Kuala Kubu Bharu

Just days after my touchdown in Kuala Lumpur, my parents spontaneously decided to bring the fam out on a day trip to Kuala Kubu Bharu. This small town in Northern Selangor is known for a few eateries, its quaint main square (go google it), the flooding tragedy (interesting rumour behind its cause), rumoured (?) communist guerilla hideouts, and the Chiling waterfall. About 100 minutes after leaving Subang, we reached this sleepy little place after a steady wind up the hill. 

First off the list was lunch at Restoran Nine Thy Eight 98 海鲜饭店 . We went in with zero knowledge on what to order, so we had to solely rely on the waitress' recommendations. Going off what she said, we ended up having stir-fried long beans with salted egg, porridge with crab, smoked chicken, and tapioca leaves. Maybe I was too eager to savour all the Malaysian food I can get my hands on, but the meal was actually pretty good. Original flavours were very much present in each dish, playing off savoury palettes. I do not clearly recall the porridge dish, but the both the salted egg stir-fry and smoked chicken still stand out.

We then went in search of Sungai Chiling. Somehow, we missed the signs (I attribute it to poor visibility due to the rain) and ended up at the entry point to Fraser's Hill. On the way back, we took a quick stop at the Sungai Selangor Dam.

Whill waiting for the baked goods to be ready, we went to Kedai Makanan Hailam Sun Sun Nam Cheong. This restaurant is a staple in all documented guides to KKB. I would not refute it nor vocally back the crowd consensus, as my Hailam food exposure is minimal.

Post-tea, we went (rather, my mom) to collect the kaya puffs and butter cakes my mother ordered earlier. Much to her dismay, she ordered butter cakes instead of the butter sponge ones. I have to say that neither were amazingly delish. The kaya puffs just had good flaky pastry and the cakes had a nice butter aroma. 

'Till the next post!

I went to L.A.

The Fall of last year, I had the wonderful to participate in a learning cluster that gave me a good glance around L.A.. Learning clusters are part of the undergraduate curriculum at SUA, where the first and second years have to participate in, as part of establishing a deeper understanding of subject matters of our concerns and interests. One of my professors offered a learning cluster entitled "What is a city? What is L.A.?", which looks closely at L.A. in the study of urban life, cities, and planning. My professor, who is a L.A. native, whipped up an intense syllabus and planned out a "treasure hunt" for us to see the our syllabus come to life in L.A.

To instil some sense to this otherwise disheveled series of photographs taken throughout our helter-skeltered hunt, I have arranged the photos by day, and accompanied them with crude descriptions. Voila:

PS: We compiled our findings and bits of our tour, and created a write up to wrap up our cluster. Now, we have a PDF of our magazine, which may act as a book of LA treasure sites. Please email me if you are interested in our little pride and glory!

Day 1

Sites: LA Union Station, Olvera Street (not pictured), Chinatown, Bunker Hill, Bradbury Building, Central Market (np), Grand Park (np), LA Public Library (np), Pershing Square (np), Angel's Flight (np), and The Last Bookstore (np, book heaven). 

General themes: Rainy LA, wet sandals, lost & confused tourists, and food-happy people.

Day 2
Sites: Mariacha Plaza (Boyle Heights area), Little Tokyo (np), Kyoto Gardens (np, on top of DoubleTree by Hilton), Skid Row (np), Arts District (np) and Urth & Zinc & Blue Bottle Co. (np).

General themes: Ominous skies, the gentrification experience, SoCal homelessness, train commute close-shaves, and hipsters galore.

Day 3

Sites: Playa Vista (np), Baldwin Hills, Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park, South LA farm (np), La Mercado La Paloma, University of Southern California (np), and Exposition Park.

General themes: Sunny, warm, beautiful men, rekindling relationships between nature & humanity, South Los Angeles, coincidental meetings, and getting lost & confused again.

Day 4

Sites: Santa Monica, Tongva Park, Venice, Global Green (np), the LA river (np), and our professor's house.

General themes: Bike-friendly communities, sweaty t-shirts (courtesy of biking), urban planning and consulting, salty air, food porn, trying not to get hit by cars, Santa Monica night life, quirky inhabitants of Venice (old, toned guy in speedos), and excitement (not related to speedos).

Day 5
Sites: Miracle Mile (LACMA, La Brea Tar Pits, etc.), Original Farmer's Market, The Grove, Hollywood, Koreatown, and City Hall.

General themes: Jakun-ness, chasing bus lines, food porn, un-glamourous Hollywood, rip-offs, sustainable development, Mayor Garcetti, and extreme satisfaction.

*All photos are taken by and owned by me. Please do not use without permission.*

California Spring

Okay, I lied. The photos were not taken recently, but the weather is indifferent. I still need to wrap myself in scarves and there was a week of sweater weather. I cannot honestly wait to be enveloped by the warm Malaysian air, to stand under the scorching sun until my skin, hair starts to pinch. I cannot wait to sweat, pant, and complain again. 

Just a while ago, I was relating to my friend about how different summer meant to myself and those who experience the four seasons. Summer conjures up family vacations, getting coup de soleils, tongue-staining popsicles, and pure bliss. For me, summer sounds like heavy and slow school days. The year end month-long holidays were some sort of summer, but not a culture as widely embraced here in the Western hemisphere than the East. There were no seasonal operations (except the educational kind), and no movie representations. 

Do not really know what I am putting out here, but there you go. 

Oh hey, outfit shot.

I will get to blogging soon.

Three months after

I know... It has been close to two months since I last blogged and I am not sorry. College life schedule can be extremely hostile. When I am not bogged down by homework or actual work or activities and such, I am wasting my life away watching tv series and of course, reading.

Last December, Carmen flew over from Chicago to spend half of her Winter Break. We took an amazing trip up North of California. Spanning over 9 days, it was a great (and well-deserved) get-away from the grind. We spent about 3 days around Aliso Viejo, covering the local scene and Laguna Beach. Then, it was Disneyland, Monterey and San Francisco. The excitement of breaking away from work and travelling sans parents was thrilling. One part of me was screaming “Liberty!!”, being independent from my parents, and making my own decisions; the other part of me was all “This is fucking surreal”, creating very very high expectations of independent travelling, with a disappointment/happiness-complex ensuing.

In between catching our scheduled transportation from one far end to the other, stuffing our faces with over-priced American food, waiting for Disney rides under the blinding sun, and binge-watching Orange is the New Black, I gathered this short series of photos. We took the Metrolink from Laguna Niguel to Anaheim, and then an Uber ride to our hotel. The commuting from our hotel to Disneyland was costly though, so lesson learnt: either stay in a hotel with a free shuttle, or trade cab fees for a closer hotel. For our trip to Monterey, we took the Amtrak that had an amazing scenic route. One part of the ride consisted creepily gazing at half-naked male surfers paddling out in the ocean right beside the train. And I mean, literally, right by the tracks. What a plus. But I digressed. After two nights in Monterey, we caught an airport shuttle to the San Francisco airport. We commuted within the city with our 3-day MUNI pass as well as the BART train. Upon my return, I felt rejuvenated. I felt grown up. Meeting people and taking in urban life gave me a different perspective. There is a sense of accomplishment having taken charge of my every day, hour, second, and every cent. It is rewarding to know that you are able to have a say in your life’s endeavors. It’s never esoteric, beyond-your-own control. It is about your solidarity in perseverance. Oh yes.

Alright, moving on.

Oh, college. Allow me to continue watching Girls instead of completing my readings for tomorrow.