TUESDAY
Emails, Magnum and Business Cards
Part Five of Sister-kind
Part Five of Sister-kind
This morning we tried breakfast downstairs for the first time and in doing so this remained a feature of all breakfasts to follow.
What I loved most about breakfast in the hotel was the fact that i’d get up late on some of these mornings, then we’d stumble downstairs at around 10ish and the buffet would only be open until 10.30 and somehow this was never a problem for the restaurant manager to accommodate us. It was an awesome feeling knowing you could come and go like that, arrive late and it’s not a problem and you’re still treated as though there is all the time in the world.
After breakie we went up to the club lounge and surfed the net for a while, checking out shopping centres for things we were looking for, reading up on emails and even doing some online banking.
I click Gmail and there’s an email from Kelly which is a response from my email sent last night.
Boo,
What I loved most about breakfast in the hotel was the fact that i’d get up late on some of these mornings, then we’d stumble downstairs at around 10ish and the buffet would only be open until 10.30 and somehow this was never a problem for the restaurant manager to accommodate us. It was an awesome feeling knowing you could come and go like that, arrive late and it’s not a problem and you’re still treated as though there is all the time in the world.
After breakie we went up to the club lounge and surfed the net for a while, checking out shopping centres for things we were looking for, reading up on emails and even doing some online banking.
I click Gmail and there’s an email from Kelly which is a response from my email sent last night.
Boo,
Why aren't you eating breakfast in the restaurant downstairs? The buffet is awesome.
Also, you boring old bastard - you have a million restaurants on your
doorstep - don't eat at the hotel! - there is a restaurant about 2 doors
(open air place) down from the hotel that does a fabulous chicken biriyani
for about 10 bucks (probably cheaper than that). they also have these bong
type things that you can smoke out of ...
Also, you boring old bastard - you have a million restaurants on your
doorstep - don't eat at the hotel! - there is a restaurant about 2 doors
(open air place) down from the hotel that does a fabulous chicken biriyani
for about 10 bucks (probably cheaper than that). they also have these bong
type things that you can smoke out of ...
Don't forget to take blue premier taxis, not the red ones - then you don’t have to haggle on price to go anywhere Lot 10 is shite - you should explore more of the shops in BB Plaza and
Sungei Wang John mentioned that Imbi plaza is a bit seedy - go to Lowyat plaza - 2nd floor onwards - it is much better, and bigger
Xx
I take the time to write to my sister Kelly and update her on how the trip has been panning out.
I take the time to write to my sister Kelly and update her on how the trip has been panning out.
Hey Kels,
Today, I plan to call Uncle Brian to arrange a time to meet up for suit fittings.
We've just come back from the downstairs restaurant where we ate breakfast, so great, so many choices.
We plan to visit the Pertronas towers today, see China Town during the day, see KLCC shopping and then go to the Ship restaurant for Dinner. So far we've only had dinner in the hotel just once.
We are cautious where we eat. Jeff took me to Tony Romas on the Sunday where I had my first Root Beer float, some chicken tenders and a Cajun burger.
We are cautious where we eat. Jeff took me to Tony Romas on the Sunday where I had my first Root Beer float, some chicken tenders and a Cajun burger.
Look this is starting to get a bit long, so i'll ease back and let you know how things go today later on.
The taxi drivers keep tryin to pimp girls onto us, business cards included, whoa! must be the moustache.
Kind regards,
Brosef
The taxi drivers keep tryin to pimp girls onto us, business cards included, whoa! must be the moustache.
Kind regards,
Brosef
After signing off from my email home I write to Uncle Brian’s work email address asking him when we can meet up. Then, I transfer a chunk of cashish from savings into my everyday account. I do this because since I have discovered that the local ATM’s provide access my CBA account, it’s too easy not too do this rather than carrying around large sums at any one time.
We make plans to see the Petronas Towers and decide to head downstairs to cab it to Suria KLCC shopping centre which sits at the bottom of the twin towers.
KLCC is easily on par with the Pavilion if you’ve got the money to spend on high-end designer gear.
I did a bit of window shopping here, I saw Fred Perry, tried on a classic polo in their largest size but it didn’t fit, I eyed off a few bags and wallets but didn’t buy anything. Went into Lacoste, bought two polos, a white one and a imperial purple one, both in size 8, sadly they didn’t have any size 9’s and they didn’t have anything else in size 8 either. All I could do at this point was just window shop the jumpers, tracksuit tops and lightweight jackets, they were really nicely styled.
It reminded me of my Lacoste from the 1990’s. I had quite the collection, my Lacoste was a series of club jackets, a few different styles of tracksuits plus a few hard to find lacoste polos that were under the Chemise Lacoste brand. I had all this crazy stuff, socks, caps, light knit jumpers and even a few sailing jackets. I really loved my Lacoste back then, as a casual lad there was nothing finer.
I did a bit of window shopping here, I saw Fred Perry, tried on a classic polo in their largest size but it didn’t fit, I eyed off a few bags and wallets but didn’t buy anything. Went into Lacoste, bought two polos, a white one and a imperial purple one, both in size 8, sadly they didn’t have any size 9’s and they didn’t have anything else in size 8 either. All I could do at this point was just window shop the jumpers, tracksuit tops and lightweight jackets, they were really nicely styled.
It reminded me of my Lacoste from the 1990’s. I had quite the collection, my Lacoste was a series of club jackets, a few different styles of tracksuits plus a few hard to find lacoste polos that were under the Chemise Lacoste brand. I had all this crazy stuff, socks, caps, light knit jumpers and even a few sailing jackets. I really loved my Lacoste back then, as a casual lad there was nothing finer.
I walked past Dunhill, Ed Hardy, Ermenegildo Zegna but didn’t go inside, I thought I saw Agnes B and a store that called Sportstag or Supergra or something like that.
I saw the hair salon that a lot of Trip Advisors were raving about but didn’t go in there for a haircut.
I had wanted to find the toy shop I’d once read about being here, apparently they stocked King & Country soldiers and other expensive 54mm toys. But unfortunately it was the same result as with Mandarina Duck store over at the Pavilion, it had either closed or moved on by the time we had visited KL.
Even while I had scored two polos from this trip out it was a bit of a downer because we learnt that the Petronas skybridge tour is at 7.30am each morning and you have to line up for hours to get a ticket. They only release about 250 tickets per day, which seems rather odd all things considered.
We wandered out of KLCC and walked through the underground pedestrian walk to check out a new shopping centre called Avenue K. We pass one of the citys underground railway stations and emerge into a make shift food court which morphs into what the locals tell us is Avenue K. It’s a huge disappointment, unfortunately Avenue K is still in it’s early stages of development and when we visited it had no retail tenants that we could see. This added to the frustration so we decided to call it a morning and took a cab ride back to the hotel.
We head upstairs to the club lounge and hit the computers again to check emails. I click Gmail, sign in and notice that my sister Kelly has responded to my email from this morning.
She writes:
Boo,
Boo,
whoa, sounds like you are covering a lot of ground. a lot of shopping ground that is.
you must be ploughing through your money!
All the taxi drivers will try and give you their card - they want to become your driver each day, this works out cost effective if you are doing a lot of touristy stuff. you can usually hire them for about 40 bucks aussie per day, depending on where you want to go
i hope you get up the Petronas - it is so worth seeing, and probably the most significant tourist attraction in KL
let me know how you like The Ship for dinner - we go there every single time we go to KL
try and check out the Tepanyaki bar in BB plaza - well worth going to
glad to hear you are keeping the 7/11 in business - john gorges himself on beer and pringles every time ... ha ha
you must be ploughing through your money!
All the taxi drivers will try and give you their card - they want to become your driver each day, this works out cost effective if you are doing a lot of touristy stuff. you can usually hire them for about 40 bucks aussie per day, depending on where you want to go
i hope you get up the Petronas - it is so worth seeing, and probably the most significant tourist attraction in KL
let me know how you like The Ship for dinner - we go there every single time we go to KL
try and check out the Tepanyaki bar in BB plaza - well worth going to
glad to hear you are keeping the 7/11 in business - john gorges himself on beer and pringles every time ... ha ha
the breakfast is heaven at the hotel, isnt it? waffles, mmmm
enjoy china town - its AWESOME at night, so try and go back there. you will have to haggle HARD, but there are loads of bargains
enjoy china town - its AWESOME at night, so try and go back there. you will have to haggle HARD, but there are loads of bargains
so, what have you bought ME??? hmm??
Xx
I check my other emails and there is one from Uncle Brian that let’s me know that we’re unlikely to be able to hook up this week as he’s been sent to another country for business, sure it’s a disappointment but work is work so I understand.
I write home to Kelly.
I write home to Kelly.
Hi Kel,
I'm limiting myself to 1500RM per day which is 500AUD
It's alot but then again i'm buying stuff, it feels good.
The Petronas skywalk is only open between 7 - 8am for tickets, Jeff and I are both late risers so it's unlikely we'll get to go.
It's alot but then again i'm buying stuff, it feels good.
The Petronas skywalk is only open between 7 - 8am for tickets, Jeff and I are both late risers so it's unlikely we'll get to go.
KLCC this morning was incredible, I mean every luxury brand I can think of has it's outlet.
I went to Lacoste and bought two polos for 299RM each, about 100AUD.
I went Fred Perry but nothing fits.
I went into Parkson and bought underwear and socks, so cheap and the best kind of thigh hugging cotton brief boxers, the sox I bought are kinda funky too.
I went to Lacoste and bought two polos for 299RM each, about 100AUD.
I went Fred Perry but nothing fits.
I went into Parkson and bought underwear and socks, so cheap and the best kind of thigh hugging cotton brief boxers, the sox I bought are kinda funky too.
Uncle Brian is seconded to Thailand this week so we can forget about the bespoke suits.
The plan for this arvo will be to head back to Lot 10 to look at Debenhams and Istean properly
If we have energy then it's into BB Plaza to look at a few model shops.
We might skip Imbi based on Johns advice.
Is StarHill apart of Lot10? is it any good?
Tonite it's The Ship and it's my shout.
It's raining hard today so China Town might not be on the cards.
For Wednesday we're looking at Mega Valley Mall and Sunway Lagoon.
Thursday Petaling Street for t-shirts and maybe the markets, China Town.
I have no idea what to buy for you. Give me some ideas please
.
The plan for this arvo will be to head back to Lot 10 to look at Debenhams and Istean properly
If we have energy then it's into BB Plaza to look at a few model shops.
We might skip Imbi based on Johns advice.
Is StarHill apart of Lot10? is it any good?
Tonite it's The Ship and it's my shout.
It's raining hard today so China Town might not be on the cards.
For Wednesday we're looking at Mega Valley Mall and Sunway Lagoon.
Thursday Petaling Street for t-shirts and maybe the markets, China Town.
I have no idea what to buy for you. Give me some ideas please
.
Kind Regards,
Brosef
The remainder of the day is spent mucking around in my room with Jeff watching some TV while Jeff begins building a Gundam kit. I drink beer tuning out to the drone of a straight to video film on Star movies. I make some adjustments to my shopping list and ponder what else is needed, what’s essential, I look through my wardrobe, I do a spot check on what I need for the rest of the week.
To be honest I was stupid for not packing properly, I really did bring hardly anything to wear for a week. My hope was to buy everything I needed here, but I was somewhat non-believing that I’d have as much trouble as I’d had so far.
Eventually, we roll into the late afternoon and on my checklist I need underwear. My run of Kickers boxer shorts and the one pair of Byfords thigh huggers that I’ve bought so far have had their fun, so I turn to Jeff and say, “Let’s take another look at Lot 10” and despite being engrossed in building his kit Jeff is really good about it, he doesn’t moan or groan, but suggests “let’s cab it to Times Square first”, I agree happy with the compromise and we get up and go.
We head on over to Times Square but only do a quick trip upstairs to the hobby store so that Jeff can make an enquiry about a kit he really wants. I recall seeing a sign for hobby store in the front windows of Imbi Plaza and I convince Jeff that we should walk over the footbridge to check it out.
One thing I should mention about Malaysian footpaths is that in the city areas around shopping centres they all seem to be tiled. I have never thought to wonder why on earth they would tile the sidewalks but once your feet get used to it and you can learn not to slip after the rain it makes perfect sense, the streets seem so much cleaner after the downpour, but the getting used to the slippery ground is not easily achieved. When crossing the footbridge I almost land on my arse five times, we walk down the stairs to get to the other side of the street and I grip the hand rail for stability. Wow, what an adventurer I am, can’t even hack the urban concrete jungle let alone a real one.
We go into Imbi Plaza and upon entering this run down four storey plaza is how much it stinks like rotten chipboard, that dirty bottom of a birdcage smell. All the floors are covered in cardboard, presumably to stop people from slipping, it’s appalling. Thankfully the escalator still works and we ride up to the top, we see nothing that denotes as a hobby store, only Indian and Chinese retailers selling computer parts from computers older than I’ve ever seen back home. It’s seedy to the point where i’m uncomfortable, I look at Jeff and say “Let’s get the fuck outta here”, this statement takes no effort at all to convince Jeff of this proposed turnaround and we immediately head back down the escalators to the second floor and have to walk down the last two flights as the escalators going down are broken. We get outside, all I can say is, “Man, what a dump”
We cross back over the pedestrian footbridge and instead of cabbing it back to the hotel we stick to the plan and walk up the street two blocks. We walk past the front side of BB Plaza/Sungei Wang Plaza and once we hit the main intersection of Bukit Bintang we cross the street towards Lot 10.
The remainder of the day is spent mucking around in my room with Jeff watching some TV while Jeff begins building a Gundam kit. I drink beer tuning out to the drone of a straight to video film on Star movies. I make some adjustments to my shopping list and ponder what else is needed, what’s essential, I look through my wardrobe, I do a spot check on what I need for the rest of the week.
To be honest I was stupid for not packing properly, I really did bring hardly anything to wear for a week. My hope was to buy everything I needed here, but I was somewhat non-believing that I’d have as much trouble as I’d had so far.
Eventually, we roll into the late afternoon and on my checklist I need underwear. My run of Kickers boxer shorts and the one pair of Byfords thigh huggers that I’ve bought so far have had their fun, so I turn to Jeff and say, “Let’s take another look at Lot 10” and despite being engrossed in building his kit Jeff is really good about it, he doesn’t moan or groan, but suggests “let’s cab it to Times Square first”, I agree happy with the compromise and we get up and go.
We head on over to Times Square but only do a quick trip upstairs to the hobby store so that Jeff can make an enquiry about a kit he really wants. I recall seeing a sign for hobby store in the front windows of Imbi Plaza and I convince Jeff that we should walk over the footbridge to check it out.
One thing I should mention about Malaysian footpaths is that in the city areas around shopping centres they all seem to be tiled. I have never thought to wonder why on earth they would tile the sidewalks but once your feet get used to it and you can learn not to slip after the rain it makes perfect sense, the streets seem so much cleaner after the downpour, but the getting used to the slippery ground is not easily achieved. When crossing the footbridge I almost land on my arse five times, we walk down the stairs to get to the other side of the street and I grip the hand rail for stability. Wow, what an adventurer I am, can’t even hack the urban concrete jungle let alone a real one.
We go into Imbi Plaza and upon entering this run down four storey plaza is how much it stinks like rotten chipboard, that dirty bottom of a birdcage smell. All the floors are covered in cardboard, presumably to stop people from slipping, it’s appalling. Thankfully the escalator still works and we ride up to the top, we see nothing that denotes as a hobby store, only Indian and Chinese retailers selling computer parts from computers older than I’ve ever seen back home. It’s seedy to the point where i’m uncomfortable, I look at Jeff and say “Let’s get the fuck outta here”, this statement takes no effort at all to convince Jeff of this proposed turnaround and we immediately head back down the escalators to the second floor and have to walk down the last two flights as the escalators going down are broken. We get outside, all I can say is, “Man, what a dump”
We cross back over the pedestrian footbridge and instead of cabbing it back to the hotel we stick to the plan and walk up the street two blocks. We walk past the front side of BB Plaza/Sungei Wang Plaza and once we hit the main intersection of Bukit Bintang we cross the street towards Lot 10.
We go into Lot 10 and head into a Japanese owned department store called Istean. It’s a reminder of what Daimaru used to be like in Melbourne. There’s a fair bit of stuff here that we don’t get to see, so first off we head on over to the perfume area, I’m looking for Carolina Herrera for Men and other scents like Sexy 212 and the 212 original. I have to say even while my staple cologne’s growing up were YSL Korus and YSL Jazz, the Carolina Herrera stuff really works for me. I’ve tried heaps of different stuff as well, Fendi for Men, Safari by Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Sport, CK One, Paco Raban for men, Pierre Cardin and another favourite was Ralph Lauren Polo. But I keep coming back to Carolina Herrera it’s the one thing I attribute to the pussy melter. I don’t mean to be crass, but I’ve had so many compliments from former girlfriends, female co-workers who ask me, “Hmm what scent is that?”
So we look around at what they have and sadly 212 Sexy is off the cards, they don’t have any left which sucks. I mean at these prices, which is so much friggin cheaper than Perth it’s crazy not to splurge. I hum and ha over Issey Miyake but decide that I want more of the original 212 for Men, it’s a safe choice. The male attendant try’s his best to push a bottle of Paco Raban 1 Million at me, I’m not interested as it’s way too strong. The strongest scent I have is Jean Paul Gaultier Le Fleur Du Male, it’s a very flowery scent but not as overpowering as this. He offers a sample and I take it just to please him. While gift wrapping my 212 boxed set, the attendant also hands me a Carolina Herrera toiletries bag with aftershave balm and another skin treatment. I was flat out impressed, i’d already made my purchase and had no expectations to receive anything more. I go join Jeff at the cashiers pontoon over by the glass doors to pay for my purchase. Jeff has selected a boxed scent of Ralph Lauren Polo for Men and he hangs around until I’m done.
But something here is not right, Jeff is squirming, uncomfortable and shifting around uneasy. I worry that perhaps he’s shoplifted, but no it’s much worse than that. Jeff is about to procure a business card of such lethal magnitude that even the devastation of hurricane Katrina could be considered mild. Jeff says to me all plucky, “You all done?”, I say - “Yep that’s pretty much it”, then he says, “Ok let’s go”. We get to the glass doors and he whispers, “wait for it”, then once we’re outside the glass doors he says “look back now”. I look back watching the two confused cashiers who are looking at each other in disgust, the other half accusing the other of what’s been smelt. Oh my, Jeff has truly outdone himself here and the handy work of this fart is brilliant.
We ride the escalator downstairs to Debenhams and after some clowning around I settle on two really large golf shirts. They are so fucking gaudy that it’s actually a bit embarrassing, but while i’m here they will serve their purpose as designed. We head out of Lot 10 after this and walk over to Parksons at the Pavilion, I go inside and buy a twin pack pair of Byfords, one in a grey and black, these will do the job nicely. I take them over to the cashier and she immediately applies a further discount to the store price, i’m confused, I ask her, “But aren’t these more than this price?” she says, “Oh yes Sir but it’s after 5pm so you get a further 10% discount”.
We ride the escalator downstairs to Debenhams and after some clowning around I settle on two really large golf shirts. They are so fucking gaudy that it’s actually a bit embarrassing, but while i’m here they will serve their purpose as designed. We head out of Lot 10 after this and walk over to Parksons at the Pavilion, I go inside and buy a twin pack pair of Byfords, one in a grey and black, these will do the job nicely. I take them over to the cashier and she immediately applies a further discount to the store price, i’m confused, I ask her, “But aren’t these more than this price?” she says, “Oh yes Sir but it’s after 5pm so you get a further 10% discount”.
At this point i’m flabbergasted, i’ve been gifted some free stuff just based on a purchase and then further discounted for a product just because it’s after 5pm. Man, I tell ya Aussie stores could learn a thing or two about providing the customer with more bang for your buck, because the Malaysian’s have got it down to a fine art.
We wander home to our hotel and I dump my bags off at my room and then head upstairs to check my email. Kelly has been keeping up with the ping pong and she gives me an update to my earlier email.
Dear Boo,
We wander home to our hotel and I dump my bags off at my room and then head upstairs to check my email. Kelly has been keeping up with the ping pong and she gives me an update to my earlier email.
Dear Boo,
Starhill is shit - skip it
Mid Valley mega-mall is HUGE and i mean HUGE
Sunway Lagoon is a theme park - been there a few times. lots of fun.
by, the way, Petaling Street IS china town. the two are on of the same. your taxi driver will understand both.
best to go to china town at night. it is open very late. go hungry - the food is great there.
Mid Valley mega-mall is HUGE and i mean HUGE
Sunway Lagoon is a theme park - been there a few times. lots of fun.
by, the way, Petaling Street IS china town. the two are on of the same. your taxi driver will understand both.
best to go to china town at night. it is open very late. go hungry - the food is great there.
can you get me some french vanilla powder from the coffee bean please. its in the basement of BB plaza. will cost about $10 aussie. that will do me - that would be awesome if you can get it
xx
I fire an email back, all excited about my day, eager to tell Kelly my stories.
Hey Kels,
Did end up at Imbi this arvo, so fkn shit. Stinks and cardboard laid out to stop you from slipping.
About to have a few drinks now then head out to the Ship.
We are planning to head over to BB plaza tonite so i'll look for the
Coffee Bean shop too.
About to have a few drinks now then head out to the Ship.
We are planning to head over to BB plaza tonite so i'll look for the
Coffee Bean shop too.
Talk later
We hang out in club lounge and I throw back a few G n’ T’s until they have the desired effect. We head back to my room and I change my shirt for a short sleeve I’d bought earlier on and we go out to the restaurant that my sister recommended, The Ship.
We get there fairly early, and by early I mean around 7ish. We’re seated at booth by choice and we’re met by one of the staff who is dressed as a ship steward. It’s a females uniform I don’t recognise, the staff look like they’re on the set of the love boat or something. The waitress asks what we’d like to drink and we opt for the 1 litre steins of Carlsberg, Jeff and I order one each and we say we’ll take some time with the menu selection for the time being.
I’m looking around and I think that this is a good choice for a restaurant, I love the theme, it works, the fittings and wooden interior makes you feel as though you’re in the hull of a wooden sail boat.
We get there fairly early, and by early I mean around 7ish. We’re seated at booth by choice and we’re met by one of the staff who is dressed as a ship steward. It’s a females uniform I don’t recognise, the staff look like they’re on the set of the love boat or something. The waitress asks what we’d like to drink and we opt for the 1 litre steins of Carlsberg, Jeff and I order one each and we say we’ll take some time with the menu selection for the time being.
I’m looking around and I think that this is a good choice for a restaurant, I love the theme, it works, the fittings and wooden interior makes you feel as though you’re in the hull of a wooden sail boat.
Our waitress comes back with our drinks and we get into it immediately, we’re decided on what we want. I want a good bit of beef in pepper steak sauce and I also want king prawns in garlic sauce.
I keep telling her I want the prawns as a side dish but she insists that it’s a main, in the end i’m somewhat defeated at making my point on portion control and say that i’m happy to pay for it as a main and then she relaxes. I’m not even trying to haggle or anything like that, i’m simply just trying to order a portion of prawns. To confuse things even more she says that I have to take the garden salad as well as it comes with the main, I say fine and what-the-fuck-ever. I really don’t give a fuck at this point, plus I think that she can tell that I’ve reached my threshold, she’s pissed off and i’m just fucking confused at the hassle. Jeff’s loving this situation unfold, a seemingly simple task of ordering turns into missile disarmament. Jeff orders a chicken burger of some description and asks for another entree and a bowl of fries. Ooh! This sounds good to me and in a minute our waitress slinks away angry, or at least cross for having to deal with these bloody Aussies.
We clink our steins of Carlsberg together and begin to guzzle and this takes the sting from ordering out of the back of my mind. We look around leering at the other diners and note that this place is fairly empty for a week night, meh it’s to be expected anywhere on a Tuesday night.
I keep telling her I want the prawns as a side dish but she insists that it’s a main, in the end i’m somewhat defeated at making my point on portion control and say that i’m happy to pay for it as a main and then she relaxes. I’m not even trying to haggle or anything like that, i’m simply just trying to order a portion of prawns. To confuse things even more she says that I have to take the garden salad as well as it comes with the main, I say fine and what-the-fuck-ever. I really don’t give a fuck at this point, plus I think that she can tell that I’ve reached my threshold, she’s pissed off and i’m just fucking confused at the hassle. Jeff’s loving this situation unfold, a seemingly simple task of ordering turns into missile disarmament. Jeff orders a chicken burger of some description and asks for another entree and a bowl of fries. Ooh! This sounds good to me and in a minute our waitress slinks away angry, or at least cross for having to deal with these bloody Aussies.
We clink our steins of Carlsberg together and begin to guzzle and this takes the sting from ordering out of the back of my mind. We look around leering at the other diners and note that this place is fairly empty for a week night, meh it’s to be expected anywhere on a Tuesday night.
Eventually out come the main courses and we bog into the meat and sizzling garlic king prawns.
Wow they’re incredible, already de-shelled and they go down in rapid succession. The steak turns out to be not too bad, the sauce is not to my satisfaction, it’s far too light and no where near the pepper steak standard of a kick in the pants that I like. We much through our meals and somehow we find it far too easy to finish off the Carlsberg. Finishing up we pass on dessert and decide that coffee is a pointless exercise as well, I ask for the cheque and I make sure there’s a decent tip so that theres not any hard feelings. The Ship is now just starting to get busy a lot of restaurant goers are arriving and the staff’s mood seems to brighten after I’ve paid the bill. We get outta there with our shirts on and no harm done, we walk up the block towards the hotel and we go to the 7-11 across the street and I buy my daily ration of Carlsberg cans, some energy drinks and Pringles.
Wow they’re incredible, already de-shelled and they go down in rapid succession. The steak turns out to be not too bad, the sauce is not to my satisfaction, it’s far too light and no where near the pepper steak standard of a kick in the pants that I like. We much through our meals and somehow we find it far too easy to finish off the Carlsberg. Finishing up we pass on dessert and decide that coffee is a pointless exercise as well, I ask for the cheque and I make sure there’s a decent tip so that theres not any hard feelings. The Ship is now just starting to get busy a lot of restaurant goers are arriving and the staff’s mood seems to brighten after I’ve paid the bill. We get outta there with our shirts on and no harm done, we walk up the block towards the hotel and we go to the 7-11 across the street and I buy my daily ration of Carlsberg cans, some energy drinks and Pringles.
Going into the hotel I ask Jeff if he’d like another drink before bed and he says Yes but only if he can buy me a round. He orders a couple of Carlsberg’s and at this point I’ve really got the taste for it.
We sit in the sunken lounge, the lights are low, the mood is somber and I’m feeling good. We’re served finger foods by one of the front bar female hostess. She introduces herself as Emma, she is a Malaysian national, she kneels beside our coffee table and we’re polite enough to take on the soy beans dusted with chilli powder, nuts and wasabi peas in between pulls on our glasses of beer.
She starts us off in conversation by talking a little bit about herself and her family origin, the blood, the mixing of cultures, she lets us know about the social cast in KL, like who rules and who gets the jobs. It’s amazing, there’s attitude in her voice, a real passion, and suddenly the bullshit media hype of happy holidays is lifted.
We drink, we laugh making small talk with Emma, I’m fairly certain we got into a third round of beers and the mood was joyful and light humoured.
We see Emma for who she is, Emma talks like a modern woman and her situation is the same for anyone from this generation. She has hopes and dreams of breaking out of this line of work and going a step up, maybe into hotel management, she asks us to provide her with good feedback for her service.
She hands us the yellow cards that start with – How well have I served you today? This is the third satisfaction card she has given us, presumably one for every round of drinks. By this stage i’m running out of words of praise, by chance these all seeming to begin with the letter P, words used include – perfection, pleasant, professional, pleasing. Then I start to mix it up a bit, writing down words like prefecture, polycarbonate and premium.
We finish our beers and Emma is eager to continue to serve us so we order another round, Jeff agrees to pay for another and Emma runs back to the bar to fetch our glasses.
Thankfully Emma’s English is not too good and she doesn’t understand these words and Jeff and I snicker with delight. She’s spending far too much time with us both and her hostess manageress is asking her over to spend more time serving the other patrons. During this telling off from her boss lady Jeff and I consider getting some cigars from smoking lounge and having a puff, but we don’t the good food and helpings of beer has put a stop on that. Emma returns frustrating with her dressing down and she whinges a little and then tells us this awful story about a sleazy Arab business man asked her to come up to his room with her. He was drunk. Which seemed a little odd as Arabs don’t drink as it’s against their religion, but in her story this one did. Anyway we’re hooked by the telling of her story,we ask excitedly like children hearing a bedtime story “and then what happened?” and she says, “Then he says to me why don’t you come up to my room for 35 ringgits”.
We sit in the sunken lounge, the lights are low, the mood is somber and I’m feeling good. We’re served finger foods by one of the front bar female hostess. She introduces herself as Emma, she is a Malaysian national, she kneels beside our coffee table and we’re polite enough to take on the soy beans dusted with chilli powder, nuts and wasabi peas in between pulls on our glasses of beer.
She starts us off in conversation by talking a little bit about herself and her family origin, the blood, the mixing of cultures, she lets us know about the social cast in KL, like who rules and who gets the jobs. It’s amazing, there’s attitude in her voice, a real passion, and suddenly the bullshit media hype of happy holidays is lifted.
We drink, we laugh making small talk with Emma, I’m fairly certain we got into a third round of beers and the mood was joyful and light humoured.
We see Emma for who she is, Emma talks like a modern woman and her situation is the same for anyone from this generation. She has hopes and dreams of breaking out of this line of work and going a step up, maybe into hotel management, she asks us to provide her with good feedback for her service.
She hands us the yellow cards that start with – How well have I served you today? This is the third satisfaction card she has given us, presumably one for every round of drinks. By this stage i’m running out of words of praise, by chance these all seeming to begin with the letter P, words used include – perfection, pleasant, professional, pleasing. Then I start to mix it up a bit, writing down words like prefecture, polycarbonate and premium.
We finish our beers and Emma is eager to continue to serve us so we order another round, Jeff agrees to pay for another and Emma runs back to the bar to fetch our glasses.
Thankfully Emma’s English is not too good and she doesn’t understand these words and Jeff and I snicker with delight. She’s spending far too much time with us both and her hostess manageress is asking her over to spend more time serving the other patrons. During this telling off from her boss lady Jeff and I consider getting some cigars from smoking lounge and having a puff, but we don’t the good food and helpings of beer has put a stop on that. Emma returns frustrating with her dressing down and she whinges a little and then tells us this awful story about a sleazy Arab business man asked her to come up to his room with her. He was drunk. Which seemed a little odd as Arabs don’t drink as it’s against their religion, but in her story this one did. Anyway we’re hooked by the telling of her story,we ask excitedly like children hearing a bedtime story “and then what happened?” and she says, “Then he says to me why don’t you come up to my room for 35 ringgits”.
At this point she rises from her kneeling position, she’s got herself all worked up into a huff from her story. She leaves us, carrying the the half empty silver tray of snacks returning to the bar. And when she’s barely out of ear shot Jeff turns to me without even missing a beat and says, “Oi, I wonder what she does for 50 ringgits?”. We both laugh and I tilt back the rest of the Carlsberg in one easy gulp, eager not to linger we wave goodnight to Emma and we ride the lift to our rooms.
I say goodnight to Jeff in the hallway and head into my room. The bedside light is on and the lights have been dimmed, the bed is half way turned down ready for me to slip into. I do a trip to the bathroom to wash my face, take a slash and then put away the half warmed beers. While doing so, I reach for a can of Carlsberg that i'd saved from my previous 7-11 run, I take the can from the minbar fridge and manage to drink about half of it before I pass out while watching TV in bed.
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