i <3 malaysia!

2007-04-06T12:57:18Z

Gulo and I just got back from Malaysia truly Asia today... And I have to say, my experience was as fantastic as I am. (No snide remarks, bitches.)

Before I go on to the blow-by-relatively funny but ultimately fabulous blow, I would really just like to say that Malaysia, specifically Bukit Bintang where we stayed, felt like home.

Cue Sam Mendes brilliant cinematographic device...

I could go on and on how the same and different it was as compared to Manila, but the people, and the atmosphere? They had so much charm, personality and spirit that it felt really good to be there. Not to mention a great transport system that gave me good reason to want to go and wander and experience the real city and not just a hotel room and a tour bus. And strange in a bad way incidents (like working my way up 272 steps to smell monkey piss or like that Nigerian dude who tried to picked me up) are made up for by even more strange, but in a good way moments (like that taxi driver, who we affectionately call Zendel, screaming "cheats!" about some of his fellow cab drivers or like that random Malaysian guy walking up to us to art direct our photos). Great city, I say. I know I'm going back... eventually.

Cue Wong Kar Wai inspired longing glance -

But now, on to the more profoundly inane and extremely fun parts, in almost chronological order.

Gulo and I looking cute despite an hour delay. We fear that the Philippines does not want the cuteness to leave its grounds...

Arriving at 1 am, superstar style and fashionably 30 minutes late for the last bus that takes us to the city.

We decided to stay the night at the terminal, waxing Viktor Navorski. So we eat.

And drink.

And after 6 hours of waiting and an hour of riding the bus, we finally get to our hotel where we learned that we cannot check in. Disgruntled, we decided to check out a few of the couple of malls very near the hotel. Thankfully, we find something worth our sleepless night and day.

Afterwards, we finally got to rest, afterwhich we decide to go back to the malls and ATTACK!

And we find our mecca.

We were so pumped up and happy

so we decide to glam up

and celebrate! with a drink!

Then we rest so that we can wake up early (ha!) the next day to visit...

Petronas!

Of course, we never expected to wake up in time for the tour up the towers so we just roamed the grounds, which happened to be a mall where we found some interesting books

and an event! Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica of the BMW Sauber Petronas team Autograph signing! We did not take part in this though, as we decided eating lunch was a better alternative to falling in line to get signed postcards...

Nevertheless, we got pretty up close and personal with the drivers...

a little hair ruffling...

some beard stroking...

This was when we met that random Malaysian guy who sneaked up behind Gulo and directed where my hand was to create that perfect illusion. He was awesome. A bit creepy, but still awesome. We made him smile because of he was proud of his contribution to this contemporary masterpiece, and we felt like our work there was done.

Then, as if we hadn't had enough of malls, we decided to go to another one where we found

a couple of stalls away from the original mecca. We did not understand what was going on, but we saw it and it was good. And so we rested.

The next day, Jen and Dino finally arrive to complete our quartet of mind blowing magnificence. Our awe-inspiring bunch takes the train onward to Genting Highlands where we could ride the longest cable car trip in South East Asia.

Sadly, we were too late to reserve seats for the bus to Genting which was actually a good thing because if we did get there that day, we wouldn't be able to ride the cable car because it was maintenance day for it. Good job lord of things that fall into place! So instead, we decided to go to the famed religious site, the Batu Caves, famous not only for its breathtaking rock formations but also for the monkeys.

There, we toiled and troubled 272 steps to make it up to the cave.

It was a spectacular view...

But really, it was the monkey piss that took our breath away. So we decide to leave really early and go somewhere else... This was when we man that we would like to call Zendel, for no apparent reason other than the name meant nothing and everything to me and Gulo. He spent the short cab drive to the train station lamenting the sad truth of taxi drivers that over charge in Kuala Lumpur... "CHEATERS!" he said with so much vigor that I believed him. I like him. He's got spunk.

So we ride the train and headed to Putrajaya, which was a collection of government buildings and mosques and people who could afford the RM9.50 fast train to the place, or who could stand sitting in a bus for an hour just to get to central station. This was where I met that Nigerian guy who gave me his phone number and made me promise that I'd call him the day after so that we could hang out or whatever... The next day, I went to Genting Highlands.

But I'm getting way ahead of myself though. Before the next day began, we went to a mosque in Putrajaya first. On the way, we saw so much opportunity... so much possibility... for picture taking.

Then, an accident happen... Two cars in the street collided, which got us of our cam whoring track... We went to leave the scene of the crime, but as I looked back, I saw the man driving one of the vehicles pointing at us. We believe that our fabulousness was such a distraction that it wreaks havoc on others lives. So we left Putrajaya and took our cam whoring elsewhere... back to Petronas!

It was dark, and the pictures did not do us justice even if I attempted to alter them using Photoshop... So we headed back and slept so we could wake up at 6 and get to the bus station on time for our go genting bus the next day, Gulo's and my final day in Malaysia. But of course, we never learn so we woke up at 6:45 and panicked our way to the central station. We got there on time. Yeah! We rock!

Genting was so much fun. Not only because of the thrill rides but also for the countless opportunities to immortalize ourselves and novel inanimate objects in photographs.

Then we head to the hotel early, so that Gulo and I could leave Bukit Bintang at 9 so that we get to the airport at 10, have dinner and finish off our last remaining ringgits by 11, two hours as prescribed check in.

So we pack our things and set off... in style.

We learned our lesson well. Got to the airport by 10. Check. Finish eating by 10:30. Check. Spend the last of our Malaysian currency by 11. Check. Check in. Check. Everything was right on time except for the plane, which was scheduled to land an hour late. Just as we expected. The motherland didn't want us to leave four days ago... And our adoptive parent land didn't want us to go back. It's so hard to be so loved by the soil with which we plant our precious feet on. And goddamned it, this holding us back made us so extremely bored that we resorted to helping ourselves to the latest psychology book and theory that we've grown to love, like a fool in love.

That's Robert Greene's the Art of Seduction... more on that book later. And those, are leg warmers... I bought them at Genting because I was stupid enough not to heed wise words regarding temperatures and climate of said geographical location. I was stupid enough to wear a short skirt and slippers and had to do anything within my power not freeze my legs off. As god is good, I looked awesome in said temperature regulating apparel.

So there... We went home not finding cuteness worthy of flirtatious little glances in Kuala Lumpur. I thought the flight home would be more satisfactory as airplane steward seem, as Gulo put it, cute in certain angles, which of course means that in certain angles he wasn't... That was tragic. So my focus shifts entirely to this strange man that I was (un?)lucky enough to sit next to, who shoots unnecessary, unreasonable, and unnerving accusatory glances. It seemed like every time Gulo and I spoke to each other, his head turns to our direction at the speed of sound and stares us down as if we have insulted his very being. He happened to sit nearest to the window and every time I peeked to take a look at whatever scenery was offered hundreds of miles off the ground, he turns his evil stare at me which freezes every muscle in my body, not allowing me to look away to left as he will be suspicious of my motive as to turning my head in the vicinity of his seat, and not allowing me to look to the right, as I will come into contact with that icy glare.

When we got out of the plane, I was relieved with the possibility of not seeing him, or his evil eyes ever again but as destiny had it, he was in the same line for the airport taxis as we were. It took every effort to look down at all times so as to not look his way or even catch the periphery of his vision. Once he boarded a cab, I let out a sigh of relief. As I finally held up my head and got to look around eye level once again, I saw him, in that cab driving away from the airport and leaving my life forever, staring at me.

Before my heart exploded with fear, I decided to cut the melodrama and blamed it all on my obvious sex appeal. Men cannot help but ogle at my feminine allure and captivating charisma. I'm sure it's just that and he is not cursing me to burn in the fiery depths of hell. The end.

Cue Erik Matti gorgeous cinematography that hopefully shadows the lack of a better story.

Anyway, the book! The Art of Seduction! Oh how I love it so! I suggest you read it if and only if you have a sense of humor... I cannot for the life in me believe that someone actually is totally serious about teaching people to seduce, confuse and manipulate others for romantic, emotional, physical, social, economic and even political gain. This is foolery at best wrapped in cleverly deceptive humor that can be believed as serious but with chapters titled as "the demonic power of words" or teachings on the twenty four maneuvers of seduction, I highly believe that this offering that deals with sex and power is an ingenious attempt to get people interested in knowing historical figures as Greene discusses key, sexually potent figures in mankind's past.

The "advice" in this book goes from incredibly insane (confuse to seduce) to amoral (to be a successful rake, you should be a consummate rake) to downright evil (to be a siren, play the part consistently and not let the other know the real you). This book begs to be laughed at if serious, and praised if not. I don't ever want to believe that the author intended this book to be taken seriously so I find it just so much fun. Buy it! Because I may not be willing to let you borrow it.

edited to add: Photos are here, because I know you want a closer look.

ctrl+alt+deleting my moody moods

2006-10-31T07:53:43Z

swoooit.

nicoffeine @ 2006-08-06T23:00:00

2006-08-06T15:12:38Z

I'm already 24 years old and still don't know what EXACTLY I want to be. I know I want to be a designer, an entrepreneur and as extremely fabulous as I am today... Aside from that, eh.

What I do know is that I don't want to be seen as and to actually be unreliable and irresponsible. I hope everyone who are lucky enough to cross paths with me feel the same way because given that everything else is equal, people whom you can depend on and trust are just so much better, without a doubt.

You can never be too old, too educated or too weird to learn certain virtues. I suggest you learn these. Friendship is not an excuse to be careless.

Don't cry for me, next door neighbor...

2005-09-20T02:17:09Z

As I am that little cat that curiosity will kill one day, I just had to see what it was that was making a thubthumping noise upstairs last night. Good god. It was my dad... street dancing to Chumbawumba. Lawdy! My eyes! They burn!

I covered my eyes with one hand, to prevent tears from streaming down. I clutched my tummy with the other, hurting from the pain of stifled laughter. I fell weak on the doorway that lead to my dad's study area.

He's hilarious in the it-wasn't-meant-to-be-funny-so-don't-laugh-at-me-dear-daughter way and when my father, the prime male authority figure in my life, is caught off guard in a moment of ridicule, he was always game for some payback. So he grows quiet, heads on to the CD player, stops the infernal racket of mid-90's music, looks at me, then plays it again, dancing with more gusto than ever. I hit the floor laughing. It took every ounce of courage not to end up ROFLMAO-ing (yes, it's a verb now.), but as always, when I get knocked down, I get up again. When it comes to laughing, you'll never gonna keep me down.

nicoffeine @ 2004-08-01T23:14:00

2004-08-01T15:16:12Z

i know that i have no reason to be paranoid, but still, from this day forward i'm locking this journal only for friends to see.

if for some bizarre reason, you still want to know what happens to me, you know how to get to me...

meet my multi personalities

i <3 malaysia!

ctrl+alt+deleting my moody moods

nicoffeine @ 2006-08-06T23:00:00

Don't cry for me, next door neighbor...

nicoffeine @ 2004-08-01T23:14:00