Moving on

You know I told you it would happen.

Even though Ive been about 5 months into my leave of absence, it was finally time to leave the shores of sunny Malaysia and set sail to the autumnal bliss of Amsterdam. I am here now, I live here now. And I pinch myself every day.

Ill see you in a few weeks again Malaysia, for one weekend or so. And then who knows? Maybe Ill stick to my plans of coming back at the end of May 2012. Maybe Ill choose to move to South America. Maybe Ill meet a man and settle down somewhere exotic, somewhere less exotic.

I dont know where this road will bring me... but I cant wait to find out

70's roller disco weekend

Have you guys seen the movie Whip it? starring Drew Barrymore. Well I watched it once and was enthralled. I thought it would be great to join a roller derby, smack some people around, come up with a cool roller derby name. And then I thought, where the hell can you do something like that??

Enter The Wheels

(The Wheels roller skating rink)

It reminds me of a 70's era roller disco party. The place is quite huge (think about 4 - 5 shoplots huge) and located on the top floor of Suband Avenue; located close to Subang Parade. For RM20 you get to skate around for about 3 hours, or you could pay RM25 and skate the whole day. The cost is inclusive of the shoe rental.

(The skates light up as you roll on by)

Speaking of which... you get a choice of either skating around on old school four wheel roller skates, or blazing on roller blades. The roller blades give you better control, but the roller skates give you more balance (larger distribution of weight). Both types only have brakes at the front of the shoe, so learn to break ala Michael Jackson. The fun part if that they all come with LED lights as you skate along.

(My friend showing how to brake)

The arena is also done up with cute LED lights all along the way, and to lend more old school vibe, there is even a DJ booth on the side where you can request your choice of music. For those far more adventurous, they have ramps down the middle and even a stage for you to jump up and dance.

(Rolling along in the arena)

I decided to hold my birthday party here one weekend. Since it was a roller disco kind of place, I thought it would be apt to have a 70's style roller disco party. Was great fun to have all my friends show up in their 70's best. The best part of the whole night? as it was still the fasting month, the whole place was empty (I held it right after break of fast). My whole group had the entire place to ourselves, so we rocked it out to the old classics of YMCA and my personal fav, ABBA's dancing queen.

(Doing stunts on the dance floor)

I think you should all try it at least once, for something a little different. And for those looking for a unique date experience, this would deff be it.

You can also see the video and post my sister had done on it here : Fie-nuts

The art of doing nothing

I read an article on Lonely Planet a few days ago on the art of doing nothing (I cant seem to find it, its buried somewhere on my Ipad). It talked about the discipline needed to sit still and to silence yourself from being distracted by other things.

We live in a world today where time is of the essence, when time off is considered a luxury and is typically piled in with as many activities as you can muster. You take a 'vacation' go somewhere and then travel throughout the day, checking out 2,3 sites within a few hours. Otherwise somehow, you worry that your time off would have been wasted. God forbid you only saw ONE interesting site that day.

I haven't had a vacation - a true vacation in that style, in a long time now. Since the beginning of the year Ive spent my holidays celebrating Eid (NOT even close to a vacation I can tell you that), or heading off to Bangkok to meet Miss N (again, a lot of fun, but still tiring).

So this weekend with it being the long weekend, I decided to head off to Pangkor island for a much needed beach vacation. I had actually never been to Pangkor, so it was a really nice surprise to get here and see how great things are.

I decided to stay at the Sandy Beach resort, Pangkor after reading up numerous feedback on TripAdvisor (very positive). Got myself a beachfront chalet (where I am now parked out front on the porch). The beach literally 30 steps in front of me.

Its not the quietest part of town, but I do like it quite a lot. The chalet is off on its own, so you dont have people bothering you or thin walls to contend with. The Sandy spoon cafe is 15 steps to my left and does serve pretty good meals. I recommend the Pangkor grilled fish. Though if some people may be bothered by the price, to the left of the resort is a whole road filled with roadside stalls selling waffles, burgers, and other local snacks as well as restaurants a plenty.

This area is also home to numerous water sports activities, which means that it can get a bit noisy (and the hotel next door tends to blast out techno music first thing in the morning, do not ask me why). But at the same time, there are sufficient activities for those who dont want to just sit around and do nothing.

For those, like me, who look forward to doing nothing, all you have to do is walk down the beach a little bit (Maybe another 50 steps or so?) and you would suddenly find yourself on a secluded part of the beach. It was perfect. Quiet, the clear blue sky, perfect water temperature and a clean sandy beach.

Pangkor island mostly caters to locals, so dont be shocked if you end up being the only person there in a bikini. But that being said, everyone is very nice and polite and nobody bothers you (nudity of course still strictly prohibited)

To paraphrase the Lonely Planet article a little bit - the art of doing nothing

If you have to venture more than 200 ft away for food - you have failed
If you ask yourself what else is there to do - you have failed
If you realized you were late for dinner - you have failed
If you ask "oh whats that over there" - you have failed

Hope you enjoy your REAL vacation!

***
Drive from KL - Lumut jetty: 3 hours and 15 minutes (with traffic) on the North South Highway. Exit at Bidor and then just follow the signs to Pangkor or Lumut.
Ferry from Lumut - Pangkor: ~30 minutes trip. They sometimes wait until the boat is full before moving so timing isnt exact, but seems quite frequent
Pangkor - hotel: RM10 for a taxi ride. From what I understand, its pretty standard to most places (if further away expect to be charged more). Theyre all pink vans and the charge is per trip, so maybe to optimize cost you can share with a few people going your way.

The secret life of Nora

After my review of Dreamgirls the musical, I've been quite excited about heading to another musical. In between I had watched a showing of Farewell my concubine at The actors studio. They decided on an all male cast with a full mix of dance and wushu. Interesting combination, but did take a lot to remain focused on the show at hand.

Post that show though, i have really been anticipating The Secret Life of Nora - a musical set in the 1960s about a woman who becomes a spy by accident. I am still holding my breathe on the quality of the show. Tiara is a good actress, but not the best singer, so hopefully some vocal classes had been done.

It's showing between 29 Sept to 16 October at Istana Budaya. For further information, check out the show brief

Kenko fish spa

To those looking for a 'unique' experience, look no further than having a fish spa right in the middle of the city!

Some of you may think of your loved cat or dog, being sent off for a grooming and pampering… but what the hell do you do with a fish???

Well, actually the spa is for you, the fish… the enablers. Rather than a sweet lady plying you with oils and massaging it into your back, you get hundreds of fish swarming around your feet nibbling on the dead skin cells.

Head over to Kenko fish spa in Pavillion (a shopping mall in KL) if you wanted a good clean, professional experience. It'll cost you ~RM38 for 30 minutes in the pond (prices may differ by location). You head in, wash your feet in the designated area, then head over to the pool area, and dip your feet in.

(Step 1: Get yourself a corner to sit down in)

(Step 2 : Build the courage to immerse your legs in)

Then watch as the fish come swarming right around your legs and start nibbling you. Tip: the smaller ones are a lot less weird feeling then the bigger ones. The bigger one makes you feel like you're being sucker kissed.

(Step 3 : Slowly lower feet into the pool)

It may take a while to get used to, or as in the case of my friend – never.

I know it might be a weird concept, and I have heard that some countries try to ban it due to 'animal cruelty', but the fish here are also fed other (more normal fish food) at night.

(Step 4 : TRY to relax as all the fish swarm your legs)

I always get my overseas friends to try this out (well, this and the durian) because I must say, it's a lot of fun to hear the squeals of disbelief and ticklishness!

Kenko Fish spa