123, Hello! by ilya

Imagine being in a building which used to house a the Rex Theatre cinema since 1947, that has gone through a fire in 1972 and 2002 (which caused the cinema to shut down).

Shaw Brothers used to operate the cinema. Epic.

Now, it has been turned into a community-based cultural and creative hub known as RexKL. It houses a coffee shop, a food court, a rooftop dining space together with a BookExcess. We saw ongoing works being done at the theatre floors but we didnt know whether it was rebuilding of a stage or Bookexcess expanding itself.

"Hey, wanna hang out at Petaling Street?! We can do makan makan (eat) and just play tourist."

My friend Sasha need not say more. Would I decline an opportunity to play tourist? Of course not! Petaling Street is a famous street in Kuala Lumpur - it's right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur and it has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years.

In the early 2000s, it was the "go-to" market (busiest at night) and the stalls were stacked up and people were brushing shoulders (aaah, post-COVID, such situation would cause mass panic) just to squeeze through the lanes. Some people were looking for food, some went for the shopping, there were vintage stores, toys, florists. You name it, they've got it.

Over the years though, enforcement over counterfeit products, street fights eventually led to a much "better image" of Petaling Street. It was cleaner, safer but it also lacked that "night market feel". I thought it had simply died.

Then come 2022, people started discussing how fun Petaling Street is now. With small cafes, some insta worthy ones, some "authenticly KL" ones. Curioser and curiouser, as Alice would have said.

Here are some photos of the places we went. Had a good time catching up with my two friends Irin and Sasha for a hearty breakfast.

There was major flooding due to heavy rain. Certain parts of the Klang Valley was hard hit with some villages, residential and commercial areas being submerged under water. People sat on their roofs waiting for help to arrive. Electricity was shut down, there was lack of food supply and some were not able to call out.

Roads were closed. Some people left their vehicles abandoned due to the traffic caused by the flooding. Some people walked miles and through the flood to reach home. The last time a major flooding incident in shah alam had occurred was back in 2000s. It was really devastating to see photos and videos related to the flooding. Thankfully the community got together to help and reach out. Some of the ladies at my apartment volunteered to cook food, gave shelter, get supplies - especially clothes, blankets, diapers and baby milk. Even traffic was handled by the lorry drivers themselves.

Let's hope that the authorities will put more emphasis on flood management efforts so that flooding can be minimised or managed when heavy rainfalls do happen.

Langkawi is an island in Malaysia which we love as a family. Took a few days off to unwind and reset before the new year.

In my search for good quality bedsheet for my baby (who has eczema and food allergies) that will not irritate his skin, I chanced upon Puan Jamilah of Cotton Picking. She understood my stress over Rayyan's skin issues and made some recommendations about materials.

Learnt that she sews everything she sells, picks the fabric and prints. From her voice, I knew she was very passionate about her love for sewing and handmade items. I fell in love with the Peter Rabbit set she made. it had Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton Tail and Peter on it. The material was soft cotton, it had cute little pipings and most importantly, the pillow set was large enough for Rayyan to roll back and forth without falling off.

She shared some lovely prints of her handmade blankets, pillows, bolsters and sheets. It would make great gifts for any newborn. Her gift sets are customisable, and sizes differ from one another. Some made from cotton or flannel. Interestingly, she also makes special sets for preemies.

It was a typical Sunday walk around the Shah Alam Lake (our favourite go-to lake, very near to where we live). There was a lot of things to take notice of: extra crowd, new facilities, new routes, the waterpark not in operations, new solar bridges (still in making). We kept to SOP, trying to stay at least 1meter apart from others. Our masks was on in areas with more people, but we took them off when it was just us.

The surrounding area of the park was always bustling with activities. Yoga classes, cheers at the playground, qi qong, dancing, group exercises. You name it. It's usually sounds of laughing children and stomping joggers that fills up the air. So it was a surprise to hear people screaming erratically. What was going on?!

After the bridge at Tasik Tengah, we saw it. Mid air, hanging and screaming were two persons flying through a zipline across the lake. A ZIPLINE!!!

We soon saw the counter and the zipline entrance. For a thrill 240 meter ride across the lake, adult tickets are RM25 whilst children were at RM10.

I did ask if Arianna and Aleesya wanted a go, but they were already too tired from the walk.

Probably best to also come early in the morning. There wasn't much crowd but maybe because not many knew it was in operations.

It opens from Monday to Friday : 10am to 6.30pm, Saturday to Sunday;8.30am to 6.30pm.

The other day, the office van broke down.

At the wrong time and day. We were planning to shift our old files from the office to another storage location, and there was hundreds of files, boxes just waiting to be moved.

After a frantic round of making calls to the usual lorry providers i knew (all unable to cater to my last minute request), - all of them telling me that I have to make an appointment or give them advance notice - then someone from my mommies circle suggested Lalamove.

What? Lalamove? Didnt they just help you pick up or deliver small items?

Well, apparently not!

In a few steps on the Lalamove App, I managed to secure a medium size,14ft lorry that would arrive in 8 minutes!

The description of the capacity of each lorry was also easy to understand. Ie, they would state that :

a) Small lorry (10ft) (max 1000kg) would fit a single bed, fridge and 2 seater sofa; or

b) Medium lorry (14ft) (max 2500kg) would fit a queen size bed, fridge, 3 seater sofa and wardrobe; or

c) Large lorry (17ft) (max 4000kg) would fit a king size bed, fridge, large wardrobe and washer.

Upon arrival, my lorry was indeed just the right size. And we managed to complete the whole move within an hour.

Overall, I was so happy and would like to share that this experience was great.

When travelling at odd hours, very often we have to remind ourselves:

a) with children, it's hard to wake them up;

b) taxis are hard to come by (we live quite far from the airport) and airport taxis can be quite expensive.

We decided to give the Capsule Transit KLIA a try. It had a container-like industrial feel to it, with dim lighting and for RM75, it provided a clean room, big enough for our family of 4. The shower room is a shared area (reminded me of my college dorm) but for a quick wash, it's bearable. (The kids were surprised at the other ladies in towels) and brushing teeth openly.

Overall, I recommend the Capsule Transit. It has a security card system, a mini library and overall felt safe. Some pictures below:

Have been buying things online the past 2 years and imagine the boxes, plastic wraps, plastic bubbles that arrive together with the items. I wondered how our world would survive if people kept buying and buying and throwing things out?

Decided to repurpose some boxes (from past purchases) into my Quaker Oats organiser.

It now sits on the kitchen counter and makes it easier to grab and make a cup anytime.