Customer Service Is Hard

 Even though i own this business, i do everything from A-Z, including customer service. 

After 6 years being in this industry, the more my business grows, the more you meet all sorts of people out there. 

And then you begin to wonder who brought up some rude and inconsiderate mother of the god people.

I had to write it down, my blood is boiling haha

please, i know is not professional to be complaining but is my personal space anyway. 

i bet a lot of sellers dealt with it anyhow. 

first up, everything is written in the post clear and acute, 

pricing, measurements, 

i'm okay if you dm me to ask what's the material and probably asking which sizes should you take. 

but i have people who doesn't read , price is there, 

"how much"

measurement is there 

"what size?"

i had also included a label (preorder) so that people would stop asking me whether is ready stock or not

"readystocks?"

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Secondly, i find it hard to believe

someone bought a rm25 top from me , and beg me to have it cheaper. 

i say no i cannot, i was nice and polite because she had already paid for another item 

she beg again. 

Rm25 top to have it cheaper.

And then she has the meek to send me another top asking me to find for her. 

i had one look at the picture and i knew this top cost price will be more than rm39 at least, is very good quality the picture is from europe fashion series, is obvious is going to be expensive, and judging how she bargain for a rm25 top, i'm not wasting my time to search it for her.

So i ask her what's her budget.

"RM20"

"impossible, sorry i can't find with that price"

"oh, how much is yours?"

"Rm45"

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thirdly, 

i had only 3 annual sales, my pricing is quite affordable to be honest, 

is already 11% off for that item , i'm only earning a packet of nasi lemak for one item

someone ask me for a coupon code on top for that 11% off. 

???

i cannot ..

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Fourthly, 

postage. I don't understand why up until now people still do not understand that postage fee is paid to the postage company, not me. If you want your item to be posted, i charge a postage fee from you and pay the shipping company to post to you

"hi, i'm from KL, also need postage fee ah?"

"you can pick up if you want, is at xxx xxxx"

"too far"

"then can postage"

"can lalamove?" (obviously going to be more expensive than my rm8 postage)

actually ah, i don't know why people can buy rm30-50 clothes but can't pay rm8 for a postage. 

plus i offer free delivery service if you purchase rm150 and above, i pay it out of the profit i make from your order, and one day,  someone had the cheek to scold me that she had to pay rm2 for receiving fee, just because her building management charge her a rm2 fee for receiving the parcel on behalf of her, which clearly she should be questioning the management, and not me. 

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Fifthly

people that ask a lot of questions , send you a lot of stuff , in return never buys

:)

i had one very weird customer, (should i even call her customer when she didnt pay?)

i have a thorough review on one bralet, yes only one bralet but it has a lot of colours la. 

first first, she ask about the quality of the bralet and how it looks like when worn

i happily showed her my ig story review, it was very sui, i sold hundreds of the bralet from that video

then she ask the cup got push up or not

is the padding removable

will it loose elasticity

what colour do i recommend

anymore bralet to recommend

(i thought she wanted to buy another, so i show her another type)

then she ask the differences between this two

and which more comfy , which more nice, which more popular, which should i pick

then her questions repeat again, 

which one padding nicer, which can last longer, between these two which colour should she pick

she repeats her question and i repeat my answers

this go on for a week,  on a rm24 bralet which have thorough video and review on 

i decided to ignore her repeated questions after that 

best thing is, after few weeks, she sent me another item and ask the same questions again.

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Pictures

yes, i do help people search for items they would like to buy

but some people might have take my "willingness" for granted

they sent 10 items and it takes a really long time for me to search for a product similar to the picture they sent

after sending in with the pricing and everything

they seen me

._.

i just cannot understand.

Some even better, after that she told me she has no money to buy,

why waste someone time just for the sake of filling your entertainment

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Sixthly

i'm based preorder, i know i been dealing with so many urgent impatient buyers all these years i decided to plaster my PREORDER word everywhere just to make sure they know what to expect before buying. 

is on my website header, shipping details page, my ig story, my ig story highlight, my instagram bio, even after you paid the email also reminds you that this preorder item take 14 working days at least to reach

and i still gets messages like this

1. paid on the 24th oct

On the 26th oct, hi where's my tracking?

"Hi item is preorder based, it takes at least 14 working days to reach"

"So long?"

"Hi, preorder item needs time to be posted over to Malaysia, sorry, we don't sell readystocks here"

"Can you make it faster?"

??

how do i make the whole airline logistic company speed up one parcel?

how? even if my parents were to owned the logistic department, i don;'t think i can control the protocol sop for it to reach malaysia at such speedy time. 

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OCTOBER

 Last 3 months before 2020 ends 

I've been feeling that i have to fulfilled whatever resolution i had before 2020 ends

Here's what i'm planning to do on this October. 

1. Everyday To-Do List

i believe that it makes me more discipline if i listed out what i'm suppose to do throughout the day

2. Buy more stocks for Chic Ann

i realise my racks in Pop is like so empty some people thought Pop is closing down. My goal is to get at least 100 items on the rack this month and in order for me to be able to make more money for my monthly rent, i have to at least sell 100 items to earn my monthly target goal for Chic Ann. 

3. Learn more about Shopee

Fash Grace has a shopee account but not all products is in there. Although there are quite many users that viewed my page so far but i know well i can't fight Shopee other sellers that marked their prices way lower than mine. The only thing i can fight is to sell niche clothing items that they can't find elsewhere even at TB. Also i want to learn about Shopee algorithm and so on. 

4. Snap readystocks for Chic Ann

honestly there was no new update on Chic Ann last month even though i had brought in new stocks . My photoshoot session failed and realise the clothing item that i picked doesn't match the style of Chic Ann. I contemplate a lot whether to upload it or not but decided not to because it just doesn't feel right for the style. Probably just refilled at Pop to sell out as soon as possible. I always procrastinate when is time for shooting real stocks because it is NOT EASY. Very time consuming and tired ! i don't understand how much effort i had to put in just to earn a few hundreds for that collection, but for contents i have to force myself. 

5. Vlog, Food , Health and everything nice

This is for myself. I'm thinking of doing a nice vlog on my everyday life,  or what i eat in a day, i enjoy watching those videos haha, and i want to loose at least 2kg so i have to keep watch too. Not sure for this goal i am able to do it or not because this seem like not a NEED for me. Sometime how i wish MCO starts again because i was VERY hardworking during MCO period, i had a fix day on which day to shoot videos, which day to shoot photos, i launch my new collection every week and from there i start to build a momentum in earning really good from that period. 

I guess that's it, hopefully with listing it down like this i am able to keep my goals intact. 

xoxo

Ann

Before i start, this is me

. 

Wow it has been 2 freaking years since my last post, I wanted to start afresh you know, but realise there are so many memories here why not just continue. I probably read everything back when i'm 30 and probably cringing at my post 5 years ago. i wanted to delete everything but deleting it just doesn't feel right . this is me after all, raw and honest without bothering to correct my grammar mistakes.

For those who secretly viewed this blog, hello, yes, is me. My name is Ann, and i had been selling clothes online as a full time job for 2 years now, (hope this is not hard selling but do check it out: www.fashgrace.com) 

This blog is so raw, you can feel my passion changed throughout the years. From someone who has an undying love for music and blog to now a business money driven girl staying at KL. I have not even a second thought of being an online seller back when i started this blog, look at how things grow. 

What's my progress so far?

1. Full time business owner

i owned two online shop apparel now , one sells preorder ( FASH GRACE ) and another sells readystocks (CHIC ANN). Honestly i put so much time and effort on Fash Grace, Chic Ann looks like a side hustle now.  

2. I had a retail space 

Chill girls, is not a physical store but is a retail space at POP by Jayaone. Is very entrepreneur friendly and rental friendly and staff service friendly. The vendors there are not really surviving right after MCO (omg i don't want to elaborate what is MCO here after leaving such a big gap), so up until now there's not much vendors left standing which is not a good sign. How is that not a good sign?  yes you might not have competitors left but you might not have that much walk in customers left too with that little vendors left standing in that space. My space is still there till 2020, no worries, will elaborate more on this space soon. 

3. I rented a unit in KL for work based. 

i had already moved twice at KL! I didn't like the first location that i picked , it was at Setapak. rental there was around RM1350 for a 900sqft unit. It was affordable, food there was affordable because there's TARUC student market there,  but so not nice to eat. environment is full of foreigners i got harassed once in the lift and decided to move after that. Is very scary after all, so i decided to move to a safer place in Tropicana area. Damn, you got to be real rich to live in a place like this. Food is not cheap, the grocery stores are Village Grocer of Jaya Grocer, you live next to a golf course so you would know the eatery there are targeting rich tai tai and not me, obviously. But at least i feel safe? Rental is cheap though but of course i have to buy my own fridge and washing machine. Wow, there's so much to elaborate on, will blabber on it next time okay. 

4. I'm still with my boyfriend

We'll be hitting 5 years together this November. is the longest relationship i've ever been and yes, we had moved in together for 2 years already so you know we're serious. I'm just waiting for a ring :D

5. My business is growing steadily but not rapidly

You know how you feel you're useless each time a new growing business just surpassed you just by launching it in one year and you had been building this business for 6 years with very slow progress? I'm probably feeling it right now, there's a bit of good business vibe start of May - August and then this month has been slacking off because August i did a mega sale where the orders are insanely piling up, i decided to focus on sending out the parcels and orders and not much on engaging my September sales. So yea, business has their ups and down. One minute you're rich, the next minute you began to worry what went wrong. 

6. I gained a lot of weight

I sat a lot, i packed a lot of parcels so i slouched even more because i'm always on the floor so the extra baggage was my stomach. I didn't know i was that self conscious until to the point i can't fit into many nice pants and jeans. So yea, to those who knows i had gained a lot of weight, please shaddup , i know about it, you don't need to tell it in front of my face. thank you.

Probably end here before i blabber too much and make this post boring

xoxo

Ann

I am a boss

My internship is over! I cannot believe that i survived two and a half month of doing things that are not right for me. Right after internship, i went back home happy and excited to get my business prep as a legit and permanent job. 

It is hard, up till today, my parent are still very skeptical about this e-commerce thingy being "permanent" and not having a stable job. 

But i like what i do, although there are sometime customers are pain in the ass because i am also doing customer service job, which include replying to impatient people who would scold you for replying slow or delivering slow (even though it is not 10-14working days yet)

These are obstacles, 

below are goals.

As you can see, i really need to find a space for keeping and packing stocks, because i had literally no space left at home. 

So i tell myself, in order for my parent to think i am having a REAL job and not wasting my life sitting at home in the room, i need proper planning to make this business grow. 

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1. What type of clothes business?

I did some survey, my sister keep bugging me to self manufacture my own clothes, but i know well my market audience are not the type to buy premium ready stocks (this would cost me to loose a lot of money if i dive right in )

As i devote myself into the e-commerce world, i realise there are four type of clothes business going on . 

1. Ready stocks (which often retailing price are expensive to cover any loss) 

2.  Preorder (retailing price are cheaper because they have nothing to loose)

3. Self manufacture clothes (price are premium price because dude, you literally "handmade" everything)

4. Daigou (which mean you go to a certain country for a week and help people buy clothes in that country)

Currently, mine is Preorder, i tried to do "readystocks" but it always tend to fail/cannot sell out/ stocks kept in storage box so long i just cheap cheap sell out in the end. I wanted to do readystocks because i know many people would love the idea of paying today and getting it by tomorrow. But literally, i have my own ready market audience now, and they like low price, for me to sell readystock i need to mark up at least 50% of the modal so that i won't gain so much loss, but, again, people like low price. This is one of the obstacle. 

I won't go too far with self manufacturing my own clothes because, like i said, i do not have a strong base of readystock customers. 

I did Daigou twice a month last time just for shoes, (it was crazily pack!) and would love to venture into clothes, the thing about daigou too, the waiting time is long because you need to ship it from that country to Malaysia, but again, people like diversity. If you get it from Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, stocks that they cannot get it themselves, the market is wide for that, plus you get to travel

for free.

In conclusion: i will stick to Preorder and also Daigou (twice a month) as this two are pretty safe. You may say the revenue are quite little and this business will not stay long, because there are so many shops out there doing preorder as well. 

I want to say that the biggest and top 1 clothes website in Malaysia (SallyFashion) are based preorder up until now. They do sell a few readystocks but they are known for preorder. I am going toward that direction but i am also offering an extra special service: doing permanent Thailand Daigou in addition to my website. 

Special leh. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Get an office

 i need to find a space to work. After surveying small entrepreneurs out there like me, i come to conclusion that there are a few option to choose. 

1. A retail office (retail in front, office at the back)

2. a small studio apartment as an office

3. two offices: one for headquarters, one for retail 

4. work at home 

 Me and my boyfriend had figure out the best space is a landed house but in Penang, it is not cheap at all for renting a landed house. 

We opt for an apartment unit, with two rooms at least, one for me to sleep, another for keeping and packing the stocks. The living room will be my office space and photo shooting space (this mean i need to find a good lighting spot for the photo to turn out well) 

on the other hand, i also worried that it feels like i am kept in a prison because i sleep there, work there, stay there, i am afraid i get depression from not going out. Ho Ho. But i guess with proper layout of the office (make it work condusive) and having fun with my own photoshoot, i think i can manage it well, 

sounds like a dream home. 

Better find one soon . 

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3. Get your shop registered

Yes, by registering, you can proudly tell everyone you own a business, you can get your own enterprise, you get to be called a boss, your customer will trust you more because you are legal, and legit now.

Nice leh, but it comes with a price. 

You are entitled to pay tax. 

I don't mind paying tax but my account sucks. (i am a top scorer in accounting back in secondary school by the way, now i don't know why i have to take out my calculator to count 7+5)

I don't think such small business should also even hire a part time auditor just to clean up the mess, haha. 

And everything need a receipt and invoice after that, which means more paperwork, more jobs, more trouble, more problem. 

That's the pain you can get. 

Not only getting tax by government, but you also get individual tax as well. See how many tax you get after registering..

After registering, the government will monitor every transaction in your bank account like scare you earn too much and you don't deserve earning that much .

Another good thing is that you can open a business bank account, which mean no more feeling pain whenever someone ask you to help pay something something and then you see your own personal account like not earning money because you keep using whatever you earn to pay for something else. 

I need to be thoroughly discipline after registering. 

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5. Get a website

From all the planning, this is the only plan that i had put my butt into it. I bought an e-commerce website, me and my boyfriend had been working on it so hard because we both are not really tech-savvy when it comes to all this html stuff. Right until now, there are still many things we haven't understand on how to operate certain functions. Me on the other hand, try to upload like gazillion products on it so that it syncs with whatever i uploaded on instagram. (there are about 1000+ items on my instagram, i am dying)

The reason why i got myself a website is because i believe with a website, i can reach out to more people. Although after buying a website, i heard from one entrepreneur telling us that a website doesn't work, he only gets one order from it so far (mind you, he gets 1000+ orders on shopee and lazada) 

this makes me question myself whether if this website can work or not. I know not many people would like to flip open their laptop or computer just to browse your website and purchase something on it when it is so much easier on whatsapp or instagram.

But a website helps you to keep track on the order they placed (zero error in packing!) and also keep tracks on your progress, it syncs with other marketplace as well, plus as a customer it benefits them too. They no longer need to scroll thousand and one time just to find a certain product. With a website they can just browse according to category, to search word. They get the measurement on hand, they don't need to wait for anybody to reply their messages to give them confirmation and bank account or to calculate the whole total for them. This slows the process, but a website makes it fast!

this is what i believe in. 

On the other hand, i am still left with two weeks to work on it. The website will be launched this 1st of June.

Do stay tune. 

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 6. Get post friendly 

This is not much, but for me, and only me to do so, i hurt my back previously just for carrying too much. I don't wan to hassle myself to drag bags and trolleys of parcel to the post office just to get blank stares or frowned by the post office workers. 

So yes, another plan that i took the initiative to do was to register an account with Poslaju under Easyparcel. 

They provide pick up service, which mean they pick all the parcels at your location instead of you dragging packs of parcels and hurting yourself all the way every week. 

The only thing about Easyparcel is that it is a middleman service, their system are quite slow in updating, which worries me because it would take an extra 1 day for the customer to get their item . 

and sometime they missed pick up which makes me very frustrated. so i rather drop off at the nearest poslaju office, so then again, i am still considering whether to continue with Easyparcel or not. 

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Yup, that's pretty much it. i only made 3/6 from planning and is already mid of May. I need to get it done fast because i don't want to be slacking off something that i've been dreaming so much every single day. 

A dream is a dream, but a dream can be real by acting on it. 

I often get inspired by so many sellers out there doing it on their own or doing it with a partner and they manage to do it big. Some quit their full time job for that, some juggle between their 9-5 job (i salute this). 

Right now is the e-commerce world, youngsters are quitting their job to start their own business, revenues are higher than getting fresh grad pay, but how do you make that revenue into a CEO, a boss revenue in order for you to be capable to hire people, to start a REAL office, to be eligible to be called an entrepreneur? 

I'm working on it.

I believe i can

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XOXO

Ann

Depressed

Hello April! It's going to be a month till i finish my internship! A lot will say wahh so fast, but to me is quite slow . I feel like i'm dragging myself every day going to the office trying to put up a different mask than what i usually wear. 

So a few days before i start my internship, i felt really nauseous, weak and no appetite to eat anything at all. I went to do a body screening test to see what's wrong with me and it turn out that i'm low in red blood cell and i have a lot of stomach wind from not eating anything. Thing started improving after i start my internship because it's Chinese New Year man! you should be happy! everyone is happy, food is great. 

But things start to fall apart right after that. Being in a small company where your boss is opposite where you sat, your colleague is closely related to him, and there's only three of them. I meet them everyday, I am a very introvert person, i like to do things alone, and most probably be very glad and grateful if you just leave me alone and let me do whatever stuff you want me to do. 

but i was trained to talk, to present, to reply, to answer, to think, to be challenged as well.

I find this a phobia, because, like i said, i am a very introvert person. 

I don't talk much, i have speech problem, i stammer. 

So this is a challenge. 

And being bullied badly before back in secondary school had lead me to be very self conscious all the time. Like i will REALLY care what you said to me and i will SELF BLAME myself. I will feel like i am not doing a good job, i feel useless, 

and therefore all these negative thoughts clouding over me, 

all these worry-a-lot situation put me into this state whereby i cannot find pleasure in eating or going out anymore. 

Consuming food is a challenge. 

I am literally force feeding myself because i know my body needs food to go on.  it has been weeks since a good dinner. 

One of my course mate talked to me on how she too, cannot get to eat because of stress and fear. 

I totally agree on her statement that FEAR consumes everything. Is not that i am stressing because there is hardly any workload given but i am stressing to be a different person everyday. I am IN FEAR of what they think of me and judge me for my incapability. 

this is a learning process. I KNOW, you don't have to tell me, you don't have to remind me, all these things i know very well. 

But can someone control how they feel. How many times i had blocked it but ended up feeling overwhelm and felt like throwing up after that. 

The panic attack is real. 

Not to mention, i had panic disorder a few years back and i DO NOT want it to come back again. 

Sometime i really hope for someone to help me. 

I need help.

i need professional help that can hear me out instead of my boyfriend constantly telling me "don't get depression, is not good, be healthy, you have a business to run after that."

Like as if people who get depression ask for it?!

nobody ask to get depression. 

NOBODY.

I know i am very much lucky as compared to my other coursemates where they are reprimanded for every single thing they do. Whereby they have to work 6 days a week and long working hours as well. I am so so lucky as compared to them. 

and then i realise, maybe i am the only intern in my company. it feels a bit better when someone is going through the same process as you in one company. I think i enjoyed a little during pre-production week where there are a few freelancers coming in and they were a few years older than me where i can chat and make friends with them. there wasn't any "hierarchy" between us and it feels so much at ease. 

now, is , just, me

This is the longest period in my life, there are so many time i wish i can runaway and focus entirely on my shop business but i know i can't. I need that DEGREE. 

 i am wishing that it will end soon. 

xoxo

Ann

ps: 30 days left

Staying in KL alone

I had always wanted to stay alone and had my own little room but i didn't expect it'll happen so soon. I'm thinking if i'm ready for it or not. 

Yes, i finally got my internship after weeks of worrying. I got into a production company and the office is ah-mazing. The boss, the colleagues are very friendly and i had a nice little table with me on my own working alongside with all of them. It's only 3km away from where i rented so driving to there seem easier. 

This is my cosy corner, i purposely went to kaison to buy the grill bar again because it is sooo instagrammable. i came across this tropical leaf carpet and bought it at once without thinking. the table is just temporary because i haven't got any much space to carry the big table with me yet. 

 I've decorated the walls from my bed so that every morning i wake up, i can see these amazing faces of my family and boyfriend. Unfortunately i really need a stronger tape because the fairy lights dropped down so many time. aiish

by the way, i've already felt the loneliness so hard because i'm staying with strangers. I do not know any of them and their dogs scares me. Practically the only space i have is my room which fortunately is pretty big (can sleep at least four people in here ) 

 Boyfie came down to sent me off too together with my parents. I teared up when we bid goodbye although i know is insanely crazy to tear up because in another two days i be coming back for CNY. haha, 

i just felt the sudden rush of loneliness, i never know i hated loneliness because i always like to do things alone. so this i how loneliness feel like. Is like you didn't even want to go out because you be eating alone in this strange new world. 

not to mention, my parents are awfully worried because my housemates are mostly male, the dogs are really fierce, i'm staying alone, i had to drive, my work sometime requires me to stay up for 24 hours. 

But it'll be 3 months. I tell myself, it's a challenge, it is something to face when you are growing up. 

Not only that, i am also nervous because tomorrow my parents are going to take my medical report for me. I've been getting really nauseated and my panic attack keep coming in frequent each time i force myself to eat. I can't eat. I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel nauseous (note, that i am not pregnant, lol) my heart will beat fast and i starts to hyperventilate if i eat more than just a little bit. 

I felt there is something wrong with my body

i'm worried 

hope all is well

xoxo

Ann 

Adult-ish

Just got back from my intern interview. I'm not going to tell where but well, it didn't go well but, mistakes are tend to be learnt from. 

On the other hand, i must say i am PROUD of myself for getting through it alone without my parent's accompaniment this time. For the first time i felt grown up, excited yet scared. I didn't go alone though, but i went with my other friends who were called up for the interview too. 

It was a comfortable trip there, the hotel is the best! they not only free upgrade us to a family room but also gave us free breakfast just by liking and sharing their facebook page. For a budget hotel, i didn't expect any 3 stars service but they even ask if we need grab car or anything, they had printing service, dobby service, internet service, a game section and also 24 hrs free coffee, tea and soya bean to drink. 

Okay, i can't control myself from promoting this hotel, but here's the name of the hotel

ONE AVENUE HOTEL

Alright, back to my rant. I'm home now, suppose to study for my Thursday mid term exam but hell i need to "REWARD" myself with some chilling videos for traveling so far to an interview haha. 

not to mention, i had starved myself to death two days in a row. First day i had only DINNER as a meal and today i had no lunch and had my dinner at 8.30pm. 

. 

not to mention, walking back alone after dinner was a challenge with all my heavy bags. (nope, didn't take grab because i used up all the quota so far)

I still can't get over the fact of eating alone in public because of people walking pass and giving you judgemental look like " oh poor girl, she has no friends, she's eating alone." 

or you meet someone you know and they will also think the same. 

That's why i always prefer to just "Dabao" back whenever i had to eat alone or i will go farrrr farrr away or to a secluded eatery place so that no one will care. 

I actually feel much in peace there , eating alone, is not that i am scare of feeling lonely, but i am scare of people JUDGING me. 

okay. i'm done ranting. 

I need to study

well at least the front cover of my book.

XOXO

ANN

Why Worry?

It's been ages. 
Yes, 
Ages since i write something down here but still, i do not want to delete this precious blog of mine. 
It's a hectic week, the week where you have to shoot your final year project video, do finish your thesis and also hand in your seminar papers by end of the week. 
and i manage to do it while also handling my shop which apparently is moving at such crazy speed, my mind starts to blur in terms of multitasking. 
I'm pretty good at multitasking, this is how i manage my stuff pretty well.
but this week is C-R-A-Z-Y

and i survived!

I want to talk about internship, seeing that this little thing can be such a huge ass worry maker for me. 
Firstly, i get so worried at choosing the right company for me. 
Secondly, i get so worried when my friends got calls and they were selected already, whereas i got no news. 
but yesssshh i got a call to go interview this Tuesday, and i'm excited till the max. Excited, yet, still worry a lot. 

i've been thinking all day and night ever since their first phone call, worrying what if i did not do my best during the interview session, worrying that my mandarin sucks, worrying that i am not good for them, worrying that they can see i'm pretty self conscious about myself all the time. And i know i worry because i WANT this. 

just like how i worry my customers do not like the clothes, and every feedback messages they sent me, my heart keep beating and praying that it will be a good feedback. 

i realise i worry, because i CARE. 


It's going to be a short post,
Please pray for me

XOXO
ANN

Prik Kee Nuu Restaurant: Hidden Thai restaurant in Sik, Kedah

 Thai food is the best. Being born and bred at Kedah, Thai restaurants are seen everywhere around Kedah especially my hometown, Alor Star. I didn't know there are places around Gurun that have Thai restaurants as well and when there's a family gathering at this authentic thai restaurant, i was amazed at how everything reminded me of the chill out bar during my stay at Bangkok. 

I never seen such restaurants in Alor Star as well, so this is worth to review for. 

 Prik Kee Nuu Restaurant is situated in quite a remote area inside Sik, Kedah. I myself wouldn't know this hidden gem if i were to drive pass it without noticing the sign board. It's in this beautiful log house that i would have mistaken it as one of the residential house like their neighbours haha, but i won't expect to see that inside is so beautiful!

 The Inner layout of the restaurant gave me such Thai vibe i immediately love this place as soon as i step in because i am such a big Thailand freak. I was hoping the food will turn out great as well. 

 They even had a stage for musicians to perform while we dine in. Such Thai feel, i remember seeing the same interior at Talad Rot Fai market in Bkk. 

 To add more strong Thai vibe, they even employ singers that perform Thai songs instead. He even had a tips box bag there, you can picture how we roared with applause once he stop and sang a Chinese song instead. 

 No doubt they also took the initiative to make sure every nook and corner looks like we are in Thailand. 

FOOD IN PRIK KEE NUU 

 Steam Fish No 1# we ordered two types of fishes (scroll below to see the second fish). The good thing about their fishes is that everything is really fresh. 

 Their Otak-Otak is also very nice too! not much squid inside as compare to the one in Alor Star but the taste was just nice. Not that spicy as compared to the on in Alor Star so is just nice for my liking. 

 Sweet Sauce Sesame Chicken. Guess that a lot of us dig into this because is quite appetising. This is quite sweet for me , eating one or two will be just nice. 

 Nestum Prawn. 

Sad small portion haha. 

 I had seen papaya salad, Mango salad, tanghoon salad, i never seen CHICKEN FEET SALAD BEFORE. This dish has a lot of ingredients to keep up with your taste bud but seriously i am not a fan for chicken feet. So i passed this dish , you can try it out if you DO eat chicken feet. 

 Sorry for the blur photo, this is steam fish #2. Sweet sour spicy taste which will open your taste bud as soon as you taste it. I prefer this dish than the other steam fish. 

and...They also serve THAI MILK TEA! oh my god! Just tell the boss not to add sugar because it is already very sweet

Location 

25a Kampung Begia

08200 Sik Kedah

Kampung Begia

08200 Sik

Kedah

Malaysia

Opening Time

Monday closed

Tuesday-Sunday: 3pm - 11pm 

XoXo

Ann

What to expect in Khao Yai

 Hi guys, I'll be blogging about my Khao Yai trip which we took 2 days off our 6 days 5 nights in Bangkok. 

 Our trip started on our 2nd day in Bangkok. It is not advisable to go on the weekend because there a lot of happenings during the weekend in Bangkok, you DON'T want to miss it. Anyway, we chose Khai Yai out of Hua Hin and Pattaya because it is new, and not crowded with tourist and the scenery is really very beautiful. We were so right, i never regret my choice tho. Khao Yai is so peaceful and quiet, not much tourist, everything was just ..US! 

Expectations:
3 hours to reach Pak Chong ( a town near Khao yai) by Public Bus. Beware of scams where the bus will drop you off in the middle of nowhere and another van will come and pick you up demanding a larger sum of fees to get you to your destination. They say Pak Chong is near, you should stay there instead because food is convenient. 

Reality:

it took almost 4 hours to reached Pak Chong, please take a VAN instead, it will save you the hassle and time. There will not be any scams if you go direct to a counter in Mo Chit Bus Station , the price is only 120 baht which is consider very cheap. I must say Pak Chong is NOT NEAR. It took about 30 minutes to our hotel, 40+ minutes if you want to go to PB Valley. Book a hotel around those attractions, food is not important, you can get 7 eleven and really trendy cafe here, the scenery is more important. haha. 

 Our Hotel, Prairie Hills with swimming pool, continental breakfast and strategic location. 

I must say with the price we are paying, everything is just so worth it. It's new, the service girl, although she can't speak english took the effort in helping us find transport to move around the attractions in Khao Yai. We actually conversed by google translating everything she type to us. 

 The View from our room. 

Everything was just so serene, neat , clean and pretty. Right beside our hotel is a theme park called " Scenical World" and right beside us is also another English theme hotel but cost a lot more than our stay. 

Breakfast was limited but everything tastes good. There was this man standing attentively next to all the dishes constantly checking the food. They even gave boxes of cereal instead of you digging your cereals that was placed in a glass jar or something. I was glad to see a few outsiders, but yet, all of them are Thai, we were the only tourist from outstation. 

What to expect: 

The room is god damn spacious! it can fit at least 8-10 people! I think they should get 9.5/10 for their Agoda ratings instead of 8.5.  (0.5 because they can't speak English, it felt like chicken and duck are trying to make sense of each other's language) All the hotels in Khao Yai are like luxury palace, if you ever heard of Thames Valley, you will know burning your money is worth spending the night there. Hotels rate in Khao Yai are cheaper in Bangkok. Always expect a higher price during the weekend and Friday ( don't ask me why). I searched a hotel RM121 and it was RM186 after i clicked Friday. 

We reached Khao Yai around 4/5pm which was really late and out of our schedule. (Never take a bus, just NEVER)

we manage to catch some of these attractions before their closing time. Most of the attractions closes at 6pm (It will be quite dangerous during the night time) 

We went to Palio Village which was just a stone throw away from where we stay. 

Everything was so beautifully constructed here. 

You can actually spend a night here if you want in Palio Inn. 

 There's a few shops selling gifts and souvenirs. A lot of shops are still not opened or maybe because it's a weekday, there's hardly a soul there anyway. We were free to snap all we want without getting bombarded by tourist. 

Palio Village is worth going to. In fact i like it more than Primo Piazza, or maybe because is the weather because we went during the evening, we were not bothered by the heat anyway. I was expecting an entrance fee but nope, it's FREE. There are a lot of places to snap pictures, a lot more beautiful than Primo Piazza. 

 We were suppose to spend our dinner at this super popular high end restaurant called " MIDWINTER GREEN", it's like a games of throne palace with games of throne interiors. But on the way we saw this beautiful lighted up spots and realised is one of the recommended cafes in Khao Yai to go. Seeing that MIDWINTER GREEN will cost us a fortune, we decided to try this cafe out instead since is nearer as well. 

Photo credits to : google. My camera sucks during the night, so i might as well take it from Google. When we were there, there's only us and one couple outside probably celebrating anniversary or something. There's hardly a soul there, but the outside was beautifully lighted up like there's a bonfire party or something. 

 Food is not cheap and the amount is not much but the food was really tasty. 

My plate of spaghetti is about 260 baht (It was RM35 at that rate of time) I don't mind spending but at least i expect a bigger portion? 

Our meal of the day. 

Salmon thin crisp pizza: 180 baht ( can they just called it salmon on potato chips? lol)

Herbs Chicken : 180 baht (this was the only food i felt worth paying)

What to expect:

Small portions of food with high price. Save the money, pay extra and go Midwinter Green okay? at least you get to experience a remarkable atmosphere although i read the reviews their food was so-so but at least you pay to enjoy a high-end dining experience and feel royalty to be able to snap insta-worthy pictures after that. 

 PB Valley is our next stop the next morning. We checked out early and left our bags at the lobby and scooted off to our next attraction. Pb Valley is far but the view on the way there was serene! We spot a lot beautiful hotels and cafe along the way, we even saw this space theme hotel shaped like what we would have seen in any Alien movie. LOL. 

 The weather was hot. 

BURNING hot. We were expecting at least 300 baht for a tour +entrance fee but there was it wasn't a wine season and we see a few tourist inside snapping pictures. So yea, we can actually go into the farm and do a little photoshoot. 

And then we saw this. 

SUNFLOWERS!!!!

Oh my god, i thought we would need to go to a flower farm to see this but in PB Valley, they have it too. 

They even had a bench there, but it was still burning hot. The amount of sweats just to take this picture. 

Here's a few pictures of what we had seen on the way to PB Valley. 

There are other winery farms as well, i would suggest you to go Monte Asoke Valley as well because we drove pass there and it was equally beautiful. 

What to expect:
Burning hot weather. Honestly we don't feel like snapping a lot of pictures because it was just too hot. Picked your season wisely while going Khao Yai, the best season to go is December-January where even Jim Thompson Farm will be opened to visitors. You can see grapes growing at the winery area, but you can see more tourist as well. Anyway, just expect a really hot day. 

 We went to The Bloom next. It is just a stone throw away from PB Valley, you can even walked there if you want to ( obviously not from the heat). The bloom entrance fee is 100 baht but is worth paying. I might say is because this season, everything is so hot and blazing, the plants are not blooming well but they have lots of different types of photo spot for you. If you don't want to get sunburnt, you can choose to pay 200 baht for a package where they use a buggy to fetch you around and you will have free cakes and drinks after that.

I like how tedious their decorations were. Everything was decorated just so you can have a nice photo out after that. Unfortunately it was soooo blazing hot, we can hardly take any nice pictures without looking like a squinted-eye Popeye. 

What to expect:

Hot weather. A big area of different colour plants surrounding you. They have sheep too where you can feed them at the back and their sunflowers are bigger than PB Valley. It's The Bloom anyway, so expect to see a lot of flowers surrounding you .

 Our last stop was Primo Piazza. By that time it was around 2pm already. There's no food there except overpriced coffees and cakes. The weather was again, BLAZING HOT. It is much smaller than Palio Village and it required an entrance fee as well, (100 baht)

With that entrance fee you get to feed the alpaca ! OH MY GAWD, look just how adorable they are. They can't stop eating, and behind them are sheep and donkeys as well. 

Such a happy girl finally getting away from the sun and get to feed alpacas. 

So here's an alpaca picture for you. Not really well kept but hey, it's still an alpaca! I never seen one before haha. 

'

I never get to snap alot of their buildings so here's a picture taken from their official website just so you know how it looks like tho. Credits to them

What to expect:

No food, most of the shops are closed ( i was looking for their ice cream shop, but nobody seem to be operating it and it's a weekend by that day) Their buildings are beautiful and well constructed, Palio Village was nicer tho. 

So that's it, after that we head back and took our luggages and went back to Bangkok. There are more things to see in Khao Yai but because we wasted our first day on the public bus *eyes rolling* there are a cafe not to miss, it's on the way to Primo Piazza from Pb Valley and it's call "THE BIRDERS" LODGE" i never seen so many people in there ever since i step foot in Khao Yai. That place is really beautiful  but because we were running out of time, we just manage to drive pass that area. 

Maybe next time i should go to Khao Yai National Park as well, is for the nature lover and for those who seeks for adventure. 

There is utterly NO convenient transportations to take you around once you reached Khao Yai. ALWAYS rent a tour/ driver/ car to get to Khao Yai. Even if you hear people saying you can rent a motorbike once you reached Pak Chong, who's gonna carry all the luggages for you while you ride the bike? Nope, still is advisable to rent in BANGKOK. 

* if you need to rent a car, always make sure you have a credit card. ALL car rental companies hold your credit card amount as deposits in case you run off with their car or drove their car down the waterfall. LOL*

I wish to go back here again , is a relaxing area away from the bustling crowded Bangkok. 

Hopefully

xoxo

Ann