Hot Summer sales!!

With the World cup going on, and the sun scorching hot, it is literally HOT summer sales in Oxford street. I thronged New Oxford Street (where I got my FREE TIGI hari cut :D), Regent Street, and scoured Oxford Street until the Marble Arch area, where we got to stop because they are closing shop!!! That was a bad business decision. Why can't they open for two more hours???

When I came here, I thought woah hahahahah, Miss BIG FEET finally can try all those shoes on displays, without asking the sales assistant "Please, can you bring me size 8, or 9, or size 40 or 42" and get that STARE from them, followed by:

"Sorry (which is very fake), No stock!!! We don't have size 8. Biggest (yeah lar, I big and fat, cannot???) size 7. Blah blah......"

Worse still some experienced (ie older) sales assistants will just give you THE knowing glance and say:

"Sorry!! No stock! I think size 8 also difficult. Your feet too big"

Everytime I needed new shoes, I got to budget a) MONEY b) TIME to hunt for one pair. I hunt until I discovered MBK's Taywin?? or something which stock large sizes.

I thought London, the shoe capital will be my salvation, end of going for expensive brands despite being damn broke. I should be able to walk into any store, and pull out a UK size 7 and TRY, and then admire my outstanding feet in front of the mirrors. Fat? What fat? Big, where? Look at the British. heheheh....But........now I know it does not always happen!

Now that it is summer, Oxford and Regent Streets are where Singaporeans and the Chinese come to play. I don't think there are that many Singaporeans, actually, but you will always notice them, somehow. You will always know THAT is a Singaporean or Malaysian. And then you qill quickly spot. There, another group. Why???? Hahahh..... I better shut up. Later my plane will get shot before I even land. You want to know, you come here---lah!

And I detest the fact that they come here in throngs... why can't they go somewhere else? The fact that they make up 90% of customers in some of my dearest CLARK's stores in Regent/Oxford Street means that they CAUSE the removal of size 7 and 8 from displays, and resulted in many size 5s put on display!!!

It means I can't just pick up a shoe and dump on the floor and try!!! I got to "retreat" to other places.(like Kensington High Street and gently rub shoulders with diamond-ed Ladies, and miss out on bargains). It makes me so frustrated thato one day, I might go on the streets to tell them, "Go home, go home"!!!

What happened to good old winter where the cold kept them away? I really dun understand why they come in summer.

Summer??? No pretty tulips. No pretty blooms. Scenery is like my sis says "Bleah!!!!", compared to spring. Only has crazy weather that go from 14C one day , and then now it is 28-30C. By this Sunday, all the chocolates will melt, again. Predicted temp? 32C. And let me warn you: there are no air conds, not even fans in most places. So, come here and play? You get sun burnt. (Beautiful blue skies =no cloud= UV city) Well, anyway, it does not matter. They just come here to shop. Scurrying from Selfridges to Debenhams to House of Fraser, where air cond rules. And of course, they go to my CLARKS stores. :(

The summer sales here is really good. So, can't stop them coming, right?

:(

I didnt even get a pair of Clarks yesterday!!! My only consolation is a Beige BAG!!! (OK, plus 2 sample jar of Molton Brown face wash and scrub). The hannbad is SMALL, and yet look good on my rolly polly body. Where to find???

!! :D Next week, I will ransack Lilly Whites. Shhhhh..... heheheheh I think Singaporeans and Chinese have not invaded this place yet.

P/S:The FREE Toni and Guys cut was really good..... that was an experience! I should have discovered it earlier!!! Talk about it another day. I am busy plotting for free hair colouring now. :D:D:D:D:D

Yipee! Pleasant summer countryside drive!!

Yipee! Next week we are gonna hire a car to drive around the countryside, Most likely we will ROAM COTSWOLD, although I am tempted to do Northumberland as well. Britain is just so scenic, that watching those driving programs on tv will make you salivate....

Hubby found a site which is frills free, and a car goes for £27 a day or £125/week! That is less than 1/2 the prices that some major companies charge! And the best thing is the price seems to be the same, even if you do last minute booking. That is great, because we can check the weather forecast first before booking. Well, hubby seems to always find good deals, I think that guy just Google and Google and maybe click on every single ad availble as well???

Too bad we decided to beat the crowds and head off with just the two of us. If it is a weekend, the whole gang could join, £27 for 4 person is really peanuts! We got to pay for the petrol, though, but it won’t come up to that much, less than £20?

At first, I thought of renting the car from London, and then return it in another city, then take a bus home. But we don't have enough time to plan, and book early enough for those £1 tickets which we used to visit Oxford from megabus.com. The usual tickets will be costing around £10/person, so might as well drive!

It is summer now(or is it? I got to turn on heater yesterday, cos it was windy, rainy and was around 14C?). The sun rises around 4:30am, and sets around 9:30 at night. So , a day trip is a LONG trip, and we just got to maximise the time. The only limitation is we got to collect the car betwen 8:00am to 6pm. Hmmm.. that means that it is not possible to set off at 6 am and come back at 9pm.

Nah... I am not gonna to break my brains about this one. Let the "driver" decide. I am just gonna to snooze in the car, and only open my eyes whenever hubby shouts "sheep", "cow","horse", "canola", "beautiful hill", and any of the "wows!" :)

Shucks, I am not sure if he is able to recognise these things properly or not. I think I better make him go through some picture books, just in case he shouts "elephant" when he sees a big cow.

Addicted to Ebay for my Glateis Clarte!

The success of Ebay lies on its ability to get you hooked once you get a good bargain!

I bought three bottles of Lancome stuff, 1 Lancome Glateis Clarte, 1 toner, and 1 3 in 1 eye-make up remover cum cleanser and toner. I got 50ml each of those for £4+, which is much much chaper than buying from the stores! Now I am addicted!

The Glateis Clarte seems to have done wonders to my dried up skin. Wrinkles pop up all over my face. God is supposed to be fair, isnt it, you either get wrinkles or pimples, but I get both :(.

After enjoying all those "lovely" long winter and spring walks, I now got do many spots around my eyes!!! Damn. That will cost a lot of money to "repair". And the counters here don't sell whitening stuff. Nope. nothing! Lancome only sells bronzing, taning stuff, no whitening stuff.

white="pasty"=sickly=uncool=poor fellas who got no money to buy a self tanner or go on a sun worship holiday in Greece

I found a Shiseido counter in Debenhams and happily went there only to realise they dont carry the whitening range here. Ie, no Lucent lines, and no UV White ones.

Ok, back to that milk cleanser. Nope, it does not help with spots, but at least my face stop flaking.

My scalp is still flaking. I am starting to wonder whether it is dandruff or sun burn. :(

Cosmetics are so damn expensive here that I could only turn to my good old E-bay!!! Anyway, I dont dare to buy big bottles, as I am going home soon to the tropical weather. That means I will stop flaking, and start producing oil. :(

I had a thirsty, free, facial!

I redeemed my facial at Cannons yesterday.

What a surprise!

These Brits really know how to make use of ancient buildings. The gym cum spa was converted from an old steel factory building, next to the river Thames, and there are real cannons located outside this spa called “Cannons”. :)

I always thought spas reflect the culture of a country very much. After all, this is what people expect to get from pampering, ie REWARD. So, different cultures would be different.

If you go to a Japanese thing, the first thing you get when you enter is tea. Asians, at least Japanese and Chinese will definitely serve you tea, the moment you get there. It is hospitality; basic politeness. You get other varieties in Bangkok and other places, but you will definitely get something. And you take off different amounts of clothings in different countries for massages and facial, that again reflect the culture.

My first impression, is British is invaded by Eastern European. My therapist in another Eastern European.

This is my experience and “take home points” from my facial yesterday:

1. No water/tea/liquid whatever given to you. You are getting a facial, not drinks.
The answer? “Thirsty? There is nothing I can do for you. I am going to start now.” It was a warm day, and I walked a while to get there. By the time I got to the treatment room, I felt really thirsty! (I tend to get delayed thirst here, because even when you sweat, you don’t feel wet).

When the therapist ask me, “Are you ok?” I said, “How long with the treatment last? I feel really thirsty.”

The answer? "Thirsty? There is nothing I can do for you".

Since I was half naked, there was nothing I could do for myself as well.

2. Take off your socks!
Yup. I only took of my shoes. Little did I know that she would massage my feet for a while, to “relax” me. That was nice. Warm towel infused with aromatherapy oils on tired feet = HEAVENS!!!

When the session was over, I was shocked to see 1 of my socks (which she took off), lying on my branded handbag (my one and only branded handbag, which my super stingy SO bought to compensate for not taking me to US), and the other sock flung to a corner of the room.

My experience of living with Eastern Europeans enlighted me that they have no concept at all that the feet is not considered very clean. That is why you have people putting your used socks on your nice bag.

If I am not being used to getting shocked about what my housemates put right next to their shoes (freshly washed undies, put on a radiator, with the undies touching their smelly shoes), and where they would put your shoes, I would have been quite mad. Oh ya, my housemates also "borrowed" my plastic basin which was meant for handwashing my lingerie to soak their athlete feet!!!

3. The “aromatherapy” here is much more intense!
Much better quality oils, I suppose, and more generous amounts? I got four varieties oils added to my treatment- ylang ylang, lavender, rosewood, and lime. The lime was fantastic!

4. Massage skill of therapist?
Really really so so. She tried to do some acupressure, but it did not hit the points. I was pretty annoyed.

5. No extractions
No extractions, but I think the Elemis scrub and peel she used was good. Most of the large black heads are gone!

6. No hard sell.
Yup, no hard sell. That is the best part. My experience in some Singapore “spas” including having a “manager” going through packages with me as my extractions are done.

The facial was so-so. I must say the products and concepts are good, with "relaxation" stuff life warm towels, deep breathing thrown in to make me comfortable. That was great, but I would have been a very happy girl if she had given me a cup of water.

Post facial, she tried to introduce me to her products, but I did not really listen. I was just hurrying off to go and get a cup of water!

How to get free facial? If you are in UK, join www.nectar.com. The introductory period points are huge!

MAMMA MIA, that was GooD!!! ....and it was FREE!

Hubby was dragged out of his obsession with PC, and had to miss his World cup matches.
Of course, gave me the look that was like a buffulo being dragged to the slaughter house.

He was dead bored with the Royal philharmonic orchesta, and the Lion King "performance" was a shame!!! How could they just send two actors to represent the "cast", and just sang one song, " Cant you feel the love tonight"? Well, I cant feel their love, or their enthusiasm. Decided never to watch them!

If I were a mummy taking my kids there, they will surely go "mummy mummy, where is Lion King", and they they will repeat the question again and again while I try to answer, and finally yell" Mummy you lie! There is no Lion King"!!!

After the Lion King thing, hubby was like "are you sure, they extract the best from each show"? I think he was thinking lunch.

I managed to keep him there by whispering how much my very rich and cultured friend paid for STOMP when they came to Singapore. HE was then Ok, lets see.

STOMP was interesting. It is difficult to describe. But I would say they are a bunch of good percussionists, and I think it is a good work out for them!

But luckily, the cast from MAMMA MIA, spring onto stage and brought the whole Leicester square ALIVE!! That was really really great. They belted out song after song... Money money money, dancing queen, etc etc. They crowd was clapping to their music, and dancing to it. FUN!!!

Unlike the animals from Lion King which disappeared, the MAMMA MIA cast gave their best! That is what I call good ethics, whether is it an event for the public or in their own stage in Prince of Wales theatre, they give their best!

The other show that was fantastic that afternoon was the BLUE MAN GROUP. Not that well known in Asia, but this was really a show worth seeing! If there is one word to describe it, it is CREATIVE!!!! The tourists there were saying things like they never seen anything like this before. The show makes you wonder how many marshmallows a person can stuff into the mouth, and how big the mouth cavity is. I will be happy to pay for the show actually.

That was a fun day, and it was FREE!!! Not only we had free entertainment, we also had a goodie bag of freebies. Can anywhere else get cheaper than London?

West End Live 2006: FREE WEST END theatre on 17th and 18 June

West End Live 2006: Enjoy the best of West End Theatre for FREE!

Little did I know that it is possible to enjoy west end stuff for free this weekend! Too bad, got to miss today's events cos hubby is busy with volunter work. But tomorrow, I will wake up early, to catch the Lion King at 12 45, and the catch Mamma MIa!.

Althought these are just 20 minutes "excerpts", it is usually the best from each show! So it worth cancelling every other plan to head down to Chinatown. :)

And then I will move on to my favourite Covent Garden!

Haha.. I love London, always got free shows! I have been well entertained here, despite only forking out for one movie. The rest? It is free!

.

BURT's Bee's!!

Oh.. how can I forget Burt's Bees?

Their hand salve and lip balm is now legendary.

Oii.. anyone want to buy, better email me.

What to buy from London?

I am going home soon and thinking of what to buy from London!

There are stuff that are cheaper/better quality here. In fact, lots of better quality stuff. The problem is I don't have the $$$.

Since there isnt much time left, i will grab whatI can get, and hit the stores when the England team is playing. Oxford Street is a ghost town when England is playing, and there are sales (i think MNG is on!) for football widows to swipe their cards as a revenge! heeeheee.

Stuff to get:

1. SHOES!! - shoes are good quality here, and cheaper! I am gonna go for Clarks and Ecco! The clarks here are cheap cheap (£25-35), have more varieties, and there is always something on offer! If there is time, i will go to the clarks warehouse in Tottenham court. If not, Oxford street will do. :)
2. Health products: It is time to do massive purchase from www.healthspan.co.uk (for my glucosamines) and "attack" Holland and Barret for the Aloe vera gels!
3. PERFUME!!! How can I miss this? Will get these for my in-laws. I bought a bottle of Vercase Red jeans for my sis for less than £10! Gonna hit Beauty Base at Whitleys for the best bargains.
4. Cookies, biscuits, short breads, jams.....ow.. yummy! Fortum and Mason is the place! If William's garndma have been eating their food and is 80 a kicking, so will I! Hmm.. I wonder if I can get another free sample of the damn expensive Sjal eye-cream. :) heheh. They are very generous with samples. The trick is go go there well-dressed.
5. Moisturisers? Aw.. I hope I got some space to stuff in some goodies from Boots.
6. Tea? Must buy the Whitards' tea. They are sooooo good.
7. Wild and Natural- got to throng this store in Westbourne Grove and rub shoulders with movies stars and their "organically" fed and clothed babies. Shall I get that organic shampoo?

Hmm.. there is lots more to get, but my suitcase is sooo small! I wish I have a private jet.

Baked by the British sun

It has been HOT!

They call it the humid-hot, but to a tropical gal like me, it is DRY-HOT!

Yesterday, the temperature in central London rose to 32C in the afternoon. It was not too bad if you were outside, in the parks, on some shady pavements etc, because the wind was still pretty cool, unlike the warm air that you have in Bangkok or Singapore. But it you are indoors, you will curse!

Most homes/hotels/shops in UK do not have either a fan or air conditioner!
And there I was, stuck in the charity shop where I did my volunteer works, watching the chocolate bars melt! Yes, the Fair Trade chocholate bars were melting before our eyes, and sadly, not all could be saved, as the fridge was too small!

And the sun in London is unforgiving! I was wondering why BBC issue things like "high UV" as a "weather warning" (other weather warnings are gail storms, heavy snow, blizzards: ie all those important sounding stuff). Now I know.

The testimony of the importance of the warning: I am sun burnt, despite the cover of my "evening standard" umbrella, and my sunblock. Guess I need to do what the locals do, add a sun visor/cap and a big pair of sunglasses.

It is hot enough these few days to make you bring along stuff that you will pack for a Bangkok trip. But at the same time, you will also need a jacket/sweater, cos the temperature may suddenly dip to about 10+C at night.

I really don't think June is a nice time to visit London. If you give me a choice, late Aprils and early May would have been the best! You can see the tulips in the mild weather.

The definitive taste of Chinatown: Wong Kei : Eating Cheaply in London: Part 4

The definitive taste of Chinatown: Wong Kei

41-43 Wardour Street, London, W1D 6PY

Telephone: 020 7437 8408

Wong Kei or “Wang Ji” in London’s Chinatown has acquired a sort of cult status in London. Shocked by how shocked our friends were when they found out that we had not eaten there yet, we dutifully went there during our Saturday Chinatown shopping trips.

Wong Kei has three floors. And according to our friends who are regulars, getting allocated to which floor is a lottery.

We went in, told the waiter that there are two of us and was promptly shown to the basement. I feel like I walked into a “Cha Chan tang” in Kowloon. Basic furnishings and very efficient waiters who spoke in Cantonese! The moment our bums reach the chair, a pot of hot Chinese tea with two tea cups were on the table, along with two red menus.

My impression of that place?

1. Feng-shui-ed! A big fountain, pouring in water from the ground floor entrance to a pond in the basement!
2. CHEAP FOOD!!!!
3. Huge portions!!!!

I ordered a Won Tun noodles for £2.80, while hubby order fried hor fun with beef (£3.80).

I must say that the Won Tun only had bits of prawn, like the Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand versions, and too much pork to make up the size! I felt like I was eating pork ball-wrapped in wonton skin. The noodles were ok and the soup was not too bad (better than most Malaysia/Singapore hawkers, not as good as what you would expect from Hong Kong!). It is definitely a steal at £2.80, but definitely not as yummy as that in the Dragon Inn (12 Gerrard Street) which was very Hong Kong-ish!

My hubby’s hor fun was very yummy, with generous amounts of beef, although they over-cooked the beef slightly. Large portion- this is the first time a big eater like him packed the left-over home!

Verdit:

Price? One of the cheapest in Central London! The tea is free! Three of us had to pay £4.00 for a pot of low quality tea (very very bad, definitely “recycled”) when we had lunch at the Big China near South Kensington Tube! WYSIWYG- no extra charges apart from the already low prices on the menu. No service charge!

Service? We did not experience any of the legendary rudeness, probably because I speak Cantonese! They were very efficient, and friendly if you speak Cantonese, and did not expect you to tip!!! (The guy at Dragon Inn was hinting for me to tip him even after paying service charge!!!) They also did not expect/pressure you to order more! NO grumbles when you want to pack your left-overs, and there was no extra-charges for packing.

Taste? The Wonton is a let down. My hubby’s hor fun was yummy, and people around us seemed to be enjoying their char siu and other roasted meat.

Location? Chinatown London.

Will I go again? Yeah, definitely! That place got "atmosphere", and I want to go on a Sunday morning to see the full "glory" of Wong Kei's dim sum hour!

If you are in the Chinatown area, this is definitely the place to fill up your tummy or have a taste of Chinese in London! If you order “dry” stuff, and you are not a very big eater, you can easily pack your “dinner” when you take your lunch! (£3.80 for 2 meals is a steal, right?)

This restaurant is frequently mentioned in guidebooks. However, remember that this is not the best that London had to offer in terms of taste, but it is more like a glimpse of Chinese “culture” in London!

P/S: To see how "cult"ish it is, read the pages and pages of reviews when you google "Wong Kei"! Here is on example of reviews

and compare it to my all time favourite: Yummy duck- Four seasons at Bayswater
(FOUR SEASONS is a must go. It is a very "sinful" place, tempting people away from their religious practices with those juicy BBQ meat! If you are "lucky", you will see tables of Malay and Indonesian speaking people devouring their char siu, and I once seen another lady with a head scarf there...I tried hard not to *laugh wickedly*)

Other related posts:

Cheap eats for London: Part 3 (supermarket options)

Cheap eats for a short london stay: Part 2

Eat well, eat cheaply in London: Part 1

London is expensive? The insider's guide to do it in a cheap way.

News are always sensational in London: Dont worry about it!

Eg of headlines:
Chemical terror alert
London news: Police accused of a 'cover-up' over terrorist 'chemical plot'

MI5 fears silent army of 1,200 biding its time in the suburbs

London is a circus, or should I say the London media is a circus. We might all be used to the news of paparazi chasing royalty etc in Britian but most people don't really realise how sensationalized news can get in London!

The latest "sensation" is the discovery and "shock" of a police operation in East London (that seems far from my Bayswater). I was in the busy Bond Street Tube at Oxford Street (hunting for pepper sprays and personal alarms) when the Evening Standard came out with "fresh news".

Immediately you can tell who are the Londoners and who are not from their response to the headlines.

Londoners: Look, but did not slow down. Business as usual OR look, buy, walk off with papers, head for the Tube.

Non-Londoners: Gasp, slow down to look, varried degree of getting horried. Stopped in front of the newpapers. Look.

I saw a groups of tourists talking about the tube vs the bus while scanning the papers urgently.

This is London.

Should you believe the papers? Depends.

Are we afraid of the threat of terrorist? Yes, but we get sick and tired of being terrorised, after a while.

After an initial two months of getting horrified at the frequency of police cars, ambulances and fire engines rushing passing by with the sirens on, I am getting immune to it. After waking up with sensational news every morning, I am numb, even if the headline says "DOOMSDAY tomorrow!" I was concerned about the stories of the "BIG FREEZE", "COLDEST EVER WINTER" etc etc, but quickly learn to take the sensational news reporting of the British with a pinch of salt and humour!

If you are visiting London, make sure you don't get shocked by the headlines, and don't let them prevent you from taking the tube/busses etc! Sirens are an everyday, or every 2-hourly occurences. "Don't worry about it!", just like the Brits say!

Sleeping cheaply, but NOT SOUNDLY in London: The horror of staying in a budget hotel!

Poor gal.

She had been squatting down to shower! And there was only LUKE warm water! Thank goodness that it is summer now!

The water pressure on that fifth floor room was unpredictable, and there is a risk of having no water dripping (yes, it is DRIPPING) out anytime! (ie when the fellas downstairs showers)

Since this is a glorious and sunny weekend in London, there are no single rooms for £15-20/day, and she got to put up with it. We have been checking out those budget hotels and hostels in Bayswater, but there were no single room available for less than £30/day. There were nice dorms though, but that won’t do as she is not typical tourist, she got her laptop and need a room to get some work done. I am glad that she would be off to Paris in a few days!

I slept badly, knowing that she is staying in a place with men who associate Asian Women=Geishas! I have been hunting for those personal alarms or pepper sprays for her up and down Oxford Street, and I could not find any!

Ok, which hotel is she staying??? Just check my previous post. I just don’t bother mention that name anymore.

Honestly the hotel is a good deal-great location in London. For 125/week and you get a single room with your own bathroom, you can’t fault it. BUT… make sure they don’t give you the top floor, and be very careful if you are a gal, especially a pretty Asian gal. Those Middle Eastern men are Geisha crazy now!

Related postings:
Sleep well, sleep cheaply in London: Part 1

Spent the day hotel hunting........in Bayswater, London

Spent the day hotel hunting........in Bayswater, London

I spent the day hotel hunting in the Bayswater area with my friend, and it was no fun!

Poor gal, she kind of like felt conned!

Cutting the long story short, she was shown a nicer room two days ago, and when we checked in today, she got a another room.
Problems?

1. There is renovation going on, outside her room.
2. The "builders" were non-locals, and one of them look very hmmm....., you know that kind of look that will tell a girl to BEWARE! Wolf!
3. One of the workers came seems to be a Middle East man and tried to chat us up. Ok, maybe it is a cultural thing, but the eyes are like; they have never seen women who are more beautiful than us? (ha ha!)
4. There was a girl (East European?) smoking outside the hotel, her pupils were dilated (what was she up to? prostitute? someone here to make some quick money?), and my friend noticed bruises on her face and body(hmmm. our imaginations ran wild!!!).
5. Security is lax. Main door was not locked. You can walk to the staircase leading up the room without anyone noticing you.
6. No hot water!!! Only luke warm water dripping inconsistently!
7. She was given the top floor! Don't rejoice, there was no lift! More than 80 steps to the room, we were huffing and puffing all the way!
8. Her room was in a corner, it felt cut off from the main corridors, that kind of place which I felt no one would hear you if you scream and it did not make me feel safe!
9. No additional safety lock for the room, you can't have something to ensure no one can enter while you sleep!
10. Dodgy dodgy dodgy..............
    

We have been looking around. Thurdays in summer is no good to hunt for a good hotel bargain. Many good bargains are taken up. Only dorms left at the rate we were prepared to pay- £125/week.

We will be doing more hunting later.... wish us luck.

Added some notes to yesterday's posting (Sleep well, sleep cheaply in London: Part 1 ) about her hotel in RED. Our verdict is the hotel is good for guys, or two or more girls, but not for a single ASIAN girl. They have got something for asian girls, thanks to Memoirs of a Geisha.

Related postings:
Sleep well, sleep cheaply in London: Part 1