Langkawi 2017 : Hotel Bahagia

The hotel provides service as good as its name. You do feel bahagia. Located in the heart of Pekan Kuah, it is appealing to tourists who have ‘shopping at Haji Ismail Group HIG MALL’ as part of their itinerary. It is a 25mins drive from the airport. The room rate at Hotel Bahagia starts at RM99 per night for a standard room. However, the more financially apt guests may prefer the Suites and Studios.

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Hotel Bahagia also has a ‘cousin’ – Villa Bahagia which is a different form of accommodation suitable for families and groups of friends situated a few miles away.

We were in Langkawi for 4D3N and we booked our package through the Malindo Air website. The total cost for our trip –  2 adults and 1 kindie kid was just above RM700.00 (return flight ticket + hotel room)

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Pros;

  1. Location is strategic to Pekan Kuah where all the shopping goes on – especially to locals who go there to find tax-free Luminarc, Corell and what not.
  2. Room has basic amenities like a kettle, hot shower, towels and hairdryer. Only, the lower room rates would lack a window. So you should just stare at your husbands eyes and see through the window of his soul or something.
  3. Breakfast is included in our hotel room rate and the menu is I felt, befitting to what we pay for. They also have a cafe next door, a convenience store with bakery and did I mention there’s a Thai Restaurant just down the block? Yup, all in one row.
  4. There’s an agency that provides island hopping packages and other island activites at the lobby. So it was very convenient for us. Price was negotiable and just like, in Krabi, they pick you up at the hotel with a transport to the jetty.
  5. FREE WIFI in every room

Cons;

  1. You need parking coupons to park at the hotel. They do not have a specific car park. You’d need to park in front of the shop lots. Thankfully, there are plenty of shops selling the coupons. Too bad the reception does not sell them.
  2. Housekeeping can be a bit sloppy. On one day they left their scrubbing towel in the toilet. The next day they forget to empty the trash – I mean they did remove the plastic bag from the bin but they forgot to bring it with them. When we arrived, they did not stock up the toiletries with shower foams. This however, could be an isolated incident so it’s OK.
  3. The coffee could taste better. It was agonizing.
  4. While its nice to have FREE WIFI – you need to get a new username & password everyday from the reception.

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At the end of the day, the good points won us over and it was overall a wonderful stay. We would probably pay for maybe a deluxe or Junior suite room for our next visit if we still choose to stay there. Heard there’s a massage chair in the latter room.

Excellent location.

Worth the money.

Clean facilities.

 

Ohayou HoboMinci

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My Hobominci is a Hobonichi Techo 2017. It took me about a month to read about it. Another week browsing the website and making decisions. And finally just a few minutes to click ‘add to cart’ , fish out my credit card from my purse and wait for the yellow package to arrive.

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Most planneraddicts are raving about how functional and wonderful this Japanese planner is. The Japanese are after all widely known as being systematic. We have been adapting their style and systems of work into our daily practice. The 5S stuff remember?

Although bullet journaling is the more popular option in my current planneraddict group – I feel it is time consuming for myself because of my job restrictions. Then I saw a beautiful blogpost explaining the Hobonichi. I loved it instantly. I wanted it more than any Neelofar Hijab.

I chose a blue cover for my A6 HoboMinci. I wanted something I could stuff in my bag. A cute little one.

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Plenty of pockets to store stickers, washi and paper clips. Perhaps a note here and there?img1476794341512.jpg

It has a plastic cover on top of the leather cover. A ziplock area is at the back  – I can put photos or quotes or doodles there.

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I used this section as a habit tracker. See how in December I have failed in certain habits. Uh-oh. The Monthly section will be put to good use as I skim through my activities for the month. I could get an overview of what I should prepare for the month.

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I also loved that now I have a page for my daily planning. I’d put my schedule on the left side of the planner whilst the right side or any space on the page for my quotes or thoughts. Adorned with colourful washi and stickers.

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On the start of every month, there’s an empty page. I am going to use it for my highlights of the month. For instance, send a birthday card or read a particular book. Perhaps enroll in a new class or skill workshop. 😛 It can be like a dashpage to list down priorities of the month.

THE CONS : I need to set it up to suit the local scene which means I need to put down the national holidays and school holidays manually. penting tau long weekend. Sometimes nothing particularly interesting happen on that day – so I end up writing random quotes and thoughts – which can be boring. finally it is expensive especially with the weak ringgit. In fact I’ve been thinking, if I really love this system I might consider a faux hobo next year but of course nothing beats the real deal right?! mestilah nak yang ori.. 

Our 6th Anniversary at Palm Garden Hotel, IOI City Resort

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We stayed here for 2 nights : 31 December 2016 – 02 January 2017 and booked the Heliconia Twin Room which has 3 single beds in it. The total payment was MYR 458.00 which included breakfast for 2 people.

I made by booking through Agoda.Com and paid for it with my credit card. Checking in on a Saturday afternoon was a bit of a wait but all counters were open and reception staff was still able to manage a smile and a small pleasant conversation.

Our room was 117. There were no supernatural sightings or weird noises as reviewed by a visitor back in 2014. That particular review back then was so specific to mention room 107 & 202. We did hear the therapeutic sounds of the garden pool though.

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Despite our many holidays and hotel stays – we were new to the Turndown Service. I thought that was interesting and a simple google search led me to various articles regarding this service. We didn’t require the service but it was good to know. The furniture in the room is a bit old but sturdy and the rooms electricity supply did not require us to put our card key into any form of slot. It was just the simple old fashioned main switch – God bless, I loved it.

I wanted to try the Tranquility Spa especially with the Happy Hour Promotion but the spa was fully booked. Damn.. they have a 50% discount on selected packages from 11AM to 3PM everyday. The catch is your session must be within that time frame. So you can’t really book a 1 hour massage at 230PM – it just doesn’t work that way. Maybe next time.

I was happy with the breakfast buffet although there have been suggestions to have more variety of food. What more can they add honestly? There’s already cereal, salad, fruits, local delicacies, western options.. are these people asking for kebabs? Laksa ?

The swimming pool was surprisingly very happening. My son feared water  – he can only swim in the bath tub. But looking at the crowd of young parents like ourselves bringing their kids, just shows that the pool is fun and a major attraction to families who choose this place. Plus, the view is great!

Parking space is abundant and guess what – IOI City Mall is just a <10 min walk from the hotel. The hotel also has a shuttle service to the mall that takes you less than 5 minutes to get there if walking is not your cup of tea.

Would I stay at this hotel again?

Definitely. Why not. And I’ll book the spa next time. 

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Hello Beautiful Face Serum . A review on a Malaysian grown beauty product.

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review and this blogpost does not represent Hello Beautiful Skincare in any way. Any form of opinion expressed here are of mine alone exclusively. Hence, results or benefits obtained (if any) from using this serum are based on my own experience and may differ from other similar users. 

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I couldn’t commit myself to a proper 8 glasses of water per day to prevent myself shriveling like a raisin. I mean – who’s counting? But the effect of poor water intake is getting obvious with age.Most importantly, it shows on my complexion. As a woman, it bothers me. Especially when you’re the type of person who goes bare faced or minimal makeup all the time.

So I count on a baseline face which has at least a healthy non oily glow to it. I needed a replacement for my usual Korean serum which needs to be couriered from overseas and everything is so freaking expensive nowadays. However, I once trusted our local product Simply Siti with my facial cleanser and has since became a loyal customer .. thus I don’t see why I shouldn’t give Hello Beautiful Face Serum a try.

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This serum boasts in its ability to;

  • even skin texture
  • increase glow & radiance
  • absorbs rapidly
  • boost collagen production
  • reduces wrinkles & fine lines
  • keeps skin healthy

I am counting on its ‘increased glow and radiance’ claims. I want to have that youthful pengantin glow at all times !! Hahaha.

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WHO WOULD LOVE IT?
Women who needs to step out of their home, sometimes without makeup to run errands and rule the world yet look ‘Camera ready’ and radiant all the time. Sounds like you huh?

  • Women who needs to pick up their kids like instantly from school, night tuition, the mall or a camping trip. Like NOW!
  • Women who are fitness enthusiasts and enjoy any form of physical training in the gym. Think Nana al-haleq who works out without makeup girls!! Doesn’t she look stunning?
  • Women who have to work night shifts for instance at the Mc Donalds drive-thru, nurses or in my case be oncall the whole night and not look like hantu seeing my patients.
  • Women who proactively choose the organic way of living – who treats their body like a temple and wants the best for their skin rejuvenation therapy
  • Women who has sensitive skin and needs an alternative which is safe and affordable
  • Women who endures possible occupational hazard which may affect their complexion et cetera – for instance modelling with all the makeup, the surfing instructor in the rough sea, the volleyball trainer under that scorching & burning sun.
  • Women who loves selfies especially with that ‘good morning’ face

Then there are these rare group of men who could benefit from the product too. Men who;

  • loves selfies and gives that ‘good morning’ face too
  • frequents the gym and leads an organic lifestyle
  • are the face of modern men, a professional perhaps or a businessman who needs to look presentable and dashing all the time

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WHO WOULD NOT NEED IT?

  • Those with severe skin conditions. In my opinion, if you have severe acne or super heavy pigmentation ( something like jeragat ), it’s best to not start on this product straight away because skin like these would need to be seen in a clinic for evaluation and aggressive treatment first to solve the root of the problem before it is rejuvenated with this serum. You will see my reason why afterwards
  • Young teenage population who intends to buy these with their parents hard earned money – unless they get them for you
  • Those already using an organic face serum. You wouldn’t need this one because what you’re already using is wonderful. But if you’re looking for a local alternative (there’s not many of them in Malaysia) then do consider switching to Hello Beautiful.
  • Those who are looking to be Snow White. This is not a product to make you fair and lovely – it is to enhance your natural glow regardless the pigment of your skin. So if you are Michael Jordan – you will not look like Michael Jackson but you will look fab as a Jordan.

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT IT

  • I fell in love with its citrus scent immediately. I had to discipline myself and apply only 2 drops instead of trying to bath in the serum
  • Ingredients carefully selected by 2 practising doctors. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t choose to put dangerous, life threatening stuff in this little potion, creating unrealistic expectations thus risking their job. See how they’ve included The Liquid Gold a.k.a. Argan Oil in the serum? Only the best for the skin
  • Application is so smooth and silky, it practically disappears into my skin. No sticky-sticky. No awkward sting. Nothing short of pure luxury.

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SOME AFTERTHOUGHTS

  • Its a product that is strong enough to stand on its own without having to put drops of other essential oil in it. So do not feel pressured of having to buy other oil products to mix inside this already luxurious item.
  • The price is a hefty RM99.00 which is why its not a good idea to buy this as a salvation therapy for super troubled skin. For rejuvenation and minor repair, yes. Radiant? Yes. Mega repair, maybe not with 1 bottle of this serum. It only has 10mls of serum inside. The price is relatively expensive compared to the famous Olay Regenerist serum (50ML) itself but remember, this is 100% organic ingredients. No chemicals whatsoever.
  • Accessibility. This product has yet to make its way to the warehouse of FashionValet. Or local drug stores. If it does, then it’ll be really available to consumers throughout Malaysia at the click of a button. As of now, you could get it through their social media sites and accounts. And selected dropshippers. 😛

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At the end of the day, do I feel like a glow worm? I am on my 13th day of serum which I apply once daily, usually at night. So far, it has yet to reduce my hyper-pigmented acne scars and thermal burn from an oil splash some time ago. Perhaps I need more time and more frequent application. But I do find that my skin tone is more even especially those red areas you see around the nasolabial fold.I use less foundation at those problem areas and it does not look cakey on my face despite not using a moisturizer before applying my makeup.

I think Hello Beautiful is worth trying. You will love it.

 

Bonding over rebonding

It was my sister’s idea to get together one weekend to just ‘do our  hair’. Postpone it any longer people would think that we are related to Mak Limah from Kampung Pisang. Both of us planned to get Rebonding for our locks of miserable hair. Mother on the other hand, had a haircut + treatment. This particular saloon we went to was called Lisa Hair  Saloon. It has 2 branches. We went to the one at Putra Heights as opposed to the one in Bandar Saujana Putra.

It was a 3 hour job for ours and just above 2 hours for mother.

The hairdresser gave us a good head, neck and back massage. Like wow.. I want to keep her. Her superior managed to persuade us to go home with a few hair related purchases. It comes with a free gift of course.

Rebonding = RM 200.00 x 2

Shampoo + Conditioner = RM 50.00 (after discount) x 2

FREE 2 Travel Sets + 1 FREE Hair Serum

Wash + Cut + Treatment  = RM 78.00

Post saloon session we had a hearty lunch. Gossiping over stuff. Catching up on things. Then a phone call came through for my mother. It was a friend of hers. My sister and I could tell that she has a wonderful day as she kept saying to her friend that she went to the saloon with her daughters on a replay every 5 mins or so. ha ha ha.

That was when I realized that even though to me it was just a brief ‘buat rambut’ session – to my mother it meant the world. See how joy can come in the little things we do or say? Try bringing some coconut shake on your next visit. 😛