Thailand: Haul

What's a vacation without a good amount of shopping? Finally got round to transferring these pics from my phone to the laptop to edit. I think I'll start with the more expensive items, moving to the most inexpensive. =D


This particular trip's shopping objective was to get the stuff that my mum wouldn't get, and get some feminine semi-casual pieces. I would say that objective was partially fulfilled. =P

Golden skull-embellished platform high-tops. From Platinum, 800 Baht.

Bondage wedges (5.5 inches, I think) with zigzag fabric on the side, and a zip back. From Platinum, 800 Baht.

Purple maxi dress with neckline embellishments. From Platinum, 450 Baht.

 Stainless steel chain link ring, and a black-coated ring. From Jatoojak, 320 Baht.

Mushroom-printed dresses. From Platinum, 180 Baht each.

Super dense flat shading brushes. From Platinum, 150 Baht each.

Terrier-printed skirt shorts. From Platinum, 150 Baht.

Printed dress. From Platinum, 150 Baht.

"I heart Thailand" and "Chang Beer" tees. From Platinum, 130 Baht each.

Rubber flats. From street market stall, 130 Baht each pair. 

Coral ribbon bow belt, leopard print belt, and plain brown belt. From Platinum, 100 Baht for 3.

 Assorted bracelets. From Platinum, 100 Baht for 4.

 Fringed printed tank. From street market stall, 100 Baht.

Thailand - Day 1

I don't really count going to Singapore as 'going overseas', because honestly it's just a stretch of water away, despite still being a completely different country. Because my younger sister was having her holidays, and I'm on a semester break, my dad planned a somewhat last-minute holiday to Thailand - mostly Bangkok.


The entire trip seemed surreal, and the packing didn't start until more or less the night before departure. The people were wonderful, the food was delicious, and the shopping even better.

~

Don Mueang Airport and Platinum Fashion Mall

Pink cabs? Yes, please!

We flew Air Asia, because it's cheap, but you get what you pay for - the flight wasn't altogether unpleasant, but it was certainly uncomfortable especially with packed-up seats. And it should suffice to pack just one pair of shorts for a 4-day shopping vacation (which was pretty much what I did).

Home away from home, and somewhat rightly so.

Our room, decorated with pretty lights throwing patterns on a painted feature wall, and the room was fitted with adequate mirrors (good for a narcissist), and a comfy red bean bag in a corner.

It was a 2-3 hour flight, and we arrived around late morning. The first thing I noticed were the colorful taxis, especially the pink ones! A taxi took us to our hotel - First House Hotel - which is location on a small street just opposite of Platinum Fashion Mall. We settled a little, with a little misunderstanding about an extra 50 baht charged because we came from the airport.




Our first meal was some homey Thai food from a small restaurant tucked along the long row of fashion shops, other restaurants, and humble food stalls. Pad Thai (40 baht) was the first thing on my mind, and was what I ordered. I didn't regret it one little bit - I could get seafood fried rice and omelet fried rice back home any time.

Platinum Fashion Mall.

We headed to the pedestrian bridge which led directly into Platinum Mall. My mum and sister had raved about how wide the fashion choices were in Bangkok, and my jaw almost literally dropped when I walked in. (haul in separate post later on =D)


I expected something like Berjaya Times Square, but what I saw was practically a girl's shopping heaven. I was given 2000 baht to spend (quite) freely, and so off we went. It was corridor after corridor of shops, with almost literally everything from shoes, accessories, dresses, tees, shorts, themed clothing stores, you name it.


We spent about 15-30 minutes on each floor on average, before having a little something to eat at the food hall on the 6th floor. What you do is you get a food ticket that has however much Baht you deposit into the card, then you pay with the card at whichever stall you're buying food from. A savory crepe and some local desserts were our tea.

C'est Pink Pvssy. I just had to.

Our next stop was Pratunam area, after a small stop back at the hotel to enjoy some fried chicken we got opposite the hotel, and to unload our haul. I realize there's this accessories franchise in Bangkok called Pink Pvssy, not unlike one we have here, with the same black renovation theme and chunky, sparkly stuff on sale.




A quick refuel at Tom and Toms Coffee accompanied with a mug of delicious cinnamon chocolate, then we walked the roadside stalls. It's amazing how these stalls are practically EVERYWHERE, despite everyone selling almost the same thing.


You know what's everywhere in Bangkok as well? 7-Elevens, and tuk tuks. Literally, they are everywhere. And compared to 7-Elevens in Malaysia, those outlets are stocked with almost everything - from DVDs to microwave meals.


That concludes day 1 - my sister and I more or less watched True Blood until both of us fell asleep, with a nice can of Chang Beer.

Bangkok haul: version 1.5

Bangkok has become a little bit of our place for fashion hauls for two reasons: the clothes there are mind-blowingly inexpensive, and the quality is usually up to par. Version 1.5 because I didn't get to go personally... AGAIN. First round of Bangkok fashion craze here.

All of the items are under MYR20, which is like just crazy! Some of the shorts were as low as MYR5, which is something that does not exist in KL. From here on in, I'll let the photos do the talking.

Aztec print stretchy T-shirts~

Aztec print stretchy cropped tees

Denim shorts with the hem folded, and with extra prints and/or embellishments

 Torn denim shorts

 More cotton tailored shorts for me LOL Instead of orange I got a green, and I got another checkered one the last time, too...

 Stretchy solid color tank tops

 Cotton tank tops with embellished neckline and straps

The only actual 'cotton tee' that I got, and it's just too sweet~

Cotton flowy tank top. I guess if I were shorter, this could be a dress...

Large-sized butterfly sleeve top

Cropped tee again, but with the Union Jack print

Sexy lace option: my mum pointedly reminded me to wear camisoles under this. 

 Long-sleeved hoodie

 Think The Bee Movie where they wore long sleeved polo shirts LOL Cotton long sleeved tee.

 My younger sister has the blue one. Knitted large size butterfly sleeve top.

 Sailor-inspired long sleeve tee.

 Long, flowy cardigans. My crappy photo editing made the one at the back look like a dark grey, but it's a solid black.

 Retro dresses which come with matching (unphotographed) belts.

 Chrome snake left earring with helix cuff. This feels weird on, and I can't put it in the stretched hole...

MUSHROOM!!! (My obsession for mushrooms will probably never subside) This is a key pouch. You attach your keys to the key ring at the bottom, which is attached to the draw-string coming out of the top of the mushroom (other shapes available LOL). So when you pull the draw-string up, the keys will be hidden within the pouch itself.

~

Thanks to my bro, my Neo is now up and running. I didn't really make it a point to remove the two ghastly P (probational driver) stickers from the windshield, and I have a cute Hello Kitty windshield sticker preventing any more permanent damage from road tax stickers now, thanks to a certain someone =D


And there goes MYR100 to replace my Samsung Note's battery, which swelled up and refused to last for more than 5 minutes with apps open. Happy with my new diamond screen protector though. It looks like someone has been playing around with pretty sparkly eye shadows~

I've an actual sightseeing trip planned to Bangkok soon. I'll update about that when the time comes. Jya, mata ne! (it means "I'll see you then" in Japanese).

End of Giugno

Boy, has May and June been hectic! Tons and tons of assignments, and... nope that pretty much sums up the life of university students. All the drama and potential backstabbing aside, the assignments were actually somewhat fun.

The downside was that there were multiple group assignments due around the same time, all requiring presentations, and two requiring ridiculous amounts of paperwork and references. Anyways, I've a pretty much nice, worry-free weekend for once, after more than 24 hours of not sleeping. I broke my own record...

Super le buay paiseh posting this up. And to the guy who posted this, lemme know who you are LOL

Anyways, we had a long night over at Louis' place rushing our assignment (which I find is the most awesome assignment I've done throughout university). I took to a random trip to one of the Taylor's confessions pages, and *BAM*. Either it's a huge troll, or a really awkward proposal. If it's the latter, I think I have a general idea who it is.

I reached home at 05:30 on Friday 28th, took a quick shower, whipped out my only shirt, and sped off back to Subang Jaya. I was expecting a random breakfast with someone, but no one showed up, so I hopped back to the car for a few snoozes (no way I'm going to the library).

If only I could doll up like this everyday...

Coordinate of the day: red shirt from Gia F.O.S, the pencil skirt was from Bangkok, black leather peep-toe pumps from Prima Vera, and accessorized with my usual pink watch, and a new necklace given to me by my beloved mum~ Could've looked better with an anklet, but I completely forgot about it...

Make-up... I think I'll do a separate post and video on it? It's like super fast just eye and lip make-up look that was supposed to just make me look less zombie-like after surviving on processed sugars.

And to the random guy that appeared in the Project Room at D3 to encourage my defensive comments "slandering posts" on the Taylor's confessions pages, THANK YOU! At least my aimless attempts at refuting people have gained some significance, however little. =D Like really, it means a lot to me that people notice.

Delicious macaron courtesy of Karen~ I think it's matcha and red bean, but I can't be sure. =P

Having to wait wasn't the bad part. Our PR presentation was scheduled for 12:15, when Media Gates (our PR company) was supposed to present. Even by 14:15, we weren't able to present. Why? I can understand that the Deakin's students arrived late (Malaysian traffic, etc), but when the lecturer time and again reminded us to be "15 minutes early prior to our presentation slot", and was late herself? Sorry. Respect lost.

Collateral material #1: synthetic material cushion, now in my possession =D

And when Media Gates finally entered the room, we were ushered out and instructed to return in half an hour. I forgot to accommodate whom, but we walked out with pleasant faces, no matter how much I wanted to really shout profanities.

Collateral material #2: T-shirt. This is the back, and the printed kidneys are supposed to be where the real kidneys are.

I didn't have time, though, because I had to run up and down a few flights of stairs in heels to get to ANOTHER PRESENTATION. Talk about being busy. I was sweating beyond what was acceptable (the coordinate wasn't very ventilation-friendly), but my presentation for Exhibition Management went quite well. *got rid of my constantly-fidgeting-while-presenting habit*

Collateral material #3: le mug. There's a sticker and a calendar as well~

Just as it was Media Gates' turn to present, somehow all the Deakin's students and staff left, leaving only our lecturer in there to evaluate us. In a way it was good and bad - good because there's less pressure when stuttering happens; bad because we lack the experience in presenting for anyone else other than our lecturer.

BUT I FUCKING LOVED OUR GROUP! Wasn't a group that I started from the bottom with, but a wonder to work with. Four guys - Louis, Justin, Alex, and Win Aun. Seriously. Best. Group. Assignment. Experience. Ever. And I loved our collateral materials~ There were some last minute changes, but awesome all the same. =D

I ended up with about 6 blisters in total, as well as constantly cramping calves, but had a nice Taiwanese dinner at Formosa (Asian Avenue, Sunway Pyramid) with Jasmine and Win Aun.

Cantaloupe pomelo sago dessert... WITHOUT cream. RM7.90 (subject to taxes)

I also had my first taste of Hui Lau Shan, which is a renowned Hong Kong-style healthy dessert chain, using fruits as their main ingredients. Given the big hype about it (or at least, the impression I got), I was pretty much disappointed, because it wasn't much. Just... dessert. However, in their defense, I have pretty high-calorie, rich tastes for my dessert. =P

What propelled me to wait aimlessly in campus, but still get in the traffic congestion, I will never know. Thankfully I took KESAS instead of my usual route... My leg would have needed amputation when I got home.

***

On another note, I suddenly realize the somewhat lame but awesome guys I've known for the past few years are people who actually care. Not gonna go into detail, but I was really touched when they said they won't be attending my funeral if I died in a certain way, not even visit me at the hospital.

Stop, and take the time to look around, and cherish all the people around you, even those who backstab and betray you - they help you differentiate the real friends from the fake ones. =)

End of April

Drawing closer to the end of the fourth month on 2013, I've some things to share, but I obviously can't share EVERYTHING that happened, so I'll share just some recent things. =)

From top left clockwise: fruit custard, coffee almond, chocolate custard, lemon, durian, and chocolate almond.

My mother brought home some mini tarts from a place called Justarts. They came in shortcrust pastry shells, wrapped in disposable cupcake cups (I think that's what they call it). Some were delicious, some were just mediocre. =P


And a shopping trip at Mid Valley on Sunday. Our targets are actually just a few pairs of shoes, especially that I needed all-black comfy walking shoes for an upcoming event job (for academic purposes LOL). We ended up spending a little more than we planned to...

Cute tribal beads are their charm~ RM69.80 from Sachs (discounted).

I found some cute moccasins from Sachs, which I would never really have considered purchasing, and scratched the "black walking shoes" off my shopping list. Basically, that was all of my entire "need" shopping list. But which girl could resist an all out shopping trip? =D

Basic black peep-toe pumps which are not too tall! RM246 from Prima Vera.

There were some pretty black pumps I found in Jusco, black, but with a ruffled surface - understated, yet still outstanding enough. But they didn't fit (damn those who don't manufacture/stock up on half sizes). I found a pair in Prima Vera, though... Super. Effing. Expensive. But not too tall, and leather~ *dances around* So my mother got those for me...


Before we could proceed to anything else, LUNCH! Mid Valley, having been there for millions of times, is now a place where we would start asking each other what to have for lunch the moment we leave the house. Kind of familiar, since we kind of do that at school, too...


Anyway, we decided to give Manhattan Fish Market a chance after a not-so-nice experience there some time ago. Regretted the decision of even letting them have a shot to try to re-impress us. They changed the menu since our last visit, and I didn't fancy paying for mediocre food and bad service.

Asian spice pan seared fish and spicy mussels (they were quite fresh) served with garlic herb rice. RM25.50 (subject to government and service tax)

The garlic herb rice tasted so much better in the past, and there was a simple seafood pasta somewhere, and it costed RM17.90 for the full sized one. Pasta + that little bit of seafood = definitely not worth RM17.90. Even Pasta Zanmai isn't that expensive... The dish that I ordered - I could have made it myself at home, but I paid RM25.50+ to eat it there.


And too many part timers, and a management that doesn't seem to bother training their staff. Any restaurant, who has a team of staff who huddles together, talks loudly, and/or is not alert immediately puts me off. I expect up-to-par service when I'm paying for your stupid service tax. No MFM anytime soon.

We left in search of more shoes, and we happened to pass by Vintage 1988's pushcart. Vintage 1988 is a boutique that specializes in vintage-looking charm accessories. You can purchase the accessories ready-made, or you can customize them (the staff will assemble your accessory on the spot).

There were many different charms of different shapes, sizes, and prices. The promotion was choosing 6 charms and above entitles you to a free chain for the bracelet. I made myself an anklet instead. Beware, though: you'll just get caught up with the entire process of choosing from the super-wide variety of charms, planning your accessory design, and end up being quite surprised by the end price.

My new favorite accessory =D RM68 inclusive of the chain.

The Deathly Hallows charm represents my loyalty to Harry Potter; the alphabet "C" is the first letter of my name (Chean); I like cats in general; music really does rule my life; the star because it made a pretty horizontal piece; the feather because perhaps I fantasize about flying away?; the love letter because I love writing love letters; and the alphabet "D"... represents a really important person in my life. =)

The most kawaii mini croissant I've ever seen!

Tried out Komugi's nama choco sand as well. Mediocre.

And after a visit to Skechers where I saw someone who resembled a certain someone a little too much, we had a little shopping spree in Komugi (my new favorite Japanese pastry house). We got some bread each, and some cold desserts (hanjuku cheese and nama choco sand, which translates as "nama chocolate sandwich").


Now to MONDAY, filled with the usual Monday blues. I had one comfort - I found a cropped sweater in my closet by accident. I share my closet with my sister, so I have no idea what's in the closet sometimes.

Photo taken from my Instagram. Filters from Camera360 and Instagram. Both items unbranded (jeans from Petaling Street).

What I found was an orange sweater, which was under a white sheer cardigan. The highlight is that this sweater is cropped, though obviously for people with a little more height than me. But it's cropped nonetheless, and it's probably the only piece of clothing in the entire house that is in that cut.


Tuesday was shit. I had to drive to campus (finally, SPEED) for a class that didn't last for even 20 minutes. The lecturer just sat in front, mumbled to himself about some things about statistics, asked us about things that he should know, then dismissed class after keeping silent for about 10 minutes. WTF?!

Crazy traffic jam! And this happens very frequently recently!

The ridiculous part was the almost-hour-long traffic jam just WITHIN campus. All the way from the free parking area all the way out to the SMC intersection. Taylor's, it's time you start planning an alternative enter-and-exit route: sooner or later, you'll lose students just because traffic flow and parking sucks.

Apple tarte tartin~ And we got some fresh corn from Cameron Highlands, too...

The traffic congestion was worth some delicious apple tarte tartin made by Karen~ Deliciously tangy apples on a mildly sweet crust, and served with melting vanilla ice cream~ *love*