Gift Idea: Made in Malaysia

How many times have you tried to look for a gift which you want to give to a foreigner friend, and you wanted it to represent Malaysia? Well, if you are like me, you would have given gifts like Royal Selangor, Boh Tea, Vincci, and Old town coffee.

Something more creative (and with a cause) which you can give the next time you need a gift could be something from Gadis Manis Malaysia.

Her cute shop is located in Publika and it houses many nice Malaysian-made items which will surely be unique (not your typical gifts from Isetan/ Parkson). Her story is quite inspiring and it was told to me by the art gallery owner beside Gadis Manis. After I checked out her shop, I fell in love with the scent in-store and asked about it. Their "Yati" scent was nice and it was made in cooperation with Spice Garden of Penang. I bought one of their essential oils, while I browsed around for future potential gifts. Their items like t-shirts and bags have the beautiful design which represents Malaysia -- 3 ladies (Malay, Chinese, and Indian). Subtle yet directly representing the wonderful multi-culture of Malaysia... The perfect gift. The shop also donates some of its proceeds to 2 foundations. Once you visit the shop, you will find some printed copies of Gadis Manis (I have included a photo of the front and back).

I wasn't able to take a photo of the colourful bags. Definitely the designs are nice and not too pricey. Lovely gifts for the ladies! They also have children t-shirts and adult tops, shirts and polo.

Hope this helps you in your next gift idea!

Paintings and Art in KL

Last week I was invited to a friend's Art Gallery opening at Publika Mont Kiara. The owner is a passionate art collector who has been buying art from struggling artists in Indonesia. The gallery called Artemis Art is full of affordable original paintings, which also had some other Asian artists. After attending the opening cocktail, I was inspired to pick up my brush again. Yesterday, while little Alex was at school, I finished a 40"x50" painting . I was inspired to try something totally different from my usual abstracts and flower series. It was scary because I rub the risk of "failing" in my own attempt... But life is too short! Worst case I would spoil a canvas.

After 5 hours of painting, I finished my first teddy bear painting. It turned out okay, despite my doubts. After my daughter woke up from her nap, she was happy to see it! And even attempted to shake its hand, gave it a kiss and a hug. Wow, what a reward! The day after, she realised that it is in fact her teddy bear which we bought long ago from France.

I hope to pass on all my paintings to her one day. Maybe my future grandchildren will inherit it!!! (my daughter is just 2 yrs old now, haha)

To people who want to try painting, I believe Artemis Art will be organising a painting workshop for adults and kids. Just contact U.C.Loh at +6012-3732188 Artemis Art.

Artemis Art
A1-01-3 Solaris Dutamas
No.1 jalan Dutamas KL (Publika)

KL Birdpark: Nice Morning With Toddler

Today is Tuesday which means no classes for my 2-yr old. Decided to spend the morning at the KL Birdpark as we haven't gone back for a year now. I searched their website and saw that Jusco card has discount for those with myKad. As a Resident Pass owner, we have our pink ID cards and I used that today. With those cards you can get a discount for entrance fees. 2 adults (plus Jusco card discount) amounted to rm35. My 2-yr old has free entrance. I remember spending close to rm200 a few years ago when 4 of us came to visit (we didn't bring our gold expat cards). Now I know and came prepared :)

We had a nice time walking around as Tuesdays are less crowded / busy. Mostly tourists and few locals. Nice weather as we start off our walk at 10am. Finished at 12noon and we left for Gardens Mall where we had our Filipino food fix at Pancake House.

Overall it is a nice 2-hr walk with your toddler. It can get hot so bring a hat and water. Lots and lots of birds around. You won't be disappointed!

JPJ Maju Junction : a pleasant experience

I'm currently here at JPJ Maju Junction. In my 5 yrs in Malaysia I have never gone to do our driver's license because we used to use a runner who charged us high fees! Now that I am a housewife I took an adventure and went to update hubby's driver license. It was a pleasant experience driving and waiting at JPJ. The queue was organised, ample seats, was easy to park, friendly and English speaking government staff. This is heaven compared to the land transportation offices in Manila!!! I was impressed with the service and location. Stress - free coming here! I also came to update the home address of our car registration cards (pink card) which had wrong info. Wrong address only means one thing: if you get a police summon or ticket, it will be sent to the wrong address! That already happened to us and we never received the ticket, and only found out when we were about to renew the car registration.

Overall, the efficiency and ambience were good. The 3 officers I interacted with were all pleasant and helpful! I would not hesitate to come back!

iPass for expatriates: Finally we got our ID's!

Just wanted to update all of you that apart from getting our passports stamped with the Residents Pass, we recently received our ID cards which is called iPass. Unlike my old WORK PERMIT expat car which was gold color, this one is in PINK! Yes, pink! They issued ID cards for me, hubby and daughter. I spoke to one of the officer there and it seems they are doing some changes in the card issuance and the Resident Pass might be integrated into the Putrajaya Immigration soon (not sure under which group yet -- if it will be with the Work Permit issuance group or something else). Anyway, I was told that we are a lucky batch because they are not issuing the IDs according to first-come-first-serve... instead, it really depends which batch the Immigration decides to work on.  The ID card is important to my husband because he has been traveling in and out of Malaysia due to his work... and if he has the card it will mean easier travel (no need to fill up anything).

I thank the heavens for finally getting new cards. I heard from many expats with work permits that they were not able to get ID cards for 2 years now.... anyway let's hope 2012 will mean they start releasing more ID cards to foreigners like us!

Cameron Highlands: Cool climate and perfect for a family getaway!

We have been living in Malaysia for 5 years now and have visited a lot of places. As Christmas approached, we had to decide where to go for a fun holiday, keeping in mind we had to bring our 2-year old daughter, her visiting grandma and our maid. This year, we wanted to keep it simple and did not want to fly anywhere so our options were limited to where our car can bring us.

I am a “beach” person hence almost all our holidays were spent at places with sun, sea and sand. This time, hubby suggested that we go back to revisit Cameron Highlands. Honestly, I wasn’t too excited at first. My last 3 trips to Cameron Highlands were just “okay”, nothing really stood out that would compel me to go back again. I could recall only two highlights: spa session at Cameron Highlands Resort (which was super pricey) and the visit to the breathtaking Sungai Palas Boh Tea Plantation.

Hubby reminded me that in all those times we went up to Cameron, we were still “single without children”. Perhaps the visit this time will be interesting since we have our 2-year old daughter. Hmm, that got me thinking… and finally I agreed and started my search for the perfect place to stay.

My first choice was Cameron Highlands Resort as they offer a very attractive Local Residents Package. For expats living in Malaysia, this is really a superb offer, which includes 3 days, 2 nights stay plus all the meals. Unfortunately they were already fully booked! After hours of reading TripAdvisor and other blogs, I finally decided on Strawberry Park Resort, which I have never visited. The feedback from people who visited recently seemed to be promising, due to the renovation and upgrades that the hotel underwent not too long ago.

On Christmas day, we drove off to Cameron Highlands. It was a pleasant drive on our way there. Take note that you should opt for the new road called Simpang Pulai, as this is much safer. We took that road going to Cameron and coming back to KL.

The Strawberry Park Resort did not disappoint us. We took the Fresno 2-bedroom Suite, which was newly renovated (2-months old). It had a flat-screen TV, comfortable bed, wooden flooring and the best part was we had a superb view! I was happy with the decision we made in terms of accommodation. The package also included breakfast and dinner, which was a good deal!

Keeping in mind that we were with our daughter and her grandma, we decided to take it easy in terms of itinerary. We spent one whole afternoon at the Smokehouse hotel. We had our lunch there then spent some time enjoying the cool air amidst the beautiful flowers and greens. My daughter enjoyed running around their garden and even met a new Malay-Indian girlfriend as they played together. My mom and I sat at the garden playing Scrabble on the iPad. Time flew by quickly and we spent our afternoon with tea and scones at the same place. Definitely recommended to families who want to relax and enjoy good food and ambience. The place and the cool weather transports you to another place, making one forget that you are still in Malaysia!

Another thing we did differently was the visit to the tea plantation. My past trips always included the Sungai Palas Boh Tea Plantation and its picturesque views. However this time due to the peak season, hubby thinks it will be hell driving into that place because of the narrow roads. Instead, we visited the 2 Bharat Tea Plantations, which had easier access and equally nice views. We enjoyed some tea and scones there. And the highlight of that visit was the walk amidst the tea plantations… it was superb! Caution though, make sure you are wearing comfortable shoes. Hubby even carried our daughter on his shoulders as the trekked far and away into the wonderful green view.

The 3 days, 2 nights stay proved to be relaxing and perfect for those who are looking for a short getaway without having to take the plane. Your visit to Cameron Highlands will leave you feeling like you are not in Malaysia, thanks to the cool climate and beautiful views!

Cameron Highlands Big Red Strawberry Farm

As part of the stress-free holiday (we didn't want to fly out to another country), we opted for some cool air at Cameron Highlands. This is our 3rd time here since our arrival 5 years ago. This is the first time we came here with our 2-yr old daughter.

After long hours of research online, we opted for the Big Red Strawberry Farm. It had enough parking space, toilets and the highlight was they had some kids rides which were okay (rm .50 or rm1 per ride). They also had a cafeteria which served strawberry delights like juice, pancakes, floats, or plain strawberries with cream. We plan to also do some strawberry picking later which cost rm25/basket and one can pick as much strawberries as long as you fill it in the basket.

The food was reasonably priced and we indulged in some strawberry shakes. We were lucky to have sunny weather and coupled with the cool climate it really makes you forget you are in Malaysia!

It was packed with people because of the Xmas holiday season. We stayed at the Strawberry Park Resort which was a short drive away from this place.