Just An Ordinary Girl

Photo By: Elin Chow

Smart bands are becoming  increasingly popular in recent years, but I have never found a reason to spend the money on one. " Do I really need this?" I would often ask myself this question because I am not really someone who wear watches. In fact, I do not even own a watch.

For those who do not know, smart band is a wearable device that will track your movements when you wear it on your waist. It is device for monitoring and tracking fitness-related metrics such as steps, distance travelled, calories burned and in some cases, heart rate and sleep patterns.

Recently, I started going to the gym thrice a week and I figure out it will good to get a smart band so that I can monitor my heart rate and calories burned. The gym I go to does not have a clock, so the smart band will allow me to check the time easily while I am working out. After all, it is not ideal to have a phone in my pocket when I exercise.

Today, there are dozen, perhaps hundreds of different brands of smart bands available in the market and most of which does a pretty good job at tracking the basics like steps, distance and sleep. But which one you get depends on you want to use it for and your budget. For me, I am just looking for a basic device that would not break the bank. A cheap smart band (under USD $30) that will enable me to track my heart rate, steps and sleep.

After reading tons of reviews online, I decided to get the Huawei Honor Band 3. The Honor Band 3 is known to be one of the best budget fitness trackers that are available in the market right now. It comes with a flexible, rubbery strap and a small tracker unit that contains all the electronics. The strap is available in orange, navy blue and black, but to be honest, I am not impressed by the bright orange option.

The tracker is firmly attached to the strap and is not detachable. It is not a good thing because it will not be easy to replace the strap if it gets damaged.

Lightweight
The Honor Band  has an elongated screen featuring a fairly large 0.91 inch P-OLED display with a single round button for navigation. It looks pretty sleek and slim and most importantly, rather lightweight since it only weights about 18g.  It is so light that most of the days, I forgot I am even wearing it.

The screen is decently bright and easy to read indoor but visibility under the sun is poor. It is difficult to read the display while you are outdoor, especially under the strong sunlight.

Connectivity 

A smart band works alongside an app that is built for your smartphone. To get the most out of it, you will have to pair the device with your smartphone via bluetooth. The Honor Band 3 is compatible with Android phones running 4.4 and above and iPhone with iOS 8.

However, in this case, you are required to download two management apps instead of one. The Huawei Wear to connect and manage the setting of the band and the Huawei Health to keep track and analyze the data. It is a little troublesome and I certainly do not understand the purpose of using two different apps.

However, the apps sync well with your phone that you would not even notice about it. You will find all your data up to date every time you open the apps and sorted according to day, week and month. The Huawei Health is fairly easy to use, helping you to keep track of your sleep patterns, heart rate, exercise and weight log.

Continuous Heart Rate Tracking
One of the thing I love about the Honor Band 3 is the 24-hour continuous heart rate tracking function. Enabling this feature on the device helps to keep track of my heart rate continuously throughout the day, including when I am asleep. Just in case your heart rate exceeds the normal level, the band will vibrate. But in order for it to track your heartbeat, you have to wear it tightly on your waist, which can be a little uncomfortable.

But anyway, I find the heart rate tracking quite accurate. You can access the record from Huawei Health, which shows a graph of your 24 hours heart rate.

Fitness Tracking
In terms of fitness tracking features, it is pretty limited, but honestly, you really cannot expect too much for the price you paid. The Honor Band can track the basics like walking, running and swimming as it is water resistant up to 50 m. I have not tested the water resistant claim because I am not a fan of swimming, but I did washed my hands without removing the band.

It is a pity that the Honor Band 3 could not track cycling or elliptical machine exercise, but I believe most of the budget fitness trackers that you will find in the market does not have these features as well. However, it could track your indoor run on the treadmill, with a 90% accuracy. The distance recorded by the band is usually much lesser than the actual distance displayed on the treadmill. I believe this because the device calculate distance based on your hand movement. If I held onto the handrails while running on the treadmill, the band may not be able to detect movement, thus the distance recorded will not be accurate.

Other than that, you will also not find high end feature like GPS tracking, thus the data recorded is not very accurate since the device is not able to calculate distance. Also, steps tracking is not very accurate as well. I actually noticed that the Honor Band 3 tends to calculate extra steps than the actual steps you have walked. As a result, the distance walk and calories burnt might be wrong. Even though the data are not 100% accurate, it is still good to use them as an estimate.

Sleep Monitoring
The TruSleep function is what intrigued me as it allows you to track deep, light and REM sleep as well as how many times you woke up in the middle of the sleep and provide analysis and recommendation via the Huawei Health app. Not only that, it also allows you to track your sleep continuity, breathing quality as well as your heart rate.

The sleep tracking is pretty detailed and provide a good overview. I find the data quite accurate (may not be 100% accurate) and interesting. Just in case you wonder, the Honor Band 3 uses heart rate and movement information to detect the quality of your sleep, including your naps. But your naps should be long enough in order for it to track it.

I usually disable bluetooth at night when I go to bed to save battery life. But I have no problem syncing the sleep data to my phone if I did not pair the device with my phone while sleeping. The data will sync automatically to the Huawei Health app once I enable Bluetooth on my phone on the following day.

However, you might want to set the device to "Do Not Disturb" mode when you wear it to sleep at night. Enabling this mode would automatically turn off all notifications while you sleep.

Battery

Huawei claims that the device will lasts 30 days on every charge. But disappointing, the battery did not last as long as Huawei claimed. After 10 days, the battery life is already down to 30%. The device finally went out of battery on the 12th day. That was less than half the battery life Huawei has claimed.

The battery will probably lasts 30 days if the continuous heart monitoring and Trusleep features are not enabled. But why buy a smart band instead of a normal watch if you are not going to use these added features?

Price

The Huawei Honor Band 3 is ridiculously cheap. I bought this from an online store on Lazada for RM 120. But I believe you will be able to find even cheaper ones now.

Conclusion

The Huawei Honor Band 3 is great considering the super low price. It is more suited for casual user like me, who just wants all the basics without breaking the bank. It is definitely not for professional athletes or fitness enthusiasts who need a higher level smart band to track their performance.

However, the lack of GPS and limited fitness tracking features is a downside, but honestly, you really cannot complain too much because it is cheap, and if you compare with other brands of smart bands in the same price category, you will realize the Huawei Honor Band 3 actually has better performance and specs.

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Photo By: Elin Chow

Anyone remember that I actually had a very unpleasant dining experience at the Makan Kitchen at Double Tree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur about two years ago? Well, I had recently dined at Makan Kitchen again because I was invited by Lycan, who is the new manager of restaurant to try out their new buffet menu. To be honest, I was a little reluctant to accept the invitation because I can imagine how awkward it would be. But eventually, I still decided to give the restaurant another chance because Lycan was really sincere and I am glad that I did!


Located on the 11th floor, Makan Kitchen is the signature kitchen of Double Tree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Diners can enjoy an authentic Malaysian dining experience served from three open concept kitchens, which showcase chefs at work.


I always love the layout of the restaurant. It is spacious and cozy, with great ambience and a very inviting interior. Tables were arranged neatly and well spaced out to ensure privacy and comfort


In the open kitchen, you will find the team of chefs are busily preparing and dishing out the orders. The live cooking actually makes the whole dining experience more interactive and lively. Most of the food that are served at the buffet were cooked or grilled to order to ensure quality and freshness. Unlike last time, the food was served hot and the quality has significantly improved.


Makan Kitchen is perfect for people who are craving for a range of Malaysian delicacies or would like experience the real taste of Malaysia. The restaurant will satisfy your craving for local dishes in the comfort and convenience of one restaurant.
The kitchens offer more than 80 dishes from six local cuisines; from the popular Malay, Chinese, Indian to Peranakan, Kristang and Iban delights. The revamped menu has also included more seafood to make its price more worthwhile, in hopes to attract more local diners. Afterall, how many local Malaysians would want to pay such a premium price just to eat Malaysian food.
The offering was pretty extensive and we were spoilt for choice! We have difficulty deciding what to eat, so we try to eat a little of everything.

Fruits Station
Near the entrance, you will find the Fruit Station that offers a variety of freshly cut fruits like watermelon, orange, honeydew, dragonfruit and green apples.

Drink Station

Next to the Fruits Station is the Drink Station offering your traditional Malaysian drink like Ter Tarik, Iced Milo, Rose Syrup and Longan water. Nothing really special.

Dessert Station
The Dessert Station offers both local and western desserts. I love their western style desserts, especially love the Durian cheese tart and Walnut cheese cake. They were so delicious!


If you are not a fan of Western desserts, the Dessert Station also offers a variety of Malay and Nyoya Kuehs. We did not try these, so I am not sure whether they taste good or not.

Cold Seafood Station

At the Cold Seafood Station, you will find piles of crustaceans atop mounds of crushed ice, which keeps them fresh and cold. The seafood selection was not huge, but I think they were enough to satisfy any seafood lover.

Sushi Bar

Sitting beside it is a mini Sushi bar offering slices of Sashimi. The selection is pretty limited, with only Salmon, Tuna and Tako to choose from. But the Sashimi were very fresh and taste awesome.

Hot Seafood Station

One of the new addition to the buffet was the Hot Seafood Station, which offers a few variety of seafood. Diners can pick their own seafood on ice and choose to have them either steamed or cooked in a porridge. We prefer to steam them because porridge will be too filling.

Some of the seafood offered are clams (Lala), prawns, yabbies and fish. But our favorite will be the freshly steamed Yabbies. They were so fresh and steaming brings out the delicate sweetness of the Yabbies.


Other than Yabbies, we also tried steamed Lala, prawns and sliced fish with garlic. They were very tasty as well.

Noodle / Grilled Oyster station
There is a Noodle station next to the Hot Seafood Station, but we did not order any noodles to try. Anyway, the highlight at this station was not the noodles, but the freshly grilled oysters topped with garlic.


The Grilled Oyster station was very popular as all the oysters are being snatched up fast once grilled. So you need to be quick if you wish to have a taste of it.

Satay Station
The Satay Station offers both chicken and beef satay, freshly grilled. Perfectly grilled, the satay were well-marinated and served with Makan Kitchen's home made peanut sauce, which was a perfect complement. The meat was also tender and juicy with right amount of fats.

Indian Kitchen

I actually expected the naan to be soft and fluffy. But disappointing, it was not. The naan was doughy and hard.


The Tandoori chicken was very disappointing as well because it was very dry. It was so difficult to eat.

The only dish we like from this kitchen was the fish head curry. This was certainly a dish you should not miss.


There was another curry disk called the Palak Chicken. It was also one of the new additions to their buffet menu. But unfortunately, we did not get to try this because we were so full already.

Malay Kitchen

The main highlight in the Malay Kitchen was the roasted lamb. The meat was crisp on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. Definitely a must try!

Chinese Kitchen



Here, you will find the usual Cantonese roasted meat dishes like roasted chicken, chicken Char Siu and roasted duck. We did not really like the chicken Char Siu because we prefer pork Char Siu to chicken Char Siu. The roasted chicken was also a little too dry and definitely not a delight to eat. But the roasted duck was surprisingly good.


Other than roasted meat, the Chinese Kitchen also offers several local home-cooked wok-fried dishes such as stir-fry black pepper lamb and noodles. But unfortunately, none of it really impressed us. I also remember that the Chinese Kitchen used to serve Dim Sum, but now they have replaced it with Yong Tau Fu.


Our favorite will be the Chilled Sweet Longan dessert. I had two bowls of it because it was so tasty!

Conclusion

I am glad that Makan Kitchen did not disappoint us this time. The quality of food and service have improved significantly and of course, with much better offering. Food were served fresh and hot and staffs were also very friendly and polite. They were prompt in clearing our empty plates and replenishing the food.

Price was mid range and well worth the money. I would recommend anyone who would like to experience a taste of Malaysia to try out their buffet dinner.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter  for any latest updates on my blog. So stay tuned! 

Last month, I renewed my Singapore passport at the Singapore High Commision Kuala Lumpur as it was going to expire in January 2019. The reason I renewed it so soon was because I intended to apply for a 5 years Long Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP) Malaysia once it expire in Sep 2018, and in order to do that, I would need to get a new passport.

I have been granted a 3 years LTSVP on my last renewal. Some of the requirements have changed over the past 3 years, but we actually find the process so much more faster and straightforward. As usual, I would like to document down all the processes just to share about my experience with people who might be in the same situation as me. Please note that the requirements may vary from case to case, and this is based on my experience as per my application in August 2018. I do hope that this  post will be helpful to any foreign spouses staying in Malaysia.

Renewal Process

Previously, you are only allowed to apply for a renewal 2 weeks before your LTSVP expiry date. The immigration will not allow a renewal if you visit too early. But since I have changed a new passport, I am required by law to transfer my LTSVP from my old passport to my new passport. So we decided to visit the immigration office 3 weeks before the expiry date to try our luck. But surprisingly, I am allowed to renew my LTSVP even though we were too early.

Also, unlike in the past, you can collect your passport and LTSVP on the same day no matter how many years you apply. Last time, same day collection is only available if you apply for a one year extension. Any longer than that, the processing time is 3 days. It is good that the processing time has become shorter now, but unfortunately, my application for a five (5) years extension was not successful. In the end, I was only granted a three (3) years LTSVP. To be honest, I feel really disappointed but somehow, it seems that the immigration does not give out 5 years LTSVP easily now.

I did my renewal at the Jalan Duta immigration office. To avoid the crowds, try to arrive as early as possible and head straight to the "Pass and Permit Division," located on the second floor. It will be good if you can get the following documents ready before you make the visit.

1. Form IMM 55 and IMM 38

I am not required to fill up form IMM 55 previously. But this time, the officer asked me to fill in and submit IMM 55 as well. Please note that these forms cannot be downloaded online. You can get these form from the immigration officer at the information counter at the "Pass and Permit Division".

2. Surat Akuan Form

Other than form IMM 55 and IMM 38, you will get the Surat Akuan Form from the officer as well. After filling up the form, you will need to visit the Commission of Oaths office located at the ground floor to do some stamping. This will cost you RM 4 or RM 15 if you need them to help you fill up the forms.

3. Original and copy of  Mykad of Malaysian Spouse (Front and Back)

4. Original and copy of passport of Foreign Spouse

I just renewed my passport recently, so I submitted copies of both my old and new passports.

5. 1 passport photo of Malaysian Spouse

6. 1 passport photo of foreign Spouse

7. Original and copy of birth certificates if you have children

The documents required are almost the same as the last renewal. However, this time, I am not required to submit copies of all my previous LTSVP. But I believe it is safer to bring them along just in case the immigration changes their requirements again.

Renewal of Work Endorsement

Just like last time, I renewed my work endorsement as well. The work endorsement will expire along with your LTSVP, so make sure you renew it if you wish to continue working. You can renew your work endorsement together with your LTSVP on the same day.

1. Stamped employment contract (RM 10)

Please get your company to amend the date of your original employment contract to current date and send it for stamping.

2. Office photos (exterior and interior)

The immigration asked for my office photos this time, which is something new. Luckily, I have them prepared before we visited. If not, I will have to make another trip to the immigration office just to get the work endorsement done again. Basically, I just took photos of the exterior of my office building and also, the interior of my office and have them printed out in colors. The immigration accepted whatever I gave and processed my work endorsement without any problems.

I did submitted company form 9, 24 and 49 as well, but was told that these were not required because I am still working for the same company. But I recommend bringing them along just in case the immigration officer ask for them.

Update: I recently heard that foreign wives of Malaysians are only allowed to apply for work endorsement after staying in Malaysia for 3 years on a LTSVP. Apparently, this only applies to Jalan Duta branch. I am not sure how true is that.

Collection

I am asked to wait for my number to be called again after submitting all the documents. Be prepared to wait for at least an hour before you will be called to make payment at the cashier. I am not sure whether debit or credit cards are accepted, so it is best that you bring enough cash with you. After payment is made, you will be asked to wait for your number to call again to collect your passport.

Again, it was another long wait. I probably waited for 30 minutes before I was called to collect my passport. But unfortunately, my application for extension of the work endorsement has been overlooked. So that means I will need to wait again, but this time, it was much more longer than before. I waited for almost an hour before I was called again.

Upon collecting my passport, we went to inquire about my eligibility to apply for Permanent Residency (PR) in Malaysia. I was told that I will be eligible to apply and was given the forms and checklist for my application. Hopefully, everything will be smooth and hassle free too. I shall update the process here again once I have submitted the application for PR in Malaysia.

For foreign spouse who plans to marry and reside in Malaysia on a long term basis, you may wish to learn more about the following topics too. If you are interested to know how to:

1. Register your marriage in Malaysia: Marrying A Malaysia Part 1

2. Apply for a Long Term Social Visit Pass (Spouse pass) with a work endorsement: Marrying A Malaysian Part 2: Obtaining A Long Term Social Visit Pass (Spouse Pass)

3. Renew Long Term Social Visit Pass (Spouse Pass) Malaysia: Marrying A Malaysian Part 3: How To Extend Long Term Social Visit Pass (Spouse Pass) Malaysia

4. Applying For Permanent Residency in Malaysia: Marrying a Malaysian: Applying For Permanent Residency (PR) In Malaysia

5. Immigration interview for permanent residency: Marrying a Malaysian: Immigration Interview For Permanent Residency (PR) In Malaysia