Yea, right.
This month is travelling month. With Project #1 and #2 firmly behind my back, I’m looking forward to getting my ass far far away from Kuching, perhaps try to max out my credit card pampering myself in the process. Kenny Sia lives by the principle “WORK hard. PLAY hard. And PRAY hard hard so I can win 4D later.”
This coming Sunday I’ll be in Kuala Lumpur. Following day I’ll travel to Shanghai, right after which I’ll be in Perth for ten days before returning to Kuching (and getting back into the routine) on the 25th. Appreciate it if Shanghai-travelling experts have any tips to share on the best places to shop/eat/party/hangout.
Things I plan to do when I’m in KL:
1. Gadget-shopping at Lowyat. I’m eye-ing the iPod nano. I checked, RM969 for a 2GB model. So expensive but it’s… oh… so… pretty… *drools*
2. Meet up with minishorts for Hokkien Char.
3. Get my essential dose of Starbucks Lampa Frappuchino.
4. Skydive from the top of KLCC twin towers.
5. Try NOT to get cheated at Petaling Street.
6. Consider accepting Tilia’s benevolent act of kindness.
7. Go out partying with sexy bomb LaineyLashes.
8. Return ShaolinTiger to the zoo he escaped from.
But since I’ll be in town for merely 12 hours, I’m only gonna have time to attend 1, 2 and 3. Shucks.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Town center, Saratok.
Saratok is a beautiful small rural town and all that, but to tell you the truth I’m SO glad to get away from it finally.
It’s small, crime-free and everyone knows everyone. I especially like how Malays here speak Hokkien and Chinese speaks Iban. But there’s just something else I cannot get used to over there.
Saratok sunset.
No, it’s not the fact that there’s no entertainment after 7:30pm, it’s nothing to do with the fact that people here naming their convenience store ‘Luxurious Restaurant’. It’s those freaking insects infesting the entire bloody town!
GAH! Get away from my computer you stupid big fat juicy Saratokian housefly!
I was sleeping with ants and spiders and cockroaches even in the supposedly cleanest hotel room in Saratok. Every morning I wake up, I check my nose to ensure there’s no dead cockroach sleeping in it. It’s bad. It’s very bad. It’s BEYOND bad.
Saratok has stray cats – lots of them. These cats rule the foodcourts. Every evening you’d see a family of 6-7 cats, all huddling around a table patiently waiting for the next patron to feed them scrap food. On one occasion, I saw a stray dog wandering into the foodcourt innocently, only to be bitten and chased away by the feline army.
I was impressed. Not even Cat City Kuching has stray cats as vile and vicious as the ones they have in Saratok.
I think they should change the names of the towns around here. Change Saratok into Kuching, and change Kuching into Anjing.
ha!! i’m first!!
have a safe flight!
goodness me, wad fierce kitties they have there.. really protective of their food aren’t they.. poor dog… i wonder.. if u don’t feed them, will they claw u till u do?
Joke of the day: Change Saratok into Kuching, and change Kuching into Anjing.
Hey dude, try check out the forum at lowyat.net, people doing bulk buy for Ipod Nano, the 4GB version only RM900….
hahaha mannn kuching should be put to shame!! =D saratok even beats it! kesian….hahaa oh btw, your blog was advertised on one of the recent mags…i can’t remember now (i think it was KL lifestlye or something…)
hey Kenny!
Have a great holiday! hope you will have fun.. =)) you deserve it.
Man you say so bad abt kch.. but kch got good food,i miss home! even the chinese at saraok speak iban and me this _____ whose mum is iban don’t even speak a single word!!~ walau!
anyways Kenny,Have fun and take care!
So many cats wandering..
It is so different from Germany….
You will not encouter anjing or kucing liar here and the dogs in Germany are VERY beautiful !
then change Lachau to what la?
Well kenny, I dont see Singapore has lions either, in fact they have the merlion and the night safari though. Either than that, nawp.. Go KL you should go check out the toilet again. Maybe they gave it a new slogan, like what u’ve said, “Because your arse are golden”.
whoa… hold on there, almost RM1k for an ipod nano in KL? dude.. its like 200USD? so… *calculate* RM600? since i live in north america, why not i just send it to you huh? with such a light weight, i’m sure post won’t cost a lot. this reminds me, my housemates told me something about ipod river? playing videos and stuff… you might wanna check that out. anyways, don’t quote me on anything, i’m just typing off the top of my mind.
Me so wanna get the nano. Too bad about the price. >_>
Well, have a safe and fun journey, man!
have a great and fun filled holiday – enjoy man – you deserve it 🙂 take care and keep safe…. 🙂
ooo! i just got back from shanghai.
Don’t get a nano.. they scratch like mad.
Gimme a chout is you need me to help max out the credit cards. Aha ha ha ha ha
don’t you want to get it from an Apple store itself?
i’m 17th!!! ^_^
take care kenny
hope u will blog when u r there 😀
Hey Kenny,
Enjoy ur trip and have fun!
Haha…….yea hv a good time and enjoy ya self 🙂
p/s : Ipod nano or PSP ? desicions desicions 😛
hey, i’ll b doin some launching thingy at Sg Wang tmr. come n pay me a visit if u’re free after ur shopping session at Low yat. ^^
hello, if you need help in shanghai you may email me 🙂 enjoy.
KENNY!!
I spend 3 mths in Shanghai… my Nanyang polytechnic overseas attachment…. And just came back 2 weeks ago…
Ok, I am going to give u a guild of Shanghai…
1) Xiang Yang Market- In this place, u will find the best best imitations of every other famous brands, and honestly the Omega watches look so nice. But always remember that they will push the price 8-10 times more than it’s usual selling price (not cost price, selling price!) to eat ya in. So just be careful.
2) Chen Huang Miao
This place is MUST go. Its a shopping place, where the rooftops are ALL ancient Chinese roof tops. Its like going into a “Crouching tiger, hidden dragon” scene, but it’s Starbuck Coffee, Shopping centres and Pubs! Cool ah…
4) Huang Pu Jiang
My favourite… The famous ShangHai Tang…. It’s the big river in Shanghai. Go there at nite, and u will realise how how beautiful a city nite view can be…
5) Pubs and more pubs, high class!
THe pubs and clubs there, can be super nice. U can go
衡山路
茂åè·¯
å¤å…´ä¸è·¯
新天地(A lot of ang mo in this place)
3 mths in Shanghai and i had the time of my life.
Have fun too, kenny!!!! 🙂
hey kenny, my first post ever on your blog…
RM969 for a 2G nano is nuts… The selling price in Sg is $348 for the 2G and $448 for the 4G…
RM969 is not worth it.
Have a good trip!!!
yer the price u put up doesn’t seem right. when ur in perth or somewhere decent, with friends that are still students, get them to buy it for you with student discount.
still way cheaper and for abt the same price, probably get 4 gigs version.
HI KENNY!
IF YOU STILL HAVE THE TIME,TODAY FAVOURITES IS 1628. GO FOR ALL THE COUNTERS,HENTAM BIG&SMALL AND DONT FORGET TO “PAO ZEE”…YOU GOT TO BELIEVE MEEE….(KL LAI TIEN).EHH…IF YOU “TUNG TOH” JUST GIVE A THANK YOU WILL DO.
TOTORO:CHANGE LACHAU TO…KAUCHOY !!!
i got the ipod nano 2gb for AUD180 which is around rm500 from a distributor friend. dont get ripped off!! shouldnt cost that much.
it’s common sense la.when the place is so damn remote, the hygiene of that place is very bad. so insects love that type of place.it’s like a heaven to them
Enjoy your trip ya.
Btw now I feel like going to Low Yat tomorrow.Just in case I bump into you hahahaha…
ey..what say we skip the partying & go for rhumba instead? 😀
Wait, don’t get Nano. Apple will be annoucing new product. Just wait. Nano screen CRACKS easily.
I’m used 2 b a frequent visitor there since i was young, to my relative place. See, that’s make a place so unique, big super duper fly, lot of pussies, malays speak Hokkien and Chinese speaks Iban, laid back peaceful life from the big city. Appreciate it when it’s still around, dude. I still remember getting a plastic bag and catch that flies until it’s full and smack it flat, that’s define sort of entertainment when i was a kid there. ;P Between, why not get a PSP for that kind of price?
thanks for dropping by Kenny.. 🙂 have a good trip…
KENNNNNNNNYYYYY!!! (don’t know why i call u this, just that so many commentors said this)
when will you be coming to perth?
Zoo, me? Huh?
Kenny,
I was in Shanghai in August, it’s a terrific city at night. Forget daytime, the sky was never blue in my 10 days stay, pollution I suppose.
Some recommendations:
1. New Heights at The Bund No. 3. Drinks place with magnificent view of both The Bund and Riverside Promenade (e.g. Pearl Tower) at night. Reasonable price but crowd’s not as good as Bar Rouge.
2. Bar Rouge at The Bund No. 18. Expat hangout, drinks and lots of gorgeous local babes. Rather high price, min RMB1000 for a table outdoor.
3. Xin Tian Di. Drinks, cafes and restaurants. Beautiful complex with mix of chinese and european architecture. Great crowds.
4. Cafe Belagio. Just a stone’s throw from Xin Tian Di. Great taiwanese cuisine with pretty reasonable price.
5. Cloud 9 @ Grand Hyatt Hotel. Shanghai chicest bar, view of Shanghai city at night.
6. Face Bar @ 118 Rui Jin Rd. Nice bar with Thai setting, indoor and outdoor area with pool table. Thai and North Indian cuisines upstair.
Visit my online album at http://album.ijunus.com and you can see lots of pictures I took in Shanghai. Don’t hesitate to write to me if you’re interested to know more!
Cheers,
i.junus
enjoy ur break. woah… scary cats…
In Shanghai, try M on the Bund for dinner.
Actually, the bulk we’re conducting in Lowyat.net happen to have confirmed stocks (thats what the supplier says at least) of a revised batch of the iPod nano which does not carry the scratch and LCD issue. It’s not RM900, it’s RM908 (yes I know its tacky) but then I dont think Kenny’s gonna be in town when the stocks arrive 🙁 Still would like to meet the man himself though, have a fun trip Kenny!
Wow! big FLY! why fly? check out new radio station FLY FM! LoL!
yaksss…yucky fly!!..urghh..it IS fat!
If you have time to spare in Shanghai, make your way down to Hangzhou, which is two hours away. They have really good food and scenery by the Xi Hu (West Lake). Jiaxiang, Wuxi, Huzhou and Ningpo are all around Hangzhou and are very beautiful too, and you can eat the crabs at this time of the year =)
Hope I’ve been of some help.
YOU’RE COMING HERE ARR???? AHHHH!!!!! Must call me, must call me, must call me, must call me. Coz…er…I have whipped cream and baby oil and I can put it to good use? Coz..er…okla. I’m out of incentives.
So envy you can go to places for holiday. Anyway enjoy your break… we will not miss you while you are away 😀
iPod Nano scratches too easily. :-/
wao tts a hell of a feline colony… but i’ll b ^_^ over there coz i luv em so much!!!
While you’re at Shanghai or any parts of China, please try the girls. I heard they are easy pickups – all you need is just speak a few words of English and they will throng the streets to your hotel rooms.
You only need to pay them if you’re from Inti. 🙂
to all you twats saying the nano scratches easily, how many actual nanos have you seen with your own eyes that are scratched badly even though they are well kept?
oh wait. all it took for you to hop on the bandwagon was a coupel of isolated incidents in the US of A, where a few people were bitching abuot scratches. DUH. Use the Nano without a case it you are bound to find scratches here and there.
Its sheep mentality like that which is bloody annoying, especiually among all you so called educated youg people, when in fact all of you aare actually full of BS.
i have a nano in front of me now (not mine unfortunately, review unit), and its been with me for over a week. still no scratches. why? its in a rubber case.
its called common sense, you morons, something which very few of you numbnuts have in any significant amount.
anyhow Kenny, buy the Nano from Aussie. If you still have your student card, you get 10% off retail, including VAT back at the airport. All in all it should cost you about Rm850 or so, give or take a couple of ringgit to cover for the bank hiking up the exchange rates a little, assuming you’re paying via credit card.
Hey Kenny,
Good to hear that your trip to Shanghai is finally getting through. You know I lived in Shanghai for 5 years right? 😀 These are my recommendations:
Belagio’s is a great place for good and cheap [Taiwanese] food. There’s a couple of branches in Shanghai itself.
Xian Tian Di is the “new” cool & hip place to be seen, where a glass of Coke costs ~RM20.
Xiang Yang Rd is one of the places to get imitation/rejected goods, but is no longer the cheapest place since it is now a tourist attraction.
Other shopping areas are like HuaHai Rd, NanJing Rd and XuJiaHui where the goods aren’t necessarily cheap. There’s a huge electronics store in XuJiaHui (the building with KFC and PizzaHut opposite each other – can’t remember the name). NanJing Xi(East) Rd is where Plaza 66 and Westgate Mall is. Everything in that area is branded and ridiculously overpriced.
Chen Hua Miao or Yu Garden is also another touristy spot where they sell the more antique and chinky stuff like jade products, porcelain figures, calligraphy etc. There’s a really famous restaurant in there where they sell good dumplings/dimsum (Shanghai style).
Shanghai Museum by People’s Square. Definately one of the best museum’s I’ve ever been to.
People’s Square Underground Shopping Area. Huge huge HUGE underground area with lots of little shops that sell more cheap clothes.
Shanghai bund (Shang Hai Tan). Runs along the river that separates Shanghai in two. Is the area where the International settlement and French concessions etc. used to be. The famous Shanghai Bank building with the two lions at the front door is along that area.
I can’t remember places to eat, since I haven’t been back very often or long enough to learn about the new places that are popping up every week. The best way to travel is by subway. Clean and fast. Anything that is worth going to is at most a 10-min walk away from any subway station (except for the Bund). Weather-wise, a light jacket should be good enough during the day. The temperature drops a good amount at night though.
I hope you have a good time!
hmm.. I wanna get the ipod nano for my bf.. but seeing how badly his shuffle is scratched (he just bought it not long ago, & doesn’t use it often), I dun think nano will be able to take it. :p
Have fun kenny. 🙂
Your gf would be soo happy to see you. 🙂
Yeap, go lar Oz and buy. RM850. Get a casing too, because it heard it scratches easily.
Hate cats. Esp when you’re trying to have a decent meal (say, at a hawker ctr), then u feel your leg (worse if you’re in shorts) gets brushed by those erected, furry tails. And they’re stiff. God damn it.
The best hokkien char is in Jalan 222. You have to go there…….ask me, I will show you where it is 🙂
Have a good break, Kenny.
hi kenny!
i just got back from shanghai last week and it’s such a great place to go! these are the places which u should go to:
i) xujiahui area – there are TWO bigger than low yat equivalents there. everything there is cheep! cheep! (locally made la). but if youre buying anything, just make sure u think about the warranty. it’s beside the building with the big globe (sorry cant remember the name but u wont miss it lah)
ii) yu yuan garden – wayyyy cheaper than xiangyang park (but xiangyang park sells good fake goods) if you want to get local souvenirs. they sell mostly handmade goods. and dont forget to knock the price down to about a tenth. if they jual mahal, then u jual mahal also la, just walk away and they will call you but if what you’re offering is too low then maybe u should look for the same thing in another shop but at a bit higher price. mind you, those air-cond places can also bargain one!
iii) oh and dont be afraid to take the cabs. they go by the meter. theyre quite trusty, unlike here in malaysia where they just quote you a price without the meter. metro is good too. they get u to tourist spots.
other than that, the usuals lah, the pearl tower, the bund, underwater tunnel, etc etc.
and if you want to go to those mountain and lake places, you’ll have to take a tourist bus at the indoor stadium and pick any destinations you want to go to.
but the best way is to get a map from the hotel you’re staying and just go by the map. thats what i did. just be adventurous!
mind you, im no mandarin-speaker and theyre not english-speaking and i survived shanghai!
have fun!
I notice that ipods are for some reason more expensive in Malaysia than anywhere else. Not the same for other mp3 players, though – Creative Zen, for example, is cheaper in KL compared to even SG. Maybe Customs classifies it as a PDA (because of the photo & address book functions) and it attracts the PDA tax.
Malaysians need visa to visit China?!
What’s that drink in the first picture? Looks like cotton stained with blood in a glass of water to me. o_O;;
the cats so cute!!hahahahaa
OI KENNY YOU PROMISED TO BUY ME A TOY FROM PERTH BETTER REMEMBER YA OR ELSE I’LL WHOOP YOUR ASS!
OMG.. I hate cats. Especially stray cats. Is there animal control group in Malaysia, Kenny? It’s just not nice when you have cats lying around you while you’re trying to eat. Yikes!
no dogs?
be careful ! it might be an attack from the ninja cats ! ! !
you have been warned !
iPod is selling super expensive in Malaysia. I wud advice get it from USA or SG instead. I got mine 4GB Nano at USA only for only RM800+
Where the hell is Saratok ?!