d'Frog Prince Croaks

Reading Sherlock Holmes

2011-08-05T11:45:00.000+08:00

I liked this particular sentence found in Sherlock Holmes book :-

Quote,

We had sprung to our feet, and for a few moments we stared in silent amazement at this ponderous piece of wreckage, which told of some sudden and fatal storm far out on the ocean of life.

Unquote

What I like about this prose is that it takes an OCEAN VIEW to describe a situation not at all related to sea but to life. Genius.

iPhone 4 versus Blackberry

2011-07-08T14:21:00.000+08:00

I am using a Blackberry Curve. I know, I know, it's an antique. I didn't want to use a Blackberry but this model, being old and cheap, was given free together with subscription. So, I just use it. Over time, it grows on me, typing message seemed easier and recently, I downloaded the Facebook and the Twitter and it makes the two things easy to do on the go.

Then, I saw many of my friends using iPhone and it looked so sleek and techie that I was very keen to get one for myself. After resisting the temptation for so long, I finally succumbed to the magic of Apple and got myself one iPhone 4.

One thing I must say, iPhone do look beautiful. But after using Blackberry for sometime, I think, Blackberry is more "personal" - in the sense that you can customise your ringtone whichever way you like whereas, iPhone, you have to use everything that only they, that is APPLE, approves of, or sell, or provide. I can't even use the song already inside the phone as ringtone, which is curious.

So, for the high use, I am back to my Blackberry Curve, currently -(Torch, I am going to get one of that) whereas iPhone 4 will be used mainly for games, reading and show off :(

Eyuzu Review - Part Three - Desserts

2011-07-05T01:00:00.001+08:00

As promised, this will be the final installment of the Eyuzu series, make myself sounds like some kind of grand author, right??

To be fair, this shouldn't be titled a review as I have done all the food part in part two and the ambience part in part one. That leaves me with .... the personal experience of the evening itself.

For a starter, let's just say that, if you are not ready for some self-conscious experience, never ever volunteer to be food reviewer. For my case, it was more like a spur of the moment kind of thing and see if I would be going. I wasn't expecting anything for normally, all this privileges are reserved for the, well, privileged few. I guess I underestimated the influence of some friends, hahaha.

Anyway, it was almost a non-event, for I didn't receive any notification to be there until the very last minute, may be due to some oversight, or may be due to (take your pick).

I was one of the first to reach there. I called the contact person, a certain John (who happened to be an FB friend, through a mutual friend, but we don't know each other per se). I was introduced to Stacey, who is some big shot in everyday.com.my.

After the initial pleasantries, I was left to my own devices and was informed to be trigger free. Out came my loyal point and shoot camera. I was happily snapping away for 20 minutes, I think, just moving around and choosing views that might look good.

Then, some of the other more serious reviewers arrived, armed to the teeth with hi-tech cameras and equipments. Suddenly, I have doubt that I would do the place justice with my mere point and shoot (my staffs call anything not fancy as "cap ayam") and for a while, I regretted not getting myself a DSLR camera. I felt quite self conscious about the situation and after a minute or two of deep breathing, I had to remind myself that, I am not a photographer, my talent lies not with photography, getting myself a DSLR just because everyone else has one would not do much good either, it will be like putting a Merc engine in the body of a SLK (not the Merc family type, the Small Little Kancil type). On the verge of giving up, I told myself to at least try to show my appreciation through words rather than pictures. The world has to have balance, right? After all, I would still have pictures to go with it, only no artsy type to impress people. I would have to express it differently and through heart then, rather than through eye. Which reminded me, I have to find out how to take close up picture with ~~cap ayam~~ point and shoot camera, there ought to be a way to do it. Hmmm....any help??

Everyone was seated in a room, I counted about 10 people in all and realised only four, including yours truly that is going to blog about this tasting event. And the stress level shot up manifold....

Then, some of the big wigs of the Eastin Hotel F&B came in, introduced themselves and a round of name cards exchange took place. I have to say though, being in the service oriented industry, I noticed that it is different the way they carry themselves; do they have classes for that? I wouldn't mind enrolling myself in one, at the very least, we would not be out of our depth in a social event.

Then, the chief chef came in, introduced himself and chatted for a while. He is from France but has been in Malaysia for the past 15 years or so. Some ideas were exchanged between bloggers and the ~~Frenchman~~ chef. One that caught my attention is the differences of opinion in reviewing standard. Surprisingly, one blogger mentioned that some bloggers, who are not exposed (ie, never been to overseas) would not be able to do justice to the foods being review and they would pass judgement on the foods based on their own taste buds. In other words, some people don't know what they are talking about and could be scathingly wrong. I don't really agree with the statement for I always believed that one man's meat would be another man's poison; though the blogger, in his view, is not necessarily wrong. I mean, why eat pizza with chilly sauce? Italian chefs would most probably chased you out of their pizzeria if you asked for one in Italy.

To his credit, the French chef said that he don't expect the general public to like in totality all foreign food, resulting in a compromise where the food basically is a toned down (or up, depending on your take) - a Malaysianised version if we may. He made a point that, it would not serve any purpose to stick to a taste that don't gel with the general public, meaning, the food won't sell - after all, they are in the business of selling food. Which, in the end of the day is that what matters. Of course if the authentic flavour is acceptable, they won't want to change a thing. Now, did anyone ever realised that, we have always, ALWAYS said that our mum's cooking is the best in the world?? That's because we were brought up with that particular way of cooking, that particular type of food, that particular type of taste. Just like me, I can't resist braised chicken feet, brinjal with dried shrimps, onion omellette - what we termed "kampung food" nowadays....I digress....

Then, the Japanese chef came in, another round of introduction and he sat through the night with us, chit-chatting and exchanging ideas, sharing some trade secrets (not all of it though) and basically, explaining his culinary skills to all. It was a very mind-opening discussion. It is not everyday that one gets to know so much about food, the time used to prepare and the tricks of trade. I really appreciated the fact that some people have so much love for the trade they are in and always trying their best to come out with something new or tinkering with some "old" stuff to get a fresh taste (the mochi comes to mind).

Even though most of us are listeners in the conversation, I believed that all of us came away with a much richer experience and knowledge about the food industry. This is one experience that will not be easily forgotten and I am glad that I sort of like "volunteered" to review this place. It is not a daily occurence where the chef sits down with you and explaining some of his more special stuffs. Knowing the work put into it makes one appreciate the food even more. I almost forgot to mention, the Japanese chef won awards for some years in a row (I can't remember two or three years), the awards of HAPA (Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards) - I have to picture but it is blurred, so, I won't be posting it here. Apparently, this award is a big thing and much coveted.

Lastly, needless to say, I get to know some bloggers and that is always a bonus. Some will go on to become friends, I hope, while some will just remain acquaintance. Irregardless, it is always good to know more people with the same interest, for exchanging of ideas and whatnots.

Eyuzu Review - Part Two - Main Course

2011-07-03T23:39:00.003+08:00

After the preamble of yesterday's post, today, I am going to post my take on the food that I get to review in Eyuzu Japanese Cuisine. Please note that the review was organised by Everyday.com.my and Eyuzu prior to their joint promotion blitz coming this 13 Jul 2011.

Firstly, let me say that, I have my reservation, because the place is a bit smallish vis-a-vis other buffet places. After meeting the representative from Eastin Hotel, we were briefed that they actually cater to ala-carte patrons and this buffet spread is for the weekend crowd only. We were assured that even though it is buffet, Eyuzu Japanese Cuisine will not compromise on quality. Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so people said (err, I didn't try any pudding)

Let me ~~tempt~~ show you some of the mouth watering spread, available in this quaint restaurant (yup, I think quaint would best describe this place).

What is Japanese food without some sushi. Even with my point and shoot camera, we can see that it is oozing freshness and goodness (fish is rich in Omega 3, as pointed out by the chef, who incidentally looks late 30s when he is actually 50 - he said Omega 3 plays a part, hmmm...) The chef assured us only the best quality and freshest of seafood is used.

Now, one fact I know about seafood is that if it is served like this, any "unfreshness" would be detected immediately. Prawns and crabs on ice, yummy...

We had these and it is thumb's up from me. The chef said that we will be able tell immediately once we bite into their grade A stuff and what can I say? It IS different. I don't know how to explain it, it just taste right and I don't need to dip into wasabi sauce. Some people do that to camourflage any fishy smell that might be present. Meaning, we ate what we took, which is - good ~~old~~ sashimi.

Fresh seabass. Any fresher than this, you would have to fish it yourself.

Some choicest maki, I only know one, kappa-maki which is cucumber roll, the rest, no need to know the name, just need to know that they taste good, hahaha....

Some of the other "cold" spread.

Malaysians would not be satisfied if there is not hot food. Here is where the teppanyaki would be cooked. The chef said that the difference between the teppanyaki here and the normal moms and pops one that we had outside is this :- outside, only one type of ketchup is used, here, for beef, there is beef sauce, salmon, there is salmon sauce, chicken with chicken sauce, etc etc. All the sauces were "home-made" - if we can call it that. It actually were prepared by the chef, in-house and it involved days in preparations.

The choices of the raw ingredients for your teppanyaki. I didn't get the chance to try this but from the reaction of the other food tasters, I can say that this is another two thumbs up counter that one shouldn't miss.

The overview of the "cold" session.

The overview of the "hot" session.

The BBQ food. I tried the fish and I think many people would like it, it wasn't overtly dry as some BBQ fish tend to be. And not overly coated with any kind of sauces that you can't tell what you are eating as in some cases.

They even have one stove should you decide to heat up the food yourself again, methinks.

The tempura food as Malaysians love deep fried stuffs too. I partake only one piece of the prawn tempura. I can only say that it taste like it should taste, which is like any other establisment, I guess. So, I think what my friend once told me is true, all deep fried things will taste about the same everywhere...could it be possible?

Look at how the fruits were displayed. You can also feel that a lot of attention being put into their work. We can tell from this few snaps that though Eyuzu ~~deigned~~ wanted to be buffet oriented for the weekends, they can't get their ala-carte mentality out of the system, the feel is still very ala carte. To me, that is reason enough to patronise the place whenever opportunity presents itself, I mean, instead of mass produced foods, in Eyuzu Japanese Cuisine, one gets personalised food instead. That makes a whole world of a difference. After such pampering, I would never look at buffet spread the same way again.

Sorry, I tend to get carried away, there's a few more snaps to show.

Desserts for the sweet toothed. These are not the only ones. There are many more which are deliciously prepared, one of which, a must eat is the mochi (chinese - muachi) - the one I had, had the black sesame filling, coated with some kind of beans powder. It was so soft and not at all chewy, as one would expect from mochi, it practically melts in the mouth. I find the sensation - "divine".... That is one of my favourite stuff in this establishment. Unfortunately, I didn't take the photo of this particular one but it will be hard to miss, it is just next to the ready made mochi (the one with green and red colours, shown above) - and that it is very quite, normal looking items but looks really can be deceiving. The other my absolute favourite item in Eyuzu is the one showed below :-

The specific one I am referring to is the green tea ice cream. I don't take ice cream for quite some time and green tea ice cream has always been at the bottom of my list, whenever I decided to sacrifice my ~~strict regime of diet~~ waist, so, imagine my surprise that when I tried this, I was instantly converted into a green tea ice cream fan! That is so, so surprising. I went back and told my wife that I would bring her and our small family to this restaurant, if only to solely eat the mochi and green tea ice cream, that is how much I loved this two items served in this place. By the way, my wife said I am crazy to pay a premium to eat this two items only, hahaha!!!

In closing, I would like to thanks everyday.com.my for the opportunity to do a review of this place and in doing so, let me discovered for myself what this unassuming place has to offer. Also, thanks to my good blogger buddy, Plusizekitten who registered me on the reviewer list. Anyone who loves eating (that is saying, about everyone who calls themselves Malaysians) worth their salts should at least give this place a try, at the very least, try the mochi and the ice creams. But, don't pelt me with any rotten eggs if you find it wanting because as far as my taste bud is concerned, I have found what is just right for my indulgence.

Eyuzu Review - Part One - Appetiser

2011-07-03T02:40:00.000+08:00

EYUZU JAPANESE CUISINE

This will be a three parter posts. There ought to be many information to be shared out to justify the time spent at this place I am supposed to make a review of, this place called Eyuzu Japanese Cuisinie, located in Eastin Hotel, Petaling Jaya. I have known of this hotel for quite sometime, always passed by but never went in. Like people said, there's always a first for everything and my first was to be a food (I rather term it restaurant) reviewer - I am not food expert per se, so, my review would be more your average Joe taste buds and costs against value kinda thing. For the detailed nuances and art of it, there will be others who would do a better job in nitty gritty of eating finely, whereas, the rest of us would just take in what our taste buds tell us, ~~where we would just eat kingly.~~, conditioned as we are to the eclectic mix of foods eaten in Malaysia.

Anyway, before I start, let's just say that, to comment about food when you are paying for it, is much easier than when you are invited and you sort of like, having a meal on the house, and somehow or rather, you feel you are obligated to write good reviews lest you be termed ungrateful, ungracious et cetera. In this respect, I am glad to say that my worries were unwarranted because the Eyuzu Japanese Restaurant didn't fail in the food department for sure.

So, for the appetiser, I am going to just go on rambling and post some random photos here and there and will only comment about the food in the next post. The final installment will not be food but on other things and also about the evening itself.

THE NEAREST TO A SIGN POST THAT I SAW, IN FRONT OF THE ENTRANCE.

THIS IS PANCAKE, ACTUALLY.

Okay, let me say that, when I arrived there, I was looking for the restaurant and unless I missed it, somehow, there seemed to be no actual signage for this restaurant, which is strange. But to its credit, patrons were able to find it and that goes one to show that when it comes to food, we Malaysians have a natural instinct to locate them, probably by our sense of smell rather than sight?? So, these two photos were the only indication I have of the place name.

I had to post this picture. I don't know why but I just like it. I was one of the earliest to arrive and I was allowed the freedom to snap away and I thought this photo seemed to say, "We are here to serve and you are here to savour"

This few snaps show the ambience of Eyuzu. Nice, right? Oh, I have to be frank to say that the place is rather cosy (read : not big) which means, less people, less noise and less competition for food! * note :- the brochure indicated that this place seats 130 persons.

Specifically, it must be mentioned too that Eyuzu only serves buffet for dinner on Saturdays and Sundays and very soon, Fridays too - and with the colloboration with Everyday.com.my, Japanese food lovers will get the opportunity to savour the food in peace, at a steal in fact, but patrons would have to act fast, for the special price will be for a limited period and limited number of paxs only. Watch out in everyday.com.my and I was informed that the offer will come out on 13 Jul 2011, check out the link HERE now, to familiarize yourself of the website and on that date, you can immediately book the offered vouchers. I would like to stress again, it is LIMITED TIME OFFER and please don't miss the boat. I know I would be grabbing some of it !!

Normally, the price is RM 82.00++ (Adult) and RM 41.00++ (Children), which to this average Joe standard, after tasting the sumptuous buffet spread first hand, for the quality of the food, is already worth every sen of it. Small wonder then that Eyuzu Japanese Cuisine has regular patrons who frequent it, good value shouldn't remain hidden for so long! Coupled with the upcoming promotion blitz, it will be insane not to at least come and relish their food.

PTA Day

2011-06-30T00:27:00.002+08:00

I went to my kids school this morning. Heavy rain, so, I left a bit later and got there about 9.30 a.m.

I saw a big crowd as I made my way to my daughter's classroom. Long queue.....of parents waiting for their turn to collect the report card and be briefed by the teacher.

I decided not to wait there, seeing that the queue barely moved and proceeded to my son's class, which was situated upstairs. Found his class and he saw me, came out and chatted with me, I think (I hope) he was happy to see me there. I can only hope that this will continue, you know how when they are teenagers, they would be distance themselves from their parents, normally.

Anyway, his classmate gave me a number, 32 and the present parent is number 29. Realising that I would need number, I went back downstairs to my daughter's class to get a number, I got number 40 and the present parent who is meeting the class teacher was number 21. Sigh...long way to go.

So, upstairs again I went. A few minutes later, my turn. Teacher said son is weak in Malays Language and Chinese Language. I told teacher that I can probably help in Malays but no way in Chinese as I am as blind to that language as well (written, not spoken)

Overall, he is about average, cruising through the class in the middle range. He can do better, I know he can but I am not going to put pressure on him, not yet anyway. I am hoping that he will come to strive to excel in his studies on his own accord, without any undue necessity to please me or his mother (though that would be nice, hahaha)

When I was finished there, I went downstairs and noticed that number for my daughter's teacher only reached number 26. What??? After 20 minutes or so??? I told my daughter that I ought to be going back to my office first and I will come back shortly, she was ok with it. I was worried that she might misunderstand that I left without seeing her teacher. After all, she did get number two in her class and I know she is very proud of it.

I went to office, which is about 3 minutes walking distance from the school, did some work and after 20 minutes, walked back to the school. Saw the same parents sitting outside the corridor, waiting their turn but the class was empty, recess time apparently. Since I was there, I decided to go to their canteen and see if I can locate my daughter. I saw her with her cousin. I looked around and saw so many children, without a care in the world and it brought me back to my childhood day. How carefree and innocent one can be, at that age. Those children were so filled with life, energy and vitality that I couldn't help myself but to smile and felt uplifted too. I should be feel aged but instead, I felt a certain kind of exuberance. So much positive energy, sorry to sound so Zen-ish....

After a few minutes there, I walked back to the classroom and guess what, only number 29. Again, I told my daughter that I will go back to office (At least I could squeeze in some work instead of standing there, doing nothing but wait.)

After about 20 minutes of so again, I was back at her classroom and the number just reached 32. Hmm, either the teacher is extremely long winded or the parents before me are. After another half an hour of so, where I was almost in the state of stupor, finally, it was my turn.

Well, since her score were quite good, I guessed the teacher don't have much to complain about, except to say that occasionally, my daughter day-dreams (not from me definitely as I don't day dream) and that she can score much better than presently. I just nodded my head in agreement but as far as I am concerned, like his brother, I don't intend to exert unnecessary pressure on them, as far as primay school is concerned.

But the teacher's final comment surprised me in that she said my daughter told her (the teacher) that we always gives her pressure to excel....I was like, huh???? Totally dumbfounded....I guess, may be certain words we have said in jest, like, hey, you better study harder or get better score was misinterpreted by the young mind to be a pressure of some sort. Hmm, both my wife and I should be rephrasing our words, to use them more carefully on our daughter.

Overall, I guess the PTA was a good way for parents to find out first hand on their children's progress in school but I really can't stand those parents who took more than 5 minutes of the teacher's time. I myself took definitely less than 3 minutes each session. I mean, come on, if everyone wants to be doctors, who would be left to be leaders or lawyers or accountants, or even teachers??? Hahaha, just a joke.

Sometimes When We Touch

2011-06-29T23:35:00.003+08:00

I think I am drunk. Or at the very least, very high. With 5 bottles of toddy between two persons, I ought to be....someone is very bad influence on me, apparently.....

Still, I had a very enjoyable, laid back evening, in the company of a dear friend, talking cock and bull while exploring the possibilities that might present itself...plenty of it for sure but whether we are going to grab it or not.

Two strangers could meet half way and become very close and dear friends but would it be at risk when business / money get involved? That is something that I have always feared and decided not to pursue any ventures that might jeopardise the existing relationship. Good friends are hard to come by, soul mates harder still.

Still, to my dear friend, remember that I always treasure friendship over material gains.

Dark World

2011-06-23T13:00:00.003+08:00

The other day, while waiting for my colleagues to buy tickets for Bangkok's skytrain, I saw a couple who are visually-challenged. They walked up, stood awhile and then walked back, meanwhile were chatting between themselves.

I had a suspicion that they were waiting for some sort of assistance to purchase the tickets. Much as I would like to assist, I don't speak their language and I thought of asking someone to assist. Before I can do that, the security guard came over and asked them if they needed any help. True enough, they just need someone to help them to buy tickets from the machine.

That set me thinking. We can see and we don't feel the obstacles that these "challenged" people have to go through, everyday. We have to admire them for daring to step out of their closed world into the world with it's danger lurking everywhere and so many inconveniences where facilities were built without them in mind, which, can't be helped. Where such things occur, it falls back to the privileged people like us to render a helping hand.

I have seen the least likely people assisting visually-challenged people, youngsters with tattoos, people who are carrying their grocery bags, in short, people who are actually doing something at the time, instead of people who are free, standing idle but just watch without offering any help.

Good Reminder

2011-04-28T00:07:00.002+08:00

Someone sent me a nice mail, am taking the excerpts :-

a) Aspire to Inspire.....Before you expire

b) Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply, Speak Kindly. And leave the rest to God

c) Happiness Keeps You Sweet

Trial Keeps You Strong

Sorrow Keeps You Human

Failure Keeps You Humble

Success Keeps You Growing

But Only God Keeps You Going

Sri Lanka - Day 3 - Kandy - Colombo

2011-04-24T13:51:00.005+08:00

It was very cold during the night. The bed was a tad bit too soft and put my strain on my back. Halfway through my sleep, I was awakened by slight pain to my "old friend" and I quickly abandoned the bed. Luckily the floor was made of wood, not tiles or marble, so, I can sleep on it and hopefully, praying hard that my back will NOT cause me any pain come morning.

The back-saving timber floor.

Finally morning came, after a night of shivering due to the colder weather. I got up, took my shower, which was like, brrrpphhh, there were not hot water, one of the fastest shower I ever took.

After I am done with getting ready, off I went!! When I reached downstairs, the main entrance was locked! Huh??? I have to look for the keeper to open the grill.

That done, I walked pass the Temple of Sacred Tooth, to the lake, with extreme caution if I may add, cause it was quite early and some of the crows were still busy doing "business". I walked up to the hill that offers a very beautiful, sweeping view of the city of Kandy, as advised by the inn-keeper the night before.

The Lake, central to Kandy city.

After I had walked for quite some time, I headed back down to the city proper, I hadn't taken my breakfast yet and the time was showing to be around 11.00 a.m. I went to a shop where there seemed to be quite a number of locals and ate roti canai (again) with milk tea. The roti was served in big platter, I think there must be ten pieces in there and you just take how mnay you want and they will count later. Total bill for 2 pieces of roti canai and one milk tea was RS 95.00, approximately MYR 3.00, which is about the standard in Malaysia....

After I am done with breakfast, I roamed the street further to observe the life that is unfolding and beside the many small lanes, there are so many shops that sell just about everything, like Malaysia of yore, where you don't get everything from hypermarket but to individual specialty shops, or wet markets...There is even a guy selling "sharpening" services, which I heard was once a trade in Malaysia too.

Sharpening services

The sun was getting a bit scorching and I headed back to the inn, I wasn't planning to get another dose of sun blast, so, I went to my room and read some more pages of my current book. Around 1.30 p.m, I packed my bag and checked out.

I walked all the way to the market, which is like halfway between the inn and the train station, where the inter-city bus will make a stop for pick up. I saw approximately 10 people and was like, hmm, that's good, I can take bus but as I turned the corner, lo and behold, behind the tenth waiting passenger were another long queue, all waiting for the bus. And all said and done, it was impressive to see the people queuing up to wait for the bus to Colombo. My rough estimate was about 60 people. I was at the last of the queue when I reached there, waited approximately 10 minutes, with the queue NOT moving at all and the bus what was visible from my queue spot filled, I decided NOT to take the bus after all. They seemed to pack the bus to the max, even the footway between seats were fully utilised, meaning 5 abreast instead of the usual 4. As I do have a choice, I decided, train it is for me then and I left the queue.

I walked further down and upon reaching the train station, saw another long queue at ticketing counters and I was like, gosh....Fortunately though, the counter for 1st and 2nd class was practically empty and I got my ticket (2nd class) in no time at all. Yay!! I got to try another class and it costed me, I think RS 220.00, which is like RM 6.00??

I went inside the terminal and found my train waiting, despite it being only around 2.00 p.m. Took some photos that I missed on the earlier ride.

The First Class Coach, aka, Observation Saloon

The TOILET for 1st and 2nd class passenger, err.....

I have to hold my breath in there.. :(

My train awaits me.

The 2nd Class seats..

When I found my seat, there was only one other passenger (it was still very early, train is not due to leave until 3.30 p.m.) The guy was on the phone. I took out my book and continue reading. The other guy talked. And talked. And talked. And talked. Gosh, don't he ever get thirsty? Don't the phone burns? Slowly, the coach began to fill up and still, the guy talked into his phone. Some people really are pompous pricks. For at least fifteen minutes after the train starts the journey, he was still on the phone, droning off, with other passengers darting poisonous look at him and still he was oblivious to it. By the time he finally kept his phone (I suspect it being out of battery), he would have talked for at least 2 hours, MINIMUM!! Thank God for the limit for battery life in this instance!

The journey back was uneventful, no falling backpack (it was a second class coach after all, not many foreign faces, thus not many backpacks) Halfway through the journey, it rained again! I began to believe that this train must be passing through some sort of "rain zone" for it to experience rain, EVERY journey!

When I reached Colombo, the sky began to darken, as if it was going to rain and like a local, I just bought the train ticket that will bring me back to my hostel. The train came and it was crowded, there's standing room space only but not packed like sardine. Got of at Bambalapitiya and walked back to my hostel and was told that my room was changed to another one. There was a guy already staying in that room and we introduced each other, he is from Adelaide and came to Colombo to learn ACUPUNCTURE. I was like, huh??? Chatted about books etc, which he gave me one book that he said he has finished reading and I can have it. That was a nice surprise.

I went out for my dinner at the place that I ate the first day and they treated me like old friend, that's cute. Done with dinner, I headed back to sleep. Looking forward already to Negombo the day tomorrow.

Sri Lanka - Day 2 - Train and Kandy

2011-04-22T10:13:00.001+08:00

Well, the train left on time, that much we have to praise the Sri Lanka Railway.

I tell you, this train ride is worth every penny of it. Despite the heat, once the train starts moving, it wasn't so obvious, in fact, it was quite cooling. Probably passing through open fields and leaving the choking city behind helped.

The best part about this train journey is that, it passes through some of the bumpiest track I have ever experienced for a train ride!! We were practically bouncing UP and DOWN for almost the first hour of the journey, so much bouncing that the back pack of one traveller FELL off the overhead rack, UNTO his head and fortunately for him, it didn't break his neck. That back pack must have weighed at least 10 - 15 kgs. Then, everyone started to tie their backpacks, bags and whatnots to the rack, to avoid SAME thing happening. But it was good laugh, the bumping along the track, I really wondered whether there is a risk of the train jumping the track??

Anyway, as the train starts to climb higher, the air gets cooler and the ride smoother. The view was very nice. Green hills, green valleys, green jungles, green plantations. Greens everywhere...

Oh, just like a repetition of what I read in the internet, halfway through, it rained!! I read about this in another traveller's log and it happened, same thing!! And just like what the traveller said, many people fumbled with the latch mechanism. It was simple and yet, to most modern people, it was complicated, how ironic is that?

About 3 hours later, which passes very fast for it was an exciting journey to me and when it wasn't that exciting, my book was, I arrived at Kandy, the unplanned stop, the city that most said should be visited.

As it was unplanned, I didn't know what to expect. Getting out of the station, tuk-tuk drivers asked if I wanted their service, I wasn't sure. I asked one where is the place road called Temple Road and was informed that it was just a straight walk ahead from the station or a RS 50.00 ride. I decided to walk....

This is a city that I could like. It wasn't that big. It wasn't too crowded and it has more "foreign" faces, which made me felt more blended in.... :)

I found the hotel that I booked from Colombo. A quaint old world charming hotel, something that looked like a "hotel" operated on top of kopitiams of ye olde Malaya....charming...

After checking in, I ventured out again and the temple of Sacred Tooth is just right in front of it. I wanted to visit it but alas, one must wear long pants and I only have bermudas with me. I thought of buying a long pants just so I can go inside but none of the pants seemed to suit. So, I have to drop the plan.

With that, I walked around town, it being night, there was nothing much that I can see but I definitely can hear lots of crows nesting. So, out came my faithful cap.

I went to one of their mart to get mineral water and the kind cashier told me that the bottle that I took was an imported mineral water, very expensive and is not necessary (I agree totally) - she showed me where the local ones are and I bought that one, thanking her over and over again. Bought some devilled cashews as never tried that before.

After that, I went hunting for food, not really hunting, more like, deciding which shop to patronise. I decided on one that looked clean and reasonable with quite a number of patrons. But their service was EXTREMELY BAD. I rarely experience bad service in restaurants, especially those in countries with labour aplenty. I sat there and nobody bothered to take order. I went to the "chef" to order apong and he forgot about it. I ordered banana juice and it took almost half an hour to be served. Another half an hour for the apong. And they didn't even bother to ask me if I want anything to go with it. So lousy service that I didn't even leave one rupee for tips.

So, back to the hotel then for a good sleep, I hope....Before I went into my room, chatted with the keeper who told me he had wanted to go back to Colombo but the queue for bus was like a mile long! I told him to take train, he told me that trains are limited whereas bus would be every 10 - 15 minutes each. Noting that in mind, I planned to take bus back the next day, just for the experience of it.

Sri Lanka - Day 2

2011-04-22T04:31:00.002+08:00

When I opened my eyes, it was only about 7.00 a.m, darn!! How lah, holiday but can't sleep. I think I must have lost at least a kilo or two during the night by sweating alone. It was like all night long's sauna!!

I got up, did all the necessary things and went down for breakfast. Can you believe it? The breakfast was prepared only when you were ready to eat, meaning, we can have HOT breakfast, yay!! Though, the only hot things were the two eggs and 6 slices of toast, oh, and the tea (hot water provided, for the tea bags)

Again, despite my non-white bread diet, I still have to eat them, after all, I would need some calories for the day. After I was done eating, I went up to take my bag, took some of the less necessary things out, handed it to the keeper and told him to keep it for me. Thus with lighter backpack, I headed to town. I walked all the way to Bambalapitiya halt, which is about 10 - 15 minutes walk and bought myself another ticket for RS 10.00. Train was not dued for another 1/2 hour and I waited nervously for the train. Took some photos while waiting, and it turned out very beautiful because the station was practically empty still. Oh, I was nervous because I really couldn't imagine myself standing at the door of the train should it be over-loaded, like those you seen in India. In fact, I saw something like that the night before, when I walked along the railway track, killing time and enjoying the sunset view...which yielded some really nice photo, despite my using cheap point and shoot camera.

The train arrived and to my delight, it was not full!! Yay!!! I really wouldn't want to squeeze in nor put my life at the mercy of handrail! I even got myself a seat! So, along the way, I asked the nice lady next to me when we will arrive the Fort Station for I feared I would miss it, the kind lady informed me when the train stopped at the right station.

I got off after thanking her and lo and behold!! Crowds, crows and craps!! Literally!!! The Fort Station is the main terminus. Every trains stops or departs from here. That pulls in the crowds!! The crows, gosh!!! They are everywhere. Even outside. Practically, everywhere. I almost think that the Colombo missed out R and W in their spelling (C_o_lombo) for the number of crows it had but it wouldn't be kind to label them such. The craps were crow's, whatdyathink?? Humans?? Euuwwww.... Bad enough to see patches of white here and there and at the same time, some "live telecasts" broadcasted!! In fact, I bought one cap, ME, a person who don't like to wear cap, just to be "safe". Sigh, to think that I have a lot of unworn caps at home and I had to spend money to buy something I have no use of at home...But better be safe than sorry. And I was pleased in the end because it protected me from the scorching sun. I tell you, my neck was practically burned to the colour of charcoal!!

So, I got out, went to their ticketing counter and asked for the next train to Kandy, the observation coach as recommended by some people in internet. Initially, I was told there weren't anymore tickets but again, from the internet, I learned that you can ask for "leniency", especially if you were travelling alone and they did find me a seat on that coach. Cost? RS 350.00, I think, I forgot, but it was in that range, about USD 3.50 or MYR 14.00. For a 3 hours ride! Hmmph..and it was for FIRST CLASS too. The train, I was made to understand will leave at 1530 hour (3.30 p.m) and it was like, 9.30 in the morning? And I have like another 6 hours to kill???

So, this time, I took the opportunity to really explore the surrounding of the train station, with the good guide from Lonely Planets, I visited most of the places mentioned in it, like the Grand Mosque, some churches, some temples, markets etc. I walked as many crooks and cranny that I dared to walk, without taking unnecessary risk, which is unnecessary actually as most of their people minded their own business. I even walked passed some housing areas, saw some kids playing crickets and snapped their photos. They were very happy when I showed them in the small screen of my camera. Ah, the joy of being children, simple things in life can make them very happy.

After walking about for about 3 hours, I walked back to the train station, stopped somewhere nearby it to eat late lunch of "fried roti canai with tuna"...it was unique, delicious actually and I am very very very very very very sure is calories laden.....so, I ended up eating about slightly over quarter of it. I am willing to compromise but not THAT much, okay, it is never easy to burn off calories!

So, finishing the lunch, I went inside the train station and finding myself a spot, sat down and started reading my book. About 20 minutes later, an old lady and her friend were standing in front of me and me being the younger one, felt shy to be sitting, so, I let her have the seat. I ventured to another platform to find another seat and as I was about to sit down, I noticed something I didn't notice before. BOMBS!! Albeit dried ones but one the benches? Yukk. So, I find myself another bench and noticed that most of them had been "bombed", at least at the sides, ie, people must have "cleaned" the centre when they sat on it....So, I found myself one which had been "cleaned" and took the spot and continue my reading. Suddenly, "phiak", a bomb dropped not 1 feet to my left. Euuwww!!! I quickly shifted and looked up and only then I realised that those crows were perching on some of the beams. I learned that so I proceeded to find a bench which is NOT under anything that the crows can perch on. PEACE!!

After a while, the time being 3.00 p.m and not seeing any "first class train" on my platform, there was a train there for very long time, I went to one of the station conductor and asked about my train. I was shown the same train that had been idling there waiting for time to depart! Dear me, luckily I asked, I wouldn't have dreamt that this would be the train!! When I went up to my coach, I realised something. First class or not, there is NO AIRCOND! The only First Class thing about this coach is probably the view that I MIGHT get. And the HEAT!!! I began to worry whether I will be able to survive this 3 hours ride!!! ....

Sri Lanka - Day 1

2011-04-21T10:42:00.002+08:00

The day started early. Very early. I had like, 2 hours sleep? The night prior, there was an Easter gathering at one of the neighbour's place and afterwards, the weekly badminton game, which ended at about 12.00 midnight. By the time I reached home, did some last minute packing and sleep, it was already 2.00 a.m. My flight being at 6.15 a.m., I would have to leave by 4.00 a.m. the latest. So, I got up at almost 4.00 a.m, quick change and off I went to the airport.

I reached the airport almost 5.10 a.m. I thought I would be late because by the time I walked to the departure terminal, it was almost 5.30 a.m. For the first time, I felt a slight surge of panic for I normally will check in with ample time to spare and this is cutting it a bit too close for comfort.

By the time I was done with the check-in and cleared immigration, it was 5.45 a.m., phewwww...I went over to the gate immediately and not 10 minutes later, we were called for checking the boarding pass and final boarding. The flight was uneventful, no turbulence, no air pocket, smooth all the way.

We landed on time. The local time being 8.15 a.m. only. I took my time roaming the airport and noticed that their duty free shops included electrical items like washing machines and air-conds...I was like, what??

There were customs check but I don't see any customs, I didn't have anything to declare anyway. To go out from the arrival point, there seemed to be a roundabout way and another distance to walk and I wasn't OUT of the secured terminal yet!

After passing some sort of tunnel, then only I got out of the building. There were taxi touts aplenty. I scrapped my initial plan of going by bus and just engaged a taxi driver, for RS 2400.00

I asked him to drop me for some breakfast, had 2 pieces of putu mayam, milk tea and "wooden apple" juice. It was sourish and I guess, an acquired taste (apparently, I haven't acquire it yet!). I even paid for the taxi driver...

When we reached the city proper, I noticed that there weren't any cars on the road and I was informed that the Sri Lankans are on extended holiday, it being their new year (same day with Songkran in Thailand apparently, they must have shared the same calendars then)

After some asking around, we found the hostel that I was going to stay for the next three days (initial plan). The place was clean, I am pleased to note. The guy who took care of the place either don't speak English or a bit hard on hearing cause he barely understood most of the things I said (or for that matter, the rest of the guests)

After dropping my bag, I ventured out. I walked the vicinity of the hostel. Sad to note, most shops were indeed closed. I noticed one bookstore was opened. Went in there, browse some books and noticed that their books are much cheaper than Malaysia's! If only I am not worry of the strain on my back, I would have bought some of the books, most can be had for half to quarter of the price we usually paid in Malaysia!! Which brings some "unmentionabales" words out for the stupidity of the authorities in Malaysia. How can we cultivate the culture of reading if our books are so expensive, even comparing to slightly backward countries like Sri Lanka?

Anyway, with heavy heart, I left the bookstore without any purchase and roam about further. I bought one train tickets for Fort Station (the central terminal) from the halt near my hostel (Bambalapitiya) and it costs only 10 rupees (USD 1.00 = RS 100, meaning the train fare is MYR 0.30 only). Again, I can see the vast difference between public transport run by state (Sri Lankan) and public transport run by private company. I don't think Malaysians can get anywhere with a MYR 0.30 fare.

Though I purchased the ticket, in the end, I didn't take the train ride, as it was dued about 1 hour later (non-peak time). I ended up with tuk-tuk to the Fort Station and it costed me RS 250.00.

I walked around the station to familiarise myself with the place as I planned to take train to Negombo on the third day.

After I am done, I walked the area surrounding it, namely Fort and was sidetracked to visit a Buddhist Temple. Afterwards, I walked all the way back to the hostel, which took about 1 hour of walking.

When I reached the hostel, I was like, MELTING! The sun was so hot and the hostel was very stuffy too, the room so happened to be upstairs and bear the full brunt of the scorching sun! I ended up reading up about Sri Lanka from Lonely Planet book that I borrowed from the hostel.

I had something like roti canai wrapped with sardines plus chicken, which was delicious...though I had reduced my intake of wheat based products, I had no other choice as it seemed to be their staple food and I am not in the mood for rice either.

Dinner done, I headed back to my room to sleep. Despite the 2 hours sleep the night before, despite walking for hours earlier one, despite sweating buckets upon buckets of sweat, I couldn't sleep rightaway!! Reason? It was so darn hot. It was so stifling that I was not sure I could breathe! I had to take shower twice, just so I can cool down. Immediately I made the decision to "run away" to Kandy the next day!

So, decision made, I finally drifted off to a fitful sleep and awoke very early the next day. I think I have slept not more than 4 hours!! Day 2 to follow...

Home Sweet Home - After Ceylon Trip

2011-04-20T20:28:00.002+08:00

I just got back from my Sri Lanka's trip. Initially, I planned to roam about Colombo for the duration of the trip, fearing to venture out to other places, being that it was my first trip to Sri Lanka.

Anyway, the flight from Sri Lanka was at 8.15 a.m, Lankan time. And I had to be at the airport by 6.00 a.m and had to leave hotel at 5.30 a.m. The tuk-tuk driver that I booked the day before came on the dot, luckily I am the sort that keep my promise. As I waited for him from 5.00 a.m. onwards, a few tuk-tuk stopped to asked me whether I would want to engage their service, to which, I refused all. One even stayed at the gate of the hotel and waited, at the same time, keep on looking at his watch, hoping that by 5.30 a.m., I would consider hiring him to send me to airport....That is how competitive it was.....

To make the short of it, I reached the airport, safely and proceeded with the check-in and everything. With about 2 odd hours to spare, I almost finished another book!

In the flight itself, I noticed something that irritates me to no end. All those passengers, despite being told to switch off their handphones, leaves most of theirs on. Some even talked while the aircraft was taxiing to the runway. The flight attendant had to remind them to put away their phone quite a few times.

Even when landing, I noticed some of them would quickly take out their phones and switch it one, even while the aircraft is still moving. I mean, I doubt even multi million businessmen do not have such urgency that it couldn't wait a few more minutes? And I am very sure they are not businessmen. At times, I wonder, what is all this fascination with mobile phones? Probably it gave them a sense of importance....I don't know.

After so many days of non-Malaysian, non-Chinese foods, I have to get myself some and afterwards, went for a haircut. By the time I am done, it was pouring cats and dogs. I was quite soaked by just the few seconds taken to run from the five foot walkways to the parked car...

I will chronicle my experience in Sri Lanka in the coming days....Photos are in the facebook. It is easier to load :)

Weight and Diet

2011-03-25T19:07:00.002+08:00

It's been a very long time since I really paid attention to my diet. I was lulled into a fall sense of security and "invincibility" of not being able to gain weight after my super successful weight loss that I looked waif-ish and drug-addict-ish.

And that FAT is very unforgivable and has a knack of creeping back and lodging itself to your belly, thigh and everywhere else. And I was not aware of it until I wear my favourite jeans last night. Okay, I was suspicious but I just put it off as phobic reactions. But yesterday the truth dawned, there is not more self delusion for I did indeed put back at least half of the weight I have managed to loss and I don't know how it got back there. From a size 28, back to 30, which would have been perfect if it stayed there and now back to 33!! Hello??!!!

I think it is high time I throw away the scale in my room for it still showed 65kgs, with a peak of 68kgs whenever I stand on it. Last week, when I was in Medan, there was a weighing scale, which I used to weigh my bag (as AirAsia is pretty strict about baggage weight limitations) and it showed as 15kgs. Just for sheer fun, I stood on the scale and it tipped at 76 kgs. I was like, whoa....is this scale correct? I mean, there is no possibility of me gaining 8 - 9 kgs in the span of 5 days, right? But my self suspicion were put to rest when my baggage weight is 15kgs when weighted in the airport, so, the scale could not be wrong, right?

So, I am very determined that I must lose another 4 - 5 kgs within the next month or so. Keep an appointment here to follow the progress...Let us take today's weight as 75 kgs (I shall locate me-self a weighing scale and record it!) And we shall see the progress from then. 70 kgs should be sufficient...

Nuts Over Nuts

2011-03-25T18:58:00.003+08:00

The past few weeks has seen me travelling to some countries in ASEAN and one of my favourite thing to buy is nuts. I bought cashew nuts (3kgs) and pistachio nuts (2kgs) in Ho Chi Minh. Then, last week, when I was in Medan, I bought broad beans (1kg). Earlier, my sister went to Australia and I asked her to get me macadamia nuts (0.7kg). Before the Chinese New Year holidays, I bought peanuts (1kg). To top it all off, my mother in law gave us hazelnuts (1kg), pistachios (0.5kg) and cashew nut too. So, at one time, on my dining table, there are various type of nuts, in plastic packs, bottles, cans and whatnots. I think there is almost 10kgs of nuts at that time. And I am pretty sure that I missed out some other types of nuts hiding somewhere in the larder.

On top of that, there are some chocolates with NUTS in the fridge and all of the waiting to be consumed. So many nuts, so little time to consume them....

Return To Micasa

2011-03-23T00:16:00.002+08:00

Just got back from Medan. Seemed like everything as it was that many years ago, when I first visited the place. If possible, it looked a bit more worn....And it is such a waste as Medan and it's surrounding attraction, like Lake Toba, Brastagi etc are pretty much a place of relaxation waiting to happen. I remembered Lake Toba being superbly scenic. It still is but somehow, it has lost it's lustre, so to speak.

I am hoping to relate some of the experience here later, suffice to say that, a trip overseas never fail to rejuvenate one's spirit and makes one more appreciative of what one has.....

Holier Than Thou

2011-03-18T21:39:00.002+08:00

You know, if you are looking for a silver lining, the recent (and ongoing) hoo-ha pertaining to Bible being held by Malaysian Customs and/or Home Ministry arouses the curiosity in some people, even me, who is not a Christian. People would be curious and might want to read "this" Bible even more. And when there is a will, there will always be a way, right? And that the power that be fear this? It is Holy Book, for God's sake, basically teaching people to do good. I mean, I have read a few passage of the Holy Book but that doesn't mean that I will go get myself baptise the very next day. And it has been years since I last read the Holy Bible (or rather, the few pages of it) - and I still am not a Christian...

I also can't imagine the shallowness of some people. Probably they would prefer a Godless society than a society that believes in God, albeit in different "version" or "way". In the end, who is to decide? In every religion, God is Omnipotent. If you are a believer, trust Him to guide you and protect you. If you are not a believer, no amount of persuasion will change you otherwise. And God being Omnipotent, would He need humans to PROTECT His interest?? I find that notion truly ludicrous and showed that many people don't really know what they are or where they are, except that they thought they are smarter than everyone else. Why don't people just accept that God created humans differently, with different way of life and that, He, and He alone will be the ultimate judge? So, why do some people insist on passing judgement on behalf? They are after all, MORTAL. Remember ashes to ashes???

The Bigger The Ego

2011-03-18T16:36:00.002+08:00

I am for one, not particularly keen on big cars. But due to some "temporary insanity" - I got myself a slightly bigger car, early last year....that is nice and everything. Comfort and everything comes packaged together.

Well, I had a flat tyre two days back. I don't know how to take out the tyre!! It was my first time to take tyre out from underneath the car, not like usual practice, from the car boot, or my CRV, which is right at the back. Flipping through the manual doesn't help. So, left without any choice, I have to seek professional's help. Turns out, the "screw" to lower down the tyre is right at the boot itself, just that I didn't know how to operate it then (I know how now)

Well, one thing led to another. After gaining the knowledge, I still had to send my car to the professional to change back to the original tyre, you know how spare tyre is just for emergency only, you have to fix your original tyre and fix in back on.

And then, when I was there, I was told that "this part is not in good condition", "that part was practically worn out" - so I just told them to change it, since it might affect the absorber in the longer run.

To top it all, I was told that all my tyres were about 5 years old and showing sign of cracks, despite minute ones and that, though it looked practically new, if I were to drive long distance, I risked having burst tyres - due to the fact that after a certain life span, the rubber would tend to hardened somewhat and is in other word, dangerous.

I can accept that explanation because, I do believe that rubber under constant pressure and hot sun would need some room for "changes"... Aaaannnnnnddddd hearing the word "burst" and "long-distance" - I just have to err on the side of caution, right? I mean, I wouldn't Murphy comes a visit with his/her law, right?

Soooooo, one thing led to another and I thought, since I am gonna change the tyres, I might as well change the rims!!! And I ended up with something I might need, for safety (the tyres) and something I don't (sportier rims)...I guess, once in a while, it is fine to indulge but I hope that's it...

Trips

2011-03-16T23:25:00.000+08:00

Few week back, I attended a conference and meeting in Hochiminh City, Vietnam. The initial plan was one lady colleague to attend and that being the case, I asked my wife to join me too, after all, she had never been to Vietnam and also, you know, to avoid misunderstanding and gossips, hahaha. But at the very last minute, the lady colleague had to take a rain check and we had to get one of the partner to go.

Well, the trip itself was not particularly eventful, I met some old people, some new people and hopefully, that will be turned into some business opportunity, let's wait and see. Whereas my partner is practically "hooked" - he enjoyed the meeting, in a way and I can see that it actually provided some sort of motivation too, which is a good thing. At least now I know that in future conference, there would be one partner to tag along, hahaha.

I guess everyone need a boost every now and then and that is why I ALWAYS make a trip overseas every few months, my ME time, time to be alone, mostly back packing and / or walking, alone, in a foreign country and absorbing whatever it has to offer. So, this year, two cities are in the schedule, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Vientianne, Laos (which I didn't get to go last year....)

Next week, I will be going to Medan/Lake Toba, with my wife and I am hoping to take lots of pictures and buy lots of fruits, hahaha.....

Silly Diet

2011-03-15T23:22:00.001+08:00

At times, I find that it is quite a silly thing diet. I mean, here I am, drinking skimmed milk and later on, gobbling down cheese and chocolates - that's where the FAT of the milk went, right? If that is going to be the case, I might as well drink FULL CREAM milk and do away with the cheeses and chocolates, right? Hahaha...sometimes, human (or me rather) is just plain silly..... :(

Police and Auxiliary Police

2011-03-14T23:02:00.004+08:00

The other day, I saw three police officers sitting under a tree nearby my office. The following day, I saw another three standing at another location, seemingly to check on the oncoming vehicles.

And not three days ago, I was stopped by some policemen, when I was on my way home after a very late supper. Today, while passing my old housing estate, I saw a police car parked nearby an eateries, though both police officers were sitting inside the car (one was practically dozing off), but the mere presence of a police car would inevitably discourage "would be" offenders, no? And this is the way it should have been done. Snatch thieves are rampant.

Suddenly, our police force seemed to have enough personnel to do some "beats" and that is actually a good thing! Could it have something to do with the state's request to form their own auxiliary police??

Personally though, I would prefer them to be walking around in the peripheries of commercial areas, like in Hong Kong and Singapore but that is just wistful thinking, I guess. Some how or rather, it seemed that what our Federal Government needed was a wake up call, in the form of a challenge like the one offered by our "federal-opposition run" state.

I am hoping that this would not be a flash in the pan kind of thing. The other day, Plusizekitten fell victim to a snatch thief. She is a bit lucky, though if you were to ask her, I am very sure you would barely escape alive once her claws are out! The reason I said that is due to the fact that a few months earlier, a neighbour of mine also fell victim to snatch thief in a commercial area. She fell and hurt her back and I heard, was on wheelchair for quite sometime. Now, she is on a walker! I am hoping that it will not be a permanent thing because it is such a pity for someone to be "handicapped - FOR LIFE" due to inefficiency of certain quarters... Not to mention the many that actually died in the hand of snatch thieves.

I hope that with the physical appearance of these police officers, the snatch thieves will not have a field day and will think twice about hurting people, both physically and psychologically. Here is to a better world.....Amen....

Blogging again

2011-03-13T23:38:00.001+08:00

I didn't realize that I have NOT been blogging for such a long period of time!! No wonder I am restless, hmmm. I gotta let off steam every now and then, no?

The thing is, whenever I was driving around, or doing something else, my head will be full of things to share but when I am practically logged in to blog about it, I would have forgotten about everything that I had wanted to share, everything that I thought would be wonderful to share with people. I guess, it is time to take a notebook and jot down every single thing that crossed my mind that I had wanted to blog about. A few lines would do to jog the memory, right?

In the absence of good topic, I guess I would just talk about yours truly :P

Recent update :-

a) diet gone out of window - I don't know why the sudden loss of determination in dieting. probably too many people drilled the notion that I am underweight, that I need to eat more and by nature, I like to savour food too....so, I probably am "deceiving" myself that I won't put on weight by indulging myself every now and then (more like MANY now rather than then) - consequently, gone were the size 28 and hello size 32!!! and that is how FAST one can gain weight. I hope I will not be saying hello to size 35, heaven forbids..!!!

b) gym time gone out of window - I still have nagging discomfort in the back zone, that is why gym has taken a low priority at the moment.....actually, it was an excuse because gym-ing is NOT fun...your whole body ache...you have to do things that you DON'T LIKE to do..

c) gardening gone out of window too - someone else is tending the garden for the time being as I am planning some travelling this year and also, the garden looked messy. But now, it looked......foreign...very NOT me..I guess, after a few months, I have to reclaim back my personality for my garden. I will have to get down and dirty with the garden if I want it to be more ME. Now, my garden looked just like everyone else's...tsk tsk tsk...

d) sleeping time is going haywire too - I tried many time to sleep early but I just couldn't. I don't know why and I am hoping that with the coming "break" in Medan, I can regulate my sleeping time to a more HUMAN time instead of GRAVEYARD SHIFT...yukk, now that I put that in writing, it doesn't sound that appealing, I guess I WOULD be forcing myself to sleep earlier!!!

e) oh, on unrelated piece of issue - my car needs washing - BADLY....it is SO me that for a practically brand new car, it hardly sees washing more than once every few months...that is why I have never encouraged MYSELF to drive expensive cars!! I find washing car (be it by myself or sending to washer) to be quite a chore...

Worthy Book

2011-01-03T09:45:00.006+08:00

The name says it all and more....

I didn't know that there was such a book in the market until Plusizekitten highlighted it to me. And she told me to do a review if I like the book. Here I am doing it and obviously, I like it, to be reviewing about it, right?

So, what's this book all about? If you are like me, who loves exploring, be it dining, shopping, self-indulgence, Worthy Book would be a good start.

What I love about Worthy Book is NOT the discount vouchers inside, but the participants, ie, the establishment that participates in the discount vouchers!! Why did I say that? Well, for a starter, look at the self photo below. I know, I know, looked vain but well, how else am I supposed to show how the book looks like?

Seen the photo? Saw the foods in front of me? The minute I got hold of Worthy Book, one of the vegetarian restaurant's name caught my eye. I DIDN'T know that this chain of vegetarian restaurant is in Malaysia! So, we went there to check out the restaurant and the foods were good. The discount voucher provided INSIDE the book is a bonus!

Pondering inside the book when we reached home, I found many more exciting food outlets to be discovered and tried!!

Worthy Book is divided into a few section, there is dining section, entertainment section, retail section and finally, services section. A lot of thought has been put into this book. Every establishment that joined this venture provided some insight into their business and service they provide. This is a good way to learn about the companies we are going to buy from.

Also, in appreciation of reading this simple review, readers who are interested might want to quote this blog (www.tmithomas.blogspot.com - d'Frog Prince Croaks) , or the more famous one Plusizekitten (www.plusizekitten.com) and enjoy a discount when you order this book, as much as 30% discount when you call them at 03-22643115 or email them at info@worthybook.my to purchase this book.

The price? RM 35.00. At one glance, many might not want to part with their money for WORTHY BOOK but if you enjoy outings, be it dining, shopping and a few other categories, this book's vouchers and special offers will pay for itself in no time at all. I know I already recovered 30% of the book's cost in ONE outing!

Some of the good deals in the Worthy Book include:
Backyard Pub – Get a FREE summer breeze wine! (for ladies only), Happy Hour Rate All Night Long!
Luna Bar – Get 15% discount!
Quattro, the Library, Sanctuary & Opera – Get 15% discount for cocktails!
Krispy Kreme – Get a free Original Glazed doughnut with spending over RM5!
Wong Kok – Get 20% discount!
Flying Chillies – Get a FREE green curry!
Boost Juice Bar – Get a FREE upsize!
Zun Kitchenette – Buy 1 free 1 herbal jelly!
Modesto's – Get 50% discount off lunch
Slimming Sanctuary – Get a FREE sample worth RM98!
Unisense – FREE signature treatment!
Ecoparadise Spa – FREE trial session
Jojoba Spa – Get a RM100 discount!
Aster Spring – 50% off facial treatment
Skin Renew – Eyebrow reshaping for RM1!
Mary Chia – Get a FREE birthday treatment!
Cuffz - Get 15% discount!
Borders Bookstore – Get RM5 discounts!
Baleno Apparel– Get 40% discount off bottoms!
and many many more!

Even my daughter agrees.... :D

Of Son And Daughter

2010-12-16T12:37:00.002+08:00

I was sick the past few days...again. Whenever I am sick, the blardy back ache will follow closely behind. Luckily, this time was not as serious as the last bout.

So, there I was, lying alone, resting with some fever one evening. My wife and the kids got back after me. Then, my daughter came upstair, saw me lying down and she just put her hand on my forehead, as if to check how feverish I was. Also asked me how I was...That's daughter for you.

My son came bouncing up after she went down to fetch the thermometer, glance at my direction and said, "Hey Dad" and off he goes into his room to get a book to read. From this instance, we can see why people always say that want to have at least one daughter in the family.

I am not saying my son is not caring, from his past action, he surprises me more than once with his caring attitude. Probably between them two, there is a unwritten agreement that should one showed care, the other would be free to do whatever he or she wants....???

My Birthday, Yesterday....

2010-11-23T09:38:00.002+08:00

Another ANNIVERSARY, another milestone, another tick and another year to look forward to.

It is nice to know people remembers, smses coming in, greetings in FB, meet up, etc etc. Obviously, with our modern reminder appliances, like the handphones and facebook, there is no running away from the constant reminder that you ARE aging.....

My hope is that I would age gracefully (of course, that is the logical choice, unless I can stop aging at all, that would be the first obvious choice, right?) - and that, if I aged, I could age like a fine wine, it gets better with time and as it got better, the value goes higher....

A dear friend sent something which is nice and I would like to share it here :-

Life is like a piano, White keys are happy moments, Black keys are sad moments,
But remember both keys are played together to give sweet moments.

I like it very much but then, it wouldn't be me if I don't reply with at least a thank you, right? But for this, I just had to reply with something that I felt strongly, arising for those few words, and it goes something like this :-

Life is indeed like a piano and it is with friends that a melody could be created, so thanks for being one of the best tunes.

I guess, humans are very funny in a way, you know you will get the best wishes and all, and yet, when they comes, you still feel very happy about it. Probably it is human nature to be wanted, to be cared. For that alone, we should be thankful for those around us and really count our blessings. Good days to all and thanks for the thought.

On again, off again

2010-11-18T02:18:00.000+08:00

No, not referring to any relationship...though not that far from that....another story for another time, perhaps.

So, what's on again, off again? These days, it seemed to be everything. The blogging, the reading, the travelling, the exercising, the dieting, etc etc. I seemed to be getting in and out of focus very frequently, nowadays. It seemed like my mind would wonder miles and miles away, to be brought back to present time, only to wander off a few moments later. Nope, I am not on any drugs...unless allergy pill is counted as one. Oh, that one is also on again, off again. Allergies, that is. Not to mention the stupid, irritating, nagging back! After the last episode, that particular irritation doesn't seem to want to go away, resulting in my lacking of exercise, increased intake of food AND may be, indicating another need to go shopping, perhaps?

Oh, I finally got to Lake Kenyir, deep in Trengganu. The journey were very, very, very, very, very, looooooooooooonnnnnnngggggggg. In old chinese sayings, if you sit too long, that your back and buttocks felt numbed, it's called, "buttocks flowering" (literal translation, might be lost to some people, but you get the gist). The trip to Lake Kenyir? Not only "the buttocks are flowering", it even fruited and ripen, ready to be eaten anytime....err, that either sounds funny or kinky....

So, along the way, there are nothing much to be seen, except, greenery. Trees and palm oils basically dotted the landscape on the Kuantan/Kuala Berang/Kenyir route. In fact, even restaurants were found wanting. So, you either go one forced diet, or bring your own food for that 2 odds hours journey between civilisation.

And no trips would be complete without some money being spent to help the local economy, right? So, it being an agricultural heartland, the stuffs were mostly agriculture products, the likes of corn, peanuts, buah salak (snake skin fruit), various type of sweet potatoes, when I said various, I really meant various, few of them, I have not seen before. And knowing me, this "strange" agriculture products normally will attract my attention and I bought one kg, just for testing. It tasted like "steamed jackfruit seeds", which is interesting and delicious, but very starchy. Also, it was my first time to eat the salak fruit and surprisingly, it tastes good. So, another kg for me...

But I doubt I would be going that way anytime soon. Once is more than enough to last for years. It is a beautiful journey, to be savoured over 3 - 4 days, not express trip like what I had.

All That Glitters....

2010-10-11T16:21:00.002+08:00

A few days ago, my family and I, that is, Penny, Isaac, Iona and I were having supper in one of the mamak shop.

My wife saw someone young girl with earring and wondered whether our daughter would want one - which we asked before but she refused for fear of pain.

Anyway, the conversation goes something like this :-

Wife : "Nana, you want to wear earring or not?"

Iona : "No, don't want"

Wife : "Don't want meh? You see, so nice woh, shining-shining." - my wife, indicating her earring to my daughter. (This is Manglish)

Iona : "No, I don't want!"

Me, chipped in : "Not shining-shining lah, sparkling!" (slightly better English)

We looked at our son and asked, "Is it correct?"

He answered, "Yeah, but I was thinking along the line of 'glittering'."

I was like, huh!? Glittering? Thing along the line of?? No wonder some of my friends said his English is very good.

It has become a habit of us to just test him whether he would come out with better words from his extensive vocabulary. He would most of the time used the most apt word to describe a situation, just like using the word "drafty" instead of "windy" to describe the wind condition.

A Little Bit Of Faith Goes A Long Way

2010-10-07T22:21:00.002+08:00

It came, it strickened me and now, it is almost gone. My horrendous back pain that is. It is still a bit nagging there. Friends have been very concerned and kept asking me whether I have got over it. I guess, I can safely say that it is 90% cured with the 10% reminder of what it could be. It became like a nagging fear in you. Would I be risking myself again?

Anyway, it was a kind of sudden turn of event. One morning, I could hardly get up again. I was all alone and I called my wife to take leave and come back to take me to the hospital. Then, after struggling with a lethargic body and pains shooting all over, somehow I managed to get up from the bed and head for shower! I wasn't going to the hospital in such a mess. Then, a neighbour who is a pastor called to ask about something and also enquired about my health. When I told her that it was pretty bad, she said she will say a prayer for me. I was touched and after that phone call, I took my shower and guess what? The pain subsided greatly and I was able to walk almost normally instead of shuffling my feet like 2 years old learning to walk. I guess it all worked together, some medication and some prayers. Friends across all religious beliefs said they would say a prayer for me and for that, I am very grateful. I believe in God and I am thankful that someone's prayer has been answered (mine too and to get well was sort of a miracle in my heart)

So, to my friends, thank you for your kind heart and prayer and concern. This is one down time which I am not likely to forget soon, nor am I going to forget friends who, for better and for worse, stayed as true friends. God Bless you all.

Oh, as in everything, beside rediscovering the meaning of friends, the "situation" enhanced the family ties too. In sickness and in health, that word come across to me when I was lying there like an invalid and you learn, no, you live, in love and care and you feel that you are very lucky, despite all the pains. Always, the silver lining is there....

Excruciating Pain! The Silver Lining??

2010-09-30T18:41:00.003+08:00

Last Monday, I was stricken with back pain. It was excruciating. I mean, I was sleeping normally the day before, with a slight back sore, which I attributed to watching TV for too long hours. Imagine my surprise that I could hardly move from my bed without pains shooting from the back to the whole body. Gosh, I think I even cried out as I was not expecting that! The silver lining?? Hehehe, my son, who happened to be off from school on that day, ran upstairs to my room and asked me, what happened? He heard me and was concerned. That in itself makes one feel warmth all over.

I told him that my back was painful, he wanted to help me up, being a 10 years old (going on 11), that speaks volume, innit? Anyway, I told him I would have to adjust myself out of the bed slowly. And not to mention that I was in urgent need to answer nature's call!! Somehow, I managed to get down from the bed and had to practically crawl to the bathroom for I couldn't stand up, the muscle felt weak and in pain.

I have to ask my son to open the door for me and afterwards, when I managed to stand up, imagine what a parent would feel when I saw him sitting just by the door side waiting for me, just to make sure I was alright. For his age, he showed concerns that I had never ever expected and for that, I am very proud of him. We must have done something right by him....

Well, to make the long story short, after a few days of rest with no lessening of pain in sight, I finally got myself admitted into the hospital and it in itself would be another story.

Surprises Come When You Least Expected It

2010-08-21T13:04:00.003+08:00

I went to THE bazaar yesterday. (again!)

There was a stall selling murtabak, which has a lot of clientele waiting patiently for their order. It is human instinct to follow the "herd", so to speak. Just for the fun of it, I too, waited patiently for my order to be given.

It was quite a long wait. During that time, I noticed that two of the "later" patrons got their order but not me. I hope it was due to oversight and not due to "colour". I will give the stall owner's daughter, the benefit of the doubt.

Then, another guy, who ordered the same item as me, standing a few step away from me. I was still waiting for my order. The girl packed and wanted to give the order to this "new" guy. What the guy did was to point at me and said I came first. In an instant, I felt that this guy deserved a high respect for even though he was dressed in "blue collar" but his character is honorable, to say the least. Most people would be happy to be ahead of people who were earlier, but not this guy. I guess, sometime, life's surprises come in little doses.

As for the murtabak, it was no big deal and just not worth the time to wait, coupled with the poor attitude, that would be the first and last I would buy from that stall. May be no big loss to them, since they seemed to be very popular, but then, no big loss to me either, hahaha.

I like the ambience in a bustling food bazaar like this. You could see people of all creeds and walk of life mingle. Though the bazaar was supposed to cater to the Muslims for their fasting month, all were welcomed (after all, business is business) and for us, it was the time of the year to look for unique foods not usually found on normal days during the rest of the year. Bon apetit.

Eco Friendly Era

2010-08-14T19:16:00.000+08:00

As I was driving this morning, I was looking at the surrounding and noted how wasteful we have become. One thing lead to another and it brought back some memories of my childhood.

I remember, when I was very very young kid, when we bought something from the market, the seller would wrap the vegetable with old newspaper and then, he will pull a string from a holder, and that string was made of some kind of reeds. I can't remember what it is exactly, only that it is dark dirty green in colour. I remember too that people would go to the market with rattan or bamboo weaved basket. Everything would be loaded inside. At a bit later stage, that was replaced by square plastic basket.

I remember too that rice would be sold by the kgs and that the seller would pack the rice in paper bags, which was made from old newspaper (again) to a certain thickness that could hold the weight of the rice.

All that changed when plastics were made readily available at much cheaper price. And now, we are paying the price for it, in terms of more rubbish being strewn about, not environmental friendly beside being an eyesore. I sort of miss the "love thy nature" days....

Fasting Month

2010-08-13T19:05:00.002+08:00

It's the fasting month for some. But to me personally, it's like fattening month. Aiyoh, on the very first day of fasting month, I was like a kid in a candy store when I visited the Ramadhan Bazaar nearby my office. Everything looked tempting, appetizing, not to mention waist line killing!!!

On the very first day, my haul were :- one pack of nasi kerabu - (my favourite, which I indulge every once a year), nasi dagang, cucur udang, kuih pelita, ayam percik, wadey and roti boom. I personally ate the nasi kerabu, nasi dagang, half the cucur udang I bought, and a few pieces of wadey. After finishing everything and I practically am as round as humpty dumpty that I could have rolled on the floor easily, I promised myself that I would only go to the bazaar again in a week time.

Today would be the 3rd day, I think and again, unable to resist the urge to eat nasi kerabu again, I went to the bazaar, despite my self resolution of not going there for at least a week! Again, the haul is almost the same, with bbq chicken wings in place of ayam percik BUT with addition of cempedak goreng AND pecal. I almost bought murtabak ayam, for one stall was so full of people that I am guessing it must be good. But I am too impatient to wait, I'll go the next day at earlier hour to beat the queue.

I just had about half of the haul and am stuffed to the max. I need to do something about this gullibility of mine during this month. Come to think of it, most of the foods were either deep friend, or cooked with lots of oil, or very sweet. In other words, C A L O R I E S !!!!

By putting this in writing, I hope I would be able to better control my desire to savour everything on sale this month. I am going to eat nasi dagang shortly, hahaha. It can't keep, got coconut milk inside (what?? hidden calories???)

Strenuous But Not Difficult Job

2010-06-30T14:42:00.002+08:00

It occurs to me that some people have some of the most mind boggling jobs. High on my list are these few that I have come across, during my sparse travels.

1) One of the most boring and unproductive job must be the toll collectors. Imagine sitting for eight hours, doing nothing but just to collect money and give back change to the drivers. This job should be handled by machines.

2) Productive (in a way) should be the clove cigarettes workers in Surabaya. For eight hours a day, they will sit rolling cigarettes, pretty much like ant hill and Charlie Chaplin movie. So mechanical their movements were. But at least, they get to stand up and walk a bit when they run out of tobacco and have to get it from their supervisors.

3) The guards at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum have to be one to be admired. I believe for eight hours on end (or may be the change guards, I am not sure), they have to stand guard over the body of the late leader and they don't move an inch for the duration. Imagine, standing at a certain pose for 8 hours, straight, no talking, no moving, nothing. What goes through their mind for the eight hours? How do they stand the boredom?? Most would go insane but they really have the mental strength (I think). How about those that guards in the night?? Some people don't even sleep THAT still.

4) The guards at Chiang Kai Shek Mausoleum in Taiwan have almost similar duty as the one above but at least, they stand outside (or is it worse? cos they are exposed to the environment, hot and cold weather) and they get to do changing of guards every few hours or so and get to rest.

Surabaya, The Third Day

2010-06-22T10:14:00.002+08:00

Early day again. It must be the sun!

We left the hotel about 10.30 a.m. I wanted to visit the Sampoerna House. I read that this is one of the must see in Surabaya from the internet. And that the place is like 500m away from the hotel, how could I not visit it??

But before that, I missed the junction and we walked for quite a distance, yet, still could not find it. We back tracked and finally located the junction that we missed and after about 20 minutes of walking, we reached there. The sun was scorching hot, making that half an hour walk very unenjoyable.

The House of Sampoerna was formerly residential home of the founder but now been turned into a museum. It was pretty interesting. The most interesting of it all is the cigarette rollers - the women worker. They are like ants in a hive, rolling and rolling and rolling and rolling, sticks upon sticks upon sticks of cigarettes. It is hard to explain but they worked so fast (most of them) that they rolled a cigarette in about 2 - 3 seconds, I think. Think Charlie Chaplin, that is how the movement is like. Photography is not allowed, so, I am not able to show you. But, if ever anyone was in Surabaya, this is a must see. My highest respect for the roller, to be doing the rolling repetition for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, day in day out, month in month out and year in year out!! I imagine that they would also be rolling cigarettes in their sleep!! That is how repetitive it is!!

After watching that, we went to their cafe, which was also a former residence, but an annex that was build for one of the son. It was very nicely decorated. We ordered foods and guess what? Most of the foods we ordered were either Italians or steak. It wasn't until it was served that I realise how silly of us not to have at least try to order their local food. Another time perhaps.

One side of the restaurant

The food we ordered. Nothing extraordinary but it's alright.

We took our time eating the lunch because we need to kill sometime before the free Surabaya tour bus will leave. Oh, I forgot to mention, the House Of Sampoerna, together with the government, I believe, operates a twice daily, FREE, tour of Surabaya's places of interest. I learned quite a lot of things from this tour and it was pretty interesting to say the least.

The Bus - the free tour is called Surabaya Heritage Track

This is the Gongs - we have these in Malaysia too but this is the first time it's up close and personal for us.

Xylophone?

The bus stopped at Town Hall to, where the guide showed the picture of Sura (shark) and Baya (crocodile) - where the name of the city derives. In Malaysia, crocodile is Buaya, I guess, we could have guessed???

The ride lasted about 1 1/2 hours and we were back in the hotel not long after. Another day well spent, but hey, it was only 4.00 ++ p.m. I can't recall if we had any dinner that day, need to check with my wife. But I do remember we ran out of mineral water and noticing some stalls selling them nearby the hotel, I went down to buy. They wanted IDR 4500 for one litre bottle and we have been buying for IDR 1800 (albeit different brand) - which prompted me to walk some distance to Giant Hypermarket instead, and I got two bottles of mineral water for slightly less than IDR 4000. Hmmm...

Oh, I remembered, we did have dinner. I researched in the internet of vegetarian restaurants and we called the same cabbie to send us to this restaurant. Lo and behold, it was gone!! Another misinformation!! Sigh....So, since the plan got derailed, I asked the cabbie if he knows of any vegetarian restaurants in Surabaya, without much hope though. He said he will check with hq and he radioed in. Surprisingly, the guy at the other end could just name the place off the cuff, just like that. Does he has a map or gps in his head or what?? I was impressed. It so happened that the place he mentioned to the cabbie was about a stone throw from where we were! What a stroke of luck. So, the cabbie drove and looked around for this place. When we found it, guess what?? It was THE restaurant that I printed our from internet!! And a check with their staffer revealed that they have shifted since 2002!!! The ride from our hotel to this place plus some searching and waiting costed us about IDR 24,000.00, I gave him IDR 30,000.00 and let him keep the change.

We had very huge dinner that night. I ordered without restrain and everything tasted so nice and different, we were really enjoying the food. If only we have discovered the place earlier, I believed we would be there almost everyday!! Very nice food. And this time, I remembered to order some of their local specialty, done vegetarian style. Simply fabulous.

Earlier, we have asked the cabbie to fetch us back in 1 1/2 hours time and he was there when we were done. Initially, he didn't turn on the meter and I thought, probably it was off duty for him. Somewhere along the way, he turned on the meter and by the time we reached the hotel, the meter only showed about IDR 12,000.00 ++. I know the rate ought to be around IDR 20,000.00 but the cabbie was a very decent and good chap, so I just gave him IDR 30,000.00. He was very happy, of course and making people happy, it's infectious and would make you happy in turn too..I asked him whether he send fare to airport and he said yes. I asked him whether he wants to send my family and I the next day and he immediately said yes. He told me to ask for "Key Key 236" at the reception. Initially, I didn't quite get him until he pointed to his taxi number, it was "QQ 238" and he told me, tomorrow, he would be driving "QQ 236" - told ya that Indonesians pronounce their alphabets and it confuses us who don't understand it.

Surabaya, The Second Day

2010-06-21T15:06:00.004+08:00

Many people don't realise that their lifes are quite dictated by the sun. In Surabaya, the sun rises around 6 a.m and sun set around 5.30 - 6 p.m too (Indonesia time). Whereas, for us in Malaysia, it is always one hour later. Sun set around 7 - 7.30 p.m.

So, by 7.30 a.m, I was up already. But bearing in mind, in Malaysia, it was only 6.30 a.m.!! Except for treasure hunts time, most of the time, I don't open my eyes before 8.30 a.m.!! Oh, we slept at about 9.30 p.m!! (Malaysian time, 8.30 p.m.!! We would be just getting ready to go out and have late dinner, if we were at home!!)

We don't have much to do, I just read books while waiting for the kids to wake up and by the time we got ready to leave the hotel, it was already 10.30 a.m. At the lobby, I inquired how much would it cost for a cab ride to Tunjungan Plaza (the only place that I can see with more variety of foods available) and was informed duly that it shouldn't cost more than IDR 30,000. Very well, they hailed a cab for me and off we went to "Tay Pay" - note on the side, Indonesians will pronounce most of their initials, "Tay Pay" being - T.P. Like our flight, AK was announced as "Arr Kar", which in a way, is pretty interesting.

When we reached there, it actually costed as below IDR 20,000. I just asked the driver to keep the change. After what I experienced the night before, IDR 20,000 was a reasonable rate to pay. In "Tay Pay", we walked a bit and by 11.30 a.m., was seated in one American Grill restaurant because they served buffets and we were pretty lost as what to eat, my wife being vegetarian, my son likes Italian foods and my daughter likes Japanese and chicken wings. It was a pretty good deal, American Grill, the meal costs us about MYR 100.00 (about USD 31.25) for four persons.

We took our brunch/lunch slowly as we don't have any particular place to go. By 1.30 p.m., my kids were already outside, watching a "basketball" games being played at the hall nearby the restaurant. Some sort of basketball promotions was going on. My son is into basketball at the moment, so, he was quite happy to watch that.

After an hour or so, we left. We explored the mall a bit more and discovered that at their higher floors, there are many nice eating place. We stopped at one and had desserts. After an hour of so at that restaurant, we left.

Wanting to explore Surabaya on foot, I decided to walk. Mind you, we have no idea where we are supposed to be heading but I told myself that if we lost our way, we would just hail a cab and we would be back in hotel in a jippy.

It was pretty interesting to walk. Again, almost every street and corner we turned, we would be called by the trishaw operators. We just shake our heads and moved on. From one street to another street, we just walked aimlessly. We passed by a street that has lots of side stall offering to buy gold, in front of shops selling (and buying, apparently) gold too. There was one chap, whol was on the phone and walked out of the shop and sort of like "pestering" us to sell him gold. My wife and I were like, WTF? Was the guy's screwed in properly? Every few steps of so, the stall keepers asked if we have gold to sell. Err, why would people sell golds to the road side peddlar when there are shops dealing in gold all around us?? After about 15 - 20 minutes walk, we reached a place called ITC - I think Indonesians pronounced it as "Eh Tay something", no idea how to pronounce "C" in the local lingo.

From this place, I have a rough bearing of where we should be heading, because I was able to see this building from my hotel window, though it would still be quite a distance. ITC has a nice looking pizza place and we decided to have an early dinner, sort of. It was early, about 5.30 p.m. Let me see, 11.30 a.m. brunch, 3.30 p.m desserts, 5.00 p.m., dinner. Hmmm....

After we had our "dinner", we roam Carrefour for a bit and then left. Guessing which direction to take, we proceeded back. It was pretty dark for it was already 6.30 p.m and most of the shops along the way were closed!! So, we were like, only guided by streetlights and sixth sense. Fortunately, Surabaya is quite safe, though occasionally, we worries as there seemed to be not that many pedestrians. I think we walked for about half an hour to 45 minutes and we reached our hotel. My kids were grumbling because I think, that was one of the longest walk we ever take, continuosly.

The worse part of the walking was that, it so happened that the local government decided to dig drains and resurface the sidewalk for pedestrians convenience, which ought to be lauded but just my luck to be there at that time. Most of the places of interest were closed for lack of accessibility. Even the Heroes' Monument... And we have to walk on the road, most of the time, instead of sidewalks. In other places, I would have feared for our safety but apparently, the road users in Surabaya are very considerate lot, they would giveway to each other. Not that I go all out to be in their path anyway. They just take everything in their stride. Cool.

So, ended one long day of walking, walking and walking.

The Evening In Surabaya

2010-06-19T01:17:00.003+08:00

Well, check-in in Ibis Surabaya was a breeze, except that, all three of my credit cards were rejected for the deposit. In the end, I just paid cash, it's refundable anyway.

Checked into our room and shortly, we went downstairs to walk a bit, seeing that there's a mall (sort of) right opposite the hotel. Went there and found out that, except for McD, there were no other foods to be had, or if there were, it probably were hidden in some obscure corner which is not locatable by first timer.

Then, we left the "mall" and wanted to walk back to the hotel. By the way, in front of the hotel, there were lots and lots of trishaw. The minute you walk out the lobby, they will call to you and the best gesture is to just shake your head. They are professional enough to take that and leave you be.

Well, unfortunately, there was one fella who was quite persistent, not in a rude way, but as we were leaving and have some hours to kill, we decided to try the trishaw. The guy told us to take his trishaw and he will send us to Carrefour for IDR 20,000, I think probably about USD 2.00? Anyway, there were four of us and he insisted that he can do it. But it just won't fit, now way am I going to sit, squeezed like sardine for a 15 minute journey. Finally, I told him to get one more trishaw and I will pay for two. That is IDR 40,000.00 already. It is pretty confusing with all the zeroes behind, so, I don't actually know how much would the cost be.

I tell you, it was an experience to be tried at least once. It seemed that the trishaw ruled the road. To the credit of the road users in Surabaya, everybody has the patience of a saint and almost everybody gives way, which is like a cultural shock to any typical Malaysians, who DON'T give way. No wonder that the traffic moves smoother than Malaysia's despite everything that was stacked against them vis-a-vis Malaysia, ie, trishaws, pedestrians, taxis, buses, cars, lorries and other all sorts of imaginable wheeled items and the traffic moves!!

I think, that 15 minutes journey, I would have inhaled an equivalent of 200 - 300 sticks of cigarettes and if this blog reads dumber, it was due to carbon monoxide poisoning I had while riding the trishaw.

We got to Tunjungan Plaza, because I told the trishaw fella that I am not keen on Carrefour, yet.

The first photo was taken from the trishaw I sat with my son, Isaac. The one in front of the motorbike, peddlar no 17 was the one which my wife and daughter took. I can actually touch the lorry right next to us. This wasn't the worse yet.

The second photo was the "otak-otak" and when we ate, it was just like fish cake. I guessed, different place different taste huh? Cause if this were sold in Malaysia, there would be lots of complaint as it is NOT "otak-otak" but plain old el-cheapo fish cake.

Avocade and jackfruit in coconut milk. Never thought the combination could be this tasty.

Jackfruit in coconut milk and just coarsely grounded ice. Again, if it's here, it will be shaved ice instead, which would have been lovely.

The peddlar asked us to engage his service to take us back and we thought, what the heck, might as well do some good deeds and engage his service back, since his base is near the hotel, not Tunjungan Plaza. (big error)

Anyway, as the photo above shown, everybody were very "chummy", see how near the trishaw to the motorcycle in front? And imagine the carbon monoxide exuded by that exhaust pipe, directly into my lungs?? The price one has to pay for being kind-hearted (bigger price coming)

Well, we asked the trishaw fella to stop at one more place, we wanted to check out one vegetarian restaurant as researched in internet, apparently, it wasn't there. So, we proceeded back to hotel. Mind you, the trishaw would go against the traffic, would go into any small lanes and would squeeze in any tiny space they can find, just to move forward. It is not for the faint-hearted, surely.

Well, in the end, we reached the hotel and the peddlar asked for IDR 150,00 thousand, which is like, IDR 50,000 MORE than what we have agreed, saying that the peddling was very tiring. Sigh, I did intended to give him some tips, together with his partner, but asking it outright just doesn't seemed right. Anyway, I just gave to them for I do not want to argue nor do I want to spoil my mood. After all, when you travel, you expect to spend some money. Guess what? That amount would have paid for almost 4 round trips by cosy taxis with aircondition. So, NEVER, EVER take the trishaw in Surabaya, except for very short distance, and ONCE, just to experience being right in the middle of carbon-monoxide rich environment, with every sound loud and clear and every smell distinct and ......, you fill in the blanks.

All said though, the sight and the experience in a trishaw would differ greatly from taxi ride, for sure. Though I am a bit cheezed off at the price, but when the experience could be classified as priceless, coupled with the health hazard and safety hazard and that we made in back in one piece to the hotel, it surely was an experience.

Kuala Lumpur To Surabaya

2010-06-14T01:02:00.002+08:00

Two days after my return from Manila, I am off again with my whole family to Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia.

The flight was scheduled at 10.25 a.m., finally, a flight that is more reasonably scheduled. We woke up around 7.00 a.m and reached the airport around 8.30 a.m. I parked my car some distance away to enjoy free parking and had to walk back to the main terminal, took me about 8 minutes walking, not too bad, considering the amount of money I am saving!

Anyway, looked at the monitor and it was stated row S19. Went there and guessed what, that particular counter was not opened! For all Indonesians flight, their service counters were anyone from I think 14 right up to 18. ALL flights!! We initially queued at counter S19 but as we progressed (slower than snail's pace), we realised that the queue merged to counter S18. Then, I saw that the queue at counter S12 was moving quite fast, so, I decided to abandon our line and moved to counter S12. Only then, I was told that it was for baggage drop-off. I asked the counter what does that mean? I was informed that the counter was only for passengers who had checked in themselves, either via internet, mobile or the kiosk, which is about 25 feet away. As our turn in the queue was not up yet, I quickly run to the kiosk and checked in all four of us, in less than 5 minutes and ran back to the counter, just in time for our turn (my wife and kids were queuing while I did the check-in)

I think, more information should be posted about this facilities for I would have utilised this if I had known of it. Still, it is better late than never, now I know about this self checked in kiosk, I will surely utilise them in the future. Saved considerable time and agonies. I know most people were in foul mood because the queues were barely moving, at all the counters. Even for the baggage drop off, it was supposed to be 2 counters operating and would you believe it that, the other counter was occupied by a Caucasian couple who were checking in more than 20 baggage, EACH!! And they are all of huge size. I think they are reporters or documentary journalist of some sort, for I saw cameras (not checked in), but 40 odds baggage? The counter staff was overheard telling the passengers that they only allowed 20 baggages per passenger, MAX. They called someone and also demanded to talk to someone of higher authority because apparently, they did not face such limitation before. And their flight were about to take off!! Talk about being considerate!! How could they check in at the very last minute when they know they had with them, 40 odd baggage?? Silly, right? And at the same time, causing unnecessary anxiety and depressions to the rest of the passengers. They should be off-loaded!! Hehehe.

I didn't follow through the drama though, for I find the situation to be extremely irritating and selfish of the couple. The immigrations were uneventful, we waited for almost 2 hours for our flight, we had to walk quite a distance to the aircraft (what's new?) and on the way, I was telling my wife how silly the whole set up is. I mean, here we are, at gate number T14, and we have to walk all the way, past gate T1 (the first gate you would come across after descending from immigration) and then further, about 5 minutes walk. The silliness of it was, at the same time, some of the other gate would be letting passengers through too, ie, passengers from say, T8, T3 etc etc, would also be walking at the same path like us. Why bother with the gate at all? If we were to find our own aircraft, whatever gate we go through wouldn't make much of a difference, does it?? It is just plainly to keep up an appearance, I guess.

Flight itself was not that eventful, except that, I ordered nasi lemak online for my kids and they do serve very very fragrant nasi lemak, hahaha. The portion seemed to be smaller than what I remembered though. I guess, inflation and profit makes a bad bed partner..

We reached Juanda Airport, Surabaya, on time. Check out was a breeze. Once outside, as usual, taxi drivers pitch their taxis and I bought one coupon from the counter after being shown the counter by the drivers. So, they are not exactly touts, more like salesman because, the fare was reasonable (same as metered fare from downtown, approximately)

The driver again pitched his sales, asked us to take his cab for whole day the day after and he will bring us here and there. But, having learned my lesson in Chiangmai, that taxi drivers have other interest in mind than us, I decided not to engage him. We reached the hotel after half an hour or so. I would recommend Ibis Hotel, they are clean, reasonably priced and within walking distance to some of the places of interest in Surabaya. In fact, if one were to explore Surabaya on foot, Ibis Hotel could make a good base, albeit a more expensive ones.

What I Have Observed In Manila

2010-06-11T15:43:00.000+08:00

There was one comment which I overheard from the German couple who stayed in the same hostel as me, in my drifting in / out of sleep the first morning. The girl was saying, "the people here do not see you as a person, they see you as dollar sign!"

In all honesty, that's what I am about to sum up too, from my relatively short period there. It seemed like you would have to be on guard, lest you be parted with your hard earned money easily. I know, because I have "been there and done that".

As I was saying, the city of Manila, albeit a bustling and lively one, seemed to be very "tired". It could have been much much more. The country in itself is beautiful (most Asian countries are, actually) but there is definitely a huge need of strong social engineering, ala China and/or Singapore for the betterment of the people.

When I was taking their jeepney, I noticed how the passengers from behind, will pass the money to the people next to them and the money will be relayed onwards until the driver received it, coupled with the destination being relayed too. When the driver gives change, he will just put his hand behind, the one nearest to him will just grabbed the change and passed it around until the "owner" receive it. He don't even have to look behind to ensure that the passenger got it. It just IS. I find that interesting, in how the people are so co-operative. I don't see such co-operation anywhere else, thus far. Probably, it is due to the nature of the environment, like, for jeepney, it probably is driver-owned and that, it was a longer vehicle. But, it works and it saved the time for the operator. My travel companion also remarked that on occasions, he saw that the jeepneys and the other mode of transport would be packed to the brim and it easily took more than what it ought to have taken or thought possible, ie, instead of a 10 person limits, the jeepney could have loaded 15 people! Taxis are aplenty but if they are as bad as the few that I came across, I would be jeepney for me too, if ever I am in Manila again.

The drawback though is that you would have to breathe in the smoke, smog, dust and whatever that is in the air.

On one occasion, while walking back to our hostel, some kids begged for money from my companions (they being the Caucasian looking one, were normally the target) but he didn't give them, for he would be swarmed by others if he did. He was holding a mineral water bottle though, which he just bought from 7-11 and drank but a mouthful or so and the kid asked him to give him that since he didn't give any money. He gave it to them and later, when I walked pass the place again, I saw that a group of about 5 - 6 kids were sitting on the pavement by the road and sharing probably a packet of rice and the water that my friend gave them were there too. And not 10 feet from them, there is a HUMMER. My friend remarked that THAT HUMMER could have feed thousands of such kids....

On another occasion, in Manila Bay, while walking back to the LRT station, some less fortunate folks were seen running and were crowding a Toyota Vios. When we neared there, I saw that the owner of the Toyota had, in his car boot, packets of rice (in styrofoam!!) and was seen distributing it to these homeless people. I was very impressed with their kindness. Here is someone who shared with the less fortunate with a real effort! I mean, it is easier to give money but to have gone through the trouble of buying packed food, drive to the place where the homeless are and then distributing it, the fella have to have some saintly traits in him. Something to learn from and follow. It feels good to see that there are still kindness and humanity in this cold city. It makes me thinks of THE HUMMER vis a vis the TOYOTA. Also, the happy faces of the people who received the food, I think the donor must feel that all the effort is not in vain.

Lastly, along the way, we bought some tidbits by the road side (fried banana, to be exact, with cut bamboo as the holder). Both my friend and I told the vendor we don't want the plastic bags (one to put the food in, another to carry the first plastic bag) and we just eat it whilst walking. Nice fritters. After finished, we held on to the bamboo stick until we found a rubbish dump (which was only found at the LRT station - and would it be strange that most people just throw their rubbish anywhere?). Most people would not have the patience or just couldn't be bothered, after all, everyone is throwing rubbish everywhere. Even while typing this, I am shaking my head....

La La Land

2010-06-11T01:18:00.001+08:00

Any readers of any media, if paying attention, will not help but notice the recent spat of "land development" at a speed unprecedented before.

We have the Sg Besi ex-airport land, the Singapore KTM land, the RRIM land, the Jalan Duta Land, the Kampung Bahru Melayu land right smack in the middle of Kuala Lumpur City. If it was tendered and sold to highest bidder in a very transparent manner, I guess it is inevitable, those land being gold mine quality. Those lands have fend off many pursuer since eons and to suddenly be up for development after one another makes one worry whether the best deal has been gotten for it? Especially when there seemed to be secrecies in the deals??

As a rakyat, we can only hope and pray that the government's, in turn, the people's interests are taken care of and that we are not a FIROMERE nation in the making...

Angeles City And Back To Malaysia

2010-06-11T00:12:00.002+08:00

When I found the inn that I was supposed to spend the night in, I was a bit "depressed". I was expecting another kind of dormitory kind of establishment, though I have paid for private room, I was kind of hoping to meet fellow travelers. None whatsoever though, I guess, it was a wrong choice of establishment that I have made.

To compound matter, it was more like a bar (in fact, it is) and that the rooms are there more for "quick time" kind of functions, rather than a place for the weary. Still, I only needed a place to sleep for the night and what's done, can't be undone.

After checking in, I left my bag in the room and went out for a walkabout. I made a terrible mistake in not going to Angeles City proper. As I mentioned, I thought I WAS in the city proper. How silly of me, sigh. Anyway, one thing that strike me as being odd is that, the place that I was staying, is full of everything Koreans, there's the Korean 24 hours convenience stores, Koreans restaurants, Korean bakery, Korean massage parlour, in a nutshell, it is like a Koreantown!! It pretty well is, I guess.

The one thing good is that there are plenty of food to be had, if you fancy Koreans and Japanese, that is. I saw Shabu shabu everywhere. And Korean restaurants. But none took my fancy, as I am not a beef eater and almost every restaurant that I laid my eyes on served beef as their main feature. And, I am in Philippines, am I not? If I had wanted Koreans or Japanese food, I could do well to have it in Malaysia.

So, walking about, I zeroed in on the only non-Korean/Japanese restaurant, that is one MEXICAN (!!) joint. I went in, and it was empty. That should have given me the warning to flee the place. Being a typical, shy and polite Malaysian (ehem), I just chose a table and asked for menu. And the choices were :- beef or chicken. One thing I realised is that, in Philippines, everywhere, the people seemed to eat chicken or beef only. Not much variety to be had. Give me Malaysian palate anytime, hahaha.

I ended up ordering fried chicken with mash potaotes, so much for Mexican food, huh?? When I heard a "ting" from the kitchen, I was like, uh-oh, microwaved food!! When the food were served, I knew instantly that the mash was microwaved. No presentation, no taste, no value for money whatsoever. Basically, that about sums up the food for the duration of my stay there.

When I got back, I just stay cooped up in the room and read my book. Sometime later, I heard people talking and then my room's door unlocked!! I went to the door and looked at the (drunk) couple and told them, that this was my room! They said sorry (in the blurry, drunken sort of way) and went out to check again, apparently, their room was supposed to be the next door's. The thing is, how can their key opened my door?? Luckily, I wasn't in any compromising situation at that material time!! Jeez...And to think I left my belongings in the room and went about roaming the streets earlier on.

The next morning, I woke up early and as promised by the staff of the inn, there was one driver waiting for me to send me to airport, which is like 10 - 15 minutes away. The guy is the boss's driver cum bodyguard, so, to an extent, that is the only plus point about the place that I stayed in.

I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, queued up and the AirAsia counter was not opened yet. Quite a number of people already queued up and finally, when the counter were opened, checking in was a breeze. The come the silly part again. We had to pay for terminal fee. And we waited like half an hour for the counter to open. The immigration counters were just behind the terminal fee counters. And even after paying the terminal fees, we have to queue again, to wait for the immigration counters to open. Do third world countries really have to do that? I mean, to make people wait unnecessarily? The actual task of going to airport, checking in, paying terminal fee, clearing immigration and boarding of the plane itself took about 20 minutes (the actual doing of the tasks) but the whole procedure took almost 3 hours from start to end. So much for efficiency and preciousness of time....

Bye-bye Philippines and if there are other opportunity, I will make sure that I have longer time to spend and OUT of Metro Manila, it seemed everywhere else would be more tourists / travelers friendly compared to this "tired" city.

When the aircraft landed, it took me about 1.5 hours, from the time I disembark, clear immigration, get my checked in bag (waited about 15 minutes for it) to reach my home. Malaysia is not known for being spotless but 1.5 hours was to me like very fast, hahaha. Considering that the journey from airport to my dwelling is about 50 minutes drive.

I am now looking forward to my trip to Surabaya in two days time and to Vientianne, Laos in October, yay...

Metro Manila to Angeles City

2010-06-10T23:06:00.005+08:00

It sounded grand, the title. The true fact is, I was more or less stuck to suburb of the Angeles City and I didn't have the chance to explore the city, because I thought the place I was in, is Angeles City itself. So silly of me.

But I have jumped ahead of myself.

The morning of the third day, I woke up about 8.30 a.m. and the rest of the people in the dormitory too were beginning to wake up one by one. Not many of us were left, four to be exact. There was the German teacher and my two newly made friends, a Spanish girl and a French guy. We had breakfast as usual at the living room, did I mentioned that it was very, very small enclosure? I think the length shouldn't be more than 18 ft and width of not more than 12 ft. In other circumstances, you might say that it is pretty claustrophobic, what with between 6 to 10 people at any one time loitering there.

Right after breakfast, I bid my goodbyes to them and left to find a taxi that can take me back to Pasay City's bus terminals. Again, my plan to walk was foiled because it started to drizzle again. I don't know what is it that whenever I started to carry my back pack over my shoulder, it would inevitably start raining!! Did I mentioned that after I got my bottle of water from the airport terminal and walking towards the bus (in day one) that it was again raining like there is no tomorrow? Just a mere 20 - 30 meters walk to the bus and I was wet? Fortunately, I was wearing bermudas instead of jeans, otherwise, I would have frozen.

Ok, back to day three, so, I hailed a cab, got in and asked for Pasay City. The driver asked for 150 peso, I told him I only paid 100 peso when I came and I don't want to pay more. The driver accepted (of course he will, I was being ripped off!) but I was determined not to start my day in foul mood.

When I reached the bus terminal, that's about 10.00 a.m., I was told that the next bus would be at 11.30 a.m., sigh. I should have gone to another terminal and look for another bus but I just don't have the energy to waive off the touts along the roads, so, I thought, I would just wait it out. So, I bought my ticket and with the companion of my book and iPod, I waited out the 1 1/2 hours.

Well, I boarded the bus, it departed right on schedule. One thing good about Manila public transport is that they are mostly on time and regular. Even the arrival time was pretty much as per scheduled. I got to the airport (though, actually I had wanted to go the Angeles City) and from the airport, I took a cab to the inn that I was to spend the night in. The cab ride costed me 200 peso, which is a MAJOR rip off. I had actually waited for jeepney (which would have costed me 12 peso) but for almost 20 minutes, none were to be seen at the main road that I had waited. Strange, but true. That's how I ended up being ripped off, sigh...The only reason I said I was being ripped off is because the whole journey from airport to the inn too less than 15 minutes. I think, even the oldest profession in the world have to work longer than that.

Manila and About

2010-06-09T23:15:00.002+08:00

The few of us, actually, three of us, who stayed at the hostel had no plans whatsoever. We slept until about 8.30 a.m., I think. Not because we wanted to wake up early, but the chattering of the other "inhabitants" were pretty loud and we were all taking in parts of the conversation in our dreams. As sleep eluded us, one by one, we got ready and went downstairs for breakfast.

Breakfast was a simple fare of bread with jam. I had bread with coco-jam, which, initially I was curious and I thought it was melted gula melaka (a kind of brownish sugar harvested from coconut-flower or the nipah's sap). Apparently, it wasn't, it was more close to kueh kacau / dodol, which is a kind of sticky glutoneous paste.

After breakfast, my new friends, being Renaud and Vanessa had no concrete plans. Renaud wanted to visit the Intramuros. Seeing that we don't have any actual plans, the three of us decided, Intramuros would not be a bad idea.

Following the hostel assistant's advice, we took a jeepney from nearby to the nearest LRT station, the jeepney costed us about 7 peso each and the LRT ride was 12 peso. That worked out to be about 50 sen and 90 sen (Malaysian currency) - now, why in the world that Malaysia public transport have to be expensive? I have not known any rail ride that costs anything less than 2.00 ringgit, even for very very short distance. Anyway, that's another whole long subject to complain.

We reached the station nearest to Intramuros and walked there. It was an old walled city of yonder. I must say, the sentimental and the commercial in me felt that this is such a wonderful place that has not been exploited to it's full potential. It should have been restored fully and part of it be turned into art museum, open alfresco cafe etc. It should, could have been a very happening place, fusing the history and modernity, catering to the hip and the arts. Still....

Anyway, as a "relic", I guess Intramuros served it's purpose. Not many tourist though, in the area. It could have been much more, much much more...just like the rest of the city.

So, after an hour or two, the sun was getting to most of us, I was sweating buckets and we decided to walk over to Chinatown, which is just across the bridge. We got the information from a fellow traveller who just came from there.

So, off to Chinatown we go. The first thing that strike you is, the perpetual traffic jam, noxious fumes, the noise - pollution of every imaginable sort. It is everything that is messy. But I come to realise that it is the only place that actually have "five-foot walkway" ... less sun, plus point, more concentrated fumes, minus point.

We had a quick lunch and walked back towards Intramuros and the LRT station. My two companions wanted to go back to hostel and I still wanted to wonder around, so, I told them that I wanted to go to Santa Cruz but I don't know what's there. I was told that I can buy some things for souvenir there.

My two companions, not having much to do either, decided not to go back to hostel after all and decided to explore this place with me. So, we asked around and was told to hail another jeepney, from another side of the road and we did just that.

In less than 1 minutes, we were there!!!! Guess what?....The place was actually across the river too, equal distance to Chinatown from where we were. Meaning, it was just parallel to Chinatown!! Why didn't the people just tell us that we can actually walk there?

Luckily, jeepney's rate are standard (I think) and for 7 peso, I don't want to lose sleep over it. The place is like a local market place, again, busy busy busy and noisy noisy noisy. Plus point number one - everything is so reasonably priced, some are downright unbelievable. I got some leather coin pouch for slightly below 75 sen (about usd 0.20). DVDs could be had for about usd 0.40!! I didn't buy that though. I could spend hours there.

After walking about and spent some money, we walked back to the main entrance and noticed that the LRT actually had a station there. We took the train from that station to Manila Bay. I can't recall which station but we had to walk another 15 - 20 minutes to reach the bay area, I think it's known as Malate. It was windy and nice view, as long as you don't look into the water. It pained my heart to see so much rubbish there. Why are people so inconsiderate? Can't they just dispose of the rubbish properly? If people can't handle plastics, I think the government should just ban plastics outright. No big loss there because there are always substitute when push comes to shove. I mean, I always carry a water bottle instead of buying mineral water everytime. I buy refill whenever possible - it is cheaper too, hahaha.

So, we the three of us parked our behind at some drinking joint and had each of us a bottle of San Miguel beer. I am not much of a drinker but the wind, the view makes the beer taste nicer than it usually does, to me that is. After the sun set, we walked back to LRT station, but another station as we walked a big round a bout way.

The journey back was pretty "tough" - the LRT was packed. If anything, we have to give credit to the Philipines government for making their LRT affordable, otherwise, for a city of that size, if everyone drives, I don't think the traffic can move at all. Alighting at our LRT station, we asked around for which jeepney to take back to our hostel as we forgot to ask the keeper earlier on. When we found out, we hailed one and what a ride it was. We got ourselves a driver who could put any F1 driver to shame. In a perpetual standstill traffic, he managed to squeeze and speed. It wasn't dangerous driving at all, we didn't feel any life threatening anxiety. Just a sense of wonderment at the speed the driver manages on so packed a road. After breathing in the smogs, carbon dioxide, monoxide, sulphur and whatnots, we reached the drop off point and alighted and walked back to our hostel. So, mark the end of my unplanned mini exploring of Manila. There would be much much more to see but with so short a time, I think that suffice. As I said, I don't expect much, thus, I am less inclined to be disappointed with the outcome.

Pasay City to Makati

2010-06-08T21:20:00.005+08:00

Well, the bus finally stopped. After many "false" stops, (many detour, apparently), we have finally reached the final stopped. Immediately, a few people asked if I had wanted taxi. I just waived them off and shake my head and just smile and said no. My plan was like my original plan when I was at the airport. I wanted to find something interesting or presentable to eat. I walked from the bus terminal, along the main road, heading to nowhere in particular but keep on looking if there are any places that serve decent meal that might interest my taste bud.

Unfortunately, despite walking for approximately 300 meters, no restaurants like those found in Malaysia, Singapore or even Thailand, Most of the shops are either closed or were doing something else, something other than food, that is. It is very strange. How do the city of this size feeds its people? May be they eat at home most of the time. Or may be, due to the horrendous traffic, they prefer to avoid having eateries by the road. Or may be, food are mostly Malaysians' (of Chinese ethnicity) passion?

Mind you, though I can very much go on without food, as I was walking and carrying a back pack, I do not wish to put my body through unnecessary shock, not in a foreign land. So, the very next fast food joint (one of a handful after the few hundred meters I covered), I just went in and grabbed myself a tuna salad. The servings were pathetic. I don't know whether it reached my stomach after vigorous chewing, it could still be still between mouth and stomach, that about summed up the "volume" of the serving, sigh..

Anyway, knowing that I have had something is better than empty stomach, right? So, I decided to walk again but it was not to be. Pretty soon, the sky cast a darkening shadow and very big rain drops began to fall. I would be pretty much drenched to the bone as, unlike most other Asian cities I have been to, there doesn't seemed to be any "five-foot ways" (covered walkways or sheltered paths) at Pasay City. It is either the wet way or no way.

Reluctantly, I had to hail a taxi - not me per se, apparently - it is unique there - in the sense that they have "freelance tout" who will hail a taxi for passengers and these "freelancer" will demand payment from taxi drivers. Initially, my taxi driver refused to pay the guy. The guy insisted and shouted at the driver. Probably embarrassed, he paid the guy 5 peso. And the driver demanded from me a fare of 100 peso for a 15 minutes journey!! (and he stinged on the 5 peso for the poor fellow!) No wonder taxi drivers do not get a good reputation. May be I shouldn't pay him that much, but again, since he refused to use the meter (and I heard from others that even if they used a meter, they would go about in a round-a-bout way that the fare would come to the same or even more, sigh - and I thought only the taxi drivers (some) in Malaysia are unscrupulous) - I am pretty much at his mercy since I am already in the cab. At the very least, he found the exact place for me though.

I went up the hostel, check in was a breeze and made an acquaintance of a French guy who just checked in too. After shown my bunker, I took a rest and then, proceeded downstairs to look for, what else, FOOD!!

Again, every corner of the street I explored, they are either fast food joints or a sprinkling of (probably) high end restaurants (ie, Japanese, Korean etc) - which neither of them I took fancy of. Resigning to the fact that it is either fill my stomach or let it be empty, I chose one of the less "fast-foodie" joint that served grilled chicken with rice. Sigh....to think that I avoided chicken rice in Malaysia, which to say the least, would have tasted much much better at a fraction of the cost. Fast food joints are just that, a place to fill your belly with some unhealthy food at unreasonable prices.

Then, I was back at the hostel and sleep. For the first time in so many moons, I hit the bed before 10.00 p.m.!! That is why I need to take time off because I will NEVER hit the bed before 10.00 p.m. if I am at home. There would be too many distractions, be it internet, books, dvds, foods, etc.

Clark Field to Pasay City (Metro Manila)

2010-06-08T19:10:00.007+08:00

After disembarking, we were guided to the main terminal. The Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (that's what the Clark Field airport is called now) is under renovation and have like, 2 aerobridge (not in use). The walking to the main terminal is short but once inside the building, it became very crowded. The immigration worked very very slowly. I think, I took me about 1 hour to clear the immigration. There were only two immigration officers working and some of the travelers were chatting with the officers, no doubt, residents returning from abroad. Sigh, you don't see that in Malaysia or Thailand or most of the other places. I was pretty agitated because I have been standing for almost an hour!! Still, being new in a new place, it is not wise to show your agitation, right??

When I got out from the Immigration and Customs, my first thought is to find a place to eat and rest and just take in the scene, the people and then plan my next course of action. Guess what?? NO restaurant, not even fast food chains like most other airport. Mind you, I don't even mind to pay airport "price" just to grab a bite. I was awake since 4.00 a.m with nothing to eat and the time is almost 2.00 p.m then.

That being the case, I have no choice but to get some water from THE stalls there (they have some sandwiches but I was not in the mood for breads and such). I got myself a bus ticket to Manila, Pasay terminal, which is about 2 hours away (all in all, it was about 2.5 hours journey)

The driver drove quite fast, good for him. Inside the bus, there are only 3 passengers, yours truly included.

To make the long story (journey) short, I drifted between sleep and wakefulness until we reached Manila and I was really interested to see the hustle and bustle of the city. I mean, it really is hustle and bustle, there are so many people and cars and honking and squeezing of the traffics. I was prepared for that though. It wasn't as bad as Hanoi or Chennai, the traffic, I mean. But one thing that strike me as odd is that the city looked quite dirty. I don't know why, but it gave me such an impression. But many places, I see they employed people to do cleaning (not as many as Thailand and China though - but certainly more than Malaysia) and yet, everything looked so ... so... dusty?? No, the right word to use would be TIRED. Yeah, that about summed up the places I saw, during the bus journey. Even Makati, the place I stayed, with its gleaming towers and wide road doesn't really impress me like what normal modern city do to me. I always find something to admire in a city, same for Manila but mainly for other reason.

To Manila and Back....

2010-06-07T18:21:00.002+08:00

I booked a flight ticket to Clark Field, off Manila, on Air Asia middle last year. Time really flies and I am back from that trip. Philippines is one of the two countries that made up South East Asia that I have not visited (prior this) - the other being Laos (which I hope, I will be able to go come this September)

Anyway, though flying to Clark Field, which is about 2 hours away from Manila is not my first choice but the offer on Air Asia was pretty good, I mean, 3.5 hours flight from KUL and it costs me about RM 150.00 return, with one meal on return and one check in baggage to boot, who can argue with that? My parking fee for the duration of my absence in the airport itself costed me RM 136.50.

So, off I flew on Friday morning. I left home around 4.30 a.m (!!!!) and reached the LCCT about 5.30 a.m. Initially, I had wanted to park some distance away, where there are free parking lots available but before I can do that, it was raining elephants and hippopotamus!! I got wet even walking the 50 metre or so, from the paid parking lot. In fact, when I thought it over, I might as well have parked at the free parking lot (about 500 meter away) and walked. The distance don't make any difference, I got wet on the short distance walk anyway.

Not wanting to carry an umbrella all the way to Phillipines, I "donated" the umbrella to one of the cleaner. Sigh... Why can't our government just ban open space car park and make sure that ALL (public) car parks are built underground and connected to main buildings via sheltered walk ways, be it from sun or rain.

The flight was delayed by an hour. I don't know why. No explanataion were given. Luckily, I have my book with me and my iPod shuffle, time passes easier in that sense. It was tiring though, cause I woke up at 4.00 a.m. and slept at 2.00 a.m., before that. When it was time for boarding, imagine, the aircraft just have to be parked at the end of the terminal, which involved a 10 - 15 minutes walk, at least!!

The take off was not eventful but for the first time in my flying life, the aircraft went through a drop at some air pocket, nearing Clark Field. I think it was only like 3 seconds drop but I think, most of the people were scared, yours truly included. I mean, the aircraft was shaking and vibrating for about 5 minutes and suddenly dropped, anybody in their right mind would be scared shitless. I know I closed my eyes tightly and was holding the seat tightly too.

Another 20 minutes or so, the aircraft landed. Finally, I am in Philipines. I don't know what to expect, I was just hoping life will spring nice surprises to me in this trip, I have not planned anything in particular. Just thought to let the road lead the way and savour the moment. No planning, no itinerary, just me and my back pack. I think it was one of the most unplanned trip I ever made. Again, by not planning, I don't expect much and in doing so, I would avoid much disappointment.

Passport Renewal

2010-05-22T12:37:00.003+08:00

I went and renewed my passport yesterday. It will expire on 01 Dec 2010 and since I would be travelling somewhere in June and I understand that passport must have at least 6 months validity prior to travelling, I thought I might as well get a renewal.

I went to the Immigration Department around 12.00 noon, mind you, normally, all government departments would normally be devoid of human at 12.00 noon on Fridays. I was there to just collect the form to be filled and planned to go back there at 2.30 p.m.

Imagined my surprise when I entered the office, it was abuzz with people and activities! I proceeded to information counter to collect the form and was informed that I could submit the form immediately for renewal. I did just that and I was asked to collect the passport at 2.30 p.m.

Well, this proved that the government agencies, when they really wanted to, can be efficient and give convenience to users like me, instead of creating unnecessary hassle. To that, I must give kudos to the Immigration Department for being user-friendly.

I have a small complain though, my passport is to expire on 01 Dec 2010. My renewed passport will expire on 21 Nov 2015. I felt a bit shortchanged. It ought to expire on 01 Dec 2015, since I paid for 5 years, each time.

I guess, you can't have your cake and eat it all the time, right? You will get too fat!!

Leaves When Your Time Comes

2010-05-07T16:33:00.002+08:00

I was flipping through some old notations and found this written in one of the pages :-

Do what you are happy with
Don't be too burdened with life's ups and downs
Take it as it comes
And leaves it when your time comes

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

Instantly, I know that I should digitised it, hahaha. I mean, how true the words of wisdom. Some people are so attached to the material side of the world that they don't realise, even with all the money in the world in your possession, when it's time for you to go, you WILL go. And you will leaves all of it behind, just like that. So, where do greed leads?

I have friends who goes on one venture after another. I have friends who said I am too complacent. I try not to be too laid back but do I really want to hang on to everything and lose sight at what is more important, namely TIME TO LOVE, TIME TO CARE and TIME TO APPRECIATE?

If I leave, I want to leave contently, not with something hanging and wishing it to be done still. Like the old Chinese sayings where, if you die, die with eyes closed, meaning, there is no regrets. Very morbid....should have more pleasant thoughts....

I Went To A Fellowship Dinner

2010-04-30T00:44:00.002+08:00

As the title said it, I attended a dinner organised by a Christian fellowship. I am not Christian but as this friend of mine insisted that I should come, I went.

As usual, there's a lot of singing and praises, which is all fine by me. It was pretty joyous atmosphere actually. Anyway, as it is with this type of gathering, there is always a sharing of experiences, of how one find the path that leads them to their God, so on and so forth.

Well, I came away with one quote which, I found to be quite true. This fella is/was very rich and with that kind of money, came pride. Then, he said, the gist of it anyway, I just paraphrase it to my liking ; for the price of pride, we bought things we don't need, with money that we don't have, to impress people we don't know!

I just have to write this down because I feel that, keeping up with the Joneses doesn't even captured the essence of that sentence above.

And the same guy advised that a person must be humble and full of humility. Come to think of it, I was very very humble and down to earth person but it seemed like I wasn't really that down to earth as I used to be. I guess, it can be said that I came away from the dinner with resolve to trace back my original humble and person with great humility - not that I am not one, just that I am not enough of one, to put it in a way.

Well, now that I have put down what I worried I might forget, it's time to hit the bed. It is 12.55 a.m now and I am supposed to wake up at 4.00 a.m, as the taximan said he will be at my house around 4.30 a.m.....

Good nite then and sweet dreams to everyone who is going to bed.

Chiang Mai, Here I Come

2010-04-29T15:42:00.002+08:00

I am flying off to Chiangmai tomorrow morning. And I mean, MORNING!! The flight was supposed to be at 9.30 a.m., and I got an sms about two weeks back that it was brought FORWARD to depart at 7.10 a.m.!! And you need to check in 2 hours prior, that means, I have to be in airport at 5.00 a.m. And the travelling time between my house and the airport is like 1 hour, MEANING, I would have to leave by 4.00 a.m.?? What time am I supposed to wake up then? I guess, when you are buying on the cheap, you can't complain too much. The fare is cheap, no argument there. But considering I have to pay midnight rate for taxi fare and the lack of sleep etc, I wonder....

Still, I am so looking forward to visiting Chiangmai. I have heard of this place for so long that I took the first opportunity that presents itself to go to this place. With nothing planned, I hope to just discover the place and enjoy what comes.

High in the menu would be sleep and rest and some massage, yay!! And may be, instead of normal massage shop, I could probably try their spas. I wonder if they are expensive?? I will know when I get there.

Another high on the list is handicrafts and decoration for home. I hope they have some fantastic local crafts for home deco that can be had for a song. The joy of shopping is always the best bargain, right?

Sometime, People NEVER Learn

2010-04-25T23:53:00.002+08:00

Well, the much anticipated buy-election was concluded with a win to the most moneyed party. I guess, some people are contented that after being robbed of their money, to get a small percentage back is a blessing?? Not realising that they shouldn't be robbed in the first place? When will people really open their eyes to all the abuses? And to think back, if they had not "revolted" the last round, they wouldn't even get to smell the fart, let alone get the money (which is not in full, YET, anyway)

They will be robbed blind again pretty soon and well, what can we say? Some people NEVER learn...Really really penny wise, pound foolish. Change is hard, to change the mindset of the people is even harder...grhhh....

Is this for real??

2010-04-23T16:46:00.002+08:00

1,000 secondary schools to get reading material worth RM1,000 each (link)

Obviously, someone has not the experience of buying books. Do they know how expensive books are in Malaysia? For RM 1,000, they probably would be able to buy 32 paper backs novel. For the WHOLE school!!

I am an avid reader. I read a lot and any genre, as long as it is written in a language that I can read in. And being an avid reader, beside borrowing books, I buy books too and I can positively say that, RM 1000 for ONE SCHOOL is really just political gimmick. If that school has 1000 students, that means, each student's allocation for reading material is RM 1.00, WHICH, incidentally is not even enough to buy NEWSPAPER, for ONE DAY. And people still believe in this government....

Supper..Again

2010-04-23T02:57:00.002+08:00

I am slowly losing my self control over indulging food at unearthly hours. I mean, how could one go and eat supper at 12.30 a.m?? And to stay awake until now, 3.00 a.m?? And to think that I promised myself to sleep by 10.00 p.m?? Grrgghhh...

I caught up with an old friend today. You know, sometimes, it is strange how when you think of somebody and that somebody called. If creepy is not such a creepy word, I would have termed it to be creepy. But then, to have received a call from someone shouldn't be termed creepy at all, if anything, it ought to be surprise.

This week seemed to be a feasting week, one after another. I had an association dinner yesterday, supper today, dinner tomorrow and another luncheon on Saturday, and Resident's Earth Hour on Saturday night, probably family dinner outing on Sunday...I wonder where to find time to digest all those foods...At this rate, I should be back to being humpty dumpty in no time at all.

Oh, another friend told me he was caught in a jam going back home for almost an hour for a 5 - 10 minutes stretch. Reason?? His house is located in the next by-election area, Hulu Selangor. It is exciting to the outsiders may be but to locals like him, it is a bother. Well, I hope those who deserve to win will get elected. I know who I will vote for if I am a voter there.

Silly Observation

2010-04-19T23:00:00.000+08:00

I am a big fan of Babylon 5. I have the collection of the whole series. The show is all about things so profound and interpreted via sci-fi.

So, the other day, I was re-watching the show and in one scene, there was a fighting in med-lab and one of the character was pushed to a table and a computer monitor overturned. Then only I noticed that the monitor is like, err, old old type of CRT type?? In a sci-fi?? Where the characters talked to each other with a small tag on their hand?? I guess, when the series was shot, the flat screen / lcd / plasma is not wide spread yet but still, it is a bit of a "turn off" to notice such things....

Breakdown

2010-04-18T22:53:00.003+08:00

I heard this song from my car's HDD and look it up from the internet. I so so love this song at this moment. Am sharing it here with you all.

Strange that I never heard this song played over the radio last time. Anyway, it is always better late than never. Now, I am listening to his other songs...I wonder how long this craze will lasts...

Shoes

2010-04-01T01:41:00.002+08:00

I just bought myself a pair of badminton shoes. And the irony of it is that, I bought it today for the game tonight and I skipped tonight's game. I am going to get an earful from my friend tomorrow. Bracing for it...

The thing is, I really was like 50/50. I was home late and the place is like half an hour drive. After dinner and such, time was 9.30 p.m. If I rushed there, it would be like 10.00 p.m., and I felt lazy to rush, despite my friend's persuasion.

Anyway, as I said, I bought myself a pair of badminton shoes because apparently, I risked injury by using running shoes on/in/at the badminton court. (gosh, which one is the correct one?) So, to be safe, I decided to invest in a pair of purpose made shoes... :(

And that makes it shoes number ..... hmmm, let me see, shoes number 12/13? I have like, 5 pairs of black dress shoes / working shoes, 1 pair of running shoes, 1 pair of cross trainer, 1 pair of basketball shoes, 1 pair of boots, 2 pairs of loafer, 1 pair of casual shoes. I think I might have missed out some but that's about the more visible ones. One of these days, I might just take the photo and post it. Not to mention those shoes that I still have but not wearing it anymore. In particular, a pair of suede leather dress shoes which a stupid cobbler who was supposed to clean it brushed of the suede instead, making the shoes looked very...not nice.

Viennese Waltz

2010-03-28T14:49:00.003+08:00

I am officially a Dancing With The Stars fan! I started with season 9. I am now watching season 6 now. I never thought that dancing could touch your heart that it could bring tears to your eyes!!!

This clip is one of my favourite. To imagine that one person who is totally deaf and could have danced so beautifully, it is beyond words. Kudos too to the instructor. How he managed to teach without the aid of music and how the student managed to learn, again without music is really a wonder. And this world, if you really look at it, is so full of wonders and to have shared a small part of it, it's a privilege.

Earlier on, as I said, I have watched season 9 and again, it is the Viennese Waltz that touched my heart. I thought it was the best I have seen (it was) until the one above. Still, it is my pleasure to share them too.

2010-03-25T14:09:00.002+08:00

Miu posted a community service message and she is just being a good samaritan that we all are (ehemmm). Everyone don't know how to get in touch with her, short of going to her house personally but that would be very very inconvenient. In actual fact, in our world of instant messages, mobile phones, emails and smses, one tend to forget the old way of doing things that might work just as well, at the same time, saving us the hassle. I am talking about telegram. We can just call up Telekom Malaysia, send a few lines about the find and let Telekom Malaysia do the work. It shouldn't cost more than a cup of coffee's price.

Let's see if someone will take up the suggestion to do it. I would have done it but I don't know the address..

Sewing Kit

2010-03-24T14:19:00.002+08:00

Last time, I was an avid motor treasure hunter. Almost every weekend will be occupied with treasure hunt program. I have slowed down some what recently. Probably due to the fact that we have reached a plateau and it doesn't seem to be fun doing it anymore.

Well, anyway, last time, almost every weekend would be spent in a hotel or a resort somewhere as many of the hunts were overnight hunt. We get to stay in many types of hotels and resorts, from the 5 stars to 3 stars. They very rarely go anything lower than that.

I have the habit of collecting the sewing kits from hotels that provide them. Surprisingly, not all the hotels have them. Always, the kits will normally come with thread of varying colours, the higher star hotels normally have more colours, hahaha. Also provided would be buttons and needle. Some would have very extensive sewing kits, everything you could want to do some simple sewing, some are downright basic with a button or two, needle and thread.

And the best is, you would be surprised at how handy this kits would be. Just this morning, I decided to get some of the kits out of my collection box and stitch back on some of my shirts' button, which I had put off for very long time. Bring me back to my childhood day, how I used to repair my own clothing, like patching holes, stitching back buttons etc.

I used to collect the soaps too, mini soaps that looked so cute and I used to display them. But after a certain amount, you tend to look at the soaps and go, hmmm, I got no place to keep them. Until some time back, I really don't know what to do with it. Then, I read somewhere that actually, it is best to have this type of mini soaps around because, if you have house guest, you can actually put it in the bathroom for them to use. It becomes sort of like disposal, same goes for tooth brush and comb. You would be surprised at how some people could be travelling without their own personal toiletries kit. Not me though, I have one big bag of toiletries, my problem is deciding what NOT to bring should my luggage overflowed.

Meet Me Half Way

2010-03-20T11:49:00.002+08:00

Actually, without realising it, many of us have forgotten how to compromise. It is always MY WAY OR NO WAY.

Malaysians as a whole generally, used to be very accommodating people and we at times bend backwards so much that some selfish people sometimes take advantage of it. Over time, people unlearned the habit to bend backwards and stood their grounds. That is when we begin to hear more arguments and misunderstanding. As time goes one, the evolution continues and that I noticed, instead of standing their grounds, now, people try to shove their belief down everyone's throat and they insist that they are the correct ones whereas everyone else is wrong.

The biggest culprits, I guess would be our so called leaders, who, in their loft seats and cordoned of office, begin to live a life of fantasy, much detached from the real world and make decisions and decided that their decisions are the best, take it, there is not even an option of leave it in some cases.

I wish that people will start to learn to compromise and don't do unto others, what you don't want others to do unto you. With that, I leave you with this video.

Dancing With The Stars

2010-03-19T00:08:00.004+08:00

I have just finished watching Dancing With The Stars Season 9, which I downloaded from the net. This was the first time for me to watch this show, even though it is now into it's season 9. Surprisingly, this show was very highly entertaining. One thing for sure though, when the audience at home are voting, you can be sure of surprises. I was surprised with the choices and the winners, in that order. The contestants were all very gracious in defeat though. And that is one trait that we are not used to yet, at least not in Asia side. We are still not used to the notion of making fun of yourself and live the moment.

Watching all those people learning to dance and dancing so gracefully and beautifully, makes one believe that anyone could dance, if only they let loose of themselves. Hmm, may be I should be looking up for a dance studio and sign myself up for some ballroom or latin dance lesson?? Probably not. But then, it is hard to tell, I might just do it, except that in most probability, I have two left food and no rhythm in this old bones, hahaha.

Never try, never know, right?? I should probably list this thing down as one of the thing I must do before I "move on"....

Pleasant Surprises

2010-03-18T01:19:00.002+08:00

Today, I found out that some of my old friends occasionally would honour me by reading my posts in my blog. I am truly surprised because, well, there is no special interests that I normally posts, I only post what comes to mind at that material time.

Still, pursuant to my last post, I said I ought to get sabbatical on FB and just now, when I was in FB, my friend literally reminded me that I am supposed to be OFF FB, Guilty!!

Okay, now that I have been caught "red-handed", I guess, I do have to NOT log in to FB for, say, two days??

Anyway, had a game of badminton with my best friend and his friends today. I am a lousy badminton player but I joined in because my buddy always invite me and I thought, what the heck, I might as well go sweat it out. And boy, did I really sweat. You know how stuffy badminton courts can be? And though playing for only 10 - 15 minutes, sweats would be dripping off the body like leaked faucets!! I had my fun but as I told my best friend and his friends, that in most probability, his friends would have vomit blood to partner with me because I am such a lousy player and untrained one at that. Regular players can easily read me, hahaha. My only advantage is my ease in covering the court, thanks for my enviable height, hahaha and my good (ehem) reflexes, hahaha. In terms of skills and stamina, I have next to none!!

And when I got home, I was darn hungry. I have forgotten how hunger felt like when I was in the diet mode, that when I have started to binge, I get hungry easily. Fortunately, I bought 2 kgs of mangoes earlier in the afternoon and that's my supper. My friend who played badminton with me would tell me that mangoes are FATTENING but what the heck, I believe that fruits could not be THAT fattening, as compared to say, roti canai and nasi lemak??? Makes my stomach go drumming, typing those two delicious food.

And yesterday my best friend treated me to a scrumptious and sumptuous EARLY dinner, as I told him I have a dinner appointment later in the night. There is no escaping eating when I am with him, sigh....The first topic that always come out is food. And ALWAYS, the high cholesterol or high calories kind. He don't gets fat, I do! Not fair....And after I finished the dinner with him, I am off to another dinner with some close friends and what do we have? Beriyani!! Gosh!! Cooked with ghees!! And fried fish and fried chicken, two things that I have long since stopped eating.

You know, people never realise how things usually crept up to them. Same goes for being obese / overweight. Most people (granted, there are few who are NATURALLY on the heavier side, it's in their gene and nothing they can do about it) started off as lean and skinny, when they are young. As the age increases, so does the waistlines, butt size and whatnots!! A lot of people don't realise that because they are looking at themselves daily and they wouldn't notice the difference!!! Or admit to the obvious....So, I must always remind myself that though I am reversing my diet to become more MEATY!, I must not lose the control and let the old fats creeps back on to the frame. We shall see. The weighing machine is gonna be my new buddy again.

I Am Back.....

2010-03-16T10:27:00.003+08:00

It seemed like ages ago since I last posted something on this blog. Strange when at times, you would be going on and on like rabbit mating but then, you would stop totally like tortoise sleeping..And I received some email asking what's happening, why the sudden black out??

As it is, I am not busy per se but just a bit pre-occupied with so many things on my mind and then some. First and foremost, I got myself a new car, which is one of the item occupying my mind presently. The thing is, I wanted my car to have the same number with my existing car, and my wife's car. The salesman was not able to get that for me until now! So, I am driving around with another number and it doesn't seemed to be ME, if you get what I mean. This is very frustrating because I have agreed to the present number on temporary basis as I wanted the car be registered prior to Chinese New Year. What I don't like is the salesman's inability to fulfill his part of the bargain. Deal done and forgotten??

Anyway, needless to say, I am enjoying the car, after all, my CRV (which is still with me) is like 14 years old - though I must say that it still looked as dashing as when I first bought it 9 years back. I still drives it around, I liked it's agility and it being a slightly "older" car, you won't feel heart pain for some rough ride in it, right? It is one of the most reliable car around and I plan to keep it for some time into the future.

Moving on, I have gained weight. GAINED!!! Okay, to be fair, I am so tired of everyone telling me how sickly, ghostly, skinny, thiny and all the other "y" that though I don't give two hoots about, just to prove that I am ABLE to gain weight, if I wish to, coupled with the spread of good food and the many parties stretching from
Christmas to Chinese New Year, I just eat without restraint and care and see how much weight can I gain in the short span of 3 months. Well, higher calories intake does translate to higher weight gain. I only hope to translate this weight gained into muscle mass instead of "oil well" - thought, FAT chance of that happening, without much exercising and body torturing! So to those who are really thinking of losing weight, watch your calories intake and you will be rewarded handsomely.

Oh talking about Facebook, it seemed like I am spending quite some time in it. I think I ought to take a breather and not log in to FB for a few days. In fact, I think I should take a break and go to some deserted island and recharge. Hmm, that sounds like a pretty good idea and I shall see how it goes...

Idiots, Sore Thumbs And Opposites

2010-02-08T20:02:00.002+08:00

I have a term for uncivilised people, not coined by me, just by people at large. It is called BTC - in extended Hokkien (one of the many Chinese dialects) lingo, it is "Boh Tak Che" - "never learn the books", or just simply, uneducated!!

I am not highly educated myself but there are certain common sense inculcate into me since young (thanks to my parents) that forbids me to inconvenienced others, where possible. And generally, I noticed most of the people of Malaysia are such. That is why our tagline is alwasy, "Tak apa lah" or "Nemind lah" (Never mind) but then, there is a limit to one's tolerance, right or not??

Some people, when you give in a bit, they just continue imposing on you. At the place I am staying, most of the people are very accommodating and try not to inconvenience others but there are some culprits who just don't care and park their vehicles by the road shoulder when they have plenty of space to park in the own space. Some neighbours created parking lots out of their own garden so as not to inconvenience others but BTC people just park by the road. I wonder how would they feel if someone accidentally purposely knocked into their car by virtue of it blocking other people's passage? I would say serve them damn right!

And the best part is, whenever these BTC inconvenienced others, they always ensure that they really inconvenienced others, ie, they would park in front of other people's house instead of their own house, go figure...

....Sore thumbs and opposites to continue.....

Heart Does As Heart Thinks

2010-02-08T15:24:00.002+08:00

Earlier, I posted about how I saw some guy who was leading a elderly lady, most probably his mom and then, I got some very nice response from people like Jamie, Hurley, Pigita and mangoodman, though, he/she written the comment in Chinese, which I am not literate at, and using the Google translation seemed to not do it justice.

Anyway, Hurley mentioned that he would be at lost. To tell you the truth, you would not be human if you don't feel it, hahaha. I mean, that is somebody who has nurtured you from a helpless bundle of nuisance (or joy, whichever one you prefer) right up to adulthood. Some people have the privilege of having their parents around right up to their own "grandparenthood" - my in-laws being one of them.

For many of my closer friends, I always remind them to treasure their parents when they are still around because, once you have lost them, like how I have experienced it, you will realise actually how much you love them and that how much more you would want to do for them, given the opportunity to do so. But alas, all that is nought, you only have one and only one chance to make right by your parents.

Circle of life dictates that babies be born, grow up, grow old and die. That is natural cycle. If we accept that, then, the pain will be lesser. That is why it is imperative that from the moment we are aware, we should always treasure what is the most important thing of all, love. I know, I know, it sounds very cliche. Downright mushy, if you asked me. But we always have it in our heart and we were not brought up to express them, not discreetly, let alone openly. The only open expression of love is when a couple is courting / dating. Even that, to a certain extend, became "discreet" after marriage.

Notice how, when dating, couples would hold hand, talk in whispers, giggles very often etc etc? And look at most couples after marriage. Especially when there are kids in abundance, hahaha. It is probably due to the time spent for the kids that most couples seemed distant and only get closer after the kids leave the roost, so to speak. And to think that some children took their parents for granted....

Warm Feeling At The Heart

2010-02-05T15:40:00.002+08:00

You know, it never ceases to amaze me how despite the modern lifestyle, the nuclear family, that old practice of taking care of the elderly still exists.

Just this morning, while on the way to office, I saw a gentleman, leading an elderly woman whom I believed is his mother and I felt warm and happy for them. Probably because I do not have such opportunity for such action, both my parents already not in this world anymore, I always envy and take joy in watching others showering their elders with care and concern, especially their parents.

In our life, sometimes, we tend to forget our parents. We seemed to place more importance on our own friends, or spouses or even work. But parents never seemed to hold any grudges for it, they still wait patiently for you to return their unconditional love and care. That thought alone, at times, would bring tears to my eyes. I really couldn't phantom how big a parent's heart could be, until I become one myself. Even that, I felt inadequate compared to my own parents. They seemed to be doing a better job raising me than I am taking care of my kids. My kids seemed to be growing very fast with minimal intervention from me....I wonder if twenty years down the road, I would be the one waiting, eagerly for my kids to come back to share their life with their parents. Just like what I did last time, sharing the stories of my work, friends and all with my mother.

At times, I wonder if my mother understand or even want to know what I told her but always, just staying at home and telling stories to her seemed adequate to her. Probably the feeling of closeness is what matters. I will discover this journey in the not too far future, hahaha...

Rojak Reading

2010-01-28T01:20:00.002+08:00

I bought another two books last Sunday (well, actually, more than that, but as I am reading these two books, so, I am just mentioning this two) and knowing such a bookworm that I am, AND that both books are along the line of Da Vinci Code, I couldn't resist the temptation to read BOTH books at the same time - not simultaneously, just same time, ie, one in the evening, the other at night.

And I realised that THAT is not a wise thing to do, not especially when the stories run almost similarly. I got confused with the characters and the plots, hahaha. Crazy things I am doing!!

But, it was a fun try though. Just to see how muddled one can get. So, I am now halfway through both books and I have to put one down first and it was hard to choose which one to let go, it seemed like they have melded into one, gosh!!!

Anyway, the books that I am reading is called The 13th Apostle and The Geographer's Library. And I got those books at a bargain shop - you know, the shop which imports books by the load, lock stock and barrel and pray that they would be able to sell it all. Most of them are brand new but many are not well known. For MYR 12.00 per book, for paperbacks, I am not complaining. Compared to normal price of 39.90 per book at renown bookstores, I guess as long as I can hold a book to read, I don't have to get the expensive ones, do I?

And the pleasure of reading unknowns is that you might just find some little gem of a book and a story teller! Which is exactly what these two books are about.

Well, I am off to read a few more pages and if you come across these books, get them.

Of Stock Markets And Public Listed Companies

2010-01-26T15:01:00.002+08:00

The other day, I had a conversation with a new friend, ie, someone whom I just happened to know through a mutual friend. Well, this guy, he worked in some big financial institution before, some merchant bank or something, you know, where they arrange for companies to be listed etc.

He told me in no uncertain terms that, he wouldn't, for the life of him, buy any stocks in Malaysia's stock exchange, especially the not so blue chips ones.

His words, "They are all a bunch of crooks, you wouldn't believe the numbers that I saw in those reports."

My two cents worth on this issue, which I mentioned to him, is,"If private limited companies, or even sole proprietors, without any cheap fundings, can survive and even make money, there is no reason for a public listed companies NOT to make money. If they can make enough money to warrant listings, there is absolutely no reason for them to START LOSING MONEY when they go public!! Something is obviously very wrong somewhere, if this is the trend!!"

To have a few bad apples in a basket is expected, but to have only a few good apples in a basket full of rotten apples, now, that is ridiculous. Give me cheap fundings, see what I can do with it. Or give fundings to other businessmen, see what value they can create out of it.

Faith And Belief

2010-01-26T00:26:00.002+08:00

Nope, I am not talking about the recent hoo haa over tug of war over someone much much greater than what human mind could fathom.

I was going to discuss on how, when one believed in someone, or something, the sheer faith of it will motivates one. For example, for the past week or so, my left hand felt kind of weak and until a day or two ago, I didn't realise that it wasn't quite "right" - it felt like it has a mind of it's own!! No, I am no Storm Warrior who got a powerful transplanted hand, hahaha.

Well, I always go to a Chinese physician who specialises in bone setting and Chinese traditional massage. And this is where faith in a person ability comes in. I just went there and he told me that there seemed to be some "nerve" not quite in place, or the bone, or something.

After a round of "torture" which involved his strong finger pinching and squeezing the sore muscle, I believed I would be blue black tomorrow, the left hand did seem to be listening to order, albeit, reluctantly. Hopefully, by the morrow, I should have full command of the left hand and could go do what I am supposed to do without any nagging at the back of my mind. I guess, faith is 2/3 of cure...

Of Barking Madmen With The Wise Man

2010-01-24T11:38:00.003+08:00

Much has been said for the current in discussion, the controversy surrounding a certain word. The latest being a police report from one MP against another MP, read here.

My interest is piqued at the last sentence of the report.

"Quote"

The report further quoted Khalid as saying: "There is an Arabic saying that the dog barks but the caravan moves on. I am not going to respond to his emotionally driven comments. I am just a caravan but I did not say he is the dog."

"Unquote"

You know, some people that are supposed to be educated and be leaders of the people at times seemed stupider than a donkey. I mean, doing stupid action once, well, it could be attributed to carelessness. Twice, may be accidentally, But again and again and again, it has to account for sheer stupidity. Probably some people is not satisfied being stupid, they just have to announce it to the world!! Not realising that the very point the want to score probably would be deducted instead and earn spits for himself instead.

Even the issue shouldn't have been an issue at all. Firstly, nobody really noticed, not especially the local Muslims that by sharing the same God's name, that their faith become lesser. God is Almighty, He don't need anyone to fight for his name, it is His choice whether a certain thing come into being or not, so much so that He can' protect His own name if He wanted to? And needs barking madmen to do it??? Sheesh.....God is still God no matter who and what name you call Him, right? I always believed that though the method of praying is different, we could all be praying to the same God. And who are we do decide which method of prayer is the accepted ones??

The world is rigid enough without imposing further unnecessary limitations and imposing differing values unto unwilling participant is sure fire way to create more mess than doing any good. I could fill pages and pages with words but then, stupid people will still continue doing stupid things and the rest of the sheep will still be herded, no matter how much you teach them. Enough said..

New Twist To Reconnecting

2010-01-20T20:29:00.005+08:00

Some people utter the most witty lines without much effort, especially when it is sort of like "sincerely". Remember at some time last year, my OLD schoolmates had a reunion and the phone calls, smses, emails that has been going to and fro to confirm and catch up, well, after all the hoo haa, everything (almost) is back to the way it were.

But some still do keep in touch and the friendship is pretty much renewed and intact. But I digress. The point I want to make is a comment by a classmate in the Facebook - yeap, some of the not so internet savvy made the effort to contact, connect and keep in touch via the latest craze, that is Facebook.

And I quote my friend's comment in one of the classmate's wall :-

Ala... biasola sumo termasuk aku.....hangat2 taik ayam jo.
Dulu maso cbuk2 nak buek reunion...hantar mesej bolom sompek lotak tepon dah jawab... ckarang kalau hantar mesej tololap sambil pogang tepon bolom tontu jawab.... pikir2 kan la.

Translated, it will sound something like this :-

Oh well...it is normal, all including me....excited in the beginning only (actually, the words are :- chicken dung's heat only). Last time, when busy planning the reunion...when send messages, haven't even put down the phone already had a reply....now, if send messages, until falling asleep cradling the phone, not necessarily will there be a reply....go figure.

Actually, it is more funny in the local slang but the gist of it is, when one is excited and interested, one will tend to make time for it, irregardless of how busy one is but otherwise, most people don't bother to keep in touch. It is sad really. The ball has been set rolling and it shouldn't stop at that one reunion.

As I commented in the same wall, I said, it is not that often that you can find friends who goes back decades, to the very beginning of your friend-making life. Along the way, we made some very good friends, obviously but it's different with those who shared your childhood. Your growing pains...? Your puppy loves...? Your first caning from teachers...??

Russian Author(s)

2010-01-19T23:46:00.004+08:00

It is a co-incident that I have just finished reading the book, The Last Watch, by Sergei Lukyanenko, the last of the four book series. And the next book I picked up is "A Short Story of Tractors In Ukrainian" - half way through it only then I realised that I have been reading Russian author(s)!!

Well, you see, I read anything that I can get hold of. This latest book I am reading is actually a "by-product" - ie, I wanted to buy one book, can't remember which and this book plus another was bundled together for the price of two, so, being the thrifty kind, I thought, why not just spend a bit more and get three books? After all, I read everything, though my favourite genre would be dungeon and dragons, sorcerers and wizards kind, I always find other books refreshing (or boring, as the case might be) - I always took a chance of finding rare gems, less known authors with witticism, I mean, how many Stephanie Meyers or J.K Rowlings can one take?? (Pretty much, actually - guilty as accused too!!)

An excerpt from this latest book, "A Short ..... Ukrainian"

Quote,

"No, he's not, he's being a lad. An eighty-four-year-old lad. You're all being lads together. Wink wink. Nudge nudge. What a great pair of knockers. For goodness' sake!" My voice has risen to a shriek.

"But you can see it's doing him good, this new relationship. It's breathed new life into him. Just goes to show that you're never too old for love."

"You mean for sex."

"Well, may be that as well. Your Dad is just hoping to fulfil every man's dream - to lie in the arms of a beautiful younger woman."

"Every man's dream?"

That night, Mike and I sleep in separate beds.

Unquote!!!

See? Simple and brilliant. I liked the catch!!

When I first started this book, I thought, hmm, another long boring, unknown work but I was pleasantly surprised and rewarded. It brought smiles. It makes you wonder, is the best selling author being too formulaic? Simplicity in words to convey the story and mood is what I have not seen for quite sometime.

Sleepless, Sleep Less

2010-01-19T17:01:00.003+08:00

Yesterday night had to account for one of the worst night I had in term of resting. Knowing that I have a meeting with a guest from Thailand today, I went to bed early. Very early indeed, about 11.00 p.m.

But despite forcing and trying to sleep, it just eludes me. I really really tried my best to sleep and guess what, I was still wide awake by 4.00 a.m.!! What a torture!!! I gradually drifted off to a fitful sleep and got up a zombie at 8.30 a.m. My head is heavy. My mind is groggy. My movement is stiffy. If the same thing is going to happen tonight, I think I will start looking around for sleeping pill!!

In most probablity though, it is dued to the fact that I tried too hard to sleep. Like how the more you force yourself, the more opposite yourself gravitates to. How irritating and inconvenient. Whisper a silent prayer for me that sleeps come easy, would y'all?? Hahaha, thanks.

Back To The Past

2010-01-07T01:04:00.003+08:00

Thanks for Facebook, I am now reconnected to many, I meant MANY friends whom have lost touch for the past decade(s) or so!

School friends, first job friends, friends' friend and whatnot. It is pretty funny how when some people get in touch with you, they evokes memories of yonder, of time gone by, time where everything is so easy, so carefree and so .... young!!!

Probably, the thing about reconnecting with old acquaintance is that, you never realise that you have drifted apart and that, when they come back into your life, ever so subtlely, you welcome them wholeheartedly, you want to catch up all those lost years. Strange huh?? You don't seemed to appreciate it when it is all over you but when it's been gone a while and then back, you suddenly appreciate it.

It is true that you will forge new friendship in different stage of life but it is also great that while doing so, you get to keep the ones you have ALREADY forged and the circle just gets more varied, the spice of life as some might call it. Never a dull moment when you are plunging ahead with new adventure nor will it ever be dull when reliving the recklessness of life lived past.

Zooming By ... The Year

2009-12-29T16:02:00.003+08:00

As you get older, the time flies faster, I think. The year 2009 is coming to a close and it just seemed like yesterday only that we ushered in the year.

So much as happened and yet, it seemed nothing changed at all!!

Obviously, the one thing that really bring us back to reality is the fact that, people who moved beyond....what lies beyond, no one will be able to tell, it is an adventure best left to your own devices.

Time seemingly ticks faster and we, of the "mature" age, seemed to have to walk a little bit faster just so we can squeeze a few extra seconds out of the time loaned to us. I am not sure how time are allocated individually but some seemed to have shorter stick whereas some got more than what they deserved. Whatever it is, as long as we achieved what we wanted to, then, it doesn't matter how long the time allocated, quality over quantity, eh??

So, closing the curtain for the year 2009, I want to wish everyone healthy and meaningful life ahead. Think not of the quantity but the quality. Cheerios...

Stupidest Action Of The Year!!

2009-12-24T00:44:00.003+08:00

I just heard from my staff a story that is worth sharing. I doubt it is a figment of imagination but do read on and make your own conclusion.

He has a friend, who have some business dealing with our company. Yesterday, that is, Tuesday actually, his friend's driver was delivering some goods to the city. Along the way, the driver was stopped abruptly by blue clothed policemen (traffic police is in black and white). There were no cones to pre alert the driver to slow down, so, the poor driver have to step on the brakes, emergency brake so to speak.

One poor motorcylist who was following behind didn't expect the sudden halt and banged into the lorry. He fell to the side and was run over by another oncoming car at the other lane. The poor chap didn't have a chance, he died there and then!!!

The stupid policeman who, in most probablity is not conducting an authorised check, just told the lorry driver to MAKE A POLICE REPORT, STATING HIS (THE LORRY) TYRE'S PUNCTURED and then fled the scene!!! The driver was stunned and didn't manage to get the policeman name or staff number!! Mind you, someone is dead because of stupid action, most likely over greed and that idiot do not have the ball to even stay and explain!! That show pretty much the quality of the police force. This type of people are giving the good police (if there are still any around) a bad name.

After the ball-less police fled the scene, some other traffic police came and took statement from the lorry driver (I am not too sure about the car's driver) and when the driver told the truth, the other policemen demanded to know the name and staff number, or something like that. Who in their right mind would have remembered???? It is not every day you watch someone die in front of you, caused by you (in a way) and then, you can still keep your head on???

So, the poor driver have no choice but to change his story that his tyre was punctured and the other policeman accepted it??? If the tyre was punctured, causing the accident, shouldn't there be a punctured tyre on the lorry still? Who in their right mind would change the tyre when there is a dead body next to them???

Mind you, the questions were mine but the story was relayed to me. You make your own conclusions. On a hindsight, without any malice, I think, the driver should have just ram the police who stopped him without notice, pre alert nor any valid cause, instead of causing one innocent motorist dead and two more drivers to have trauma - the lorry and the car driver. And to think that a person entrusted to keep the nation in order fled the scene and even instruct the driver how to create a story!

I remembered that once, long time ago, a traffic police practically jumped in front of my moving car, driven by my sister and she too almost ram into that policeman. Is it necessary? What if my sister can't brake in time?? Whose fault would that be? The one who can't brake in time or the one that jumped in front of a moving vehicle?? In our land, the answer would be obvious, isn't it??

So Many Things Pending

2009-12-23T01:29:00.003+08:00

I have nothing to blog about, thus the silence but then, there are myriad of things happening that I wanted to blog about. I just don't seem to have the words at the finger tips!!!

I just got back from Singapore. So, I have covered the whole length of Peninsula Malaysia within this two weeks, all the way from Hatyai down to Singapore, both end inclusive, and very nearly down further to Batam even, if not because I felt so tired and need to get back to office by Tuesday. But I shall be there, I have found out about the ferry ride et al.

I will blog about the Singapore trip soon, which is nothing much but the stay at my brother's place turned out to be much more enjoyable. The trip was more to collect a book for someone!!!

I also need to blog about the Avatar movie, the ticket courtesy of Miu. She gave me 2D tickets and she went and bought a 3D one....just found out about it, hello?!?!?! hehehe. I have NEVER watched a 3D movie before leh!!!!

Then there is my discovery of ABIU fruit, after reading it so long, I found the fruit and I am going to plant the seed!!!

Trip To Hatyai, Thailand

2009-12-09T23:21:00.003+08:00

Counting down the time to the holiday over the long weekend to Hatyai, Thailand. I will be going there with my family, by train! Train always evoke a very cosy, romantic kind of feel. The choo choo sound of train is very endearing, to me at least. It will be a night coach and expected to take about 12 hours from Kuala Lumpur Sentral Train Station to Hatyai, Thailand. If only we have TGV kind of trains here, sigh. I think the top speed of Malaysian train is about 90km/h.

But as a sleeping coach goes, the cleanliness is excellent and since we would most probably be sleeping for 6 - 8 hours anyway, the journey will not seemed long - I hope.

It's been quite a while since I last visited Hatyai and I am so looking forward to spend time there. I wonder if there is any big changes. Now that I am on eating spree again, going to places with good and cheap food seemed like wise thing to do (I hope) and I also hope I won't over eat, what with no exercises for 4 - 5 days!!! Mango rice, here I come!!!

Christmas Greeting Cards

2009-12-01T22:41:00.002+08:00

I was tasked to put my wife's handiwork on to the net. Go here and check it out. If anybody feels like sending special cards this year, just email to me and we will get back to you asap.

First Meeting With A Fellow Blogger

2009-11-27T19:45:00.005+08:00

Today is a public holiday, for Hari Raya Haji. I received an sms from a dear blogger friend, Roti Kacang Merah, whom, I think, I have known like 2 - 3 years, chatting mostly through comments box, sms and once in a while, yahoo messenger.

We both never seen nor talked to one another, ever. Something like Jamie, another dear blogger friend.

Anyway, RKM invited my family and I to savour her mum's delicious traditional cooking and I have heard about it for so long that, I decided that this year, irregardless of the distance - it being almost exactly an hour drive from my place ; thus my procrastination in accepting her invitation prior this - I will make it somehow.

So, we left at about 11.30 a.m, grabbed some sweets for present (buah tangan) along the way, and we were good to go. I think we reached her place at about 1.30 p.m, after circling the town for a few round - entirely my fault for forgetting the map, which I have accidentally left behind. Basing on my memory, I got 90% of the content, forgetting the last 10% which is the crucial part, sigh. It was so near yet because I was looking right instead of left, I wasted another half an hour or so looking for her place. Still, after a few calls and her direction via sms, mind you, we located her parent's house! Pheww....Another feather in my cap - now I know Bangi better!

You know it is strange how people can connect and it felt like, we were friends for ages. I love the friendship. I was very worried that we might feel awkward but it was gone after only a few seconds. For all their overseas education and upper middle class life, I found a family of down to earth and humble people that I personally feel very small among them, hehehe. I mean, they are so nice and friendly family that it is no wonder that their house is one of the most popular stops for their friends and relatives.

Even her hubby, the famous Cartoonist Zunar is such a humble and soft spoken person that I felt like I have known him for years too, when, in actual fact, it was only the first time we met. That's the beauty of humbleness, I guess. It just opens people up.

And I got 2 autographed production from his company ; one magazine and one book, to boot! Click here for the story of the magazine - not only did I get A COPY, I got an autographed one!! Eat your heart out, collectors...After reading both, I think I am going to seal it in plastic bag, for years later, this would be worthy stories for my grandchildren (what!!!????)

I could go on and on about the visit but I am still excited over the meeting, I will post a bit more later, now, it is dinner time and possibly, after that, exercise time to burn off all the irresistible calories loaded during lunch time. Luckily her mum cook the specialty during festive season only, otherwise.....I would soon be size 37!!

My New Faithful Companion

2009-11-24T01:03:00.001+08:00

I am carrying this bag around like a tote bag!!! It is so convenient in the sense that I can just throw everything inside, beside making a statement! And that, I am reducing the usage of plastic bags is the main purpose. And it being with me, I tend to maximise the usage even. Which is good, right? And it even felt fashionable. Green, the new IN!!

My First Purchase With Personal Shopper

2009-11-23T00:55:00.001+08:00

Well, I had wanted to buy this perfume for quite some time but never get around to do it. I informed Miu that should she come across this perfume on sale, just to get it for me. True to her speciality, she managed one on sale soon enough and here I am, a proud owner of one of the longest running fragrance.

After testing it, I quite like the smell, though as suspected by the professional, it is not really ME per se but well, at 40ml, it will fulfill the need for my travelling enough. I guess one have to get use to a variety of moods. Thanks Miu for the look out and excellent service :P

Of Birthdays and Such

2009-11-22T00:34:00.005+08:00

It is the milestone for me. No more small change for the figure. Time is really ticking fast and it seemed like there is still lots to do. Shudder shudder.

I got my first birthday wish from my friend and partner, Jayson. I got my first present from Miu. Thanks guys for remembering. Touched and very very appreciative. Let's see tomorrow if there is any other who remembered....Not that I need reminding though.

This is what Miu bought. She is just too nice. And she knows I luvvv fragrances, so, easy choice, huh? And that she always managed to get the ones that I don't have, or never tried at all. In other words, exposed me to more options.

I will try it on first thing tomorrow morning, hehehe. Knowing Miu, I believe this will be one of my favourite fragrance, well, she is not a personal shopper for no reason if not for knowing people's taste!! Thanks a zillion Miu. And, oh, btw, you know what you are getting for Christmas cum birthday, right? That's the least I can do for you. I would have given it to you earlier if only I can get it then. Apparently, it wasn't that easy to get what you wanted. Talk about people with expensive taste!!! So, don't you go and get it for yourself. Let me do something nice in return for you, ok...

Environmental Friendly

2009-11-19T15:03:00.002+08:00

I am very proud of my staffs today.

I was washing the container I used to pack my rice and I noticed two other plastic containers in the pantry. I asked whose and why and one of them told me, she used the container to pack the rice from the shop, like what I am doing. She said she did that after my general encouragement and advise to the staffs last week.

That set the conversation to conservation and recycling. I even encouraged her to influence her colleagues to follow her example. She goes to the extend of supplying them with plastic containers for future usage. I think she deserves a pack on the back for the effort to influence and encourage her colleague to conserve the environment.

Police Force

2009-11-18T15:47:00.002+08:00

So many things have been said about our police force. Today, I read from this link and realised, something is very wrong with the way it was run/managed.

Come on, out of a total of 100%, 37.62% is categorized as MANAGEMENT?? You need a manager for every 3 officers? What kind of management is that? All good money gone to waste. No wonder the police are not highly moralized. How to perform their duty when they have maze upon maze upon maze of management staffs to get through? This has to be one of the silliest organisation ever!

And they say, too many cooks will spoil the soup. This is not a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup, at this rate, no soup could be cooked! I think all the "management" team would have to think of creative way to kill their time. Efficiency is when one manager can manage hundreds or thousands of personnel and plain stupidity is when you need 1 management staffs to overseas another 2 staffs. Come on!! Give them a break and give us a break too. Crime level is up and the one that can handle it is too busy pushing paper and pretending to be busy. Gosh!!

The X-Factor S.6

2009-11-17T03:43:00.001+08:00

My wife and I were watching the recent episodes of The X-Factor and the most talked about contestant had to be the Twins. Despite not having much of talents, they have managed to reach the final six. What a load of c@#p!!

It goes on to show that the old adage that bad publicity is better than no publicity! It also shows how humans at times are oxymoronic - we hates certain things but we still wants to see it!! Just like at times, we would watch horror movies between our fingers!

One thing for sure though, the owner of The X Factor is making tonnes of money milking this love hate relationship to the hilt!

Cloudy With Sporadic Downpours

2009-11-16T13:34:00.004+08:00

I love rains. I love cloudy weather. It reminds me very much of Scotland, with so much cloud and wetness that everything looks mossy and wet, and cool, and gothic, IMHO.

If only the weathers would continue to be so for a foreseeable weeks, it would simply be wonderful.

Incidentally, I was pretty under the weather too. I hurted my back while adjusting posture while watching TV!! Remembering how torturous it was previously, before it got worse, I went to consult the Chinese Medicine Doctor and set some of the bone straight, literally. I have known it to be slightly "out of shape" - almost all the experts agreed on that. Well, it was not to be on one session and I need to be back for a few more session before everything can be put back into place, again, literally!!

I am so NOT looking forward to those sessions, torturous is saying that it's a walk in the park! I guess, I would just have to bite the bullet and go through with it, and hopefully, come out of it better than ever, considering the amount of pain and moolah that needs to be expanded.

The past few weeks, we have had like storms, real huge storms with torrential rains that wreak havoc on a lot of things, trees, plants, roads, flooding etc. Over at my side, my DIY trellis couldn't stand the vigorous pounding of the rain and storms, coupled with super fast growth of the passionfruit tree, keeled and bended at the support bar. I have to get outside help to build a new trellis and same time, get them to "transfer" the plants to new host! I shall post some photos of the new addition to the garden soon. Watch this space.

The Sun Motor Hunt

2009-11-09T23:32:00.003+08:00

As mentioned in prior post, my team were sponsored by Samsung to join the Sun Motor Hunt, which, they are the main prize sponsors. Very generous indeed!

Well, my team could have performed better but it is too late. We made some silly mistake, despite being cautious and the difference is between a fridge and an mp4 player - EACH!! Let's hope that we could do better next year. As we were the sponsored team, I guess we ought to be thankful to at least have won something quite valuable!! Thank you Samsung ... though I would have wished for fridge or lcd tv instead :P

The weather was too hot recently too, that might have affected some of our concentration, both my sister and I are "allergic" to hot sun!! My staffs even commented that I looked darker!! Gosh, I have to go and see Miu for some whitening lotion it seemed.

The day before that, I went for the other hunt, which was more family oriented and less competitive and for lack of top players, (there were a few still though) - our team managed a number 3 position, which is the highest this year! Probably it was the over confidence that we were in good form that was our undoing in the next day hunt. Well, we learn new lessons everyday, don't we??

Halloween Pics

2009-11-07T00:44:00.004+08:00

We dressed up for some Halloween trick or treat at our neighbourhood, on the 30th Oct 09, I know Halloween is on 31st but most of us would be busy then, so, we brought forward the do.

The Family

Isaac, I did the eye make up and nail polish, hahaha.

Iona

The Total Haul

Fitness Routine

2009-11-04T12:47:00.003+08:00

I went and sign up for a gym membership yesterday. After months of trying to get into shape without much success, I decided to invest some money and go to a professionally run gym to get some professional consultation.

My first day, they tested me for fitness, I am at the medium range, obviously. They tested my BMI and BMR, with some kind of machine, I am not extremely sure that how the machine could be accurate when it practically doesn't do anything??

Anyway, the BMI came back at 18.3, which is in the NORMAL range!! What did I tell you?? Despite people keep on calling me skinny, I am NORMAL!!

The BMR came back at 1575 - BMR being Basal Metabolic Rate. I was told to get it up to 2400, it being the normal build up rate. I guess over dieting have slowed down my body's metabolism rate to conservation mode.

The body fat assessment came back at 10.2. Anything below 12 is considered excellent. Now, for the first time, I have something excellent to show!

The trainer asked me what I don't like about my body. I find that hard to answer because I don't really don't like my body per se, but like any person with some vanity issue and one that is being bombarded with images of Greek Gods and picture perfection, that is like a non question, right? Well, the trainer said most people would pay attention to two areas on guys, the biceps and the chest. So, I am to work on those first. As if that is not one of my goal, sigh.

Well, now that I am going to a full fledge gym instead of my club house semi furnished gym, I am giving myself 3 months to get into the shape that I want.

Oh, the trainer said I have to eat! Lots!! And I was like, duh!! Must I? I have not been eating much. I know I have not been eating much. But to be asked a question like, do you take breakfast? No. What you take for lunch? A. Err, nothing. What you take for dinner? A. Nothing heavy. Then, they said I need to eat more!

So, I started on supper the minute I got home!! One piece of pizza and one piece of roti canai. And I am not keen to gorge on more. But I have to force myself to. And it is very conflicting, on one side, I try to eat, on another hand, I really can't be eating that much!! The image of the "fat" guy always play in the mind everytime I eat. Duh!!

Rain Keeps Falling V.2

2009-11-02T17:24:00.003+08:00

Following my last post, here, the power that be decided to give more rain, even on the day I was supposed to organise the trick or treat for the kids in my neighbourhood. It was very dissappointing to say the least, that all the preparation and hardwork gone down the drain, hampered by incessant rain the whole night, with a slight break, just enough for the kids to go trick and treating. Read about it here.

Still, I love rains.

Talk About Samsung!! - SL102

2009-10-30T14:12:00.004+08:00

I posted earlier about some of the items that I owned by Samsung.

Little do I expect that a day or two later, I would end up buying another Samsung product. The latest addition is a Samsung digital camera, SL102.

As mentioned before, the earlier digital phone (BenQ) k.o-ed. I was pondering whether to buy the DSLR camera from my best friend. Then he took it with him to Europe.

In fact, I would have preferred a small compact camera versus DSLR but then, it was a good offer to pass up. It was not to be though. I really needed a camera, so, the day before yesterday, I went camera shopping. I am just looking for something not too expensive and practical. The sales person recommended either Olympus and Samsung. Specification is almost the same but the pricing is about MYR 300.00 difference.

In the end, I bought Samsung due to lower price, hahaha. For 10.2MP phone at below MYR 500.00, it is really value for money. To think that I bought a 3.2MP phone (Minolta) for MYR 1100.00 last time, years ago, and a bulky one at that! I didn't used it in the end because the battery don't last (it uses a rechargeable AA battery!). As luck would have it, I won a free BenQ digital camera not long after that and it has served me very well, ever since, until last few weeks.

Project Runway

2009-10-30T00:17:00.003+08:00

I have just recently downloaded some of the episodes of Project Runway. I find it an interesting watch. And the way the designers design the garments, it seemed easy, hahahaha.

Anyway, I have always liked cloth, clothes and fashion, not that I am very fashionable but it is nice to see normal cloths be turned into stunning garments, head turner even! Some people will get on their life with just t-shirt and slippers (flip-flops) but some people would not be caught dead with nothing less than a designer wear! As for me, as long as the piece of garments looked good, it doesn't really matter if it is not branded. I believed that as much as clothes maketh the man, (or woman), the man (or woman) must be able to carry it off well too. I believed in wearing clothes, not letting the clothes wear us, hahaha.

Ever noticed how, when you wear something new and well tailored, your self confidence soared sky high?? Probably, that's the reason why it is imperative that every festive seasons or special occasions, people tend to wear their most expensive outfits, it make a person shines.

I have a wardrobe full of garments, I used to rotate wearing them but recently, I seemed to be favouring the few made in Bangkok for my work and the long t-shirt bought in factory outlets. It just felt so me.... :)

Rain Keeps Falling

2009-10-28T17:19:00.003+08:00

I love rain. Everything seemed so clean and fresh. Even the air smelled fresh and green.

The thing is, everytime if I water my garden diligently, it will rain. It makes the effort seemed useless. I mean, if it is going to rain, why waste my money on watering the garden with piped water? It is like wasting one of nature most valuable resources....

And after watering the garden yesterday, it rained whole day today, since morning and is still ongoing now! Talking about over-drink!

Most people would tell you, Malaysians that is, that whenever they send their car for washing, it seemed that chances are, the very instant their car gets washed, prim and shiny new, down come the rain and not two days later, the car would look exactly like the day it was sent for washing, may be even worse, hahaha. That's why, I will only send my car for washing when it gets extremely dirty. And everytime, after washing, my car looked brand new with all the accumulated slime and dirt washed away.

Samsung, The Sun Hunt And MyTeam

2009-10-28T15:01:00.002+08:00

Firstly, look at this :-

One of THE HUNT of the year is upon us again. Most of the people who are avid hunters would not want to miss this hunt. Unfortunately for my team, due to some unforeseen circumstances, missed out on the registration. As fate would have it, we will have a second shot of joining the hunt, courtesy of the sponsor's generosity. But there's a catch, we have to tell the kind sponsors why we should be one of the teams to be sponsored!

Well, let's see, beside putting ourselves in the good light of the sponsor, we have to be honest to ourselves too, right? No right minded sponsor would want to hear lies, in fact, truth will help them in right directions, which will be more beneficial mutually too.

I think my team deserved to be the Samsung sponsored team because, well, we are slightly above average team, hunt quite regularly and well, that said, will have a shot at top ten finishing (I hope). If the sponsors took one inexperienced team, it is like throwing good money away. If it is the top teams, well, they are the top teams, why would they need sponsors??

Aside from that, my team mates and I are Samsung supporters too. I am still using Samsung washing machine, Samsung microwave oven - both about 10 years old and still going strong, honestly, I am glad that I made that choice ten years ago, if other brand, I probably would have to change already.

But the same could not be said of it's fridge, which, I also bought at the same time but it has stopped working 3 - 4 years back. Probably due to shifting house that the fridge, being more fragile was damaged at that time. So, in all honesty, could not say it is due to inferior quality.

At the peak of Samsung's handphone mania, the few of us even owned Samsung hand phones! But then, hand phones are very fast-changing and regrettably, presently, we were smitten with other makes....

Naturally, being a regular Samsung brand user, don't we deserve to get a shot at one of the slots?

Six Words On...Boredom

2009-10-28T14:11:00.001+08:00

Stared at wall, stared back, bored.

Sunshine In My Photos

2009-10-26T23:37:00.004+08:00

There are many things that I wanted to blog but none come to mind when I sit down facing the computer.

Lacking the inspiration, vanity kicks in. So, here it is, some photos that I took while driving back earlier today. Just having fun with the camera phone while waiting for the traffic lights to change colour. And wanted to see how the sunlight will show in the picture. Cam-whoring to the core, or rather, fore???

Sail Of Dreams

2009-10-26T01:34:00.001+08:00

Actually, it was a literal translation. I loved this song, even to this day. I used to listen to it very regularly, about 20 years ago?? Is is that long ago?

I just come across it over some site and pasted it here to share.

It could be Screen Of Dreams or Sail Of Dreams. Either way, just enjoy the music.

Heading : East And West

2009-10-23T14:02:00.004+08:00

This morning, it suddenly occurred to me that my two best friends were both travelling overseas at the same time!!

One of them is in Europe and the other one in China. And suddenly, I felt like, life is so so strange without people to banter with. I guess, in life, you will have to get used to being left to your own devices. I need my own private space but at the same time, I need to be in the presence of good company. Very oxymoronic, right??

Same goes for my friend, when he is here, we communicated probably once every few days but when away, he has to buzz me everyday. Strange huh??

Chicken And Egg : Crime Level

2009-10-21T13:06:00.003+08:00

I read a post from one of the blogs, the link here.

One thing that can be deduced is :- the more police is ineffective in their job, the more crimes will happens and the dominoes effect will continue, the police will be swamped with even more crimes.

In the end, it is the citizens that have to pay the price for it. I remembered how in our younger days, we can roam about without any worries. My mum used to walk back alone late at night, sometimes midnight. I too used to walk everywhere, alone. But it seemed, walking alone nowadays posed a very high risk of :- injury, mental trauma and loss of personal belongings, if not outright limbs and lifes.

After so many crimes committed, the police still in deep slumber and they have the cheek to collect their salaries every month!! Don't they feel any shame? I know for Muslims (let's face the fact, 90% of the Malaysian Police force is made up of Muslims) that they believed that if they don't fulfill their responsibility, that when they are dead, they will be questioned in their grave why did they evade their responsibility and will pay for it there and then. But then, corruptions entails the same questioning too and it is still rampagnt. I guess, people tend to forget that they WILL die someday. Probably they don't believe in all this retribution anymore...

I wonder if the head honchos, be it in the police force or politician can sleep at night with the conscience that they have innocent bloods in their hands?? If they had at least tried, then, their conscience should be clear but they don't even bothered!!