Cetaphil price comparison

If you are looking for Cetaphil products, do note that different pharmacies will sell at different prices.

One of the best prices so far is from AA Pharmacy but note that certain branches might not have the full range. My favourite AA is the one in Sri Petaling because it is bigger since it consists of 2 attached shoplot.

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Taking the Moisturizing Cream as a point of reference, the cream is being sold for RM52.80 in Watsons and Pure Pharmacy (KL Sogo).

Price @ Watsons

Price @ Guardian

HOWEVER the same cream is being sold in AA Pharmacy at only RM36.50!! Wow!! Huge difference!!

Price @ AA Pharmacy

I remember this cream is being sold in Mannings, Hong Kong International Airport for HKD85 (approximately RM34) in March 2013.

Price @ HK International Airport

So for best value for money in KL for Cetaphil products, head to AA Pharmacy.

These are AA's prices for some of the other creams:-

RM43.90 (118ml) SPF15
RM68.60 (50ml) SPF 50

As for the Gentle Daily Skin Cleanser, AA price are:-

RM16 (4oz / 118ml)
RM22 (8oz / 236ml)
RM69.90 (1 liter)

Maxis contract with device - BEWARE

Read on if you have signed any contract with Maxis.

Recently I signed a TalkMore48 package + 1GB data plan with Maxis for 24 months.

Without a doubt I can upgrade my internet package to 3GB or more but do you know that after this upgrade, I cannot revert to my 1GB?

This move will be considered a DOWNGRADE in the eyes of Maxis and hence will incur a penalty.

To add salt to the wound, the representative will not informed you on this when you upgrade.

So here you are upgrading the package thinking that you can revert to original plan at anytime.. but sorry to say.. this cannot happen, well at least for the remainder of your contract period.

The fine prints are there though I feel that it can be subject to interpretation. Nonetheless Maxis stands by it's interpretation. Upgrade or downgrade.. no revert or reinstatement.

In conclusion, before you upgrade, weigh all the pros and cons as to whether you really need the upgrade, as you cannot revert!

YTL Majestic Hotel Malacca

Used Waze to find my way to Majestic Hotel Malacca from Kuala Lumpur. Thankfully we had Waze because it was not easy to locate this hotel.

direction-Jonker-Street-to-Majestic-Hotel

It's a bit out of the way from the usual tourist spots and adjacent to a hospital called Southern Hospital.

It always baffled me on why there are quite a number of hospitals in Malacca. I think it had to do with the proximity with Indonesia.

Because medical costs in Indonesia are known to be expensive so Indonesians would rather be treated in Malaysia at same price with better facilities in Malaysia.

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Anyway back to Majestic Hotel, it has the same facade and driveway as old bungalows in Malaysia so you'll be at lost as to where to park your car because the driveway is not that big.

Turned out you have to drive past the hotel, along the street to the back of the hotel. There you can see signage for the hotel parking. You have to show proof that you are staying in the hotel or you'll be charged for it.

From the parking lot, it's just a short walk from a small side entrance to the hotel lobby.

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TWO words to describe Majestic Hotel Malacca - QUAINT NYONYA

Everything is nyonya.

From the moment you step in, you will find complimentary snacks which are indigenous to nyonya culture like assam boi, chinese plum in twisted plastic wrap, peanuts and crackers littered throughout the lobby / reception area.

After check in, they serves you complimentary tea in a chinese nyonya teapot and nyonya "kuihs" (cakes) which you will find in your room later in the evening. Such a nice surprise after a walk in town.

The room however is not really nyonya.. the nyonya-ness are somehow restricted to the public areas.

There is a bathtub in the room and gives a luxurious feel to an otherwise cosy deluxe-looking room.

There are 7 deluxe rooms on each floor

BREAKFAST
From my last blog on YTL Cameron Highlands Resort (click ytl-cameron-highlands-resort) you will find that the breakfast was the highlight of my stay then.

However the same cannot be said for my stay in Majestic Hotel Malacca because the quality of food served paled in comparison with Cameron Highlands Resort so I did not bother to take more photos.

Anyway you are free to choose from any of these:-

Eggs - 2 eggs any style

Majestic omelette

Scrambled egg

Poached egg

French toast

Waffle

Porridge

Murtabak

Nasi lemak

Noodle of the day

VERDICT
Unless you get a special rate from YTL, this would not be my first choice for hotel in Melaka. Hotel Puri and Casa Del Rio seems to be better choice.

If you compare between YTL Cameron Highlands vs Malacca, even though there is a swimming pool in Malacca, it is very small and too near to the reception area to offer any privacy and relaxation.

Hence Cameron Highlands win hands down because it is a much bigger premise, with more places to explore plus the cool weather, real fireplaces and in-house pianist makes it extra nostalgic for guests.

Bigen Powder Hair Dye - when you want a uniformed natural hair colour

If you colour your hair on a regular basis, you will face this problem of having layers of different hair colour.

I really detest the 3 - 4 months before my next hair colour because after any colour treatment, my hair tends to change colour to a horrid copper colour.

This disparity is even more obvious when I am under the sun.

I shudder whenever I see my hair looking like this :O
Photo taken in March 2013

To avoid this, I have to colour my hair regularly every 3 - 4 months. I love having maroon or dark purple red hair colour but I am not always financially capable of doing so, neither do I have the time.

Plus all these nice bright colours DO NOT last at all!! You'll enjoy it for like a month and then it turn to this horrid copper colour!

So I made a resolution to rid myself of such practice by not colouring my hair anymore.

But this means that I have cut as much of the existing copper hair and wait for my hair grow out and cut again, which my stylist say will take about a year.. Gosh!! One whole year of looking like the above!!! :O

So my next solution... TADAA!! I need to colour the copper hair and make it dark brown like my original hair!!

I used BIGEN powder hair dye - brown black colour.

For a link to Bigen's website and how to use the product click bigenpowder

It works wonder for me but my concern was whether my hair like salon hair colour, will change colour to copper again??

I'm glad to report that after using Bigen in May 2013, it is now August 2013 and my hair colour is still brown and not hideous copper =D

Photo taken on 14 August 2013

WARNING
But I did hear some warning on the safety of Bigen "natural"products but since I only used it for the tail end of my hair and no where near my scalp, it did not pose any health risks to me.

But here is what I found on the internet on Bigen being a real allergic threat but not sure which Bigen product she was referring to. Click bigen-hair-color-dye-that-actually-can-kill-you

So if you intend to use it on the whole head, then do so with caution as I did notice that it did stained my pillow and towels for like a week.

Maxis Smartphone Protection - is it worth your money?

I am very blessed not to have lost my mobile phone but the same cannot be said for my other half. He lost 2 phones in the past year..

Blame it on:-
A) small pants pocket and
B) bigger phones
Sigh...

So when we were told that we can opt for an insurance plan that replaces or repairs the phone in the even of theft or damage, our interest were immediately piqued.

On top of that, there is data protection in the event of loss but when we asked further on this, the staff could not really answer on how the mechanic works because I had a cousin who subscribed for some data backup from Maxis but there were no backups stored when she actually lost her phone.

It seems that for this to work, there are some steps you must take to "backup" the data and not merely pay the monthly fee.

Anyway for this protection plan, the price of the MONTHLY premium will depend on the price of your phone. The minimum premium would be RM12 for a phone that costs from RM501 - RM1,000 (see below).

Table on the premium prices and excess fee

You do not pay the premium on the spot but it will be billed in your monthly phone bills.

You can click Maxis link for more information Maxis addons/security-and-protection/smartphone-protection or device-insurance

EXTRA NOTES:-

1) Besides the monthly premium, in the event that you are getting a replacement, you have to pay additional excess fee to get it. The excess fee starts from RM75 for the RM501 - RM1,000 phone category to a maximum of RM250 for  RM2,001 - RM3,000 phone.

2) you can claim for damage to phone by water or accidental damage and Maxis will try to repair the phone. In the event the phone cannot be repaired, it will be replaced.

3) If you successfully pay the premium for 12 months consecutively, you will enjoy an extra 12 months of warranty for your phone (on top of the 12 months warranty which comes with the phone).

4) This protection is only offered on the very same day of phone purchase and it can be cancelled at any time. Which means you are forced to make the decision on the spot saying that there is nothing much to lose since you can cancel it after one month. How smart of Maxis.

5) Interestingly while we signed on for the insurance, a lady came up to us and WARNED us to read the fine print with a magnifying glass.

She made a theft claim and was unsuccessful because apparently the theft has to be an attended theft.

What are the probabilities of you losing a phone while the phone was in your hand??

6) Not only that, the phone must be stolen while in the hand of the registered owner and not third party. Wow! That's a lot of details which Maxis did not highlight to their customers.

7) Also you do not get to keep the fine prints because the page with all the fine prints are on the same page as the form.. so when you submit the form, you give it back to Maxis. How inconvenient.

So all that is left of the brochure are these few pages which I have uploaded as well as a page of some of the terms and conditions in Malay.

CONCLUSION

So on a balance.. this plan would be worth it if you can prove attended theft or if you are accident prone.

As for me, I guess I will join the statistics of those people who thought this was too good to miss and in the end find that it is not as good as it claims to be :(