Jasmine Chia

A view from their common dining area, it is quite breathtaking and pleasant when sitting there having breakfast.

Truth be told, when I arrived I was ill-planned and ill-informed. I was not aware this place is going to be naturally cooled throughout the place, i.e. no air con, until a day before arrival. We always love a good family gathering, this place works out perfectly for us. It can accommodate many people at the same time and have ample space for everyone to sit together and chat.

Don't expect your Starwood points to be of any use in this remote area. The villa is located deep inside some remote village, around the edge of some forest. Leaving the villa compound can be quite tricky, it involves exiting from the gate that requires key from the local residents and it's usually locked. You can put away the thought about driving out to buy necessities especially in the middle of the night, we have no idea who to ask to have the gate open too.

One of the many villas available. Villa Shorea is currently the biggest that can accommodate the most number of occupants. One of the cons with this villa is the common kitchen is next to it, so you will be disturbed not just the noise from the kitchen but also the smell.

Looking out from one of our windows. Everything look so serene and calm. The noisy cicadas and crickets will be the only music that will accompany your stay throughout.

You might wonder since we're staying out in the open, we might get mozzies attack but to our surprise, we didn't get any of that. Flying insects may not be an issue but creepy crawlies can be. We experienced an attack by the red ants army in one of the bathrooms in Villa Shorea. Not something you can easily spot with their dim yellow lighting especially at night.

The temperature at night though, is something you need not worry about. One of the nights here, we experienced a heavy rain fall in the evening and the temperature became quite chilly at night. I had to wear my thick jacket to sleep.

One of the helpers hired from around the area. The villa offers in house cooking so that you need not worry about your meals. This is also part of their way to create job opportunities for the villagers around here. I have only tried their breakfast spread and I think it's quite a good try.

A different view that makes me wonder if I will see a Godzilla of some sort coming out from their hiding tonight.

One of my favourite things to do, sitting on the bed by the window.

One of the chandeliers that I have no idea why I'm fascinated with it but I really like the idea of high ceiling. It makes the whole place seems bigger. Over here, if you are a fan of Ikea, you will easily see that a lot of the loose fittings are actually bought from there.

In between our villa and Villa Bougainvillea, is a swimming pool. The pool can be shared by all guests that stay there. We also rented the opposite villa but it's much smaller. Suitable for couple or small family.

This place has a picturesque view in the morning and can certainly capture lots of likes and shares on your Facebook. There are also fast developing the surrounding with more villas to cater for more demands. I suppose that is a good indication of how good this place is but I certainly hope they will retain as much of their nature as possible because that's the very reason why we are there.

Villa Shorea // Kampung Pantai, Jalan Jelebu, Seremban // Open daily

Destinations - Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Villa Shorea: near wilderness experience

A view from their common dining area, it is quite breathtaking and pleasant when sitting there having breakfast. Truth be told, when I ...

Image: Aravind Yoga

Yoga for some people is a form of exercise to relieve their stress but to me it’s an exercise so that I don’t get the nasty PMS every month (ah the woes of being a woman). It’s like my pink panadol and if I ever skip then I’m signing myself up for a very bad stomach muscle cramp, very often ending up with me rolling on the bed and breaking out in cold sweats.

When I first started practicing yoga, I didn’t know it would help with my problem. I was only doing it because my friend wanted to try it out but too shy to go for it alone. After a few classes my friend quit but I’m still hanging on to it.

Anyway, a lot of us practitioners are aware how often yoga centers blossom and fizzle out rather quickly. For the unfortunate, they will often end up paying lots of money then only to realize few months later the center has closed shop and they will have difficulties to get refund.

Fortunately for me, I found a very good yoga studio, Aravind Yoga. It is a small studio with simple setting and run by two very warm and friendly people, Christopher and Phillippe. One of the reasons I enjoy here is for their small number of students and the instructor is able to correct your pose quickly. There is also no mirror to make you feel conscious about your body so you have better focus on your stance.

They also engage very experienced instructors and are usually quite consistent with their timetable, example I usually go for Monday that is taught by Phillippe Kerrelle and Thursday by Jonathan Ong. If there are any changes in schedule, they will usually update us via FB page and even if the teacher is on leave there will be a replacement teacher, so you won't miss any class.

Every now and then they will conduct workshop for the more serious yogi that want to further improve on their skill. Sometimes they will even invite oversea guests to conduct the workshops and it’s very beneficial to practitioners that seek out to learn from different perspectives. The teachers will also get to update and absorb the new knowledge from oversea instructors and impart what they learnt to people like me who are only interested in attending regular class.

Of course being a small studio there are things that can’t be compare bigger studios in terms of facilities and benefits. Their changing room can be a bit crammy. You also don’t get a lot of space to hang out after class. As mentioned, this is a small yoga studio, so don’t expect for classes like hot yoga or pilates (no shit Einstein). But I can assure you the teachers here are definitely comparable in terms of their skill.

Their website and FB page is quite updated, so if you ever need any details or information, you can retrieve it from there. In the meantime, I will continue to reach out for my toes.

Aravind Yoga // Facebook

Lifestyle - Monday, June 01, 2015

Review: Aravind Yoga

Image: Aravind Yoga Yoga for some people is a form of exercise to relieve their stress but to me it’s an exercise so that I don’t get t...

Models and celebrities gathered together for a final group photo

Recently I was invited by a friend to attend a fashion preview at Elegance Club along Jalan Telawi. I've always drove by the bungalow but never step foot into the building. So this time it's a good time for me to check out both the fashion show and the jewellery house.

This time the fashion show is a collaborative work between two locally renowned brands each showcasing their finest in this season's collection. They have adorned all models with beautifully tailored clothes and matching jewelleries to go with the each other.

It's my first time attending a fashion show where models get to mingle among attendees. It provides us with a different perspective and we also get to view the pieces in greater details. The models were very cooperative, posing for us so that we can have a good angle for our pictures. Although on the other hand, my legs were aching towards the end of the show as we are kept standing with not much seats available.

Lisa, dressed in one of Ridz Collection

One of the latest piece from this season's collection, also one of my personal favourite.

Model wearing clothes from Ridz and adorned with jewellery pieces from Elegance Club.

This is another one of my favourite pieces, I like the idea of having a cape. Makes one feel more elegant and precious.

A famous invited celebrity, Rozita Che Wan more lovingly known as Che Ta. She is also wearing from one of Ridz's latest collection. It's perhaps the one that I like the most of all the designs that I've seen that day.

Miss Rozita being served by the lady boss of Elegance Club, Datuk Tracy Ong.

Of course, not to forget my picture time with Miss Rozita herself.

A group pictures of myself with other attendees. I was also wearing one of Ridzuan Bohari's masterpiece and I really love that the dress comes with lots of feather like frills making the dress looking even more outstanding. Thanks Ridz for such an entertaining afternoon!

Our news got a bit of coverage too from the Malaysia Tatler magazine. Lisa and myself is even featured in one of the photos there.

Events - Sunday, May 31, 2015

Event: Ridzuan Bohari Collection 2015

Models and celebrities gathered together for a final group photo Recently I was invited by a friend to attend a fashion preview at Eleg...

Events - Thursday, May 21, 2015

Event: Largest TV Ad Network in Malaysia

Not too long ago, I attended the AEON TV Network pre-launch, a collaboration between Unique Platform and AEON. The plan is to install over ...

I never really understood some of the people's fascination over beach holiday. A beach holiday will absolutely involves being under the sun and to me that's a big no-no. We have all heard about the damage that can be done being under the sun yet it doesn't deter people away from it. All the talk about skin cancer haven't deter much people to worship the sun.

Not too long ago, when Ron mentioned that we will be heading to Phuket for Songkran festival, I was not the least bit excited about it. Images of me getting sweaty and tanned instantly conjured in my mind. Needless to say while he is all hyped about the excitement awaiting while I am making a mental checklist of the things to bring to block away the sun. Armed with the highest SPF lotion we finally made our way to the island.

Bangla Road, it is where the water war will begin before the rest of the town. If you're not interested in getting wet, check their calendar before coming. I've seen puzzled tourist getting all mad when being splashed with water. Please don't get mad because you're not suppose to and people won't care whether you're carrying a camera around your neck.

No amount of preparation will be enough. Be careful of people wiping you with perfumed powder all over your face. Some of these powder they used can come as strong smelling while some can be just some harmless baby powder. Oh and don't bother about rejecting it because they will do it anyway.

One of the more memorable shootings was when Ron and I shot water at a local young man and he return with two buckets of cold water and rained on us.

In the mean time, it is also Phuket Bike Week. The town will be filled with people riding huge bike and in groups. All will be proudly displaying flags from the different factions they represent. Also lots of local delicacies can be spotted, all gather in a corner so you don't have to find them all over the place.

We spotted a mod car that looks like one that came out from a scene in Transformers. Sometimes it's amazing how much effort and money one is willing to spend on a hobby they are crazy about.

... and of course some alien looking bike for the enthusiast. I think this guy got his inspiration from one of the aliens movie that I cannot recall. Maybe someone can help me on this (perhaps?). I am more interested to see if this bike works.

Beach - Sunday, May 03, 2015

Phuket: Songkran 2015

I never really understood some of the people's fascination over beach holiday. A beach holiday will absolutely involves being under the ...

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Jasmine Chia

Villa Shorea: near wilderness experience

Review: Aravind Yoga

Event: Ridzuan Bohari Collection 2015

Event: Largest TV Ad Network in Malaysia

Phuket: Songkran 2015

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