I'm back!

Wow it's been more that a week since I last posted something and it's good to be back! As most of you know I was in bangkok for a few days and then got a seriously bad cough/cold/fever/flu thingy! In fact I'm still at home now recuperating for the third straight work day. Haven't been this sick in ages and hope it doesn't happen again for a long long time! At least I'm feeling better enough to write a little although I'm not completely out of the woods yet!

Let me start by thanking all my blog buddies Santa, Ann, Barrett, Janice, Jean, Marzie and Nick for their concern during my illness....guys you made the dreary days at home seem so much brighter! Cheers! :)

I want to write a little about my trip to Bangkok because nothing else happened since then except for me lying in bed! I let on Tuesday and to start the flight was delayed...talk about getting off on the wrong foot. I've been to Bangkok many times and always enjoy the trips there. Usually I'll meet my friends there and we'd either go sightseeing or just plain old shopping but this trip was in the middle on the week and besides the family couldn't come so I didn't plan for anything! We landed at the new airport which seemed nice.

I stayed at the Conrad Hotel which gave us such excellent treatment that I just had to mention them. Firstly the buffet breakfast and lunch were marvellous. The in between our training there was a whole array of other goodies each day. Thank goodness I was dieting or I'd had really had a feast! During the break afternoon they'd serve wonderful mocktails along with more food and cookies and fruits and expresso and a variety of teas. I've been to many such training sessions in the past but this one really took the cake. And as if that was not enough the hotel even gave us each a complimentary head and shoulder massage after the session one day. It's so nice to be pampered.

After the training we were of course on our own. I did my usual walkabouts to places I usually frequent. Before you think ill of me because of Bangkok's notierity, it was to my regular tailor to have my suit altered. Yes, losing weight had had it's effects on my clothes. I also did a little window shopping and bought some stuff for the office. I was feeling good the first day.

On the second day I was tired (didn't realize that I was coming down with this) so I stayed in and enjoyed the long bath which is a must. On the third day I walked around with a friend and colleague from Indonesia. We took it easy and caught a Skytrain to MBK (Mah Boon Krong) which is a huge mall with countless outlets selling more or less the same thing. My friend want to buy some souveniors for his family and colleagues too. He managed to get some tshirts and I who really didn't want to shop this trip bought some lovely wooden carvings of Buddha (no I'm not buddhist but I liked the carvings). Also got some cute hair clips and girl stuff for the daughter. However, since we had eaten such fantastic meals for breakfast and lunch we skipped dinner each night. I had the fruits from the fruit basket which they filled daily in the room.

On the fourth day we went to Central a department store with some great food and stuff. They have this high-end food court, called food Loft that we tried the last time I was there. That time I had wifey and daughter with me too. They have food from all over the world and the prices are reasonable. Like I said earlier I couldn't eat anymore for dinner so we gave the Loft a pass this time (Man the things I have to sacrifice to lose weight besides by then I had no appetite and didn't realize that it was due to the illness). I scouted around for some toys for the little one. I wanted to get her a baby doll becase that's what she been doing lately...playing pretend at feeding her dolls but didn't find any I liked...most had small parts and were meant for older kids. Wifey had asked me to get the little one some wooden alphabet blocks so that she can start to form words. I found a nice one but was short a few Thai baht (those things were not cheap and cost around 850 baht/RM85/USD25 but they were really nice and I liked them) and just my luck the moneychanger there had just closed so I had to go back there the next day to get it. After that I was starting to feel tired but I had to go pick up my suit so one quick Skytrain ride later we were at the tailors. As usual they were not ready but said they'd send it to the hotel later. We took a slow walk back to the hotel after that. The suit came soon after.

On the last day (Saturday) I really had lost my appetite and was feeling the cough. My friends suggested we walk around again and for lack of anything better to do I agreed. Besides I needed to buy the little one her blocks. I had difficulty breathing and was thinking boy do I need to work on my stamina, DOH! Yeah I was worng and didn't realize it. So did a little more shopping for some t-shirts for my nephews from the street vendors before the department store opened and I got the blocks! I was rushing for time by now because my flight was at 2 and I needed to leave by 11.30. My friend wanted to buy a skateboard for his son too and by the time we had done all that it was time to go.

So I rushed and got ready and it was a good thing I packed the night before because it saved me time. Got to the airport on time and found out that my flight had been delayed. Go figure! Well at the airport after checking in and going to the departure hall and surrendering my bottle of water there was none to be purchased. So there I was thirsty as hell, tired and sick waiting for the silly plane. It was an hour late. I only had loads of warm water on the flight back and couldn't eat a morsel. Well reached home safely around sevenish. Daughter loved the the blocks. (Wifey didn't want anything but I told wifey that she can get something she likes over the weekend)

On Sunday BOOM! I was out until noon and went to the doctor with a high fever. The doctor said it might be pneumonia or asthma and gave me a fright. Got a jab on my butt and had to use a nebulizer for the first time. Cough is still bad and I've been home the past few days recovering. Went to the doctor again yesterday and she said that was not pneumonia but a very very nasty cough. Gave me stronger cough medicine and stuff owsy. Good thing is my appetite is back...well at least little. The bad news is I think I passed the cough to the little one and she had to have the nebulizer yesterday too. Poor girl has been coughing so badly the past few nights. So I'm more concerned about her than myself.

To top things off my car battery died while I was away. What a week wouldn't you say!

Well at least I'm feeling better enough to write a little and I'm home relaxing! That's a plus!!

PS Barrett I will have some pictures from my previous trips up to complement this post later. Cheers!

PPS To everyone who tagged me...I'll start working on that as soon as I can! So sorry for the long delay!

Food! Glorious Food!

One of the things I love to do is eat! I like most types of food and with the exception of seafood (except prawns) and spare parts (innards) I eat just about anything. So doing this meme should be a snap for me right? Two things cropped up the first was now that I'm watching my diet I try to eat out less. The second was I was assumed that the pictures had to be taken of the places I frequent and I had to go there to do that! When I told Marzie that it'll take a while for me to get this post out I found out the truth! She copied her's off the net. The cheat LOL and on top of that she laughed her head off because I was actually going around getting my photos of my favs with a camera (phone cam not so clear). Thanks for telling me that after the fact okay!

I would like to thank two of my good friends, Marzie of Wishing on a Falling Star and Jean of A Great Pleasure for tagging me with this food meme!

Soong Kee Beef Ball Noodles in Jalan Silang - This place has been around for ages. My Mum first took me there when I was seven. That's more than 30 years ago. I remember having my first coke there too. A typical order would be wanton noodles with minced meat sauce (where have I heard that term before) and vegetables. The beef soup would contain the succulent beef balls (we always order more balls)! And the chili sauce is simply the best. I usually finish half a pot, I'm not kidding! My friends will vouch for that! Each element of the meal is enjoyable on it's on and that's the beauty of this place! Only problem is the lack of parking. But there is always the LRT! This is my all time favourite place!

Chutney Mary's in Bangsar serves authentic Indian food. However for lunch they serve banana leaf meals. No you don't eat the leaf...it serves as a plate! DOH! Banana leaf meals is fast gaining popularity among all the races in Malaysia. Restaurants are mushrooming up all over the place. Even with all the competition they remain crowded throughout lunch and beyond! A meal consists of several types of vege dishes, chutney of the day, papadam (google it) and usually chicken/fish/dahl curry. Meat dishes are available and they a huge renage to choose from. Problem is can get very crowded and stuffy. This is where Chutney Mary's comes in! They get most of their business at night because of the Bangsar night activities. SoO during lunch they have special menus that have really reasonable prices for good quality food! It's cool and cozy and we can bring daughter without any problems. One time she even slept through the entire meal on the cushioned seats by the wall that quiet and cozy it is! My favourite Indian food place since I discovered it. Before that it was Sri Paandi's in Section 11 which serves the more tradional banan leaf meals but is just too crowded to enjoy the meal!

Chilis - We used to love the steak and protebello fajitas until they took it off the menu recently. So we switched to Mushroom Jack with Steak Fajitas. Turned out pretty good so that is now our new favourite dish at Chilis. Then again because I was lugging a camer aroud they might have thought I was a food critic or something because the service that day was better than usual! Daughter likes the grilled chicken with veg nad kids eat for free too!

Old Town Char Kueh Teow - under the Yum Yum Tree - Actually I don't think this place has a name because he sublets from a larger restaurant. I discovered this guy about 25 years ago. He fries in the morning at one restaurant and in the evening at another. Both times there is usually a long queue and sometimes the wait can take up to half and hour or more. But people still come back because it's just plain good! Instead of reinventing the wheel I'm just gonna use Marzie's description because it's the csame everywhere. Hope you don't mind Marz! "Char kway teow is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is made from flat rice noodles, fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chili, prawns, cockles, egg, bean sprouts and Chinese chives. "

Tai Thong Dim Sum - This place has a chain of restaurants and serves some pretty good dim sum. The dim sum is very fresh and they have a lot of varieties to choose from. We usually go there for lunch. We're also planning on introducing this to the little one soon becaue she loves prawns! Since everyone knows about dimsum I won't elobrate anymore and let the picture do the talking.

I'd like to pass this food meme on to the following folks (If any of you guys have done this before jsut skip it or let me know and I'll pass it to someone else):

Santa

Nick

Bobo

AnnaMarie

Nessa

Previous contributors:

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)

velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)

Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)

Olivia (London, England)

ML (Utah, USA)

Lotus (Toronto, Canada)

tanabata (Saitama, Japan)

Andi (Dallas[ish], Texas, United States)

Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)

miss kendra (los angeles,california, u.s.a)

Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA)

Tits McGee (New England, USA)

Joe (NE Tennessee, USA)

10K Monkeys (Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA)

Big Stupid Tommy (Athens, Tennessee, USA)

Newscoma (Weakley County, Tennessee, USA)

Russ McBee (Knoxville, Tennessee, USA)

Atomictumor Mrs Eaves (Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA)

Oh Really? LissaKay (Oak Ridge, TN, USA)

Mark Steel (Knoxville, TN, USA)

Fracas (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)

Sugar Queen’s Dream( Palm Coast, Florida,USA)

Christy’s Coffee Break (Ontario, Canada)

Ordinary Folk (Nowheresville, NY)
Mariuca (Malaysia)

Adrian (Malaysia)

Emila (Malaysia)

Janice (Singapore)

Jean (Malaysia)

Bobby (Mississippi)

Barrett (Somewheresville, USA)