Looking Back 2012

Assalamualaikum :)

Basically my 2012 was abundantly filled with outdoor activities. My most favourite event of the year must have been the white water rafting! It was quite a challenge. Personally I'm not a big fan of water sports because I don't like the feeling of water getting in my ears. It was such a great experience. Worthwhile trying once in a lifetime even though you're terribly horrified by it. Maybe I'll blog about it next time.

From top-left clockwise:

1. Microflight adventure at Rantau, Negeri Sembilan.
2. 2 days 1 Night trip to Cameron Highlands, Pahang.
3. Hiking at Broga Hill, Semenyih, Selangor.
4. Engineering Day Out at Sungai Chilling, Selangor.

 From top-left clockwise:

1. White Water Rafting at Sungai Kampar, Gopeng, Perak.
2. Mini caving at Gua Tempurung, Gopeng, Perak.
3. Cycling at Taman Botani, Shah Alam, Selangor.
4. ATV Riding at Kemensah, Selangor.

Food Hunt: Capricciosa Pasta & Pizza

Assalamualaikum!

It's time for food invasion! The amount of foods I consumed & the money I spent here were unbelievable hokay!

Verdict:  ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ♡ 

I would love to go again some day. They serve in large portion so don't be like me and simply order a lot of stuffs (they've got so many on their menu that I tempted to try out so many things!) and ended up not being able to finish them! Tamak haloba namanya!

The taste is not so bad la. That's why I mentioned that I wanna go there again to maybe try out their pizza next time. The clam chowder is unexpectedly so good!

Clam Chowder (RM 9.90)

Pappardelle with Mushroom in Spicy Ragu Sauce (RM 26.90!!!!)

I have always wanted to try a croquette eversince I saw Ohno Satoshi from Arashi made one in their Mago Mago Arashi show. It was nice~~ and large serving too. Can fuel your stomach without having to eat anything else. However, since it's cheese & rice, so you might feel a bit muak after awhile. Kalau pekena dengan cili padi ni mesti lagik sodap!

Rice Croquette, Sicilian Style (RM 10.90)

Inside the croquette (rice & cheese!)

Complimentary when you ordered from the "All Fresh Pastas" menu. I ordered the Pappardelle with Mushroom

Calamari Fritto (RM 12.90)

Chicken Chop (RM 15.90)

Hiking: West Bukit Tabur, Melawati, KL

Assalamualaikum :)

This is a backdated entry. Event took place on 13th of January 2013 (Sunday).

Tahap Kesukaran:		4/5 (Sebab aku memang horror sikit kalau bab rock climbing ni)
Tahap Penderitaan:		2/5 (First 15 - 20 minutes jer rasa cam nak tercabut segala organ-organ badan)
Tahap Kengerian:		4/5 (Silalah focus time hiking & sentiasa be alert all the time)
Jom gi lagik!:		Depends but 80% macam tak nak jer :( tapi ada hati nak panjat East Bukit Tabur hehe

Itinerary:

7.45 AM	Start pendakian. 15 - 20 minutes yang amat menyeksakan bagi aku yang dah lama tak memanjat. Awal pendakian memang agak steep. Nasib baik routine jogging dah berlangsung setiap weekends sebelum ni kan. Kalau tak mau aku turun balik kan??!
8.05 AM	Sampai check point where you can see the Klang Gates dam yang amatlah the beautiful! Hilang rasa semput. Lepas ni mula pendakian yang ngeri! Walaupun ngeri, tapi amat relaks. Yang horror cumalah part rock climbing the 80 - 90 degrees, climbing down using rope, swing to the other side of the rocks using rungs. Memang pasti tangan halus anda calar-balar lah lepas panjat Bukit Tabur! Hahaha!
11.15 AM	Sampai puncak yang tak macam puncak sangat pon. So turun sikit (sikit je tau!) baru nampak view Kuala Lumpur. Tapi a bit difficult to see the KLCC & KL Tower because of the heavy haze due to the drizzles. Sampai puncak agak lambat sebab kita orang banyak stop disebabkan hujan & the trail was quite slippery.
12.00 PM	Start penurunan yang agak menyeksakan. Many hikers returned using the same route they hiked up but not us! We hiked down a trail that was very sloppy, slippery, infested with bloody blood-thirst creatures & full of misery! Bukan saja nak mencabar diri, jiwa & raga, tapi rasanya tak sanggup nak melalui lagik trail yang sama time naik. Tak mau aku tercabut jantung 2x!
1.00 PM	Sampai bawah tapi belum exactly bawah. Tunggu ada kakak yang got leg cramped. Memandangkan kiterang semua mempunyai semangat kesukanan yang tinggi, maka kami sama-sama tunggu kakak tersebut turun. Aku tak kesah pon. Sempat gak belajar yang rupanya petai tumbuh atas pokok. Berjuntai-juntai gitu hahaha!

What To Expect:

• Haruslah tangan yang halus-mulus tu bakal calar-balar sebab Bukit Tabur consists mainly batu-batu tajam & kasar. Padan muka sapa suruh tak pakai glove! Lagi-lagi anda akan mempamerkan skill spiderman anda 20% of the hike! Hehehe.

• Bila aku diketemukan dengan first challenge, aku cuak gila! Aku ingat lagik experience wall climbing. Tapi itu semua pakai harness, safety helmet bagai. Ini?? Apa pun tarak. Panjat ala spiderman tapi spiderman kalau jatuh dia ada spiderweb! Engkau kalau jatuh? Melalak je la! (dan mengucap!). Basically the first challenge, you are required to climb up a 90 degrees steep, which is quite high gak. Nak tak nak terpaksa gak bukan muhrim tolong tarik sebab aku tak dapat nak lonjakkan badan ke atas. Sebab: Tangan memang weak & fear of falling.

• At Station 9, you can choose either scaling down using a rope or experience the mini via Ferrata (whereby you grip the rungs and swing your body from rock to rock to reach the bottom! Sounds fun kan?! HAHAHA). Aku telah pilih mini via Ferrata. Pergh mental kena kuat beb! You need to believe that you can do it! Time aku pegang rungs (plugs) tu and testing, boleh lak dia gerak-gerak macam loose gitu. Seram kot!

• Lepas mini via Ferrata yang horror tu, aku ingat berakhir la sudah segala penderitaan. Tapi tak!!! The 2nd rope spot is one of the most accident prone spot at Bukit Tabur! Memang horror scaling down boulders yang mencanak 80 - 90 degrees!

• Lepas the 2nd rope spot, aku dan 3 lagi perempuan hike together, terpisah dengan group. Ingat dah tamatlah adventure, tapi tak sekali lagik I was required to do spiderman climbing without the help of men this time! Almost there and I was stuck, couldn't get through. Rasa cuak menguasai diri! Nasib baik geng tolong... Aku pun takut sebab dia pun perempuan. Our strength is incomparable to guys. Takut kang dua2 jatuh nauzubillah.

• Puncak kat Bukit Tabur amatlah banyak. Aku selalu tertipu. "Dah sampai puncak ke?". Eh tengok depan ada lagik satu puncak. "Dah sampai puncak ke?". Eh tengok depan ada lagik satu puncak. "Dah sampai puncak ke?". Eh tengok depan ada lagik satu puncak. HAHAHA. SAIKO GILER OK! Dah sampai puncak pulak, tak nampak macam puncak langsung! Kejam gila! Dahler saiko sepanjang jalan menuju puncak, gemilang cahaya....

• Kalau hike down ikut jungle trail + hujan = bapak pacat, mak pacat bagai, semua amat-amat mengalu-alukan kedatangan anda dengan hati yang terbuka. HAHAHA.

What to bring:

• 1 litre 100 plus = 500 ml + 500 ml. Aku tak suka bawa botol besar buat beg aku berat sebelah. 2 botol 100 plus cukup jer sebab bukanlah sengsara sangat. Lebih kepada ngeri daripada sengsara.
• Snickers, sandwiches, choki choki. Bawak ler apa yang korang suka makan. To be honest, aku kurang rasa lapar kalau hiking. Selalu bawa snickers tapi tak makan pon. Yang sandwich tu makan time dah sampai puncak. Sampah jangan buang merata OK!
• Bawa backpack OK. Korang ingat korang jalan-jalan cari makan ke yang bawak sling bag bagai?!
• Tak perlu badan sasa bagai tapi haruslah ada mental yang kuat! Mental boleh.

Walaupun entry hiking banyak horror je kan, tapi honestly, tak terdetik pon rasa nyesal macam "patutnya aku kat atas katil layan mimpi indah dibuaikan bunyi hujan renyai-renyai" - fine fail karangan! Aku rasa aku antara orang yang paling excited. Malam sebelumnya dah siap packing barang, buat sandwich bagai macam nak gi picnic lak haha.

Hiking gives me a sense of satisfaction, when you finally reach the top after overcoming all the obstacles along the way. It is a total opposite of my life. Apart from that, the view is always breathtakingly pleasant. You appreciate God's creations more this way. It's also a test of my stamina. I've been jogging diligently every weekends. It does help a lot when I'm hiking but I do find myself out of breath at times. Maybe I need to go two more rounds? *cries*

Feast your eyes on the photo below. Kalau nak kasik caption setiap gambo ni, mau 2 bulan lagik baru publish..

1 - Klang Gates dam. Majestic giler OK!

2- I believe the peak behind was East Bukit Tabur, which I read is more challenging than the West Bukit Tabur we were climbing.

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4 - Kasut yang suci murni lagik time panjat. Lepas hike down, rupanya macamla baru habis bersawah kat puncak sana!

5 - kabus tebal!

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7

8

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10 - IWK, TG, WD

11 - KLCC dalam samar-samar

12 - Sepanjang perjalanan suka duka penat lelah ni, inilah radio bergerak yang berkemundang 

13 - Aku ingat petai tumbuh kat atas tanah!!! HAHAHAHA 

Next trip: Gunung Datuk

128 Faubourg, Salon by SOTHYS

Assalamualaikum \0/

Pampering session at SOTHYS hell yeah!!! My skin is in its worst condition lately. There are just too many works lately & it keeps piling up until now like Mount Everest already! Or maybe because I haven't had any facial in a while. My last treatment was 6 months ago at Kanebo International Salon Starhill Gallery.

I was given a form to fill up about my particular details & "healthy" life styles. After that the beautician gave some consultations on my skin conditions & recommended a suitable treatment for me. She asked my main concern on my skin. I told her it's oily & sometimes can be a bit drying. She said my skin looked dull & dry. So she recommended that I do Hydradvance Cosmeceutic Intensive Treatment with the purpose of "immediate and long-lasting hydration that leaves skin supple, well hydrated & more radiant".

So I was brought to this suite room. I think got 3 rooms. Mine is on the right. I can't remember the suite number.

So I changed to the facial attire & covered my hair with a hair cap prepared for me. It's the first salon which offered the hair cap & I think it's brilliant because it kept my hair in place. In other salons, they'd just wrap my hair with a headband which is uncomfortable because the beauticians need to readjust the headbands many many times to prevent my hair from getting in the way during the treatment.

Then I dipped my feet in the lukewarm feet jacuzzi (?). Yes feet jacuzzi. Deal with it! LOL. The beautician came inside the room and dried my feet. Not exactly dried them, more like wrapped the towels around my feet.

Feast yourself with the photos that I managed to take:

Here's my review on the overall treatment:

• Room/Ambience:
• Basic and clean. Let's just say it serves its purpose. The lighting is dimmed & there's a slow gentle music playing in the background. Basically the normal thing you'd experience in other salons. However maybe because of the thin wall, I can still hear people talking, laughing outside, which is my only gripe as I couldn't fell asleep even though I slept quite late the night before.

• Treatment:
• There's lukewarm feet jacuzzi to get you in teh "mood". Basically to calm you and I think it's a nice gesture. My legs were raised a bit using a pillow. Maybe to improve blood circulations (?) but I do feel much more comfortable. The beautician also gave complimentary massage (although not as nice as the one I had at Assata). Prior to the treatment (during the consultation), I told her I like my massage to be firm but I felt like it's not firm enough.  Anyway the treatment lasted for 1.5 hours. I thought I saw in the book that it'd be about 2 hours... Anyway, the beautician that I got didn't talk much but I prefer it that way actually. I don't like conversing when I just want to enjoy my facial treatment. The extraction is fine. The pain is bearable. However the beautician told me it was hard to extract the blackheads/whiteheads because of my dehydrated skin EVEN after the hydration treatment.

• Price:
• Very steep :-) Retail price for this treatment is RM390 but since I'm a first-timer, I was entitled to 30% discount and only paid RM270.

• Results:
• The black heads and white heads are gone albeit maybe not completely. My skin felt softer compared to prior of the treatment. For the first week, it does feel hydrated. At work after performing my ablution, I don't need to apply moisturiser like before because my skin is not flaky like before. 2nd week is still quite good. 3rd week I'm already beginning to see that flaky symptoms but not so severe.

• Would I go here again?
• Maybe since I got a RM100 voucher when I purchased their trial pack. In fact I already booked my next appointment. LOL. However, maybe after this 2nd treatment, I want to try Sothy's other branch. Secretly I like the treatment I did at the Kanebo International Salon slightly more. The lady is warm and nice and seriously no hard selling at all.

Even though the facial is a supposedly "special" intensive treatment, I feel like the procedure is similar to normal facial. Well I guess maybe the product they used are different since this is supposedly a hydrating treatment. I also forgot to ask what products they used especially when there is a moderate selling going on after the treatment. It's a given right? LOL.

Before going there I told myself that I'm not gonna buy any of their package or products. I didn't buy their package (although it's tempting!!). YESSS!! But I succumbed to their "moderate" selling and bought their trial set for combination skin *cries*

The trial set consists of 40 ml of Soothing Beauty Milk, 50 ml of Purifying Foaming Gel, 40 ml of Soothing Beauty Lotion & 50 ml of Hydra-Matt Fluid. I paid a total of RM228 for this trial set.

After using them diligently for about 20 days, here's a short review on them:

• Soothing Beauty Milk:
• Nothing to exaggerate on this. I don't see any profound effect on my skin whether I use it or not. Would I repurchase this in the future? Maybe if I got the cash since I did repurchase a 200 ml of this. Plus I'm such an OCD & believe that you need to use their complete range to achieve the results that you want. Plus plus it was a steal deal since I also bought it with the 200 ml Soothing Beauty Lotion (each cost RM146 but I only paid RM228 for these two; a story I will write later).

• Purifying Foaming Gel:
• While I also don't see any significant effect on my skin, I do love it! Funny isn't it? Maybe because I like the texture. It's a transparent gel like and it doesn't foam that much. It also smells pleasant. It's also gentle and didn't cause any breakout and does not feel tight on my skin like Peter Thomas Roth's cleanser. Would I repurchase? Yes definitely.

• Soothing Beauty Lotion:
• The same argument as the Soothing Beauty Milk applies here. It smells pleasant. Would I repurchase? Sure why not since I'm using Sothys now.

• Hydra-Matt Fluid:
• LOVELOVETHIS! The texture is light and it quickly absorbs into my skin once applied. It also doesn't feel greasy at all! I don't know whether it's because of the facial that I did or is it because of I'm using Sothys regiment now, my skin does not feel as dehdyrated as before. It is still oily but maybe slightly less? Yes my skin is actually a combination of oily and dehydrated *screams*. Well maybe it's also comparable to my Peter Thomas Roth's Oil-Free Moisturiser but since I'm using Sothys, I am the type to go Sothys all the way. Would I repurchase? Definitely!

Well I have book the next appointment on 26-Jan, which means that's almost 2 months after my last facial treatment at Sothys. So we'll see how this products fare after not going to facial for 2 months.