freezing london

wet - cold - gloomy. that was how i was welcomed to london during my interview cum career fair trip. excited with the idea of a chilled winter, snow (on first few mornings) and xmas season but i was overwhelmed with my current workload and the idea of being apart with baby yeyen. aauuww... to begin with, 12oo flight was an emotional one when i could hear cries & goo-goo- gaa-gaa of 10 mths baby x (as name is unknown) few seats behind me. dah la tu, they ran out of nasi lemak for breakfast. huh! arrived on 23 nov morning & headed straight to hilton kensington. though it's going to be a 7 nights stay, we don't have much time to shop & wonder around as time is limited. had a big gigantic breakfast to fuel the energy for the day, we went straight to the never-to-be-missed oxford street. i guess we were not the only one excited. we waited for the shops to open despite the rains & the cold winter breeze. i have 150 pound to shop for eta & few penny (tipuu..) for my self. mothercare, marks& spencer, selfridges, debenham, boots, next, ann sommers etc ; you name it. but tak la mengacam sangat pun. things were not on sale anyway. duh.. if any, it was all on winter stuff (coat, wool, boots, jumper) which i don't need them.

+ xmas in the air at westfield, the new shopping complex next to sheperd's bush station+

+ feels like little girl in fairyland. hyde park was one big funfair. with ferris wheel, ice skating. and yes, that was my strawberry crepe with hot choc and donuttss (tak sempat nak ambik gambar sebab dah telan) +

bought some souvenirs, lingerie & baby wear (orang pesan) , food stuff ..ok la..but having found Primark really makes my day as it is very much suited for commoners like me. it's never on sale but everything is cheap. since i don't have the whole day to queue for the fitting room, i ended up buying baby stuff - jeans, jumper, sock all averaging 2 - 3 pound. anyway, me & yati shopped like mad from 1030 am until i realized both of my feet crooked. it's already 5 pm & dark, we marched back to marble arch station, but stopped by at clarks (the sign shown clearance sales!). the sales girl were so delighted to welcome us, clearly seen from the shopping bags left & right, we spent another round of 70 pound for the 2 handbags & my leather office shoes. terus pakai pulak tuh! dalam keadaan tempang we walked to hotel from sheperd's bush (8 mins walk). the moment sampai hotel, baru terasa lapar and we had hotel dinner (soo sad & miserable as we realized it the same menu for the entire week). today desert bread puding with vanilla sauce, esok bread puding with choc sauce. huhuu. anyhow, we enjoyed the dinner as the diners were all old folks who looked miserable during winter including us.

+ at bicycle bombay club as recommended by ashish, our hilton reception guy. hot & smoking, southern indian food.
had chicken curry & aubergine. good food, great gossiping buddy. worth every 30 pound+

the next day, same gigantic breakfast(same food) and we went to queensway to go to MSD. i need to clear few interview arrangement, met abang E (hehe.. i won't the bet, eta akan belanja xmas buffet) and singgah oxford street to tukar baju kat mark & spencer. then straight to knightsbridge for harrods. shop at harrods, not cheap but just grab few items sebelum kempunan di kemudian hari. but the tragic part was when i lost yati & on top of that my phone was out of batt. yati pulak don't have anybody contact no. except me! i ended up balik sendiri after waited for 20 mins and prayed hard no one will kidnapped me or yati along the way (drama!!.) we met up at the hotel (phew) and happily we went for the hotel dinner (again) to celebrate as no one hurts. the next night, we went to have a bollywood indian dinner for two at bombay bicycle club at holland park ave.

the next few days were dry as my interviews & career fairs had started. i stayed at the hotel to administer the interview arrangement & met ichah, my old friend to pass her barang dapur yg dipesan. sorry ichah, i forgot your rempah kurma babas!!. met florence & the gang and other head hunters. on my last day too, had gathering lunch with ali jalal & his family at his apartment in ealing. makan laksa johor and enjoyed the ride back to hotel. it's amazing to have friends who settled in london. interesting people, wonderful experience. oohh ya! not to mention, london is very much affected by the financial crisis. it's good to big shoppers as there's loads of xmas offers as compared to last year to boost local sales. whether you will enjoy the xmas offer is a second thing. but if you enjoy perfumes, partywear & eying for winter items, you will benefit the most.

+ big malaysian dinner at satay house with the rest of the team. florence and her endless taugeh affair. the ayam masak merah yg dah 3/4 empty tu, akulah punca nye. memang sedap+

my next trip perhaps, will be more well planned and include bicester village i presume?? he...he..i enjoyed the trip very much & very assured will come again next year. the only unpleasant thing would be the bad red marks i had on my skin for the itchiness of the cold & hard water. it's terrible. and MAS ran out of nasi lemak againnNN on my flight back home.