Sneak Peek Into A Life...

Resurrection...

2012-01-08T00:10:00.006+08:00

I know, I know this blog seems dead and almost one year since the last post and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 everyone !!! At least, Im here and making efforts to resurrect it rite? What make me to do this again? Not really sure but judging from daily hits received despite da blog being dead for a year, its kinda encouraging here to revive it again. Posting a review the year 2011 below, and yes Maj, this seems like ur format and yes, i said it is. At least it gave me an inspiration to write again after a year hiatus..:)

Beginning the rainy new 2011 year in Cherating with the usual Akurians gang

With the management team of ma current company. Got a news of being promoted to manager. Been a roller coaster ride really as there's many things need to be done to improve the team but still hanging on there....Pray for me

At Great Wall of China, Beijing during annual trip with family & close family friends

Best activity enjoyed: Going "jalan jalan cari makan" all over the country which I called a food haven. Posted the photos on my FB album

Enjoying King of Fruits at a durian farm in Penang. This has to be one of the best random decision I've ever made, driving all the way to Pearl of Orient with buddy just to have a taste of it. It's now been announced as an annual pilgrimage trip

Brother got married to a wonderful lady on Boxing Day. Great wedding celebration & the best wedding dinner I've attended. Welcome to the family, Janice !!

Ending the year with "u know who" gang at the place where its all begins, Pangkor. Seems routined now but I personally enjoyed every moment really peeps & thank you for allowing me to be myself....:)

Reflection

2010-12-30T22:32:00.002+08:00

It's coming to end of the year now & little that I realised this blog is not even updated since October. Yet, I've seen daily visits to this blog. Whoever r u out there, thanks a lot. There must be something that keeps the visits running.

An eventful year indeed in many areas, especially in working life, divine service & others. More details to be shared in later posts. Life is funny. If we actually sit down & reflects on all the happenings to us & around us as well, all are actually connected to each other. I've seen deaths, newborns, emotional breakdown, renewed zest of life, unions of 2 loves thru marriage, arguments etc. Each of them carries messages for us to learn as well. There' s saying "Everything in heaven & earth is the voice of God". The idea here is to know & to learn about the "messages". These learnings from the present are to be brought to the future. We may not know, but there will be one day we will get to utilise these learnings.

Going to the new year, what's in store? I personally dunno. U can predict, u can forecast, u can guess but in the end of the day, who will knows what will be the outcome? Which is why strengthening our faiths & foundation should be the upmost important aim. Enough of this for now. Going off to Cherating tomorrow to wind up the final moments of the year with Akurians & back after new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!!

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan - Nasi Lemak Cikgu

2010-10-14T22:10:00.001+08:00

It's Malaysian favourite breakfast. It's used to be available only in the housing areas / villages in the morning where u see those aunties (or mak cik in Malay) sells them in roadside stalls. Coming to the present time, now it is sold almost everywhere at 24/7; kopitiam's, mamak's, market stalls's and even some posh restaurants.

But still, how to judge & diffenciate the best from the best? Some people say it's the coconut rice. Some say it's the sambal. The answer is up to u actually. Who else can judge our own tastebuds? Get what I meant? Went to these 2 places recently which in my opinion, serve among the best nasi lemak in town. Talked about Nasi Lemak Cikgu first, located in SS3, Kelana Jaya.

Opens daily till dinner

U need to wait for a while, especially in the morning

Ordered with fried chicken & squid. Reasonably price at RM 8.00

The sambal is pretty mild, suitable for those who love nasi lemak but cant take too spicy food. Rice has that distinctive coconut flavour & the difference compared to other is the cooking style of the rice. "Nasi lemak kukus" as they called it in Malay was cooked in a steaming hot wok, instead of the normal electric rice pot. This process, they say helps preserve the coconut & pandan flavour in the rice.

Pretty accessible alongside LDP highway. If ur coming from Damansara towards Sungai Way, keep left after passing Giant hypermarket. Turn left immediately on the junction after passing Customs headquarter. Drive forward till u see a row of shophouses on ur right. Turn right & the restaurant is situated at the middle. If ur driving from Puchong, Subang Jaya etc on the other side of highway, the only way is to make a U-turn after Giant & follow the path earlier.

Shall talk bout my next Nasi Lemak stop in next post...:)

Simply Durian

2010-09-25T23:19:00.001+08:00

Durian...u just love it or hate it. I'm a self confessed fanatically crazy durian lover and very sure there are many more people out there who are willing to scream "I'M A DURIAN LOVER!!!". U will be very surprised to know what will people do in order to get the taste of the best ones.

True story: my boss actually went all the way to a Mantin durian farm in early morning to sit and wait...Wait for the durians to fall from the trees and make his picks from there. Mind u, it's BIG business out there for durian sellers. Some best ones can fetch till RM 30.00 per kilogramme. This caused some selfish and unscrupulous people who are selling the low graded ones for over-the-market prices.

Question here is how many of us actually know what type of durians are we eating. Anyone wonder what's market rate for each type. It's important so to avoid being conned. Here's the tips of the durian species available in Malaysia, taken from unknown sources..Do take note these are not list of ALL durians available. The best of em' all is not listed here. Go out there & check it out yourselves....

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD DURIAN
A good durian must be ripe, fresh and free from larvae / worms. Do bear in mind, a durian with worms does not mean it's bad, it could be soo delicious that even worms are attracted to it...
1) Look at the tip. If it's too dry, it's no longer fresh. A little dry is fine.
2) Look at the bottom. If it's cracked, it maybe over-ripe or not so fresh. Some sellers will use rubberband to tie it to prevent from cracking. It could still be delicious but since we're paying for the best, why bother taking the risk?
3) Smell the durian. If it has strong smell, it's most likely to be good. If no smell, it's probably not ripe.
4) Put the durian close to your ear and shake it. If there's a moving sound inside, it's most likely to be good.
5) Look for holes around the durian. If there is, most likely it has been infested with worms.

Bear in mind, these are not SOP (standard procedures) for choosing durians. It's only a basic guideline for us to know and not necessarily will get us the best tastes of durians. Like what people used to say, dont judge the book by its cover. Same applies to durians. Will post more on this subject later. Meanwhile, Happy Eating !!!

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan - Steven's Corner

2010-09-17T13:06:00.003+08:00

This Steven's Corner needs no introduction to foodies, being a must-visit place for whoever around OUG (Old Klang Road) or Pandan Indah (Cheras). Recently moved to a new premise at its OUG branch but food quality pretty much the same.

My favourite has to be the cheese naan which is probably the best in town, and tandoori chicken. Most restaurants in town will have cheddar cheese as ingredient for cheese naan being a cheaper option. Steven's motto is to provide the best quality with best ingredients available. Thus, staffs used mozzarella cheese. When ready to be served, u better dont wait any longer with the cheese still steaming hot. It's that good that u can eat it immediately and dont need to eat it with dhal curry or anything else. Garlic cheese naan is also highly recommended. In fact, any of its dishes with cheese are great since all of them have mozzarella cheese as ingredient.

Cheese naan

This is what we called a cheesy meal

Tandoori chicken

It's Still Here??!!

2010-08-02T23:28:00.004+08:00

Almost forgotten about the existence of this blog...it's like sooo long ago since the last updates. My fault for not updating.....Blame also World Cup for one month of absence here.

Actually finding something to do as need to stay awake till 3am, where I need to go monitor some works in Subang airport with some Jap bosses..long story. Maybe to talk bout it on next blog. Probably need to make it a point to update every 2 weeks at least...we'll see

Accepting & Overcoming

2010-07-23T12:19:00.002+08:00

If ur diagnosed with a terminal case disease & doctor gives u 2 months to live, how would u accept it? Another question is would u inform ur families?

Attended a relative's funeral recently. He was diagnosed with advanced stage liver cancer. Prior to his death, he informed family members that all is in preliminary stage & that the cancer cells are under control. It's only after his sudden collapse which leads to his death days ago, families were informed of his actual condition which he did not disclose to members. His reason for doing this lies together with him and would not be known. Knowing his character, he probably do not want to cause distress & inconvenience to family members if he's to disclose his disease details. Instead he prefers to suffer alone rather than together with his families.

He couldnt be blamed for his decision now that he's gone. I truly believe one of the reason God gives us family & friends is to share our joy & sorrow with them. This is so that we can get the strength from the love & support to move on. True, death is inevitable. Accepting death together with the families will at least help the person to "go" without any attachment and with free mind and peaceful state. I've seen people in that situation (when death is foregone conclusion and person only waiting time to "go") but dont want to leave yet. U can really see it in their faces as if they're saying "I've got so many things to do for my families etc and I dont want to leave here yet!!! " and that leads to more sorrow to the families who are helpless by then.

What will you do if ur in this situation?

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan - Vishal Banana Leaf

2010-05-10T23:02:00.004+08:00

Serving Chettinad banana leaf rice, Vishal Food & Catering is always packed with people during lunch hours. Being in KL's unofficial Little India, Brickfields, this place has to be one of it's best kept secret. It has 2 branches in Bricksfield actually. One is situated in Jalan Scott & another in Jalan Tun Sambanthan. The one in Jalan Scott is the first branch & has the chefs cooking its meals even for the 2nd branch.

Tried banana leaf rice in many places but what makes me going back there is the freshly cooked dishes, especially the side dishes that is normally served with the rice. Unlike other places which have dishes that are left for too long, leaving the food cold. U see, the place is packed & people is always queuing up waiting to have their shares of food. Naturally, the food turnover is high. Thus, we can always see the chefs are cooking non-stop & we will see new dishes coming out often. A must try is the chicken / mutton briyani rice. Other dishes are pretty tasty too such as chicken varuval, mutton varuval, chicken 65 etc. A glass of mango lassi will be refreshing after the meal.

Serving multiple dishes

Waiting to be served

My chicken briyani

Service is good even during peak hours. No need to wait long to be seated as the supervisor will arrange effectively according to no of pax. The food servers (or rather waiters) immediately attend to u whenever we call for them. Being in a secluded corner of Jalan Scott, finding this Vishal Food can be challenging. If ur coming from Jalan Istana towards Brickfields, Jalan Scott is immediately situated on the left side of the road. Restaurant is visible from the main road. As Jalan Scott is a one way street, one has to turn left after the next junction (after Petronas petrol station) to make a big U-turn to get into Jalan Scott.

Jalan Jalan Cari Makan - Yut Kee Restaurant

2010-05-01T22:47:00.018+08:00

I had a thing for Hainanese food. Always looking to check out the old time Hainanese kopitiams in town. Some of these coffeeshops did not really changed its look & image despite the changes of trends and times. One of them is Yut Kee restaurant, situated along Jalan Dang Wangi.

Here, they serves most Hainanese fares such as chicken chops, Hainanese noodles etc besides their own home made marble cakes & kaya rolls. Service is pretty fast with food served 10 minutes after u ordered. Naturally, most popular dishes are already prepared in advance so that to cope with the orders. However, that did not affect the tastes. Dad & Mum said it still taste the same when they first eat here during the early 70s.

Pork Chop

Roti babi (Pork bun)

Fish & chips

Toasted & steamed breads

Home made marble cakes & kaya rolls

Rules here is u gotta be prepared to share tables with strangers and not to hang around too long after finishing ur dishes. The queues here are long during lunch hours & weekends. Thanks to the efficient staffs, u dont need to wait long to get ur seats. Just prepare the follow the rules.

Forgot to get the GPS coordinates for this shop but it's pretty easy to find. Along Jalan Tun Abdul Rahman, keep left when u see the old Odeon cinema on ur left & Pertama complex on ur right. Turn left after the traffic light junction. Drive forward till u see Wilayah Complex on ur right. The restaurant is on ur left. It will be quite obvious to know which lot as people will be queuing outside, waiting to be seated...:)

It's Langkawi...Again !!!

2010-04-11T22:21:00.005+08:00

Another long overdue post on the annual Akurians' trip last December. This time, again to Langkawi. Still can't figure out why we went back to the same place. Personally, I felt the island has much to offer & we've yet to fully explore all places yet. Same quartet plus Paul, Emma & Eriq this time.

At the hotel pool

Arrived there on New Year eve and checked into this Langkawi Boutique Resort at Cenang beach. For RM 150.00 per nite, room pretty big with 2 queen-size beds although the whole hotel looked a bit runned down. No complaint about the pool though. With its man-made waterfall & lagoon styled design, we guys just need to have a dip. Later, we joined the gals at the beach across the street to witness the best sunset scene I've ever seen on Malaysian shore. Truly amazing to see how the sky changed to some unimagined colours within minutes. Had delicious seafood dinner at restaurant nearby before joining the New Year eve party, held along the Cenang beach. Thousands, especially the expatriates thronged the beach to watch reggae band performance, fire-show, some lantern lighting activity & of course fireworks. Typical Patong style.

Sunset shot as seen at Cenang beach without any touch of Adobe

Scene on New Year Eve in Cenang beach

This trip around, we decided to go beach hopping, other than where we went during the previous visit. Next morning, we went to the secluded Pasir Tengkorak beach at the other side of the island. Beautiful turquoise coloured water with clean, unhabited beach. Maj said it's frequented by locals only. Thus, not many people around & still unspoilt. Sincerely hope it will stays like this till the next visit again. Later, went hanging out besides the Temurun waterfall, located 5 minutes drive away. The water is so crystal clear that it's almost looked non-existent. Next stop to Pasir Hitam (Black Sand) beach. With name like that, no further explanation required on what's the attraction available.

Serene & quiet - Pasir Tengkorak beach

Skinny dip in lagoon like this is sooo tempting. Almost did it

They said the water is so clean that u can drink it straight away

And finally to Tanjung Rhu beach where Shangri-la & Four Seasons are located. Here, u can see a wonderful work of nature where u can walk to the island nearby on foot when it's low tide. It's as if there's treasures to be uncovered at the island and the secret path has been unlocked for us to reach there. We had dinner at a Russian USSR restaurant at Telaga Harbour before got back to hotel. We went to Kuah town for shopping the next morning before going back to KL in the afternoon.

The gang at Tanjung Rhu beach

On the long beach stretch

Notice the naturally made walkway to the island

Telaga Harbour at night with multiple choices of international restaurants

Made a promise to myself that i shall be back to the island to finish the tours of other attractions in the island. There are still eagle feeding, sunset cruise, Payar island snorkelling, island hopping & others...Who's joining me ehh??

Vote Vote Vote

2010-04-04T23:37:00.001+08:00

Finally managed to register myself as a voter today at a booth opened by Election Commission today at Subang Parade. Took only 3 minutes to write my details...The lady staff looked at my IC & gave a strange look. Hey, I know I missed 2 elections before this but better late than never rite?? Reports said that 2.1 million eligible Malaysian voters has not registered & at least 50% of them are below 35 years of age....So, peeps out there who are not registered yet, what are u waiting for?? Go register at your local Election offices & visit the web http:// www.spr.gov.my

Family Tree

2010-02-22T22:58:00.002+08:00

It's not an everyday thing where u can check out all ur relatives under one roof. Who got married to whom? Who are the latest additions to the family? How has all the children grown? Chinese New Year is one good occasion to do so. Cant resist posting this up after meeting a hot babe for the first time.

Babe with Mum. Photo taken with my hp

So cute that ur tempted to make one...LOL

Meet Mila. I guess her parents named her after Mila Jovovich. This cutie pie of Swiss-Chinese parentage is my grandniece who is in town from Zurich. Yes, it's correct & no typo error here. She's my father's sister's daughter's daughter's daughter aka grandniece.

Our family on Dad's side is sooo big that there's 4 generations still living in the family & my siblings and I are in the 2nd generation despite of our ages. With this, even relatives in their 30s & 40s in the 3rd generation are suppose to address my siblings & I "uncles & aunty". Too complicated for me to explain how & why. Younger bro thinks this is a burden..scratching his head counting how many angpows he need to give during his marriage in future. I see this as a beautiful moment to be cherished for a lifetime. Not many can lay claim for having more than 3 generations under one roof....:)

In the CNY Mood....

2010-02-13T15:46:00.017+08:00

It's around the corner. One more day to be exact to the first day of Chinese New Year. Time for reunite with all family members for dinner tonight. Call me being traditional or conservative or whatever.

My preference for a reunion dinner is just a home cooked dinner with all members of families instead of doing it in hotel or restaurant. The more people the merrier....The usual shopping trips with Mom to purchase the CNY necessities, that's something to look forward every year too. OK, I'm a Mummy's boy & proud to be one. Hey, it's something need to be done when ur married too. So, who else can give u all the priceless tips for bargains etc? Where to get the cheapest prawns around? Where to buy the cheapest lime tree? When is the best time to get the fishes ar reasonable price to keep till the reunion dinner, without storing it for too long?

Multiple coloured pussy willows

Lucky bamboo plants on show at Sungai Buloh plant nurseries

Lime trees on sale. Price depends on the size of tree & age of tree

Gourd plants

This is the usual scene in all the dried meat stores in Chinatown, KL

To all celebrating Chinese New Year, may u have a great one with your families back home...

Hong Kong

2010-01-09T13:44:00.001+08:00

This has been pending since last November. It was a hasty arrangement by bosses for myself, Will & Hiraoka to make a 3D2N trip to Hong Kong to study their newly integrated operational system in airfreight forwarding & look if can be adapted to our local environment. Arrived on Sunday evening to check into our rooms in Park Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui. A standard HK-sized but cosy & comfortable.

Cosy room

Walked to the tis Japanese restaurant Tonikaku nearby, highly recommended by tis Jap colleague of us. He ordered the food as if there's no tomorrow but I must admit they were good, especially the fresh sushi. And the bill came up to four figure sum of HK dollars (although I dont see exactly how much). Surprisingly, no one seems to know what to do next, especially the Jap who make countless trips to HK already. Being a self appointed tour guide, I took initiative to take them to Avenue of Stars, approx 20 minutes by walking. Too bad, we missed the Syphony of Lights show but at least got to enjoy the beautiful HK skylights at night. The weather & the setting around was just perfect that u just wanna sit down on the bench & watch people passing by. Went back for early nap, knowing the next day will be packed with activities.

This plate of sushi costs RM 240.00 !!!!

Beautiful HK skylights along the Avenue of Stars

You just wanna sit down & admire the scenery like this

The next morning, we walked to our HK branch HQ located nearby the hotel for initial discussion with the people concerned (with only me & Will being the only non-Japanese!!!) Had a dim sum lunch in tis reataurant. I must say the "ha kao" was one of the best tasted so far, 2 BIG prawns wrapped in a thin layered smooth rice flour. Later, we made a visit to our airport warehouse & operation office located in this Hutchison Logistic Centre nearby Kowloon border. Still a distance from the Chek Lap Kok actually but it was strategically situated between airport & sea port. Gasped, looking at the total volume of their cargo handling. Besides servicing the local HK area, others nearby such as Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Dongguan & even Guangzhou were included in area of servicing. Naturally, their volume was probably 5-6 times bigger than our KLIA branch.

After trip & discussion in airport, we went back to HQ for another round of discussion before having dinner in a Szechuan restaurant. The night was way too young to call it a day after dinner. The Jap went for his own plan while Will & I made a trip to the Mongkok/Yau Ma Tei area for night shopping. Cant remember how many streets we prowled..Ladies Market, Sai Yeung Choi Street, this street, that street...even walking along the same street twice or thrice !!! Ended the shopping trip with a supper meal of smooth "flavoured tau fu fa" with fresh polo buns in one of many desert stalls nearby. On the last day, Had one more endless round of discussion in HQ to wrap up the whole program before taking train to the airport

KL team & HK colleague on the left

Ladies Market

With image like this in billboard along the busiest street in Hong Kong, it's no wonder traffic jam is sooo bad

Mango tau foo fa

Happy New Year

2010-01-05T22:24:00.007+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 !!!!

Still not too late to wish all peeps out there. Just back from Langkawi with the Akurians & man, it was a blast. Frankly still feel the Langkawi islands are still yet to be fully explored despite of 2 previous visits. Definitely will be back again in future. Will post bout tis soon

Coming to tis new year 2010, are new resolutions required?? Not necessary, especially if the ones set on previous year are not fully achieved yet. It should be to achieve the previous resolutions with reinforced vigour. What's in store tis year ? What will happen in areas of politics, economy, environment & others? Nobody can claim to be Nostradamus and can foresee this & that. We can only do our very best in any situation & leave the rest to Him.

December Summary

2009-12-29T22:27:00.006+08:00

Been a long while since the last update. The busiest December ever with events in every weekend, not forgetting the workpiles in office due to end year rush (It's not a bad thing actually) Call tis an update or whatever just for the sake of posting one to make a complete "one post every month" routine.

As mentioned in last post, went to Hong Kong for 3 days for urgent biz trip. Still managed to find time to go for night shopping despite of our tight schedule. Just gotta make tis my next post topic soon. Mahikari Youth Group Jamboree was then held on the 3rd weekend of December. Permitted to hold the important role of chairperson of organising committee. Must say it was a blast, besides having eye-opening experiences being in the background ensuring all things run smoothly. Of cos, tis wont be possible without the support of the other members & His blessings.

The annual Akurian trip is just around the corner, departing in 2 days time. Not sure why, but this time again to Langkawi, where we went last year. Badly need a holiday to release the tension. Works are still ongoing despite of most people being in holiday mood already. One more day tomorrow....

HK...I'm on the way

2009-11-21T22:52:00.004+08:00

Packing luggages for biz trip to HK tomorrow. Will spend 3 days over in our office in airport. The Japs said it's to study the HK system & operational procedures and checking if it's can be implemented into Malaysian environment..The stuffs looked good on presentation. We'll see how it goes then. Could have spent extra nite in HK but everyone seems impatient wanting to know the report of findings that I need to give the next day. **sigh**..blog bout tis soon

4 Wedding Occasions & A Couple

2009-11-09T23:16:00.004+08:00

The title is clearly stated. 4 wedding occasions held over 3 weeks, solely for a couple, namely Ray & SL. Not whining, but just unusual arrangement. Add in several colourful characters into the scene such as the Akurians (& their partners in crime) and u have 3 eventful weekends, which I can safely say memorable enough for the couple to remember for a generation at least.

The album with CD intact, proudly displayed at the champagne corner

It's all started with the gathering during Raya eve (1 week before the 1st week) for a project. See, if people like Theva can be the first person to arrive, u know it's a damn important project to come up with gift of sorts for the soon-to-be-wed couple. We produced this MTV style video presentation featuring ourselves (Too obscene to be shown here) plus photo album for the couple. 1 week later, there's the wedding dinner held first in restaurant near Bukit Bintang. Beautiful setting in a cosy (although small) area. No prize for guessing which table is the noisiest & has the loudest cheers during the "yam seng" drink session.

Our breaking point: When glasses broke

Move on to the next week, we have this pre-wedding buffet in the groom's house. Hell broke loose as the night went along. With consent from his parents, the plan is a surprise attack for Ray with flour & water. Witnessed by all his relatives, groom was left to fight for his survival with attacks from all corners with water & packets of tosai flour. With those Akurian peeps, u can expect "conspiracy within a conspriracy" whereby even Maj, Nei & myself also got attacked without any of us knowing it. I'm still trying to figure out who was the first to throw flour on me. Poor Ray with the 3rd surprise attack on him. We can't be blamed though, u always "create" the perfect setting & occasion for the peeps.

Here we go....

It's war....

The next day, we braced ourselves for another potentially dangerous occasion, the bride pick-up at SL's house at Ampang. Arrived at the doorstep of SL's house, we were faced with several challenges thrown by the bride's friends. There's food & drinks of all 4 tastes (sweet, sour, bitter & salty), waxing of leg hair (Hail the great Phil), calligraphy writing by groom, rap+beat box session by groom & mates and tens of packets of ang pows given away. Negotiation finally completed after 45 minutes. Thankfully, we're given challenges relatively modest by KL standard.

Gang preparing for toast, drinking whatever that's given....

We drove up north to Ipoh on the next weekend where the groom held another session of dinner for his Ipoh relatives. Rather, this is an excuse for us to have another fun trip together. Stayed in this Ritz Garden hotel presidential suite where it has an adjacent private pool, sauna, steam room & jacuzzi. A heavenly resting place & perfect area to leave our marks. Honestly, everybody mind is already in the pool, even during our dinner in restaurant. Spent 5 hours in the pool for camwhoring sessions to find the perfect shots. Had the best Ipoh "hor fun" in Ipoh Old Town for breakie the next day. We then proceed for another camwhoring session in Gua Tempurung before calling the end of 3 freakily mad weeks.

The gang with the sauna. jacuzzi & steam room behind

One of many camwhore shots taken in the pool

To Ray & SL, do enjoy the ride together. It won't be easy but faith & care for one another will make the journey worthwhile enough to last u a lifetime. Just a piece of an Uncle's mind..:)

Random Shots in Melaka

2009-10-12T22:34:00.012+08:00

Showcasing some random shots taken in recent Melaka trip. Now I understand why photo enthusiasts love Melaka so much.

Serenity along Melaka river bank

Arsenal of the Porta de Santiago

Old pre war shophouses along the river bank

Windmill

Open area in a typical Baba Nyonya home, converted into a hotel

Hall in Hotel Puri, filmset of the Singaporean film "The Little Nyonya"

Indoor garden inside the home

Celebration of Union

2009-10-05T22:38:00.004+08:00

Putting food aside, the actual reason for our recent Melaka was to witness an important event for our family. Bro & his gf, Janice moved a level up in their 8 years relationship (I think) by exchanging their vows on so-called auspicious date 090909. Total of 99 couples participated in a mass registration event on that day. Personally, I think the obsession of those auspicious marriage dates are all gimmick & has nothing to do with superstitions or customs whatsoever.

Anyhow, it was a beautiful celebration of unions on that day. Mom & Dad did not show it, but I knew they're really anxious & nervous about the day & anything else related prior to the day. Hard to explain it but it's like awaiting the birth of new baby in the family. Both families met for the first time but all talked as if everyone already knew of each other.

Congrats to the couple

99 balloons up in the air

Welcome to the family, Janice !!

Food Gastronomic Trip - Melaka

2009-09-30T23:58:00.003+08:00

Making a foodie's trip can be frustrating at times, especially if the places are popular haunts with long queues. One of the way to avoid this is to do it during weekdays. Recent weekday trip to Melaka provided us the satisfaction of having good food with minimal queue. Actually, our family was there for a bigger occasion, witnessing the marriage registration for my bro, which shall be blogged later. As it's only 1.5 hours drive from KL, worth a second trip for "makan makan "next time.

Satay Celup (Restoran Ban Lee Siang, Jalan Ong Tee Kui)

Handmade Hainanese Chicken Rice Ball (Restoran Chung Woh, Jonker Street)

Hainanese Chicken Rice (Restoran Chung Woh)

Nyonya Cendol

Nyonya Rojak

Fresh Prawn Wonton (Note the 2 prawns in one wonton piece)

Durian Cendol

Gasing Hill Climb

2009-09-18T23:02:00.000+08:00

I always dream to climb Mount Kinabalu one day, one of the things to do before I die. Before conquering the BIG one, u gotta start with the small one first to check ur standing. Even if ur exercising regularly, it does not means that u will have good endurance & stamina; something I learnt from the Fitness First trainer. The recent Gasing Hill climb during the Koran holiday was the perfect start to gauge that.

I just loved working in Selangor. During Selangor state holiday, great feeling to see people with their busy lifestyle while u just relaxing, doing ur own things at ur own sweet time...:) Went together with few of the Mahikari youths. For ur info, Gasing Hill was a reserved green area (I think it's a mini forest reserve) situated in Petaling Jaya. People frequented the place for its mini jungle walk. We started at the back entrance at 9am & ended at main entrance in one hour. I must say I underestimated this activity, thinking it will be a walk in the park. At the end of the walk, whole shirt was soaked with sweats. Some climbs are quite steep although trails are easy to follow. The result of endurance standing?? Passable but can be better. A second visit?? Yes, just need to get a face towel next time.

When stamina deteriorated after a tough strenous activity, energy from food will be required. Dim sum brunch is perfect to serve the purpose. And we went to this Key Way restaurant in Paramount Garden, which serves wide arrays of dim sum & other deserts. Food was surprisingly good at this modest place that we just keeping asking for the waiters with baskets (with steamed dim sum) to bring on the food. Price? Little bit higher than the rest but u just wouldn't mind paying more if the food was good. Really need to go back there again !! It's situated just in front of the post office in Paramount Garden, Petaling Jaya.

Layout map of Gasing Hill

One of the climbs up

Main entrance to the park

Steaming hot Dim Sum

More varieties !!!

Remember this name. I'm already checking out the day to visit here again

Sounds of Silent Dreams

2009-09-10T22:06:00.000+08:00

Heard before of any drum performance by groups of Deaf? Sounds impossible but it's true. There's one who's consisted of multi racial deafs youths from YMCA & called themselves Deafbeat. One look at their performance, u wouldnt have thought of them actually being deaf. Personally knew most of the team members as friends of my sister who is also deaf.

Went to KLPac (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre) recently to check out "Sounds of Silent Dreams". The highlight of course being the Chinese drum performance as opening. Perfectly synchronized drum beatings, coupled with superb teamwork & coordination, no wonder Nazir Razak of CIMB Foundation, the team patron & sponsor called them his "babies". So much so that the team was invited for a performance in Deaf Paralympics (deaf version of Olympics) in Hong Kong last year. The latest project was for them to be involved in theatre play & their latest play given the title above. Story tells of a boy who got entangled into a dream after a hard day work. Too bad camera not allowed into the hall, couldn take photos of the performers in actions. Anyhow, the play completed last 30th August & heard that it received rave reviews from press alike. Way to go guys & babes !!!! How about the dance musical by the deaf next??

Title of play

Rave reviews from media

Japanese styled restaurant in the garden nearby KLPac

Koi fishes in the garden pond

Merdeka

2009-08-31T22:25:00.002+08:00

What's Merdeka means to you?

Questions being asked over & over and published in newspapers year after year. And you got basically the same answers year after year, that too only during this period of time. 50 years ago, we are still celebrating our independence from our colonial masters. 30 years ago, we insists unity is the strength to pull us through & moving a step ahead.

Almost one decade into the new century & we're still talking about the same old story about bridging the gap between the races. Funny thing is unity seems to be only discussed during this time of the year. It's like reflecting on your love relationship with your loved ones only on Valentine Day. Reflection, should be done on daily basis & not only once a year. Making me wondering are we really that fragile that we need constant reminders about keeping united with one another. Or this is just the hype played up by the attention seeker politicians? Policymakers & those up there should be talking about the how to improve ourselves in the competitive economy etc as one nation instead of telling us to be "mindful" of way we talk, tolerance etc.

Felt sorry for those racial bigots, do continue doing with whatever ur currently doing with whatever intentions ur having. Ultimately, ur to answer to Him at the end of the day when ur time is up. God fearing Muslims call it "balasan", Buddhists call it "karma". What's up with people like me?? I'll just wait to put my opinion into ballot box in the next election meanwhile being thankful to Him for giving me the great multi racial friends. Grateful for them to recommend me the good food sold in the Ramadhan bazaar in town. Grateful for them to teach me the proper etiquette on how to eat banana leaf rice. Grateful for them to teach me how to curse in their native language.

Happy Merdeka, everyone !!!

Devils Came To Town

2009-08-01T13:09:00.000+08:00

Attended the 1st friendly match between Manchester United & Malaysian national team recently. Went thru massive traffic jam in Kesas highway before reaching the stadium. Reached the stadium bout 1 hour before the match to see crowd in red & only in red all over the places.

Went straight into the stadium in order to get good seat & the Malaysian team was warming up then. Apparently, this is the Malaysian Under 23 team in disguise with addition of 4 senior overaged players. Frankly speaking, everyone thought this is will be a walk in the park for the Devils. Deep inside, I just hope the young Tigers team can play their heart out, giving the Devils a good workout. Starting lineup looked impressive with almost all the Devils first team players in action. From Van der Sar till Rooney, they really looked imposing. By the 30th minute, Devils is 2-0 up with goals from Rooney (I thought it was offside!!!) & Nani. And then the unexpected magical moment came, out of nowhere Amri Yahya nodded down a goal kick from the keeper & send a 35 yarder half volley, crashing the ball into MU goal. Van der Sar, being off position was totally helpless & stunned. Boy, u should look at his face reaction on the screen....truly a world class goal & causing everyone jumping for joy. (that's showed we're still Malaysians anyway)

Second half saw the Malaysian team playing with more vigour. Ben Foster was probably still getting used to the field when he miscued a backpass allowing Amri again to take opportunity to equalise the score. 2-2, something unimaginable in real life. Towards the 84th minute, I seriously thought the score will remains till Michael Owen showed his predatory instinct to slot home the winner to give the Devils a close 3-2 win. Not a bad game for the Malaysians for this match even though they eventually lost the 2nd match to MU again 2 days later.

The players marching into the field

Devils on the corner. Paying more $$ could have got me better photos

One of the counter attack forays into MU's half
Owen & Macheda to the fore. Expect to see more of this pairing in future matches

Crowd in red...

Durian Durian...

2009-07-15T22:56:00.015+08:00

Talking the "Eat As Much As U Can" promo, be it for Dim Sum, hotel buffet spread etc, may not get people take notice. Apply the promo to durians & people all over the town will get crazy, scrambling to have a try at least. Currently, there's 3 stalls in SS 2, Petaling Jaya having this promo for a month now. Situated just behind BHP petrol station & within walking distance from the police station, these stalls are always packed with people waiting to get a taste of the King of Fruits.

Even though stalls are in SS2, temptation just too strong for me & tried 3 times already. Once in each of the 3 stalls...these are some rules & observations. Promo only applicable on weekdays. U can't choose the durians, they are brought to you by the staffs, either u take it or leave it. True to their promise of "pau sek" (Guaranteed Good), those staffs will open up the durians first for u to see. Good quality ones shall be sold to u at price per kg. Price ranges from RM 10.00 to RM 30.00 per kg for an above average quality durian. The favourites are the always reliable D24, Udang Merah (Red Prawn or Ang Heh), Hor Lor, Musang King & Bukit Beruang species. Here, it's like a gold market, the higher the price range, the better the quality. So, ur looking at 3 pieces for RM10.00, dun have too high of an expectation.

The one found not to be of standard will be put aside in separate baskets.The staffs will open & open till you're satisfied with the quality. The one in separate baskets earlier are then offered to the "promo takers". Not to say these are the rejected stocks but overall, it's fairly acceptable when ur paying just RM 10.00 to eat till u drop !!! If ur lucky, u may get to eat the great quality ones especially on the unsold units. As durians normally last maximum of 2 days upon harvest, the stall guys will have no choice but to open the unsold units & offer them as part of promo. At least, they still got paid for it at RM10.00 per pax. Joining me for the next visit???

The all-time favourite D 24 species sold at Rm14.00 per kg

Staff opening durians for patrons

D24 - Golden Yellowish in colour, truly heavenly

How not to be tempted when a piece like this is as big as your palm??

Farewell to a King (1958-2009)

2009-06-29T22:47:00.014+08:00

Dear MJ,

REMEMBER THE TIME when u was deemed as a BAD guy & to the extent a DANGEROUS, SMOOTH CRIMINAL?? You didnt give it a damn & I dun think most of us did either. Instead, you let the music BEAT IT with your own style, giving us a THRILLER with your music videos which revolutionise the industry. And more, you HEAL THE WORLD with your enlightening songs, captivating millions of people. For you, WE ARE THE WORLD who can make the changes. And you know YOU ARE NOT ALONE in your fight for betterment of the society in this world of misgivings. In your eyes, there is no BLACK OR WHITE people, but only God's children. The EARTH SONG also showed that environment is also your major concern.

And for me, you're GONE TOO SOON as you're capable of giving more. Children around the world, especially are waiting, wondering WILL U BE THERE to give your hand to them. Perhaps God has His plan for you thus, brought you closer to Him. Rest in peace & I'm counting my luck for living in generation blessed enough to enjoy your music.

Yours sincerely,

Your Lifelong Fan...

Random Shots in China

2009-06-20T00:29:00.000+08:00

Some random shots taken during the China trip with the newly bought Panasonic DMC LX-3.

Taken at Splendid of China park, Shenzhen

My fave, taken in Shenzhen hotel. It must be challenging to sell this hairdryer brand in a Cantonese-speaking market like Shenzhen

Comfort at Sheraton Dongguan

Lake scenery outside the Keyuan Garden

Shot at Keyuan Garden pond, Dongguan

Gazebo overlooking the countryside in Lotus Hillpark, Panyu

The council building outside Canton Hotel

Superb workmanship shown in carving

Brightly litted bridge over Pearl River

Food Gastronomic Study Trip in Penang

2009-06-02T23:08:00.000+08:00

A study trip without any theoretical studies involved. It's a practical class all the way held in a food haven none other than Penang. In other way, it's "jalan jalan cari makan" with parents & sis during the Labour Day weekend last month. Done this many times already, but only managed to put tis into photos for blogging & tis time around,we went for the undiscovered stalls instead of the familiar stalls....:)

Not going to say much this time, showing only photos to explain it all....:)

Mee Jawa (Kek Seng restaurant)

ABC + signature Kek Seng durian ice cream (Kek Seng restaurant)

The highly rated Nasi Kandar, whole chicken leg with squid & vege (Line Clear Nasi Kandar)

Fried carrot cake (Stall near Pulau Tikus market)

Chee Cheong Fun (Stall near Pulau Tikus market)

Fried Kueh Teow with duck egg (Stall near Pulau Tikus market)

Steaming hot & fresh Apam Balik (Stall near Pulau Tikus market)

Loh Bak (Seng Thor Coffeeshop)

The most famous Fried Oyster in Penang (Seng Thor Coffeeshop)

Signature Steamed Hor Fun with Sliced Garoupa (Wong Chau Jun restaurant)

Pork Chop..only RM 5.00 !!! (Hai Aun restaurant)

Sleepless in Shenzhen

2009-05-14T23:38:00.000+08:00

From Dongguan, took 2 hours bus trip to Shenzhen. Once arrived in the city, we went to this Lotus Hillpark. The focal point of the park is Mountain Top Square. Here stands the large statue of Deng Xiaoping confidently striding forward & looked benevolently over the city whose creation he inspired. Coincedentally, it was a Qing Ming festival period for the Chinese & there's crowds of people paying respects to this "Father of Modern China" & sang patriotic songs in groups.

In front of Deng Xiaoping statue

Stopped over at Splendid China after lunch. This place is a comprehensive 30 hectares miniature park, reflecting the history, culture, art & customs of various nationalities in China. Over 100 major tourist attractions have been miniaturized & laid out according to the map of China. Forbidden City, Yellow Mountain, Great Wall & many others are all there. Some of these mini spots are so precisely built & their fantastic workmanship make u wondering how could be the genuine spots looked like. Hangzhou for example, has so many spots represented in the park & praised as "heaven on earth" by poets & scholars of yesteryears. Thank God Air Asia fly there too...:) Spent half a day in the park, & watched 2 cultural shows in evening & night showcasing the cultures & history of China.

Miniature Forbidden City

She's ain't heavy, she's my sister...

The magnificent Great Wall of China

Cultural show "Dances of the Dragon & Phoenix"

It was a free n easy in the next morning. went to the famous Shenzhen Dongmen shopping street for shopping. After days of observing the shopping patterns & markets in China, let me categorised the goods sold into 3 main groups. The first group consists of the international known brands such as DKNY, Calvin Klein, Armani etc, found only in upmarket shopping complexes. Ladies, dont waste your hard earned $$$ on this category as the price are basically the same, as found in KL. Just wait for the KL Megasale & you can spend happily on these brands. The 2nd group includes the upcoming home brands & rapidly expanding into most parts of China. There are such as 360 Degrees, Li Ning, Kerk etc. Some like Yishion & Hang Ten managed to penetrate the international market. Price is middle-class ranged. Price conscious shoppers would not buy this as the quality & designs are about the same with others found here. The last group is the most popularly sought by shoppers for their cheaper-than-normal price range. Cant recall any names as the brands differ in different areas. Working trouser costs you only RM 20.00 each while long sleeve shirt costs only RM 18.00 each. Smaller cities offer cheaper prices unlike bigger cities like Shanghai, Beijing etc. Quality wise is acceptable....let me make it simple, u buy at your own risk..:)

Dongmen shopping street

Went back hotel & packed our bags in the evening to prepare for the night flight back to KL via Shenzhen International Airport. The price paid for the package of 5 days 4 nite, combination of guided tours & free n easy: - RM 650.00, not inclusive of boat rides, entrance tickets etc...no joke.

One Night Stand in Dongguan

2009-05-05T23:23:00.020+08:00

We boarded the bus to Dongguan next morning. Stopped by at Lotus Park, Panyu. Here stands a giant bronzed statue of Goddess of Mercy, overlooking some beautifully landscaped Feng Shui gardens & a green lake. Once reached the city, we stopped at Keyuan Garden, one of the 4 famous gardens in Guangdong province.

Yinxian Temple with Goddess of Mercy statue

Walkway towards Yinxian Temple

Keyuan mean "a garden not too bad for visiting" in Chinese. Perhaps its creator was somewhat being modest about his garden. Opium Melting Square & the Opium Museum are the next stop, showcasing the long history of opium war in China. Went shopping at Huanghe Fashion Mall after lunch. Pretty large for China standard, it houses thousands of stores selling multiples fashion stuffs at affordable rates. I bought few trousers at Rm 20.00 each. We checked into Sheraton Dongguan hotel at the city. No need for me to mention about the service standard here, being a international 5 star hotel. Dad shamelessly claimed he can spend his whole day inside the room bathroom.

Entrance to Keyuan Garden

Dad reciting his newly penned Chinese poem on the stage to the audience of TWO....

Formerly an opium melting square

Nothing better than having a massage session to rest our tired bodies after a long day. All of us registered at only RM 50.00 per pax for session of 2 hours. Dad, bro & myself were put into this room, equipped with LCD TV, adjustable chairs with compliementary drinks & of course manned by 3 sweet masseuses. Only have this to say, simply heavenly.....:)

Sheraton's bathroom

Dongguan at nite

It's too bad we're able to stay one nite only in Dongguan as the group need to board for Shenzhen the next morning. To Be Continued....

Canton Odyssey

2009-04-21T00:15:00.007+08:00

As mentioned in earlier post, our Air Asia flight to Guangzhou departed at 0530 hrs & checked in at 0400 hrs. Mind u, LCCT Airport still has hive of activities goin on at wee hours in the morning as if it's normal office hours. Arrived at Guanzhou Baiyun International Airport at 1000 hrs local time & our group (consists of 17 family members & friends) was greeted by the local tour guide. The plan for this trip is a mixture of free n easy & guided tour. The cost of the total ground packages?? Tell u later after my next 2 posts on China trip.

Our first stop for this trip is the Dr Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. This is one of many places built around the world (Penang included), in recognising the contributions of the Father of Revolution to the nation. Next is the Five Rams statue. Had lunch in a local restaurant before proceeding to the The Ancestral Hall of Chan Clan. Seems to have those mansions, owned by the local tycoon in those days in every province. Here also showcasing the local architectural works in the design of the area besides the handiworks by the locals.

The legendary icon - Dr. Sun Yat Sen

Family in front of Five Rams Statue

Outside Chan Clan Memorial Hall

Ladies in the group started to get itchy hands & naturally the next thing to do is shopping. Went to the famous Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street to fulfill their urges. Guangzhou has population of 40 million people & shopping on weekdays here can very stressful, especially when queuing to make payment. Didnt really buy much in this street, just that the things sold are quite ubiquitious in designs & can't attract me to part with $$$ to buy them. Even though it costs only RM 15, what's the point of buying the shirt when u dun like it? Dad, bro & myself prefer to sit down in a local coffee bistro. Sipping hot mochaccino in a chilly temperature of 19 degrees while "washing eyes" for us guys is equally exciting to shopping for the gals...:)

Freshly baked potatoes

Ginger milk desert - heavenly taste. One bowl is just not enough

Dried sea foodstuffs at reasonably price

Went onboard the Pearl River cruise, something like the one found in Shanghai & Bangkok. Here, u could see majestic buildings with shining lights along the river with colourful bridges too. Checked into the 4-star Hotel Canton after dinner. No complaints on the room. Comfy beds with good bathroom facilities. Next day is a free n easy day and ladies insists on going to famous street to buy dried seafood stuffs after being recommended by the locals. Practically on the move the whole day. Surprisingly for a big city with population almost 2 times size of Malaysia, it's is pretty organised in the way that people will know which area to go if they wanna get something. One area will have shophouses selling only dried seafoods , the other area only sells bathroom accessosies, another will sells toys. And here in Guangzhou, they sell everything under the sun. And it's a common knowledge to people overseas that Guangzhou is one of the one-stop centres to source for any materials etc.

Busy making beefball noodle

Night view on top of cruise boat along Pearl River

Later at night, went for shopping walk at Beijing Walk, another famous pedestrian street outside our hotel and back to hotel to rest our tired legs before departing for Dongguan the next morning. To be continued....

Been There & Back

2009-04-07T20:49:00.001+08:00

Just back from China early at wee hours this morning. Few news headlines missed for the past 5 days. Button won (again!!) the KL Formula One GP, he became the new Prime Minister of Malaysia & most important of all, Gunners won 2-0 against Man City to strengthen their grip on the 4th placing & can somebody tell me who the heck is Federico Macheda??? Sounds Chilean instead of Italian to me.

Back to the China trip, we bought this Air Asia zero fare promo, totalled approx RM 350 per pax for return fare. Total duration of 5 days 4 nite for whole family together with 12 other family frens. Checked the itenary here, planned by the ever-so-efficient Mom. She works in travel agency anyway...There's arrival at Guangzhou, 2 nites in town, then one nite in Dongguan & then another nite in Shenzhen before return to KL via Shenzhen. Back home from work on 1st nite & our departure time from LCCT KLIA to Guangzhou at 0530 hrs the next day!!!! And the airport transfer van came at 0300 hrs, leaving me only 2 hours of sleep. Anyhow, it's my first time to the places & at least there's places for us to test out the new camera bought, shared by both bro & myself...the Panasonic DMC-LX3.

Shall post about the trip soon with great photos....

Earth Hour

2009-03-30T23:55:00.004+08:00

Excerpts of an interview (fictional) with a reporter, covering Earth Hour 2009 on Sat 28th March.

Q: Are u aware of the Earth Hour event held last Saturday??
A: Yes

Q: Did u participated in it?
A: Yes & proud of it

Q: How do u spend the hour?
A: We switched off all lights at home & went to Subang Parade to have dinner & waited for the completion of one hour.

Q: What's the comments of your other friends on this event?
A: Some were very enthusiastic on this & encouraging others to join in. Some thought this was just an useless publicity stunt. Some just don't bother.

Q: Why do they think like that?
A: Apparently the argument is about what one hour of saving electricity can do to help save the Earth. Others probably just being ignorance of what's goin on out there...

Q: What is your thought about this then??
A: This is not about an event on saving electricity. This is about creating awareness of the current environmental issues happening in our Mother Earth, which will affect us at the end of the day. We're sending a message saying if every single one of us play a small part in helping the environment, it's can be worthwhile & make a BIG difference if we see from the larger picture. Whether it's issue of global warming, deforestation, depletion of ozone layer or even dumping of materials, it's important to know that we dun need to be Barack Obama to get our message across & that ordinary people like you and me can make a difference if we play our part.

Q: What's your comment on the Malaysians' response in general about safeguarding the environment?
A: Basically, we're just being ignorance & don't care of the complications. Governmental regulations (which are not being fully adhered to) are partly to be blamed. In the name of development, people has taken advantages of the loose implementation to their advantages. Besides, the awareness of the current environmental issues are lacking in schools - supposely the place of nurturing the future generations. How do u expect the younger peeps to help safeguarding the environment when they dont even know what is global warming all about??

Q: What's your hope for the people?
A: For the educators to go back to the basics to help create a civic minded society. Everybody know throwing rubbish everywhere is wrong but most people just dont' bother. Those days during my primary school days, we were made to listen about creating a clean environment, almost on daily basis by the principal (whom I respect till today) & it's compulsory for everybody to spend 10 minutes cleaning the designated area in school before starting class. The authorities, especially at local council level should be more strict with themselves on the implementation of regulations & not bowing to demands. If that place is a designated "green lung", then maintain it & ensure it still remains one over times.

Thanks.

Langkawi Langkawi

2009-03-16T23:07:00.002+08:00

Okay, Akurians..this is the wayyyyy toooooo long for me to call tis an overdue post. But its better late than never rite?? This is the 2nd edition of annual Akurians reunion trip held in Langkawi last 29th-31st Dec 2008. Some of u may suggest might as well spend the New Year Eve on the island. Excellent idea in fact but being true frens we are, we adapted the timing to the schedule of certain someone, who ffk in the end...P Anyhow, we go ahead with only 4 persons this time; Maj, Nei, Ray & myself.

Got ourselves a rented Hyundai Accent at rate of RM 200.00 flat for 3 days duration once arrived (pretty cheap I would say during tis triple peak season) & checked into the Aseania Resort hotel. This hotel is strategically situated at the junction between the Kwai-Loh invaded Cenang beach & the serene Tengah beach. Room is pretty comfy, air-con working nicely & hot water available...way better than Pangkor rooms and swimming pool is sooo tempting that u just wanna jump into it even with your clothes on. No prize for guessing what's the first thing we did after checking in. There's mini jacuzzi, water slides, giant mushrooms falls, man-made waterfalls & even man-made rivers, all in one. Being camwhores we are, I can safely say 1/4 of total photos taken for tis trip are scenes from tis swimming pool....

Pantai Cenang. Sundecks need to be rented with separate pricing for umbrellas

See me practicing the new Zen exercise - floating over the water

Freaked out over an uninvited guest emerging from the pool

1st day dinner was at a Spanish restaurant, Tapaz, one of the many multi-fusion restaurants at the Telaga Harbour situated just in front of countless millionaires' toys (we called them yachts in proper term) parked at the harbour. The harbour's ambience makes you truly feel like one of the rich & famous, coupled with oldies music played by live band whole nite long. And yes, the ex-PM Dr.M's owned bakery's The Loaf was located here as well. Next day stop is to Langkawi Oriental Village where we took the cable car ride to Mount Matcinchang. Here placed an overhead skybridge, which should be highlighted in Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering.

Millionaires' toys parked at Telaga Harbour

Langkawi Oriental Village

The Skybridge - not for the faint hearted

Akurians with the Skybridge at the back

Looking at the height & condition of the hanging bridge, even AJ Hacketts will probably need to think twice before introducing bungy jumping here. When it's windy, u can really feel the bridge is moving. Later, we took the car for round island trip before stopped by at Pantai Pasir Hitam (Black Sand beach). Understand the sand colour here is due to natural cause & not oil leak or whatever. Went to Kuah town for shopping after that. The whole island is duty free, in case u dunno. The wide range of chocolates & liquors here certainly put the airport duty free shops to shame. Bought few cans of foreign beers for testing, costing only approx RM 2.50 each. You see, a can of beer here is way cheaper than a bottle of mineral water. Eagle Square is a must for all visitors to this island especially during dusk. Photo enthusiasts will be thrilled at the heavenly sight of the sunset.

The quiet & serene Black Sand beach, notice the colour of the sand

The island mascot at Eagle Square

Scenic sunset, as if the Light shining down from Heaven

Despite of being in late twenties, all of us seems to have the tendency to jump around whenever we posed, no thanks to the inaugural jump we had in pangkor last time..:) Had seafood dinner at Cenang beach before testing all liquors/beers in the room. Next morning, we took the morning walk to Tengah beach where lots, lots & lots of camwhoring shots taken before lunch along Cenang beach. Later, we catched the evening flight back to KL, just in time for New Year Eve celebrations.

We jumped at the pool, familiar sight huh??

at the beach....

on the Skybridge, some 652 metres above sea level.....

and even on room beds...

Collections of beers & liquors. All the beers suxx, except for Budweiser maybe....Tiger is da best !!!

Trip this around truly lived up just like what I expected earlier. Fun in the sun with great company. Never mind the small number of people, it's the quality times spent with people ur comfortable with that matters. So peeps, start look around for places for 3rd edition ya...Enough said bout the island, to the officials of Langkawi Tourism Board if ur reading this, can I demand a commision of sorts for promoting the island here???

Overdue Updates

2009-02-28T15:19:00.009+08:00

One blink of any eye & it's end of February now. There's the second annual Akurians trip held in Langkawi last December, Chinese New Year celebrations & the current political circus goin on nationwide (Perak & Selangor to be exact)

Sorry to the Akurians for not posting anything bout the trip. Next post okay?? Let me begin here with HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAPPY PONGGAL, HAPPY THAIPUSAM, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to everyone there...that wishes alone explain how much time passed since my last post...

Just that too frustrated with current local issues to write a post. As we knew here, economic situation in tis part of the world is not doing well. Being in the freight forwarding line, servicing mostly semiconductor firms, my company was in the frontline of affected parties. Factories are closing down & retrenching workers, causing thousands (but I believe it could run into hundred thousands) of people left jobless. For those barely surviving, drastic cost-cutting measures are being implemented. Paycut, longer shutdown period etc, anythin else under the sun that can be done to minimise the costs. Some companies are just only operating 4 days a week as some existing staffs forced to take unpaid leaves. Don't even mention about OT here. Worst part is nothing much really been done to help the worst-affected industries, at least to help them to sustain. Japan, the strongest economy in Asia has announced it's being in a recession & even Singapore has done it. And this is the funny part, here our beloved PM in-waiting insists the country is unaffected with the current state of world economy & we're not showing any decline and that we have the strong fundamentals to sustain. Wondering what fundamentals he meant & if he actually knew what he's talking about.

Don't even wanna mention the current political circus going on in the federal & state governments where all the players are acting as if the world is their oyster. The in-word now seems to be "stimulus package"...Statements after statement given, first stimulus, second stimulus etc...The question is where is the so-called packages? What is the projected domestic growth after the stimulus given? Which industries will be given priorities? Where is the roadmap of all those packages?? As one citizen Anas Zubedy correctly said it in an open advertorial in Star newspaper on 26th February, it's the people who suffer the most now. Check it out at thestar.com.my. Problem with those politicians is that thought of admitting about a problem equals to admitting their weaknesses. Listen here, everybody knew this recession thingy is like a lifecycle & bound to happen to every country. It's about being realistic & going through the tough times together to ensure there's food on the table for everyone. People will understand & not to the extent of ignoring the pleas of those who voted you into power.

I pray for wisdom to be given to those not able to be rationalise things. I pray for forgiveness for those who preach to others but don't admit of their own shortcomings/mistakes. I pray for strength to be given to those who lost their jobs and still need to feed their families. I pray for perseverance to be given to those having huge debts & problems piling up. I pray for courage to be given to those are still unsure how to remedy the setbacks they're facing now. And most of all, I pray for those on the verge of breaking down to continue to believe in themselves & Him in these trying times.

December Round-Up

2008-12-29T01:50:00.002+08:00

Been a busy month here & tat's why the non-updates of blog posts. Now it's reaching the end of the year. There's the Bangkok airport closure at beginning of the month, creating much needed business for our KLIA airfreight business, Mahikari Tai Jamboree held last weekend, Thiru's beautiful wedding in Cyberview Lodge Cyverjaya and upcoming Langkawi trip with the Akurians tomorrow...Can't sleep well now....

More posts will be coming soon after I'm back and...

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

Obituary - Yip Kok Choong (1945 - 2008)

2008-11-10T21:59:00.015+08:00

This post is specially dedicated to Mr Yip Kok Choong, or rather Uncle Yip to most of us

Uncle Yip was called home by the Lord on 31 October 2008 at 12.25am at the Kwong Wah hospital in Hong Kong after a debilitating illness. A year ago, he was diagnosed with a degenerative illness that affected his motor system.

Despite of the gradual deterioration of his health & capacity to move, he persevered in his work and assumed his responsibilities with as much care and commitment up to his last breath. I believe this is the desire that he possessed to help the society touched many people from all over the world in one way or another. Countless condolence messages came from people from all walks of life around the globe in the memorial blog http://www.yipkc.blogspot.com/ Visits from hundreds of people in the memorial service held in HK & KL last week clearly showed how much he has touched everybody's life in one way or another. This just make me feel proud to be able to know him in person.

Knew Uncle Yip, probably since I'm seven or eight. He was the general secretary of YMCA Kuala Lumpur then & at the same time, being a godfather of sorts to my sis, who has her early deaf educations in YMCA. We still keep in touch even after he moved to Hong Kong to serve as secretary general at regional level Asia Alliances of YMCAs, mainly bcos he's also the husband to my sis's mentor/godmother, Aunty Lucy. There is this special relationship between our family and both Uncle Yip & Aunty Lucy that I can safely say that we're like family members.

Working wise, his reputation is second to none. Well known for spending long hours in office & his life is practically about his works in YMCA. I've heard that even during his last days, he still insists on going to office to attend board meetings....Widely travelled to countries around the world, naturally number of friends spread far & wide too. Being one of the founder members of the YMCA International Deaf HH Camp held every 2 years, he contributed immensely to the deaf society in Malaysia & regional level, not to mention his contributions in other areas such as human rights, poverty eradication etc. I can still remembered those days (my younger days) during the annual Parent Support Group family trips (held for families with deaf children) when Uncle Yip was encouraging parents & children. He always insists on importance of family unity.

Uncle Yip is incredibly down to earth & modest despite holding high positions in office. He loves being around with people & looking for good food whenever he's in town, especially hanging around in mamak or kopitiam in Brickfields. Those kopitiam uncles & aunties in Brickfields will have lots to say bout him. Those makan-makan trips to Tanjung Tualang, Selayang, Port Klang etc & our times with him in Hong Kong shall remains memorable moments to me. Being a joker, he loves teasing people, especially Aunty Lucy with his cynical jokes.

There's a Malay idiom saying "When a tiger dies, it leaves its stripes. When a person passed on, he leaves his legacy behind". That's our Uncle Yip. His works & contributions in his areas of work shall remains as example to be followed for many generations to come. His presence among us all will be sorely missed. And I'm sure God has His plans for him in heaven.

Uncle Yip, may You rest in peace...

Kawe pergi Kelate...

2008-11-03T22:47:00.002+08:00

What did u do when ur struggling to cope with stress in a fast paced city? De-stress urself in a slow-paced city with a laidback style, or better still celebrating a happy occasion with bunch of cheerful ppl there...that's what practically happened last month.

Went with several Mahikari Youths to be part of a beautiful wedding of Hock Shai & Li Lian back in Shai's hometown Kuala Krai, Kelantan. Geographically, it's 64 km south of Kota Bahru about 1.5 hours drive by road from the state capital. With wide choices of tranportation modes available, all of us went like in 3 different routes thru Air Asia (that's my group) & Malaysia Airlines by air and another group by car. Upon arrival, Shai arranged for his relatives to pick us up & drive down to Kuala Krai. Our car went to Pasir Mas first for "ayam percik" (a nationwide famous grilled chicken with specially marinated sauce) as someone was craving for it & need it fast. How to know more of a newly found place & its people? Learn of its local dialect from the local people of cos. Took a crash course Kelantanese Malay during the journey to Kuala Krai, thanks to tutoring from Shai's brother. It is well known that the Malay spoken in Kelantan is "kao kao pekat". "Kawe dah lapor, nak make ayam percik. Demo nak make??" (I'm hungry, wanna have ayam percik. U wanna have some?)

Heavenly "ayam percik". Still tastes delicious even when it's cold

Arrived 1.5 hours later to find the M'sia Airlines gang waiting at the pre wedding gathering at Shai's house. By 6pm, everyone has arrived & enjoying the tradional Thai dish, "kaojam". The guys hang out with the groom till late nite. The gals went back to a rented house with the bride. Woke up little early & found time to chat with Shai's uncles while waiting for others to wake up. U see, everythin seems to be so foreign in Kelantan even if ur speaking the native Hokkien with the locals there. The local Hokkien seems to have the mixture of some Siamese & Kelantanese Malay influences in it & difficult to understand at first, but the message is still understood in the end..:)

Finally arrived at groom's longhouse style home in Kuala Krai

Having a try of Thai-made Tiger & Chang beers

By 9 am, everyone was ready & moved to pick up the bride. Guys have prepared for any circumstances, posed by the gals at the house. CY even bought his "kachang" (Japanese sword used in kendo martial sports), just in case the "negotiation" turn violent. For this time around, challenges posed are much lighter, compared to other weddings before this. Thank you gals..:) We are made to eat pancakes & drink Milo. All of them added with chillies or certain spicy spices I think. Groom was then made to drink bowl of supersour lemon juice before allowed entry into bride's room.

Am I ready? I Think I am!! Do I?? Probably I do..

The compulsory tea ceremony was held before we went back to groom's home for another tea ceremony & prayer etc. Had nasi dagang & other local dishes, catered for lunch. Hang out for a while in the house before some of us went back to KL. My group went back to the rented home to take a short nap as our flight back home was at night. Had tomyam + Chinese dinner in Kota Bahru before flying back to KL.

Lunch - Nasi dagang & local dishes

Group photo with some of the remaining peeps after wedding

With Mr & Mrs Teo...

Work Work Work

2008-10-14T22:05:00.000+08:00

Dunno what am I thinkin about but tis is the first post about my career. Just that, nv wrote about it & so, why not this time? Whenever I said I'm in a freight forwarding industry, people will give that blank stare and the synonymous "Huh?? Freight what?" And my typical answer (simple one as not to confuse them further) will be like "U know DHL or Fedex?? We're somethin like that, just that we're focused more on industrial sector." So, let tis post enlightens u peeps' ehh??

Currently working in this company called Nippon Express Malaysia Sdn Bhd for 5.5 years now, stationed in its KLIA airport branch in the import department. Company quite a big thing in Japan where they're almost equilvalent to Pos Malaysia and there's also offices & agents all over the major countries in 5 continents. Check out the website http://www.nipponexpress.com/ Back in M'sia, our airfreight division is the top forwarder in M'sia for 8 years in the row now. And being a Jap company, naturally majority of our clienteles boast of Japanese biggies & other SMEs. Wonder if there's any commissions of sorts for promoting the company in this blog...hehheeehe

So, the simple process in our department will be like getting the imported goods out from the flights, clear them in customs & deliver to clients asap. Sounds easy, but with almost 250 staffs in KLIA office & almost 70 staffs in import department alone plus volatility of the industry, every passing day is a challenge & of cos, new experiences to gain. Being in a managerial level, nv that I imagine that I could actually practice what I've learnt before. Studied Business Admins majoring in Marketing, it is a wonderful God arrangement for me to practice this on daily basis. Will talk in details in future post. Being a 24/7 company, phones ringing during wee hours in the morning is pretty normal routine. Not to mention also the stress level which can reach up to ur head (to almost explosion level) during peak & critical times, having to attend to multiple demands (sometimes ridiculous) of multinational companies despite of existence of uncontrollable factors in weather, political, economical & other areas.

Of cos there are funny memorable experiences too, besides the forgettable bad ones. Earlier this year, we need to clear a newly arrived dog from Japan & to deliver to its owner in Johor Bahru. Our new Jap manager was monitoring closely due to the dog owner is a MD for one of the major clients. All necessary customs & health documentations were in order with special handling requests were in place as well. All that we were told is its a 4 years old St Bernard and it requires at least air-conditioned surroundings for its logistics. Refrigerated truck is a no-no or the owner's best friend will be freezed to death. Arranged an Avanza though to carry the dog to JB. However when the dog arrived, everybody were shocked & tis Jap panicked. Nv thought a 4 years old St Bernard (let's call it Bernie) can be so huge sized. When Bernie stands, it almost as tall as myself. Naturally the cage was too big to be fitted into the Avanza & arranging a bigger van will take another 2 hours at least. With the humid weather, the logistics will need to be done fast. The best option is to release Bernie & get it to sit in the passenger seat and dissemble the cage. Probably being new to the environment, Bernie was stubborn & not wanting to get into the van. Thank goodness, Bernie finally relented & even agreed to put on seat belt (good dog!!) I could have taken photos of that as it looked cute in it !!! hehehe

There's many more stories later & stay tuned ya....

Kelate...

2008-10-05T23:37:00.005+08:00

Been looking for reasons to visit Kelantan for years & finally got one when Shai & Li Lian is getting married back in his hometown, Kuala Krai this month. Congratulations to both Mr & Mrs Teo !!! Tried hard to look for the place in the map but to no avail. Upon checking in the Net, tis place is located 64km south of the state capital, Kota Bahru. And yes, got to know the famous designer Zang Toi hailed from this sleepy town as well...

Got myself to fly to Kota Bahru by Air Asia at bargain price at RM 159.00 for return trip. I love u, Tony Fernandes & I still thinks ur the best candidate for Transport Minister post in the soon-to-formed new government ehehee. Can somebody suggests non-politician civilians to be allowed to vie for Minister post as well?? Anyway, shall blog bout tis trip soon when the time comes...

B-Day...

2008-09-29T23:30:00.010+08:00

Many of u asked how did I celebrate my belated B-day last weekend. What I've done? Nothin much actually...just drinks+B-day countdown with the Akurians, spending quality times with beloved families, futsal with Mahikari Youths, seafood dinner & a surprise gatecrash from the Youths at my home. All done in a simple way. Might sounds boring but it's meaningful.

Was in Mamak Bistro's SS 14, Subang Jaya on Sat nite for drinks with the Akurians. Earlier, Maj, Theva, Nei & myself went for this baby naming ceremony (somethin like a full moon party for baby aged one month old) for Siva's daughter. Congrats to the new father & mother. Baby does look as beautiful as her name, Manushrii Sai. Got catched up with some old skool mates in the same party, some of them were totally unseen for last 10 years. Talked cock, especially bout the coming Langkawi trip this December. Already has our imaginary tour schedule..this getting me more excited waiting for the day. We celebrated my B-day after midnight with teh tariks instead of the usual surprise pranks, thank goodness everybody wanna have a break for now at least....

Baby + gang

Woke up the next day to find my sis getting gung-ho about baking cake. She's pretty into this baking practice nowadays. Mum & bro joined sis to make orange cheese together. Dad & myself gladly made way...not that we're lazy, just that we're more of the food connoiseurs type. We only taste food eheheh. Cake turned out well & it was not bad...Well done sis & keep it up. Next in the menu, chocolate moist cake okay??

In a fishing village near Klang Esplanade with family

Later on had seafood dinner in Klang Esplanade in a Hainanese fishing village restaurant called "Bagan Hailam Seafood Restaurant". Bountiful of seafood served at reasonable price. Our "Sweet & Sour Crab" were quite good. Other than that, nothin extraordinary to enable a repeat trip. Thought day was over until got a sudden call from Hikari, informing of him & "few frens" wanting to visit our house. Little that I knew there's 15 of the Youths came gatecrashed into my home bringing along a Gardenia cake with candles. Hanged out for a while & played game of "Mafia". Although it does looked like a last minute planning, it was a pleasant surprise to see sooo many of u celebrating with me & appreciated the efforts.

Surprise cake

Thanks guys / gals for the company...

Each one of us have an idea of his/her dream birthday celebration be it dining, partying, flying in a helicopter etc. Mine only is to celebrate the day with my loved ones. Type of activity is just secondary in nature. Call me being emotionally old fashioned, out of touch, conservative or whatever...but just tell me what makes a more beautiful day than celebrating one of your most significant day in your life with your loved ones?? Anythin more than that (eg surprises, gifts from your frens etc) are great blessings given by God. And I'm pleased to say it was beautiful celebration each year as far as I can remember. Imagine this, looking at the sight of watching sis & bro arguing over what ingredients to use for the cake, the jokes/stories by old mates, loud laughters by the youths & even just simple sms & Facebook wishes (u know who u are!!)....you just cant stop thanking Him for bringing these beautiful people into ur life. Thanks again to all from the bottom of my heart...

Btw, would like to wish all my Muslim bro's & sista SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI....

Fish Spa !!

2008-09-16T22:54:00.007+08:00

It's a trend in Klang Valley now that everybody frequent the fish spa. Originated from Middle East, the fishes ate our dead cells & said to help in healing many skin diseases...been wanting to give it a try for some times & it's only until recently that Ray & myself went to one in Subang Parade to give it a try...

RM 38 for half hour dip, quite pricey but gave in for the sake of having some ticklish experiences..Little that I knew this will be one of my tickliest, most geli experiences ever...First 10 minutes was a session of loud laughings. Thank God we're the only customers around then. By the 15th minutes, we're quite settled down & took times to take loads, loads of photos...By the time of full 30 minutes, legs felt numb but better after a while. Any difference to the legs?? Probably session too short for us to judge...a longer one hour session next time maybe??..Enjoy the photos below:

The sample fish that's gonna eat our legs...nah!! Just for exhibition

They are coming....

Now they're all over !!

A view from under...

A first-time visitor looking for ticklish sensation & got more than he bargained for!!!

51 Years of Progress or What??

2008-09-07T23:02:00.007+08:00

Our nation celebrated its 51st year of independence recently on August 31. However, recent events of our politicians making fuss over racial issues in public, which completely ignored the feelings of the ordinary people like u and me. Just make everyone thinking where are we actually heading to after 51 years of so-called de-colonisation & freedom of outside interferences.
Not wanting to highlight any particular incident of so-called being insensitive to other races, the question is are we still that shallow-minded despite of 51 years of independence. Come on lahh, 51 years and those people still dont know what to speak & what not to speak, especially when ur in public? Dont ur mum teach u about adab & budi bahasa (manners & decorum)??

Nation building indeed a tough & takes long winding roads to complete it. Historical facts showed it takes generations for people mindset to change & accepting them. It takes 3 centuries for America to recognise the equal rights for the black people, thanks to a certain Martin Luther King. And now, they're having Barack Obama, an African-American as candidate for president. Does this showed our nation is still too young & our people still too naive to recognise equality among people? Will it takes us centuries for our people to start respecting each other like ur own blood? Read an article (cant remember whom) and it said something like "Our skins maybe of different colours but inside us, our blood are of same colour. Our physical bodies maybe different but our souls are one"

Glad that my life was filled with beautiful, colourful people from all walks of life. And I thanked God for letting me having these people in my life. Certainly few childish,stupid statements from some donkeys wouldnt change my thoughts that there's indeed still hope for the us. Hope for people to change. Hope for people for accept. Hope for people to learn to love & respect. And hope gotta be followed up with actions for its to be fulfilled. Question now is what can we do for a start to make a change. As said earlier in my last post, it's all starts from us. We need to make the changes ourselves by practicing ourselves. Learn to respect if u wanna be respected. Learn to care if u wanna be cared for. Learn to love if u wanna be loved. Learn to be considerate if u want others to be considerate towards u......enough said.

August Round-Up

2008-09-02T23:49:00.009+08:00

Been a while since last time updating the blog. One blink & August is no more and September is here now. Browsing thru all the happenings in the month & there's Beijing Olympics running for almost a month, the mother of all by-elections in Permatang Pauh, Penang; Jun Tai In Yokoshi training and Merdeka day.

Opening & closing ceremonies were out of the world, as they said. Sparkling performances from athletes from multiple sports awed the world & seems as if they originated from another planet. If Michael Phelps is a country, his 8-gold performance in swimming would have put him ninth in the medal standing. And our very own Lee Chong Wei left reeling from the one-sided badminton final match loss against Lin Dan, missing out on the gold medal & the RM1 million reward. And we will need to wait another 4 years for another hope & aspiration for the precious one. Kudos for him though for bringing back the silver. Usain Bolt, mark this name now for he shall be the next athletic superstar after the legendary Carl Lewis & Michael Johnson. Astonishing world record 9.69 sec in the century dash & it could be made lower, judging from Bolt's comment "It wasn't my best performance". And sexy pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayaeva's hobby could well be breaking world records. London 2012 organising committee members will now be under pressure to match Beijing's outstanding organisational displays. And I'll be eagerly waiting if Sir Alex Ferguson actually coaches the Great Britain football team in 4 years time in Wembley.

And of cos, there's the Jun Tai In Yokoshi training held successfully over 6 days in KL Dojo with then theme "Know Yourself". Special thanks to June & Hon for their efforts during this training and not to mention, Taicho & Vice Taichos'. Personally, it was a tiring journey, having to travel everyday to KL from my working place in airport. However, upon looking at the participants' bright faces, the tiredness just went off. It has been a pleasure getting to share knowledges & experiences with those peeps. There's 6 of them. Put it this way, it was a learning journey for both leaders & members. From the activities & upon observation, each of them has shown potentials to be of someone who can contribute to society and it makes me more motivated & eager to help them to unearth their potential & eventually, getting to know themselves. Apparently, one of the member popped a question "How can I make a difference to the society when the whole world is currently full of chaos & being materialistic?" As Al Gore said in his groundbreaking presentation "An Inconvenient Truth", it all starts from us, ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King & Nelson Mandela started alone & held their beliefs despite of massive challenges & life threatening barriers. They moved & inspired people with their beliefs & actions, even if 2 of them are no longer around. It's about putting into actions what we think is right & no turning back after the first step. The only choice is to move forward.

Not talking about Merdeka (Independence Day) in August could be seen as doing injustice to the country. August 31 was the date & went to Curve the nite before for the countdown party. Honestly, the response of the nationwide celebration of the 51st Merdeka this year is rather lukewarm. No more Merdeka ads on TV, with the exception of Petronas. Hardly seen any cars flying at least the mini-national flag on road. Cant blame the people though, costs of living is increasing and we're seeing never-ending political circus going on in the local scene. And the frustrating part is no one seems to be bothering looking at the needs of the ordinary people, especially the middle class group (which forms the largest income group in the country). Who will have the mood to celebrate then? Anyway, we observed the fireworks & here posted a photo of it, which hopefully signify a spark in the local scene in the next 3 months before end of the year.

Chelsea is Here !!

2008-08-08T00:20:00.006+08:00

Top EPL team, Chelsea (or rather Chelski) was here in KL last week as part of their Asian tour. And I was there to witness them played against the Malaysian national team in Shah Alam stadium, Selangor. Let me clarify here that this does not mean being a traitor for watching other team, besides your favourite team plays. People just dun understand & jumped the gun asking questions like "Ei !!! Ur an Arsenal fan, why the heck ur watching Chelsea game!!!??" Let me tell u ppl out there, my heart & soul is always for Arsenal but tell me how many times u can watch world class football stars live in actions here in our own backyard. It's the love of the "beautiful game" that pulled everyone making their presence to the game. Bet that most of the 60,000 fans present were not Chelsea fans though.

It has been a while since the last time stepped into a stadium. There, I went to Shah Alam on Tuesday evening together with my baby sis (just back from Canada) and 2 Tai's sidekicks Hikari & Tony. Ticket costs us RM83.00 each & settled into seats overlooking the entire field. Tip for newbies to a stadium on your first visit: Spend big on the tickets & u will never regret on the views ur bound to have..:) Chelsea came with their first team players, with the exeception of the injured Didier Drogba. Cech, Terry, Lampard, Essien, Ballack, Shevchenko, Anelka & many others...they are all there.

Match Preview:

Nothing to talk about actually. Even a six years old would have correctly predicted the outcome for the match. All the footie fans wanna see are the Chelsea players to show glimpses of their skills, some goals and of course the Malaysian players (who comprises of Under 23 players with mixture of experienced elders) to show them "Malaysia Boleh" spirit with fighting performance. Put it tis way, Chelsea is here for global marketing purposes besides warming up for coming season & Malaysia to accomodate the Blues with a match during their tour. Period

Match Highlights:

Chelsea players took some time to warm up & nearly shocked with a near miss by Malaysian player, Amirul Hadi in the 2nd minute. After that, it was Chelsea all the way, gaining possession for almost entire duration of the match. Deco, particularly was impressive & nearly scored with a subline volley, only to be denied by an acrobatic save by Malaysian keeper, Helmi Eliza. Expect to hear more from him in the coming EPL footie season. Goals from Nicolas "Le Sulk" Anelka & Ashley Cole wrapped up the game for the Blues. The fantastic show by Malaysian keeper, with some superb saves kept the scoreline down & respectable for the national team.

Match Review:
Despite showing some silky skills, Chelsea players clearly were not playing at their best. Probably the horrendous pitch condition caused the Blues to hold back to avoid injuries. Even at half pace, Malaysian players were simply no match to their world class counterparts, exposing the huge gap between the standard of both teams. Nevertheless, the fearless performance shown by the Malaysian players was to be admired. The defenders & goalie could proudly said they had a decent match. At least Scolari said it was a good warm up match, with the locals giving his players a tough time. All the locals need are more match exposures to gain better match temperament & improve on their understanding.

Expect more EPL teams to hop over here in near future. Never mind they're here for the $$$, but what the heck? EPL is now the most popular & commercialised football league in the world, thanks to supports rendered from people at this part of the world. The teams ought to be here in South East Asia at least to show their appreciations to the fans.

Teams before the start

The fans in droves

Now that he got the ball, he's wondering where to go next...

Michael Essien making his run from his own area

Baby sis & me

Ronaldo Leaves United

2008-07-26T12:02:00.002+08:00

Stumbled upon these videos in Youtube, referring to the recent speculation of Ronaldo joining Real Madrid. Freaking funny if ur a footie fan, no offence to the Manchester United fans though...enjoy !!!

Operation: Ray's Surprise

2008-07-14T23:42:00.006+08:00

Prime Target: Raymond Choy
Mission: Surprise Party+Holy Water Festival for the B-boy
Date: 28th June 2008

Venue: The target's base in SS 14, Subang Jaya

Executioners: Fellow Akurians + moles in the target's circle (his gf+parents)

As stated above, the mission has successfully taken place in the designated place of execution, thanks to the support of all involved parties, either directly or indirectly. At the time of this blog is written, it is reliably said that the target has yet to recover fully from his still-shocked mind from the sudden ambush; just like George Bush pondering what & how it hit him after 911. Not goin to waste time to get into details of what went on during the operation. 2 blogs has precisely explain the details of all the happenings before, during & after the operation and u ppl stole some of my lines. Too much duplication then if I am to explain again... Just check out the target's blog http://www.reimondsblog.blogspot.com/ or Majidah's http://whereinsoever.wordpress.com/. So to u both, I demand 5% royalties for promoting ur blogs here. Not asking too much rite?

Looking back at all the plannings prior to the big day, frankly it was the best surprise party plan we've came out with in years which I thought Sun Tzu will be very proud at. Hold a minute...did we actually plan surprises before this year? For these recent surprise thingy for our clan members, we got foam sprays, super oily whipped creams with cakes, water...just can't imagine what comes after this....If ur looking at tis, Ray...it's all started in Pangkor and yes, u got ur due...:) Hope u enjoyed it & etched in ur mind for a long time. Whatever way we do it, all being done as the way it used to be long waaaaayayyyy back, just like the old days. No ill intentions, no ulterior motives, just plain, old fashioned pranks for our beloved frens to have memorable moments. Meanwhile, just enjoyed the photos taken & for those still unaffected of surprise thingy...beware...:)

The group photo

The cake...simply heavenly delicious

The executioners + the prime target

The warzone, full of debris

Oldies Song - I Cannot Like Mehh??

2008-06-25T22:40:00.001+08:00

Many a time I was questioned about my love for oldies songs. People actually found it weird for a person in his twenties to have great liking for oldies whereby I should be rooting for hip-hop or R&B. And oldies are meant only for oldies...My answer is simply "Why can't I?". My handphone caller tunes contains of Stevie Wonder"I Just Called To Say I Love You", Andy Williams "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and Shayne Ward "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". My customers thought I was in my forties due to this song choices and my younger colleagues told me to change the tunes for God's sake.

Can't really recall when I started liking those oldies songs. It's probably due to following my parents to many karaoke outings with family frens in my younger days. It's simply because of the originality of the songs & the singers' passion in singing the songs, comparing to the songs today which sounds more or less the same and the singers are almost sound alike. The 60s, 70s and 80s are my top picks for the greatest decades of history of music.

How not to love these evergreen songs which their catchy tunes will keep playing in your head the moment the songs are played. Those will probably be playing on radio for many lifetimes to come. Think of Cliff Richards "Beautiful Sunday", Beatles "Let It Be", Carpenters "Top Of The World", Louis Armstrong "Wonderful World", The Cascades "Rhythm of The Rain", Beach Boys "Kokomo", Bee Gees "Night Fever", Willie Nelson "Always on My Mind" and many others. Push slightly forward to the 80s and we're still enjoying the memorable choruses of songs like Richard Marx "Right Here Waiting", Atlantic Starr "Always", James Ingram "Just Once", Bryan Adams "Everything I Do, I Do It For You", George Michael "Careless Whispers", Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You", Lionel Ritchie "Say You Say Me" etc.

Cover version songs are considered safe bets for most singers today as they are previous hits which can serve as passports for them to penetrate many different age-groups. Although there's many cover version songs by top singers today, personally only barely few actually sing better than the original singers. Dan Fogelberg "Rhythm of The Rain", Jordan Hill "Too Much Heaven" and Shayne Ward "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" are my top three picks of being better than their predecessors, bringing new breathes & dimensions into the songs. We have many versions of "Unchained Melody" but tell me who can actually sing better than original version by The Righteous Brothers? You may think Air Supply & Mariah Carey's version of "Without You" are the best but wait till you listen to Harry Nilsson, the original singer. Who dare say Jessica Simpson is better at singing "Take My Breath Away" than Berlin.

With this, let not question my love for oldies anymore. Try listen to these songs in YouTube & get to appreciate their uniqueness & originalities. Enjoy !!!

Petrol - A Necessity or Luxury?

2008-06-15T17:34:00.013+08:00

Just something to laugh about & make u feel better while pumping ur petrol. Might not be funny for some though...

Aftermath Next??

2008-06-07T12:07:00.003+08:00

After March 8th 2008, June 4 must be the second most shocking day for most Malaysians in 2008. Petrol prices was increased 78 cents to ridiculously RM2.70 per litre while diesel prices skyrocketed to RM 2.58 per litre, up RM1 from previous price.

I've been bombarded with forwarded emails for whole day, with emails stating of how we were actually cheated by government, how our petrol price can be controlled etc etc. Honestly, those stuffs just don't strike me anymore. Why the cry over split milk? Not that government will turn back its decision despite of the massive outcry by the rakyat, the actual kingmaker who chose the government of the day. In fact, the increase is unevitable, being in line with the increasing world market price of crude oil. We all knew it's going to happen but the rate of increase apparently caught everyone in a shock.

In one report, Idris Jala, MD of Malaysia Airlines said there's actually more than enough of oil supply in the world at the moment but the rising prices are works of speculators. Being an ex-Shell guy added more credentials to his statement. There's some Soros' out there making hell of a profit & there's no one seems to care about stopping this (increasing prices) It's coming....it has happened & nothing we can do to stop it. We just need to move on. The magic question now is - how are the ordinary citizens (that's you & me) goin to move on from here???

This is just the beginning with the impending aftermath of a national level inflation, as predicted by economicians & politicians. Tenaga Nasional has increased its rates of electricity supply. Coupled with the continued rising prices of rice, all basic stuffs in our daily life will bound to cost more with some parties will take full advantage by increasing the prices unnecessarily. The "roti canai" I had for breakfast near my place in SS14 Subang yesterday, now costs me RM1.10 each !!!! Being in an airfreight forwarding industry means I'm in the frontline of the worse hit affected industries. Trucking costs increased two fold in a space of a day. One full tank for a 40-footer trailer now costs RM750.00. Airlines has given hints of increasing fuel surcharges within a month. The most painful truth is being tied to contract agreement with customers, we're unable to divert the increased costs back to them.

Back to the question, it's time to sit down & lists down the things in order to negate the inflation. Let me think about it & share with all next time...

Zhuhai Hop Over

2008-05-10T09:34:00.006+08:00

Day 5

We took a charter bus to the Macau bordergate to cross over to Zhuhai. The trip to the mainland from the bordergate is more like hopping from one shopping complex to another. Custom clearance was surprisingly efficient & doesnt' take much of our time. Over to the mainland gate, named Gongbei Port, we were greeted by Angela, the tour guide in charge. We booked tis package tour for one day to bring us to the local tourist destinations plus meals. She looked relieved when she learnt we understand Cantonese, her mother tongue as she looked struggling with her grasp of English.

Even unidentified beings need to follow the local regulations

First stop is the Fisher Girl statue, the city's symbol just like St Paul Ruins to Macau. The statue is composed of granite & 8.7 metres high, placed at the seaside. Stopped over at a local seafood restaurant for seafood lunch. Continue with the visit, we went to the great Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Memorial Park in Zhongshan, somewhere outskirts of Zhuhai city. Here stands Dr.Sun's birthplace & one of his many residences around the world. Besides is a memorial museum, with impressive collections of his works & stories of the his entire life. With great, detailed explanation of each significant event of his colourful life, we spent almost 2 hours to travel back in time & browsed thru the stories. Little that I knew Dr.Sun has a Malaysian second wife.

The life-sized statue of a great icon - Dr.Sun Yat Sen

Next is the underground shopping complex, situated just under Gongbei port at the bordergate. There are several hundreds of shops, many with goods targeted at tourists - clothings & shoes, jade & other jewelleries, electronic gadgets, imitation stuffs etc. We was told to bargain at all times & to bargain hard. Thank goodness Cantonese is the first language here, otherwise wonder how am I goin to bargain in Mandarin!!!! Bought some clothes at RMB50 each & only that, cos other stuffs are similarly priced to the one in KL. It's almost dinner time by the time all finished their 2 hours shopping. Brought to tis seafood restaurant nearby with impressive designs from the old Qing Dynasty era.

Entrance to the Qing Dynasty restaurant

Grand dinner served, total of 10 dishes excluding deserts

Finally checked into tis 2000 Years Hotel in the town. No, it's not the age of the hotel but the name is. Comfortable room with great showering experience. Never I've seen a showerhead as big as a human head. Imagine when u have hot water sprayed to ur entire body at full blast and u just need to stand still without moving an inch....Taking shower is never this satisfying!!! The tour guide recommended all of us to undergo sessions of Chinese massage at one of the local health centre to pamper our tired bodies. First hour is a reflexology session. Dad & myself were then brought to a private room for body massage. The natural next thing to do is to remove our clothes. The masseuses stared at us as if we're goin to have a nudist-style sessions. We were then told no clothes need to be removed as they will do it with us fully clothed. I was like"Huh? What the heck?? Massage with clothes on?" Then, the masseuse probably pressed my "sleeping mode" nerve that had me dozing off almost immediately. Next thing I knew is the session was over & total charges for 2 hours of session - RMB80 (great bargain there

Day 6

Checked out early the next morning after breakfast to visit the Royal Meixi Stone Archways. This is built in remembrance of Chen Fang, a local born who's the first Chinese consul in Hawaii. Had one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the famous Guangzhou face-changing performance. The question of how the heck the fella did it at such fast pace will remains a mystery for long times to come. Too bad the movie file too big to be uploaded into this page. We went off early to avoid long queues at customs bordergate. Once arrived at Gongbei bordergate, came about the typical scene in any Chinese customs office. Thousands of people just stand still queuing up waiting for approval to get across the border. It was Sunday & everybody probably hopping over to Macau for some weekend gambling games. Took us almost 2 hours just to get thru the Macau customs. Rushed on time to the airport for flight back home.

Guessing Game - Jump of joy or Kneel of a worship?

Time is not a factor in places like this

Macau Bem Vido #2

2008-04-28T23:17:00.006+08:00

Continuing from the first part, we checked into tis Beverly Plaza Hotel in the Macau town area on Day 2. The room not as grand as Venetian Macao but equally comfortable. Took a shuttle bus to the newly built Macau Fisherman Wharf & had lunch in a Shanghainese restaurant inside. Our hotel is stone throw away from all the major casinos. Here, we have the locally owned casionos such as Grand Lisboa & Fortuna. There's also MGM, Wynn, Sands - the major Vegas chains are all here. It's been years since the local government stopped the monopolization of the local gambling business from a certain Stanley Ho (one of Asia's richest men) & opened up to the international chains. No wonder tis place called Vegas of the East. Anyways, in 2007, it's reported that Macau has overtook Las Vegas as the no.1 gambiling destination in the world based on $$$ turnover.

With bro in Fisherman's Wharf

For dinner, went to tis Wong Chi Kei restaurant situated in Senado Square, which serves the signature wan tan mee. They even got their own website: http://www.wongchikei.com.hk/ The restaurant is famous throughout Macau & HK for its technique of making noodles with the bamboo sticks - a century old traditional Cantonese style. The prawn dumplings were filled with super fresh medium sized prawns. Truly delicious & a must-try for any noodle lovers. For supper deserts, we tried to search for tis "tong sui"(sweetened soups) shop. After 1 hour of walking, finally found it at secluded corner (can't remember the shop name) Here, we have their specialties; sweetened water chestnut soup, wheat, black glutinous rice, sweet potatoes & other unknown desert. It was a tantalising treat with generous servings of ginkgo in almost all soups in huge bowls. Bills came up to about RM 200.00 for 10 of us, with each bowl costs RM 15.00!!!

Braised wan tan mee with shrimp dumplings from Wong Chi Kei

Great array of "tong sui"

Beautifully lighted Macau Tourism office building in Senado Square

Day 3

We had this half day tour on a hired coach with a local tour agent with the first stop at St. Paul's Ruins, which I descibed as the symbol of Macau. With the legendary landmark as the background, photo session is a must. Nearby is the Macau Museum, which showcased the history of Macau's early days. We were then brought to the A-Ma temple, St Francis Xavier church & had Portugese lunch at Dumbo restaurant. In between the places, went to the famous Macau pastry shops, situated strategically near the tourist attractions. There are 2 household names for pastries, "Choi Heung Yuen" & "Koi Kei". You will always see the 2 shops situated not far from each other anywhere in main Macau streets. I was told almond cookies is a must-buy for souvenirs while others such as pineapple cookies, peanut candies, egg cakes are not to be left out either. Having a thing for pastries, I just can't help but to try out & buy each packet of these cookies from the 2 shops. My personal opinion is "Koi Kei" has slight edge over its rival as its cookies are more tastier & had more varieties of cookies. So, do hop over to any of those 2 shops if ur in Macau.

My one resolution before this trip is to check out the famous Portugese tarts & see if it's taste is as good as claimed. Tried the ones sold in few shops & mind u, the taste of the tart in it's birthplace Macau (i guess so) is really out of the world. The egg portion in the tart is soft & tender unlike the one sold in KL which is more like a jelly. So, when we eat the original version, it felt as if the egg melted in our mouth. Talking about the currencies used, most shops here actually accept 3 main currencies, Macao dollars (MOP), HK dollars (HKD) & renminbi yuan (CNY) & most cash registers had the daily rates set in them. So, if the price of the item costs MOP15 & when we give HKD20, we will receive changes slightly more than MOP5 based on the daily rate.

Bro & myself went out on our own at nite, setting ourselves to prowl the whole Macau streets while the others tried their lucks again. Started walking after seeing off the others in Wynn casino but we decided to go back to Senado Square for dinner in Wong Chi Kei. It was drizzling & there was a procession going on in the square since it was Good Friday. Tried my best to go in front to catch glimpses of the people but the crowd was too huge. After filling our hungers with wan tan mee, pork chop buns & sui kow soup, we explored every corner of many connecting streets around the square. Little that we realised we actually walked as far as reached the St Paul Ruins again. Truly majestic sight of the landmark at night. A must-visit place in Macau at nite. Walked back to our hotel using the long way in order to see more of the town at nite. Along the way, there's beautiful display of lights on building of Grand Lisboa Hotel & Casino, entertaining magical fountain performance outside Wynn & also stopped over for dim sum supper at a Taiwanese shop.

No photo is complete without the Macau icon at the background - St. Paul's Ruins

Stanley Ho's Grand Lisboa Hotel & Casino

Musical fountain at Wynn Macau

To be continued...

Macau Bem Vido #1 - A Venetian Dream

2008-04-18T21:25:00.002+08:00

Blogging about recent trip is not easy really...first, u wouldn't know how to start & normally too many good stuffs that left u spellbound & not knowing how to describe the great experiences. better start writing or else, the memories could start fading away with time, especially for ppl with short-term memories like me. It happened last year with my Chiangmai & HK trip. Okay, been to tis Macau & Zhuhai (thank you Air Asia)recently with parents & bro and 18 family frens. But first of all, one special thanks for Tony Fernandes for making tis trip possible for all eheeheh... I will definitely recommend u to be the next Transport Minister in the 13th General Election!!!!

Day 1

Upon arrival in the Macau airport, weather were chilly cool & averaged bout 15 degrees. We were transferred to this Venetian Macao resort, situated in this reclaimed island of Taipa. This is the first integrated casino-shopping complex-hotel resort in Macao. Managed by the prestigious Las Vegas Sands, it covers over thousand of hectares in the Cotai Strip with all its designs are based on the Italian Venetian theme. Check out the website: http://www.venetianmacao.com/en/home.aspx One look at the overview designs of the whole area, u can safely conclude this is the closest version of Venice town u can get. We checked into the 75 square feet Bella suite room, which has 2 queen size beds with any 5-star facilities u can think of in place. Boy..it has 2 LCD TVs & that too Sharp Aquos brand!!!!! Upon checked out the bigger-than-usual size bathroom, Dad loudly announced "I'm not leaving this room !!!"

No wonder Dad dun wanna leave here

Still not had lunch, we (Dad followed as he need to satisfy hunger too) quickly changed & went down to check out the food eateries. All of us stood still on the 3rd floor, not knowing there are about 30 food outlets serving all different fusions u can think of. Settled into tis local food court & ordered wan tan soup noodle and "yin yang" drink (mixture of coffee & tea for those who dunno). Not bad for a starter, with those fresh prawns-filled"wan tans". Love those HK style wan tan mee...Once finished, took my bro wif me for our own tour of the whole town. First stop is the Grand Canal Shoppe, with shopping outlets with the man-made river in between. There are total of 350 outlets to be exact.

Grand Canal Shoppe along the river...

Taste of local beer is a must. Smooth but not much umpphhh

Be mindful, we're still being indoor & the whole area are closed with Sun an unknown entity. One look at the outlets' name & u know they are untouchable. Gucci, Fendi, MNG, Tiffany's etc...u name it u got it. One great attraction is tis Venice-style gondola ride along the river with singing boatmen...Mind u, they probably hired Italian soprano singers to man the boats!!! Each of the boatman will sing thoughout the boat journey & those peeps dun need mikes for their voices to be heard aloud. Actually the indoor area played a part as well, with those sound-proof walls & ceilings intact.

Gondola ride with singing boatman

Every single detail in the resort is precisely taken care of & ensured to be of 5-star Venetian standard. On one walk along the lobby to the casino, u just have to stop, look 60 degrees up & marvel at the beautiful Italian drawings on the ceiling. Along the street in the shopping area, several buskers were seen strutting their stuffs and a group of soprano singers showing their vocal prowess. Not sure if they're singing in Italian or Portugese,but what the heck, their voices nearly cracked my spec glasses....

Entrance to the casino

Fantastic piece of art on ceiling

One of many Italian artpieces

Me and Captain Hook with a soprano voice

Went back to the room to have rest & out to the Taipa town to check out the local seafood restaurant. The owner swears by his specialties chicken & fish dishes but they were only average at best, with only small portions served for 20 of us!!! Went back to the hotel for 2nd round meal & ordered shrimp noodles (which at least tasted better than the seafood earlier) While Dad & Mum went to the casino together with the rest, bro & I went outside the hotel premise for some photo shooting sessions. It was truly spectacular Las Vegas-style scenery outside with great display of lighting effects highlighting the main hotel building. Nothing to shout about the casino actually, with typical scenes of players screaming in joy & despair over multiple types of games. Nowadays, those mainland Chinese certainly can afford to throw their money (in chips form lerr) across the tables and putting thousands of dollars at one bet.

Typical Las Vegas-style building at nite

The hotel entrance

Day 2

Went to "yam cha" HK style (that's means having dim-sum) in a Chinese restaurant in the casino vicinity. We have to wait for a while for our food since the chefs practice "steam-as-u-order" system instead of the normal pullcart found in many dim-sum restaurants. Clearly one of the best "ha kao"(prawn dumplings) tasted so far with medium sized juicy prawns filled. Char siew pau & chee cheong fun are good too. Coupled with the perfectly brewed "pu er" or "poh lei" in cantonese chinese tea, dim-sum breakfast is never this satisfying....

Perfectly steamed char siew pau with freshly made dough and tender meats inside

The others went for last hurrah in trying their lucks in the casino before we checking out & transferred to Beverly Plaza hotel in the town area. With the published rate of HKD 1,600.00 per nite (that's the cheapest room at RM 800.00), it wont' do any harm by pampering ourselves in a Venetian dreamland. But of cos anythin more than 1 nite will bound to burn our pockets....

To be continued...

Old Mates...

2008-03-28T23:01:00.003+08:00

I know I know, tis might be little late to post tis as the events - "Lo sang" dinner & Theva's surprise b'day were held last month. Just got the photos anyway. At least, it's better late than never rite gang??

Had tis "lo sang" dinner with the Akurians' plan in mind for some time & thought of having it on one fine weekend (during the CNY period of cos). It's then made hastened when Ray called on Friday out of a sudden & announced he's flying off to Labuan to work on Monday. So, it's now or never or he will miss all the fun!!!! 1 day to call those peeps & get things going...Thank goodness most of them are free on Sunday. Suggested the Klang seafood restaurant in Pandamaran as it was pork-free & serves good seafood delicacies at reasonable price. And there's 12 of us sitting enjoying the seafood while reminiscing the old days + new memories gained (from the recent Pangkor trip) and updating each other + little gossipings. Moved on to 2nd round of drinks in Asia Cafe after that & killed time till wee hours while sipping (or gulping could be the better word) cool chilled beers. I lost count on how many buckets of Tigers we ordered...

Weeks after that, Maj suggested on tis surprise b'day for our beloved Theva with help from his bro. Plan is to surprise him at his home when he's on the way back. Old idea but effective. All mechanisms are in order with that fat bum went back home earlier than expected & immediately knocked off into his La-La land. Changed to Plan B when we will secretly slip into his home & surprise him when he's awake. Whipped cream is on standby when we managed to get outside his home. On personal note, it's my payback time for him being part of my surprise New Eve attack in Pangkor...Out of a sudden, that bum woke up & came out from the house and saw us, asking "What the heck ur doing at my home??" Dammiiitttt...the plan screwed up!!!! Any damage control?? No....but what the heck. Forget the surprise but the whipped cream attack will still go on & here's our B-boy got the taste of attacks from all directions...

B-boy got attacked

Enjoyed blowing candles, cut cake bla bla bla together after that...& boy, the cake from Cake Sense was damn good...Emma brought some photos (that I hardly remembered taken) & her old autograph book (that I hardly remembered writing stuffs inside) from school days..that exercise book that almost every gal will have & get every single soul to write somethin inside....& of cos as usual talked cock bout every single topic that can be discussed whole nite long while enjoying my Chivas Regal....It has been 11 years now & that does not mean we can stop doing the crazy stuffs we used to do in yesteryears and reminiscing the memories. It's more meaningful & sweet when u do it with the same people u hang out with. As Maj said, it's also time to create new memories & September will be a risky & dangerous month for others..:)

The gang...

Dawn of A New Era

2008-03-14T23:19:00.005+08:00

March 8, 2008...mark tis date for it's the most significant & eventful day in the history of M'sian elections. It would have been known by now (unless ur staying in a jungle far far deep inside Taman Negara) that BN was denied 2/3 majority in Parliament & lost 5 states to the Opposition coalition parties at that.

Never in my lifetime I've seen newspapers were selling like hot cakes. I can't even got a copy of my favourite Malay Mail & Sun newspaper (probably the most bias-free newspapers in the market) for one week !!!! Been reading the Malaysiakini.com news website for it's been made freely accessible for public for one week. Floods of mails/columns/posts awakened me to the fact that people's thoughts has indeed change & this time around, they made their votes count. Political tsunami, waves of changes or whatever they call it, the elections this time will bound to be the benchmark of many future election campaigns to come. Vox populi (means voices of people in French) caused the rakyat to show Makkal Sakthi (means people power in Tamil) & many other factors prompted people to give the vote of their lifetime. Not goin to dwell on analysing how & why it happens since there are countless people out there giving great concise, bias-free analysis. Check out http://www.malaysiakini.com/

Talked to many people (my peers) before elections & most of them includes me did not register to vote. Reason is we're way too disillusioned with the state of politics all over. People might change in different office terms but things remains the same. Public money are wasted on extravagant so-called study trips & buildings of many "white elephants" (especially in the local council level). Voices of the people was heard went unheeded. Corrupted officials went unpunished or rather punished lightly (think of a certain Klang man, now DEAD). One minister frankly spoke of the existence of many little Napoleons in local governments. Many other issues were ignored & authorities closed their one eye on it. So why the heck we need to queue up for hours just to cross the blank box in a small piece of paper when rakyat $$$ will still be squandered by those Napoleons?? And we're partly at faults for choosing these people. The results of the elections has clearly showed that democracy is indeed alive here & changed my thoughts (I'm sure to most of us as well) on the power of people to decide the political outcome of the country.

M'sian political landscape is no longer the same & it's the fact everyone (that's u and me) need to accept & adapt to it. Seems like some losers were still unable to accept their losts, acting like crybabies & blaming everyone else but themselves. Even the winners shouldn't be spared too, now that everyone want a piece of cake for themselves & caused infighting over positions. This is my message to all: CUT ALL THE CRAPS & GET DOWN TO WORK !!!!

To the winners: Now that u've been voted into office, stop the infighting & re-adjust ur
ideologies if u need to, now that ur governing the multi-racial states. Do your best to fulfill ur promises to us, the rakyat who will decide on ur performance next election.
To the losers: It's not the end of the world & stop acting like sore losers.Do your own self
reflections & read Billi Lim's book "Dare to Fail" if u still dun understand. Get back to grassroots & find the root causes on your failures. Work to regain our trust in you.

Okay, I shall now go to the nearest post office to register my name for next elections. Dammit...should have done this many donkey years back when I reached 21.

I Believe I Can Fly

2008-02-23T12:45:00.007+08:00

Stuck to reading newspapers & checking out the Net recently. No, not part of the Election 2008 fever...I'm not eligible to vote anyway (my fault for registering my names late) Air Asia was having tis promo of RM 0.05 ticket to multiple local & international locations where travelling period can be extended till Jan 2009...been a yearly affair for the airline to launch tis knockdown price promo. Check out the website: http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/home.jsp

And I'm left wondering how come Time Magazine can ignore Tony Fernandes for the Man of the Year award. If only he can be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2008 for bringing everyone in Asia closer & help push the Asian tourism as a whole ehehehe. Well, Bangladeshi banker Mohamad Yunus won it in 2006 for lending $$$ to his poor countrymen..Anyway, Tony got my vote for any award & I believe millions of ppl out there share my views too. And thanks to him, the airline truly live up to their promise that "Now Everyone Can Fly" and I have that R. Kelly signature song playing in my head for few weeks already...

Not to be left out in the race, MAS is currently having a promotional fair on its own whereby ticket prices are slashed down to 70% for multiple international destinations. Check out the website as well. http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/matf08/fare.asp The travel fair only lasts for 3 days (Feb 22-24) and book ur tickets fast to avoid disappointment. Suddenly everyone seems to have time to go somewhere anytime...and same goes to me here. List goes from here:

1) Kota Kinabalu (Proposed reunion trip II and my dream to climb that Mount Kinabalu)
2) Bali (Will be on & meaningful only if there's the other half)
3) Hong Kong again...(How not to go again when good food is aplenty)
4) Ho Chi Minh (To reciprocate my Nippon Vietnamnese frens last visits to KL)
5) Phuket/Krabi (Value for $$$ destination)

Ok, enough of fantasy & back to reality, hope at least one dream destination can be fulfilled in 2008. Hope...no no no, make it a motto tis year: Hope + Actions = Fantasy Fulfilled...keep ya updated if it's fulfilled

Futsal Fever

2008-02-10T23:10:00.002+08:00

Went to tis futsal tournament, KL World 5's Futsal held in Statium Negara last Sun. As stated in its website http://www.klworld5s.com/ , the total prize money is USD 150,000.00 !!! And that xplain why the top teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland etc travelled round to globe to play here.

Ray & I were bracing ourselves for the dream final between defending champion, Argentina & Brazil. Arrived earlier & managed to watch the Bowl Final between Iran & Holland. In the end, Iran edged Holland 2-1. Crowd was fabulous with traditional blue-white attires on one side & green-yellow coloured attires on the other side. My my my...surprised to see that we actually have sizeable South American community residing here in M'sia. Some of them are hot chicks too...We're sat in the middle not knowing where our hearts are...too bad M'sia not playing in the final. Not that the M'sian team suxx. In fact, they managed to thrash England 6-2 (a scoreline u wouldn't see in the 11-a side version) The rest of the teams were simply too experienced & good.

Match finally started with both teams playing cautiously & occasionally showed some sublime skills. End result: Argentina 0 Brazil 4 !!!!! Should this scoreline is stated in the 11-a side version, the Argentine coach would have been sacked & the whole team disbanded. We tried not to cry for the Argentinians while jiggling to the Brazillian Samba tunes. The Brazillians are simply too powerful & outclassed their traditonal rival. God probably created the Brazillians to play football...their nimble feets & silky skills are a delight to watch.

Thanks to the organiser ESPN, these world class actions can be seen live in our own backyard. Hope tis can continue in years to come....

Ole Ole Ole...Brazil

New Year = New Camera ??

2008-01-24T22:47:00.002+08:00

Guess words would have spread out by now that I've lost my camera on New Year day in Pangkor, thanks to Ray's precise explanation in his blog. U dun need to be sooooo detailed rite?? Makes me more angry with myself lerr...It still hurt me a little whenever think bout the precious photos lost. Olympus camera = RM 600.00. Pangkor photos = Priceless...got the idea??

Well, let bygones be bygones & move on to the new year with new gadget to play with. Took time to look around & even all the way to Melaka (thru my bro) to look for affordable & workable camera in tis current time of cos. Checked out with my customer Olympus for bargains. In fact, Canon & Sony are also having digicam promos with knockdown prices but the models are like 3 years old maybe?? Maj & Ray was saying no point buying expensive camera when the concept of taking photos is the same. Unless u wannabe Jacques Cousteau or some peeps who wanna take photography seriously. I'm not the person who will spend thousands of my hard-earned $$$ with my blood, sweat & tears on a single camera either...

Got myself an Olympus FE-270 last week for RM 600.00 in a photoshop in Subang Parade. Guess wat?? It comes together in package consisted of free 1GB Memory card, mini tripod, LCD filter, 4 AA batteries & one charger...Btw, the camera does not includes batteries & charger as accessories. Thus, a super bargain there & for ur info, the promo is still ongoing in the photoshop. Cant remember what's the name but besides Chicken Rice shop in Subang Parade.

What impresses me the most is the user-friendly features & above average specs. With 7.1 megapixel, it also has a special "one button" guide function for the beginners & has anti-shake mode. Look for more details in link below http://www.olympusimage.com.my/products/dica/camedia/1176316_830.html

Can't wait to test it...looking forward for next occasion to catch the moments on stills & videos....CNY perhaps??

Pangkor Escapade 2007

2008-01-10T15:48:00.004+08:00

It takes me days to think about wat to write bout tis trip. Not that it's boring but it was a blast!!! Just too many great stuffs in the trip that deserve mention. I was even thinking into writing in parts. Well, Stef :=) pressured & told me that to start updating very soon, no one pressured me as much as u..:) just jk & ok here it goes...

Went to Pangkor on 30th with old skool frens; Ray+ his gal Evon, Theva, Maj & Nei. We drove to Teluk Intan & brought the gang to sample the Abdullah mee rebus in town (claimed by Star newspaper to be the best in Teluk Intan!!) Got booed & "finger flashed" instead by the gang for the food & I still dunno the actual reason. Went to Lumut & board the ferry to the island. We ended up in tis Seaview Hotel & first thing impressed me is the surprisingly clean beachfront. Apparently, hotel was owned by an ex Thomas Cup badminton winner, Dato Tan Yee Khan, who was a fren of Ray's someone's someone that we've got a bargain deal of RM 100 per pax/day for 3 days 2 nite stay (inclusive of 3 meals each day !!!)

The gang outside Leaning Clock Tower in Teluk Intan

Ray's mum (who also on holiday there) greeted us at the entrance & told us to have lunch. The advise is to take only the dishes & forget the rice. Weird advise indeed & I wondered why. When dishes arrived, I finally understand. We were served 5 BIG portions of superfresh seafood dishes + soup + dessert. Got the hint that tis will be a "filling" trip. In the evening, went walking along the beach, climbing trees, swimming in the sea & the sunset was a scene not to be missed if ur in Pangkor. Dinner were served with 5 BIG dishes+ 1 bonus dish from the owner...lasted the nite with poker games(& I shall review that 3 diamonds rule again) +Smirnoff I brought.

Picturesque view of sunset

The next day morning saw us go island-hopping, snorkelling, sunbathing, making transsexual being with sand & trying to be photogenic around rocks. Lunch were served with yet another 5 seafood dishes as if the ocean was belong to the owner. At tis time, we were damn sure the amount we paid were for the food while rooms were FOC. In evening, went for tis unique watersport ride (only available in Pangkor), called the Airhead. Tis is where u need to lie down on your front on the float while holding on tightly to the grips. Mind you...tis is scarily more terrifying than banana boat !!! Swimming in the pool was the next best thing to do to relax our still-shocked minds after the ride.

Hooray !!! Finally, Nei agrees to swim after much persuasion..

Pity the big sized fella but notice size of his..ummm.

More Airhead rides?? Nooo...

After dinner, the beachfront cafe has the DJ spinning songs for the New Year eve celebration. Guess the DJ has a thing for cha-cha that he played them every 2 songs and u cud see all the aunties happily dancing to the tunes. By 10pm, songs were slowly changed into more techno tunes (no thanks to Nei's request) & by now, all the Ah Piau's & Ah Moi's were jiggling around. The area was packed with ppl and we were happily dancing away & little that I knew that the rest of the peeps has somethin in their sleeves for me. At the count of 3-2-1, I was surrounded by the gang (even Ray's parent were part of them!!!)& snow sprayed to me at point blank range. By the end of the fireworks, I was soaking with snows all over with ppl staring, probably unsure wat transpired...damn u guys for tis attack and tis shall make it unforgettable for long time to come. Talked cock bout the golden old days while sipping away the whole bottle of Smirnoff.

Nowhere to hide !! Being attacked from all areas !!!

Realised that I lost my digicam in the next morning. Tried hard to remember where do I put it & asked hotel staffs. Most probably, on our poker table the previous nite. Not sure wat's the feeling like. Funny cos I remembered to bring my Smirnoff(an empty bottle indeed!!!) back to room but not the digicam !!!! Sad bcos all photos taken are gone forever. Stupid me....& it's still painful till today lerr whenever think bout tis. Upon checked out, went to buy seafood foodstuffs at Lumut & back to Teluk Intan to buy "tau sar" & other biscuits. Tis time, brought the gang to have mamak fare at M.Gulam Rasul. No finger flashing or boos tis time for the food (especially the fried chicken) were tasty. Highly recommended for anyone stopping by Teluk Intan.

Despite few pullouts & minor hiccups (sorry for your car Theva, but glad ur there), glad we've managed to make it happen. Been talking bout tis for donkey years & it's only got seriously discussed 2 months back. And it was a great way to celebrate special occasion with the ppl ur comfortable with, whereby u can be urself without pretending. A memorable trip doesn't necessarily spent in a 5-star hotel in exotic location. It's the people who make it unforgettable by spending time together doing common interests. Sense of humour is a MUST too. There's bound to have more of tis after this escapade....& it's just the beginning.

New Blog

2008-01-10T01:24:00.000+08:00

Here I am with a new blog in the new year...

Decided to shut down the friendster blog, for it's unable to upload quality photos in it. In tis one, I've got the photos in order & had all previous blogs were re-posted again with attached photos. And let the new year has more things to be discovered & shared with all...

Till then...

Happy New Year 2008 !!!

2008-01-05T00:00:00.002+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Not too late i guess to wish all. New year symbolises new hope, new beginning, new endavour. Just back from Pangkor island trip with old skool frens & Boy!!! It was a blast. Shall blog bout it later as I dunno how to start. Just too many stuffs in the trip deserve mentions...

Anyway back to the drawing board, the natural question posed to anyone during tis time of the year will be "What's your New Year resolutions?". Some could be still in the dark state of mind asking "Huh??" Some just brush it off & say "We live as the day goes & will adjust accordingly". The question now is will tis year be the same as last year? Could it be better or worse? The answer is up to us to provide ourselves. Still to early to say but without any goals/resolutions for yourself, we will realise during year-end reflection (if u happen to do tis), there's seems nothing being achieved, nothing seems to happen & every year seems to be the same. How could it be this way?? Cos we dun even know what's there to achieve !!!! Imagine an insurance agent without any annual sales target. Imagine a Form 5 student without any SPM target. Imagine Proton without QC standard (Boy!!Can't imagine if tis happen!!!)

I've got mine & still in the midst of reviewing. For those who are still wondering how to have resolutions, ponder bout these few questions first:
1) Where did I go wrong last year?
2) What's my weaknesses?
3) How can I make a difference/improvement this year?
4) What can I do to improve this year?

Posted: 5/1/2008

Vincenzo - Ristorante Italiano

2007-12-26T23:37:00.003+08:00

Wanna blog bout tis for a while but nv seems to complete it. Well, went to tis function recently(that's way back to months ago !!) in Vincenzo's in Bangsar, organised by a beloved fren, Emma in celebration for her wedding. Now, back to time of her invitation to me to tis function 2 months back. Wedding & function in restaurant...that gave a vision of me wearing splendid baju Melayu "menyiram air mawar" to her & hubby laps' & then proceed for grand dinner..fair enuff.

One month into the event & received tis facebook invitation from that cat. The word Vincenzo popped out in the invitation page & I was like "Wahh..Malay wedding function in an Italian restaurant huh?? Cool cool.." And then there's a theme for tis function: Gals shud be in white & the germs (that wat she called us guys) in black. Headgear(or anythin on the head) is a must for all (anythin on the head will do) Doesn't bother much until the day where I searched high & low for that headgear & managed to find one, in the form of an artist cap, which I barely remember having it in my wardrobe.

Monsieur me seeking to explain the meaning of a life...

The event was to start at 6.30pm. Rushed to pick up few fellas & drove like a mad dog, thinking we're late. Of cos in line with the classic M'sian punctuality culture, we turned out to be the earliest birds & not even one soul can be seen. Went to have a walk instead, to kill time. Settled into tis stall, specially selling apam balik in nearby Lucky Garden. Went back to the place & saw the groom greeting us upstairs. One question popped out: Where the heck is the bride?

Being a gracious host, the groom politely said bride is on the way, traffic jam bla bla bla and "why don't u enjoy the food first while it's hot?" Got myself few cups of spaghetti as appetizers..yes, spaghetti served in cups & they were delicious !! Simply prepared but tasty when it's in your mouth...!!! Talked cock while waiting for the rest of the Fifth Formers peeps to arrive. When the bride finally showed up, dressed up in a She-Devil suit + the horns (as headgear), Emma immediately became the centre of attention. Party ended at bout 10.00 pm, just in time for us to catch the biggest match of the season (Arsenal vs MU) at the nearest mamak restaurant in Bangsar.

The gang with She-Devil

The gang with She-Devil + Hubby

U like Italiano food? Come here !! Come here!!

Missed the first half but 2nd half was a thriller & both sides gotta be satisfied with 2-2 draw. Fair result...Continue to talk cock after the match till wee hours with rest of the bunch. Talked bout planning the reunion trip on an island & honestly, we were never tis serious before...finally, we managed to get tis moving after many donkey years...talk bout tis soon...

Trip to the Highland of Tea

2007-11-14T22:54:00.003+08:00

Went up to Cameron Highlands with several office colleagues recently. My last time up there was way back to 17 years ago. So,that's explain why I said yes immediately when Jeri, a female colleague popped the question (no no, it's not a proposal but invitation to the trip) Being a tea lover, I was already dreaming away about drinking my fave hot teh tarik, overlooking the mountains with rains drizzling away... & I could hear someone singing "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." Ahhh..

The "participants" consists of colleagues from Port Klang-Raj,Hafiz,Bobby,Ummu & hubby & Liza and HQ offices-Stef, Jeri & Chow while I'm the only representative from KLIA airport. A truly muhibbah bunch indeed. Started moving at noon after work & reached Brinchang at about 7.00pm. Along the way, I looked out the window, telling myself how much this place has changed over the years. Strawberry farms were sprouting everywhere, mainly catering for tourists with their "pick your own strawberry" promos. We checked into this Star Regency Apartment Hotel which is located at the central of the Brinchang town. Our apartment unit was a cosy one, complete with 3 rooms, Astro & a big hall area (to the extent we cud have a picnic on the floor,really!!!)

Morning view of Brinchang town from apartment balcony...

Went for a steamboat dinner outside the hotel. As it was raining heavily outside, we're unable to take a walk in the night market, situated just in front of the hotel. It was chilly cold even in the apartment. Naturally, staying indoor is the one & only option for the night. Ended up playing some poker games & talked cock till wee hours while enjoying fine red wines. Managed to gain small profits from the poker games & that makes a perfect sleeping potion for a tired me.

The next morning was perfectly breezy & went for breakfast in nearby restaurant. First stop of the visit is the Sunday market, situated somewhere near the Equatorial hotel. Looking at the fresh veggies/strawberries on sale at too-good-to-be-true prices, the spontaneous response is to call back home & said "Mum, dun go to the market today & I shall buy the veggies which can last us the whole week!!!" Where cud we find the selling price of RM 10.00 for 16 big packs of different veggies. Maybe the seller has overstocks that she happily gave me another 3 veggie packs for free...

Superfresh veggies on sale

Nature's answer to mosquito coil & Ridsect

Next stop is the Cameron Bharat cafe in Tanah Rata on the way down, perfect place to fulfill my dream. Ordered the teh tarik & sat down with rest of the peeps chit-chatting away,breathing the fresh mountain air while waiting for the shopaholic ladies to make their round..:) Minus the rain & the song, it's still a relaxing moment. With the stunning & breathtaking view of the plantation on the mountaneous area, I had a field day clicking away my camera. Last stop was the Lata Iskandar waterfall, which makes a perfect place for a group photo.

Cameron Bharat plantation

A MUST - group photo with scenic view as background

Now back to the drawing board, ppl said the highland has lost its lustre & not attractive enuff to the foreigners / tourists. My saying is the place has not really changed much in term of attractions. The tea plantation/veggie farms etc have been there for generations...trust me, people here really know how to brew tea with perfect blend & "ngam ngam" amount of milk...Solutions shud be searched to keep ppl coming back. The point here is the biscuit quality could still remains the same after many years but it's the matter of re-packaging/improvised marketing strategies for the products that will keep going a steady flow of customers. Got the idea Tourism Ministry staffs, if u happen to be seeing tis?

Now, let me sip my self-made Cameron Valley tea (bought from Bharat plantations) first before talking about other trips soon....

Being Multi Racial

2007-11-01T22:25:00.004+08:00

"Multi-racial" has to be one of the widely used word in M'sia. It's always included in every messages by all politicians for any major occasions such as New Year, CNY, Raya, Deepavali etc etc.

Now...why am I talking about tis multi racial thingy when I'm here in M'sia, a melting pot for all cultures that u know of?? In recent times, we could hear politicians telling how can we integrate all races, uniting everyone with a single language, single aim, creating a Bangsa M'sia etc etc...Just sharing my pieces of opinions based on my personal experiences.

To create a single bangsa will take us generations to achieve it. We're just too different with our own beliefs, values etc. To follow the Indonesian concept, whereby everyone are forced to have "Indonesian names" and other languages are prohibited will be disastrous & go against what's stated in our Constitution. Instead of banging heads to come out with solutions, we should leave it as the way it is. Take a peek at the Tourism M'sia "Malaysia - Truly Asia" promo and u will understand what I'm trying to say. Diversity should be seen as a strength instead of barriers. We dun really need to be ONE to be united.

It's the basic values that need to be taught to the children by parents, educators etc. When ur loved, u will learn to love. When ur respected, u will learn to respect. When u have respect & tolerance for other people, u will get to understand the person. When all these are in places, unity will naturally follows. From primary skool up till working life, I'm pleased to have frens from all walks of life.

My recent trip to Cameron with bunch of colleagues (of different races) was a classic example (Shall talk bout the trip in next blog). Despite not knowing each other well, the trip turned out to be fun. Of cos people have certain religious or cultural restrictions that could deter our personal indulgences (eg eating pork/beef), the best thing to do is to recognise & accept. Mutual solutions can then be sorted out when we're being "sincerely frank" with each other. When we learn about give and take, personal sacrifice (eg on food) is only a minor thing to do.

Tis weekend will be eventful with me attending Emma's engagement evening function and the MU vs Gunners crunch match after that with my bunch of muhibbah frens from Fifth Formers. till then...

Family & Friends...

2007-09-29T21:48:00.006+08:00

Last weekend has to be one of the most eventful for me thus far. I supposed the day shud be fun as I was celebrating my b'day on Friday. Let me start on event on that day. A subordinate of mine screwed up some urgent works on the day before, causing customers & other ppl fuming mad. Naturally,as the superior, I got something to answer here, bound to be @&%#) upside down.

Called into a meeting in the morning & Boss was screaming all the way. To worsen it, there are other stuffs were screwed up as well. This is example of one of the days in our life where all matters just dont turn out right (& I'm sure other ppl experienced tis too) and it happened on my belated day !!! It was to the extent that I looked up to the sky & asked "God, is this Your New Year message & lesson for me?" And then, one teaching (learned in Mahikari) suddenly popped out from mind,it said "We need to treat all things in the universe as voice of God". Made me realised that making mistakes is one thing. It's the process of learning from mistakes (normally tough & winding road) that will help us to improve further. Getting screwed & being answerable for somebody's mistakes is not easy really but it will be worth the pain (we'll realise it later in life) if we learn & understand the phrase by heart.

At nite, went for Western food dinner outside with my family for the b'day. And them to Skybar, Traders Hotel for drinks with several MYG frens. Great place to hang out at, with its modern Zen design, majestic view of KLCC & seductive pools nearby the tables. Definitely gotta be added into the list of best places to enjoy the KLCC view (as commented in my previous blog) My only intention that nite is just to sit down, drink, relax & get the mind away from the stress. So, to those fellas with me that nite, there's a reason why i'm quieter than usual...

Thanks for company !!

On Sat nite, went to Sahara Tent restaurant in BB with my best pal & other frens to sample some Arabic fares. I must say the meat dishes are tasty, especially the lamb. On both occasions in bar & restaurant, got a surprise birthday cake from the frens. The cakes are nothing to shout about actually but what matters to me here is the sincerity & the efforts of those fellas, which make it meaningful.

Small cakes given with big heart !!!

Upon reflection of tis, I'm glad to have my family and frens around me all this while. Call me being emo but tis time around makes me appreciate the ppl around me. Dad once asked me, "If ur outside and the world is going to end in 2 hours, where do you go?" Naturally, we'll go home to check out our loved ones & be with them for the last 2 hours of our life. Daily laughters & harmony in the family makes us feel secured & appreciate the love of one another.

Close frens who has been with us are not to be ignored as well. They might be sarcastic, annoying, full of crazy antics or watever u may describe them. We just gotta admit that their presence itself brightens our day or at very least, makes us feel better..u get wat I meant?? Words of comfort is not necessary actually but families and frens that being there and being themselves cheered me up for me to go thru my brand "new year".

To my family: Dad, Mum & my 2 siblings, I thank God for giving me YOU. To all the brothers & sisters out there, thanks for your companionship all these years. Your presence itself means a lot to me. Cherish ur families & frens for your life would not be complete & meaningful without them. To end tis, can somebody gimme a tissue box here??

Reliving the Old Days

2007-07-15T21:45:00.003+08:00

Attended an old classmate's wedding recently. It was a grand Telugu wedding ceremony held in Shah Alam club. Food served is good too, especially the curry chicken. CONGRATULATIONS, Siva & wife !! Been to quite a number of wedding functions tis year. Being in tis age-group, which the old people call them the "ripe" age, the big M is a norm in our vocabulary here.

Also met up with other Form 5 classmates & went for drinks in Q-Bar after the wedding to catch up the old times. Obviously, the first question posed to start up a conversation is "One down, wonder who's next ahh??" Naturally, old skool stories been raised up & discussed. One interesting thing I must say about old skool stories is even though all these stories (mostly dumb incidents, crazy antics etc) are "recycled" over & over again over times, they're always funny & felt great to talk about it.

I dunno bout the others but I'm quite sentimental when talking about being together with old mates during those old skool days. VJ mentioned of him being eager to go to skool everyday to check out wat's up for the day. Everyday seems to be a new day with new things to be discovered together with the gang. I felt that too, VJ...& I'm sure same goes to most of us too.

Tell me for being emo but whenever reflecting those days & comparing against the students these days, I can't help but feeling touched about the camaraderie between all of us. We were ONE & not classifying each other as Chinese, Malay or Indian. We were Akurians (that's our class name)

Those old mates represented part of our own life history. Knowing or unknowingly, memories of them are already permanently etched in our mind. So, keep in touch always with the old skool mates to ensure your mind keep working...:)

Posted: 15/7/2007

Roti Talk

2007-07-07T20:57:00.003+08:00

Been quite a while since last time writing here. Spending time around the city doing food sampling...in local language, we call it "jalan jalan cari makan". Since I'm passionate bout food & a bread fanatic, I decided to start with roti bakar or toasted bread. Don't laugh first, just continue reading for u might be one of those who overlooked one of the most underestimated food in M'sia.

I made my way to the coffeeshops and those upmarket kopitiam. Notice those kopitiam are sprouting like nobody business everywhere in KL. The main similarity u might overlooked is these shops originated from outstations such as Ipoh, Kluang & even Kuala Lipis. Now, back to the roti bakar, the standard preparation is the normal toasted bread, with butter & kaya. Ordinary ppl wil say it's the same taste everywhere,doesn't matter where u go. Let me say it's not the same taste & let me substantiate my claim.

Been to most of the kopitiams & being an ex-business student, I kept guessing what could be the shops' competitive advantage & differential advantage while making the roti bakar. At least there's an avenue for me to put theories into practices...heehehe. Put it this way:-

The BREAD: All the breads from the kopitiam are prepared in accordance to age-old Hainanese traditional recipe. No point talking about freshness of the bread as normally the kopitiam owners will order in bulk and store them over few days. Bread is either toasted from an oven or over charcoal fire. I'm not a rocket scientist who could xplain what could be chemical reaction causing the difference between the two toasting style. Believe me, the charcoal toasted bread always tastes better..Try eat an oven-baked pizza & charcoal-baked pizza, u will know what I meant.

The BUTTER: All the kopitiam do not produce their own butter. They are no different compared to the one u buy in supermarkets. No point talking about which butter is better than the others.

The KAYA: THIS is what make the difference from the others. Those kopitiams produce their own kaya, using secret recipes, passed down from generations. Legend has it said that the magical taste of the kaya depends on how many eggs & type of eggs used as the ingredient. Heard that some ppl actually use duck's eggs instead and it actually tastes better.

The other day I watched Bobby Chim in Discovery Travel Asia Cafe, he tasted the toasted bread in a Hong Kong cafe & praising how great it was. I was like "Are you sure Bob?? Come to KL and try our roti bakar first!!!!" Having sampling those roti bakar around the city, these are my top picks (not in order) for the best roti bakar:
1) TCK 1920 Hakkakaya, One Utama
2) Yut Kee Restaurant, Jln Dang Wangi
3) Hainan Chef Kopitiam, Summit USJ Shopping
4) Uncle Lim's Kopitiam (multiple branches)
5) Killiney Kopitiam, Damansara Uptown

Roti will never be complete without a cuppa cham

Let me know if there's any other places better..for I shall go and sample myself..:)

Petronas Twin Towers - A Sight To Behold

2007-04-23T21:35:00.002+08:00

Since small, I had tis special interest of watching & enjoying the KL city night skylights. Each time I drive around town at nite,can't help but noticed the magnificient Petronas Twin Towers. Guess they've changed to a newer, better lighting system tis year cos it looked much better than ever. And these towers are best enjoyed from certain views, angles from multiple places around the city. I'm not a "walking compass" but I do "go places". Below are my lists of places(not in ranking order) to best enjoy the Twin Towers,doing yr favourite activity.

Pride of the nation indeed....

1) Coffee Bean Jalan P.Ramlee
My pick for the Coffee Bean outlet with best scenery in the city. Tell me where u can find a place, when u can slurp yr favourite ice blended coffee, admiring at the majestic towers and ogling at countless "gorgeous beings", all at the same time....Now, that's heaven...:)

2) Seven Ate Nine, Ascot KL
This bar in the luxurious Ascot Apartment has one corner (on top floor) with transparent coloured roof, where u can see the towers at approx 75 degrees up. The best thing of the place is the sofa beds with lots of pillows. Towers will be best enjoyed when u lay down on the sofa facing the towers and sipping yr favourite liquors. And the staffs won't stop u for not sitting up straight.....

3) Restoran Kampung Pandan, Ampang
Situated along the Kesas highway, just after Tesco Ampang. This mamak hangout has a big piece of land outside its premise,where tables will be arranged at nite. There, u could see the towers standing together with KL Towers shining so bright as if it lightens up the whole city. Best enjoyed with u facing the towers, enjoying the restaurant's signature curry fish head...

4) Restoran Sri Angkasa, KL Tower
Just in case u dunno, tis place is at top floor of KL Tower. Serving continental & inter'nal dishes at price of king's ransom, tis place is perfect if u've strike lottery & wanna enjoy lavish dinner while enjoying sights of the towers up close. Sit at any corner & enjoy your candlelight dinner. Only setback is the ur only able to see one side of the tower & it's way too close for us to enjoy the overall beauty of the building.

Tell me if there's any other places I might have overlooked & i shall go there try myself...No, I'm not doin any Tourism M'sia promo neither I had any biz deals with Petronas. Some might say buildings in HK, Paris,Shanghai or even Spore are much more beautiful. The point here is not about comparing which is better than the others but it's about getting to appreciate the things around us, in our own backyard (which most of us ignored). So, go out 2nite and enjoy the scene of a M'sian icon...

Posted: 23/4/2007

The Beginning...

2007-04-19T15:49:00.000+08:00

Can't believe I did this...Before this, kept saying to ppl how I won't start a blog- telling bout my life to whole world bla bla...and now, here I am?!??!!

It's all started when my best pal started his own & pushing me to create one for myself too...talking bout peer pressure!! One weird incident is when I met a guy at a dinner. All of a sudden, he whispered "Do you blog?". I was like "Huh?? Blog?? Me?? Is that the "in" question these days?? Last time (or izzit my time??), usual questions are like"U play CM2 ahh??" "Anyone coming for a Warcraft game with me?"...guess tis a sign of getting old *sigh*

Then one gal friend said it's a place for u to "express urself, u know"...& I was like again "Huh?? Expressing myself with a possibility of ending up like Jeff Ooi & Ahiruddin Atan (the master bloggers) in court??". Talking about freedom of speech here...

Anyway, let tis blog be the start of a a journey of knowing the real me...