Facial at Clarins, Ipoh

It was my first time getting a facial at a "branded" cosmetics counter.

I understand that Clarins has "institutes" in the bigger malls like OneUtama, but here in Ipoh Parade, they have their counter and a room. As I am still hunting for a good place to get my facials, I decided to try out Clarins since I had received a birthday voucher for a facial costing RM145, for which I would only have to pay RM68.

So off I trooped to Ipoh Parade. It's quite difficult to get a park on the ground level under the shady trees but I spied one last empty space - only that it was blocked by a large SUV with its driver inside, obviously waiting. Should I just park in the basement? No, I like the ground level parking. So I drew up abreast of the waiting SUV, got out of my car and indicated that I wanted to park in the spot that was being blocked. The driver obliged and reversed her SUV to clear the way - good lady.

Now, the facial. The Clarins representative first gave me an "examination" - gently pressing on my face and pinching softly. She announced that my skin was "fair" and "not dry, not oily". A pretty good assessment, I thought. Then she went on to explain that at Clarins, they provide a facial treatment with cleansing and facial massage with Clarins' pure plant oil. Ok with me....but at the end of the facial, I feel that at the price of RM145, Clarins' facial is grossly inadequate. There was no steaming (to soften the skin and open up the pores), no extraction of oil heads, and no multiple times of cleansing and scrub. Just a very cursory cleanse, scrub and massage with the plant oil. I am not sure if there was even a mask at the end - everything was done so quickly and with so little of the creams, lotion etc. applied on.

For the price that Clarins is charging, I was very disappointed with Clarins. Perhaps the Clarins Institutes do a better facial.

Feet care - see a podiatrist

Have you ever had a corn on your foot? You know, it's really uncomfortable as the corn gets larger. Each step you take, you feel something poking into your sole.

I never had a corn until about 4 years ago. I went to the little park near our house in BU and played some impromptu badminton, without the proper shoes - and taa daa, I had the first corn in my life. And the sad thing about corns is, once you've had one, chances are that they tend to recur, at exactly the same spot. It's so true that we have to keep our body well and in good condition - one little breakdown, and your parts are never as good as they were before.

The first time I had that nasty little thing removed, I didn't know better. I went to my company's panel clinic, Klinik Famili at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. The doc there said sure she could remove it. But she performed a mini surgery! Went for my little corn with swords drawn, needles piercing, blood letting and bandages rolling - youch! I couldn't walk properly for a day after.

When my corn reappeared, I thought there's got to be a better way. I researched about podiatrists and whether there were any in Malaysia. Very few, but I found one in Sunway Medical Centre. I had to get a referral and that same Klinik Famili was very offended and reluctant to refer me to a "podiatrist" because a GP could do it for me (I don't think the GP even knew what a podiatrist is!)

Ah, professional feet care at last! The podiatrist removed my corn in about 10 minutes, with a scalpel BUT there was no blood, no pain, no anaesthetic, no needles, no bandages - it was marvellous. And I could walk and run normally immediately after that. The podiatrist said GPs do not know how to treat feet problems like corns etc but there is not much awareness about that here in Malaysia. In hindsight, I should have sued Klinik Famili for their negligent treatment of a very minor foot problem. And Klink Famili is on the panel of so many government bodies - hmmph!

Now that we are here in Ipoh, I had to find a podiatrist. I had very low hopes of locating one here (Ipoh being a small city and all) but to my amazement and delight, my husband found a British podiatrist practising here in Ipoh! We visited her last weekend and she removed my corn using the same painless method as the podiatrist in KL. Even better, she massages the feet briefly and she is able to do reflexology too. We were informed that she will soon be providing her services to Kinta Medical Centre.

So, the next time you have a foot problem - corn, ingrown toe nail, fungus on your foot - do check out a podiatrist.

Qing Ming Festival

Today, we went to pay our respects to the deceased parents of my father-in-law - a yearly ritual observed by the family. In all, usually about 7 families would turn up for this occasion. The elders in the family would be my parents-in-law and and my father-in-law's brother.

The whole group would arrive at the cemetery around 10am, and tend to the grave and begin laying out offerings of food and drink, as well as lighting candles, joss sticks and joss paper (spirit money). Every family member would step up and offer to the ancestors joss sticks, and pour some tea and wine onto the ground. The finale would be the lighting of fire crackers. We also do not forget the graves neighbouring those of our ancestors, as we also walk around and offer joss sticks to the other graves.

The entire family would then adjourn to the nearest relative's place to enjoy the food that was offered to the ancestors - the menu for the day usually consists of generous portions of roast pork, roast chicken, roast duck, char siu pau (steamed pork buns), chung (rice dumplings), cake, colourful steamed buns (fatt ko) and fried noodles (always cooked courtesy of Eldest Aunty thank you Tai So!) And so the event would conclude by lunch time.

Some believe that Qing Ming originated in the Tang Dynasty, with Emperor Xuanzong. Yet others associate Qing Ming with Jie Zi Zhui, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Qing means "pure" or "clean", and Ming means "brightness". Whatever practice is observed, the basic observation of Qing Ming is to remember one's elders by making a special effort to visit their graves, ashes or ancestral tablets. To make the visit even more meaningful, some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors.

Luxury health holiday in Ipoh?

Are you well heeled, or at least willing to splurge on a luxury holiday that is meant to restore your well being or to reduce your stress? Then perhaps the Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat, owned by Sunway Group, in Ipoh is something you would like to try out. (http://www.thebanjaran.com)

The Banjaran opened its doors to guests this year, with lots of advertising over the radio. I also noticed new signs on the major roads in Ipoh directing you to the Banjaran.

Well, last weekend we decided to check it out. True to its desire to be exclusive, the Banjaran does not permit casual visitors to enter the retreat. You need an "appointment". The guard at the entrance turned away several cars, including ours. He also handed us an information sheet quoting Banjaran's opening special of a 2 nights/3 days package which includes accommodation, aromatherapy, spa cuisine menu etc. at RM1,990 per person for a twin package.


Sound attractive to you? Let me know all about your experience there!

Rolling in something smelly

No, I'm not referring to the recent MCA election results.

My white, gentle female lab-mix who is usually very obedient, clean and docile came home yesterday after a jaunt out smelling like s*&@! I thought I had stepped on some poop or perhaps some animal had died on my car porch. But I could not find the source of the offending smell until my maid yelled that Bonnie (the dog) was a walking smelly-bin!

Yucks! She smelled like poop and a dead animal combined. Really, really disgusting. It reminded me of a dog I had when I was a child. I caught it nosing and pawing at something excitedly. Upon checking, I found that it was a dead rodent of some sort. Before I could do anything, my dog madly and joyfully leapt onto the carcass and rolled vigorously onto it. Then my dog regained her senses and started bounding towards me for a pat. I, of course, ran away from my dog, screaming!

So back to my Bonnie in the present time. The only explanation for her bad smell is that she must have found a carcass outside the house and rolled in it. This is such a weird behaviour of dogs. The general thinking out there is that dogs roll around in a carcass to mask its own scent in order to hunt effectively - in other words, it's instinctive so there's no point punishing your dog for it. The joy of having pets .......

MCA is LOST

I read in disbelief and great disappointment the results of the MCA elections.

The "wisdom" of the MCA central delegates has put Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek aka "the one in the DVD" in the post of party president, while Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai aka "I will stand by my President- maybe I'll try and push him out- I'll stand by my President again - maybe not" was chosen as deputy president.

With such people helming MCA, and the central delegates supporting them, it is clear that MCA can no longer, and does not want to, serve or be relevant to the general voters.

On the side, it is admirable that Datin Seri Wong, Datuk Seri Chua's wife, was able to stand by her husband's side and demonstrated her affection publicly with 2 congratulatory kisses. Great is her forgiveness and tolerance.

Hunting for a good dentist in Ipoh

Now that my family is settled in Ipoh, I need to locate services such as dental, facial, medical etc. here.

For paediatricians, I have tried Dr. Lim in Fair Park, Dr. David in Ipoh Specialist and Dr Tang in town. My children don't really take to Dr. Lim as he appears rather grouchy. Dr. David is thorough and caring, but he is extremely popular and there is always a long wait for him. Dr. Tang is now our regular paed.

My hunt for a good beautician is still ongoing.

As is the hunt for a good dentist. We still go back to KL for that. But just this week, my maid's molar tooth flared up again, causing her pain and discomfort. It definitely has to go. The nearest dentist to us is Kuan Dental Clinic in Ipoh Garden South. It is close by, and you don't have to wait long.

I guess the reason is because Kuan Dental is very pricey, and as for its quality, I am not very impressed. I was charged RM 90 for my maid's cleaning, scaling and antibiotics. The dentist on duty said that the molar was impacted and infected. It can only be removed once the infection clears. My maid's feedback to me was that the dentist (a middle aged lady) was quite rough and she felt quite a bit of pain during the scaling. Also, my maid said there was spray all over her face! Not to mention quite a lot of bleeding. Sounds like a bad job to me.

Scaling done by a good dentist should not feel too uncomfortable and there should be little bleeding. My dentist in Desa Sri Hartamas always cleans thoroughly yet gently.

As for surgical removal of the molar, Kuan Dental told me it would cost RM650. I checked with another dentist - Dr. Teh on Hume Street - and I was told it would cost RM350. That's a huge difference! But we haven't tried out Dr Teh yet, so the search continues......

Facial at Casa Mia

I've relocated to Ipoh for just over a year now, and I still haven't found a place to have a facial. Not that there aren't any beauty centres here - there's plenty. But I just don't have the confidence to go to any particular one here yet, as the few that have been recommended to me seem, well, below average. Even my friends who recommended them to me said it's just so-so.

What's left to do? Return to my usual beautician in Desa Sri Hartamas everytime we go back to KL and I can squeeze in the time during our trips.

I just had a badly needed facial 2 days ago. Casa Mia has been having a body massage and facial combo offering at RM138 - one hour of massage and another hour of facial. It's great! I rarely fall asleep during facials but after an hour of soothing body massage, I actually dozed off.

I sure hope I can find a good beautician here in Ipoh....soon.

Children - kindness & cruelty

It has been a good, family oriented Chinese New Year celebration. As usual, lots of eating and meeting up with relatives we don't see very often. Keeps the ties connected.

We were at a friend's open house last night. And what I saw of children's behaviour concerned me.

After the food was served and tummies filled, some of the kids ran into the house to play together. Most of the adults sat outside chatting and eating. As is my usual practice, I would go check on the kids after a little while.

I found my kids in the TV area, playing. Most of the kids were around my son's age while my daughter was the youngest one there, just following whatever the older kids were doing. When I got to the TV room, there was one other mom sitting there. I sat down to watch - the TV as well as the kids.

At this time, the kids were already into what they were doing - and that was having a pillow fight. But the pillow fight was not a random pillow fight with unspecified targets. The kids had somehow targetted a boy and they were all hitting him with pillows. The girls were particularly vicious and persistent. I saw my son enjoying the spectacle, and joining in as well as encouraging his sister to do the same. My little girl hit the boy once with her pillow, then stopped. The victim was not a small boy, and if he retalliated, I am sure some of the girls would end up in tears. He was however, restrained (I like to believe it is because of his good upbringing) and merely shouted his warnings to his tormentors to stop. But at breaking point, he pushed one girl and swiped another with a pillow.

On my part, I signalled my son to stop participating in the "bullying". He complied, a little reluctantly. And I said to the group in general to stop the pillow fight. The other mom sitting with me said nothing. The mom of the victim arrived shortly and told her son to behave himself and not make trouble. Of course, the boy was aghast and protested that he was being attacked. But his mom did not reprimand the other kids, and merely repeated her request to her son to behave. An older sister of one particularly vicious girl came round and led her away.

Now, in such situations, what would you as a mom have done? Many would feel that until and unless things got really dicey, they would say nothing. They may instruct their own chidren to stop playing or lead them away from the area. But I am certain no mom would reprimand other people's children. The "mind your own business" mentality, or "the other mom would not like it" kinda thinking. So we just stand by and allow the kids to bully? The kids there were all about 9 years of age.

When we got home that night, I sat my boy and girl down for a talk. I told them that what they did was bullying. Targetting someone and attacking that person as a group. I asked the reason for the attack, and my son couldn't say. I asked if it was fun. He didn't deny it. I asked him to place himself in the boy's position and to feel whether he would like it. I explained to my kids about compassion and doing to others what you would like others to do to you. I told them in any bullying situtation to walk away and to report it.

Chidren can be cruel. Don't fool yourself into thinking they are innocent and kind and know right from wrong. They need our guidance so much.

Some Malaysians still do care

As I approached the large round-about with the fountain on my way home after dropping my son off at school, I noticed that a lady on a motorbike had somehow lost her balance and had tipped over on the left lane. Fortunately, she must have been going slow as her bike was leaning against the raised pedestrian footpath on the left lane, and her school going child was already sitting down on the footpath. The mother had some difficulty uprighting her bike.

I was driving on the left lane, approaching the distressed motorcyclist. I slowed down and turned on my hazard signal, and was wondering how I could assist. Well I didn't have to, as an Indian man and another Chinese guy on their respective bikes were stopping to help the lady.

My heart was so glad to see this today, and the lady on the fallen bike was smiling - so all was well.