2D1N Trip to Johor Bahru: 2nd

2D1N Trip to Johor Bahru: 2nd
Click here to view the 1st trip

7 November 2009 @ Johor Bahru for some shopping~!

11:53am... Booked for a stay at Mutiara Hotel Johor Bahru, solely for its proximity to Holiday Plaza (its literally side by side).
Here's a view of the hotel lobby...
However, even at 11:55pm, we were not granted access to our rooms. We were told that we can check in, but the room will not be ready until 2pm. Like wtf reason is that?! Minus 5 points from Mutiara Hotel.We walked over to Holiday Plaza, which is just right beside the hotel... here's a newly opened shop selling cosmetic and beauty products...
Holiday plaza also has many shops selling gorgeous ladies shoes and heels at very affordable prices~
1:23pm~ finally checked into our room #809... ( -_- ). Eerie looking corridor...
Bed is springy and definitely not comfortable. Only 2 pillows and 1 spare one in the drawers. Uncomfortable pillows.
Room looked old and in need of revamp... the bedcover looked disgusting... we'd rather the bed cover is white. Carpet is definitely old and damp.
Furniture inside the room tells you that you've been ripped off the amount of money you paid for a 5 stars hotel. Its much worst than a chalet.
Standard stuffs....
Mini bar looks lame. There is no complimentary free mineral water. Minus points for Mutiara Hotel.
5 Stars Hotel and we got an 18" CRT TV hidden in an old TV cabinet with creaky doors...
Built-in cabinets in the wall, but only 1 piece of bath-robe. No room-slippers.
Standard built-in safe.
Bathroom at least is huge.
... and comes with Bathtub~ ^^ however, the tap dislodged from the wall the moment I pull it... and the hand-rail on the wall is very loose too.
Generous toiletries on a rusty tray...
We headed for Danga City Mall... supposedly the main feature and attraction there is the Digital IT Valley that they so advertise on the website.... will officially open on the 13 November 2009. So we were there like 5 days ahead... but upon reaching there, we were appalled by the progress of the renovations that were still on-going in literally 70% of the shops... EPIC FAIL. Its a GHOST TOWN!
3:37pm~ We took a taxi to Bukit Indah Jusco~ ^^
Darn hungry~ so we stopped by Sizzling StoneGrill for lunch ^^
Chose the 2-persons Seafood Combination set and we got prawns, fish, and calamari~
It was perfect for hungry people, cuz the hot stone really requires diners to cook their food fast before the stone cools off... so its kinda cook-fast-gobble-em-down kinda experience~
After-lunch was a nice cuppa kopi siew dai~ ^^
Things are cheap inside JUSCO! Where else could you get good quality men's socks at only RM 8.00 for 2 pairs?
We still preferred the JUSCO over at Terbrau City~ its definitely bigger.
One thing I like about there was that they chunk similar shops together... you get one whole row of cosmetic shops....
These are also cosmetics...
... and one whole row of ladies heels and shoes shops... (I counted like 6 shops.... )
... and all the dining are lumped together too~
JUSCO is so unlike shopping malls in Singapore where you literally can't find any places to rest your feet ... there were benches everywhere and they're all empty... dunno why~
8:21pm~ we took a taxi to Taman Perling - Alam Seafood Restaurant... unlike Todak Restaurant at Megah Ria on the east coast, this one is near the west coast. Its not as crowded as Todak, so it was easy finding a table... (we could take our time to choose tables too!)... and there are definitely HUGE Sri Lankan crabs~ ^^
Coke is such an all-time favourite~ ^^
Oh, here's their pet monitor lizard... this fella here is at least a metre long...
Here're all the fresh catch~
HUGE crabs looked so delicious~
1 Kg for RM 80.00~ cheap?
Tofu Soup with Salty Vegetables~ Yummy~
Cereal Prawns~
Our 850grams Black Pepper Crab!
Compare the Coke can I placed beside... the Claws are humongous!
How can we miss the chance to take a shot with the signboard?
Remember the name hor~ This place is near the Sungei Danga area... just in case I forgot to inform you... beware of dogs... there's a huge rottweiler lurking somewhere there...
Back at the hotel... here's the view of area from above the hotel.... ( -_- )
Breakfast was satisfactory... Never try the Roti Chenai there... never good, never will be.
I love eggs~
Oh there's a Spa venue across the road / hotel that operates between 11am - 11pm~ gonna explore there a little next time...
3:01pm the next day @ Sushi King at City Square~ Lunch was a spread! A meal of premium sushi only came up to slightly more than RM70~ xD cheap~
5:22pm~ finally back in Singapore! Will be back to JB for more shopping next time!

Just a rough breakdown of the expenditure:

Local Malaysian snacks: Rm 30.00
Yokoso Shiyuki - Mirror: Rm 8.00
Lunch @ Sizzling Stone Grill: Rm 68.65
Old Town White Coffee 2 cups: Rm 6.40
JUSCO Hypermart Shopping: Rm 20.45
PADINI Concept Store - Ladies Top: Rm 59.50
Ladies Heels: Rm 59.90
Men Sandals: Rm 39.90
Dinner @ Seafood Restaurant: Rm 103.20
Salon Hairwash & Treatment for 2: Rm 240.00
DVD (Hong Kong Dramas): Rm 48.00
Lunch @ Sushi King: Rm 67.60
Taxi Fares to all places: Rm 79.00

Grand Total Expenditure: Rm 830.60

Degree of Steak Doneness

Degree of Steak Doneness
via Jason's FB...

I like my steak Medium Rare to Medium...

Caesarian Birth?

Caesarian Birth?
Took the below video off Bel's blog. Said she will never do a caesarian after watching it. I went ahead and watched the entire 5m + video... Shows how the surgeon slice layers after layers of the belly... pincer aside the flesh... soak up the blood... until the opening finally burst out liquid from the water bag... then they pull out the baby... cut away the umbilical cord... then finally remove the placenta portion left over in the stomach... WOW....

October 2009: Part 2

October 2009: Part 2

16 October 2009 @ Simei Eastpoint...
Mee Rebus is my standard order whenever I was there for grocery shopping... 2 thumbs up~
6:12pm @ Chomp Chomp~
Of all the satay stalls here, this stall has the best peanut gravy... cuz the fellas there added pineapple puree inside...
8:09pm @ IKEA.... I go to IKEA so often that I know where most of the items are placed... was there to buy some cheap photo frames for my favourite photos....
17 October 2009
5:45pm... Queuing up for the famous Punggol Nasi Lemak... took me 30 minutes to queue from the roadside to the front of the stall....
Metal board showing their authenticity... this is the one and only Punggol Nasi Lemak...
5:54pm... finally reached their display cabinet... its gonna be my turn soon!
oh boy is the Nasi Lemak nice! Cost me $12 for 2 persons' share...
7:03pm... @ Kovan Marketplace... Everyone familiar with Hock Hua Chinese Medical Hall? Now they diversified... Hock Hua Healthcare... its a Pharmacy!
7:08pm @ Kovan NTUC... YELLOW Dragonfruit anyone?
19 October 2009 @ Arab Street...
Was out with Dad on some errands... and the usual hunt for an afternoon snack is here...
Zam Zam Roti Prata...~ one piece so big yet is never enough...
5:35pm... @ Chomp Chomp again! xD
Chicken Wings here tastes so good~~
Never failed to order the giant sized Sugar Cane juice~
20 October 2009 @ IKEA (again)...
some guys have it lucky... P-plate on a $450,000 price tag Audi R8... >_< 22 October 2009 @ Courts...
There with Thomas to shop for a Refrigerator...Thomas says such size just nicely fits a human... I wonder what goes on in his mind...
24 October 2009
Saturday is camping day!
Got a 6-men tent and an inflatable queen size bed... Total comfort~
View from inside the tent~ very windy day~
One need to know that there are cheap tents, expensive tents, and ZOMG-so-expensive tents:
The cheap ones are usually summer tents, costing some $19 - $30. Come heavy rain and you'll find yourself waking up in a pool of water in the middle of the night. Mine cost $70 and its water/rain proof, so I don't have to worry about rainy weathers. Those ZOMG-so-expensive tents are brands like MAMUK Artic tents that one can use to stay out of the coldness while hiking up the Himalayan mountains... and could easily cost a few more times my tent. Camping Food: $20. Tent: $70. Camping with Girlfriend: Priceless memories.
Bought this lovely candle lamp from IKEA a couple of days back... $10~
Berries-flavoured candles from IKEA too~ so sweet it attracted so many flower-insects~
6:22pm~ starting the pit fire... 7 out of 10 guy-friends I know couldn't start a proper pit fire in less than 5 minutes. The first step is always to burn the charcoal first. No fanning necessary. Pit fires should always be managed by 1 person, any more is unnecessary.
Stools + crate as makeshift table, candle-lamp = Candle Lite Dinner by the Beach~ Romanticism takes efforts + creativity + someone who could appreciate. ^^
Pre-packed Satay from Shop N Save actually tastes gorgeous!
6:54pm... Dusk came and its high time for Satay!
Also bought a jumbo sized hotdog for dinner!
25 October 2009
7:47am~ Breakfast by the beach!
Fresh coffee + Scrambled eggs~
Hotdogs + Crabmeat + Instant Noodles!
26 October 2009
At EastPoint again... had a change from the usual Mee Rebus for some Dumplings Soup Noodles~ ^^
Was there for grocery shopping again!
5:20pm... out with Thomas for cake delivery!
27 October 2009
Nasi Lemak @ Tampines Giants foodcourt... yuck~ FAIL.
28 October 2009
Frog porridge @ Smith Street~ ^^
31 October 2009
@ Church along Serangoon road... my cousin's wedding...11:33am... @ Orchard Hotel... Tea Ceremony...
12:21pm... yes, its a Wedding Lunch~ actually much better cuz the usual dinner always drags so late into the night...
Weddings are sweet huh? Felt kinda stressed cuz next in line would be my brother and me... all my relatives are eyeing on us already... ^^||

Brassieres are Un-Islamic

Brassieres are Un-Islamic
via SankakuComplex:

A hardline Islamist group in law-less Somalia has begun publicly flogging women for wearing bras, as they claim violate Islam as they are 'deceptive'.

The group responsible, the insurgent group of Al Shabaab, has sent gunmen into the streets of Mogadishu to round up any women who appear to have a firm bust.
The women are then inspected to see if the firmness are natural, or if it is the result of wearing a bra. If they are found wearing a bra, they are ordered to remove it and shake their breast, said residents.

Al Shabaab seeks to impose a strict interpretation of the Sharia Law all over Somalia have also banned movies, musical ring-tones, dancing at weddings, and watching or playing soccer. Now they declare that "breast should be firm naturally, or just flat".

A man was recently thrown behind bars after having wrestled with another man, who humiliated her sister by beating her and forcing her to remove her bra.

Recycle the Right Way

Recycle the Right Way
via Dannychoo:

Garbage separation is a big thing in Japan. Over here in Singapore, I reckon it will still take 50 more years before the people here are civilized enough to do it right.

The photo below shows a bag of rubbish thrown out without the proper separation done. The pink sticker is left by the disposal fellas which says "This rubbish has not been separated. Separate it properly and try again".
Until one manages to separated out their rubbish properly, the disposal guys will leave the bags at your doorstep, uncollected. If they find an address in the bag (e.g. from an envelop etc), then they will leave it at the address. Very soon, non-compliance residents will have a mountain piled up at their door steps.

This bag above needs the cans and bottles separated out properly. The labels and caps need to be removed and they should be raised in water too. Once separated, one should keep them at home and throw them out on recycle day.
Recycle day is designated depending on where you live, and each area usually has a chart on display out in the streets which tells you when burnables, non-burnables, recyclables, etc should be put out.

The below video shows how one should go about separating out their rubbish: