Live well, work hard, play play? 
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London Calling
London’s calling. Heathrow, here I come. The plane soars from Changi and our vacation begins good and proper in the air, I think. Here and now, surrounded by clouds and clarity, we forget our troubles and the toil of a 9-to-5, Monday-till-Friday workweek. A new leash of life.
I have been travelling a lot lately for work, but that’s business, not pleasure. The fatigue gets to you, faster and more insidiously than one might suspect. So this is a boon, this little holiday, and we are flying with everyone’s blessings — family and friends and my readers too, who get a nice reprieve from my rantings for a couple of weeks — their goodwill is very important to me, to us.
We’re flying with their well wishes beneath our wings.
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A Full English Breakfast
We touch down at Heathrow Airport really early, like six in the morning. It’s a nice surprise to not have to suffer another flight delay but instead the reverse. CK’s tummy is a bit off; I’m afraid he doesn’t travel well. Me, I’m one of those annoying fellows who never gets jetlag, never sleeps on the plane and spends the bulk of a 13-hour flight watching one film after another.
I mean, when else was I gonna find the time to catch up on all my movies, eh?
Fortunately, the London Underground is superbly efficient. We get on the Tube and are well on our way to the heart of the city in no time at all. We arrive at our bed-and-breakfast before seven a.m. and wake up our still snoozing hosts. They are affable and undeterred by our early arrival, and get to cooking one of the best full English breakfasts we’ve had ever. Freshly brewed coffee and pure orange juice, not concentrate. Multi-grain bread toasted to perfection and a multitude of jams, marmalades and creamy butter to spread with. Hot and spicy baked beans dammed off by a pair of herb-infused sausages and half a grilled tomato. Wild mushrooms fried in butter, a couple of sunny-side ups and O heavens! baconbaconbacon galore!
Now that’s what I call a real breakfast! 
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Covent Garden
Springtime and the sun is out, bright and wholesome. If it weren’t for the slight chill, we might be forgiven for imagining that it’s summer already. We take the Tube again, from Vauxhall to Covent Garden. Might as well start at the heart of London, no?
We have both been in London before, so it’s nice to revisit an old friend without doing any of the touristy stuff, not unless we wanted to anyway. There is something fantastic about taking our sweet time to walk and wander without a clear direction in mind as folks around us hurry and bustle. It’s nice not to have to work or worry. Stopping to smell the roses, literally. Checking out what Londoners wear, whether they are fat or fit or fabulously fanatical or furiously fastidious… Alliteration even comes easier when one is on a holiday, I find.
It doesn’t matter that we probably look like tourists; we weren’t the ones with a meeting to rush to, were we?
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Punch and Judy
Everyone seems to be selling something from silks and satin scarves dyed all the colours of the rainbow, to worrisome wooden toys some noisy kid is always screaming his head for, all the souvenirs with the Union Jack emblazoned on them, including some creatively designed underwear, and more more more. The best stall was actually manned by a student from Beijing bending customers’ names from metal and capping it off with a plastic butterfly. Beautiful, useless kitsch.
CK wryly comments on the quality of the Chinese calligraphy being sold and I volunteer that he could set up a stall here too if he wanted. “And I’d make more money too. If tourists will buy this sort of crap, they’d buy anything…”
And we bicker back and forth with the sun on our backs and the cool climate kissing our cheeks and our lips, a happy Punch and Judy in Covent Garden, a pair of un-touristy tourists, already lost in London but not really caring.
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Kak Teh & Awang Goneng
London is one of those cities which you need not inhabit to feel at home. More so when you have friends here: we are heading for dinner with Kak Teh — writer, journalist, blogger and just an all-round wonderful person whom I’m blessed to know — and her husband, Awang Goneng, who had a wildly successful book (”Growing Up in Trengannu“) published last year. Not their real names, naturally, but such warm and neighbourly non de plumes! Completely without airs, which is a good way of describing this couple. You feel at home with them.
CK and I get off at Bayswater station and take a brisk walk to Leinster Gardens where the Malaysian-owned Holiday Villa Hotel is located, and where Kak Teh and Awang Goneng were waiting for us in the lobby. Is it a Malaysian thing to seek out other Malaysians when you travel abroad? CK claims all he wants is some chilli with his meals, but me, I usually prefer to look up the locals and find out what they do and try and do it too… Ah the tales I have from my backpacking days…
But nay, sometimes it’s just great to be with friends and I forget that we are in England for the span of our dinner. A Malaysian buffet of nasi lemak and rendang, of curries and pappadum, stir-fried broccoli and mushrooms Chinese-style. And a round of teh tarik to start it off. CK’s eyes simply got bigger and bigger with sheer joy.
Kak Teh shared stories of what it was like moving to England right after she got married and raising her children on foreign land, trying to keep them connected with their roots all the same. And we discover that most of the Malay voice-overs we hear on radio and on flights were actually recorded by her! And of course, we keep on eating while chatting the night away, conversations churning and changing with the courses we chose from the buffet line… It’s heartening for me to spend even a few hours with veteran writers like this because it informs me that our words are worth something, that they can change lives…
… yet it’s being with them as people, as friends, seeing them flourish throughout the trying times and good years and remain who they are, and more so, partners and best friends — that is truly uplifting. It’s hope and a prayer that one day we’ll know that joy of a lifetime of being together too.
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Life is a Musical!
The last time I was in Leceister Square I was alone, backpacking solo across Europe as a student before I had to return home for good. I happily ignored all the big musicals like Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera, and instead went for all the small stage plays, the monologues and the modern dance choreography pieces. I watched Woody Harrelson and Kyle McLachlan battle it out as brothers, so close to them on the second row I could smell their sweat. I admired and laughed at Brenda Blethyn saying George Bernard Shaw’s lines in a smaller, less-known play of his. I was a foaming fanboy at Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith sparring with wits and weary wisdom.
Sometimes smaller is better.
Now, years later, I think I’ve grown up somewhat. Life is too short for too many miseries. You gotta laugh while you still can. We wanted a good ol’ musical to shake our bones and tickle us silly. Mamma Mia! and Wicked sold out quickly but we manage a couple of good seats for Chicago. CK has not seen the film before, but it doesn’t really matter… the real thing, that is, the musical, is quite a different animal. More vigourous and fearsome with the soaring notes and the pounding jazz and the performers in lingerie and stockings and in the case of the men, not very much at all… It was noisy, brilliant, exciting, bloody and just about a perfect good time.
Entertainment, my friend. Now who says life can’t be like a musical also?
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Notting Hill
CK asks me if Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant really made the film here. I suppose so, I answer, unless they recreated the whole of Portobello Road in the backlot of some Hollywood studio. Come to think of it, that’s entirely possible.
As we walk along the road, surrounded by antiques and fresh flowers and fruits and ancient tomes never read and statues of men and women and huge ugly dogs on each side, I tell him, I’ll tell you a story if you buy some strawberries…
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The Dressmaker’s Mannequin
Hidden almost amongst a pile of second-hand children’s books and white pails named after flowers they no longer contained was a dressmaker’s mannequin which had the finest cloths from a thousand lands draped upon its body at one point in time but now was only naked, clothed like an emperor who has forgotten why he is parading, for whom does he wander and wait for, you wonder?
The dressmaker’s mannequin does not answer your questions but has a knowing look anyway.
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Doggie!
I finish my telling and CK complains it’s not really a story. He doesn’t understand it, but then he doesn’t understand most of my stories anyway, so that is okay. I’ll tell you a secret and this is what I will share — I don’t understand either but all that matters is writing the words and sharing my stories. Once they are away from me, who knows where they will go and what they will do? Stories are like children, you hope for the best for them but you can’t really guarantee anything. You can’t know.
He goes off and buys me my strawberries (dirt cheap at 80 pence a big packet, and sweet too, as we later discover) and some nectarines cos they sounded wonderful to say out loud. I stay back and stare at a doggie sunning himself. Big and happy, head being scratched by a man, probably his owner. I want to be that doggie. Just happy.
Then CK comes back with the strawberries and my attention turns (”Strawberries!”) and we continue our walk.
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Paul Smith & Friends
I’ll be lying if I said we didn’t go shopping for clothes. Of course we did. This is the land that spawned Paul Smith, after all. We take the Tube to Bond St. and Knightsbridge, where all the big fancy brands were and Harrods and Selfridges. I leave my camera snug in my bag and enjoy the view without having to take a single picture. Sometimes, tourists and bloggers spend so much time taking photographs they forget to actually experience whatever is present, the reason they are even visiting some new place, some foreign destination. It’s easy to forget.
I’ve never been a fan of shopping, especially if it’s just window shopping (was there a point of browsing without buying?), so it’s fun to simply give in to the momentum of the moment and go with the flow. Walk along street, walk into shop, check out shirts, pants, ties, belts, try some out in fitting room, actually buy some, gasp at how cheap (relatively speaking, of course) stuff in London is vs. what we get back home, ring up the credit cards, maxing them nearly to the point of no return, walk out of shop to the gleeful smiles of the shop assistants, repeat.
It’s fun, really.
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Tea & Scones with Yang-May Ooi
All that walking can make one a tad famished and what’s more English than tea and scones? CK and I get to do one better and have tea and scones with a Malaysian/British author Yang-May Ooi (The Flame Tree) who is also an avid runner and professional blogger on her website Fusion View. We meet at Browns Brasserie, a fine post-colonial cafe/pub/restaurant with high windows and huge palms growing indoors, giving the dark wood-panelled interiors a very posh and polished feel.
This being England, almost everyone is sipping on some beer after office hours. In fact, Yang-May and I compare notes on exactly this — beer crawls in the UK vs. food crawls in Malaysia as I share stories of running from one restaurant to another hawker stall in Kuala Lumpur and Penang and Malacca. If Englishmen binge on beer, us Malaysians must surely binge on food glorious food!
It’s always enlightening chatting with Yang-May, for unlike some writers she truly embraces the latest technology. She’s the first person I know of using Twitter, for example, long before I started using it for my website’s status bar updates and my friends using it as some regressive version of one-liner instant messaging to circumvent their companies’ anti-Facebook and MSN firewalls. She reminds me how exciting technology can be, and how it can be harvested to extend what we writers do, and that’s simply sharing our stories.
I tell myself, when I return to Malaysia, I need to spend more time with other writers, the way I used to before. Just connect…
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Hyde Park
And because I’ve never been there before, not on any of my previous trips to London, you took me to Hyde Park. We buy ice-creams from the Italian guy with the great smile and sparkling blue eyes and I am reminded of my friend Manuel (who just had a lovely baby with his beautiful wife Gosia) but that’s another story I shall tell you another day. We sit on one of the park benches and I munch on the fresh strawberries you bought me from the Portobello Market. No vanilla Häagen-Dazs® ice-cream this time but just as good, as you drop the hearts of eaten nectarines onto my open palm. You show me how you trick squirrels into coming over to us, you spot a real red fox in the bushes and excited kids and their fathers gather around you and scare the fox away, you show me flowers and trees and picnic spots you’ve discovered before, it’s like you are showing me more of your life, a secret life I never known of before.
The sun on the Serpentine, the boy feeding the pigeons, the half-naked men skating and basking, the stone horses and the stone knights they carry, the myths and the legends… Tell me a story, sing me a daydream lullaby…
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The Girl Under the Tree
The tree called to her, the little girl with the curls and ringlets in her hair. You are so pretty, why won’t you come play with me?
The girl, sweet little girl with tight black fronds of her own, peered under the tree’s branches and said, I’m not really pretty, Mr. Tree. I think you are just lonely. You are, aren’t you?
And the tree lamented and agreed, yes, indeed, he was rather lonely.
The little girl, who was wise in her young age to know she was not pretty but she would grow up to be wiser still and kind-hearted and work to improve Society and find true love, said to the tree, the very lonely tree, Don’t weep, Mr. Tree. I shall play with you for awhile but not forever. I have to go home where my mama is waiting with tea for me. But I wish you will never be lonely again and you will always have children playing under your branches and keeping you company.
And so it was. The tree was never lonely again, and children loved playing under its shade for all of time. There are many wishing trees, but how often do we make wishes for a tree?
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I make a wish under this tree, this tree that you have found and shared with me. May the tree prosper and remain green and adored for a good age more. May we return one day when we are old and wizened and our lives almost spent after all our years together, and may we make more wishes under this tree, for the rest of our forever.
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Words, photographs & design by Kenny Mah.
London, England.
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The Great British Invasion
Part 1: London
Part 2: The Cotswolds
Part 3: The Lady of Bath
this is one of the most original blog posts and photographs I’ve ever come across. how utterly wonderful. insomnia does have some benefits!
Hey Mavis! Haha, I’m glad we “shared” our insomnia together on Facebook. I was outside for most of the weekend and could only find time to write the words to go with these pics after everyone else had gone to bed last night.
Or was that early this morning? *gulps!*
Wow, a very nice post on London. Nice coverage and very nice photos! Gotta agree with you that London Underground is efficient, and convenient too! Love the city, very lively and exciting!
I think that’s largely why I tried to opt for a brighter, livelier colour scheme for this set of pictures — to represent and remind me of the energy and vigour of this once-old-yet-modern-now metropolitan city.
Even on a relaxing holiday, things around us kept moving so fast!
Kenny dear, you are so kind with your words! It was lovely meeting up again – and who knows , we might meet up again…!
Kak Teh, we must, we must must MUST meet again! Your husband and you are just about the swellest couple ever! And we had a grand time listening to all your stories and anecdotes, of which only a smidgen have I managed to repeat here.
Ah, that’s why we have your Choc-a-Bloc Blog where you share your heart-warming stories with your avid readers. I never miss a single post!
hey… when you get to travel to such places… i am sure the fatique can be easily ignored.
Haha, true enough! We forgot all about the fatigue the moment we landed at Heathrow!
wat a nice pretty summary of what london has to offers…
nasi lemak in london? i definitely WOULD not touch that..especially having to fly 13 hours over there..
Oh I wouldn’t be too sure of that, Joe. See, I used to think there were two types of people in this world (and they were both Malaysians, at that):
(1) Folks who only eat whatever is local food wherever they happen to be, cos that would taste best anyway, made of fresh produce and prepared the way it’s supposed to be prepared; and
(2) Folks who need to eat Malaysian food wherever they are, even if it means it’s Alaska or Antarctica.
Now, thanks to CK, I’m older and wiser and realise that it’s okay either way, and for us, we mostly gorged ourselves on the local fare but also had a dose of chilli here and there when we felt like. And that’s what I call a holiday!
my dad’s like no. 2! must have malaysian or chinese food where he travels, without fail! =p
Ah well… All the Malaysian uncles of the world unite!
i think it’s better to be the first type… u get to try more foods and cultures. isn’t that the whole point of travelIing?
Exactly! Couldn’t have put it better myself.
so cool! and thanks for the updated map.. il be riding the tube soon:P
xoxo ciki
Ooh, here’s an advance bon voyage and may you have loads of fun and take lotsa pictures and PLEASE don’t take a month to post them like lil lame ol’ me…
The wholesome English breakfast, now that’s what they really call breakfast! Very nice photos, i especially like the third one.
We swiped and swiped, with a twist of our wrist, and a curvy signature that follows after, it is sent halfway around the world back to our home. Poof! Done. You are a proud owner of all that that caught your eye; the seducing Paul Smith shirt, the belts that waved at you, the ties that tied you closely around the neck.
I believe there will be some Good O’ Fish & Chips in the Great British Invasion part II?
The third pic of Chez Gérard? Yup, I liked it enough to have it stand on its own without collaging it… And it was just one of those random shots one takes while trying to catch something else…
… and I do wish I bought more Paul Smith shirts though. They are brilliant. CK got the zebra tee which was my fave, but I’m too fat for the sizes they had available.
As for the Great British Invasion Part Two, can you guess where we went next?
manchester? oxford? do post soon… don’t keep us in suspense! :p
We’re almost there…
hahaha how much relatively cheaper is it? Oh man, i want their shirt too! how many did you buy?
I know I definitely will be surprised by your part two, you always have bag of tricks up your sleeves
Say about RM100 cheaper per shirt for some? I just got my striped PS polo shirt. CK got the aforementioned zebra tee (partly pictured in the fashion collage above) that I wanted and also a Paul Smith shirt, blue with neat details on the inner cuff.
But all is not lost! I found myself a brilliant Hugo Boss (orange label) short-sleeved shirt at the Gardens last nite… that the Diva insisted would look bad on me, but when I put it on, even she was surprised by how well it fit. Oh dear, am I developing an eye for clothes here? Oh no! It’s the end of the world as we know it!!!!
HAHAH looks like you have plenty of stories to tell about your rewards, write a post on the branded stuffs that u brought! heh. U only brought ONE stripped PS polo shirt?!? Okay, i want to invade Britain, just for their PS shirts. haha
Well, there are those DKNY jeans and those wonderful ZARA pants and… uhm, maybe I just to stop buying so many clothes! Lose weight first and then buy some more!
We can never have enough, clothes. And they are not just privileges for the ladies, it apply to guys too! You buy a Spanish label from UK? is it cheaper? haha.
Pound is weak, the pound is weak. Shop like you never shop before! Flash your cards; AMEX, Citi, HSBC, RBS, and Maybank. Show it to the shop assistant, show it proudly! The excitement when you hear the swiping sound of the card, followed by, “Sir can you please sign here.”
ROFL!!!
Man, I loved your little description of the shopping process. You’re gonna drive the ladies (and the gents) nuts and send them running off to the sales going on all over Malaysia and Singapore, y’know?
Oh you will be surprised!
I bought zara jeans in UK too! lol….
Here’s to buying Spanish clothes in England! *woot woot*
Ahh… the small plays. I drag my son there to watch one on the life of an Irish life. He came out messed up – thoroughly enjoyed it and later found him speaking with the Irish accent for fun as mimicry is something he does well. That’s th power of the stage on young impressionable minds! Thanks for the extensive write-up.
Ah, I don’t blame him… some of the plays are still reverberating in my minds years after I sat in the audience. There was this one-woman play starring Jo Kukathas called From Table Mountain to Teluk Intan that still sends chills down my spine whenever I recall it… and it must have been more than five years since I caught the play, maybe more. I watched the KL performance, but I believe it was performed elsewhere too.
Man, now I feel like catching more plays… especially local ones!
Oh…how I miss the big breakfast in UK!! I ate the pork sausages with ham so often, an old British man actually told me I’m shortening my life by 10 years! o_0
Lovely pictures, very very nostalgic… =) Looks like you and CK had a blast!!
Ooh, he’s probably right about the shorter lifespan but what a delicious way to go, no?
As for nostalgia, strange that you put it that way but it’s so true… can we be nostalgic after a month? I guess we can…
A wonderful story of your London trip
Ah… how I wish to visit that city again…. yeah… someday!
I’m totally with you on that, Selba. I can’t wait to revisit London and all the other places we were at in the UK. I guess I am sorta doing that already, with this new series of posts.
Watch out, Brits! The Beatles may have done the Great British Invasion of the States.. Kenny did the Great Invasion of London.
Btw, I love the cover of The Jungle Book.
No pix of scones to make me drool?
That’s a great cover, innit? So many books, so little time (and money to buy as many as I would have liked)…
As for scones, maybe in future instalments of this series? Maybe…
Hey, Kenny – you are fabulously talented. Your photos of London are so WAY beyond average tourist snapshots and your writing continues to be very polished.
I had such fun meeting up with you guys for high tea. Yes, I think I will also have to make sure I meet regularly with more writers – food and thought for the soul!
Ah, you’re being far too kind, Yang-May. I’m certainly looking forward to meeting with other writers, though I must admit I’d rather feast on the conversation than to gorge myself on our local delicacies which are far too rich for my widening waistline!
Sounds like a delightful trip! Makes me miss my time there – damn, the last time I was there’s almost four years ago! I miss London so badly! Tea and scones anyone?
Hey, Paul — let’s do tea and scones in Malaysia. The weather’s not quite the same what with the haze and the heat, but we do have air-conditioning here, no?
having a good time.. huh…
The very, very best.
Love Covent Garden…the mimes, the street comedy, the knick-knacks, the quaint lil shops…
And…bursting into song now, “lots of chocolates for me to eat, lots of coal making lots of ‘eat..”.
Haha, that’s really good — I forgot to mention all the music and songs that were in the air the whole time. A magical, free-spirited atmosphere…
How i wish i am one of those who does not get jetlag! I just got back from a transit in London … no sigh seeing but just head towards holiday inn heathrow, smell the air, sleep for a night before heading home to germany the next morning. but mannnn, does it not bother you when you were required to remove your shoes during luggage scanning with all the virus flu going about at the airport? lovely post as always … full on moments and description.
Haha, I know what you mean about the removing of the shoes — it made me very aware about the condition of my socks! I always check to see that they had no holes with my toe(s) pointing out!
When we were in London some many years ago we were humbled by its sheer modernity and the feeling of stepping onto the terrain of the Masters.
Overawed is the right word we guess !
So it must likewise have been a terrific experience to be at the heart of modern civilisation itself , as is the only language you dream in, you being a literary performing artise
Hey… how did you know I dream in English? Haha, but I cannot lie — I do dream in that language and that language only!
Finally get to see holiday post and boy, it was worth the wait. It was indeed an adventurous holiday plus good food.
Btw…nice to know your dear friend has the same initial as mine
Thanks for waiting to read it, dear… I know it’s been a whole month since we returned from the UK and I expected many of you to have given up already on me ever writing about our trip!
And you guys both have very nice initials methinks!
A very different perspective of London. One that focuses on the present rather than the structures of the glorious days gone by. I guess subsequent visits do that to people, ya. For me, Banglatown was a highlight of my stay, where Bangladeshi and Indian food are kings. Haha!
London ruled and she will continue to be loved.
Hehe, you try persuading CK to try Indian cuisine. In fact we (the rest of the folks we’d meet on this trip and I) would egg him on to go for Indian food, and he’d always say yes… and then brighten up when we add there’s always another option…
You try converting him, bro!
Ah… London sounds so so fun in your post!
I love the zebra asking the other zebra is that a ps coat. LOL!!
hey choc lover, just a few metres fr the punch & judy thingy, there’s a nice chocolate shop! did you smell it? buy it? eat it? :-p
1. I know! Ain’t it cute? Darn… I feel like dieting now just to fit into that tee now… LOL
2. We did smell it! Tapi tak beli… went somewhere else for that, but I’ll keep the location a secret for now till the next posts.
1. yes it’s cute, so so cute. LOL
2. i shall help you keep it a secret. we bought some from there, but the bulk from somewhere else that’s cheaper. :-p the rest of the places did not have specialty range. hehe
3. btw, our colleague at work started eating curry after we always rave about curry. hmmm maybe CK too? lol…
1. If zebras could talk, I bet they’d gossip about colours.
2. A wee hint: It’s on higher ground. Much higher ground…
3. Haha, I should have a post about curry then!
re: #1. i love paul smith colors! esp. the socks!
What a beautiful, beautiful travel piece! It draws you in like a spell and takes you along on the trip. Love the multi-faceted glimpses into the meaningful and lovelier aspects of life. Simply marvellous!
Thanks for your kind words, dear… Seriously, I wouldn’t how to write a travel piece — I’m really bad at keeping track of the names of places and directions and what not. The feel of what we experienced — that’s all I hope to share with you guys, really.
LOL. This IS a travel piece lah !
Haha, Lyrical Lemongrass just told me as much over MSN and admonished me to boot. But honestly, when I think of travel pieces, I think of Peter Mayle… and darn. Now I feel like re-visiting France!
I agree with Susan, this is a good travel piece. You should get it published in a travel magazine. =)
Ah, I only wish I travelled more… enough to have fodder for a decent magazine piece!
The map make me “pening” a bit~~
Ooh… then you should try travelling on the real thing… all the switching between stations and avoiding the more crowded ones… lol
How beautiful! Gorgeous photos and insight to the amazing London! Woah, makes me want to be there right now.
Not just you, my dear. I wish I was back there too, right now. The heat and haze in M’sia sure doesn’t help, haha.
first chapter in an epic adventure? count me in for the upcoming parts! =)
No epic adventure lah, not unless you count misadventures…
but ur MISadventures are even more interesting! =p
Ecks.
It took me 2 sittings to finish reading your post! Excellent insights – i now feel as if i have been given an intimate review of the place
More to come eh? Can’t wait to read the rest of your adventures!
Oh dear. Two sittings? Maybe I should keep my next chapter really short on text and pictures. It’d certainly be easier on me… hahaha…
Thanks for reading, dear!
Kenny,
You brought a new meaning to blogging. It is a breath of fresh air. Collaged pictures added sophistication to the blog illustration. How i wish I could be as eloquent and savvy as you.
Pak Zawi, thanks for dropping by and trust me, my blog isn’t sophisticated lah… Very the biasa one.. More to learn, more to come, and all that.
Eh? Did I miss s’thing big? What happened to ‘Devil’?
The Devil Wears Prada? Nothing happened ma. Still here. But devils are devious and appearances aren’t what they seem…
Great post Kenny. You are an imaginative writer and photographer – a pleasure to read your words and experience your photography.
For a Westerner’s perspective (i.e. mine) of Malaysia, you might find these posts amusing lah (more rough-and-ready reading, viewing and listening than your poetic entry, but a bit of fun nonetheless):
http://www.amazingwomenrock.com/discover-stuff-with-susan/butchering-chickens-at-kampar-market-in-malaysia.html
http://www.amazingwomenrock.com/myblog/chant-be-happy-susan-learns-about-krishna-consciousness.html
Like you, I also share one of my breakfast experiences, mine was at Kampar morning market lah…. You can see other Malaysia-related impressions by searching Malaysia on my site.
Delighted we connected through Yang-May
Brilliant! Sometimes it takes an outsider’s view (mine of England or yours of Malaysia) for us to see things the locals won’t necessarily notice or take for granted cos they’ve been so accustomed to it.
Thanks for sharing your posts… and Yang-May’s a sweetheart to have connected us so.
looks like london’s tourism board has found a new ambassador!
And who might that be? Hmm…
I need a holiday. NOW!
Take us with you!!
no, why don’t you take us with you? LOL
Haha, too late! I spoke to McCutie oredi… When you two migrate, you are gonna adopt me and the Devil and we’d follow you… follow you… wherever you may go… we will follow… *sings and cracks own voicebox*
so ya finally got dwn to writing bt London..hehe..all tht pressure frm fellow readers n bloggers huh! all tht talk on tea and scones.. and English breakfast..come come we go celeb CK b’day over scones at PJ SS2 TheTeapot Cafe?
Yalor, yalor… everyone reminding me about it. I think the pressure came to a boil when we were at the launch of A Slice of Heaven and Bangsar-bAbE asked me oh so casually about it. Pai seh ma, when a bootiful lady asks you about it, you best get going with it!
Ooh it sounds great celebrating the Devil and the Nomad’s birthdays with tea and scones!
TNG, u very clever hor. Long time no go Tea House d.
Mari kami sama-sama pegi Rumah Teh! O!
Gosh you wrote your travel in and around London in such depth and the place you tramped and the writers you met. Such idyllic holiday is not just makan angin, you did makan ang moh roti but those conversation you had with fella Britons will never fade in memory but everlastingly edge in your mind. You and CK head for your MU or Liverpool games did you not?
For a minute there I thought you wrote that I ate the ang mohs themselves!
Nay to MU/Liverpool cos tak pegi sana ma… Next time, maybe?
Was just curious why no read ‘devil’ here ‘devil’ there ‘devil’ everywhere.
The name not d person.
Haha, I love that — ‘devil’ here ‘devil’ there ‘devil’ everywhere — sounds like some Miranda Priestly revival!
Ai yah… how come u miss Mamma mia? My favourite musical! =)
We’ll catch it the next time we visit, promise!
Don’t forget Wicked too! That’s very good also.
How could I possibly forget? I’m constantly reminded that we missed it by a certain someone…
I remember catching Mamma Mia when I was there. Donkey years ago!
And I miss having a good’ol English breakfast – perks of grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, baked beans, and real sausages, much better than the American breakfast with just sausage links, eggs and potatoes. :O …end of the day, I still prefer fishball noodles or fried carrot cake! heee heeee…..
No chicken tikka masala ?
Lucky you! We missed it this time round but let’s keep our fingers crossed that we’ll catch it next round, ja?
And the good ole English brekkie? Sublime, I tell you, in its aroma and its grease and magic mushroom oils…
london looks like so much fun – 101 things to do, night and day! i want a holiday there too! ^_^
Well, when you do end up planning to visit London, spare some space in your luggage to carry us?
then i have to buy a new suitcase – A VERY BIG SUITCASE! ^_^
Make that TWO very big suitcases! One each for both of us, me and the Devil!
funny, i grew up reading english storybooks, but london never appealed to me, tho i think u’re wonderful at making london seem almost as magical as described in the books ;>
Ah, there’s a lil child who grew up reading Enid Blyton in all of us…
Pretty good post. I just found your site and wanted to say
that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Thanks, April! I always appreciate new readers.