Ted goes to KL

23-25 May 2014.

It was my second visit to Kuala Lumpur and the first for Ted! I first went there years ago with the FAB4 girls via the overnight train. I can't recall much except that we really just partied and ate. This time round, my sister was heading up for a conference and asked me to tag along.

We took the Aeroline coach which was really like a premium coach service. There was a service crew, hot meal, drink, blanket and also entertainment. Wow. Such a cosy ride that I would do this again anytime!

We stayed at Corus Hotel which was also the arriving and departing point for Aeroline coaches, what great convenience! The hotel is also in a very central location, within walking distance to the Petronas Towers and KLCC malls. Read more about my stay here on Tripadvisor.

It was a 3 days 2 nights trip so we didn't have much plans except for some shopping, attending the conference (just one evening for me) and then seeing the Batu Caves (I missed it the last time round!). We also enjoyed Nandos on the first night which was half the price than having them in Singapore before heading out for the conference!

The next morning, we set off for Batu Caves. As usual, Ted was up to his usual mischief again!

But we managed to keep him in check and arrived at Batu Cave after about 30mins of train ride. It was a glorious day, and a long climb up! We survived it and saw cheeky monkeys playing around in the caves. It's a quick and easy getaway you can do on your own and I suggest doing it as there isn't much to see in KL. After Batu Cave, the sister left to attend her seminar while I was left on my own to explore.

I went to the malls of course (the safest bet) and came across a small designer Pop-up event inside Bukit Bintang's Lot 10. There were lots of pretty things on sale but as I was on a short trip I didn't have much cash on me, so I could only admire them! Then I headed over to Berjaya Times Square which is a gigantic mall (over 10 storeys!!) and one can easily get lost in there. I only bought one thing there, I was pretty amazed at my self-control! LOL.

Then I went back to the hotel with my dinner as by then I was exhausted from all that walking. The following morning, the sister was busy with her seminar as usual. So I was tasked to go get some souvenirs (food) home! I also got lucky and found my Chocolate Banana cake from Secret Recipe, just as I was almost giving up I saw the restaurant right across the road! Haha! Bliss!

The journey back was another comfortable ride on the coach and we got into Singapore late that Sunday night.

3 more life lessons I've learned from swimming (2)

This is a continuation of my previous post. These things just came to be randomly and I finally have the time to pen them down ;)

Embrace changes (in temperature).

These days, everyone is so used to having heater and hot showers. No one remembers the days we were still using cold water or having to boil them for a hot one. Swimming brought me back to basics, there is no hot shower at the swimming complex. After a swim under the hot sun, I have began to appreciate having a cold shower. Recently, there was a power failure at home and inevitably it has affected our heater, on certain days, it doesn't work and I have to endure a cold shower (fortunately swimming has prepared me for them)!

Be flexible and adapt to circumstances.

Things do not go how we want all the time, in fact, maybe even half the time! I have had a few occasions since school started, 80 students suddenly came plunging into the pool! I haven't got any space left, yet I had to finish my self-assigned laps. Being flexible doesn't mean cutting down the laps but instead work around it, instead of swimming the length, I need to do the width. Instead of swimming at my pace, I have to work around everyone's pace. That brings up the next lesson...

Be informed, go seeking to be informed.

So inorder to avoid another 80 students having their swimming lessons at the same time with me, I needed to know when they are not there! So I seeked for more information. Ask. Ask and you will get. Indeed, I have found the answer. So sometimes we can't just assume or presume or guess... if the factual information is available, go get them.

That's all for now, I will continue to note down more lessons when they come to me naturally!

Rules that are meant to be broken (once in a while)

One record-breaking week. Bad records. LOL.

Unfortunately the time of the month does make one crave for the sinful things. A bag of chips, one cup of bubble tea, two Mc Donalds' meals, one piece of cake, one cup of ice blended coffee and a Mac 'n' cheese with ice cream sundae in the last week. Oh dear, I have broken all the rules I had set for myself.

It has been a few months since the bag of chips, but my usual treat is something nice once a week. This week, I had it all in one go. I can almost feel that I have put on some weight back, hah, that's bad!

After all those swimming in the past year and 5kg weight loss, I feel almost perfect. That occasional stomach rumbling at 2am did work up my appetite a bit these weeks. But I also hope that that metabolism rate I have built up with all the swimming is burning the calories away faster these days.

Okay, time to get back on track! Once a week treat. Only.