5 Awesome Fireworks Photographs of Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012
This post contains five best images of fireworks that I’ve taken at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2012.
Sorry I couldn’t include more, plus some are kind of incomplete because my lens wasn’t wide enough to cover the astounding fireworks. But still, I hope you’ll like them.
Enjoy! (You can view the larger resolution of the images by click on them)
#1 (Yes, you’ve seen it in previous blog post)
#2
#3
#4 (Posted this before, too:)
#5
The images #3, #4, and #5 are my personal favourites.
Do leave your C&C in the comments section, and please share this out to your friends if you like it. :)
13 Beautiful Night Photographs of Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Here’s a compilation of images I’ve taken during my five-hour wait for the 2012 New Year countdown fireworks at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Most of the images are of the same thing but comes in different colours. Enjoy! :)
The first one will be the introduction… (click on the images to view higher resolution)
#1
#2
#3
I hope I got your attention :P
Check out more of these awesome pictures after the jump.
2012 New Year’s Eve Singapore Trip
It’s been so long since I wrote a long post I don’t know how and where do I start!
I was in Singapore during the recent New Year’s Eve weekend. It was my first time there and in fact, it was my first time flying out of the Malaysia! I have to say I enjoyed being in Singapore very much, despite the approximate x2.4 currency exchange rate between MYR and SGD.
Eunice was my travel partner this time. We shared a mixed dorm with another four backpacking foreigners (read: ang mohs) at the Traveller’s Inn located at Tyrwhitt Road. It’s an awesome place to stay – clean, cozy, and most importantly, cheap. Not to mention, the owners – Mr Daniel and his wife – are helpful and very friendly! :)
Basically my ultimate aim to be in Singapore is for the New Year’s Eve (NYE) countdown at Marina Bay. I’ve once seen a picture of Singapore’s NYE fireworks on the Internet and I knew that one day I must be there to capture them too. And I’m glad I finally made it.
Our flight was in the evening, so by the time we arrived at the inn, it was already 9pm. The first thing I did next morning was to search for my new wallet at the Orchard Road. It was featured in my Project 366 earlier this month.
Being a first-time tourist in Singapore, I find that streets are like streets in Kuala Lumpur, expect that in Singapore, the streets look simpler, i.e. no confusing flyovers and multiple ramps of exits that don’t even lead you to Hogwarts. But there’s one thing that Singapore streets have, that we don’t have at streets in Kuala Lumpur.
THIS.
It’s like they’re everywhere – on the streets, in the MRT stations, even inside the MRT cars. They even play videos in MRT stations telling people to report suspicious people or bags.
Walaoeh, I don’t even-
Though to be fair, there’s a reason why Singapore’s streets are one of the safest in the world. :) And I think if the Malaysian government asks its people to call 999 if they see something or someone suspicious, they’ll need to hire a lot of hotline operators. A LOT. You know kids these days right.
Not a good idea.
Anyway, after I’ve gotten my wallet, we walked around a bit before heading back to the inn just to bathe and chill because the weather was freakishly scorching hot! It was so hot, I was sweating while bathing.
It was so hot, I was losing fat while walking along the Orchard Road.
It was so hot, okay never mind you get the idea.
We headed to the Marina Bay around 5pm, seven hours before the NYE fireworks exploded in the dark sky of Marina Bay Sands. I had the pictures of the fireworks in my head even before we were there. I wanted them so badly that I had photorgasms .
Travelling around in Singapore is pretty easy and convenient. Not to mention that its MRT are always on time and cozy. Both the train cars and the stations are air-conditioned. I can talk and compare MRT and KTM all day and get frustrated then emotionally uncontrolled over it, but the fireworks are more important.
So, Marina Bay!
Surprisingly, at 6pm, we were not the earliest. There were already many other people – with their cameras on tripod, with their friends and families and foods and drinks on mat. We walked from Marina Bay MRT station all the way to The Esplanade before I found the right spot that I wanted.
That right spot I got photorgasms from.
Stopped in between for a nice treat of Mocha frappuccino, because the place is huge and the weather was hot. I couldn’t have normal ice water, or a bottle of Coke; I had to have Starbucks frappuccino. lol.
Singapore is packed with skyscrapers.
And one thing I like about skyscrapers is that they make great night view of a city.
The Marina Bay Sands look majestic. The next time I’m there I shall take a tour up the Sands Skypark, which is located at the roof top of the three 55-storey hotel towers. I heard from Valen that the sunset view from the Sands Skypark is amazing.
Valen is a friend we met in Singapore. She generously offered me a spot just beside her for my camera and tripod because it was quite pack along the bank in front of The Esplanade even before 7pm! I later found out that she is a Malaysian who has been living in Singapore for 10 years.
She is now a photography hobbyist who has a family with two kids, living happily ever after in Singapore.
Picture of The Esplanade (the building at the centre of the picture).
The five hours of wait started. We started waiting there before 7pm until midnight for the fireworks. We literally sat down there for over five hours to wait for that epic moment. Talk about patience, we didn’t even had our dinner yet! Throughout the wait, we chit-chatted and exchanged a bit of experience, mostly on photography. It’s nice to meet someone who’s on the same channel, really – especially if you’re gonna be stuck at one place for hours.
By 10pm the whole walking area near where we were stationed was full with people already. Some sat on the stairs, some didn’t mind standing, whilst the rest sat on the floor.
Soon, the wait was going to be over. It was the moment many were eagerly waiting for – the fireworks. *queues Katy Perry’s Fireworks song*
5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1!! And the fireworks started…
…and my life was ruined, I thought.
My lens wasn’t wide enough to cover the whole scene. Nevertheless, I couldn’t bother less so I kept taking pictures and occasionally switched the camera to shoot vertically (see result here). Going through the album on my laptop later on, I thought it could’ve been a perfect shot… A perfect start of 2012. It was frustrating. But wait, I think that’s a sign…
A sign to buy a new lens!! HAHAHA!!
Unfortunately no, that’s not gonna happen soon. :(
Anyway, here’s a video of the fireworks taken by Eunice, using her Apple iPod Touch 4.
The awesome fireworks lasted for over 8 good minutes and trust me, it was hard for me to concentrate on taking pictures whilst enjoying the fireworks. It was so, SO MESMERISING. The feeling was amazing. The scene was beautiful. The fireworks were simply breathtaking.
Everything at that moment was so wonderful that it was worth every single second of the five hours I’ve spent there waiting.
Where did you spend your New Year’s Eve? I hope it was awesome too! :)
That’s me. Just being Asian.
Hope you’ll have a great year ahead!
Taiwanese Food at Formosa Restaurant Sunway Pyramid
This is a typical what-I-had-for-lunch-today post.
But it was so good I had to include it in my 2012 Project 366 :P
Project 366: #8 Hot Crispy Chicken and Salted Chicken at Formosa Taiwanese Restaurant.
This was exactly what I had for lunch and my stomach is growling whilst typing this blog post D:
The Formosa Restaurant could have been a familiar place for many, but if you haven’t been there, do give it a try! :) It’s pretty delicious and isn’t too expensive, especially if you order set meal where you could get a plate of chicken, a bowl of braised rice and a drink of your choice for around RM 12 – RM 15.
It’s located at the Asian Avenue in Sunway Pyramid.
K.T.Z Food 記得食 SS2, Petaling Jaya
After my test last night I joined my house-mates for some dessert at the K.T.Z Food in SS2, Petaling Jaya. The Chinese snack restaurant is more widely known as 記得食, which literally means ‘remember to eat’ in English.
The crowd at the restaurant was enormous, but the wait in the queue wasn’t long – we waited for about 5-10 minutes only. That scene reminded me of what I saw in Singapore last weekend.
When I was finding food at the Lavender Food Square, there’s a long queue at the wantan mee (noodle) stall. I was told that their wantan mee are really good, but I couldn’t bother less. I was too hungry to even wait for the food to be prepared, leave alone queueing!
Anyway, I brought my humble gears along and managed to snap a few shots of the foods we’ve ordered. Hope you’ll like them! :)
Black Glutinous Rice 黑糯米
Chicken Boxing 鸡拳
Seaweed Springroll 紫菜卷
…and the highlight of the night (the dessert, finally!)
Mango Loh 芒果撈 – shaved ice served with pieces of mangoes and topped with generous amount of sago in mango syrup; it was truly refreshing!
Do pay K.T.Z Food a visit. Their shop is located at corner lot, but unfortunately I don’t have its exact address, nor could I find any information from their website (apparently ktzfood.com is down). It shouldn’t be hard to be spotted though. :)
Footnote: all of the images above were taken using a Nikon D90 paired with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D.
Amazingly Cheap Nasi Lemak in Cyberjaya
My housemates bought me lunch today. Two packets of Nasi Lemak, and each of them only costs RM 1.50 (which is freaking cheap compared to other places in Cyberjaya, i.e. Oldtown). Tastes good too! :)
Project 366: #6 Cheap Nasi Lemak in Cyberjaya.
If you’re interested to try it out, it’s sold at the stall with alphabet ‘O’ near the Cyberjaya post office. In case you’re new here, the Cyberjaya post office is located next to RapidKL Cyberjaya hub, which is next to Street Mall.
English: ”Nasi lemak”: rice cooked with coconut milk and served with sweet chili paste (sambal), a fried fish and fried dried small fry wrapped in a banana leaf. [quote: http://bit.ly/wXtNtB]
Sunsets in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
One of the most amazing things that happens every single day in our life is the sunset. There’s sunset every evening but very little people actually have the time to sit back and enjoy the picturesque scenery.
Sunset is one of my favourite things to shoot and during my holiday trip to the North Borneo in October, I managed to capture a few awesome sunset shots, which I love a lot. I’ve included the EXIF data of each image in the caption, just in case any photography junkie would be interested :)
(Please click on the image to view its full size in lightbox)
Nikon D90 + 18-70mm @ 18mm; 8 sec exposure, f/22, ISO 100.
Nikon D90 + 18-70mm @ 18mm; 1/640 sec exposure, f/16, ISO 640.
The first two images were shot in the same evening, at the jetty behind the Phillippino market, which is opposite of the Le Meridien Hotel Kota Kinabalu.
D90 + 18-70mm @ 22mm. 4 sec exposure, f/20, ISO 100.
This last sunset shot was taken from our 1Borneo Courtyard Hotel’s restaurant.
I shall update more on my travelling experience there. In fact, if I could, I’d even update on things that happened this year, probably since April, since I haven’t been updating a lot lately.
Hope you like the pictures :)
You could always check out more of my pictures at my Flickr page.
Perhentian Island
Liong came out with the suggestion of a trip to Gunung Tahan few months ago but we thought why wanna torture ourselves like that. As crazy as it was, the original idea of having a trip among us schoolmates didn’t fade away – we went Perhentian Island instead.
We spent three days and two nights at the Long Beach of the small Perhentian Island. What an awesome place to be.
After a drive to the Kuala Besut jetty, we took a 15 to 20-minute speedboat ride to get to the island. I took a video using a D90 when we were on the speedboat.
What you might feel when you’re on board of the speedboat would be:
1) strong wind, but certainly not strong enough to blow you away;
2) tiny eyes, because of the wind, so it’s better to bring your shades along, and;
3) a bit of buttock-ache, because as the speedboat hits the waves you’ll go up and down a little :P
As the speedboat approaches the shore of the Perhentian Island, you’ll be greeted with crystal clear waters that will make you go ‘Awwww…’
Apart from that, everywhere you view will look as panoramic as what you’ve seen in postcards or probably on the Internet. That, my friend, is the moment when you’ll keep repeating the word ‘awesome’.
Now say: Awwwwwweeeeee…
…some!!
Model not included :P
On our first night there, Germany was playing against England in the Last 16 of the World Cup. Foreigners, mostly backpackers, who were there gathered at a beach side restaurant to watch.
It was quite an experience to watch the football match with them. There were Germans and English there and we Malaysians don’t know nothing just sat there with them, watched the game with them and cheered when either team scored.
When England was losing, the English looked and sounded disappointed. ‘Come on, England!’ they shouted, ‘Come on, boys!’
For Malaysians, if the national team were to play in a tournament and were getting trashed, we might have gone ‘Oi passing bola lah bengong main bola bende gitu macam budak skolah rendah kalau aku main dah score brape butir goal doh weh!!’
It’s okay if you don’t understand, but it’s certainly very true :P
We got to know a German couple who were there too for holiday. They’ve travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and then Malaysia. Since it’s already almost a month since we last met, I guess they’re probably somewhere in China or Japan already.
Constantine and Rebecca from Germany. Too bad we didn’t get their Facebook contacts.
The night life at the Long Beach is awesome. (Yes, I’m repeating the same word.)
Approximately 45 footsteps away from our accommodation there’s a place like a bar, or might I call it a beach bar, where drinks (yes, alcohols included) are served to the visitors and people can sit down on the carpets provided, drinking and chit-chatting, while being entertained by the live band.
The place is as lively as Zouk KL at night and Kampung Cina KT at day. But bear in mind that the alcohols there don’t come cheap. Yes, there is Shisha and it costs slightly more than in mainland.
That’s not it, I was told by one of the beach boys that it could be even livelier when there’s a beach party at the other side of the beach, but too bad it happened the night before we arrived at Perhentian Island.
On the second day we went snorkelling around the island. There were 4 snorkelling spots and we dropped by the village, where the locals live, for lunch.
Basically snorkelling is all about getting wet in the sea to me. Since I’ve been to Redang and Perhentian a couple of times, the corals and fishes weren’t really something very special to me.
In fact, if you were to compare the corals few years ago and the current ones, you’ll actually realise that it has changed from the better to worse. Probably because of all the pollutions and whatnot.
But still, it’s an amazing experience to have such a close view of the sea creatures. Especially when the schools of fishes that surround you in the water as you feed them with bread. Awesome experience, I must say.
One thing that worth most is the chance to view sea turtles.
At the turtle spot, we were lucky enough to get to see one. A huge turtle was feeding on something (I don’t know what) at the bottom of the sea, it wasn’t very deep of course, and it came up to get a couple of breath before it left the spot.
The sight was plain awesome. Believe it or not, the turtle was within my reach as it swam up from the bottom but I didn’t touch it. I don’t know why. lol.
One reason why I enjoy travelling: the chance to relax, even on the water. =)
Another interesting picture to share is the dark clouds that came covering the skies of the island after our snorkelling trip. It was almost evening and whole place turned dark and it looked as if a storm was on its way.
Apparently the clouds were just passing by because it ended up without rain.
The rest of our time were spent hanging out at the beach or at the bar with some backpackers who were very friendly even though you don’t support their national team in the World Cup.
En route to Kuala Terengganu we dropped by at Batu Rakit beach for some fried squids and keropok.
The squids were good.
The scenery was genuinely awesome.
Nothing beats the awesomeness of the mother nature.
What I Saw and Ate in Penang
Nobody doesn’t know that Penang is heaven of eateries.
I paid a visit to Penang in late May during the Wesak Day weekend with my girlfriend. The drive there took me a little bit more than three hours but the trip back to KL was an awful experience as it took me five hours because of the jam.
To make it worse, I was driving a manual transmission car.
However, that did not made my trip a miserable one – thanks to the awesome delicacies we’ve tried during our close-to-three-days stay there.
Ais kacang at the New World Park, Georgetown.
Was the first thing I ate after I’ve arrived Georgetown. It cost RM 2 and worth every cent I’ve paid.
Let’s see where else have we been.
Kek Lok Si temple. The buddhist temple on the hill at Air Hitam.
Revisited the temples that I’ve been to four years back when I came to visit Mok (aka Simon) who moved back to Penang earlier.
There were many visitors were came and were mesmerised by the complex yet beautiful architecture of the temples.
And some were holding their DSLR snapping their way in and out of Kek Lok Si.
While all I had was a Sony compact camera which belongs to Jim. The images were not bad at all, IMO.
Some animal statues that represent the 12 Chinese Zodiacs
It was Wesak Day during the day I arrived in Penang Island. Processions as mean of celebration took the streets that night with nicely decorated vehicles.
One of the most notable ones is this one.
Sitting Buddha. The decoration, the lights and the statue itself… Awesome isn’t it?
On the following day, we met up with Mok who then brought us to Batu Ferringhi where many hotels and expensive sky-scraping seaside apartments are built.
We went this very awesome hotel.
Hard Rock Hotel Penang.
Awesomeness. Awesomeness. Awesomeness.
Michael Jackson.
I met Andrina’s cousin, Ivan, who’s working there. He was too busy working so we didn’t chat much but it seems like he’s doing good there.
That’s me and Mok. Same ol’ Mok even after so many years. lol.
Speaking of food, these are foods you must try when you’re in Penang. Better yet, get a Penang friend or an experienced tour guide so that you won’t end up not eating the best stuff.
Air Hitam laksa near Kek Lok Si.
Three Ringgit each and it’s orgasmically delicious.
Told you so! :P
At night, we toured around and got to another eatery – the Gurney Drive.
Another lively place with tasty food.
This will surely make you drool unless you’ve chicken-phobia.
Fried chicken skin. Om nom nom nom..
Can’t believe that I’m actually drooling at the images as I write this post. LOL
Before heading back to KL, we dropped by Bukit Mertajam to meet Ah Kok who introduced even more foods to us.
Clockwise from top left: Taro rice (or is it Yam rice?) at Sentosa Corner restaurant, Chee Cheong Fun, the dried Hokkien mee, the Hokkien mee’s taukeh and his stall.
For those who haven’t already realised, what we call Prawn Mee in any other parts of the world is actually known as Hokkien Mee in Penang. So, when they say Hokkien Mee, please bear in mind that it’s not the thick noodle cooked in dark sauce.
This is the second spot he brought us to. Somewhere near the Jalan Pasar in Bukit Mertajam.
Clockwise from top left: the Hokkien Mee stall, Hokkien Mee (this time not dried one), Asam Laksa and Hokkien Mee and Ice Kacang, Asam Laksa.
It was one hell of a two-and-a-half-hour in Bukit Mertajam as we went several stops for really good food, but we’ve yet to try it all!
It’s definitely a place I’ll be back again for even more. I miss the New World Park Ice Kacang as well as the Air Hitam Asam Laksa a lot.
To wrap this up, lemmi show you a couple of images I took en route to KL that day.
OH LOOK! RAINBOW ON THE HIGHWAY!!
Err.. Not exactly though..
But it does look pretty isn’t it?
P.S. There were too many images to be shown so I opted to combine them into one image (like what you’ve seen above), do lemmi know if you like it. Thanx! =D
Half A Day Melaka Makan Trip
Small Talk: Have you heard Lady GaGa’s latest song in collaboration with Beyonce? Listen to Telephone on Youtube.
Warning: Do not read this post with empty stomach or in the middle of the night! This post is about some popular must-eat Malaccan food.
—
I should’ve posted this like two weeks ago but due to time constraint and my laziness, it’s up only today. The other weekend Chung came over to Malacca together with my girlfriend, to pick up his course-mate, Charlie, who stays just behind the famous Jonker Walk (aka Jonker Street).
It was a sunny Sunday. Upon arrival in Malacca town, we went to Charlie’s place and I was personally impressed by his house. It’s like those traditional type of big house you often see on television.
One small part of Charlie’s house in Malacca.
And there are plenty of CCTVs installed because the house is so big that you can’t possibly know who’s at the main door when you’re at the other end of the house. The CCTVs are there too to help prevent buggers and burglars.
We had the famous chicken rice ball for lunch. It was my second time and it just tastes as good as ever.
Apart from the famous rice ball (chicken rice served in ball shape), the chicken, in my opinion, is also the main reason why it is so famous. The chicken meats are so smooth you seriously would wanna ask for more.
After having lunch, we decided to have a drink at the Geographer Cafe. Located at one corner of a junction at the Jonker Walk, the Geographer Cafe is a perfect place for tourists or visitors to sit down and grab a glass drink and chill.
Charlie emo?
Geographer Cafe is basically a western restaurant-cum-cafe. You can have lunch or dinner there too if you want to. And it’s mostly crowded with foreign tourists.
We went in and ordered Kilkenny for three. I don’t know beer but it certainly tasted better than Heineken.
No no no Charlie no emo
Next, we went to the jetty which is located just beside Holiday Inn Malacca.
The view there was so-so and it wasn’t pleasant to see a huge but dead lizard (four-legged snake, aka biawok) near the shore. No pictures because it was too disgusting.
But of course I believe the view will be a lot better at night with the lights of the Eye On Malaysia.
Nothing much to do there other than looking at the sea and some cargo ships and we had no time for karaoke so we ended up doing ‘the teenager thing’.
I don’t poke balls as good as I pose. Maybe my eyes are crooked that’s why I very often fail to pocket the balls. Now, tell me what’s a crooked eye??
It was started to get boring. Luckily it was then almost evening and the perfect time for…
SATAY CELUP!!
Capitol was having long queue as ever (why it seems like they never have no queues at all?!?!) so we headed to Ban Lee Siang at Jln Ong Kim Wee. Also, it was my second time there. The first time was earlier this year with Ahmike.
We ate quite a lot. If I recall correctly, the total bill was more than RM50 for just the four of us.
And that was considered our dinner already.
By the way, we actually went to have some cendol near the Red House’s clock tower but I didn’t take any pictures of it =P
There are a lot more Malaccan food to be explored but half a day was not enough albeit the capacity of our tummies can take it. No worries though, for I’m sure they’ll be back for more!
Tasty Pot Buffet Steamboat and Klang Bak Kut Teh
Just before my (merely one week) trimester break ended, I spent my weekend at Sunway/Subang Jaya again and this time around we went to several places to makan.
On Friday night, we had steamboat buffet at Tasty Pot Buffet Steamboat Restaurant located at the Mentari Business Park. It cost about RM 27 per person and you can choose up to three different types of soup boiled in one pot.
We chose the Tom Yam soup, normal chicken soup and soya soup. As awkward as it sounds, soya soup is what they claimed to be the first in Malaysia and is like their specialty. However, we found it so unique that we left it boiling alone.
The Tom Yam soup was a bit too spicy whilst the chicken soup tasted just nice. I didn’t go to the max that night because I had a freaking ulcer developing under my tongue and a small wound on my gum. What a waste, but still, I managed to eat plenty of their famous BBQ chicken wings. Ahh, that, I tell you, is a MUST to try when you’re dining there.
The next morning, (this is gonna sound really crazy) we woke up as early as six in the morning and drove all the way from Subang Jaya to Klang for the food which our destination is famous for – Bak Kut Teh.
Having Bak Kut Teh early in the morning sounds a lot like old people isn’t it? Lol, but well, sometimes teenagers feel old too :P
Chung, Sam, Charlie, Andrew, Eunice and I sat in two cars to meet up Mervyn and Ejinn at the Angsa Emas restaurant in Klang. Ejinn and Mervyn did the orderings as they’re the locals and we were then served with really, really good Bak Kut Teh.
First came the ‘individual’ soup that came with pork, which tasted… “Mm, mm!!” lol.
Then, came the big pot of soup that tasted slightly different from the soup in small bowls. Of course, yau zhar guai (Chinese fried break stick; see Youtiao) can hardly be absent with the presence of Bak Kut Teh.
If that’s still not enough, we even had another pot of dried Bak Kut Teh!
I didn’t know dried Bak Kut Teh exists until that very day, and every time when the food is served, Sam and I will be busy taking pictures before everyone else can start eating. lol. It’s like a habit for us already, since we both blog. (Even though I’m a bit slowpoke.)
Nevertheless, I believe everyone enjoyed the meal as much as I did.
That’s Mervyn, posing for the picture =)
It was very nice of Ejinn’s mom to have paid for our breakfast. We’ve seriously eaten so much that it might have cost her a bomb, but still, many thanks to her.
We were like hungry ghosts :P
Bei Zhan Restaurant, Melaka
Small Talk: I was a classmate’s company when I took a stroll down the Jonker Walk just now and unexpectedly, I saw not only some MMU friends but also some of my hometown friends who travelled all the way from KL to visit Malacca. (ahem.. not me.)
Once again I felt as if the world is as tiny as a town.
Before I went to Muar two weeks earlier (during Raya time), I had dinner with my gf and two of my MMU friends at this very nicely designed restaurant called Bei Zhan (Chinese: 北栈 běi zhàn).
It was my classmate, Kenz’s room-mate, Ah Kok, who suggested and directed us there because Capitol Satay Celup was full house. There was a queue that was extending till the next four shop lots beside the main restaurant. I wonder why people are willing to queue up so daymn long just for satay celup.
Anyway, let’s get back to Bei Zhan.
I was told that the restaurant is in its new location, meaning it was relocated to its current spot lately. I like its design. Totally.
From the outside, all you can see if its pure white corner-lot building with, also, white coloured signboard (or should I say the restaurant’s name because there isn’t any board after all above the entrance).
The ground floor was full with families dining in as we stepped into the restaurant and we were then shown the way to first floor where there’s another dining hall. The restaurant is marvellously big. Really one of its kind.
The theme, I assume, is pure white as the whole dining hall is painted in white and with the lights hung on the ceiling, it’s like they’re trying to be the brightest restaurant in Malacca. In my opinion, its interior decor is nothing short of magnificent. Its simple yet unique decor with the blend of pure white theme, which sparks its classiness, makes it a pleasant place to dine in.
I instantly felt as if I was in some high class western restaurant as I stepped into Bei Zhan. The only difference was majority of the people who were dining there were Chinese, and the food… I tell you… One word (with a symbol): Fantastic!
It’s like typical Chinese restaurant where you go in, place orders of the dishes you want and start chit-chatting and making noise until your food come, and you make even more noise (very often accompanied with burps) until you eventually finished your food. But still you won’t stop and keep making noise. Why??
Simply because the food is Fan. Tas. Tico. TM
(Oppsie, terikut-ikut Guru Pitka lol)
Anyway, I kid you not. The dining experience at Bei Zhan was pure bliss. The long queue at Capitol killed off our mood but Bei Zhan turned the tables completely and what a wonderful dinner we had. Now, all hail Ah Kok! Haha!
Four of us ordered four small different dishes and it cost us a sum of RM 50.10. I find it quite reasonable provided the ambience and the delicious food and not forgetting the rice. I have totally no idea what brand of rice they provide but I love it very much. Furthermore, the ‘unlimited access feature’ for the rice allows you to eat till you drop. That’s double plus for them!
There are three different sizes for most of the dishes shown on the menu – small, medium (regular), large. I didn’t take the picture of the menu so I kinda forgot exactly what they have. However, I’m sure they do serve typical Chinese food, and yes, including pork. That’s a minus for them since it’s non-halal.
One thing that I must highlight here is their Curry Vegetables (or sort, well, you gotta pard’n ma forgetfoolness ya see – I’ve been studyin’ like.no.other these two weeks n’ it’s like, ya know, I’ve overwritt’n ma memory) lol.
The mixed vegetables cooked (or rather boiled) in an overly delicious bowl of curry was way too tempting and the taste was so intense and scrumptious it made me felt as if I was in heaven that instance.
Okay, maybe I’m over-expressing it a little but their curry veggie is seriously daymn good. Hence, it’s a must try if you visit Bei Zhan. Too many good food for me to list so if you’re in town, be sure to pay ‘em a visit. I guarantee (money-back NOT) you a splendid dinner there.
Bei Zhan Restaurant
43, Jalan Kota Laksamana 2/17, Taman Kota Laksamana, Malacca.
Tel : +606-2812684
Fax : +606-2865068
URL : http://beizhan.com.my
Info updated in January 2011
Hope you’ll have a nice weekend ahead.
P.S. Yippiee!! Exam’s over!!
Pictures of Cameron Highlands
Small Talk: Fabregas and Eboue have both voiced out whilst Adebayor has been banned for three matches for his stamp on van Persie’s pretty face plus there might be a further two-match-ban that awaits him. Hmm… So who’s having the last laugh now?
Some pictures taken during my trip to Cameron Highlands. All pictures were taken using Sony Ericsson K810i and were post-processed (a lil’ bit of touch-ups) using Adobe Photoshop CS3. Constructive criticisms are more than welcomed.
The Big Red Strawberry Farm.
Lettuce shoots at Big Red Strawberry Farm.
A rose spotted at Big Red Strawberry Farm’s parking, somewhere near Cactus Valley.
Looks like normal veggie plantation to you?
These are all strawberry plants. I kid you not. =)
Strawberry tart. Err.. No, this isn’t from the strawberry farm. It’s from somewhere else.
The BOH Tea Centre at Sg. Palas.
The wide, wide tea plantation.
Hills of tea plantations. Such picturesque scenery. That’s why paying a visit to tea plantation when you’re at Cameron Highlands is like a must-do thing.
The dale leading up the hillock where the BOH Tea Centre is situated.
Last but not least…
Here you go, Qi Hong, as well as to those who asked..
“WHY DON’T HAVE PICTURE OF YOU AND YOUR GF ONE??!?!”
Chilly Weekend at the Cameron Highlands
Small Talk: Not going back to hometown this Raya.. So sad.. =( But never mind lah, bukannyer aku balik Raye pon.. =P Bonnie’s flying to Moscow tonight! Everybody says.. “TAKE CARE BONNIE TINNIE BUNNIE WINNIE!!” LOL!
Last weekend was much well spent with my gf. A trip to Cameron Highlands was such a great escape for both of us. So great that I’d love to stay a lil’ bit longer.. Only if I could, then I would.
I’ll make this post something like a guide for you to get to Cameron Highlands, things to do there and recommended places to visit. The picture above is just a glimpse of my pretty face and the awesome tea plantation. =P
Driving up to Cameron Highlands is a piece of cake; only difference is you’ll take the time to bake a cake to get there rather than the time to finish it. There are two ways you can take – either via the Simpang Pulai way or the Tapah way (if you’re travelling from the North-South Expressway).
If you take the Simpang Pulai exit, you’ll end up at Brinchang whilst taking the latter will bring you to Tanah Rata. For your information, Brinchang is about 6km north of Tanah Rata and it’s a quieter place compared to Tanah Rata. Of course other modes of transportation are available, check out this page for more info on getting there.
When planning your trip, make sure you do your homework. One of the most important thing to do is to survey its accommodations. Are you planning to stay at some big hotels with ‘stars’ or normal budget hotel will do for you? For me, I picked Hotel Titiwangsa as many have recommended it in online travel forums that I’ve visited when planning the trip two months back.
It’s located at Brinchang and is a rather new hotel, which was opened in year 2008 if I’m not mistaken that’s why the building still looks new and the rooms are, in my opinion, like the rooms of First World Hotel of Genting Highlands, only bigger, and cleaner. Moreover, the price is affordable and reasonable. However, do check with them before making any swift bookings because there are surcharges for public holidays.
Of course there are plenty other hotels out there that you can try. Take some time to do some ‘research’ on the Internet, you’ll be surprise of how much information you can find about Cameron Highlands.
As most of the people are aware of, Cameron Highlands is famous for its cold weather and is all about tea plantation, strawberries and veggies. So, examples of places of interest are the BOH Tea Plantation, strawberry farms and vegetable farms.
After checking-in, we headed to the Big Red Strawberry Farm, which is located in Brinchang – a stone’s throw away from Hotel Titiwangsa.
Along its walkway, there are rows and rows and rows of vegetables being planted and they’re mostly lettuce; like those you put in your salad. Meanwhile, on the another side of the walkway, there are another rows and rows and rows of strawberry plants.
Opps, not this picture. But well, you can see there – rowsss of lettuce. The lettuce looked so fresh that they instantly made me feel rejuvinated.
There you go – strawberry! Looks so pretty isn’t it? As pretty as it is, it’s already in my tummy :P You can pick your own strawberries at the farm and they’ll charge you RM40 for every kilogramme of strawberry that you’ve plucked.
There’s a shop inside Big Red Strawberry Farm that sells almost everything that has got to do with strawberry and a cafe that serves, too, almost every drink or food that has got to do with strawberry. You might as well get a lil’ surprised to see how creative they are.
They have strawberry tea.
Strawberry jam, which they produce themselves and which I bought one for myself.
Strawberry chocolate – chocolate with dried strawberry inside.
Strawberry cookies.
Instant strawberry hot chocolate drink.
Maybe Milo can start producing strawberry flavour too. Hmm.. Oh, that’s not it! More to come.
Strawberry photo frame.
Strawberry clock. I’m not sure if it has alarm function.
Strawberry SOAP!!
Last but not least…
Not strawberry kiss. Hey, maybe Hershey’s can think about creating Strawberry Kisses? Hah. It’s like everything strawberry there. Strawberry fans might as well bring home the whole shop.
Being a lot like a choco-freak (not an ‘official member’ yet), I tried the strawberry hot chocolate drink before leaving the farm. In my humble opinion, the flavour of strawberry blends quite well with the taste of the chocolate making it not only smells good, but taste awesome too. (=
When I say it was reasonable to have stayed at Hotel Titiwangsa, I really mean it. I don’t get paid by promoting them. It’s because I enjoyed my stay there that I kept mentioning the name.
Our stay at the hotel came together with a steamboat dinner for two as well as breakfast for two, which means we only had to spend for lunch and for tea. The restaurant was rather quiet, probably occupancy was not high that weekend but the food was nice.
The food prepared for our steamboat dinner was nothing less than wonderful. The veggies were super fresh, and the seafood was as fresh as if they’ve just caught them from the sea. Isn’t it nice to have steamboat in a chilly night?
The very fresh punya shrimp. Thumbs up!
Of course, if you prefer, there are several steamboat restaurants in town. However, from what I’ve read from the Internet, not all steamboat restaurants are good. There are some that charge customers with cut-throat prices whilst some don’t. You can try to locate Mayflower or Hong Kong steamboat, which both are located at Tanah Rata. I heard that they serve good food at reasonable price.
Food isn’t hard to find at Cameron Highlands, whether you’re at Tanah Rata or at Brinchang. Heck, they even have Starbucks up there!
We paid a visit to T-Cafe for lunch the other day. A small restaurant with homely feeling located above the Marrybrown restaurant, opposite the bus station at Tanah Rata. The food is good and its price is, for what I consider, one of the most reasonable ones.
It’s a good place for you to take a break and enjoy home-cooked food (both Asians and Western food), bringing out the nostalgic feeling in you. Only thing is sometimes the noise of the cars is a bit annoying, so if you’re paying them a visit, make sure you sit a bit inside rather than near to the window facing the main road. And soon, the T-Cafe will be known as the Lord’s Cafe.
See, I kid you not.
Despite having so many tourist spots up the highlands, I still think that a trip to the tea plantation is a must and is most rewarding.
I dare say that you can hardly prove me wrong.
The scenery, the tranquillity plus its fresh, cool air beat karaoke, dotA, shopping hands down. You can’t feel me until you’ve been there.
The BOH Tea Centre is located at Sungei Palas, somewhere in between Brinchang and Kg Raja. Just a few minutes’ drive from Brinchang and off the main road, you’ll need to drive through a short stretch of hill road before arriving at destination. Park your car somewhere at the foothill and walk up the short bush towards the tea centre.
There’s a cafe at the tea centre for visitors to sit down to enjoy both the scenery and the BOH tea. Don’t forget to snap some pictures when you’re there too. Also, pay a visit to the other side of the tea centre where there’s a BOH shop selling a variety flavours of tea and some BOH exclusives souvenirs.
Take the chance to take a free tour to the tea leaves processing factory just beside the tea centre. The tour only takes about 5-8 minutes and the tour guide will briefly explain how the tea leaves are being processed into what we always see on the shelves of supermarket – BOH tea bags or tea leaves. You can, of course, raise questions should you want to know more about the processes as the guide will be more than glad to answer your queries.
As we stepped out of the factory, there was a couple taking wedding photographs and they even went down to the tea plantation place to take their wedding photographs. Hmm.. Girls, where’d you like to have your wed-photos taken? Haha!
Another special thing in Brinchang is its pasar malam (night market). The veggies being sold there are utterly fresh and you must try the Jagung Mutiara (something they call the ‘Pearl Corn’ in English). Unlike the jagung at lowlands, these Pearl Corns can be consumed raw and it’s freaking huge and juicy and sweet! We bought six of those for ten bucks. If you’re looking forward to get some fresh veggies back to lowland, you can get them from the pasar malam whilst showing some bargaining skills of yours ;-)
There’s one thing that I’d like to highlight: beside the Hotel Titiwangsa lobby there’s a bread shop/cafe that serves meat floss bread that tastes so daymn good I tapao three of those before leaving Cameron Highlands.
Gosh, now I’m craving for it again!
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Here are some info of places I mentioned above:
Hotel Titiwangsa
Lot 187 & 188, Jln Besar,
39100 Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, Pahang.
Tel: 605 490 1188 / 1189The T-Cafe (soon to be the Lord’s Cafe)
No. 4, 1st Floor (Side Entrance),
Main Road, 39000, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands.
Tel: 605 491 4018 (Opens daily except Sundays)
- More info on BOH Tea Centre Sg. Palas here.
- Cameron-Highland-Destination.com is a very good site to visit should you need information on Cameron Highlands.
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Do you know any hidden places of interest or of good food at Cameron Highlands? If you do, please leave a comment to share =)
Temples In Batu Pahat
Small Talk: Can you write a computer programme or application? Can’t? Well, the 9-year-old Lim can ;)
Before we headed to Malacca during the third day of Lunar New Year, my family and I went visiting some relatives in Batu Pahat. There, we paid a visit to two temples – one of which we coincidently dropped by and another temple which has been a hotspot for both local and foreign visitors. And we’ve been to the latter for several times since the past few years.
At first we were finding our way to the ‘hotspot temple’ when we accidentally stopped by this temple, namely the Sei Hoi Long Wong temple. Read it in Cantonese, you’ll find it easier to understand. For losers who don’t understand Cantonese, it literally means ‘The Four Dragon Kings of the Sea’, or sort of.
The place looks pretty attractive and no wonder visitors kept flowing in especially when it’s the Lunar New Year. Many of the visitors are either from other states or from Singapore. Maybe CNY is the best time to go visit temples and pray for good to happen for the rest of the year? I’d rather say, pray everyday for good to happen everyday. lol.
The decor in the temple area and its buildings are quite nice. With some beautiful statues and lots of lanterns hung along the corridor, it created a kind of CNY feel to me. And the feel feels so nice, I had to shoot them down. Using a camera, of course. (=
In front of the temple’s main building, there’s well which is always being crowded. I don’t know if it’s holy water that allows one to survive from bad times (like the economic recessions), y’know, since so many people had been getting the water from the well. I wonder if they drank it.
As I mentioned earlier, the decor in the temple is nothing less than magnificent. The statues, the decorations and not forgetting the bell. It has Chinese words sort of carved on it that let it stands out of the crowd. Pardon me, but I didn’t take the trouble to read it because firstly, I was busy shooting and secondly, we might not get to Malacca on time if I were to finish reading it. lol.
There’s a lion statue (err.. lion, right?) outside the temple’s area. The fler who takes care of ‘the lion’ said that if you touch on the lion statue’s body, you’re gonna have good luck. Good luck as in, kids are gonna score with flying colours for their exams whilst adults will earn big buck – may it be from 4D or Jackpot or whatever business.
I should’ve touched it. Who knows I might get a D40, right? =\
After leaving the first temple, we moved on to our actual destination – a temple within the fishing village of Minyak Beku, which is about 6km away from the Batu Pahat town.
This is the place where visitors come to pray and ‘touch fishes’. Yes, I mean it – touch fishes. There’s a few extraordinarily large fishes here being reared in a small pool in the temple and visitors come from all around the world (okay, not world but country, at least) to touch these fishes in order to get… Yes, you guessed it correctly – Luck.
Good luck, not bad luck. Many rumours about people winning 4D and got rich after they touched the fishes here and I bet that’s why people have been spending their precious time to drive all the way to Batu Pahat for the sake of touching the fishes.
Located by the beach, standing strong facing the Straits of Malacca, the view from this temple is not bad. Not bad for me, because I’ve seen even more beautiful seaside than this one. However, I’m gay that I managed to get a nice shot there.
And that is the place, where I lost the Nikon L11’s camera cover. @$#%^*&!
Kenyir Lake Half Day Trip
Small Talk: I swear this is gonna be a very long post but I’ll try to keep you entertained as long as you don’t hit the exit button before you’re done reading this post =)
It’s Kenyir Lake, baby!
Welcome to Terengganu, where nature embraces heritage; And where Steven embraces Tasik Kenyir!!
Everything there is so beautiful. So beautiful that it reminded me of Pulau Kapas, minus the white sandy bitches beaches.
So the journey kicked off with empat sekawan (friends of four) in a car heading to Kenyir Lake – the largest man-made/artificial lake in the South East Asia – as early as 8am.
Now you see him…
And Ivan was the man of the day for he drove all of us there and was the kind driver.
Now you don’t!
We were heading to the Pengkalan Gawi where most of the resorts and boat services are concentrated at instead of the Kenyir damn. Sorry, I mean the Kenyir Dam.
Ivan is a good driver. We reached our destination in about an hour’s time if I’m not mistaken.
We first went to the Kenyir Lake & Spa Resort.
The resort itself looked expensive and we saw plenty of ang mohs there. We took a short walk around the beautifully constructed resort that offers a brilliant view of the Kenyir Lake.
And they even have a specially designed swimming pool.
You can slide from the top till the bottom.
But then rock-climbing isn’t allowed there.
Ivan laughed when he saw the signboard. Now, who da hell would wanna go rock climbing on a swimming pool slide anyway?
Too bad their price for the trips were too much for us to afford. Therefore, we decided to try our luck somewhere else.
Here (the place where we parked our car at in the above image), someone approached us and offered us a boat trip and we picked the cheapest package – RM120 per trip to three different places.
Of course there were better packages but you bet they came with better price as well. Well, you get the picture.
And so we had a deal with the boatman.
And the jeti-girl.
Alright, that was a cold joke. I know.
A photo before we boarded the boat.
Our first stop was the Herbal Park.
Herbal Park is about ten minutes boat ride from the Pengkalan Gawi. Yes, you bet Kenyir Lake is huge. I think it’s even bigger than Singapore.
There, we were exposed to many types of herbal, mainly traditional ones, that are used to cure illnesses. Some cure normal sickness, some cure Malaria while some just make you stronger.
Like this one here.
Manyak kuat oh!
There are so many Tongkat Ali there they even set up a hut for you to taste their originally-on-the-spot-boiled Tongkat Ali and Kacip Fatimah tea. Seriously!
It’s called the Pondok Harmoni (literally means The Harmony Hut).
And chef of the day was no one else but…
IVAN!!
Nah.. Just kidding. =p
Four of us did have a sip of both Tongkat Ali and Kacip Fatimah and I’ve to say that Kacip Fatimah tastes way better than Tongkat Ali.
Because Tongkat Ali is very bitter. Take a tiny sip and you’ll feel as if your whole tongue turned into a bitter-tongue. You’ll taste nothing but bitterness. Then you’ll start recalling your bitter days so much you’d forget them once and for all.
Alright, that’s not logical, I know.
Maybe it’s the bitterness that can make you stronger?
I don’t know about that but walking on the cobblestone pathway does help to improve our health, even a little. Isn’t it?
Anyway, we enjoyed our steps and Ivan was auch-ing his way throughout the course and that was very cute of him. =)
Besides, we got to see other things as well.
For example, our national flower – Bunga Raya – plant, without its flower.
Some tiny ant-like creatures…
And the ex-Menteri Besar of Terengganu really made himself proud, I guess.
Apparently, he attended this herbal planting ceremony many years ago and the paper sign is still standing short there.
I wonder if he came back every month to change it?
Wonder if the herbal he planted is dead or not, yet?
Um.. Wonder if he’s still alive?
CHOI!! *touch wood touch wood*
A photo before we left the Herbal Park
The next stop was the Saok Waterfall.
You’ll need to have a short climb up the stairway to Saok Waterfall before you can actually see the gorgeous creation of God. No, actually, it’s a man-made lake, right?
Hmm…
Listening to the sound of stream rushing down hitting against the huge rocks was music to my ears.
You have no idea how nice it is to be there until you’re there.
It is the second best place to getaway from the hustle and bustle of the hectic city life after Pulau Redang or any other islands.
The waterfall can never be uglier without the spoiler.
I didn’t dare to go further across the waterfall as I was holding the camera but Ivan, Ee-Jane and Yen Yen did.
Then we went to the higher part of the waterfall.
Where Ee-Jane gave me the shock of my life when she accidentally slipped on a rock and went down the along the stream.
I was stunned but thank goodness she managed to help herself out of the dangerous situation. Even so, I laughed when she was back at where she fell.
I’d have drown if it was me, seriously, unless I have a buoyancy aid.
Because I can’t swim.
But still, I’m very happy to have been there.
Ivan, Steven, Yen Yen, Ee-Jane
The last stop was the fish-breeding place. I forgot what it is called but I certainly remember their unique floating station, or you can call it a floating house.
According to the boatman, it was the storms that caused the building to become that senget. Let’s just hope it won’t fall so soon.
Not many photos were taken there since everything looks the same there. After a short visit at the fish-breeding place, we headed back to the jetty.
We had our lunch at a restaurant nearby the jetty.
The one and only Gerai Makan Pok Mat Tasik Kenyir. The food was really nice only if they prepared something else rather than fishes.
They serve fishes, fishes and fishes. And one plate of tiny KFC.
KFC, as in, Kampung Fried Chickens. Don’t misunderstand, okay?
There, again, I was given another shock of my life, the second of the day.
I had a fishy lunch as you can see from the images.
Plus this fish, which I shared with Yen Yen.
Altogether with a glass of Teh-O-Peng and fried egg, it cost me a total sum of ten-freaking-Ringgit-Malaysia, and forty-cents!
That was the most expensive lunch I’ve ever had, minus the one I had at Secret Recipe months ago :X
But then it was worth it for the fishes were fresh and for it was Tasik Kenyir we were eating at.
We left the place after lunch.
Imagine being at somewhere far from the noisy yet polluted cities and has got postcard sceneries plus tranquil surroundings. That kind of peacefulness can make one feels stress-free very easily.
Trust me, if you’re someone who prefer peace over rock music, Kenyir Lake is a place you’d really wanna be.
P.S. We might be going to Kenyir Lake the second time for the more expensive trip, where we’ll be able to get into the Taman Negara while swimming at the enormous waterfall and paying the wild elephants a visit. It’s gonna be real fun! Tempted to join us? ;)
Ziq Delicafe
Small Talk: The whole staff room of the school thought that I was surely going to enter the cadet pilot programme soon until I cleared the air recently.
I almost couldn’t think of a way to make a U-turn after receiving an e-mail from someone from the Malaysia’s leading low-cost airline. Let’s not give up and try again next year, Steven.
Shall we? =)
There’s another reason to visit Terengganu this year.
Introducing the latest daytime hangout spot in the town of Kuala Terengganu – Ziq Delicafe.
The only cafe in town that offers cakes with throat-cutting prices that can almost beat Secret Recipe’s already horrendous price tags.
Ziq Delicafe is located at the heart of the Kuala Terengganu town (I’m sick of using the word ‘city’), near the MBKT Bus Station.
And it is exactly two lots away from the brand new fifth KFC branch in KT.
FIFTH!
The cafe isn’t very big, only a little more spacious than Saujana Steak House and the ambience is not bad.
You can sit in the cafe quietly without some morons laughing like horses whilst you sip on your coffee.
The D’Khalwat D’Kahwa Corner
Provided with pretty good surrounding and free Wi-Fi, I don’t see what’s so bad about the cafe itself.
Until I tasted the food.
I shall leave the bad ones for the last.
Garfield’s favourite – Lasagna; also Ee-Jane’s favourite.
But she’s not Garfield.
Everything I saw on the menu seemed so nice, so delicious.
And yes, the food itself looked pretty nice too, only if they were served in a bigger portion.
I don’t know how tasty it was but I think Yen Yen took less than five minutes to finish those?
Alright I was just kidding. =P
Fong Fong and I tried the chef recommended Sizzling Mee.
It really made my mouth water, before I actually tasted it.
The chef recommended Sizzling Mee then turned out to be one of the Terengganu’s top Saltzzling Mee. The mee, not noodles, mee, was salty. Very salty.
It was as if there were two chefs in the kitchen and the second chef thought the first chef didn’t add the salt yet and decided to add some and the same thought came to the first chef’s mind so he did the same and it goes on and on until the mee ended up in my stomach.
Or something must be wrong with the chef’s tongue.
But then Fong Fong managed to not waste the food despite the horrible saltiness.
And I think the cafe operator should make a review on the chef recommended dishes.
Or simply review the chefs. As simple as that.
One similarity that both Ziq Delicafe and Secret Recipe share is that both restaurants sell cakes at an unusual price.
But comparing the quality of cakes, maybe Ziq will need another 10 years time to catch their asses up with Secret Recipe’s. Frankly speaking, the five-pharking-Ringgit piece of cake at Ziq wasn’t worth the price. It was awful.
Unworthy Blueberry Cake – RM5.00
I know I sound brutal but I’m not kidding. I’m not by any means trying to bring Ziq down but they seriously have to improve on their food.
And make sure the waitresses smile although we don’t pay the 10 percent service tax nor the government tax.
Overall, Ziq Delicafe is not a bad place to hangout with your friends and I believe there’s ample space to improve since it’s still new.
Just make sure you people don’t talk and laugh and talk and laugh in the cafe as if your dad owns the place when you’re there.
Pay a visit there anytime and do let me know if they have improved. ;)
Pulau Kapas
I just love being closer to nature.
…even if the nature hates me.
But I bet it doesn’t. =P
Life couldn’t be any better than being away from the hustle and bustle of the hectic city life to indulge in the crystal clear water, snorkelling and feeding the fishes whilst they swim around you as if they have nothing to worry even if the world ends tomorrow.
While we keep worrying about the RM2.70-per-litre issue.
Four of us – Suyen, Sharmyn (Suyen’s elder sister), Ong and I – travelled there on our own for a one-day snorkelling trip.
Well, actually we only spent like half-a-day there.
When I said ‘travelled there on our own’, I didn’t mean we cycled to the jetty and kayaked there on our own. I mean, we didn’t go there with any tour guides or on any packages.
Suyen’s parents were kind enough to send us to the jetty which is located at Marang, Terengganu – around 20 minutes car ride from the Kuala Terengganu town city.
It’s easy to get there, even if you’re not a local. Get a cab. It won’t cost you a fortune, I guess. But I’ve totally no idea about how much the driver will charge you though.
From the jetty, we paid RM30 each for the return ticket of the speed boat. Which means, it cost only RM15 to get to Pulau Kapas from the mainland, which I personally think is quite reasonable.
Spend fifteen bucks and fifteen noisy minutes on the speed boat and you’ll find yourself being on the island already.
Once arriving on Pulau Kapas, we looked for this guy named Azam Aqua (that’s a nickname) – a diving instructor who runs a diving centre on the island.
We weren’t there to dive, but Jim directed us to the fler.
And it cost us RM30 each for the snorkelling trip. Ong didn’t have to pay since he had his own snorkelling kits already.
That’s Suyen. Overjoyed.
Well, to snorkel in the late morning wasn’t a good idea.
There were baby jelly fishes all over the snorkelling spot and all of us got stung so much until we couldn’t stand it and we got back to the beach nearby the Azam’s diving centre and just relax there like there’s no tomorrow.
Suyen was having some problems with his stomach but still we managed to go kayaking like crazy flers.
Rented a kayak for RM15. Three crazy flers on a kayak. Plus camwhoring. lol.
First it was fun. Although stupid.
Then it felt like the kayak was gonna overturn.
I disengaged and the whole kayak overturned and the next thing was, everyone was in the water.
I didn’t plan that.
But just before we went for our afternoon snorkelling trip (hoping for the non-existence of baby jelly fishes this time), we did it once again.
It was crazy.
Again, we were brought to the same spot, just opposite the Gemia Island.
This time around, I tried putting Ong’s camera phone in a plastic bag with those sealing zipper.
Took plenty of photos whilst I snorkel but too bad, the quality was no good.
But still managed to get to snap some fishes.
And Suyen feeding the fishes.
Time seriously flies. We snorkelled for like one-and-a-half hour before getting back to the shore.
And we saw a lot of clown fishes!!
Um.. Nemo fishes, heard of that? (=
In the end of the day, we took the 5pm speed boat back to mainland. It was really tiring because I slept at 2am the day before but I had a great time on the island.
Kennysia went Bali Island. My NS-mate went Redang Island. I went to Kapas Island.
So, when’s your turn?
Resort With A Fat Name
The first thing we saw once we stepped our feet on the Kapas Island a week ago.
Mak Cik Gemuk Beach Resort.
FYI, Mak Cik Gemuk simply means “fat aunty” in English.
What a name. lol.
Fraser’s Hill: Maxwell Trail
We hit the road, ahem..excuse me, I mean, the trail around 9am. Ya, I know it’s quite late. But too bad we (I mean, I) woke up a bit late. lol.
Let me do some intro before telling short story of my jungle trekking trip. Maxwell is the name of one of the hiking trails available on Fraser’s Hill, i.e. Pine Tree Trail, Bishop’s Trail, etc. But Maxwell Trail is no ordinary trail.
Maxwell Trail was apparently (I mean, actually) destroyed by the landslides few years back. The trees and bamboos overgrown over the landslides and covered part of the trail, some half-way of the trail. It is not a frequent trail for hikers.
And four of us were the heroes.
Getting to the entrance of Maxwell Trail wasn’t a tough job at all. Just a short walk from the second entrance of Bishop’s Trail. (Check Fraser’s Hill’s map for this, I’m not a regular there.lol)
Look closer, I ain’t kidding. We went into the Maxwell Trail.
Yes, my dear. The trail with teh “STRICTLY NO ENTRY” signboard.
Hey, we were on a mission man! Told ya we were the heroes. lol.
If you’re those people who has phobia (even slight of it) against tiny cacing-like creatures, for instance, LEECHES, you should have to stay out from the Maxwell Trail. Because the leeches along Maxwell Trail are unreasonably… I lost my word. Anyway, you can see leeches everywhere along the Maxwell Trail. No kidding!
Initially I was, I mean, three of us – Qi Hou (Ryan), William (WeiLiam) and I were busy getting rid of the leeches. There were so darn lots of leeches, we didn’t care much of them as we walked deeper into the woods.
Look at my feet. FYI, this was just the beginning…
Leeches aside, walking I mean, getting into the jungle is a nice experience after all. You tend to get closer to the nature. Really close.
Close until you have to walk between the bushes, the trees, the bamboos, across the muddy trail and even… feeding a whole family on your leg.
That’s Pua’s leg. But the leeches didn’t get through the socks. So, his legs were safe, although he was the one with the most leeches on his legs and feet. Maybe Canada-made socks are higher in quality.
Made in Malaysia? lol :X Disgusting huh?
The trail was muddy. Many leeches. Some fallen bamboos. Many leeches. Eye-relaxing scenery. No beasts. No tigers. No snakes. No lions. No leopards. No horses. No crocodiles. No Steve Irwin. Ahhh… We spotted a few millipedes. I mean, GIANT MILLIPEDES.
See? Closer to nature ma.. But I wonder where did the monkeys went. I thought sure got monkeys gao gao zhan one. lol. Like what they did at the apartment when we were having our breakfast that morning. Sorry, but no photos.
Heard that people on Fraser’s Hill saw tiger in the jungle before. I really, honestly, wondered – what if we bumped into a tiger? Or a tigress? Okay.. Or at least a whelp? What to do? Run? Confirm cannot escape one. It has got four legs, we? Two each. Fight with tiger? Sounds so Hang Tuah to me. lol.
Ahhh.. I think I figured it out. Simply find a way to kick it down the hill. Confirm it cannot come back one, coz’ the place was wet and muddy! Haha. But must snap a few photos before dumping the creature down the hill. Memories must always be taken away.
Can only leave footprints. Must follow the law! (too bad…or else can bring the whelp back.lol)
Here are some photos of the leeches ‘under my provision’.
EXTREMELY DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZGUSTING PHOTOS!!!
YOU
HAVE
BEEN
WARNED!!
They just couldn’t get enough of my precious AB-type blood.
Don’t know why lah. Sigh. Until today the wounds are still there and they’re still ITCHY!!
Apparently, we got off-trail in the middle of the way – thanks to the overgrown plants at the landslide spot – and ended our four-hour jungle trekking about 1pm. And guess what, we got out of the jungle by breaking into people’s private residence. lol.
Went over the old fence. It was already like that ar.. We didn’t purposely modify the fence one ar.. lol.
It was a nice trail minus the leeches. But still, our mission FAILED! We didn’t recover the ruined trail yet. Maybe next month we’ll go in again, this time with the help of WWF representatives and some manpower, to clear off the landslide part where the trail was covered.
But then hor.. You know something very annoying ar? The leeches still wouldn’t get off my foot after an hour of blood-sucking session. We went back to the Silverpark Resort apartment and dirtied the place (Not IN the apartment, but OUTSIDE it).
We just put some salt on the leeches and they’d start to kecut and subsequently, DIE. Hahahahahahahaha..
We even tried burning it when we were still in the woods. lol.
Okay.. I admit it. That’s a bit cruel =p
Ehh!! Maybe that’s why my wounds are still so freaking itchy lah!! See?? (My right foot) The wounds are still there. Still ITCHY!!
No wonder lah…..
–> Steven, Pua, Ryan, William –>
Steven teh cameraman.
Pua teh driver-cum-leader.
Ryan teh……..white-man?
William teh GPS-guy.
Current location: Fraser’s Hill
This is a backdated post.
Rain fell. Heavy, heavy downpours.
The next thing to happen was…
Landslides.
Bad, bad..
..landslides.
I’m currently on Fraser’s Hill. Just arrived this morning. I’ve been here once, it was in 2006. The ambience here is almost the same as on Genting Highlands, which I visited two days ago. Only lack of the theme park. lol.
Anyway, it’s cold here. Freezing cold. I came here with three new friends of mine, whom are the scouts trained by Mr Wan. I’m online from his apartment =) Two from Cheras and another from Sri Petaling. But they’re all schoolmates, from MBS.
They have been given an assignment by Mr Wan, their scout-master, to map back the trail that was (some sort of) destroyed by the landslide. We had almost everything with us – food, phones and even a GPS system.
Too bad, the rain came. And it didn’t stop very soon. So, the plan was postponed to the next morning. Which means, we’ll be waking up early tomorrow morning, maybe around 6.30am and get ready to go into the trail, possibly with the thick fog, around 7.30am.
Hopefully we’ll complete the journey swiftly so that we won’t waste too much time in the jungle. Then I can faster go back to Klang. Haha. :x
It’s the Year End Sale!!
Yes, it’s YES.
Yes, I mean, YES!! Year End Sale!!
I bought plenty of things, especially new clothes in KL last few days. It was a true delight to shop anywhere and everywhere with superb discounts. I found myself love to shop. Does that sound gay to you? Haha.
Anyway, here are some photos of what I bought whilst I was in KL (for X’mas).
I think I’m a fan of Romp. I just don’t know why I like it. Maybe it’s the affordable one..
From Romp (Sg. Wang/Midvalley)
Then, two round-neck-collar-tee from Body Glove (Storewide 50% discount!!)
A pair of shoes from Times Square plus socks from Midvalley PUMA..
Last, but not least…
A modem/router from Lowyat Plaza. This cost me RM85. I also bought a 4GB Kingston thumb drive, but that was for my sis. She ordered it. Lol.
Next, have a look at my finally brand new PC. Haha.
Gosh. I love it. =p
Oh yeah, I’m selling off my old modem. Used for almost 24 months. Who wants it? Twenty bucks la.. Take it or leave it. Three days personal warranty provided ;)
Serious buyer, please contact me via e-mail OR just leave a comment here =D
But the bad news is, I might not reply you as fast as you think I would. Because……
I AM GONNA ATTEND THE THREE-MONTH NATIONAL SERVICE PROGRAMME AT MERANG FROM TODAY ON!!
(I mean, later in the morning).
So, I can’t really online much. But I’ll try my best to update my blog with some interesting NS stories and activity logs.
I’ll make sure I make those who weren’t selected for NS regret and jealous and sad and all and all!! Muahahahaha!!
* I’m evil *
So what? At least I can get my hands on the real M16, without having to pay for its rental and bullets! Haha. Better than shooting at virtual players using M4A1 (I mean, Counter-Strike =p)
Alright, time is running out and I can’t elaborate much. (I don’t even have time for my new year resolutions!!! T_T) This is the very last post for year 2007. ;)
Once again, happy new year people. And congratulations to those who did well and passed their PMR with flying colours. Good luck in your SMA life (=
- there goes 2 o o 7 -