not HARD yet

GOOD BYE DEAREST MUM

2010-10-26T17:48:00.006+08:00

20-10-2010

That will be a sacred date for me. The date that will forever etched in my mind. The date that I will not longer hear her voice and see her sweet smile. The date that I will no longer be eating the food that she cooked, the finest cook and the best food ever in the eyes and the heart of her son for she knew whats best for him, always....

Admittedly, I was shocked of her demised. Deep in my heart, I knew that she will be leaving her family but not as fast. Her leaving is as what Allah's had promised, 'not a second more nor a second less', the time to meet Him has been pre determined. As for myself, admittedly again, my preparation for her demised has not been rock solid. I was not there when she was gone yet I was the last to kiss her hand and cheeks the night before. Same as with my late father. I was the last person he spoke to over the phone before he collapsed later in the mosque during Friday prayer 11 years ago. Being not fully prepared, I can't controlled my emotion of losing her. I cried when the doctors and nurses did the last rite. I cried when I watched her lifeless body in the morgue after being bathed by the Ustazah. The painful look had changed to a calm and smiling face. I cried the next early morning in her room alone, observing all the things she had, the bed, the 'tasbih', the old fan and the things especially all the clothes that I bought for her and I cried for the last time when I kissed her cold forehead before her face was covered for the last time to get readied for the final prayer.

It was drizzling that morning as her body was put to rest to a place that I chose after negotiating with the grave digger just after the Subuh prayer. Her resting place is near a big tree only 3 meters from the grave of our father, her beloved husband. The rain in itself had a calming effect, evaporating the horrible haze that succumbed Muar area since 2 days ago.

Allah Is Great. Everything about her funeral was perfectly done. Allah must have like this small woman a lot. A pious person likeable to all to those who have known her, I firmly believed she 'is in good hands now'. The morning before she died, she had told my puzzled sister how she had smelt perfume five times. Alhamdullilah. All this is a testament for her children to feel relieved to let her go.

Ya Allah, bless her with your grace till the day that all will be awaken. Amin.

Her last picture taken during Hari Raya 2010 with the baju kurung that I bought her.

Mum, I will never again have the opportunity to buy you clothes or the McD porridge or the Kentucky mash potatoes that you like so much......

Mum, forgive me for all my wrongdoing and things that made you sad for I can never repay you for giving me birth and bringing me up with your love and affection from a tiny being to here I am now to face this world today...I love you mum and will be forever missing you....

In loving memory, Allahyarhamah Hajah Rokiah Bte Endot (age 78)

PRELUDE TO SABAH VACATION- 21-26 JULY 2010

2010-07-28T14:59:00.011+08:00

After 6 days and 5 nights, with 2 hotels, 2 tour agencies with 3 tour guides to 4 tourist destinations with includes high mountain (nope, not regrettably, I did not climb Mount Kinabalu), canopy walking, hot springs, beautiful island, river night cruise to see the one and only species of a monkey in the world and fireflies; to experience first hand on a bee farm to taking pictures with the biggest gong in the world (so they say), to visit a unique longhouse and the best of all to be at a place called Tip of Borneo, where two great seas i.e. South East China seas meets the Sulu seas in one place. Awesome.

Not to mention lotsa of seafoods and lotsa of pearls and wet market and not so wet market and and ironically without fail two movies in between. Hiks.

That was our journey, yet to be revealed in a short while, in stages as usual.....

VACATION - CRUISE TO SINGAPORE - SENTOSA ISLAND & UNIVERSAL STUDIO PART 3

2010-06-25T00:00:00.004+08:00

14 June 2010 (Monday) - Universal Studio Singapore.

Due to some unknown problem, our tour agency had failed to deliver our packed breakfast food to our room that morning and as replacement we were refunded $8.00 per person. No problem with that since we had decided to eat at Universal Studio later. We checked out from the hotel at 9.00am, put all our belongings inside the bus and went back again to Sentosa Island. Our bus parked inside a huge parking lot just below the Universal Studio. Miss Liew gave the tickets for us to enter the theme park and we were to assemble again at the same place not later by 5.00pm. We took the escalator up into the entrance on the theme park. Even at 9.20am, Monday morning, the place was already crowded with people. Reason being, it was also a school holiday in Singapore as well as in Malaysia.

The entrance to the theme park.

The most popular place to take picture..

Still outside...
The tickets for today was a sold out....

Entering into the this place was like entering into a whole new world. The 20 hectares theme park has a total of 24 attractions which consists of seven theme zones surrounding a lagoon. Each zone is based on a blockbuster movie or television show featuring its own attraction, character appearances, dining and shopping areas.

Stores selling merchandise on the left and right after passing the entrance..

One of the stores which we will shop later in the afternoon..

Ermm..where to go next...

The main zone of the park is the Hollywood zone which is based on the real life Hollywood Boulevard. Here, we can see a nice architecture, palm trees and the famous Walk of Fame. Feeling hungry, we saw a 50's kinda restaurant which serves cokes and old-fashioned burgers named Mel's Drive-In which is based on a hit movie American Graffiti.

Moving into the Hollywood zone. At the back was Madagascar zone.
At Hollywood zone.

In front of Mel's Drive-In

The golden oldies with its jukebox
Ermm..yummy..yummy
Mine...Burgers with chilies

Until now, burgers does not fall into one of my favorite foods but honestly, this was the most delicious burger I have ever tasted. Furthermore this dining has a "Halal" certification like a few other dining we discovered later. Hollywood zones hosts a variety of stores and is the primary shopping area of the park. We walked around the place, passed a place called Pantages Hollywood Theater, a Broadway style theater hosting musical plays with its indoor theater. Today features the infamous Universal Monsters in the rock and roll musical 'Monster Rock' in which we will watch it later.

Will catch the show later in the evening...
Makeup, anyone??

Let's Get Physical...Physical...

Next, we walked to the other zone which is the New York zone. Based on the original New York City, it features commonly icons portrayed in movies including the trademark city skyline, neon lights, facades, sidewalk and other famous building.

Another beautiful building...

The infamous New York Public Library at the background
A closer pictures of the New York Public Library with two lions statues at the entrance

Yet another picture... in New York zone

The main attraction in New York zone is the Light! Camera! Action!. In here, you will be seeing the renowned director Steven Spielberg talked about special effects in a movie. You were then ushered into a sound stage where it became the setting for a major hurricane hitting New York City. You will experience first hand the transformation of the room being hit by hurricane, the heat and the smell from the gutting fire, the smoke and the wind. I cried out twice, once when a boat suddenly fell from out of nowhere splashing water towards us and the next when the platform below us tilted and plunged at the end of the show. If only I could record all this momentous 15 minutes!!!..

At the Light! Camera! Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg

We were the first to reach the place when it opened. .the attendant persuaded us to watch the maiden show and were most happy to take our pictures and we were glad to watch it too..hehe

First in line before the room to chamber was opened

Who is more sinister???hiks

The next zone after New York is the Sci-Fi City. A futuristic metropolis which can be from another planet. The city is based on the popular television series Battlestar Galactica and it features the world's tallest Dueling roller coaster. Unfortunately, due to technical and safety reason, the coaster has stopped operating momentarily until further notice.

Entering the Sci-Fi City zone

Huge dome as if your are in a futuristic world..

At Galatica FX, a retail outlet selling Sci-Fi collectible merchandise

Bellow the giant coaster..

Full view of the huge coaster..

It must be thrilling if we can at least see this twin roller coaster in operation. I can't remember which colour refers to which coaster. There are red and blue and one of it must be the Battlestar Galactica CYLON and the other Battlestar Galactica HUMAN. Both looked horribly chilly to me.

The next zone is The Lost World which is divided into tow sub areas i.e. Jurassic Park and Waterworld and off course the biggest must-see attraction is non other than Waterworld. Based on the 1995 blockbuster film Waterworld you can witness a massive live action of death defying stunts, awesome explosions and thrills at the sensational water show.

Entering The Lost World zone..

Since the Waterworld show will start soon, we went straight to the place..

A long quene to enter into the dome...but its worth it..

Inside the dome..
Better watch out for the water snipers...

The pictures below will illustrate a piece of the action in the show...

Beware of your seats...you may get pretty soaked in here

We then entered the other sub areas in The Lost World which is Jurrasic Park. There are a few other attractions for children and adult such as The Canopy Flyer, Jurrasic Park Rapids Adventure and others which we had no time to explore.

Entering Jurrasic Park

A few attractive pictures here..

Our next adventure was the enchanting Far Far Away zone. Inspired by non other that Dreamworkds Animation's hit Shrek, the zone consists of many recognizable locations from the films series such as Shrek's swamp house, Far Far Away Castle. The castle hosts attraction such as Shrek 4D and Donkey Live.

The huge Far Far Away castle..

Going to the castle

Inside the castle, queing for the Shrek 4D Adventure

As usual, the briefing before going into the cinema hall

I love Shrek 4 D Adventure. This 17 minute 3D film tells a story of Shrek & his friends journey to help save Princess Fiona. Using OgreVision, we can see, hear and actually feels the action right form under our seat. This is one show you must not miss...

Donkey Live

Another attraction here is Donkey Live which is an interactive live show starring Donkey who sing and even talked to us in an intimate theatre setting.

Shrek's house or the famous Shrek's Swamp House

The next zone is the Ancient Egypt zone. It was based on the historical adaptation of Ancient Egypt during the 1930s Egyption Exploration. The area also relies on the depictions made in the popular film, The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser.

Replicas of historical artefacts of ancient Egypt

Revenge of the Mummy is a high speed thrill ride with sharp turns and fast reverse, as I was told by Ednel who took the ride. Guests were also pitted against fireballs, beetles and robotic warrior mummies in total darkness. Ghee..I wouldn't have like it a lot....... Other pictures surrounding the place are as below..

This guy really gave me the creep..
What's with the hands?? and ermm go get some sunblock dude and deodorant too...hiks

Feeling hungry, we went to the Oasis Spices Cafe which is an Egyptian buffeteria serving specialties flavored with Mediterranean, Turkish, Lebanese and Indian spices.

Inside the cafe..

Ed's food

Mine's...

The last zone for us that day was the Madagascar. Journey to Madagascar is inspired by the hit Dreamworks Animation franchise, Madagascar, of course! The zone also features lush tropical jungles and many casts and characters appearance from the movie.

Going into Madagascar..

I just love this picture
Performance by the characters such as Gloria, Marty, Melman, Skipper and others

Visited all the 7 zones, we then headed back to Hollywood zone to watch one final show before we exited the park.

Live perfomance infront of Pantages Hollywood Theatre..

Our final show for the day...

Inside the 1,500 seat indoor theater..watching a rock concert by performers such as a Vampire, Werewolf, Frankenstein and many others..

After the show, we took pictures around the area, shopped at the stores to buy T-shirts and other themed collectibles.

By 5.00pm we changed clothes, exited the theme park and went back to the designated place. The bus was already there for us. We left Singapore via Tuas and were on our way back to KL, stopping for dinner at Yong Peng and reached KL by 11.00pm.

On our way back...

All in all, we had a wonderful and incredible journey. For me, in only three days, I had fulfilled my dreams of taking a vacation via star cruise virgo and going to Singapore especially to Universal Studios. A dream vacation come true, indeed..

Adios...will come back again...some sweet day...

VACATION : CRUISE TO SINGAPORE - SENTOSA ISLAND & UNIVERSAL STUDIO - PART 2

2010-06-22T20:28:00.014+08:00

13 June 2010 - Sunday - Day Two - Sentosa Island

One of the itinerary in our package tour is a visit to Sentosa Island. It is a theme park like recreation with multifaceted appeal. During Matta Fair, we were given a free standard package of 2 attractions plus 1 standard gift while in the island. It consists of one ticket to Images of Singapore and one more to choose from 6 other attractions which were 1) Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom, 2) Gogreen - Segway Fun Ride 3) The Merlion 4) Tiger Sky Tower 5) Sentosa Luge & Skyride and 6) Desperados (Virtual Shoot Out). With an additional of RM12.oo per person, we took another package called premium package. With this package they added two more attractions to choose which were 1) Sentosa 4D Magic and 2) Sentosa Cineblast with 1 premium gift. For this, we decided on Images of Singapore and Sentosa Cineblast.

At the harbor, we also paid our tour guide Ms. Liew $3.oo for an all day monorail rides ticket around Sentosa, $10.00 to watch Songs of The Sea, a show to be shown at the Siloso beach around 7.30pm that night and $66.00 dollar per person for our ticket to enter Universal Studio tomorrow (it will cost more i.e. if you go on weekends).

At the harbor, we put our bags inside a bus which will be sending us to our hotel tonite. We then walked to the monorail stations to enter the theme park.

On the way to the train station

Arriving at the train station

Our destination...Imbiah Station

Taking pictures inside the train

Another view from the train
We are here...

After exchanging our premium tickets to a card according to our package deal, we headed to Images Of Singapore, a historical museum featuring audio visual presentation showing Singaporean history and culture focusing on its people and lives.

At the entrance of the place. You need to use few out door escalators to reach here

Same place..

Entering the museum

Inside the museum

To my surprise, the mannequins behind Ed suddenly moved when I was taking this pictures

No..no I am not Sir Stamford Raflles's killer...(was he killed anyway?)

The modern era of Singapore

Annexed to the building is a souvenir shop and a restaurant. It was here that we claimed our premium gift which consists of one of seven items listed in the shop. I chose a 5" Sentosa Oscar Globe (with a Nemo figurine inside the globe) whereas Ed chose a Sentosa Express Train model. Each of the gift cost around $20.00 dollar. Still at Imbiah, we took pictures of other attractions there.

Tiger Sky Tower, same as in Malacca but higher. It was closed due to heavy lightning an hour before

That is the height of the Sky Tower..

The huge Sentosa Merlion (cub statue) at the background

In front of Sentosa Luge & Skyride..another long queue we had to miss

Maybe next time yeah Ed? hehe

Ermm, can you find a cute but not so little Red Hen?

Next we went to Sentosa Cineblast. It was actually a state-of-the-art simulation ride. There were a few rides to choose from and we chose the Extreme Log Ride, where we felt the exhilaration of flying to the top of the highest mountain, the thrill of rushing into the deepest valleys and the gripping excitement of being tossed about by water rapids. What a ride...

Arriving at Sentosa Cineblast

The Entrance of the Extreme Log Ride

Before entering the room, a 10 minute safety precaution briefing was given

About to enter the chamber...keeping our cool...

Now we are scared.... huhu...scary faces huh?

Well, off course we survived the ordeal.. but still it was a thrill ride nonetheless. Later we took the train and went to the Beach area. Here, I met my Singaporean friend for a short while who coincidentally was taking his Malaysian friends here. Afterward, Ed and I went to the Gogreen-Segway Fun Ride nearby the station. For a fee of S12.00 dollar per person we were anxious enough to give it a try to ride this machine...

A few minutes of training, got the thumbs up already...

Yeayyyy..here I go... such an easy machine to handle

Ed's turn...

Hey...not the road...go back hiks

An expert already...

For $38.00 dollar, you can take a more upgraded segway with a longer route around Siloso Beach but you must be in a group and accompanied by an instructor. Watched em stroll with envy hehe... ah.. well, there will always be next time... We walked along the beach then. Not only was the beach so clean, it is nicely maintained and full with amenities. No wonder the beach was full of people doing all sorts of out door activities. From football to basketball to flying fox or just chilling out in one of many high class restaurants nearby seems to be fun.

One of the many restaurants available

A bridge to the other small island..

Observe the flying fox cables..3 or more people can do it at one go...

The beach is alive with so many people...

Another view from the beach

At Siloso Beach

Beautiful beach..

Hungry, we stopped to have a heavy snack of vegetarian pizza and squids

At Tripizza...yummmy..evian water is kinda cheap here...

Do you?

Nope, not me..even with the safety harness and net...

Too tired..we took a free bus (also available in tram) ride back to centre of station. By 7.20pm, Ms Liew was already there passing us the tickets for us to watch the phenomenal Songs of the Sea.

A long queue but lots of tram and bus available

At the entrance of the out door auditorium..

Stage show...it was a full house and we were lucky to sit in the middle of it

Don't be fooled of the rocks..there were speakers..

The show was about to start...

Songs of the Sea is a combination of technology, imaging and live characters. Lights, laser and fire effects and water jets create a stunning visual show with computer images projected on giant water screens. I was informed it cost $30 million to create this spectacular show. It runs two shows per night with each show lasts for about 25 minutes. Below are pictures of the show.

Once finished, our tour guide took us to our bus and from there we went to our hotel at Geylang to rest. It was a 3 star hotel named Fragrance Hotel Ruby.

After the show and waiting for the bus

In front of the hotel

Once checked in, we walked out off the hotel in search of a place for dinner. Obviously not hot frog porridge, a menu as one of the delicacies in a chinese restaurant near our hotel....urghh. We even entered in what it seem to be a mamak restaurant, we confidently went straight to the food selection at the counter. The foods looked very different and so unappetizing at all. The Indonesian girl manning the place came to us and informed us that this is a restaurant for Bangladeshi workers. When asked for a mamak restaurant and she showed us the direction. Well, this is a new experience for us because I dont think this kinda of shop exist in Malaysia (not that I know off).

After having our dinner, we went back to the hotel to rest. It was indeed a tiring day but full of fun nonetheless. Tomorrow will be our last day in Singapore but not without going to the highly anticipated Universal Studio first. That will be the final part of the my post.

VACATION: CRUISE TO SINGAPORE - SENTOSA ISLAND & UNIVERSAL STUDIO - PART 1

2010-06-20T12:57:00.003+08:00

This trip was supposed to happen on 29 May 2010. The tour agency called me two week before 12 June 2010 to inform that they had to postpone it due to some technical problems. As mentioned before, Ednel and I had booked for this tour package during MATTA Fair earlier on. Disappointed by the delay, we decided not cancel it and agreed to a new date.

12 June 2010 (Saturday)

Ednel and I left from my house to Berjaya Time Square by taxi at 10.30am. We had our lunch at the Chicken Rice Shop and afterward went to our designated meeting point i.e. at Monorail Train Station nearby. Two buses were ready to take us to West Port Klang.

Berjaya Times Square, ready to rock...

In the bus, one the way to Klang Port

Miss Liew, our tour leader took our passports and did a briefing for our two day tour.

Ms Liew working her ass, she is a good tour leader..

Reached Cruise Terminal Hall. Once check in, we were given our pass card according to the type of room booked and ours was the balcony class.

Entering the terminal

Posing outside the terminal

Ms Liew did the check in for all guests....

Our pass card, a passport & charge card rolled into one

The terminal going into the star cruise

Entering the ship

Taking the lift to our cabin

Posing at the stairs

The long hallway..

Our room

Inside the ship, we went to our room. Even small, its comfy and we were right to choose this room albeit having to pay more for it. One of our friend insisted for us to take as many pictures as possible, so here goes.

Inside the room

Comfortable bed

Room with balcony

Relaxing outside

Bathroom
Free toiletries for one each

Shower on the right

Lavatory on the left

Towels at the door..cool huh?

Once settled we went out to explore the ship and first start will be Galaxy of the Star, a club house where balcony class guests were given complimentary drinks there. Guests were also entertained with games and were invited to dance with the ship's cruise members, most of them Filipinos.

Entering Galaxy of the Stars

Fruit punch for our complimentary welcome drinks

Posing inside the club

Another pic

The ship crews entertaining the guests

Later, we explored the rest of the ship. It have few paid restaurants ranging from indian, chinese, japanese and western cuisine. Whereas the allocated package deal guests will have the choices to dine in 3 places. Bella Vista is for western and chinese set cuisine or eastern food at the Mediterranean Terrace and Pavilion which offers a buffet. You can't switch places though because once you enter the restaurant, you have to swipe your pass card and any other additional swiping will be charged separately. There will be no cash dealing while you are in the ship. All business transactions here is via the pass card and before leaving the ship you need to settle your bills at the counter either by credit card or using only Singapore dollar.

The other places of attraction are as below. We entered into the casino just for a short while but we are forbidden to take any picture inside it. Beside the casino, there are also a spa, a hair salon, a gym, video arcade and cinema for children inside the ship.

The counter at the lobby in level 7

Lobby area

Another picture

One of many lifts to the highest level 13

One of the swimming pools - level 13 in the middle of the ship

Swimming pool at the back of the ship.

Posing...upper level

Still upper level of the deck...

Another picture

Another view from near the pool

Anyone for a round of mini golf?

ermm dunno what game was inside..

Helipad - at the back of the ship

He will choose this one if anything happen...

Relaxing.....

video arcade..

Inside of the ship

Another nice view...

Bulldozed into Lido Theater..during rehearsal... this place is prohibited actually hehe

Another view inside the theater..

The show we will watch tonite..

Come dinner time, we had decided to eat at the Bella Vista Restaurant at level 12, the only place that has western cuisine. Little that we know that entering the restaurant, you are required to dress according to the dress code i.e. no slippers or sandal without socks. We had to return to our cabin to change accordingly. It was a set menu and you need to choose your own appetizer, main course and dessert. Ah...I did not mentioned anywhere before when did the ship started sailing right? Actually it was 8.00pm during our dinner time. We heard a slow tremor coming from below us and a few minutes later, the ship eased from the terminal and started sailing. We kept eating and later moved to the upper deck.

Inside Bella Vista, waiting for our food to arrive

Another view inside Bella Vista..eating bread and soup for appetizer

My main course, dory fish with rice

Ed's main course, chicken breast

My dessert, some international cheese with biscuits

Ed's dessert, mango sherbet

We had decided to watch 'Rasputin' at Lido Theatre for its 9.30pm show. Its was actually a play of a loose story about the feared priest Rasputin of old Russia and it was performed with circus like activities with performers coming from as far as Russian, China, Belarus and other countries I can't remember. I found it quite entertaining albeit its limited stage size.

Posing before going to the show

Going to the theater

Inside the theater..

The show was about to start..

The performers for the show 'Rasputin'.

There was also another show after 'Rasputin' and it was called 'Casanova'. It was actually an adult show in which you have to pay S40 dollar to watch it. We decided to give it a miss. Hiks..

We then had a stroll on the upper deck. Feeling hungry we ordered burgers and fries at Tarvena while watching football match. Once the match was over we ventured into the so called disco on level 12 but since not many people were in that place, they turned it as an open karoke lounge instead. To sing you need to buy drinks and being too exhausted to sing, we then retired to our room near 1.30am.

Am ready to go out..

View for the pool at nite

View from in front of the ship

Another view ...

Leaving South Port Klang..

The windy part of the ship...

At Taverna, watching WC, Argentina vs. Nigeria

In our cabin, there was a note from the ship management giving information of the day activities plus the embarkation procedure. Beside the notes, we can also get all the information by switching on one of the designated tv channel.

We woke up to watch the sun rise from our balcony. We had our buffet breakfast at the Mediterranean Terrace as the ship was moving slowly towards Singapore Harbor. The view near the harbor was magnificent.

Sunrise...

face undone....

Breakfast at Mediterranean Terrance

After breakfast, we went to the lobby counter to pay the bill for our late supper. We then get ready to check out. Balcony class guests were asked to go to the Galaxy of the Stars to collect our passport and to proceed to disembark from the ship.

Relaxing before checking out

The tug bot tugging the ship towards the tier

View nearing Singapore Harbor

Another liner docked next to our ship

Another view of the other ship

Waiting for our name to be called for our passport ...

Hey, you can't touch this...

Checking out...on the way to immigration, the crew singing farewell songs

Costa Romantica, next to star cruise Virgo

Settle with immigration, waiting for the rest of our group to assemble

Ermm nice advertisement...

Another view at the Singapore Cruise centre.

End of part 1. Part 2 will be the activities done in Sentosa Island.

7- 8 MAY 2010

2010-05-09T17:27:00.011+08:00

I was on leave on Friday,8th May and I spent all those time servicing my car. Not me, the mechanic that is.... I noticed earlier that I had problem with its air-cond i.e. it did not function properly when used on a longer hours i.e during my long journey to JB the other day. I suspected a leakage or something and with no yearly service before this, I knew this was bound to happen. At the same time, I had the intention to change its timing belt and little that I knew, that were not the only things to be changed. To horrific to mention in details here but all in all I had to fork out a whopping RM2,712.00 (RM2,700 to be exact as the company generously discounted me RM12.00... hehe) . Haih... Well, I got to do what I got to do, as long as my car can function properly for the next one of two years, the chance for me to change to a new car will further remain a dream....

The next day....Ed came to my house and afterward we went to Mid Valley reaching there by 12.00pm. I left my car at the car wash centre there for them to wax and polish, signing up its 1 year package deal. We then bought tickets to watch Dairy Of A Wimpy Kid at GSC Signature, the Garden for a 4.30pm show. As it was still early, we went to a Maxis centre there. I had made a decision to saying good bye to my HTC which I AM NOT sorrily missed and welcome myself as an Iphone user. To buy a iPhone I didn't mind waiting until 2.30pm in which I had to come back later after doing its registration. There were 20 other persons wanting to buy the phone that day so I need to que for it. While waiting for it, we had our lunch at the newly opened Popeye's in Mid Valley Mega Mall next to the Garden.

Taking pictures at the Gardens..

Another picture..

Going to the Mid Valley Mall from Gardens

Later at Mid Valley Mega Mall I stopped by at a computer shop and bought me a GPS Navigator, a small Garmin Nuvi 205. We left the device to have its battery charged and then proceeded back to Gardens to collect my iPhone and went back to GSC Signature to watch our movie there. Watching movies here is so comfortable because not only the seats are plush and bigger but also limited and thereafter have the effect of the non existence of children crying. Well, for that you just need to pay double the price from the other ordinary cinemas. So what's the review about the movie? The movie was downright funny and touching at certain moments but most important it shows the reality of kids today wanting to be famous in school and will do anything to achieve it.

We then headed back to Mid Valley Mega Mall and had our coffee at Coffee Bean (mine was Ice Lemon Tea actually). Ed bought a book and a Mother's Day card for his mum in MPH. Later, I received a call from my sister that the family would like to celebrate her youngest son's birthday there and we decided to eat at Tony Roma for dinner.

Birthday boy..

We had to wait for more than 20 minutes before given a table.

All the rib-eyes...

My medium rare lamb chop..

Smiling after a full stomach..

Happy 17th birthday, Izuan... I had a small headache after all those foods afterward, hehe... Next Saturday will be the 40th day of the demised of our friend. There will be a big 'tahlil' for arwah and InsyAllah, Ed and I will be joining. As for now.... I am an officially and happily an iPhoners...

SIX PRINCIPLES OF LIFE ON MONEY

2010-05-06T13:50:00.003+08:00

The cardinal rule
of the six principles of life on money

1. No point using limited life to chase unlimited money.

2. No point earning so much money you cannot live to spend it.

3. Money is not yours until you spend it.

4. When you are young, you use your health to chase you wealth;
when you are old, you use your wealth to buy back your health.

5. How happy a man is, is not how much he has but how little he needs

6. No point working so hard to provide for the people you have no time to spend with.

WHAT LIES BEHIND US AND WHAT LIES BEFORE US ARE TINY MATTERS,
COMPARED TO WHAT LIES WITHIN US.

1 - 2nd MAY 2010 - TRIP TO JB

2010-05-03T23:45:00.003+08:00

Going to JB will mean that I will be visiting my dear cousins in which I am close with. Since Ednel was quite free to travel this week, I called them up and asked one of them to arrange for my accommodation in which I preferred near Danga Bay. My other cousin, Dila who is staying near the Mines decided to join us.

1 May 2010 (Saturday).

Ed came to my condo around 8.00 am., parked his car in my car parking lot and together we went to pick Dila at her house and was on our way to JB. Traffic was heavy, reason being it was Labour Day, a national holiday. Traffic heading into Melaka was worse, a bumper to bumper crawl few kilometers long. For lunch, we stopped at the R&R near Melaka.

We arrived at my cousins' house in Senai, ate again, leftDila there and by 2.30 pm, Ed and I went to M Suite Hotel (formerly known as Ming Court Hotel) near Danga Bay. A room was booked earlier by one of my cousin. The government rate for the hotel room was RM200 nett inclusive of breakfast for two. Even though this is an old hotel, it is clean, spacious, comfortable and facing the sea.

M Suite Hotel, Danga Bay, JB

In the room, pose baring ..well it was a four hour journey, I need my short rest

The entrance to this spacious room

The living room

Taking pictures around the hotel

Nice ambiance... resting area

The swimming pool, spa and a halal chinese restaurant are located next to the hotel block.

Another view from the pool

Afterward, we went to City Square, JB to buy movie tickets for Iron Man 2 at the Cathay Cinema for midnight show. From City Square we went to Danga Bay.

The playground in Danga Bay

Will take the train around Danga Bay later..

We had an opportunity to watch a show by SUKMA young athletes using their special bikes to give special acrobatic performances.

Dangerous manoeuvrings of the bikes...

Talented young boys of ours..

ermm... hopefully only sweat oozing for youknowhere...

We will see this boat sails across our hotel room tonite...

Picture near the marina..

Dream boat?

Nice weather..

Taken by a nice guy who did a barter trade..

Honoring the barter trade bargain...

I just love this picture...

Later, we went back to the hotel to refresh while waiting for my cousins to take us to dinner.

Watching the earlier said boat sailed from our hotel room.

My cousins brought us to a nice eating place called JB Catering. The buffet spread was aplenty including smoked lamb with many herbs in which I found very very tasty. A buffet cost RM18.00 nett per person only and they do serve ala carte menu too.

Nice open place ...

With my cousins, Kasmah (left), Dila, myself and Abdah..

Empty plates, full stomach...

This place is surrounded by a lake..

After dinner, my cousins left for home. We went back to City Square with full stomach and heavy lid eyes. I was surprised to find out that JB town area has ceased to become a busy town. By 11.00pm, it was deserted except for its shopping complexes and cinemas. The night life along the Lido area is no longer there...Melaka has now been the destination for vacation and it even attracts Singaporeans there. We reached City Square again by 11.00pm. Too early to do anything, we decided to take a short nap in the car.

Peek-a-boo....

The show was supposed to start at 12.15am but it was delayed for 20 minutes due to some technical problem. To make matter worse, as the people were entering into the cinema, without any advertisement or movie trailers, the movie started interrupting up to 5 full minutes of supposedly smooth and enjoyable movie. As for the movie itself, its nothing to shout about, although it was not as bad as Transformer 2 but the sick old feeling was there. Still, its not a bad movie either as the action flick with its state of the art CGI can still made you appreciate it...... Robert Downey Jr, still cannot be replaced with anyone as Mr Stark combined with more characters from SHEILD making an appearance. All in all, I gave this movie a 3.5 rating out of 5.

By the time we reached the hotel, it was already past 3.00am. At 10.00 am, we had breakfast at the hotel ultra modern Myra Bistro, the only place of the hotel in which I think was fully renovated. The foods was just ok for me and for such a big place, there is no egg station for making omelet.

Myra Bistro..

Mee goreng for breakfast...for starters that is..

Still hungry..., I like the fresh brewed coffee though...

reflection from the mirror...

We checked out from the hotel at 12.00pm and again went for a walk at a shopping complex in Danga Bay. The not yet open Tune Hotels is nearby knowing full well that Safuan was on his way on the same day and will be training the staffs for its opening soon. By 3.00pm we were already in Senai again and with Dila we were back on the highway to KL but stopping in Muar for a while. I dropped Dila at her mum's house before going to my house, ate an early dinner prepared by my dear mum. By 6.30pm, I picked Dila and we were back using the North South Highway again. The traffic were heavy and by the time we reached Senawang it was a bumper to bumper crawl. Upon Dila suggestion, we took the road to Senawang and exited to KL using the new LEKAS highway. We reached Dila house near 9.00pm and my house around 9.20pm. Ednel left soon after.

It was a tiring journey but again an enjoyable as usual.

17 & 24 APRIL 2010

2010-04-25T15:37:00.004+08:00

17 April 2010 (Saturday)

Nothing adventurous to do on these weekends, just roaming and watching movie. For some time now I have an interest in one particular car and on 17th.. Ed and myself went to Mutiara Damansara, especially the Curve with the intention to go to the particular car show house. Not been in that there area for quite sometime, I was surprised that the place no longer house the brand that I wanted to see as it was replaced by another brand.. Mission failed...but other thing suffice off course..what else than watching movie. We booked tickets to watch Kick Ass and before that had lunch at Popeye's...

Can't wait to eat....

The delicious combo..

This is so much better than KFC...

Something different, fried shrimps...

While waiting for the movie to start we took pictures of our next coming attraction movies to watch in Cineleisure...

The wobbly feet hehe..

Another hero in a different dimension

About Kick Ass, so many reviews had been given about the movie .. so I need not mentioned it any longer. Suffice to say that, it was an awesome movie. Its like watching Kill Bill all over again... and the best part was to watch this movie with less or no disrupting censoring. Too many 4 letter words were uttered and gory scenes were shown to our delight. Later, we bought a few T-shirts and went to a shop that was offering a discount for a making a kitchen cabinet. This is for Ed's new home. We had a 'heavy snack' at a Kopitiam afterwards.

I ate a mee goreng Siam which tasted very different yet quite good...

Ed ate mee jawa...

Before going back, we took pictures at Cineleisure again ..

Only fake books behind me...this is actually a bistro..

The Library with a horse and a lamp shade on his head? weird hehe

Not as tall...

We went back home and later went to Leo/Amri's house. Leo had cooked Laksa Sarawak and had invited us over. Thanks Leo, that was one delicious food...

Yum yum... Leo wont reveal his recipe even with a gun to his head, hehe

24 April 2010 (Saturday)

Ed came to my house in the morning and we then had lunch at Al Diafah near my house. Later we went to a hair salon in which I am a loyal customer for nearly 7 years. It is a small salon which gives value for money services. I had my hair treatment there and Ed had his hair cut.

Huh? only free dates?

Amik ko... hehehe

Chicken soup

Hormus - appetizer..

Can't remember what was it...

Kebab..

My Egyptian's rice..

Ed's Mendy lamb & rice..

My Arabian tea..

Bon appetit...

We then went to Lestari Puchong where Ed's house is still under construction..

Singing contract with TNB & Syabas Berhad at the Developer's office

Show house...

Enter frame gak. huhu

Inside, quite spacious..

The living room

Stairs...the ceiling is quite high and spacious too

This wall can be decorated or paint in bright colours

The hall upstairs..

The row of houses to be completed

The happy face of the owner.. hehe

After Maghrib, we went to Ajoi's house where we did a small tahlil for arwah Bush. The bigger tahlil will be done in 15 Mei, same place later. We left the house after having dinner prepared by Ajoi and his housemates.

FELDA RESIDENCE, HOT SPRING AND SPA, SUNGAI KLAH 10 APRIL 2010

2010-04-16T23:16:00.003+08:00

GOOD BYE, BUSH...

It had been two weeks since our friend, arwah Bush passed away.... even though I was not a close friend of arwah but I knew he was a good and kind hearted guy... I managed to visit him when he was hospitalised in Serdang Hospital and I was shocked to learn that the hospital was unable to give the correct diagnosis of his sickness which later landed him again in another hospital i.e in Putrajaya. By then he was already in a serious condition. I managed to go to his house in Puncak Jalil with Amri & Leo that Friday night to recite surah Yassin together with his friends and housemates. I left his house reaching home by 3.00 am that Saturday morning and by 5.00am I was informed of his demised. I cannot attend his funeral in Kampar but my prayers was with him all the way. Al Fatihah for arwah Bush...

SUNGAI KLAH, HOT SPRING & SPA

Fast forward to next Friday...I was on leave because I had an annual check up appointment with Optimex Laser Eyes Centre. I did my LASIK a few years back and to have the life guarantee remain effective, I had to do the annual check up. There are a few Optimex branches and I chose the one in Sunway which is near Sunway Pyramid. It took about 1 hour to complete and I had to undergone various test using various machines. The result was OK and my next appointment will be around February 2011.

I went home. Ednel came to my house around 4.00pm after finishing his brainstorming session in Shah Alam. By 8.00pm, Ednel left and I went to Is' s house to pick him up. We were supposed to meet Panzer, Amri and Leo at Saba, Cyberjaya for dinner. Had our dinner, we later went to Padi for coffee. It was here that we had our discussion for place to go next day. Among the listed places were, Kalumpang Resort, Sekeping Serendah, Majestic Hotel in Ipoh via train..this was one of our crazy ideas...the last minute thang again... I remembered about a hot spring in Sungkai which I went so many years ago and we googled about it. We even called the place to enquire about the room and found out that the rates per room is RM220.00 per nite. All agreed to go to that place in the morning.

Being a last minute thing will meant that some of our other friends cannot come. Ednel had prior arrangement, Shah will had his paper valuation for his studies but the rest of us were keen enough to go.

In the morning, Is gave us a good news i.e he knew someone working in the resort and was able to give a discounted rate of RM180 per room per nite.

Is came to my condo and parked his car in my parking lot. We went to Bandar Mahkota, Nilai and picked up Panzer. We met Leo and Amri at the Rawang rest area and we headed to Tanjong Malim for lunch. It was here that, Is's friend recommend us to take up a villa instead of rooms. A 3 rooms villa with the original rate of Rm880 to RM1,000 was given a discounted rate of RM550. Little that we know, that his friend was the head manager of the resort. However, we have decided to look at the place first before making any decision. Once we reached Tanjong Malim, we picked Shah and had our lunch at Yik Mun Restaurant again.

Concentrating on our delicious food...yum yum

Shah was there for lunch...yup the red thing hanging was a tissue to avoid any marks to my white T-shirt..

Dropped back Shah at his college and we went straight to Sungkai, reaching the Felda Residence Hot Spring & Spa in Sungai Klah near 2.00 am. At the reception area, the manager, Mr Haridas was waiting for us. Upon our request, he brought us to see the the hotel room.

Taking picture near the hotel room..

After inspecting the room, Mr Haridas then brought us to see the villa, not more than one kilometer from the reception area. We fall in love with the villa and decided to take the offer.

Our destination, villa in Felda Residence Hot Spring & Spa

Our own 3 rooms villa...

Front view...
My room, sharing with Is with Panzer on the next room

The huge and comfy master bedroom

Each room will have this cute toiletries package..to beautiful to use hehe

The spacious living room...

Dining room, I love the bamboo like wall paper...

The best of all...our own outdoor jacuzzi..

Order of the day, what else.....

another pic...

After that, we went to the Pool and hot spring area about 100 meters from the Villa... we were given a special pass to enter where as non residence will be asked to pay RM10.00 entrance fee.

The cool pool area... suitable for all ages...

Next to the pool is the hot spring area.. why did I show the pic of mushroom??

Well, the eggs are not there where the finger is...

Its here...

The challenge..the reflexology rocks with hot water... Is was having second thoughts..

But not to this two guys....

Do not touch...its hot..

Told you so...

Next, we reached the big hot spring pool

Just warming up, will come back here again tomorrow...
Next we walked around the place until we reached the hotel area..

A glimpse of the hotel.. quite impressive too..

This is one of the spa area ... I had a massage here by an elderly man, RM90 per hour...

Even after the massage, my back was killing me... I had to meet Makcik Normah who cured me of my back pain the next day...

We had dinner at a stall near our villa...see how hungry we were...
The makcik (owner of the restaurant - far left) had a hard time to calculate what we ate, plus Is with other foods to take away...

Taking picture at our villa..

Getting ready for our next round of jacuzzi session...

In we went...the water temperature was adjusted to warm, off course...

Total relaxation.....

Later, resting while watching various TV series downloaded by Panzer...

Morning...walking to our restaurant.. we were given 6 free voucher for breakfast..

The food was bearable but the atmosphere was awesome....

Done eating, next stop....the hot spring again...

Still early, not so many people....the hot spring is so huge....

Using underwater shot...5 various kind of feet..

Done with the hot spring, next was the cool pool...

Its a beautiful place... recommended for family vacation..

Another view of the pool...it have two sections, adults and kids..

Wet but fun...
Walking back to our villa to get ready to check out..

Last picture before we headed home

By 2.00pm, we check out from the villa and when straight back to KL, stopping by at the Ulu Bernam rest area for lunch.

It was indeed another fun trip for all of us...looking forward for our next get together soon...

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES 27-28 MARCH 2010

2010-03-31T00:50:00.006+08:00

SATURDAY - 27 MARCH 2010

It was a busy weekend for me. My house was chosen by my close friends to hang out on Saturday night which means preparation need to be done earlier than that. It was my intention to go back to my hometown in Muar whereas Ednel also wanted to give his long awaited souvenirs (from his trip to Australia last year) to his ex colleagues in Tangkak, so we decided to go back on that same day.

It was 10.30am when we started the journey to Muar, Ed drove my car and we reached my house near 12.00pm. My mum had cooked my favourite dish for lunch i.e Sambal Tumis Udang, Ikan Cencaru masak sambal serai, masak lemak kacang and ikan selar goreng.....nothing taste better than mum's..seriously hehe

Next we went to Tangkak to meet Ed's colleagues, two lovely girls who are still teaching in Ed's ex-college. From Tangkak we went to Muar, stopping by at Giant Shopping Mall to buy an induction cooker and groceries. We then went to one of the best selling mee bandung in Muar. It was one of the food I promised my friends for tonite get together. While waiting for the food, Ed and I ate its famous sate. I agreed with Ed that all of its food here are delicious not only for its mee bandung but also for its soto and its nasi goreng berempah...also one of my favourite food there.

The experience chef of mee bandung muar. He has been in this business for years and his family for many generations..

Inside the shop..eating sate while waiting for the mee bandung..

Packets of mee bandung ready to be brought back to KL

Across the bridge, we went to another famous eating place i.e. Murtabak Singapore. I bought 4 big pieces with RM10.00 per piece to bring home but not without taking a queue first...

The famous Murtabak Singapore shop across the bridge..

The inside of the shop...

By 6.00pm. we headed back to KL, reaching home near 8.00pm. By 8.30pm, our friends i.e Is, Safuan, Panzer, Wan, Leo, Amri and later, Sharul and Memey came to my house.. Is brought chicken drummets with chili paste, Leo- curry puff, Amri - ice creams, Safuan - Krispy Kreme, Wan - fruits, Panzer- drinks and Sharul with ice cubes.. We played the game of TABOO for a few rounds and afterward watched CLASH OF THE TITANS, the original version... By 1.30am, Wan, Is and Safuan left my house and the rest near 4.00am.

Getting ready to play TABOO

Ednel, Memey, Sharul & Panzer...

Safuan, Leo (the funny face) and Is

Luckily the pic is blurred...my kitchen was in the mess...

SUNDAY - 28 MARCH 2010

Not so early in the morning, Ednel and I did the clean up from last nite activities. Later, we went to Pavillion to watch the movie we intended to watch last week i.e. How To Train Your Dragon. The only available time for 3D was at 4.30pm and after buying the tickets we went to Tony Roma for lunch. Later we went to a Nike shop where Ed bought a pouch to replace the one he is using now.. at Parkson, I intended to buy trouser for office wear but I was disappointed that most shops do not have size 42" which kinda weird because this does not happened to me if I shop at SOGO. In the end, its only Ed who bought a Charles Jourdan dark purple shirt.

Having snack at Glitters before entering the cinema...

What is my review on How To Train Your Dragon? a marvelous story, the best animation movie so far for me this year.. except for the weird Scottish accent, the rest of the movie is magical. The story line, the beautiful animation (more vividly in 3D), the message, (bash first and ask question later) all in all creates a feel good feeling long after the show was over. Bear in mind, though its an animation, the consequence of heroism and price to pay for proving the truth can be dire and real, making this movie a special one.. My all time favourite animation movies so far are, The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast and the best of all is off course, Lion King. With HTTYD, I don't mind watching this movie again..

I love this movie.. some critic compare this movie to ET.. No can do, ET is my greatest movie of all time, period

Indeed it was a tiring weekend...but still an enjoyable one...

MATTA FAIR, 2 MOVIES & A THEATER

2010-03-22T13:59:00.019+08:00

MATTA FAIR - 13 MARCH 2010

It was well known that Matta Fair ended more than a week ago. Like many thousands other people, I was there too. Unlike others whom might be dutifully come every year, this was my first time and I was full with anticipation to consider buying reasonable vacation package here. Little that I know that not much were being offered other than local tourism and other asian countries. Ednel and I went to PWTC via LRT from my house and I must say this was a good plan considering madness congestion near PWTC and its nearby areas. Before going there, we had our lunch first in The Mall. We then queued to buy or entrance tickets before entering into the hall.

RM3.00 to enter into the hall. (courtesy of Ed's hand)

Inside the chaotic hall, there were so many booths offering discounted tours prices but most of them were for either Asian countries or locals tours.. You can guess where was the most places being promoted. Bali, off course....whereas local tours were mostly for either Langkawi, Perhentian & Redang. Before coming here, I did my survey on my desired destination which is Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I had found a few packages from a few tour agencies but either the date was not suitable (during fasting month) or can be more expensive if we requested for halal food. Walking from booth to booth we saw this big booth with pictures of Singapore in it. I have not been to Singapore in years so I was surprised with the package this company was offering. After much discussion with Ednel, we decided to buy this package.

From Berjaya Times Square to Port Klang by bus to board Starship Virgo. One night on the cruise ship (we upgraded the room to ocean view). Depart from Port Klang to Sentosa Island, Singapore for a one night stay. Two complimentary rides. Depart to Kuala Lumpur via bus.

The fare together with insurance cost us RM916.00 nett per person. We paid RM500 first and full payment within a week. We booked our journey on the 29 May 2010.

Afterward, we went to the Sabah Tourism Board's booth. We decided to take the offer of an open ground package below.

4D3N - 3 nights at City Hotel (Best Western), Kinabalu Park + Poring Hot Spring, and Sapi Island. Meals (3 Breakfast 2 Lunch) (1 BBQ Lunch), Land & Boat Transfer, life jacket, snorkeling mask & local guide.

The package price is RM599 per person. We only pay a deposit of RM50 per person and we are to contact the agency once we secured the flight ticket and for them to do the arrangement. For this vacation not date has been fixed yet.

In terms of vacation, I think its a good deal for us. I have been wanting to go for a cruise especially on Superstar Virgo for quite some time and I missed the chance to go to Singapore last year, so this package in all have killed two birds in one stone....I am so very much looking forward for the day to come...

2 MOVIES & 1 THEATER- 20 MARCH 2010

Ednel and I went to Berjaya Times Square last Saturday. Our intention was to watch a movie i.e How to Train Your Dragon but the timing was not right for us due to our other engagement that day.

Will see this movie next..

The only available movie at that time was Under The Mountain. Not enough time to eat, we bought 1901 burgers into the cinema. How was the movie?..well you can read the review by Ednel in his blog here. To me, overall, it can be a better movie..the CGI was actually not bad, the story line is ok but the execution was rather sloppy. It was after all a teenage movie and however scary scenes they might to try on you, it will never work... the 'firestarter' effect at the end of the movie was rather lame...even Drew Barrymore as a child in the other movie can scare the shit out of you.....

After the movie, we stopped to eat at Sweet Chat and behind us, the men singles were playing squash for the CIMB KL Open 2010.

I love it's chicken curry and pulut kuning..

Our next movie was Confucious...coincidentally it was screened at the same cinema that we watched the earlier movie.. Confucious is a 2 hours plus movie starred Chow Yun Fat as the chinese phenomenal philosopher. Though I like this movie a lot, I agreed with Ednel when he said, its strained the eyes reading the subtitles for two hours. On the story itself I found that there was one similarities between Hang Tuah and Confucious's character i.e that same principle of loyalty they had to their rulers. History was my favourite subject and ancient culture howsoever cruel or ridiculous it might be can be interesting to watch. Here, it showed that when the King dies, all his beloved one were to die with him (this is similar to the Egypt .kings and hindu rulers as well). Also stated was that the meaning of such thing can be a symbol or the other. In here, a broken jade given by a King was a significant sign for banishment. In his life time, Confucious had traveled from country to country for years suffering not only from hunger but also violence from other people only to inculcate his theories which emphasize harmony and respect to his disciple.

The right choice of actor for the role....

SRI MERSING - ISTANA BUDAYA

For dinner we went to Johnny's Steamboat and later we went to Istana Budaya. I have booked the ticket earlier and the only available seat was on the second tier costing RM80.00 per seat.

Posing before the show

The detail review of the theater can be read again in Ednel's blog here. I love the story line especially if you can still remember the old movie with the late Nordin Ahmad as Damak, the hero. Here, in the show, the movie is somewhat being extended to Damak's son, Merah years after Damak left Mersing and Seri Mersing, played by Mak Nani (the real Seri Mersing in the movie)...kudos to all the actors in this play especially my favourite actress, Azizah Mahzan, even appeared in small scene but her performance was mesmerizing... Dato' Mustapha Maarof bring out the nostalgic feeling also to the play...all in all, it was a good show. However, if would be better if rather than using minus one, they should have live music throughout the show to give it more effective vibes. All in all, I have seen a better theater in IB before, nonetheless Sri Mersing is no doubt one good show to watch.

What a day today, 2 movies, from a teenage movie to a serious chinese history then to a malay sad story...

MY OFFICE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

2010-03-19T17:35:00.005+08:00

It has always been a practice in my office to celebrate staff birthdays for every three month once. This time, we also celebrated CNY thus most of us were encouraged to wear red. Well, not most of us did anyway. Since, I was in the list for the month of March's birthdays, here in the pictures of the celebration.

Receiving present from my boss.. they bought it in IKEA..

Representative from each month from January to March

From another angle...nope we are not Thaksin's supporters.. hehe

Looking delicious..

Time to eat...

The next celebration will be in the month of June...

CAMERON HIGHLANDS - 6 & 7 MAC 2010

2010-03-13T02:00:00.001+08:00

The last time I was in Cameron Highlands, it was 7 years ago. The trip here although had been in the list of places to go this year but was never confirm. Coming here was a last minute decision and it was done due to a cancellation of other event scheduled on the 6th itself. Everything was done in a rush, booking a suitable hotel was a hassle but I was determined to go and I successfully secured a booking of a two room apartment at Strawberry Park Resort. Without telling Is about my plan, I went to his house next afternoon and picked him up and Shah, then picked Ednel at his house in Keramat, ....the four of us were off to our destination. We stopped over for lunch at Yik Mun Restaurant again in Tanjung Malim. We reached Strawberry Park Resort by 4.00pm.

The entrance to our apartment..

My room....funny no air-cond or at least a fan like in Genting's hotel..but its get pretty cold early morning..

Is's room, the coldest at night..

The living room, Is and Shah eating the complimentary fruits..

We spent most of the night watching back all the Glee's songs...

The balcony...nice view

After done checking, we started to roam.

First stop, eating the yummy strawberry ice cream nearby...See the different expressions....

The new Amazing Race challenges..eating fresh strawberry with no hands, Is's style ...

We then went to Cactus Valley in Brincang...

The place has grown bigger since the last time I was here..ermm except that gigantic flower cactus..

Ouch... I am stuck...

A new hairdo? funky huh?...

The act of taking pictures...p.s. I just love tomatoes...

Many beautiful places to take pictures

My favourite pic

1,2,3...action...

Another pic..

We then had dinner at Brincang..

Hungry, clean plates...

Entering the craft shop nearby..

Shopping for titbits ..

From Brincang we went to Tanah Rata and was awed with this beautiful sight...

Even tired, a pic is a must....

Next morning, we all had buffet breakfast at the resort priced at RM34.00 nett per person. I used the RM100 voucher given by the resort for this.

The cheerful and ever helpful Kak Yati, I think her name is...

Ermm...no need to explain, huhu...

We found out there is an indoor swimming pool on the lower ground of the cafe and we decided to give it a try...

The water was warm and inviting...

Better still, only us swimming...

Last pic before checking out...love this quite and serene place...

Next stop, we went to Kia Farm at Brincang where we bought lots of cheap vegetables ... assorted vege of 20 packets was only RM10.00. We also bought some strawberries to bring home too, off course. We then went to 2 tea plantations, first the Bharat and then the Boh Tea Plantation.

At Barat, not enthusiastic about tea but I love the scenery...

Tea or coffee?? strawberry chocolate?? huh...

The steep hill...they must be using special boots to harvest...

Wrong direction dear hehe...the journey here was scary yet adventurous...

The tea making factory....

Rest awhile at a cafe nearby..I tried chocolate mint tea...

We headed back to KL, stopping by at Lata Iskandar to take some pictures...

Nice place albeit not properly maintain..

pose.....

All in all, it was a smooth journey...we had lotsa fun and would come again here in the future, InsyAllah..

Happy faces........

BAGAN LALANG & FESTIVAL KRAF & HOKAIDO

2010-03-08T20:53:00.015+08:00

BAGAN LALANG - 26 Feb 2010 (FRIDAY & SATURDAY)

I was invited by Ednel to his office's family day in Bagan Lalang, Selangor. You can read all the details in his blog posted here. The added pictures and details I posted below.

LKIM, Camar Laut Bagan Lalang..a nice & clean 2 rooms chalet

The complete basic need of a house are all here...

Each team making a kite..ermm nope the Levi's bag was not one of the materials..

Where is the kite?

Dinner time, the food was quite good...

Exchanging gifts...

Playing charade..Ednel the serious MC..his best friend, Zabil telling his team..its sounded like......

The beach, next day..snap snap before the games begin...

Preparing for the games, the weather was magnificient...

Time to start the show....

One of the exciting games...

Zabil's wife and myself were judges for the sand castle competition

Third place, its was small..too bad they had all the tools...

Second place....I love the ideas but its kinda shoddy work..
The winner..simple but nicely done...who cares, if you do not agree..huhuhu

After the prize giving, relaxing..

The full committee...a sporting bunch irregardless of ranks...

FESTIVAL CRAFT 2010 - 27 FEB 2010 (SATURDAY)

The Family Day activities ended at 2.00pm. Ednel and I went to Taman Melawati to rest at my sister's house. At 4.30pm, all of us went to Karyaneka for the Festival Kraf Malaysia in Jalan Conlay.

Snap snap..

Turning dark again with all the sun bathing...

Nice place to shop...

Ajib decided to join us later..

Funny we did not take pictures at the huge batik stalls

HOKAIDO RESTAURANT- 27 FEB 2010 (SATURDAY)

Tired and hungry...we all went to Hokaido Restaurant near Vistana Hotel to eat.

Too many people, we had to go up to the third floor..

The delicious crabs....

Mantou....

Makan jangan tak makan...

2nd March 2010 - MY 45th.........

2010-03-01T19:00:00.002+08:00

Its my birthday again...first I would like to thank Allah for giving me such a wonderful life. No word can describe how thankful I am for giving me the joy of life ... another year with such a colourful journey it has been for me. Everyone have their story to tell, their burden and their sorrow, the ups and downs and so do I. But still here I am, still smiling and still hoping that life will be much better in the future, InsyAllah.Next, I would like to say 'thank you' to all kind people who have sent messages of good will and warm wishes.....From families to friends, new and old..all the person who holds dear to my heart. All of you are the colours of my life who share my joy and pain whether you realised it or not..truth be told, you are all the pillars of my life and for that again my greatest gratitude for being there for me through thick and thin.

Last year, I posted something about my 44th birthday here. I always believed, every cloud has a silver lining...every misery will be blessed with happiness forthcoming...the starting of year 2010 has not been great for me..when things seems to be OK, it stumbled in front of me...taking everything in a blink of an eye... so fast and so furious...no amendments... By going to Bali alone has started a new beginning in my life...the resurrection ..the clarity of what need to be done and thus, I made a vow at the highest cliff in Uluwatu, saying goodbye to what seems to be the bittersweet memories of that certain past.

Now I am smiling again...

Not like this...But I believe him when he said "Your are not properly dress if you face did not wear a smile"..

more to ...like this.

Last but not least, I would like to thank a very special person.. thank you for being here....we are two lost lonely person in the world and we met at the weirdest time of our life...only to realise how special thing can be if we believe in it... Thanks for making my heart smile again and surely making yours too... time will tell, no promise no guarantee no certainty.... but slowly and surely...the beginning of our journey.....

Am swinging now..

Thanks again to all..take care and lots of love

No wise man ever wish to be younger - Jonathan Swift

I am not young enough to know everything - JM Barrie

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES 20-21 FEBRUARY 2010

2010-02-22T14:10:00.007+08:00

Saturday. Not much activity to do this week except for Ednel wanting to buy a gift for his upcoming Family Day in Bagan Lalang end of next week. We went to Berjaya Times Square, book our movie tickets for Percy Jackson, the only available time was at 7.00 pm. For lunch, we went to Chee Meng's Chicken Rice in Bukit Bintang, the place we intended to go last week but was closed. This halal restaurant was opened since 1965 and considered one of the best chicken rice in town.

Later we went to Metrojaya, BB where Ed bought the gift there. Still got 3 hours to go before the show, we went to KTV nearby to improve our vocals technique hehe... Went back to BTS and watched Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief. I must say this is a fun movie to watch. For full review, go to Ednel's blog here.

Afterward, we had our dinner at Papa John nearby. Ed went back home to prepare for his journey to Penang tomorrow. He and his family will be attending a wedding there.

I went back home, refreshed myself and drove to Panzer's house in Bandar Putera Mahkota reaching there near midnite. Leo and Amri, Sharul and Wan were there too. We had movies marathon, watching few movies i.e ghost movies, a dance movie and Malay movie not according to that order, I think. I dozed in between movies but I must say Keramat, the Indonesian ghost movie which resembles Blair Witch Project had its scary moments. (read the review here)..Rahtree (Reborn) , a Thai ghost movie with such a confusing tale and Pisau Cukur in which surprisingly is one good movie. Fazura and Maya Karin acted naturally and were fun to watch but I dunno about the ending coz I was unable to watch this movie till the end...peywei lor...

I woke up at 7.30am. Only Sharul and Panzer were there. I was informed Leo, Amri & Wan had just gone back. Sharul and I went back home afterward....

I did not go out that Sunday, staying home watching movies, did a little bit of cooking and was asleep in between the storm...

Two Less Lonely People In The World

2010-02-20T10:57:00.001+08:00

FEB OUTING - TANJONG MALIM AND MELAKA

2010-02-16T15:23:00.003+08:00

KALUMPANG RETREAT..

It was last Thursday and I was in the office. Tomorrow I will be on leave followed by the CNY long holidays. Since a scheduled meeting was being postponed that day together with the up coming holiday mood, it was a relieved when Is called, telling me that he is going to Tanjong Malim to pick Shah at UPSI and I decided to join in. I applied my half day leave online and then rushed to Is's house in Cheras Perdana afterward. Picked Is and by 1.30 pm we were on our way to Tanjong Malim. Reached Tanjong Malim at 2.30pm, picked Shah and we went to the infamous Yik Mun Restaurant for lunch. Here they served all halal chinese foods and the best of all is off course its delicious 'pau'. There were so many people (non local), mostly Malays stopping by either to eat or take away the delicious 'pau'. I also bought frozen 'kaya pau' for me and 'red bean pau' for Ed. I also bought its Hainan White Coffee sachets to bring home.

It was a hot day... I asked Shah, if there is any nice river to cool us down and he suggested Kalumpang, a nice river with a resort nearby. Even though, I knew quite well, I came unprepared for any other activities i.e only wearing my office attire, I don't mind as long as I had my boxer on. By the way, Shah also had his towel with him for me and Is to borrow.

From Tanjung Malim to Kalumpang took us only 20 minutes. We passed Kalumpang Resort nearby before reaching to our destination, a nicely maintained river open to public...

With my office attire hehe..being adventurous once in awhile...

Ready to go venturing...

A working day, near empty..this place is really, really beautiful..

The serene place...cool and breathtaking..

Time to dip into the cold water..

Refreshing...

There is a deep place to swim too

We explored the place some more

Me swinging, Is trembling hehe..

Nearby, a new resort will be opened in two to three months time..

The waterfall near the resort

We then ventured to the Kalumpang Resort nearby. The resort is neatly done. They have varieties of rooms/chalets and bungalows, even a swimming pool near the river. We even thought of going here again bringing all other friends for this CYN retreat but unfortunately it was fully booked until the end of the week. This resort will off course be in the list of our vacay location later this year...

Is and myself, inspecting the resort..very affordable prices...

The river in the resort

Love the place..

The bungalow behind us is our favourite..

See how it goes.......if it is a done deal...will be here again, God Wiling...

MELAKA RETREAT.

Not much thing to do on Friday. Doing house chores and at night went to Rebung for dinner with Shah, Is and Panzer....Chef Ismail was out by the time I arrived. He was sending Madam Florence somewhere in town but he assigned one of his assistance to make sure we had everything we want...with Chef, we used to hang out together with him here, chatting and did our karaoke together. Later, Is, Shah and Panzer came to my house to watch a tv series which Panzer downloaded from the internet. They left near 4.00 am.

On Saturday, Ednel and I went to Low Yat. I bought a SDRW and a portable hard drive and later had our lunch at Outback Steak House. We then went to watch two movies back to back i.e. True Legends and Wolfman, the later I must say, a movie to watch.

Sunday. Last minute plan to Melaka, only if Sharul gave the thumb up that his parent house in Melaka will be empty that nite. Done, but going there can only be done after midnite. Ed came to my house at 7.30 am, parked his car here and together we went to pick Is and Shah at Is' s house. Together, we went to Cyberjaya and had our dinner at Saba, a famous mid eastern restaurant. This was my second time here and the food is nice and the price affordable. We then went to Panzer's house at Bandar Seri Putra, Nilai to wait for Sharul, Amri and Leo to join us later.

The journey to Melaka started at 1.30 am with my car (Ed driving) and Amri's, stopping at R&R near Seremban. We reached Sharul's house in Bukit Katil near 3.00 am. Near afternoon, our friend, Aie, his son and his friend came and brought us to Melaka town...

First stop, at Klebang for our lunch

Panzer, Aie and his son..

Sharul, myself and Ednel...

Next, Menara Taming Sari...the first Revolving 'Gyro Tower' in Malaysia

Too many people...took pictures only...

The revolving gyro moving up..

Highest peak..

Maybe next time all of us will take the ride ...

Inside Hang Tuah Mall

Ready to be served....

Hang on to that straw.. ermm

The tallest versus the shortest, hehe

Take five for some sweet dessert

Delicious mango, longan whatever its name...

Outside, Hang Tuah Mall

Too short a time to enter the exhibition..

For dinner. Seafood dinner At Pernu Ikan Bakar

Waiting for our food to arrive... lapar deh..

Grill stingray, among others

Can't remember what fish was this, but its yummy..

Waiting for the rest of our food to arrive...

ahhhh..dah abis....

Later, we went back to Sharul's house..By 9.30 pm, Is, Shah, Ed and myself was on our back to KL where Panzer and rest will follow suit a bit later...

For this Melaka trip, I would like to thank Aie and his friend plus his cute son (a big no no to that 'two letter words dear, hehehe) for taking time to come see us and off course to Sharul for 'lending' his parent's house for us to crash that nite...

To the rest of the team mates...cool...planning other place to crash???... Lets....

SAHABAT

2010-02-08T10:04:00.003+08:00

My friend email this nice words and I would like to reproduce it verbatim to share it with you...

Apabila kita ingin bersahabat, janganlah kerana kelebihannya
kerana mungkin dengan satu kelemahan
kita mungkin akan menjauhinya

Andai kita ingin berteman, janganlah kerana kebaikannya
kerana mungkin dengan satu keburukannya
kita akan membencinya

Andai kita inginkan seorang teman, janganlah kerana sifat cerianya
kerana andai dia tidak lagi pandai menceriakan
kita mungkin akan menyalahkannya.

Andai kita ingin sahabat yang satu, janganlah kerana ilmunya
kerana apabila dia buntu
kita mungin akan menfitnahnya

Andai kita ingin bersahabat
terimalah dia seadanya
kerana dia seorang sahabat
yang hanya manusia biasa

Jangan diharapkan terlalu sempurna
kerana kita sendiri pun tidak tahu
apakah diri kita sudah cukup sempurna
mengikut kehendak Allah SWT
yang sebenarnya....

Beserdahanalah dalam persahabatan
Kita tidak akan melihat kelemahan itu sebagai kelemahan...

To all my best friends, you know who you are and why I love you. Thanks for being with me through thick and thin, my joyful and pain...the colours of my life..

xoxo...

PART FOUR - LONE TRAVELER - BALI (28 JAN - 1 FEB 2010) - FINAL

2010-02-06T13:11:00.012+08:00

DAY FOUR & FIVE - 31 JAN & 1 FEB 2010 (SUNDAY & MONDAY)

Woke up early and went to the cafe in the hotel. Since I have already booked my breakfast online earlier, the hotel had given me a coupon for it. At first I thought, it would be a buffet breakfast, a norm at any hotels but I was surprised that the coupon entitled me to choose between 3 packages, the main dish is either nasi goreng or bakso and other choice I can't remember. I lauded this type of arrangement because you are entitled to eat afresh instead of an already cooked food.

After breakfast, I walked to the Legian beach. Even drizzled sometimes, the sun came out strong.

Here the local boys played footballs and the foreigners jogged...

Nearby the beach, wanna buggy?

Suddenly for a just over 5 to 10 minutes I saw the most beautiful thing of God creation to our mother nature ...

The most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen

Another view of the rainbow

I walked along Legian beach till Seminyak beach and then to the Kerobokan area. Here I saw another procession or holy ceremony took place.

The offering..

The lady in yellow giving holy water to drink..

After the long walk, I stopped at a restaurant overlooking the beach. Sat down, ordered a Coke and started reading a novel I brought. I was here for a few hours and managed to finish reading the book.

The view from the restaurant

Another pic

Yet another pic..

The book I read...love it..

Afterward, I hailed a cab and stopped at Legian road. Here, like Kuta, there are rows and rows of shops selling everything and anything...the weather was really hot and I was sweating..I am sure Carlo of Biggest Loser Asia will cringed with envy of how much sweat I produced that day..hehe.. In one of the shops, I bought one more painting after bargaining hard for a good price. I walked and walked until I reached Kuta beach again.

With a sore feet and sun burned face..I walked into Smart Spa again. Here I opted for a reflexology, hair treatment and off course, facial treatment. The same guy who massaged me the other day did the reflexology on my feet and at the same time another therapist washed and massaged my hair. This time the guy and I had a good conversation. He was actually not unfamiliar with Malaysia, having worked in Johor as a labourer for 4 years a long time ago. He misses Roti Canai and Teh Tarik. He even asked me whether Erra Fazira and Awie were still an item and still superstars in Malaysia?? daaa...hehe By the way, I also asked him, why can't I find any original Indonesian singers' CDs in any shops in Bali? His answer kinda shocked me. Here, people buy songs via online i.e downloading in their handphones since people do not buy original CD's. Ermm..kinda advance, don't you think?

Next, I proceeded with my facial treatment. Unfortunately, since my face has already burned, badly, nothing can be done but to stop it being itcy and dry. Since I have nothing else to do, I continued with manicure and pedicure treatment here and it was done by two girls, one doing the manicure and the other pedicure . While doing it, I saw an old lady carrying big flasks stopped by in front of the shop. Few therapists went to see her and she started to prepare drinks for them. When asked whether it was the traditional jamu drink, I was informed that jamu can only be consumed in the morning and the old woman is preparing either tea or coffee. I was also informed that since there is no small stall nearby, the old lady service is needed for their 'coffee break'. It come to my mind that unlike in Malaysia, there is no mamak stall here, only restaurants of either high class eastern food or most of them, western. Their small stalls are located outside the Kuta urban area.

The cost for all the treatments? Less then RM100.00. No wonder I can see so many people came here to have their spa experince with such a small fee. I was also informed that there are more than 40 therapists here and the owner of the spa gains the profit of RM50k a month from this spa alone and he has 3 other spas nearby...Gosh..

Later, at Kuta beach area, I stopped at an ATM cubicle to withdraw money. There were 2 white girls inside the cubicle before me. When they left, I entered the cubicle and I was surprised to find out that one of them had left a card in the slot machine. It was a debit card. I tried to search for the girls later but they had already gone. I waited for another 5 minutes and still no sign of them. My evil mind was racing..I can buy so many things with this card if I want to... but then again..it is always my principle, when it is not mine, it is not mine. I firmly believe in karma.. all this while things have been fine for me in Bali..and I want to leave it with a clear conscience... My action? Went to the police station nearby and passed the card over to the police there..Case closed.

Later, I walked along the beach again and stopped at the MacDonalds. Had my dinner there and then hailed a cab to go back to Legian beach again. The first time I was at Legian beach, I saw a guy selling second hand novels/books/magazines, so I headed there and bought myself , The Horse Whisperer, a old novel by Nicholas Evan which had become a major movie directed and starred by Robert Redford in 1998.

I then walked back to the hotel..went to the cafe and ordered bakso and something like an ice cendol but tasted different which I could not remembered its name. Went back to to my room and started my final packing before sleeping.

3 am (1 Feb 2010 - Monday)

By 3.45 am, I had already checked out and waiting for another 3 white guys to do so. We were sharing the same van to go to the airport. It was raining heavily and we reached Nugrah Rai International Airport, Denpasar at 4.15 am. To my surprise, the airport was pitch black. It was a black out and the electricity goes on and off afterward.

Waiting anxiously at the check-in counter..it was dark and this pic was taken using flash camera

Had a chat with the counter girl in darkness..with me sitting on the trolley

Surprising by 5.15 am, the electricity was back and soon enough all of us were ushered into the plane according to the flight scheduled time. The plane took off exactly at 6.00am. For breakfast, I bought and ate nasi lemak on board. The plane reached LCCT at 9.00am and from there, I took a bus to KL Sentral. To reach home I took a cab and arrived exactly at 11.30am.

Alhamdullilah..I did it..these 5 days experience is truly an inspiration for me. A proof to me that you can do anything as long as you set your mind to it, with God help too, off course...

PART THREE - LONE TRAVELER - BALI (28 JAN - 1 FEB 2010)

2010-02-05T01:32:00.012+08:00

DAY THREE - 30 JAN 2010 (SATURDAY)

8.30 am. I checked out from Tune Hotel, Kuta. Alfian (he is 10 years younger than me) was waiting for me with his car together with his cousin, Farel who will be the driver for my tour. He has just arrived in Bali from Padang and Alfian intended his cousin to learn the road in Bali and act as an apprentice for him. I didn't mind the company as long as I am paying at the same agreed rate and all through out the journey, Farel did a fine job as my photographer.

My first stop was at Tune Hotel, Legian. I dropped the bags (now had become two with all those shoppings yesterday) at the hotel. I was disappointed to learn that, Pura Besakih, the oldest and the biggest temple in Bali is closed to public since Hindus here are celebrating a holy day (which was actually a Thaipusam day in Malaysia). Other than Besakih, two other places I have not been is in Lovina (further north of Bali which is famous for its dolphins) and Uluwatu, south of Bali. Since Lovina was out of the question because of the distance, I opted going to south Bali instead. Going to south Bali, I passed through Udayana University, one of the biggest university in Indonesia. The place is so huge and I was made to understand this university offers 100 undergraduates and graduate degree programs, the expert staff come from all over the world.

My next stop was at Tanjung Benoa which is famous for its water sports and activities such as diving, para gliding, cruises and such. Since I have no intention for that sort of thing, I stopped here to take my late breakfast.

Many boats here going to Turtle Island

Another view for Tanjung Benoa

I had the opportunity to visit the oldest mosque in Bali. The mosque, a Chinese temple and a Hindu Temple (Pura) are located very near to each other marking the religious harmony of its people here.

The renovated Mujahidin Mosque, Tanjong Benoa

Next stop was at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, famously known as GWK. To enter here, you have to paid Rp.50,000.00 if you are a foreigner. Since Alfin declared that I was from Riau (which speak slightly like Malay) I only had to pay Rp25,000.00.

This 240 hectares cultural park is so huge and so many thing to see. The park have a Lotus Pond, Festival Park, Amphitheater, Street Theater, Exhibition Hall, Panoramic Rest, souvenir shops and off course the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue. At present, 3 statues (Wisnu, Garuda and Wisnu's hands are located at 3 different places.) Once completed, the building will be 150 meters tall with its wings span 64 meter across. Made with 4000 tons of copper and brass, the statue will resemble Lord Wisnu riding on the back of mythical bird, the Garuda.

The way to the statue.

The roof top where the replica of GWK lies.

The replica of GWK

The statue of Wisnu

A huge one that is...

The statue of Garuda, the second piece of the puzzle of the whole statue

Another view of the Garuda..

Another pic..

Another small replica of GWK, imagine how big the complete statue will be, huge!!!

Below are other pictures at GWK..

The fountain near the Amphitheater

The lotus pond

I missed the show, but I managed to see the procession afterward

Met a new unusual "friend"

The nice Festival Park, there will be a show that nite...

Other activities on the park..

The starting of 'the flying fox'...ada berani?

The end of the flying fox route...wonderful view..

I also managed to watch a Hindu ceremony being held near the statue of Visnu..

The priest in front chanting prayers..

The ceremony behind me...

Next stop, Dreamland beach, located in the complex of Pecatu Graha Bali (Kuta Golf Resort Link). It is a huge complex complete with a golf course, a new resort and high end housing project and has now become the new surf spot for surfers around the world.

The entrance to Dreamland

Another pic..

The road to the Dreamland complex

The long walk to the beautiful beach..

Stop for awhile, capek deh..hehe

At last, the beach....

hot weather, nice beach

A few tourist started to surf...

One the way back I saw this advertisement...

Feeling hungry anyone? hehehe

My next destination will be Padang Padang Beach, nearby Dreamland. This once a quiet place has become famous after being selected as a location for Julia Robert's latest movie, 'Eat, Pray, Love' last October 2009. I fully understand why this place had been chosen. Its is so beautiful and exotic and you would probably spend your days just lying here for hours...

To go down to the beach, you need to pass a dark cave

A small cave

Out of the cave at last

The beach..

ermm.. I am here...not them...hahaha, plenty of 'that' here...

One wrong step will be fatal. The rocks here are hard and very very sharp.

An interesting event took place at the beach. One of the important ceremony was being held here i.e. a ceremony to pay respect to the spirits of the mountain. I was informed, a "petanda", one of highest priest in Bali in a rare occasion was leading the ceremony.

I was told not to touch the 'offerings'

The 'petanda' citing prayers with a small bell in his hand.

Another view of the 'petanda'

The group of people, dancing towards the beach and back with the offering at hands

Another view of the proceeding..

The next and the best place of all is of course, the Pura Uluwatu, one of Bali's 6 sacred temple. Its location is on the most south western of Bali and it is believed to be the guardian to ward evil spirit of the ocean. Being sacred, you need to wear a sarong to enter here. One very important tips here is that, its not advisable to wear spectacle, hats or sun glasses. Why? I saw it myself when one of the monkeys here snatched a cap from a young boy and to have it back, you need to 'pay' to someone ( I suspect to be the master of those monkeys) for him to 'persuade ' the monkey to return back the cap. Utter sham..

Nonetheless, the view here is indeed breathtaking and spectular.

Funny sarong..see the sharp cliff?

Different angle..

Another view, one step back I am gone..

This side of the wall.. look at far end of the cliff..

Tada.....I was already there...

Another pic, to show how high the cliff is...

The small pic before was taken from the pura behind me..here I am at the same place..

The sea look so near...it is not...

Later I was in Jimbaran beach for dinner. By now I can't take anymore pictures, I need to recharge my battery. Here, I ordered seafoods and invited both Alfian and Farel to join me. From our conversation, I was informed that Alfian married a Hindu's wife and converted her to Muslim years back. Farel intends to open a shop selling 'murtabak' (here called 'cahaya bulan') a delicacy from Padang once his wife and children moved in from Padang to Bali next month. I was guarantee free dinner by them if I come visit Bali again in the future.

Later, I was sent back to the hotel. After bath, I walked to the Legian beach nearby in about 3 minutes walk. Just like Kuta, Legian beach also has it own charmed and along the beach there are rows of high class restaurants too but unlike Kuta, the place is not as busy and noisy. I love Legian beach better than Kuta. The golden sandy beach and the big waves is just mesmerising. Near 1.00 am, I got back to the hotel and rest.

End of day 3, I intend to rest and relax tomorrow...see how it goes...

PART TWO - LONE TRAVELER - BALI (28 JAN - 1 FEB 2010)

2010-02-03T11:53:00.016+08:00

DAY TWO - 29 Jan 2010 (Friday)

I had my breakfast in KFC again (open 24 hrs). Since I have decided to go on touring tomorrow, today will be my shopping day. There are so many shopping places to go depending on your needs. The administration of Bali has shrewdly divided parts of Bali to certain area of industrialization. There are places where in that area it is specific for wood carving, only and the next, silver craft, batik, glasses, statues and painting and so on. Since its is not scattered, it is easy to go to the specific place and buy it. My first stop will be shops that sell paintings. Its was for my office mate and the best place to go is in Ubud area nearly 2 hours drive from Kuta. After bargaining with a few cab drivers, I managed to secure one with a reasonable rate.

The cab driver like most of them in Bali was a chatty guy, willing to give all sort of information to any tourist or 'parawisata' as they called it in Indonesian. He suggested for me to visit Semarkuning, the biggest art gallery in Ubud where all the famous painters and its painting are made. It was indeed a beautiful place and all the beautiful paintings too... the only problem was that, the cheapest painting will cost you millions of Rp and the budget given to me was too small to mention. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed looking at all the beautiful and fabulous paintings.

Afterward, I went to Windhu Sari, a big souvenir shop near Batu Bulan. I have been here before and this is the place to shop for local product with high quality with reasonable price. Most tourist were from Asian countries such as Japanese & Korean and almost all the shop assistants here can speak Japanese. Here, I bought a few souvenirs for my staff and friends.

At Windhu Sari, pic taken by one of the workers...

Then, I proceeded to go to Sukawati Market, where here like Ubut Market, you need the will power to bargain fiercely or if not, will be at the losing end. I did not stay long here because it is an open market and the weather was unbearable hot. My next destination was to shop at Kampung Bali at Mertanadi Street, another local market with a roof. Here I bought a pario as requested by my friend, a high quality painting and dried fruits.

Picture taken by my friendly cab driver..

Nope, I did not buy the 'thang' behind me..hehehe

Later, I asked the cab driver to send me back to Kuta area, especially at Centro Mall.

At Centro, I went to a karoke place the last time I was here.

My dinner, something that you cannot find in Malaysia

At Centro Mall, I bought a few items for my family. Feeling very tired, I took a cab back to the hotel and had an early rest.

I took this picture at Centro as I like what it says...hehe

End of day two in Kuta. Tomorrow I will check out from Tune Hotel Kuta and will be checking in in Tune Hotel Legian. Also, Pak Alfian, the younger brother of Pak Indra will picked me up for my tour in south Bali.

PART ONE - LONE TRAVELER - BALI (28 JAN - 1 FEB 2010)

2010-02-02T22:11:00.013+08:00

DAY ONE - 28 Jan 2010 (Thursday)

6.30 am took a cab from my house and went to KL Sentral. Took a bus to LCCT and finished checked in by 7.50 am. Ate breakfast at Marry Brown. The flight to Denpasar took off exactly at 9.00 am, reaching Nugrah Rai International Airport at 12.00 pm. Unlike in Jakarta, there is no time difference between KL and Bali so there is no need to do time adjusting. From the airport, I took a Bluebird cab to Tune Hotel, Kuta (the local pronounce it as Tun) and since I arrived early (check in time is 3.00pm), I left my bag there for a nominal fee of Rp7,000 and walked towards Kuta town since the hotel is just a walking distance to the Kuta area.

Bali is not an unfamiliar place for me. I was here in 2008, also staying in Kuta area and so I know the way around here quite well. Feeling hungry I had my lunch in KFC knowing that most of the fast food chains such as KFC, McDonald, Pizza Hut, A & W are 'halal'. Nonetheless, don't expect the menu will be the same as in Malaysia. All menu do have local foods such as rice and soups in it. The taste? varies depend on your taste bud.

Went back to Tune Hotel and did my check-in. For such a small sum, the hotel is just perfect for me. It offer all the basic things splendidly.

Affordable and comfortable plus good location

After taking a small nap, I went out to Kuta area but now exploring the beach and the international shops nearby. As usual, the beach here were full of people from all over the world. Kuta itself is the the busiest place in Bali.

Not my fav beach, but it has its nice ambiance...

Strolling by the beach, I reached Hard Rock Cafe nearby and bought two T-Shirts. One for myself and the other for my friend. One down, two to go....yup things to buy as per requested by friends and colleagues. Next, I entered a Croc shop and bought myself a Croc sandal. Buying the sandal was the best decision since I will be doing lotsa of walking during my visit here. My next destination was to the small shops near the beach in which there are rows and rows of shops selling pirated DVDs and CDs at an amazing low price.

What to do next? Spa off course. Bali is famous for its spa. There are so many spa ranging from a small size to huge ones all over Bali, even one in the air port. Insomuch, the prices for any spa treatments are so cheap to compare to any other places. So, upon a friend recommendation, I entered SMART, a spa near KFC. There were so many packages to choose. I chose hot stone aromatherapy massage followed by facial treatment knowing very well, hot stone massage is quiet expensive in KL. The 1.5 hr massage was a bliss and I love it very much. While getting ready for the stone, the male masseur then covered me up with a batik sarong, rolled the prayer mat and did his 'asar' prayer next to me. Bali is 99% Hindus and seeing a devoted Muslim was a pleasant surprise. Silently, he then proceeded to do the hot stone treatment to my body. Afterward, the facial treatment was done by a female therapist. I must confessed, not unfamiliar with facial treatments, the such of Leonard Drakes and others in KL, this was the best facial treatment so far for me. Normally in KL, the therapist will leave during the face steaming or while waiting for the mask to dry, here, during those two activities, she will massage your head, hands and upper body meaning for 1 hour, she will not leave you alone and you will be pampered non stop....pure bliss...

The middle shop is Smart SPA

Afterward, I walked alongside the street in Kuta area again and stopped by at a Minang food court near Centro, one of the biggest Mall in Bali. It was drizzling on and off in Kuta. While having my dinner there, I had a chat with the owner of the shop named Pak Indra who came from Padang a month ago to Bali. Upon his suggestion, I agreed to appoint his brother as my tour agent who has being doing the business for 12 years here on Saturday. Having been to most tourist places here from my earlier trip such as Kintamani Volcano, Ubud Rice Terrace, Bedugul, Tanah Lot, seafood at Jimbaran and watching the Barongan and Kecak Dances, now, I intend to go Pura Besakih and Uluwatu, two places I have yet to discover.

Next, I stopped by at an Internet cafe near the Minang food court. There were too many foreigners (the local called them as 'bule') inside, most of them were from Australian boys and girls. After awhile, I left and walked again to Kuta beach and then walked straight back to the hotel to rest.

Tomorrow will be my shopping day as Saturday will be my touring day....

LONE TRAVELER - BALI (28 JAN - 1 FEB, 2010)

2010-02-01T12:50:00.003+08:00

Yup..there was me on top of a cliff...what was I doing there??? the story will yet to be unfold...I just got back, let me unpacked, unwind and I will tell all in my next post....OK?

ROSES

2010-01-21T21:45:00.002+08:00

Blossom, my darling blossom
be a rose of roses unchidden
and purposeless
a rose for rosiness only
without ulterior motive
for me it is more than enough
if the flower unclose

D.H Lawrence.

SENILITY PRAYER

2010-01-14T18:19:00.005+08:00

GRANT ME THE SENILITY TO FORGET THE PEOPLE

I NEVER LIKE ANYWAY,

THE GOOD FORTUNE TO RUN INTO THE ONE'S I DO,

AND

THE EYESIGHT TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE

HAPPY 55TH BIRTHDAY, DEAREST SIS...

2010-01-11T22:45:00.005+08:00

10.1.2010 was my sis's birthday...her 55th..and we all (except her oldest daughter) celebrated her birthday at Outback Steakhouse in Bukit Bintang...

My sis and me

The main course, after the appetizers....

My present for my dear sis.....

One for the family .....

Still lovey dovey after years of marriage, happy birthday sis...lots of love

After the celebration, I rushed back home to get ready for AJL 2009....the crowd in Stadium Putra was overwhelming....I agreed to most comments that this was one of the best AJL to date despite many young entries and less mega stars (such as Anuar Zain, Jaclyn Victors or even Dato's Siti to name a few) contenders...One thing I like about TV3 is that, they really do know how to handle mega shows like this in such a professionally manner due to their vast experience in the business comparing to Astro's half baked and horrible concerts... On the other hand, the only set back will be the long advertisements...but in AJL 24, TV3 was smart enough to bring Nabil, Angah and the girl from Raja Lawak whom I can't recall her name in between breaks and their antiques brought the house down....

Are you happy with the result?...Honestly, "Pergi" might not be the favourite for the nite..but many agreed Aizat will win in one of the top categories but not that particular song... the winning is to me too sentimental psychically and mentally and down rite controversial too (taking into account Fatimah Abu Bakar was one of the juries...yeah a long shot to spark an issue that is).... Best song? ermm.. Many wanted Bunkface to win too.. I think they did sound great..... Yuna...she was also one of the favourite that nite...my wild imagination was this, once the competition was over, you can see Stacy pulling her wild hairdo and screaming out loud " I was sweating like Hell, dancing like a lunatic and what do I get??? Nothingggggggg.."..uurwghhhhh... and then Yuna passed by and with her smirk and wicked smile said out loud "Even my ear piece dropped in my 'tudung' and I can't hear the monitor, I can still win, honey and I don't have to scream at all..."... Anyways.. kudos to TV3 for the nice show. My only complaint, do print the tickets according to the seats, you moron...

At the main entrance of Stadium Putra...

ACTIVITIES IN DECEMBER - PART 2

2009-12-28T13:15:00.006+08:00

A few other activities during this festive month.

1) THE HOST

The tag line "Science fiction for people who don't like science fiction" is rather catchy for me..

I have finished reading this book by Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight Trilogy. Unlike any vampire and werewolf, the author explores a science fiction with romance in this book. Here, the earth has been overrun by an alien species called Souls which invade human bodies and erase personalities. A soul name Wanderer (or Wanda as the human called her later) was implanted in a human (Melanie Stryder). Inhibiting human mind and body is new to Wanda and soon she finds out Melanie is not willing to give up to Wanda, refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Later, Wanda find herself driven to reconnect with Melanie's old life, her vision of her human brother and lover, Jared who is in hiding and jeng jeng jeng.....well I won't tell more of the stories since I was made to know that The Host will soon be getting into a movie and will be directed by Andrew Niccol of the Gattaca fame.. but what I like most in this book is the conflict between two men i.e one loving an alien and the other loving the host which share the same human body... kinda interesting don't you think..this story coming from a writer who made a vampire and a werewolf falling over a girl... And talking about Eclipse, tentatively it will be shown world wide on the 30 June, 2010....

2) TWELVE ROOMS WITH A VIEW

Is the book I am reading now. Theresa Rebeck is a master story teller with all the right ingredient for a fantastic novel and I love her instantly. Here, Tina Finn, the main character, heard about her inheritance of a huge luxury apartment overlooking Central Park during her mother's newly-dug grave. Being a girl who is living in a trailer park, this will her dream for a better change but all this turn topsy turvy when her half brothers, left out of the inheritance think that she has no right to the apartment and they want her out by any means necessary..not only the brothers but other tenants have their own agenda for the house too and the story will go on how she must be prepared to fight to the end to keep it..yup the part that I have not encountered yet but soon..so much anxiety waiting for this Wednesday (will be on leave) where then I can snug in and finish reading the book....

3) Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant.

Intended to watch "Sherlock Holmes" on a last minute unscheduled activities last Thursday in Mid Valley but I cannot secure a good seat. A and I watched this movie instead. It is based on a book series by Darren Shan and it focuses on the fantasy adventures of a teenager and his best friend who discover a travelling freak show (creatures such as snakeboy, wolfman, bearded lady, monkey woman etc) who later was turn into a vampire himself. Then, he found out about a war between vampires and their enemy counterparts but later unknowingly breaks the 200 year old truce.... I found this movie very interesting, fast moving, perfect CGI, plenty of action and humor too...the unhappy part was that, the movie does not end here meaning more sequels will come thereafter...which means another painful waiting period again... arghhh...

Enjoyable movie...go see it

While in Mid Valley also, I bought a watch. After all this years of wearing watches given to me as present for my birthdays from my special ones, the time has come for me to buy one for my own. I have no intention to buy the watch at this time since I intend to buy it during my actual bonus payment scheduled in April or May next year but because of YES...yup.. the Year End Sales, I can't resist buying the watch earlier using my interim bonus with full knowledge that I am going to Bali this end January...nangis jap... nonetheless I am happy with the watch. Its a Victorinox Swiss Army Active with Sapphire Cyrstal Glass and with a 3 years warranty... with this purchase, I have to postpone buying a new couch or sofa as per listed in the budget items for this year..hehe

Last Saturday, A and I also went to Aquaria. Because of the holiday, we expected a long que to buy the tickets. As as solution, A and I decided to take turn queueing and eating at Kenny Rogers there..I will show our pictures there in my later post. We then have dinner at Quan's, with Panzer, Amri and Leo, starting with appetiser, main course, ice cream for dessert and coffee afterwards, our main discussion inter alia was our planning for a small gathering on the upcoming new year's eve....

HERE AND THERE IN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

2009-12-21T14:01:00.020+08:00

Two weeks ago, on a Sunday A and I decided to eat fish curry head but the shop that we were looking for was closed (near Public Bank at Kampung Attap) and after roaming around aimlessly, I saw a restaurant in Muzium Negara and decided to give it a try . At 4.00 pm, there were not much food left except curry mee/laksa and rojak. Too hungry to complaint, we ate in silent. Its has been awhile since I have been here, awhile means ages ago, the last if I am not mistaken was during my study years in ITM, i.e being a chaperon to my distant cousins from Saudi Arabia who cannot speak BM and little bit of English... After the late lunch, I persuaded A to take the tour to the whole muzium and to an exhibition which interest me i.e an exhibition from the 'orang asli' called 'Magis Belantara'.

At the entrance of the exhibition

Nope, 'he' did not invite me in...hehe

Yup, the shaman, err .. not him, but at the back...

Ermm..not the Magis Belantara but other sections..memories....

Always the curious one...

Last Saturday, my mother called and asked me to drive her back to Muar...together with A, we reached Muar by 2.00 pm. After eating the infamous 'mee bandung' , A and I went to Tanjung Agas and we were surprised that HotFM was having its last Night Jam Concert for 2009 there... It was one of the biggest concert sponsored by Streamyx and after watching the concert, we left for KL after the concert ended at 12.00am.

Still early, ronda-ronda dulus..

The stage at the back...Ate rojak, keropok lekor and buttered corn, delicious..

The concert started. Pasha, and his band, UNGU among the fav artiste that night

Datok Siti Nurhaliza belted 3 songs, one with all the HotFM DJs as her backup dancers

SOFAZ were to me the best vocal performance for the nite..

Other artistes performing were Alya, Akim, AXL, Sixth Sense, Ahli Fikir, One Nation Emcee and the worse performance of all were from Liana Jasmy..girl you need to go back to learn how to sing or else stick only to acting...

Other than that nothing much except watching movies such as Princess and the Frog which I highly recommended together with AVATAR..yup the Navi's world was actually the highlight of the whole movie... irregardless any dummies can really associate the animals in that world with ours such as dogs, horses, rhinos or birds....yet the technique was magnificiant (espcially you watch it in 3D)... the story so-so, the battle too long...my verdict...a movie that I will watch again with HD DVD. Off course you cant really compared this to TITANIC, the only movie that I watched 4 times in the cinema....Nonetheless AVATAR really has a deep meaning actually...the phrase "I SEE YOU" means something inside you that counts in whatever persona your outer layer would be... Again, if James Cameron said that this is his original story, I beg to differ. The story has a combination of Pocahontas and the animation of Battle For Terra, with regards to greedy invasion, betrayal of your own kind with the right course and love entwined so on and so forth...

By the way..a special thanks to Is for last Saturday's BBQ nite at his house, thanks to Leo, Amri and Panzer for the thang to BBQed, I prepared for the homemade dessert, and drinks and Azrul brought his homemade curry puffs... Shah and Sharul too... We had a blast....the fire crakers of the Ponggol devotees add glamour to our affairs hehe..