Birmingham

Last weekend during the August Bank Holiday (otherwise known as our Public Holiday), we made a short trip to Birmingham. We've been looking forward to this holiday since coming back from Southampton a couple of months ago. Coincidently, this trip is to be part of our 6-month anniversary celebration. Yes, it has been 6 months already!

One of the reason why we head to Birmingham is because Penny (pictured above) is studying there. She will be done with her studies soon, and we thought before she decides to move somewhere else, its best we catch her there first. We have been catching up mostly on MSN when we arrived in London and its been very good to meet up with her finally.

We went to Victoria Coach Station on a Saturday morning, took the bus and about roughly 3 hours later, arrived in Birmingham. We walk to our hotel (about 20 mins away), Formulae 1 Hotel (shown at the background of the mushrooms). No pix of the hotel rooms though, cause it didnt turn out well. Its a dormitory-style with a hotel layout. Technically, it means its a room for at least 3 person with a small basin and TV. Bathrooms and toilets is located outside the coridor and it is sharing basis. Having said that, the rooms were one of the cheapest for a night stay (about £28 per room per night, regardless of whether its 1, 2 or 3 persons), and the toilets and bathrooms are very clean. Its one of those cubicles that self cleans everytime after someone uses it. So, I was quite impressed. It was Des's second 'encounter' with Formulae 1 hotel concept, first being in Paris, and that is how we came to know of this place.

After unloading our bags and refreshing ourselves, we went back to the city to meet up with Penny. We were told to go to this place called the Bullring (one of the many large shopping complex). And yes, SHOPPING COMPLEXES!! How come London doesnt have any?? Harrods doesnt count because it doesnt have rows and rows of shops in there.

This is St Martin Cathedral. There were many cathedrals in Birmingham, but we skip most of them as we werent keen to look. As you can see, the weather was great! It was bright and sunny during the day, and rain during the night when we were sleeping. Perfect!

And so, we meet up with Penny and it was lunch time by then. She took us to this Malaysian restaurant place (what to do, there is no famous Birmingham-food also!) and we had a wonderful lunch! Fish, mussels, stuff toufu and even pork's leg vinegar!!! *pengsan*

After lunch, we walked around the city. There is this huge market that runs on a daily basis and both Des and I LOVE markets! There were times when we were in Genting that we drove down to Connaught just to go to the pasarmalam! :P

The market was huge! There were the vege market, butcher's market and nicknacks as well! Stuff here are so cheap! A HUGE bowl of tomatoes is only £1 wherelse in London only a small bowl is of the same price.

£1 per umbrella. At this rate, can use one everyday! (Bear with us, dont convert, otherwise, no use...). Then there were this huge sheltered market that sells really cheap stuff from cheap watches to cheap levis to cheap bags.

See! Even Sainsbury (equavalent to our Tesco and Carrefour) doesnt sell towels as cheap as this! And so we explore the market part of Birmingham for the rest of the afternoon and slowly make our way back to our hotel after that.

Once back to the hotel, we promptly fell asleep for our nap and woke up later for a quick dinner at the hotel lobby. That was when we took the picture on the previous post with our beers. Hehehe we took a short walk around the area and sadly, there werent much to see as we were right along the highways so there isnt much to look.

We went to bed early and woke up early too! This is because we have a long day in front of us! We are set to go Cadbury World! :) Pictures of Cadbury World will be updated in a separate post. And remember the first picture that we took with Penny at the beginning? This is how the place looks like in the early morning while the shops has yet to open. It will be pack as the day moves on...

Tadah! We spend about 3 hours there gawking at the chocolates and grabbing loads of it back home! Overall, we both enjoyed the trip as we both love chocolates and its been good to go. Though, I would only recommend this place for strictly Cadbury lovers and families with kids.

Somewhere while walking to Cadbury World, we come across this. Hehehe proud to be Malaysian!

After Cadbury World, we went back to Birmingham. Its about 10 minutes train away. And after a good round of chocolates,we decides to walk the calories away and came to this canal-like place, Quayside I think its called.

This place reminds me of Camden Town, a place similar in London with the river and loads of place to eat around it. I had been wanting to post pictures of Camden earlier on, but things seems to get into the way. I promise it will be up soon.

We decided to hop on one of these canal boat rides that is about an hour long. Turns out to be the most boring rides we've ever been. All it goes was along the canal showing us run down factories and horrible looking buildings. Apparently, there were some history involve, something about how the canal was important to Birmingham as it is used to transfer goods or something back in many many years ago.

Luckily the boat was very comfortable, with seats and tables too! Too bad we were too full from Cadbury, otherwise, it would be very nice to share a meal in the boat as it was a very steady and slow ride.

While walking towards the canal, we pass by this place called the Victoria Square. Its just basically an open space surrounded by famous building like the Town House, some Cathedral again and also some lawyer court thing. But the highlight of the square is this...

Yea, this best explain how much the angmoh loves the sun, sea and sand. Since they cant go to the sea, they brought the sand over. And there werent one, but TWO of these kinda inland outdoor sand place in the city already! This is how much they love the sun... Sheesh...

After the boat ride, we went to a nice place by the canal for dinner. The weather was great, it was still bright, but cool cause its towards the evening. And had a good time enjoying our dinner while watching people walk past by.

See what I mean when I said that we fail as a food blogger? Usually, we'll tuck into the food and forgot all about taking pictures until we finished. Anyway, I had chicken roast while Des tuck into a steak. And then we shared a pitcher of Sangria. Mind you, it was a huge pitcher and it took us forever to finish it.

And that was the end of the 2nd day for us in Birmingham. After the dinner, we're back in the hotel. Its been a long day, and whilst making plans for a beer later in the night, we crawl into the bed for a short nap only to find ourselves waking up next morning...

And up the 3rd day in Birmingham. And this was to be our last day in Birmingham, as we have arrange to take the coach back to London in the afternoon later the day. And so we packed up, left the hotel, and dropped our luggage in a luggage storage place and explore the place a bit more.

We hopped to Chinatown, a small street compared to London. Initially, from the exterior, I thought that this is bigger than London but after careful examination it turns out to be quite a small place. But nevertheless, we found some stuff that was sold here that was not available in London. Suprisingly.

Found this cute looking shops that sells old school sweets. The jars and jars of sweets looks so tempting. We would have bought something if not of the Cadbury's that we bought already. Hehehe

Truth be told, when we told our colleagues and friends that we're heading up to Birmingham for the weekend, we were given some not so nice review. We were told that Birmingham is not a pretty place nor is it famous for its sight seeing. Something about World World II bombing which destroy the city and it has to be rebuilt quickly, hence the ugly buildings.

Our verdict? Its alright actually. Its very much city around the shopping area, and though I admit there were some unpretty sights towards the outside of the city, I wasnt particularly bothered by it. Think Petaling Street next to One Utama. Cadbury being the highlight of our tour, a 3D2N stay seems to be sufficient for a relaxing holiday. In fact, being told that Birmingham has nothing to offer has lowers the expectation and I'm certainly suprised to see that it was not what we were told.

In fact, we bought so much stuff there that we wouldnt normally find time to! We did some shopping, i bought jackets, jeans and shoes, Des bought shoes and socks as well. The clothings are all from Primark, a place that sells dirt cheap bajus, like £2 for 6 pairs of socks or something. We even have to buy an extra China bag (costing 50p!) to put the extra stuff in. Somewhere in the picture were loads of chocolates, two jar of Nasi Goreng paste and of course the Cadbury Chocolate Fondue set that was already featured previously. And our favourite, a bag of Mishapes, where all the Cadbury chocs that are rejected cause doesnt pass QC. Mind you, they are quite expensive, but part of the fun is discovering what you eat cause you can hardly identify them.

And so that was the end of the Birmingham trip. Next trip in the calendar, hopefully Manchester in Oct for a couple of days. So that gives us about roughtly a month to recover and hopefully save some money for the trip. Hehehe...

Cadbury Chocolate Fondue Recipe

Hello! We're back from Birmingham! Pictures still under processing, so upload this quick make-it-yourself chocolate fondue first.

Items required for fondue: Cadbury Chocolates, Fruits, and an electrical Cadbury chocolate fondue set.

Husband to chop chocolate into small bits and add a teaspoon of butter. Can add cream too, but we dont have.

Dump everything into Cadbury fondue set (cost about 13 pound) and set to heat II to start melting process.

Meanwhile, wifey can help out by cutting fruits into small pieces. Can curi makan to remind self how fruits actually taste like without chocolate coating.

Stir chocolate slowly as it melts.

Continue to stir until butter and chocolate are fully melted.

Take picture of husband and wife team while waiting for chocolate to melt.

Once in the right 'condition', set heat to I (keep warm).

Cucuk fruit using Cadbury plastic skewer that comes together with the fondue set and dip into chocolate.

Wait, cannot eat yet. Another picture before our indulgence. Then, can eat!

And so, this is the recipe for Cadbury Chocolate Fondue.

Ten minutes later...

Warning: Limit to once a month. Otherwise, cannot recognise already :)

Hello from Birmingham!

Arrived in Birmingham! Its been a long but a very good day. Cadbury Land tomorrow! Wait for pictures! Love, D&A and the beers...

Bridal Dress

And so begin our hunt for a wedding dress. The objective was not so much to buy one, but rather to just try it out for fun, look around to see the various design, and to see what we both like. Apparently, there is a market here to buy wedding dress. If you look at a typical angmoh wedding, it will be ONE wedding dress for the ceremony, picture taking and the reception afterwards. Hence, it makes sense to buy one. But for us, back home, it is a bit tricky as we will usually require at least 3-4 dresses to last through the wedding album and the dinner reception. Hence, the norm to rent at the studio that will be taking your pictures.

Below are the few of the dresses that I've tried on. All pictures taken from here and here. All the dresses in this post I've tried on.

My Dream Dress - ₤1,600

Few weeks ago, Des and I make our way to our first bridal shop. Bridal shops usually works by appointment only and we managed to squeeze an appointment during one of the weekdays. Appointments usually last for an hour. Perhaps, maybe because it was during a sale and they were in a rush, an hour usually means I could try on about 4-5 dresses.

2nd Choice - ₤2,000 (love the back details, but the front part is a bit plain and its actually two toned dress, the dress is white while the lace is brown)

I was asked what kind of design I've been looking for. And with a deep breathe, I told her exactly what I've been practising, "I dont want plain, I dont want boring, I dont want simple". And I continued, "I'm dont want anything that does NOT show on camera, I want loads of designs, I want loads of details, I want it special". And so we picked up a few to try on, one was horrible, one makes me feel Cinderella-ish, one is boring, one makes me fat, and one makes me feel absolutely special. And that carries a price tag of ₤1,600, after 40 % discount (refer 1st picture). Ok, imagine it without the ribbons (cause when I tried it one it was without the ribbons).

2nd Choice - Close up (Initial checking shows that the corset itself cost about 1.3k)

So, hopefully, from the above pictures, you'll be able to gauge what kind of dress I have in mind. Ok, maybe the model is very tall, but when I tried it on, the back has a small train to it. Everything about the dress I like. Its not simple, its not plain, its not boring. And its not white, and I really like the lower part of the skirt with the tulle sticking out. The sales girl was doing a fantastic job, and i think for a short 2 seconds, I did think of buying it. She even did the 'Close your eyes, imagine your wedding and open your eyes' trick. And it works.And so, we left the shop with my dream dress in my head. And I think I suffered the wedding-dress-withdrawal syndrome for a week after that. Apparently, what they say about wedding dress is true. It does makes your special. It does makes you feel magical. But they didnt say anything about you feeling absolutely horrible when they strip it off you...

It looks lovely, but I its something that I wouldnt want

And so, after a few weeks break, I felt that I am stronger and felt that I am ready for another round of hunting. A new bridal shop just open near where we stayed, so we waltzed in one weekend and made an appointment two weeks later. Admittedly, I wasnt too sure that we'll be able to go due to Des's schedule, but at last, we made it.

Close up - See what I mean when I say details doesnt show?

I think it is very important that the details shows on camera. Afterall, if it doesnt, I could have gotten a much simpler (and cheaper) dress right? Hence, the surefire way of showing is to get elaborative designs. I wouldnt mind this on brown though, I noticed I tend to notice brown a bit more...

Simple Dress - Very garden wedding-ish

The second shop we went were less crowded. In fact, I was the only one by the time its my turn. And I turned up half an hour earlier too, and they were nice to accomodate me. Hence, I get to try on WAY more dress than the first one. I think I get to try about 7-8 dresses. So, with this opportunity, I get to explore more types of dresses (didnt they say to try everything?) Even the simple ones like the one above. And it re-enforce my choice of elaborate designs.

Back view of Simple Dress - The only reason I choose to try it on. But sadly, it also re-enforce my reason why THIS is not for me.

If you compare the four dresses u've seen so far you'll noticed that three of them have corset. And that means its more flattering. The problem with the above simple dress is that there is absolutely NO WAY of HIDING ur bulges. Plus, you cant wear anything to SHOW OFF your curves. Plus, this bareback dress (which ironically is the only reason why I decided to try on) also reminds me that I shouldnt choose a low bareback because my lower back has stretch marks :(

A simple-but-not-so-simple dress

Oh and did I mention no pictures allowed when I try the dresses on? Which explains why there were no proof that I've tried all these on. Frankly speaking, by now I sort of have a somewhat good idea on what I DONT want. Veil wise, I wanted one that ends at the waist length, which I think looks more flaterring. The dress above is plain, but apparently this shops takes in orders as per customer's requirements. Noticed the vertical design on the dress? Imagine the white dress with the vertical design in COLOURS, say, gold or light brown. NOW it looks nice right??? The image instantly reminds me of this.

Adding on a lace like 'jacket' - looks so much more classy

I've noticed that although simple one-piece dress does look classy, but its difficult for me to carry because I'm not tall enough to have it. Also, it is not as fitting as it should be, but i think if I were to consider BUYING a dress, something like this would make a very nice purchase. Plus, it would be easier to store AND i think it will stand the test of time (in terms of fashion) compare to the normal corset and hoop skirt number...

Fish tail Dress - Tried this and another similar one, realized it makes my hip looks HUGE.

By now I also realized understand the term how "how you should wear the dress and not the other way around". Despite the fact that I've wanted (and tried on) some outrageous ones, I need to remember that I need to be able to carry in, otherwise, everyone will be talking about the dress and not me. Aiks...

Another outrageous dress - Not tall enough for this, absolutely eat me up!

And so, after more than an hour, we walked out of the shop with the codes of the chosen dress. But without a second appointment for fitting. So far, admittedly, we have been looking through dresses that has been WAY out of our budget. All the above dress is about 1k-2k range. Although, the trend now is to order wedding dress on eBAY, where they post up pictures of the dress from designers, and someone from China could duplicate the dress for you for a fraction of the cost, hence we're talking from ₤2.50 (yes, two pound fifty pence) to ₤300, depending on the bidding price. Plus, simple designs can also be found in departmental stores for about ₤300 or so.

So the end of our 2nd trip to bridal shops. Perhaps, sometime in weeks to come, we'll find time to go again. Its fun to try on the dress and seeing what works and what doesnt, but it does feel a tad sad to know we wont be able to afford this. And knowing that we've seen here makes me dread home to done on the tacky bridal dress and evening wear that is usually found in our bridal shops back home. At last, I now see the difference between designer and non designer dresses.

On a happier note, we'll be heading to Birmingham end of August for a short trip! So pictures is definate by then! :)