Candi Borobudur.

The first time I heard about Candi Borobudur (candi means temple) was during History class back at secondary school. History isn't really my favorite subject, but Google Earth is my favorite hobby now. You know, just key in any area, blink an eye and there you have it, Borobudur or Angkor Wat or even Maldives.

Google earth view.

The journey took over 2.5 hours no thanks to the Merapi eruption earlier. It wasn't the best time to visit, what with the rainy weather that creates steam/clouds from the volcano, but everything had been planned, so I just had to proceed anyway. Many roads were closed on that day, and I saw tall piles of black soils from the volcano along the roads. The river was overflowing with the soil, ruining so many houses.

By the time I got there, I had only 1 hour left before the closing time. I paid USD13, and quickly went up the large compound. It was drizzling and gloomy, but it kinda gave a surreal feel to the environment.

This colossal structure consists of six square bases, topped by three circular ones. Unfortunately, the three circular ones were closed.

It's quite interesting to imagine that back when it was constructed - circa 9th century - the craftsmen were carving the stones, and they survived until today, and I was staring at it 12 centuries later. It was a lot of blood, sweat and tears-work, righttt?

On a bright sunny day, you should be able to see the Mount Merapi from here, but that wasn't the case that day. The monument is surrounded by mountains and hills, adding some mystical feel to this place.

Then I had another 2.5hour journey back to Yogyakarta town. It was quite an experience, I must say.
MuseMono says it's Flash Flash! Now, what do you think, Darrlingg?

Greetings from Pangkor Laut.

Hi guys just a quick note. It's time for some sea, sand and sun. Now I'm at at the infamous, awards-winning Pangkor Laut Resort, and I'm so blown away by the view from their infinity pool here (and so many other things I will share soon). Till then..Have a nice day Darrlingg!!!

Well Hello Yogyakarta.

Hey y'all greetings from Indonesia. Well, technically I am now in Solo, I arrived in Yogyakarta yesterday at the Adisucipto International Airport, about two and a half hour flight from Kuala Lumpur. I'm on a short quick weekend trip so I had a brief visit to the infamous Malioboro Street, Jogjakarta.

I stayed at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Jogjakarta, which deserves a separate post on its own soon, I think.

The real reason I came here was to visit the magnificent Borobudur Temple. I've always been curious about this ancient relic. An otherwise-one hour-drive took two and half hours due to the Merapi thingy so we had to do a few detours. Along the way we passed through numerous paddy fields and a few swollen rivers of blackish waters from the lava sand spilled from the steaming mountain that caused some road closures. Quite an experience, I tell ya. The irony was we had to drive for a total of five hours to and fro but only got to spend an hour at the temple because it was late. Oh well.

I also went to the ninth century ruins called Prambanan which was much nearer to the city.

And now I am in Solo, a little over an hour's drive from Jogja because my flight will depart from here tomorrow morning. So here I am  in my room at Best Western Premier Solo Hotel. A pretty hotel but I gotta admit, nothing premier in service. Not that I had high expectation anyway, but being kept waiting for half an hour at 10pm after hours of road trip simply because they can't locate my reservation in their system surely sucks. Then I wanted to use their wifi to check the requested booking date and time (wth?), and was immediately told that the server was down. I had to use my overpriced data roaming just to find the piece of information, which only after that they can check me in. And I was told the wifi was back on 'service'. Dubious, Urgh. I hate complaining online, but I guess sometimes you should know, rightt???. And oh, few other things that were supposed to be available..weren't available anymore and couldn't be helped. Urgh. I know. Oh well, it's one of those things I guess. I hear the word BAN.

Anyway..will write more of the journeys (not Best Western unfortunately!). Toodle and have a nice day Darrlingg!!!

MuseMono says it's Flash Flash! Now, what do you think, Darrlingg?

Cameron Highlands Resort, Pahang.

Hello Darrlingg!! How have you been - having a fantastic time, I suppose? I just came back from a guilty-pleasure, quick trip to Cameron Highlands Resort. I know some say I'm having too much holidaying lately, but I can't help it, ever since I discovered YTL's outstanding hospitality. They say 3rd time is lucky, so this was my 3rd YTL hotel I've stayed at,and the moment I arrived I felt right at home. You guys know I'm more of a beach type than a cool hilly-billy but what touched me was the great lengths the staff took to welcome me; just like a family member they've known for ages, coming back for some 'trails, tales and traditions' (that's their slogan).

This award-winning resort is about 3.5 hours' drive from Kuala Lumpur, where Cameron Highland is  famous for its beautiful tea plantations (will blog about it separately). The resort's charming, colonial architecture will readily remind you of England - where the old colonists had created this area as a mini Tudor-styled retreat.

I checked into a ginormous 2-bedroom suite. The room was pleasantly decorated to exude that classic feel, but with up-to-date amenities (including an iPod dock - that's nice!). The temperature was cool , around 20 degrees and only after a few hours did I realize there was no air conditioner at all in the room. Of course you don't need one here, rightt?

The bathroom

I told ya it's always the small little touches that count - in this case the staff went with bigger touches - I arrived to find all these thoughtful things waiting for me in the room. Right up until turn down (where I was given sandwiches and this sweet good night decoration, it was so beautiful I nearly didn't want to sleep on it to keep it as it is forever!). To me it's not so much about the gifts; it's always the thought that matters. I felt so special, like a part of their family club.

I arrived alone that afternoon, and the chatty manager called me up to accompany/invite me for a high tea at their infamous Jim Thompson tea lounge. The lounge was so gorgeous, with views of many pine trees outside. In the evening there was live piano so the atmosphere was totally different from my usual pedestrian life.

Everyday at 7pm, there will be a traditional fire-lighting ceremony, where I was given the honor to ignite the fireplace at their handsome reading room. You have to make a wish before you start , so I wished for more shoes, then sat there sipping mocktails, watching the fire. It's not everyday I get to experience this, so voilà.


I wore H&M jacket, Vivienne Westwood tee, tailored pants, C'N'C Costume National sneakers.

Evening falls..and the whole place felt so magical - for once I forgot where I was. All I felt was the joy of being there.

Dinner was served at the 'Dining Room' where I had a scrumptious amuse-bouche prawn fricasse, followed by super fresh prawn aglio olio and then a heavenly lava cake. Oh. My. Goodness.

Breakfast was served at the same place - cascade style.

Walking around the compound to burn some yes-I-am-fat calories, and of course playing posey-posey.

 Gucci shades, Jean's Paul Gaultier tee, tailored pants, C'N'C Costume National sneakers.

Then I bumped into Sherry and Serena, who casually handed me a gift - a framed photograph they had taken last night during the fire lighting ceremony. That's the thing about their hospitality, you really don't expect it, and you always think what you had was already great - then effortlessly they topped that off and give you extra pleasant memories.

Serena suggested that I tried their spa, but I'm really not a spa person for some strange reason..at most a bath. Then she admitted that she too is not comfortable being massaged too (for fear of reflect-kicking the poor therapist). But I admit their spa is beautiful.

Before returning home, I went for another round of hi-tea (Oh-so-English, eh Darrlingg??) The view from my balcony, enjoying a breath of fresh cool air and daydreaming.

Dior glasses, French Connection shirt, H&M suspenders, cheapies bow tie, 7 For All Mankind pants, Comme des Garçons shoes.

Then it's always the reluctant-farewell to all this wonderful experience. The managers actually took the trouble to bid me farewell and even ushered me to the car. That's the nice thing about YTL hotels - if they don't treat you like a Diva, they treat you like family. A beloved one, Darrlingg.

Cameron Highlands Resort website here

More photos here

MuseMono says it's Flash Flash! Now, what do you think, Darrlingg?

Etro Fall Winter 2011

I know it's practically impossible to wear winter clothing in our microwave climate...and  we all know Menswear Fall Winter shows are happening at the moment. So all I could do is just ogle longingly at the photos and secretly wish I'm somewhere in a cold place (freezer doesn't count)and be able to wear all these beautiful clothes. Especially when I saw Etro's collection for Fall Winter 2011-12. I was so excited when I saw colours being splashed on winter wardrobe in addition to the regular overall grey/gloomy/all-black winter outfits, Darrlingg.

 Brown could be very interesting too, eh?

It takes real guts to wear colors because you will attract attention (some will think you're mad), but hey, why not? You're like this beautiful candy-coloured ice cream  when everything else is gloomy. Now that is some passion, Darrlingg!!

Source: Style.com
MuseMono says it's Flash Flash! Now, what do you think, Darrlingg?

Ann Demeulemeester Day Zero Tee Shirt.

Many months ago while I was at Joyce outlet in Hong Kong,  I couldn't help myself but to pick up this navy blue-black tee shirt. I've never actually bought anything from Ann Demeulemeester before, plus it was discounted by 70% from RM590. So it was like an introductory offer, eh Darrlingg??! I like the way the stitches lent a deconstructed impression to the t shirt.

The colour changed under different lighting, but of course. Would have been nicer if I pumped up my bod, but let's sod it, alright?!

It was part of Fall Winter 2009 collection, called Day Zero. Ann Demeulemeester said "I called them the immigrants, the pioneers from the future. They start at Day Zero – it’s a group of poets who immigrate to a new land, who bring their culture with them and start anew. They don’t start from the past but they bring their culture with them."

I think this is a great reminder whenever I feel high-strung with nervousness:

MuseMono says it's Flash Flash! Now, what do you think, Darrlingg?

BRIT Award trophy by Vivienne Westwood

Trophies and medals, who doesn't love them? Especially this one as it was designed/styled by Vivienne Westwood. The iconic BRIT Award trophy has gone fashion-overhauled for the first time. The trophy will be re-designed each year from now on by selected candidates.

Source: The BRITS Awards
MuseMono says it's Flash Flash! Now, what do you think, Darrlingg?

The Majestic, Malacca.

Post-holiday at Tanjong Jara Resort, I was determined to try out as many YTL (the owner) hotels as possible. So yes, I'm kinda hooked to their outstanding hospitality and design-and-culture-oriented hotels. I applied for their YTL Platinum Plus membership card, and joined their facebook fan page and from there I realized YTL is very generous with their member/fans. There was a promotional rate for the fan, so I quickly booked a room and this time around, I checked into their classic hotel, The Majestic.

The Majestic mansion dates back to the 1920's, now housing the reception and lobby, the restaurant and bar, and a gorgeous library. A new 54-room building was created behind it, connected via the mansion's cute back door (and passing the gym and the infinity pool in between) the buildings.

Check-in was very speedy, and my friend and I were ushered to our room. The warm and inviting feel of the old-world luxury of Chinese Peranakan-Colonial fusion quickly made me felt at home.

My majestic bedroom-the picture says it all, eh? At this point we were smiling ear to ear. My friend who was hesitant to join me at first kept saying "OMG OMG I want to go to all YTL hotels already!" She was so impressed, but of course.

The majestic bathroom. That standalone bath tub is a sure winner! The 'walls' were made of sliding doors for privacy.

First thing first, a flower bath to keep me fresh and young (really??!!) According to the manager, they can coordinate with their florist if you wish to have a flower bath - or almost anything actually.

Being a Platinum member, the perks include (Ok I'm gona sound like a telesales marketeer, but I'm telling the truth Darrlingg!) a cute hamper consisting some toiletries and vintage-looking talcum powder and compact-powder, a welcome tea in a traditional china tea set-cum-warmer, a Crabtree & Evelyn bath set, and complimentary internet! During turn down, a plate of traditional desserts were served. And oh! Fruit basket as well! Now these perks perked me up already. It's always the small little touches that count, eh Darrlingg?

The pool was small, but modern and intimate, as if swimming at your friend's fancy mansion.

 Gucci shades,Topman shirt and jacket, tailored harem pants, Louis Vuitton shoes.

 It's breathtaking at night...

..and so is the building. I think the Chinese New Year decoration added pizazz to the ambiance. Love.

I had dinner at their restaurant called The Mansion (on the upper level). The food was superb, gourmet as they say. Grilled Merlimau tiger prawns followed by the delicious apple crumble dessert. Breakfast was served the next day cascade-style, so I had scrambled egg set. Another thing I love about this hotel is that they seemed to play just the right tune (and volume) of music (I told ya I'm very much into overall ambiance - quiet and soothing, and you kinda feel accomplished at their premises - topped with the staff's exceptional service, if you know what I mean).

The beautiful library. I love their patterned tiles - and my monogrammed shoes on them, of course.

Gucci shades, British India shirt, tailored pants, Louis Vuitton sneakers.

 Do you like some local candies and biscuits? They are displayed everywhere at the lobby so you could sample it while reading MuseMono's blog on your iPhone daily newspaper.

It was a short trip (it always feel especially shorter when you're having so much fun, eh?) but of course, I would like to revisit again soon.

Visit The Majestic website here.

For more photos, please visit my facebook page here.

MuseMono says it's Flash Flash! Now, what do you think, Darrlingg?