Sunday 14 June 2009
BUON COMPLEANO..
HAPPY HAPPY AND MORE HAPPINESS TO YOU TODAY..
LOVE U EVEN MORE AS YOU GROW OLDER..HEEH
MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS..
MUAH MUAH..
CIAO!
Saturday 23 May 2009
MY SECOND WIFE...
Untill now.. my time has been spent in convincing myself about the dependents on coffee is not factually true.(yet).The consumptions has always been mainly my no.1 increasing problems.. I admit with evidence that in a normal day, i consume about a 1000 ml. Worse is that half are gulped before calling the day off....(hold a second,taking another sip now)..ahhhhh.. I cant falsely blame the aroma of the Arabic beans or the sensational pleasure of this addictive legal 'drug' when passed down the throat or perhaps its the brown sugar? ..Yesterday i had this very wonderful idea of playing yogurt with coffee just to see how bad it can get overnite..thank God the yogffee resulted quite well unexpectedly with of course a cup of thick brown sugar syrup..(sayang bah kalau buang tu yogurt..no choice) this act is not to be attempted by anyone at home anymore..
Saturday 9 May 2009
Are you really orang Kota Kinabalu (likas) ?
Are you really orang KK ? Have lived, bred, groomed and studied around the area of Likas-kk? Many would agree with me especially those who grew up along the Jalan Tuaran Stretch from Inanam to K'munsing and Dah Yeh villa to Sports Complex? I had my first Bahasa education in St Agnes Primary school and all the way to All Saints Middle school untill Form 6.. except for the 1 year of form 5 i did in SMK Tamparuli (93) .During my juvenile years, growing up in Taman Antarabangsa from the late 70's till early 90's are no more the same as today anymore..here are some of the facts id like to share during my naughty years...
.....you know what im talkin if you....
1. you know where Expo is.... ( very unfortunate for the ex Maktab National students who never get to smell their new building)
2. You can drive to Masjid Sembulan in time after lunch at home on Jumaats and still get a parking inside the fenced area..... (now?..)
3. Mum can do cheap groceries at either Chu Tai Seng or Merdeka Supermarket..Tong Hing to buy orang putih food only every Sundays..plus no queues at Hsbc Atm..(is the ball room at TongHing 2nd floor still there ah?)
4. You can leave Likas home 45 mins before your plane takes-off and can still check-in 10mins to depature time ..
5. Labuan was always the place to shop for electrical appliances with dad.. (you shudve seen their airport.. scary)
6.Working parents always have time to fetch kids after school during their lunch break.. and even have lunch at home before goin back to work...
7.The only major traffic jam in Sabah was at Petagas Train station area 2way-1 lane road to Putatan.
8. No classmates would admit watching nor bring up the Tv pendidikan (hated the clown!!) programs topics in school except for Moero Attack ...(there were nothing to watch back then before 4pm)
9. Primary school students at least once was given free cinema tickets to watch 'Troll' (twice i watched, ish!)
10. Many surely remember the wide stairs of the Likas Post Office next to the Chai's (opposite All SAints)
11. Dewan Masyarakat was like the only venue for every big thing in Sabah..goin to Yayasan Sabah auditorium was very 'Oscar' nite then..
12. Other than Michael Jackson, Sudirman was the 2nd biggest star..
13.Had posters of New Kids On The Blocks but memorized very well the lyrics of Lionel Richie..
13.Watched circus or magic shows on RTM whenever its a public holiday..
14. There were only 2 channels.. and tv off by 01.00am (pedoman)
15. The only Mtv(music) was Dikir Barat...(alaa hitam...si hitam manis)
16. Friday was P.Ramlee nite with family.. (can sleep late b'cos Sat no school)
17. Addicted to the Wheel of fortune (Pat Sajak) and loved America's funniest video by Bob Saget..
18. Have collections of antique miniature cars or Legos from Nespray milk..
19. Remembered the PERINTAH BERKURUNG days when Berjaya Lost..
20. The city limits starts from Tong Hing and ends at Bfo Cinema kg air..
21. Have seen the tallest xmas tree in Karamunsing..
22. Have heard of Sabah Inn and Naga Mas but doubted its existence.
23. Bowled only in Likas..
24. Chased after the Paddle Pop mobile ice cream truck..
25. Unloaded picnic stuff infront of Hyatt and crawled down steep rocks to get on boat..
26. Sony walkman cassette player was considered very luxurious for students..
27. Can buy Mas tickets at karamunsing only ..
28. Other that KFC bandaran, parents dont know where or how else to entertain kids..
29. Young boys had more hair products than now..
30. Had pants high up to nipple and some had it worn backwards (Kriskros)
31. Best day of school was getting Yayasan Sabah Shoes, uniform, 5exercise books and half box of black and blue pen..
32. Never seen a skateboard..
33. Have taken family photos at Tg aru beach by the skating ring..
34. Never liked the Strawberry free milk at school but somehow the Chocolate was never enough for everyone... why ah?.. i always curi extra..hehehe
35. Always have at least 10cents in pocket to make emergency calls..
36. Memorize parents and friends telephone numbers.
37. Have filled out at least 5 diaries of friends.. some never returned..
38. Tiffany and Rocky were the only pubs to hang out..
39. Knows every indian in school, neighborhood and church..
40. Had known Denim school bags once existed..(i had one)
41. Porn Magazine collectors are more famous than the glamorous students.. 42. Wore shorts untill age 15plus for non muslims..
43. KK was never the same anymore when Centre Point Opened in 1991..
44. Bus fare from Likas to KK was only 30cent.
45. Never heard of Facebook...
Saturday 18 April 2009
The day i almost died...
Thursday 9 April 2009
Honeymoon gone disastrous?
Driver: Hehehehehe..inggak..
Aaron: Kalau terlanggar, apa terjadi ya?
Driver: Kalau melanggar, bapak masuk penjara…
We were in a rather busy wide and narrow street as our chauffer with one hand on the wheel and the other sms-ing , madly manoeuvring the van overtaking and same time avoiding coming and incoming cars and bikes at speed of no less than 80km/hr..flashing my memory back during the very dangerously skilled tricycle scooter driver in Bangkok 4years ago almost had me thrown off the canvas roof (not mentioning the very low side-railing that supposedly to keep passengers ‘inside’in case of sudden missed curvy junction or fast swift turns from knocking down another pedestrian crossing suddenly from no where..)
If you think KL maniac driving is sickening to your stomach, guess again, you’re wrong !!. Wait until you see
Aaron : Maksud kamu, kalau langgar orang, bapa yang masuk penjara?
Driver: Iya, bapak masuk penjara.
Aaron: Kenapa bapa yang masuk penjara pula? sedangkan bukan salahnya?
(Already this don’t make sense to me..how ridiculous I thought.. as I explained to my wife who was seated behind.)
Aaron: Honey, he said that if we knock down someone, the father goes to jail instead.. that’s insane!!
Cathy: Noooo…(already LOL) you go to jail… ‘bapak’ means ‘you’in
Then there was a burst of laughter in the van after I explained my confusion to the driver..hahaha..
Wedged between the Java sea , Flores sea and
This is a land that draws thousands in fact millions of adventure and romantic seeking tourists from every city and sleepy parts of the world.
3 months has gone by since we had our honeymoon in
Arriving at Ngurah Rai international airport on new year’s eve few hours to countdown, we had no plans but to join the thousands that swamped the Kuta-Legian beach, which we got lost for 2 hours on foot earlier in mazes of confusing narrow-ish streets and blocks that looked almost the same as the rest, especially if its your 1st time..(Once, I even got very lost riding a BMX when I was 16 years old first time in Tuaran town that had my new friend (Foo Siaw Vui) really impatiently worried waiting outside his parent’s shop)..As midnight reaches it peak, the whole city had gathered by the beach welcoming the new year, dancing, singing, performing religious ceremonies, and for most tourist like us, we flocked to the plenty of hot spots in the resorts, hotels, clubs, bistros and cafes along the stretchy beach to excite ourselves with the spectacular stunt performances and musical extravaganza by various famous entertaining artists. As the sounds of trumpets and horns fills the air, stunning fireworks lit up the skies in massive bright colourful explosions wowing the city, kisses flying and wishes thrown everywhere greeting the new year with joy and better hopes for many in 2009, we realize that it was our first new year after two years together and adding that to my personal count of nine years celebrating new year outside Malaysia..(think I’ll make it ten years lah then I go back kk for good..)
This island therefore boast a still balanced man-nature relationship despite of all the fast mushrooming development in tourism industries here which is the main economic income for most of the two millions Balinese. Due to the recent economic crisis the world is sinking in now , prices here are not that cheap as one expected if you plan to eat, travel and stay in nice luxurious place.. But the warm welcome from the nice and charming locals here makes you forget awhile about the prices, heat and getting lost again. This is a further reason to come back to
We decided for our first adventure, we hired a driver from the tour operator not far from our paradise-like hotel that eventually has assisted us in all our adventures for the following days. A van veered in front of our hotel and a smiling man in dark batik appears. His name is Wayan, (also same name as the taxi driver from the airport)
‘Tanah Lot’ (bukan Tonsi Lot aah..!), a must place to go is like the Eiffel of Paris, Colosseum of Rome, Liberty of Big Apple, Tianammen of my ancestors, Taj of Spicy land, Hulk Hogan of Hollywood or the Jambatan of Tamparuli…. Wait.. I don’t see where am I going with this ?..... any how,..back to the disaster part..
Landing on this isle. One will not expect to see high rise buildings(no taller than temples),
modern infrastructures, supper mega monuments, but eyes will be amazed and mesmerized by the beauty of every particular details of traditional Balinese crafts-ship and carvings found on almost every inch of whatever, may it be in form of building walls to windows, roofs to doors, floors to gardens, lamps to furniture, stairs to ceilings, .. I personally cant even distinguish between a house to temples, schools to museums .. get what I mean?
Nowadays, the young generations seems carefree and disinterested in arts and history. Forget your dreams coming to
A popular tourist attraction, Tanah Lot’s fame was aided part by its appearance and location just off the shores reachable by foot only during low tides. Just looking at this wonderful ‘floating’ temple with waves sweeping down it’s feet, spiraled steps leading up to the ‘shrine’, one would think it was made by nature itself rather than man. This is a not to be missed spot if you are here first time. Hundreds of visitors flock this fairly remote area by the seaside to witness this magnificent sight of
There were also scores of souvenir shops lined along the streets by the entrance, making some not to regretfully coming here.. it was packed with people and one can hardly take a steady clear photo..must’ve been also because it was the height of tourist season (advice is don’t shop here-go to
Hitting the road in
On the way back to our hotel from late dinner at Warung Jogia,we stopped by a massage parlour for a relaxing foot reflexology.
Our fascinating next day we began at
Oh my! I cant believe my ears, they begged for tips sweetly whispering to me while taking photographs after the show.. ,so I tipped. .. and that was the 1st tip of the day. Wished also all
Since Ubud region is famous for its batik making, we thought we’d pay a visit to a batik centre. There,we get to see how batiks are weaved using the passed down to generations traditional weaving machine and the process of hand print.Our guide which was quite annoying sometimes, which I need not his explanation for batik processing,(we learned in SRK oredi lah) kept goin and goin until I started doin the speed walking disappearing trick..(and it runs in the family)hehehe.. he didn’t join us into the gallery, remembering telling him that we’d take 10minutes only where we ended up spending more than an hour shopping lots of original baju batik, purses and scarves.( and let me tell you, the people can tell the quality of the batik.. I get lots of compliments on the street ..hehe .. what a show off..) while being attended at the cashier and the ladies who packed our batik stuff in nice gifts wrappers, cold cupped mineral water served, us seated on in-house sofa like we were VVIPs, had me again momentarily thought if the boutique personnel that came to our 1hour assistance should be tipped or not..? quick thinking., Another speed walk as I thanked them all…swoosh!! (as usual wife left trailing behind) hehehe.
I love paintings whether it be modern or classic,
I can just simply ‘transfixed’ my self at them for hours thinking what could have gone through the painter’s mind.
Our driver was kind enough to bring us to a nice gallery ,’Fine Arts Collection' http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?fr=ffds1&p=fine+arts+collection+bali and my next trip to
Famous for its wood carvings, highly skilled carpenters and builders, we also took the chance to visit ‘Karya Mas Gallery’ just to fill my curiosity about their so much talked about master wood art magic touch.
Before heading up to the mountains, last we visited the silver arts and making gallery, which I mistakenly thought that the building was a temple at first sight…
The ride out on the hills was magnificent, though it was long.We were amazed to see the restaurant by the side of the hill slope, it’s scary at first but you have to be brave and try not to get drunk on the platforms.
Rich emerald highlands, rising towards volcanic peaks,we found ourselves stood there by the balcony of “Danu Batur Restaurant’’ opened jawed, still unable to stay balance after the winding mountainous journey up. Having lunch was awesome just overlooking the valleys and lakes that covers the lower grounds of the Kintamani Volcano, the wind gently rubbing against our faces. Lunch was‘fulfilling’and fun for me if it was not for the thousands of ‘flies’ entertaining us with their diving suicidal feeds..given up,I allowed some to invade my ‘paid’ meal.(LOL)Lingering over coffee, we braved around the high terrace of the restaurant,and had Cathy forced to model..(not always maah!)
We drove pass many spectacular views of the mountain side. Hills seem like a giant field of mole hills and are everywhere. Some rounded, some jagged, others in all shapes and designs.
This took us down to the coffee hills. The ‘
‘’Kopi Luwak ‘.
What makes it soo pricey asked Cathy? ‘
’Well let me put in words of father-son talk’
’The mammal called Luwak, likes coffee but cant make kopi-O. So Luwak eat coffee fruit instead. Luwak tummy upsets, so Luwak make horrible stinky sticky messy shit in forest. Now, the husband(humans) very lazy, so wife angry at hubby, wife search for the Luwak pooh-pooh and get the coffee beans in shit. Then wife make good strong-aroma coffee and give lazy husband to sip..
Our last stop was the ‘Pura Tampak Siring’ (pura=temple). I had been very curious from day one to learn more about the temples here since reading about it in National Geographic. There, we saw many ponds, some with aquatic plants, some with synchronized colourful fishes shying away from cameras, some with smokey hot spring water oozing out and some had Hindu worshipers from all over world performing the‘holy cleansing bath’?I suppose lah..
The surroundings was beautiful,the air was refreshing,it was a pleasant surprise if I can definitely classify it.
Amazed to see too that in the temple grounds, there are these hundred flight of stairs leading up to one of Sukarno’s mansion guarded by Timorese (om-gere) soldiers in slippers.. (don’t ask where he got that wealth from)
After an adventures night in the city we had near our hotel,we decided to take the next day off to do some shopping around the city.
‘Discovery mall’ which is situated along the stretched Legian-Kuta beach was our first stop that morning.
I didn’t get anything there for I took the advise from our ‘annoying guide’ to do shopping instead in Denpasar city. We also took the opportunity to stroll down on the sandy beaches shooting freely with my lousy camera..
Denpasar city is the heart of the economy, trade and social of
The ‘Kumbasari’ 5 storey market is the perfect place to shop for cheap souvenirs from all kinds of arts, crafts, furniture or low grade batiks. Here you can also find wooden carvings stuff, Balinese kitchen utensils, lamps, frames and etc.. even 10 times cheaper than whats sold at Karamunsing complex ground level smelly-forever-black-drain entrance.
Back to our suite, we planned to have a romantic dinner along the plenty of chic-hip Balinese style restaurant-café-bistro.
We stumbled upon monument constructed in the crossings of junctions in the entertainment zone in remembrance of the tragic bomb attack which took the lives of many club-going tourist 7years ago.
Nights are mostly dedicated to shows put together and performed by very talented local artist in cafes, clubs, bars , bistro,open air restaurants and national’s own treasure.. the ‘kelab dandut..’.. unfortunately we didn’t get to see any street poco poco dance..(whats with this dance anyway?.lap dance I prefer still ..)hehehe btw , I did go see the ThaiGirl dance in Bangcock.(more like just boring pole playing ...but outfit was sexy tho.) Best thing also is that you do not even have to dress up to go out in
My advice to you all is that if you ever plan to visit
Nusa Dua which is situated about 50kilometres from my hotel, boast a prettiest slice of the southern region of the island.It’s long stretch of beige sandy beaches,sprawling with 7stars hotel,
resorts,spas and golf greens making this region the
Missing Sunday’s mass, we thought why not we head on to the sea to discover what the waters can offer and fascinate our already over filled of 4 days adventures. Our tour in
The boatman was generous enough to show her how to inhale and exhale through the snorkel and fastening the goggles while I, not having a clue at all for what had happened after a quick stunt he pulled on her trying to cover the embarrassment, was excitingly naming fishes already. The seabed view was not as expected due to strong currents and my face blocked by hundreds of colourful Nemo’s swamping all over me for the fish feasting time..Though i baited my buttock cheeks, hoping to glimpse a hungry shark or a topless mermaid, they preferred to stay low for the feedings.
After several failed attempts to lure Cathy to join me again in the warm bouncy waters, she preferred to stay on deck leaving me helplessly swept away by the currents, even getting rolled under the boat which left a slash mark on my right arm until today after me exhaustingly trying to save one of my flippers that slipped off, fast instinct reaction of remembering the payment and fine documents signed earlier for any missing diving items loaned to us. We also passed a few other couple-divers too which I think had some shares of Cathy’s near-drowning experience to tell..
In the middle of nowhere again, there lies the turtle island and it was my lucky day, not only I get to ride on turtle back, but posing very courageously with other exotic reptiles and rather large birds too.
By the way..dont forget to tip island, tip guide, tip boatman and tip tip tip.. Before retiring for the day, Cathy stole time to update her
’Bapak,
mereka disini omong bahawa cuacanya buruk sekali untuk parasailing, bisa ya uang(wang) saya dikembalikan?’..! something like that lah I said….hehehe
When the sun goes down the streets come alive in an exhibition of lights, offering perspective to the city with its streets lined with neon-lighted cafes, restaurants, bistros, surf shops, boutiques, stalls, souvenirs shops and invasion of pedestrian walkways by non stop movements of seemed-lost tourist captivated in the mystical allure of what the night can satisfy your desires .
(huuuh.. that’s another loong sentence..) That evening , to protect myself , I body-sprayed insect repellent all over freely only to be head-to-toe massaged for sixty minutes, plus forced to strip down, clothed only in sarong later at the spa centre under watchful eyes of my wife who was also on the other bed getting same full body massage.(really full body massagae!!) Must she really be there ?hehe.. I wonder still who that eye was for.. me or the lady? Shocked and Surprised I was when the urut-girl suddenly hoped over my back and squatted on my butt for the pizza-dough-rolling massage move.. ouch!!crack!!.Hmmm.. The insect repellent must’ve given her headaches and funky thoughts I guess.. how embarrassing .. wished I had the ‘Gautier’(gift from Richard) on me that hour at least the smell was seducing like..hehehe.
Hunting places for our last dinner as the dusk rapidly approached, we found a nice bali-bamboo traditional roof style bistro-restaurant. I cant quite remember what I had but we surely enjoyed the liveband.
Since our resort had a pool, we tried to make it useful for our last day in
Most of all, Bali is great not just for the romantic atmosphere, shopping, fun at sea, and massages, it’s also a fabulous way to take time out to mingle with the locals, see how they live and how they routine their daily life.. and we certainly did that during our getaway.!!!
Share me your
Downhere is the journal by Cathy
31.12.08 (WED)
09.45am - 12pm ~ airasia KK-KL
04.00pm~06.50pm~ arrived at Ngurah rai
( While talking with the taxi driver, hubby had misinterpret some of the words in indonesian,e.g- bapak=you instead of bapak=father in
7.15pm ~ Reached Balisani Padma Hotel in jln Legian,
unpacked the luggage and went for our 1st walk on jalan legian to go to the kuta beach - to join the new year celeb.
11.00pm ~ took dinner in the foodcourt somewhere at kuta beach. Crowded with people.noisy!
12.00am ~ went to the open disco (name forgotten) to watch the new year dance performances
~ Sesat on the way back to hotel, we took the looooooong way instead. =c
( Did the 1st shopping ~ Dress Rp45K,amk's singlet Rp35K)
01.01.09 (THURS)
10.10AM ~ Woke up late.huhuhu
10.30am ~ Had 1st breakfast at the hotel cafe.
11.00am ~ Get ready to go out.
~ Bumped into a tourist agent in a tourist booth at Jalan legian.
01.50pm ~ 1ST TRIP~ TANAH
- journey took 40mnts - driver is another
pak wayan which hubby didnt like.
02.45pm ~ Reached Tanah Lot - camwhoring - 1st pura/temple we visited.
entrance fee:Rp25K- saw prayers performed on the beach.
- high tide so only can view the tanah lot temple from afar. - got big snake!!!yuck!
- a lot of gerai2. I bought album & hair clips. We had burger for lunch.
- I bought dress,selendang & T-shirts & etc.
04.45pm~ Leave Tanah Lot to Uluwatu to watch the sunset.- passed by Jimbaran area
( main activity of the people=agriculture/padi) - passed by a big area of bali university with a unique design.
05.00pm~ Reached Uluwatu -entrance fee:Rp9K- So many monkeys – one monkey grabbed my new hairclip!!!!!
~ Beautiful sunset~ we were at the cliff - we didnt go for the kecak dance Rp50K,boring!
~ Leave Uluwatu right after sunset to go back
07.30pm~ Reached Legian Street and had our 1st dinner at a javanese restaurant called Warung Jogja- tired due to the hot weather.
09.00pm ~ Had foot massage nearby hotel.cost Rp35K each of us.- then go back to sleep.
02.01.09 (FRI)
Chartered a suzuki van - 1 driver + 1 guide for Rp400K
8.35am ~ Off to Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai to watch the Barong dance performance for 1hr15mnt
- forgot the entrance fee how much.- the dancers asked for tips! Ish!
10.15am - 10.30am ~ Journey to see the making of original batik - shopped at the boutique-spent more than Rp1m!!!! Blame to hubby.he shopped like a girl.hehe
12.30pm-1.00pm~ went to Jalan Ubud- the art area- stopped by at Fine Art Collection shop to check on paintings.
1.20pm-1.45pm~ Went to Karya Mas Gallery to see wood carvings.
1.45pm-2.35pm ~ Journey to Utara Tengah
02.30-3.55pm ~ Had buffet lunch at Danu Batur restaurant at the peak of the mountain so many flies!!! Expensive at Rp193K for 2pax!with service tax 21%!!!!!!!!
~ People selling cheap things everywhere, begged us to buy! Annoying!
3.55pm-4.10pm~ Journey to see the
~ hubby with his 'taik kopi" Story.yuck!i cant imagine the process! (luwak coffee)
~ spectacular view of the mountain with trees.-gratis trial of various type of coffees - sold at tourist rate
4.45pm-4.50pm~ journey to Pura Tampak Siring -entrance fee:Rp12K each
~ Saw istana of ex-presiden sukarno at the top of the hill
~ shopped at the gerai2-they forced us to enter their shop.kena tarik somemore!!!!
5.50pm ~ Leave for legian street.
6.30pm~ Night walk at the city - dinner at a western restaurant.
03.01.09 (SAT)
10.30am ~ woke up late!!!! Breakfast.
11.00am ~ Went to the Discovery Shopping mall-all expensive- camwhoring at the beach!
11.30am ~ took taxi to pasar Kumbasari at Denpasar -journey took 45mnt - Rp45K
~ Shopped for arts & sourvenirs.
5.30pm ~ back to
7.00pm ~ Diner at Warung Jogja again! Get hooked with the foods
~ Jalan2 at the Legian Street - Bought bikini, shortpants, Bintang singlet
9.00pm ~ Enjoyed live band at The Legend – hubby pizza for dinner - all RP77K=RM26 only!
04.01.09 (SUN)
8.30am - 0930am ~ Journey to Nusa dua beach for our water activities at Mawar Kuning.
0935-1035am ~ On the boat-did snorkeling- I almost drowned cos I dunno how to use the goggles & breath thru snorkels from mouth.
1035 - 1130am ~ Stopped by
~ RAINING !hubby so sad cant make it to the parasailing-claimed back the money from the agent
1.30pm ~ Back to Legian and had evening sleep!
3.00pm ~ city sight-seeing again -had body massage & manicure & pedicure .
07.00pm ~ Night walk at the city - Dinner at a balibamboo roof style bistro and enjoyed the live band.
05.01.09 (MON)
FINAL DAY!!
~ Jalan2 around the city -had final lunch at warung jogja again! - camwhoring
~ swimming pool session in the evening before off to the airport.
~ Reached airport in the evening and leave for KL-I was sick with running nose & badflu!
~ Reached LCCT & had KFC for dinner - slept at the seat-so uncomfortable!
06.01.09 (TUE)
~ Reached KK at 9.40am