There are a few things that you notice as you drive along the town/city streets over here.

The dogs for example….there isn’t the same affiliation to dogs here. The dogs travel in packs of around 6 or so, and perilously make their way through life. It struck me that they are a bit like teenagers, sticking together, snarling at anyone that tries to help, going their own way….or is that just Tonge Moor?

The attitude to cows is another major issue. Cows are sacred animals and are treated as such. So even if the cows are wandering across a busy highway, you have to just slow down and manoeuvre your way around them. It’s very strange to see them in the city instead of in fields grazing.

The radio songs are interspersed with uplifting messages or messages to help the citizens become more caring toward one another. For example – “When you park your car, please ensure that you park within the painted lines, otherwise you will spoil someone elses day and risk them getting upset and angry that they cant use the space next to you.” Another one is not to raise your voice in public” or ”help someone lift their shopping into their car.” Its quite nice actually to be reminded and I think it’s something we could well try and take onboard – go on - try and make a difference to someone today!

This message is also borne out by slogan t-shirts.

Not quite the same as the ones we have back home….these have statements on them instead. Make peace / keep calm / have a smile / work hard / give way / love one another  etc….It’s just a nice touch.

We went to visit Dr Tan today, one of our customers in KL. He is a lovely man and insists on making us Chinese tea. This is a very ceremonious process. The small terracotta bowl and lid with holes in it comes out, thimble size terracotta cups that sit on top, the cups have to be warmed first with boiled water. A selection of tea is put into the small teapot, brewed for a specific length of time (depends on the type of tea leaf used), poured, offered and repeated as the 3 mouthfuls of tea liquor are consumed. We discuss business; he has a lucrative contract on the go with the Middle East and shows us some of the luxury soaps that will be offered to the Arabs…they have actual gold flecks in them – real gold! Anyway, after business we discuss the Chinese prophecies of what December 21^st 2012 holds, but i’ll save all that for a later blog next year instead –  a very pleasant afternoon meeting all in all.

On the way back to the hotel, we pass the Carlsberg factory again, and sure enough, there are the workers outside in the shade with glasses of amber nectar!

Well, its check out time -  Goodbye to Malaysia and your happy smiling people. I hope to see you again soon.

Bali next……

Arrived in Penang after setting off a tiring 28 hours ago. I have been assured that it will take less than 45mins to get to the hotel, and that elusive soak in the bath! As I set foot out of the airport, the first thing you notice is a peculiar aroma that pervades the air wherever you go in Malaysia and Indonesia outside the cities. It is a mix of heat, durian fruit and rokok, and once you have been here and smelled it, then you instantly associate the smell with the Far East.

Durian fruit is the Eastern version of Marmite – known as the King of Fruits, you either love it or hate it. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks.Most shopping malls refuse to stock it at all, as the fruit odour is so pungent that you begin to smell it a good 5 minutes before you even see it! Animals can detect the smell of the Durian up to half a mile away.

The Rokok are the local cigarettes, and even for a confirmed non-smoker as myself, the intense flavoursome mix of cinnamon, cloves, dark chocolate and smoky woods has a pleasurable aroma. You dont even need to get too close to the actual smoke vapour as the whole atmosphere is pervaded.

I have been watching Nothing to Declare in readiness for my trip – a ‘behind the scenes’ show of customs in Australia, and as I walked through the green lane, I could see people lined up with open suitcases and rows of packet foods ready to be confiscated. You’d have to be mad to try and smuggle anything into the country here and to be fair, they do give you fair warning on the plane – our captain told us as we landed that any drug trafficking automatically receives the death penalty! Well, that was enough to persuade me that the free peanuts I hadn’t eaten could stay on the airplane and so I fished them out of the pocket of my handbag and left them firmly on the seat tray!

I slept really well, the bed is very hard, just fine for my back! Woke up to the sound of rain lashing against the window, and sure enough a storm was rolling in….but its hard to feel hard done to – I can just make out the vague shape of a mountain range across the sea vista…..the sound of the sea crashing onto the beach below my window is a sound to savour no matter how wet and wild the weather outside.

I think its time to don a loaned sou’wester and go for a wild n windy walk!

I saw a lizard! I swear it was one of the komodo types, properly swaggering in the distance, but the moment I tried to find it amongst the rocks it completely disappeared! (when I mentioned it to Wong later, he thought i had been very brave to try and find it, brave warrior woman that i am!)

Tonight was a litte surreal, we started off with a trip to the Hard Rock cafe for our evening meal – which was fine in its own way, quiet though, and they sat us underneath Noel Gallaghers guitar, I mean come on, I’ve only just left Manchester – at least give me an American…. but hey ho, they did make an amazing Mojito

The evening ended with Nat n I waltzing on the dance floor to Pitbull, leaving poor Wong holding his head in his hands in complete despair!! Well – you only live once…..

Dont forget to stay tuned next week for my further adventures down in Kuala Lumpur.

There has been a blogging gap of 2 weeks, but don’t worry, all is not lost. I have been over to the Far East meeting up with 2 of our local agents in Malaysia and Indonesia.

I had wanted to blog as I went along, but for some reason couldnt access WordPress, and so I did the next best thing and hand wrote the notes instead. So, I will still write them in the present tense so that you can enjoy the journey with me….

For those of you that don’t know me personally, here is a bit of background information. I am a single mum in her mid forties, with a full time job and a dog! This combination ensures that I am always running about, never quite finishing one job off before starting the next and living alongside a set of permanent butterflies resident in my stomach. I am never quite fully ‘in the moment’ – always worrying about the list of jobs I need to do tomorrow, or by the end of the week. This also has the added effect of never appreciating the work that I actually do complete. This is also the reason that I seem to be (more and more) forgetful or absent minded these days. Its because I am never thinking about the job in hand. For example on my way to the airport I was feeling quite good about how organised I had been in the run up to my 2 week trip away. Sorting Sammi out at home, enlisting various friends, neighbours and family members to be surrogate parents, agony aunts, and food providers. Making sure lists had been handed out to all and sundry with telephone numbers, college times, details of whereabouts in the world I would be at any one time, dog ‘letting out’ duties for when sammi was at college all day, etc etc etc.

Oh how clever I was, all organised and all under control. I had even pre-booked the carpark for a cheaper deal. As I approached the barrier I realised I needed my credit card for entry so I rummaged around in my purse, found the card, dutifully inserted it and hey presto, the barrier opened. With a queue behind me (I know even at 5.30 in the morning!!) I put the card on my knee and proceeded to trawl the carpark looking for a) an empty spot, and b) somewhere easily recognisable for when I return to play hunt the car in 2 weeks time. This dutifully done (Red 10) I lugged my case from the boot, collected my laptop and handbag and proceeded to the free bus stop to wait for the ‘every ten minutes (yeah right!)’ bus to arrive to take me to the appropriate terminal.

All well so far….

I found the check in desk without too much hassle and took my turn in the queue. I arrived at the desk, presented my passport and wrestled my suitcase onto the belt. ‘can I take the card you made the booking with please ma’am’ and it was those 12 words that sent me into a state of panic. The card HAD been on my knee as I parked the car, and I know now that i didn’t remember doing anything else with it.  They wouldn’t let me leave my case (security risk of course!), so there was nothing for it but to get myself and my luggage (complete with dodgy broken wheel from the last time I flew) back to the carpark. Apparently there is no quicker way than getting the bus back (I had to ask in case someone pitied me and offered to drive me over there in one of those cute little airport buggies with the flashing lights – but to no avail). The bus driver did a double take. I had to sheepishly explain what had happened, but you know, he was lovely. Told me he would wait whilst I jumped off, and retrieved the card. As I go to my spot (red 10) there on the floor, on the gravel, outside my door was the offending article! I think I was just lucky that it was still so early in the morning that it was still sat there awaiting my return. Anyway, back on the bus I jumped and like Groundhog Day relived the past hour of my life!

Alas this was not the only mishap I had before even getting to the airport lounge. I have to admit that I was feeling a little smug, after all, karma was on my side, I found the card, the checking in lady had swapped my seat….all was well. Well until I hit the X Rays. There isn’t a choice anymore, you HAVE to go through the bodyscanner. Its not that I don’t appreciate the risk factors involved, but to be quite honest, I felt a little violated. I don’t want some random stranger to be looking at the outline of my body – I mean I spend quite a sizeable chunk of my free time wandering around the Trafford Centre, buying clothes to disguise it!!

Anyway as I said, there was no choice, but in the flustering few minutes after the scan, I collected my belongings from the x-ray tray, trying to collect everything before the next tray comes clattering down the ramp, I managed to drop my boarding pass through the rails into the bottom of the counter. I don’t think I was flavour of the month as they stopped the machine and had to spend a good 5 minutes poking with anything they could find that was long thin and pointy before miraculously, someone managed to fish it out.

You’ll be happy to know that that was the extent of my travelling woes, and believe me, on previous trips, things haven’t gone that well!!

I will update again on Thursday with details of my time in Penang.

January saw me jetting off to the Far East – Malaysia and the Philippines to be precise, to meet up with our agents from Unifragrance and also Proessences. Each year in January we hold a seminar in Manila, that allows us to present the latest fragrance trends in the market. The four main trends at the minute are as follows:-

A LOOK TO THE PAST

Economic stress sees us automatically look to the past with nostalgia. We look to history to provide us with a glimpse of the future. During difficult times consumers seek comfort in familiarity, tending to gravitate towards classic florals. Over the next few months, be on the lookout for new perfumes dominated by floral notes such as rose and violet. These scents remind us of simpler times, and that memory can be of great comfort when you are surrounded by stress.

A BRIGHTER FUTURE

New fragrance launches coming down the pipeline are going to be bold, vibrant exciting with an element of fantasy. As we begin to move out of sobering economic times, consumers will seek escape and colour and this will translate as a collection of unusual technicolour ingredients. We will become more adventurous, with sophisticated rich woody notes as the heart and soul of new fragrances. These notes have depth and character and have traditionally only previously been seen in men’s fragrances.

BE YOUR OWN NOSE

Once an area only reserved for those in the know, personalised, custom fragrances are gaining popularity thanks to newer, more accessible ways to get it. The $10,000 bespoke blend still exists but customized perfume is now happily at a realistic price point. Consumers want to express their individuality, and there are now many affordable ways to achieve this. Fragrance houses such as Dolce & Gabbana and Ralph Lauren launched fragrance collections that could be worn alone or layered to achieve a personalized scent. Custom fragrance bars are appearing in shopping centres where a consultant can guide you through the notes and accords, and you walk away with a truly original signature scent. Designing your own personal fragrance is well worth the time and experimentation.

TELL A TALE….

Perfume companies have realised that it takes more than a whiff of a scent to get people hooked. Right now, story telling is especially relevant. People want to know how a fragrance has been created and the work that has been put into it, as well as being able to tap into the emotional connection of the designer. It is a quest for authenticity, and when you know why the perfumer chose those particular notes and accords and his inspiration, the whole experience becomes more genuine.

Once you know the current trends it is much easier to select a new fragrance direction for your product. Although at the moment the trends apply to designer type perfumes, this is always just the pre-cursor for soaps, candles, detergent powders, air fresheners and a myriad of all types of household products.

We currently have a selection of fragrances that cover all aspects of the trends mentioned above so please feel free to email or ring our office where one of our helpful staff will guide you through the best fragrances for your particular product – all designed to help you become  the market leader in your field.

This week sees me in Kuala Lumpur visiting our agents here in Malaysia, Natalie and Wong from Unifragrance.

Our first meeting happens to be over dinner in a beautiful Balinese style eatery with the enigmatic Razak. Within moments of being shown to our table, Razak is already offering business cards to the restaurant owners, explaining how his natural essential oils are far superior and work much better than the existing mosquito coils they are currently using to ineffectively keep the not so little blighters at bay!
Cedarwood and Rosemary oils are pleasant and seemingly more efficient alternatives to the once mighty Citronella crown.
Cedarwood is also currently enjoying a revival within the latest wave of designer fine fragrances especially the female ones.
We stock a wide range of essential oils for use either on their own or in essential oil blends, and also mainly for use as a base in many of the fragrances in our stock library.
Our knowledgeable perfumers are only too happy to help assist you with any suggestions for suitable oils that blend well or harmonise together  for any purpose that you may require.