The Waiting Game

I know we are so attached to google these days, and that every little thing we don’t know, the answer is just at our fingertips. LITERALLY.

So it didn’t come as much of surprise to me, when I noticed that I was goggling “what to do while my friend arrives”.

It seems so far away today, but I did come from a generation that actually sat and waited for their friends with no FB,Twitter or Insta to check every 5 minutes. And it seemed like memories from another planet, while I tried to remember what was it that I did while waiting in those days. I tried to imagine myself 15 years ago, sitting on the roadside mamak while I wait for Geetu to show up…and…what did I do?? Come to think of it, I might have been doing a couple of things(some of which surprisingly were suggestions from google today):

1. People watched.
I admit I still do this till today, sometimes it gets interesting. Like this one time a mom and child were walking through a mall, and then out of the blues, the child turns to a T-rex and starts running amok and the poor mother starts chasing him. It was a short scene but the hilarity of it? Priceless. Or that girl waiting for her blind date, who keeps checking both her phone and her make up every minute until he finally arrives. Awfully shweet! But again, it’s not always the case as most times, people just have their heads downcast looking at their mobile FB or taking selfies.

2. Listened to others' conversation.
Ok, maybe this sounds a bit kepoh, but I admit I did this too. Sometimes you get to hear the darnest things, and if there was any positive note to it, you get a moral lesson on what not to do in your life/in your kitchen/in your office etc. Or in a restaurant, when someone remarks another shop has better food, can that be counted as eavesdropped advice?

3. Learn Patience.
This, is SO true. I learnt how not to murder someone who left me waiting for 2 hours. Should probably take up Yoga in that waiting time..

4. Read Road Signs.
I think It wasn’t just road signs. One instance, I had memorized the entire menu off a restaurant, read all their waiters names and even devised a master plan on how to get past the shop’s laser beams at night to rob their secret roti canai recipe, Oceans 11 style! All while waiting for my friends Ultimate arrival.

5. Talk to a stranger.
Well, my momma told me not to. But I did it anyway(yeah, I’m the rebel!). Talked to waiters at the restaurants, to cashiers at newspaper stands, to people at the bus stop, and sometimes, to the cats on the staircase of Kotaraya.

6. Read the newspaper.
The difference between the then and now would be that the paper has become electronic. I have always been someone who lugged their story book wherever they went, so I would sometimes just sit by with my tea and start reading. Sometimes, my books don’t fit my bag, so I hope e-books count in this category too.

7. Get Lost
Not in the literal sense. But I have this itch that I can’t sit in one place for too long, just waiting. Back then, I used to meet my college friends in Petaling Street, which to my young eyes was just a maze ( To my adult eyes, Hanoi’s 36 Streets surpasses that) and it was just wonderful being lost in that maze and finding small knickknack stores around the corner. I would just time myself to be back to my original spot in time to meet the Teh Tarik geng. I guess I still do it, when Pbear is late, I tend to drive around the area we are supposed to meet, checking out new stores or a new street. Only difference is that I don’t wear a watch now, so my curious-drive-away ends up with him waiting for me instead.

Though technology had made us almost inseparable from our mobile phones, I guess the waiting for my kawan has taken a new turn now. We don’t really do what we used to , but then again- somethings do stay the same. Like I am still here, with google open and my friend is still LATE. Another 5 minutes and I am going to have to re-learn Point 3..

How it feels..

The 7th Wonder

I keep thinking of this gazillions of topics I want to write about, but always, I would forget to write them down. I find that without writing down stuff, sometimes, I cant remember a list. Its not just things of yesteryear that seems to be a bit of a muggle but also something simple like a grocery list. To be honest,  When I was younger, I could remember any topic and any date without having to write it down somewhere( sometimes I do write down stuff, and then I forget just where I did write them). Back then I was proud to be able to remember meticulous details , sorta like that anne in the mamak when he takes our order for 16 people and gets it right down to the correct milo-ais-tanpa-susu-tambah-milo.

Speaking of Milo, my milo- monster nephew’s memory reminds me of that. One weekend, he hides his Hot Wheels behind the sofa, and 3 weeks later(how do you even remember such things?) , we see him digging around, and voila- there is a hidden car where we have been sitting everyday. Maybe I have some princess and the pea syndrome, or maybe the cushion is just too thick. Hey, at least I still remember where my keys are. Anyway, being an adult, I guess this forgetfulness needs some excuse story.

Speaking of stories, remember a time when we loved all those fairy tales? You can remember every line Ariel sang- and in Diplodocus’ case, every line Ariel said. Fairy tales being pushed aside, my nephew’s latest craze is Shah Rukh Khan. To the point that even his birthday cake had the movie Dilwale poster on it and he refused to allow anyone to cut out SRK face from the cake. I mean, I loved the Backstreet Boys in my hey-didley days but I don’t think I wanted to have their faces on my cake. Orrrrrrr maybe I might have, it’s hard to imagine yourself 15 and Howie-crazy again. Just like how I knew all the lyrics to “As Long as you love me” , my Nephew can remember all the songs+moves of his favourite movie. Even his hair is the exact replica of Mr. SRK . I don’t even recall the last movie SRK made, though while watching the subtitle-less Dilwale couple of weeks ago, I had to literally translate the entire movie for that milo chugging monster, and  in some parts, I even needed to make background stories to what was happening on screen. Kids today, they need to know everything! At least, I still have my storytelling up to speed.

Speaking of speed, what is with kids and running? I am pretty sure Nancy Regan said “This Boots are made for Walking”. And if running wasn’t enough, lilmonster recently bought a pair of skates and that’s how he moves around now. He basically got the whole “how it works” within 2 hours of getting the skates(a much thank you to YouTube too) And here I was, trying my hand at making  an origami crane for the last 10 hours. I mean, come on! You know what, deep down, I think I could have learnt those skates in 5 minutes . Yeah, I am pretty sure of it. Unfortunately, they could not fit my feet.

Speaking of feet, how is it that the smallest feet can make the most noise? I mean the monster-kid nephew is just 7..and you can hear him running from a mile away. He doesn’t seem to mind the noise even when you are sleeping. Like every Sunday, at exactly 8am, when birds are chirping gently and the world is still cradling in the off-day, there will be this sudden crash and tsunami like wave hitting my bed and the next thing I know there are these 2 feet stabbing into my back forcing me to wake up and face the Hot wheels, Lego and Shah Rukh Khan laden weekend. So I drag myself out of bed in my quiet feet, and the pitter patter of the monster would have reached the playpen long before you can say “where’s the coffee”.

But through it all, sometimes you just want to slow the time down and watch them play and sometimes you just wonder where is the time gone.

Speaking of gone time, I suppose this entry should have come in 2 months ago, and though it is a little bit late, I wish my little baby nephew (I have aunt rights to call him baby FOREVER) a happy 7^th birthday.

To Tote or not to Tote

Half the time. I am quite happy to be known as a suburban. I take trains to the city and back(hell no, not the komuter!) and somehow I am still charmed by the chug-a-chug and squeals of the brakes on the tracks. Well, maybe not so much of a chug a chug from the ERL, but the squeals are definitely there.

Anyways, it was during one of these train rides I noticed something peculiar. Getting off the train, a man and woman, presumably a married couple, was walking about 10 steps ahead of me. The woman seemed unwell, she was swaying slightly and had on a thick jacket. The husband was walking next to her and asked her if she was tired. She said she was, and he offered to help her.

How would you help someone who was tired? Probably offer an arm for her to lean on? Direct her to the elevator instead of standing in the crowded escalator? Or maybe gently support her back on the escalator up(she seemed to almost double over anyway)

No, not this man. He instead, takes her 0.2kg handbag from her shoulder. Slings in on his shoulder and continues walking.

Correct me if I am mistaken in the scenario. How does carrying off a load of 200grams (it was a VERY tiny bag) help the poor woman?

It’s probably some sort of trend, but I did notice a lot of men carry their women’s handbags for them in the malls too. Imagine this, here is this tall, hunky man, in his levis and a Polo tee. With a mint green Furla bag on his arm.

Don’t get me wrong,  I am all out for the gentleman who carries bags for ladies, but I mean grocery bags, shopping bags,or bags from Ikea. I just don’t think chivalry and coach tote go hand in hand.

Having said that, I still am of the opinion its socially acceptable for a man to carry a bag, but one designed with a man in mind. Maybe, just maybe, there should be more promotion from Radley For Men. I know some people would say its still a bag, but I suppose a manbag would look better than a C&K bowling bag.

Just my thought, no pun intended to any man or handbag.

Orlando Bloom looks hot with his man-o

Hanoi Winter- Feb 2016

Hanoi has got to be one of those crazy amazing places where chaos rules the day.

The people are everywhere, the food is sold in every corner, hidden coffee shops just waiting to be found, and the best of all, the traffic.

There are no rules to the traffic in Hanoi. One has to just close eyes(ok, don’t do that literally), say a prayer, keep your fingers crossed, check your rabbits foot, and step off the curb. Keep a steady pace and you will get to the other side in one piece. Hanoi is 95% bikes and they will just zoom around the pedestrians. Does it make me wonder though, was the term “why did the chicken cross the road” created in Hanoi? Though I can imagine the chicken owner asking his wife this in bewilderment, no sane chicken would take that journey.

And PS. Don’t cross by this rules on Malaysian roads.

Food in Hanoi, is a plenty, every corner you turn, you can find a peddler or café. The first day we were there, we did get a bit lost with the food. I mean this literally, we went Into a restaurant, and they placed a plate of a few items and we had no idea that the items are supposed to be joined and rolled into a popiah and eaten with the sauce on the side. But as all good things go, once we learnt our way around the Vietnamese food, we were enjoying it massively. Fish with Dill (Cha ca thang long), Pho ga/bo(which we had in different shops, trick is to add extra lime and spicy chili, and then it’s better than our local kuey teow soup!), Bun Nem(basically popiah), Bun Cha(Bun Cha Ta), and my absolute favourite, Banh Mi. Fruits and Desserts are also all great, with peddlers all over Old Town. In fact the fruits seller outside our hotel (Gia Thinh) sold the best, RM5 for a cup of mixed fruits with yogurt, milk and coconut milk.. it should be called heaven in a cup.

Bun Cha

heaven in a Cup

Coffee cafes are in every corner. A specialty of Hanoi, we had to go into the maze of Old Quarter with our guide to try the EGG-celent Egg Coffee(Giang Café). First time in our lives did we have to sit on stall tiny stools(not very easy as I am a baby elephant as compared to an average viet lady). Hanoi people love to sit on this little stools , and they are placed very close to one another and the best part. All coffee drinkers eat kuaci with their coffee. I kid you not, it’s a cultural thing to do here. Anyway, the egg coffee is made by whisking the egg till its frothy and is poured over the coffee. Drink It hot if you don’t like the eggy smell in your coffee. There are loads of coffee cafes strewn all over Old Quarter and beyond, and we were excited when we found a hidden spot- a rooftop café overlooking the lake. We almost missed it and had to round the street few times before we found it..we needed to go through a fabric store, down a small alley which opens into a courtyard and up flights after flights of stairs until the rooftop(Café Pho Co)

Tired of Coffee? Try the Hot Choco

Crime in Hanoi is there, be it in any country. So do beware especially when leaving the bank or the money changer. The banks opposite the lake do change RM to VND, but it’s still best to carry USD and change it there. On Sundays the banks are closed, but you can exchange at most goldsmith shops in Old Quarter. I would recommend the Money Changer at No 9, Hang Bac(Gold Smith Shop), a stone throws away from Gia Thinh. Taxis tend to overcharge here, the Mai linh cabs are ok, but on our last day, we travelled by Uber which was pretty easy too.

The younger people in Hanoi do speak English, so trying to speak to an older person would just include finger pointing, sounds of monkeys and tons of head nods and shakes. We had taken a tour with Hanoi Free Tour Guides, we had one guide in the morning. He shared with us Vietnam’s culture and heritage and gave us his honest politically correct views of the “socialist party” leading the country today. He is an engineering student learning English and German with hopes of furthering his education in the west, and it was interesting to share and hear his young opinions. The second half of the day we had Dung, a medical student studying locally. Though a little more reserved, he was more than happy to talk and teach us about the Vietnamese cuisine and left us with a few much needed pointers on what to eat and where. I would definitely recommend this Guides for anyone visiting Hanoi, as there is no fee apart from a donation made to the organization.

Guardians to the One Pillar Pagoda

The truth is spending 5 days in Hanoi is just not enough. Some people were a little surprised that we would spend that many days there without visiting Ha Long Bay, but I found there was much to do and see around Hanoi without the rush of travelling to another place. Take a stroll around the Hoan Kiem lake, (though end of winter, the flowers were blooming)the weather is perfect for walking. I could have just sat there for hours with a book, the water is just peaceful. The women’s museum and the prison are both worth a visit, teaching us of the times and tirade this beautiful country went through during the war.  Seep in the knowing and enlightening aura of the  Temple of Literature, wonder at the actual size of the Old Citadel, where does it end? Say a prayer and the oldest Pagoda, Have a coffee on a ferry turned-café by Highway Coffee near the Pagoda.

Unique Bonsai Gardens of Hanoi

Ferry Coffee

Sit by the Cathedral, enjoy a coffee at La Place while the church bells ring during mass(btw, visit during Mass on Sunday, church is closed on other days).Get lost in the maze of the 36 streets that make up Old Quarter. Its always surprising where the next corner might take you. Buy a ticket, grab your seat and enjoy the unique water puppet show.

La Place Coffee and Toast

Shop,eat, relax, unwind and let the Turtle tell you it’s tale.