drop or two of sweat... And I was wearing cashmere sweater and tudung. A large age range for this group since Rahim and Afiq are 12 years apart! Even Sufia wasn't the youngest this time around. Afiq makes everyone old. OLD.

Had dinner with Mark since he was leaving for US the next day, VJ joined us since he also wanted to take Mark out for dinner. Asked Mark what he'd like to eat and he actually had something in mind - "Indian or Lebanese". So what other restaurants do I know that serves Indian cuisine but Ishq at Crowne Plaza? (Ok fine, it's my uncle's restaurant so I can get discount... still...)

Picked Mark up along the way and was caught in the horrid Jalan Sultan Ismail jam for about half an hour. Well at least we got to catch up a bit.

A funny (to me lah) conversation I had with VJ on MOC:

VJ  :  Mark told me you asked him out for dinner, so I said you two go ahead.

Me : What? Why? Aren't you coming along?

VJ  : I don't know... Maybe you wanted to spend time with him alone, then I'd be a lampost.

Me : Pfftt... Uncle la deiii... Uncleee!!! (Note : Mark's like in his late 40's)

VJ & Me : A good looking uncle though.

Hmmm.... Rarely do I meet a guy who admits another guy is good-looking... Hmmmm....

Outfit of the day (I really gotta stop taking photos at washrooms)....

Top by Sacoor Brothers, Pants by The Executive, Shoes by Vincci, Bag - old

We enjoyed dinner but got out early as Mark had to pack his bag and there was another function going on at Ishq so it was getting noisy, even though we got the private room.

Well, that's all for today, thanks for reading!

Back to Shore

Was out in the sea almost the whole of last week, came back onshore Friday evening, reached home at midnight!

The bf had already left for UK, even though we were in the same building, I didn't manage to get to see him before he left. (I did tell him to wait, but degil!!)

My chopper was late and after picking me up, it toured what felt like the whole of South China Sea before we made our way back to Kerteh. Didn't change from my Digiman outfit as I had to rush to catch my flight at KT which was 2 hours drive away - just enough time to check in the bag. Hitched a ride with one of the maintenance contractors and we prolly crossed all safety rules. Managed to get to the airport in time, quickly checked in my bag forgetting to take out a spare change of clothes and entered the terminal... only to find out that my flight was delayed by an hour! So there I was being stared at funnily as I was in my yellow coveralls.

Thankfully the platform supervisor told the galley boys to pack me a kebab, so at least I had something to eat.

 What was left of the kebab when I remembered to snap a photo of it

Had a major headache so I slept most of the Saturday. Spent Sunday lazying around and went out just for lunch at some foodcourt at PKNS Bangi and dinner at Miyagi. Sad, I know. But I needed the rest.

Mine's the bottom right - Fried Oysters with Sushi Set... Yum!!

Mochi on the house

Back to work on today, felt like I had a little more motivation to go to work. Plus, I wore one of my new SB shirts. Went for a preppy look.

Shirt - Sacoor Brothers, pants - The Executive, belt - old, bag - LV Lockit Limited Edition, shoes - Manolo Blahnik

I don't know what got into me but I was excitedly rushing to get to Sephora just to get the eyeliner I tried the other day. Too determined, I didn't even bother to change my heels into my Ipanemas so I walked back and forth in the damn high Blahniks. My legs were in a shock since they're not used to such activeness that they were cramped halfway. Yet I got my eyeliner, an eye makeup remover and a free gift (as a welcome gift for signing up as a member).

(L-R)Shower gel (welcoming gift as I signed up as a member),

Sephora Longlasting Liquid Eyeliner (RM45),

Sephora Eye Makeup Remover (RM22)

I'll write another post on my Sephora haul, till then, thanks for reading!

Makeup Brushes!

Just finished washing my makeup brushes, something that I used to be so rajin to do till I expanded my collection and then... now I do it whenever I feel like it. Not good.

 

So I didn't really wash my makeup brushes till I think I started to get rashes on my face. Well actually that's not the first time I got rashes, but with the age factor I thought I should get serious with taking care of my skin... So I googled up (yes, I'm a sucker for Googling ALMOST everything) and checked out ways to wash makeup brushes. At first I tried using shampoo and facial foam as suggested by some, (Michelle Phan suggested soap and olive oil I think) (olive oil is expensive lah oi!) but I found the bristles on my brush were always stuck together and looked dry for some reason. Perhaps it was the facial foam that I was using that stripped it dry.

 

I can't recall exactly how I found Sephora's makeup brush shampoo, but I'm glad I came across it. I managed to get it from the US (one of my colleagues, Natasha, was there for a training) so it was way cheaper than in KL. It's $6 (~RM19) for the small 60 ml bottle and in KL it's RM30. Lucky for me, Natasha gave it to me free!

 

 

Pros : It cleans the brush (duh!), most of the coloring (like the blusher, powder) and moisturizes and softens (Ok, maybe that doesn't really make sense in the chemistry world but the fact is it doesn't dry out my brushes and they do feel soft!) the bristles. Smells good and you don't really need to use a lot.

 

Cons : I can't seem to really remove the foundation color of my brush (maybe coz it's thicker and I left it too long on the brush before washing it), the bottle is so dark I can't see how much I've used and how much is left (but that's just me being paranoid).

How to use it?

Disclaimer : This is just how I do it. It's not a cast-in-stone method.

Just pump once or twice onto your hand depending on the size of the brush and swirl your brush in the shampoo (I usually wet the brush before swirling it). Then thoroughly rinse it and leave it to dry. NEVER dry it upright (i.e. bristles on top, handle bottom), always ensure that the bristles are facing downwards or if you cant hang/stand them upside down, lay it flat or slightly inclined. This is to avoid water from trickling into the glue which holds the bristles together.

 

Michelle Phan uses a plastic cover (available online at Sephora) to protect the brushes (which helps them to stand up) but they're not sold here in KL (or either that it was overpriced) nor were they sold in the Sephora store Natasha went to.

Overall I do recommed using the shampoo, especially if you can get your hands on the ones in US since it's cheaper! Or if you don't mind spending, drop by any Sephora store in KL. (I didn't find this particular one in Spore though. They only had the spray kind)
 

How do you take care of your brushes?

Singapore #2

When I last posted about my trip to Singapore, I lost my charger. I still have the cable, just can't seem to find the plug. I'm sure it's here somewhere in my room. But I've seriously hunted high and low for it but can't seem to find it. So now I'm extra cautious when transferring photos since I don't wanna lose the plug again. and no it's not at the electrical socket!!

 

So I was in Spore again last week, less than 24 hrs since I came back from my Perhentian Trip. I arrived evening of Oct 1. Flight was not that good -  we took off 10 mins late, had some lady talking SO LOUD and her voice was like Fran Fine's nasal voice multiplied. She talked from take off till we landed, and even in the skybridge! I couldn't get my simcard out, so I had to wait till I checked into the room to use the wifi and contacted my sister who happened to be around. Met up with her and finally got my The Body Shop Mango Body Butter which I asked my sister to buy like... last year? We ate dinner at Restoran Cahaya at Far East Plaza and walked around the mall. Bought 3 tank tops for S$22 to be worn at home. Well, maybe I can wear them out, since they're long enough to cover my tummy. Haha.

 

Got back to the hotel around 9 plus and started unpacking and ironing (since I didn't have free pressing service *sob*). Checked my email for like 5 mins, just enough to tick them into the to-do list and then shut down the laptop and went to bed.

My room at Grand Hyatt, Scotts Road

Unpacked and all ready for the course!

Makeup and skincare on the vanity table

The course was normal, not as interesting as the first one I went to but still ok. Perhaps coz I'm already at the Execute phase so I couldn't really relate to the first two days of the training - Engineering and Procurement. I unfortunately couldn't find a better spot to take a full length photo, so yes... I ended up here...

Shirt and heels from Sacoor Brothers, pants from The Executive, bag from Coach

 

After the course I rushed off to where else but my current fav store - Sacoor Brothers at Raffles City. Bought a shirt for the bf and also a top (which I call a clown top) since I had the Happy Days voucher for $100+. And they gave me a new Happy Days voucher. I decided to give it to my friend since he would be around in Spore at that time the HD is valid, or else it'd have gone wasted. Wanted to go to Haji Lane, which was just an MRT station away, but the train was so packed and I hadn't prayed yet. The "surau" at Raffles City is just a small secluded space for you to pray without any water for ablution or telekung so I ended up going back to the hotel.

 

 

Went for dinner at the same place (again) and shopped at the same place where I bought my bag last trip. Actually did get the mini-dress top I wanted to get earlier and it was on sale (I think it was on sale, didn't remember the earlier price). Heheh. Also got a sheer printed black top which the label read.... "Babi Show". Hahaha. Snipped it off!

 

Saw how yummy my sister's prawn noodle was the day before, I decided to order it.

Shopping! (changed my photo label, for the fun of it!)

 

The sweater with a clown-ish collar. Although here it looks like a lion's mane.

 

The bf's shirt

 

Sheer printed black top

 

The mini-dress top

Day 2 of training ended earlier around 4.30 so I managed to beat the rush crowd to go to Haji Lane. Went to Sweet Desserts again and bought 3 more pieces. I noticed in my earlier purchase, the label was snipped off, which kinda made me suspicious already. I would've thought that if the 'friend' sold this exclusively, he'd like to have his label promoted throughout. This time around, my purchase was pulled from a new stock where the label wasn't cut off yet. Of course I googled the name and found out that they were not as 'exclusive' or 'limited pieces' as the owner claims. They're sold in Thailand, Japan, Netherlands and Malaysia! KL, Penang and Johor!! Ripped off again! Well, I don't know if she overpriced it or not, will check out the store in KL very soon to compare. So next time, remember to take anything the seller says with a pinch of salt.

Shirt and heels from Sacoor Brothers, pants - old, bag from Coach

 

Stairs up to Sweet Desserts and Fashion Chic

I also bought a clutch and fell for the cheap marketing "Buy Two Pieces get 10% off!" so I got another long sleeve short dress top at this place called JQ Fashion or something (stands for Jason Quek I believe). Yeah, so I could've saved a lot just getting the clutch only but I thought I looked nice in the top. Hehe.

 

 

This time I came prepared with my makeup remover tissues and my telekung and I prayed at Sultan Mosque before heading back to the hotel.

 

I was sweating all over by the time I got back. Cooled down a bit (nope didn't change, coz I didn't pack clothes specifically to go makan) and went for dinner at where else... Far East Plaza again!

 

Laksa with prawn and cockles and Kailan Oyster Sauce on the side!

 

This time I left the hotel earlier just to shop before I ate dinner since the shops close quite early. Didn't purchase anything for myself, just for my colleague, Sha, who wanted the bag I bought previously. Yep, both of us now have the same bags! Tired from all the shopping, I had a nice relaxing soak in the bathtub before bed.

 

Day 3 of training was a bit more exciting since it was construction-related stuff. Got our group photo, I should've sat up straight. Tsk. Anyway, we finished about 4 so I went back to the hotel. Unfortunately the receptionist forgot to update my key (or something of that sort) since I requested to checkout late, so I got locked out of the room and had to wait for the doorman to send a new key. Took a short nap and did some last minute packing and headed out around 5.30PM. Left my bags at the concierge to shop for books for my sister's friend's kids at Times Bookstore at Paragon Mall (Ok I was there to look at other stuff, and it just so happens that Times was there...). Walked around to Typo ION Orchard and got a mousepad and more paperclips for only S$5!

 

Top from Atmosphere, blazer from Stradivarius, old Levi's jeans, heels from Sacoor Brothers

 

The hotel shoved me in a cab that didn't have a cred card machine (even though I already booked a cab with a cred card machine! Must've been some miscomm between the reception and concierge) so I told him to drop me off at the nearest point so that I could get onto another cab. Checked in at the airport, looked for my CD serum (which is much cheaper than in KL!) and also Sha's Bobbi Brown foundation (which is like RM30 less than in KL!). Hope the CD serum does what I think it does since I spent quite a fortune on it.

 

Well that pretty much sums up my second (and most likely final) trip to Singapore this year. Next stop.... Phuket!

Diving Trip at Perhentian

Back from my week long break - Perhentian and Singapore. Well, break from the office that is, since I went to Spore for a course. How was Perhentian? Gorgeous.

I purchased a Groupon for the trip actually. Consisted of return Firefly flight tickets, ground and boat transfer, and 3D/2N accommodation inclusive of meals at Perhentian Island Resort (PIR). At first I was freaked out by the reviews people made on TripAdvisor on the resort. Some were good, some were bad. My opinion - it really depends on your preferences actually. The location is perfect, private, beach is clean and beautiful (although I didn't really spend much time there). The room was small, nothing fancy, but it was clean overall. The bathroom could sure as hell use some improvements. Curtain showers were quite a disgrace and should've been replaced eons ago and the toilet bowl has some funky stains in it. Food wasn't fantastic, but not horrendous either. Considering I just needed an aircond, quiet room (well it was quiet till some tourist from somewhere above.. came along) with hot shower and food, plus, I got at a discounted rate, it was actually quite ok for me. Perhaps, some people had way better expectations and were much more fussy than me that's why they wrote bad reviews about it.

Now to the dives. Coincidentally my cousin Abadam (short for abang Adam) was working at Perhentian Kecil as a divemaster and I managed to contact him just a few days before I went there, so I told him to arrange the trips for us. In return, he asked me to get him a tray of eggs, a USB hub, and two packets of Nescafe. Yes, I actually did hunt for a tray of eggs at the jetty, and held onto it for the 1/2 hr boat ride. There was a another group that was also on our boat ride and they were wondering what's with the tray of eggs. Eventually talked to them and told them it wasn't for me! No, I was not going to camp there!

 

When we arrived at the jetty, the view was pretty breathtaking. Then again, I'm easily awed so I get excited over almost everything. Photos.... speak for yourself!

 

Fishies below the jetty

 Lovely, isn't it?

Lots and LOTS of fishies

 

So we checked into the hotel, and the service was not bad. It wasn't the most 5 star service you'd get at a fancy hotel, but they weren't rude either. They didn't make any fuss when we requested to change our room from a double-bed to a twin bed. The room as mentioned earlier was simple, could be improved (change to a more modern looking furniture?) but it didn't reall bother us.

 

 

We had lunch (which I would say is almost as normal as any nasi campur stall) and went back to the room to pray and rest before going back to the jetty and wait for my cousin to pick us up. The boat ride to Perhentian Kecil is a short one, prolly less than 10 mins. The view from where we arrived is almost similar (beautiful sea and beach), but slightly crowded to me as there were chalets and restaurants and dive shops next to each other. Waited at the dive shop for half hour or so as Rahim had to complete his refresher course before we went into the sea..... and waited again for Rahim to do practice his skills. Sufia and I (and this other German guy, Rene) joined in at the last skill which was hovering as we didn't really master it when we did our license in Tioman.

 

The dive site we went to was Batu Nisan, a shore dive, nothing fancy but we did see some stuff like nudibranch, triggerfish (ok, I just saw this thing moving... didn't really see it up close), clownfish (Nemo!), sea urchins... don't recall what else we saw. Most of the time Abadam pointed at us to see things, that we obviously didn't know what they were till we went back on shore and asked him what they were. Haha.

 

After the dive, we went back, ate dinner and slept.

 

First dive in the morning was at T3, that had many boulders around. For some reason I felt that I was hyperventilating, and probably played with my BCD too much so I ran out of air quite fast. The current was strong and the visibility wasn't so good but we did manage to see a bit of the marine life. Abadam said there would be turtles. He lied. Didn't see no turtles!! Lots of jellyfish definitely.

 

When we went back up, as usual the first thing I'd look for was food. Luckily Joe our boatman bought us nasi campur (or well nasi with a small piece of chicken and some curry gravy) so I gobbled it up within seconds. Heheh. Topped up with BinBin rice crackers. We waited for about an hour and a half or so before going on to the second dive. I felt really pampered this trip since I didn't have to carry the heavy-ass tanks to and fro the boat. Technically I told my cousin to do it, but there were other guy divers so they helped us carry the tanks (to prove their machoness?).

 

Second dive was at Sugar Wreck, a cargo ship that transported sugarcane which sank some 20 years ago. This time, the visibility was good and I managed to control myself from breathing too rapidly and not playing with my BCD. Saw catsharks sleeping (although I thought they were dead), hermit crab, barracudas, boxfish, lionfish, pufferfish and many other fishies! Before ascending I did see a Red Snapper fish. Yumm!

 

We logged our dives before the third one since we were going to a dive site near PIR so we weren't gonna go back to the dive shop after the dive. Teluk Pauh was the last dive site, better than T3 but not as great as Sugar Wreck, plus my mask kept fogging up on the right side, so I was busy clearing my mask most of the time. We went back to PIR but stopped just before the jetty to look for turtles. Managed to see one (after an adventure of struggling with a useless snorkel and drinking saltwater) it was biiiiggg. Sufia and Rahim got a clearer view and said the turtle was eating or something. For me, after all the saltwater and struggle, seeing the thing (or at least I think what I saw was the turtle) move a bit was good enough.

 

I was too stingy to rent a camera so no pictures underwater. Besides I once read this article where this guy mentioned he was always busy taking photos that he never took time to appreciate the marine life. Plus, I think I already have enough to manage with trying to control buoyancy, holding onto my regulator when I'm tired of clenching and cleaning my mask, don't really need another object to look after.

 

After dinner, we hung out on the beach chairs and talked. I kinda dozed off somewhere in between (it was sooo relaxing to just lie down and listen to the waves crashing....). Think we went back to the room almost 11pm (haha, still early huh?).

 

We actually had a free snorkelling session with the package, but since the snorkelling time was at 10am and we had to catch our boat at 12pm, Sufia and I decided to skip it and just camwhored at the beach for half an hour. When we reached Kuala Besud jetty, while waiting for the ground transfer to the airport I decided to go kampung style and sidai my pants/leggings on the chair under the hot sun. Hahah. It was wet and it was just so sunny I couldn't resist. Plus my flight was like at 9PM. Didn't fancy going back with stinky pants.

 

We convinced the van driver to send us to Pasar Buluh Kubu where I ended up spending more than I did for the dive package. Bought two kains and one kaftan (to add to my collection of 3 kaftans...). Went back to the airport, ate KFC (sad!) and Sufia and I went for a last minute massage at the 'Rest n Go' massage chairs at the airport lounge. Haha. The flight was ok, except for the baby (very cute one) crying when we were about to land. Reached home about 11 plus, chatted with my parents showed some photos and then zzzzz.... Thank God I took leave on Monday or I'd have prolly been a zombie. Was supposed to do my laundry but ended up just unpacking my Perhentian luggage and packing my luggage for Singapore.

 

All in all, it was great fun, had great friends who weren't so fussy or banyak songeh and am looking forward to my next trip.... Phuket!!