Dim Prospect of Success

Week 43: 11/02/2013-17/02/2013

I caught up with Z twice this week, firstly for a cheeky beer in Backyard (live music every night) and secondly for a Valentine's Day dinner in a mamak somewhere in Sri Hartamas. Dinner total RM33.50, paid for by Z!! Cheapest Valentine's outing ever!

Yee Sang - tossing raw fish and vegetables with chopsticks whilst making wishes about the future "Prosperity! World Peace!" Thanks Wajih. 

On Tuesday I experienced my first Yee Sang (salad tossing) for Chinese New Year. A bunch of us made the trip to Cheras and Jags showed us how to celebrate in style. After food, we congregated on a street corner to send some lanterns, laden with our hopes and dreams for 2013, into the night sky. After a few abortive launches and some excess flames, we finally launched our fleet (although one did end up in someone's front garden!!)

"Prosperity! World Peace!" Thanks Wajih.

At Tom's belated pancake day celebrations on Friday evening I had this gem of a conversation.
- Hot Girl: "I used to date a guy who looked like me"
- Me: "Wow. That must have been really weird."
- Hot Girl: [pulls disgusted face] "Ugh! No way! He was beaut-i-ful!!"

Slave Driver Jags after making me get up at 5am. Grrrrrr.

Saturday was an early start, as Jags forced me to join her on a hike up Bukit Kutu. Not being a morning person I spent the hour's drive north cursing her over my (Chicken) Sausage & Egg McMuffin. The hike itself was good, a nice group of people and rewarding views from the summit. It was great too to meet a fellow (really) white man, Ginger Seth. After some "gweilo" banter with a restauranteur, we had a hilarious innuendo fueled drive home. I wrapped up Saturday with a trip to Jalan Alor with Dylan.

Oh, Happy Hokkien New Year to you too. Not only is this fortune less than inspiring, the late night fireworks were also a distraction.

Still in the new year spirit of CNY Gemma, Becky and myself took a mini road trip, in Sunny D, to Thean Hou Temple, decked out in all its lantern glory. I had the misfortune to get my fortune for the year of the snake.... Luckily I don't believe in that mumbojumbo.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Week 42: 04/02/2013-10/02/2013

The week got off to a bad start when I had to abandon my Monday morning (Super Bowl Sunday!!) to attend a meeting instead…. talk about inappropriate work life balance! I managed to avoid the score all day, and after dinner with Pip and Charlie watched the full game on GamePass. Go Ravens! Great game.

Zeat Bar with Jags, Carol, Nasch and Rahul.

During the week I caught up with Elke (nice pool), hit Taps and Jalan Alor with Dylan and Cory and ended the week having a quiet dinner with Lianne at Hakka Republic (“Sorry, no desert, we’re cleaning the kitchen”). My early Friday night got waylaid by a trip to the Zeta Bar with Rahul, Jags, Carol, Nasch and Elke.  Great to see some live music, not so great to over indulge in vodka though. My slow Saturday was punctuated by a great catch up on Skype with Nige.

The worst interviewer ever (TV), me and a lion, Wajih interviewed (paper)

On Sunday, in the search for an authentic Chinese New Year experience I join Jags and a few others to attend a CNY Open House. After a horrendously early start, under clear blue skies, we ended up at a government sponsored event which was closer to a political rally than a CNY celebration. Most in attendance were only there for the free food though. 

High Pole Lion Dancing in KLCC

Being some of the few foreigners in attendance we ended up getting interview for tv and newspapers and photographed by professionals and amateurs alike. 

In the afternoon we caught some High Pole Lion Dancing at KLCC. I’m not quite sure how authentic my CNY experience was, but I received plenty of free oranges and even got my first ang pau. 

 

Beer and Temples

Week 41: 28/01/2013-03/02/2013

Monday, a public holiday, was the last day of my family’s visit. The highlight being one final foray into the Royal Selangor shop, with my sister treating the place like Supermarket Sweep. I think my dad was concerned with who was actually going to have to carry the eclectic mix of pewter items  home. We caught a bit of sunset from Skybar, before I packed them off to the airport. I have to say it was all little bit more emotional than I was expecting. Thanks for coming folks, love you guys! See you soon.xx 

 

Chiang Mai buddies: Aimee, Beer, Some Ginger Bloke

Wednesday saw a re-emergence of normality when I met Cory and Nick for a beer. After Cory shot off for some errands, Nick and I venture to Meng Kee Grill on Jalan Alor, the scientifically tested and proven best eatery on the road. Nick was greeted like an old friend by the owner Elaine. Slightly less surprising was Nick getting recognised by the head waitress in Havana. Anytime you stay in a place until closing 4 nights in a row, you’re going to get known!!

Friday morning I jetted off to Chiang Mai, Thailand for a long weekend with Dylan and Aimee. The early start meant that we were in the town by 9am. The highlights:

Its a Bus. Its a Bar. Its in Chiang Mai

Friday

• Wandering the quiet streets and picking at street food, admiring temples and drinking beers.
• Enjoying the lovely weather and chilled environment
• Losing my wallet and not noticing for an hour, only to find out that Aimee had picked it up (she let me have it back waaaay too quickly!!)
• Aimee taking photos of a school playground, nice bush, a tree. 
• Bus Bar!
• The Riverside, ace Thai foor and a gorgeous sunset

Fun times in the jungle: Being kitted out by LadyBoy, Team Ziplining, Sexy hat gear.

Saturday

• Zipling in the jungle, including getting kitted up by “LadyBoy”! 
• Great food and views over the tree tops.
• The horribly bumpy ride home.
• Hiding under a fruit stall at a night market drinking beers waiting for the rain to stop
• Seeing Aimee contribute to the flooded food court by throwing a full bottle of beer on the floor. 
• Bartering for a fake Rolex (got a good price)    

 

The Visit

Week 40: 21/01/2013-27/01/2013

My visiting family kindly pointed out the following things about my adopted home city, which I hadn’t actually noticed in the 10 months I’ve lived in Kuala Lumpur:

1. It’s too hot
2. The traffic is awful
3. It’s too humid
4. The service is awful
5. It’s too hot
6. The tea is awful
7. It’s too rainy
8. The driving is awful
9. It’s too hot
10. The toilets are awful
11. It’s too hot

Oh, and something else they mentioned was that it is too hot. That aside I think they quite liked it. I left them to their own devices on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday we headed up to Penang to stay in Georgetown. We had a tour of Suffolk House, a trip up the funicular railway to Penang Hill, a bit of a stroll around town and a visit to Cornwallis Fort. My birthday dinner in the Eastern Oriental Hotel, however, was incredibly disappointing. Despite the grand surroundings the food was average and the service poor.

Zoe with a cannon on Penang Hill

Thursday evening Zoe and I went out for a drink with Choi and her friends at Havanas.

Saturday we took a trip to the Royal Selangor Factory (after I'd been rescued from an addicental lie in (awoken from a nightmare about karaoke)). We had a go at making stuff out of pewter, which was great fun. Saturday evening we saw a bit of high pole Lion Dancing in the run up to Chinese New Year, which was incredible.

Birthday in Penang.

Sunday we headed to the National Monument which was quite impressive, followed by a quick tour of Central Market and Chinatown on a last minute souvenir run (thanks to Gemma for the tips on where to take mums!!).

The Westwoods in front of the Petronas Towers

A hectic, and at times stressful week, but great to see my lovely family and show them some of the places I frequent in Kuala Lumpur. 

Trippple Trouble!

Week 39: 14/01/2013-20/01/2013

So, KL village is alive and kicking!! The longer you spend somewhere I guess it is inevitable that personal politics start playing a larger part in life. The happy and harmonious social community I entered into back in May does not look quite the same these days.

It was good to start the week with Dylan watching more NFL Playoffs and eating KFC, sometimes its the simplest things which make me happy. Wednesday was a spicy trip to Internations (great venue at Twenty One Tables and Terrace). Thursday night was Elke's birthday celebrations at Lianne's pool. Lovely evening for beers by the pool..... although not everyone seemed to quite get the Roxanne drinking game!

Birthday Girl Little Elke

I managed to find time to say goodbye to Steffie, with a little help from our friend The Captain. A slightly unexpected, but fun night out. Good luck Steffie.

Another German leaves town :-( Jags, me, Steffie, Carol..... The Captain just out of shot.

The BIGGEST news of the week though was the arrival of my family in Kuala Lumpur!! My mum, dad and sister Zoe arrived on Friday morning. By the time I caught up with them in the evening, they were slightly tired from the travel and certainly worn out from the heat. We took a stroll to nearby Souled Out and encountered all of the best that KL has to offer..... blocked footways, dangerous road crossing maneuvers, tripped over a tram lying in the shadows, bumped into a dangerously placed advertising flag and, of course it was raining. Family less than impressed!

Wing Commander MP Westwood OBE re-united with Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer

On Saturday we had a stroll round KL. Sunday we ventured out to Sungei Besi to the Royal Malaysian Air Force Museum. Well worth a visit if you have any interest in planes as its free to get in. My dad was particularly pleased to see the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer, which he had seen in a different museum last time he was in KL in 1976!!

Sunday evening I finally took a trip up the Petronas Towers. We were hoping to see a glorious sunset, but it was a bit too overcast for that. Great views across the city though.

Work. Life. Balance.

Week 38: 7/01/2013-13/01/2013

I had my annual review with my boss, which in general was pretty positive. One question remains... where do I want my career to go? It's no longer acceptable to just deliver work put in front of you, time to take some direction! As an aside my boss suggested I might like to make some lifestyle changes........

Must. Work. Harder

In other news, headed to the Sky Bar for some beers with Becky and her her visiting friends, hit Jalan Alor with Dylan, Aimee and Zainab before meeting up with Mita on her birthday.

Sky Bar

Sunday was a day of sport, popping round to Dylan's in the morning to watch the NFL playoffs, with endless coffee and some of Dylan's home cooked banana pancakes... lush. In the evening I watched the snorefest of Man U v Liverpool with Lianne at Arther's Bar and Grill, possibly the poshest sports bar I've ever been in.

Championship New Year

Week 37: 31/12/2012 - 6/01/2013

My year ended in the best way possible.... I was crowned Champion of the Aztecs Fantasy Football League, as Dom-int0rs Deathmen scored a hard fought, but ultimately comfortable victory over Ickey Shuffle.

For New Years Eve I joined Marcello and Choi in G Tower's View Bar. It was a vibrant party, and although we couldn't see the KLCC fireworks, the View Bar had their own display which was pretty good. The only concerning thing was at 23:55 two fully kitted out firemen arrived to observe the display... I didn't know whether to feel reassured or scared. I identified the nearest fire exit anyway....

Smash Up! Marcello, Colin and me, making up for Jack's absence by loosening a button or two.

I had a chilled out New Years Day, rounded off with great dinner at Rahul's place, with Steffie, Jags and Carolina. Some lush homemade curry accompanied by an eclectic selection of wines (I'm still convinced that "Rose"was sherry!).

Standard dinner........

I kicked off the weekend of much food and drink with a trip to Ciccio with Nick and Tom. Saturday afternoon was spent baby sitting Lianne, obviously jet lagged from her 36 hour flight back from Barbados: Her ear ring randomly pinged off her ear, she "accidentally" threw an empty bottle at an adjacent diner, and then managed empty the content of her hand bag over the floor of a shop. It was all I could do to prevent her opening the lid of a vat of soup with her umbrella handle... that would surely have ended in disaster!

Caution: May not always appear this smart and sophisticated

Saturday evening I helped Paul celebrate his Best Dressed Man in KL Status, by drinking loads of free beer. Met some new faces, saw some old faces, and had some incredibly random conversations ("I'm going to act out my name....", "Did you say 'arse first, ask second', or vice versa?"), and a whole lot of fun.

Sunday I went from lunch with Elke and her friends straight to the outer depth of society with a trip to ..... erm..... somewhere a long long way away for some dinner with Gemma and her friends. If anyone needs an encyclopedic knowledge of the best toilets in KL..... Gemma is your gal!!