Teddy Bear

That's our dog, Teddy. He is not a normal dog like any other dog. In fact, he is handicapped. My girl saw him in the vet clinic and pitied him as he was a puppy then. So she brought him back.

He grew up very fast. He couldn't walk like any other. He would drag himself from one place to another. He even gobbled up his food hastily. I didn't dare to feed him.

Now, it is already three years that he has been with us. He is more sober now. I would say that he is such a mature dog already. He doesn't gobble up his food anymore.

One thing I dislike is he liked to eat his own shit. But now, he doesn't do that anymore.

He's so cute now..

Lost A Friend Forever

I knew this friend when we were in Form 4. I was from the Convent School while he was from the St George School. My school and his school had camps together and that was how we met. We became good friends.

He would visit me and spent his time talking to me about school subjects. We even shared notes.

When we left the school, we still kept in touch. When I was studying in KL, he came to visit me a few times. Most of the time, we wrote to each other.

After my teacher's training, I was sent to Pasir Mas and I hardly saw him. When I got my transfer back to Ipoh, I was glad that he was working in Ipoh. So I could meet him easily.

He was just like a brother to me as he treated me like a sister. He had no sisters. He even knew my boyfriend then. 

So just before I got married, I met him and told him about it. He told me that he had planned to go to Sabah for better future. So we just said goodbye.

Since that day, I didn't hear from him anymore. I was too busy with my work and family that I couldn't be bothered to look out for him. Anyway, I couldn't as he didn't give me his new address. As time went by, I had forgotten all about him.

Recently, I was trying to search for him through facebook. I search for him at St George website. No one seemed to know his whereabout. One day, I met my friend in Singapore and I asked her about him. She told me that she saw a picture of him during the school annual dinner. He was deceased.  

I couldn't believe it. I searched his name and got another similar name. Without thinking, I wrote to that person, 'Hi, do you know this person,...?' I was so surprised when he replied that the person I was looking for was actually his brother. 

It was confirmed that he had passed away a couple of years ago...

So sad..he's gone forever. May he Rest In Peace..

VAT Refunds at Heathrow Airport

When I was in Europe and London, I bought stuff using my credit cards. So before I flew back to Malaysia, I reclaimed the sales tax (VAT) at the Heathrow Airport.

I thought that I could reclaim cash but when I reached the counter, I was asked to claim it by credit card. So I had to fill in my credit card number. 

A friend told me that I wouldn't be able to get back the refund or rather I got to wait endlessly for them to pay to my credit card.

But to my surprise, I was paid after about a month..

Visitors from non-European Union countries can reclaim the sales tax (VAT) on purchases from a number of British retailers.
To claim, first purchase goods from any merchant displaying the Tax Free Shopping sign. You'll be given a tax refund form by the retailer – keep it along with your receipt.

Then when you get to the airport, take your receipt and form to the Travelex counter or UK Border Agency office (located before and after security). Please have the items with you for inspection and anything large and bulky (including clothing) will need to be presented before check in. High value items including watches, cameras, smart phones must be presented after security control.

It may be possible for the refund to be paid in cash but this will depend the retailer where the goods were purchased. You may also have your refund paid in your own local currency – just ask at the desk.

Princess Diana's Memorial

My main purpose at Harrods was to see the Egyptian designs and most of all was to see Princess Diana's Memorial..

Since the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Al-Fayed, Mohamed Al-Fayed's son, two memorials commissioned by Al-Fayed have been erected inside Harrods to the couple. The first, unveiled on 12 April 1998, consists of photographs of the two behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass smudged with lipstick from Diana's last dinner as well as what is described as an engagement ring Dodi purchased the day before they died.

At Harrods

We visited the famous Harrods..

the Harrods building

  the store's interior has an Ancient Egyptian theme...

Harrods is a high-end department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London.

The store occupies a 5-acre (20,000 m²) site and has over one million square feet (90,000 m²) of selling space in over 330 departments.  

The Harrods motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique—All Things for All People, Everywhere. Several of its departments, including the seasonal Christmas department and the Food Hall, are world famous.

Thanks SJB

SJB held a contest whereby one was needed to post about her giveaways.. About 70 bloggers took part and I was one of the lucky ones..

She sent me this cute key chain and a fridge magnet.

Thanks, SJB

The making of wax figures

Lets have a look at the making of the wax figures at the Madame Tussauds Museum

Take a look at the video.

A tribute to our dog

Wasn't he handsome? He was with us for almost 11 years and yesterday he passed away peacefully.

He is a great dog. He used to wait at the door for me. I knew he wanted to be stroked . He's just like a baby. Recently, he had arthritis and he couldn't walk properly. My girl took him to see a veterinarian and he was on medication.

But his condition didn't actually improve. Few days ago, he was just lying down on his side. Imagine him lying on the same spot whole day long. We had to shift him occasionally.

He was still fine until last Sunday. I realized that he was messy. So before I went to work, I actually bathed him for the first time. My girl helped by pouring water on him while I slowly rubbed his body of his mess. Then I had to use my hair dryer to dry him up. He's afraid of the cold so I had to warm him up.

After cleaning him, I left him. But he couldn't walk anymore. Later my girl bathed for him again. When I came back in the evening, I checked on him. He was messy again. I had to clean him up again. He was all clean again.

Later in the evening, my husband was cleaning outside the compound and he was looking out. He was fine as he managed to put up his head. I thought that he was fine until the next morning ie yesterday.

Once again, I cleaned him up. I realized that he was not too good. I had to tell my eldest girl. She loves him the most. I told her to get back as it might be too late. So she decided to come back yesterday night. I was hoping that he would survive till then.

But when my son checked on him in the evening, he was lifeless..

I had to come back. Sure enough, he's gone. Quickly, I called my eldest girl and conveyed the sad news. She insisted on coming back.

Later in the evening, my husband put him in a box and dug a hole for him.

When my eldest girl was back at night, I picked her up after my work and once we reached home, we proceeded with a burial for him.

My husband helped to bury him too. It was a sad send-off for our favorite dog. It was so sad..

Rest in Peace, our cute dog..

BBQ Restaurant

Yesterday, I met my long-lost friends in Taiping. We had our lunch at BBQ Restaurant.

There were 12 of us and it only cost RM112..

Super cheap..each of us only paid RM10..

Swatow Lane Food

Yesterday was Malaysia Day and I decided to go to Queensbay Mall with my two girls. I started driving from Ipoh at about 10am and I reached there at 12pm.  As soon as I parked my car at the 5th floor, I called my sister. She came immediately..

As we were rather hungry, she took us to Swatow Lane for our lunch. Here's what we had..

yam cake

chee cheong fun

laksa

fried kuey teow

popiah

claypot loh see fun

ice-kacang

Overall, it was great and we enjoyed the food.

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

After all those sightseeing of London, we managed to get in the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. It was indeed crowded on that day..

I didn't actually get to see all in details. Just some snapshots here and there and everywhere..

Lastly, this is the wax of Madame Tussauds..