elaine hua's pieces of life

Jay Chou

2009-12-22T22:42:00.001+08:00

in Pavillion…

Pastry Series

2009-12-20T23:37:00.006+08:00

Photos taken from Iba 2009 and Anuga 2009 exhibition, Germany.

(WARNING: Please don’t read with empty stomach, blog owner will not responsible for any damages caused to your computer by your saliva)

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Cake Series

2009-12-20T22:43:00.008+08:00

Photos taken from Iba 2009 and Anuga 2009 exhibition, Germany.

(WARNING: Please don’t read with empty stomach, blog owner will not responsible for any damages caused to your computer by your saliva)

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Next up: Pastry Series

Bread Series

2009-12-20T17:59:00.003+08:00

Sorry for the long absence. As a punishment, I am going to force myself to blog few continuous post of my Germany trip back in October. It was a business + leisure holiday with dad & mum. The main purpose was to visit two international exhibitions:-

1. Iba 2009 (held in Dusseldorf, Germany) – exhibition that has everything for Bakers and Confectioners

2. Anuga 2009 (held in Koln, Germany) - the world's most important food and beverage trade fair

Anyway, pictures in the following posts are combination of these two exhibitions.

(WARNING: Please don’t read with empty stomach, blog owner will not responsible for any damages caused to your computer by your saliva)

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Next up: Cake series

Graduation Ceremony ‘09

2009-11-01T13:15:00.004+08:00

From the day we had our lame self-introduction that almost every lecturer requested us to do, just a blink of an eye we have known each other for almost 4 years now. We have been working through uncountable assignments, presentations, events that some we enjoyed very much and some we swear we don’t want that anymore! We have been to few remarkable trips, the domestic tour to Cherating (giving tour guiding speech in a 40pax coach), international tour to India (what India? 0_0 ), and everyday cheesy, bread & wine France tour. And of course not forgetting how many burning mid-night oil days to prepare for exams. How we used to eat our lunch together gossiping about friends and lecturers ^_^.

With all the ups and downs, congratulations we have all made it through.

Another new chapter of life begins and good luck to you and me.

Phi Phi Island

2009-10-20T14:43:00.011+08:00

I am back, from Europe! Had plenty of rest these few days and let’s continue the Thailand trip before we go to Germany + Paris.

We spent only 2 days in Phi Phi Island (I told you the resort room rate is expensive and how I wish I could stay for a week). So, we had the first day exploring the resort and on the second day we chartered a long tail boat (which you could find plenty of them in front of the resort) for island hopping. You have the choice to follow a guided island hoping tour by speed boat (arranged by the resort), but I personally prefer a quiet and private one.

The advantage is that I can request the boatman where to stop, with flexibility of stop duration and most importantly, when I go snorkel I see fishes but not people. ^_^

See? Only fishy and me. It’s so cool at that point of time I was having the whole ocean by myself.

Phi Phi island is well preserved and crystal clear water can be seen easily.

Highly recommended stop @ Bamboo Island. Allow the following pictures to explain why. I swear to you they are all original photos from my camera and not from Google. =)

Last but not least, my favorite shot. How do you like it?

Information you may want to know:

Long tail boat charter price

We chartered 5 – 6 hours for Thai Bath 2,800 (approximately RM280).

Recommended stops @ Phi Phi Island

Phi Phi Island consist and two islands: Phi Phi Don & Phi Phi Le. Phi Phi Don is the larger one of two where you find most of the resorts build on this island. Phi Phi Le, relatively smaller island but less polluted and well preserved is preferably for snorkeling and diving. Neighboring island such as Yoong, Hin Klang & Bamboo shouldn’t be missed too!

1. Yoong Island (also known as mosquito island) – great place for snorkeling

2. Hin Klang – great place for snorkeling

3. Bamboo Island – great place for chilling out at the beach & photo shooting

4. Maya Bay – great place for snorkeling + beach

5. Loh Samah Bay – great place for skin diving

Happy Mooncake Festival

2009-10-05T01:06:00.005+08:00

A belated one to all my friends.

Love this combination of traditional + modern packaging from 喜月堂.

P/s: Will be away to Germany for about 2 weeks.

Phi Phi Island Village

2009-10-04T23:22:00.010+08:00

Today, we will travel from Krabi to Phi Phi Island. The map below shows you the distance between these two islands. White doted line indicates the journey by ferry which takes approximately 1.5 hours (42km). Whereby yellow doted line indicates journey from the pier to our hotel by local long tail boat (approx. 20 minutes). Being a small island, it has relatively lesser choices of accommodation. Either you go for the budget or luxury. After going through lots of research, I decided to spoil myself once in a blue moon and booked Phi Phi Island Village, Beach Resort & Spa which ranks #1 in tripadvisor.com!

On the ferry…

Local long tail boat

After spending the whole morning travelling on boat, we have finally arrived at the heaven. View right in front of the hotel.

We were greeted by the friendly staffs with warm towel and refreshing ice blended pineapple juice at the lobby, while waiting for them to check-in.

Later, one of the staff showed us the direction to our room. We were praying hard to have our room being upgraded like in Krabi but too bad our wish didn’t come true. *_*

All the rooms here are individually built for privacy purposes so you won’t hear people banging the wall or screaming next door. Anyway, this is our Superior Bungalow room.

The best thing I like about this resort is their emphases on detailed decoration.

The laundry basket...

Face towel...

Beach towel...

And amenities…all decorated with freshly picked flowers. I must also say the coconut bath gel inside the bottle smells sooooo good.

Infinity swimming pool with jacuzzi

800m long private beach

Palm trees surrounding the resort

Restaurant overlooking the beach

Me, waiting for food

Excellent resort that worth the money to try. I did not regret my choice and I have started to miss this beautiful place....

Krabi

2009-10-03T07:28:00.006+08:00

The first stop for our recent trip to Thailand. Krabi is more to a beach holiday destination (like Penang in Malaysia) where you can find uncountable beach resorts along the shore, or some just few minutes walk from the hotel. We had a good hotel deal booked via airasia.com for Ananta Burin Resort, a pretty new resort located between the Nopparat Thara Beach and Ao Nang Beach. Getting around this small area is pretty easy. Either by Tuk Tuk which cost 20 Thai Bath per person/ per way, rent a motorcycle, or you walk.

We didn’t know until we arrived that we have got upgraded to Deluxe Room. What a surprise! (Plus point to travel during low season. We later found out the whole hotel has less than 10 rooms being occupied, so why not upgrade us?)

We have got towel decoration in the room everyday.

Swimming pool view from our room where most of the time no one is using it and it has become our own private pool. If you are rich and you are lazy to walk, you may also consider the ground floor Deluxe Direct Pool Access Room. (open the balcony door and you can jump straight to the pool)

Chilling around the pool

Weather was bad on the second day we arrived so we didn’t spend time on the beach. Alternatively, we go for something more exciting.

Water rafting in the RAIN!!! River water splashing and heavy rain pouring on to our body, everyone had a freezing experience. Being my third water rafting trip, I must say I like the rain too because it helps to generate faster flowing rapids. You will have an option to choose for 5km or 9km rafting. To me, the first 5km is just a total warm up for beginner. The rest of my raft mate (being their 1st time) stopped at 5km, leaving my friend and I, with two other instructors to continue the journey. From here, the real fun starts with lots of turning, sloping, banging onto the rocks. Whooo Hoooo!!!!

We have got a ground package which includes 9km rafting + elephant trekking for 2000 Thai Bath (Original price was 2,600 TB. Another plus point to travel during low season, everything cheap cheap ^_^). When I told my friends I went for elephant trekking, 5 of out 4 will ask: “smelly or not ah?” Still can bear the smell lar…cause I think the elephant I ride on had a Johnson & Johnson baby bath. *_^

We had another day for island hoping to Hong Island. Weather was very moody, so am I.

Next up: Highlight of the tour, Phi Phi island.

Little Surprise from Scotland

2009-09-27T20:55:00.006+08:00

I found this lovely postcard lying in my mail box and I suddenly felt so warmth when I saw it was from my old buddy, sending it all the way from Edinburgh, Scotland. Although life is busy and we hardly talk, but I believe friendship in our heart never fade.

" Friends will always see you through…

believe in the things you want to do…

feel happy when your dreams come true…

That’s just the way friends are.

Friends will always be right there…

with wisdom, faith and strength to share…

with love that shows how much they care…

That’s just the way friends are. "

Thank you dear Stella….

Pulau Ketam

2009-09-22T23:40:00.004+08:00

Had a weekend break to Pulau Ketam for the fourth time. It is by far my favorite day trip spot in west Malaysia for seafood, cycling and my new hobby, photo shooting. Unfortunately, we have chosen a lousy restaurant this time and the seafood was not up to expectation as it always does. Anyway, had fun with the girls cycle around the fish village, snapshot of everyone's happy face ^_^

Useful Information:

How to get there?

- Take KTM Sentul - Klang line. Head towards Klang direction and get out at the last stop named Pelabuhan Klang.

- Short walk to the "Jetty to Pulau Ketam". Here you can choose to take air-conditioned ferry or open air big boat. Return ticket cost around RM15. (Ferry is faster but I prefer the open air big boat where you can feel the breeze while enjoy the scenery along the journey)

Getting around the place:

As this is a fish village where houses and shop lots are build on stilt, there are only 2 ways to explore the village: - walk or cycle. Bicycle rental is easily found. RM5 per day and you may bargain if you rent in group.

Sawadeekha

2009-09-22T16:57:00.010+08:00

Finally I am back from the land of smiles, Thailand. In fact, I have came back for more than a week now but 4 days Raya break had keep me busy with day trip + shopping + makan. Life is wonderful and fun, isn’t it?

Anyway, here’s a glance of my trip to Southern Thailand which covers:

This trip is all about sun, sea and sand. I was quite worry about the weather prior to the trip seeing that it is the rainy season now in Thailand but thanks to the God of the Sun, he was really kind and generous to show us sunshine whenever we hang out at the beach and rains at the right time when we were indoor. No doubt, I am having very tan skin now. Towards to the end of the trip, locals have been speaking Thai to me *_*. I bought something from Guardian yesterday and the cashier was doubt that I am a Malaysian and I purposely said: “Alar kak, aku Malaysian LARRRR….”. Even my housemate is teasing me these few days with a new name given by her, ‘Caramel’ because she said my skin tone looks alike. Well, doesn't sounds too bad, at least she never name me something like 'Hainan Kopi'.

Bikini, sunglass, snorkeling mask, tanning oil, book….

2009-08-31T11:18:00.006+08:00

Yupz!!! That’s my must bring list for my upcoming vacation. Another 4 more days to go and I will be in places like this….

For 8 continuous day I am going to spend my time:

- waking up late

- take my own sweet time for breakfast

- sun tanning/ reading at the beach

- while enjoy some refreshing beverages

- snorkel

- thai massage

- shopping

- and…update you on what I did when I am back….

Here I come, Thailand!!!

Malacca Historical + Gastronomy Trip

2009-08-02T12:28:00.009+08:00

Had a weekend break to Malacca last week. Though this is my second visit, I found it more exciting thanks to the companion of our Malaccan friends, who tell us interesting story about the town and brought us for a lot good food.

It was a sunny day. We visited most of the attractions, walked around the narrow roads, and not forgetting our informative guide who gave us explanation of every interesting spot under the hot sun.

The happy tourists ^_^

What’s new in Malacca?

Eye on Malaysia (ferris wheel) and the Menara Taming Sari (360 degree panoramic view tower)

The town is decorated with neon lights in conjunction with the opening of panoramic view tower.

Musical fountain

Have a glance of what good food we had:

Famous "和记" 粒粒鸡饭

Refreshing Nyonya Cendol

Must eat Satay Celup (before cook)

Ready to eat

Tempting Nyonya Laksa

Thanks to our dearest Malaccan, Joanne and Shirleen for the memorable breakaway.

Buddha Jumps over the Wall

2009-07-11T22:12:00.003+08:00

My company announced to have a company dinner at Tanjung Malim few weeks ago and as usual me being the kampung girl who lives across the South China Sea doesn’t know much places in Peninsular. According to my informative colleague the place is like 1 hour+ away from our office, located exactly after the border of Perak. And the good news is, we are closing 2 hours earlier than our usual business hour to get there. ^_^

Of course, everyone was wondering why are we having dinner so far away? Don’t KL has a lot of good restaurants with good food too? The answer is probably NO because we’re going to have the famous “佛跳墙” which this particular shop in TJ. Malim is well known for.

So there comes another question mark for me. “佛跳墙”?? Heard about it many times got lar..but apa itu ah? Long heard about this expensive dish but I didn’t expect to have a chance to try it so soon. Hmm…feeling lucky~

Finally we had it yesterday and it was also the first dish being served. It comes in an individual covered bowl and the minute everyone opens the cover and start tasting their first spoon, I see everyone nodded their head with satisfaction. Including myself.

佛跳墙 is a soup-based dish where you find all high-quality ingredients such as shark fin (鱼翅), abalone (鲍鱼), scallops (干贝), sea cucumber (海参), mushrooms (花冬菇), bamboo shoots (冬笋), pork tendon (猪蹄筋), Jindua ham (火腿肉), chicken (鸡), duck ( 鸭), etc…..and cook with special manner which normally takes a day or two from preparing the ingredients to boiling the soup. The soup turns out in clear light brown colour and it tastes sweet with little herbs smell and….I don’t know, it’s just so delicious and like what Chinese people says, very “补”. Nowander, once upon a time even the Buddhist monks can’t resist the smell and jumps over the wall to try out the dish. That’s how the name “Buddha jumps over the wall” originated.

Yumi yumi yam yam…… I will end here and hope you have started drooling by now. If not? The picture below will make you to.

p/s: I didn’t bring my cam there so this a photo from internet. It took me quite a while to find a photo which looks alike.

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Useful Information:

Restaurant: Fuk Man Restaurant (福满餐厅）

Location: Tanjung Malim, Perak

Remark: Prior reservation required (especially if you want to eat 佛跳墙)

Shopping mood ON

2009-07-04T11:53:00.005+08:00

Mega sales is back!! Get ready to burn your pockets these two months.

I’m off to grab the deal now~ Have fun shopping too people!

Life on 27 June 2009

2009-06-27T11:51:00.009+08:00

Nothing special about today. Can't think of a title to write so that is just a random idea came across my mind.

I have been disappeared for a while because I was home for a short break.

Brother is back from the kangaroo land for holiday too. Finally our family can gather again for a few days. Had some good food, celebrated fathers' day, slowed down the tempo of life, and again, I am back to KL.

Kind reminder: H1N1 outbreak is getting serious day by day. Stay away from crowded place and wash your hand as often. Prepare some Dettol hand wipes or hand sanitizer in your hand bag. Use it before your meal. Consume some Vitamin C everyday to boost up your immune system. Stay healthy!

Night at the Museum 2

2009-06-07T11:50:00.005+08:00

Summer is here!

Beach bums, are you ready for some sun tanning with your bikini and flip flop?

Or if you're not a big fan of beach, summer is also the season for movies.

Nigth at the Musuem is by far my favourite. MUST WATCH!

p/s: I miss the beach...

Transportation in Vietnam

2009-06-06T11:54:00.008+08:00

I can't imagine how fast time flies. It has been about 2 months back when I came back from my IndoChina trip. Shamefully, this is only the second post about the trip. Urg..I better catch up!

So, talking about the transportation in Vietnam, I have love + hate feeling over it. Maybe I shall start off with the hate part first.

From the moment I touched down to the airport and head towards the city, I have been greeted by lots of motorcycles and entertained by vehicles' honk throughout the journey. Vietnamese has serious honking culture and they honk for no reason. The noise turns my nerves on for the first few days but you will forced to "accept" it when you get numb. Well, this is what we call cultural shock.

That is not the worst part yet people. If you still remember my first post about Vietnam, my girlfriend and I actually arrived earlier than the other 2 friends. So we went to explore the city. My friend suggested to visit a famous museum which was quite a distance from our hotel. Of course the first transportation which came across our mind was taxi. We looked around, AHA! There is a taxi just in front of us. We walk towards the taxi driver and ask him how much he will be charging us. He replied "use meter..meter". We were a bit thrilled because Malaysian taxi driver never use meter. We agreed and board the cab.

Starting price on the meter shows Vietnam Dong 50,000 (USD 3/ RM10). My friend and I looked at each other and kept quiet. We thought it is the standard charges. However, thing goes weirder when every few seconds passed (pay attention, it's every few "seconds"), the meter charges increased and has gone ridiculous high after 5 minutes ride in the taxi. We felt something really wrong and quickly asked him to stop, pretending we have left something in the hotel. The meter charges showed VND136,000 (USD 8/ RM29) by the time he stopped. I assure you we had less than 10 minutes ride in the taxi. We knew we have been cheated and wanted to get out of the taxi as soon. Can't imagine how much it would be if he brings us to our intend destination. Or we might end up in some rural place and being rape. (okay, this is too over but better be safe than sorry).

I shared the story with my Vietnamese friend when I came back to Malaysia. He told me it is very common that even he himself got cheated sometimes (haha...I feel better that way). He said taxi drivers in Vietnam cheat passengers by installing some kind of button/ honk, where the meter charges increase whenever they press it. -_- ||| They are even worst than Malaysia taxi.

After the horrible incident on the first day, we swear not to take any cab again! The next best transportation to get around the city would be taking tricycles. They are also my favourite. Regardless of their slow movement, it actually give you an opportunity to taste the local life, riding on the tricycles where cars and motorcycles passed by you in less then 1 meter distance give you a scary yet fun experience. Of course, they are cheap too!

Thumbs up from tricycle rider

If you have a motor license, the next best choice to travel around is to ride a motorcycle. They have bikes for rent everywhere in the city. And they are all cool bikes. You can find 653395 different bikes on the street all with own unique decoration.

Tous or Gucci? Anyone?

Even the helmets are cool isn't it?

Bike shares the same function as lorry too

Don't play play...CEO of XXX company also rides a bike to work

Any idea how much sugar you consume per day?

2009-05-24T01:59:00.016+08:00

It is the hardest thing in the world saying 'NO' to delicious food. And I bet most of us would hardly care about the sugar volume in our food. Here are a guideline of sugar consumption in our daily meal.

Cereal for breakfast. Very little sugar, eat more.

Sweet corn has minimal sugar

Same to strawberry

Banana is still acceptable

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away

Ketchup goes best with french fries? Ops, did I just mentioned french fries? Ignore that

1 piece of oreo = 1 cube of sugar

Why must chocolate has so much sugar!

Expensive coffee ruin your health

As we all know...Coke is never a healthy drink

Not so much of ice cream kids

This is crazy

Obviously we can't avoid taking any sugar because it helps to generate energy to our body. However, too much of sugar can harm our body too. For instance:

Sugar can suppress the immune system

Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties and crankiness

Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection

Sugar cause kidney damage

Sugar can increase the rick of coronary heart disease

Sugar can promote tooth decay

Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair

Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity

Sugar cause food allergies

Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy

Sugar can cause headached, including migraines

Sugar can cause hypertention

Sugar can cause many more bad effects. Eat healthier, stay happier, live longer.

Source: www.healingdaily.com

Ending of college life

2009-05-20T18:05:00.011+08:00

Degree's result has finally released after more than 5 months of waiting. These few days I have been having butterflies in stomach, worrying about the result. The day has arrived and I took half day leave to attend the result announcement ceremony.

The good news is, all my course mates passed except a girl, where herself expected it too.

Well for myself, I have passed with the second highest mention, which myself expected too. However, I am still having a mixture feeling of happy and sad because there is once a little dream in my mind to receive the highest mention, which I achieved it during Higher Diploma.

No doubt I have given out all my hard work during the school days and I should be proud of myself for getting quite a favourable result don't I? (pat myself on the shoulder)

So college life has came to an end and I don't think I will be pursuing Master. At least not at this point of time, I need some break from notes and assignments. But god knows working is even more tough....

p/s: still feeling a little sorrow...

Fullhouse Cafe

2009-05-16T11:48:00.012+08:00

After weeks of delay promising to bring my cousin to visit Full House @ Niu Che Xui, we finally made it! The place is definitely not so easy to find. My friend and I ended up missing our direction when we attemp to go for the first time. Obviously, we din't find the place. So this time around I did a little bit of homework by searching the map. Bring this along, don't be "sen ka" like me if you are there for the 1st time. =)

Click for map (contact us)

Fullhouse is a double story corner house. It has got nice garden in front surrounded by white little fence.

And a blue mini cooper taking the princess back from her shopping. They are a rich family.

Princess is hungry now and she feels like eating. Everything looks yummy from the colourful menu.

Princess feel house interior

After meal, princess left her teddy bears behind and when to partey~

Then my little cousin trying to become the princess

And us SS-ing...

Girl's Talk

2009-05-03T09:37:00.011+08:00

Hardly remember when was the last time my girlfriend and I sit down and have long conversation about life, boys, gossip....etc. Class and work have been keeping us busy, although we stay in the same condo (only different block). What a shame we could hardly find time for each other just for a short dinner. Life....this is life....

We always say we miss the old days. Seeing each other everyday at school and having uncountable silly topics to talk with unstoppable laughter.

As we grow older, our conversation has less silliness but more sharing on ups and downs in life, work, family, men, holiday, money, or soon to be marriage?

When we grow even older having conversation with only tea, we propably miss the days when we had it with beer. ^_*

Me time

2009-05-01T22:07:00.005+08:00

Woke up quite early and don't feel like spending the public holiday at home. Got myself ready and headed to The Curve. Alone.

Had bacon sandwinch for breakfast at The Aparment, enjoys reading with my iced mocha latte. The background music they playing was really nice. I started to look around, the cafe was empty and I guess I was the first customer of the day. The interior is so home feeling that they named the cafe "the apartment" couldn't be more suitable. I started to wander....and dream how my future house would be.

Paid the bill and left before I almost fall asleep on the too comfortable couch. ZZzZzZZZz.....

Cineleisure Damansara is having Zara/ Pull & Bear warehouse sale. Omg long queue when I reached there. They supposed to start at 11am but omg many shapaholicsssssss can't wait to go in already. So I decided to visit other shops and go back later.

Having my own sweet time shopping around The Cruve and Ikano, last stop to the warehouse sale. Spent like 2.5 hours inside hunting for good deal. Managed to get two jeans and two tops, all for RM149.

Already exhausted. Went and my treat my drumming stomach some sushi before going home.

Sometimes it's so good to have myself time. Eat, drink, play, shop wherever and whatever I want. Without the constrain of others. But of course, this is just once in while time and friends are still important in life.

Loooooooong Weekend

2009-04-30T20:25:00.007+08:00

Today was the busiest day I have encountered so far in my working life. I have got two colleagues went for last minute outstation and one on half day leave. Which ended up answering 287498 dum dum phone calls, who asked 987223 dum dum questions, and have 10938 different requests. And at the same time replying 836704 e-mailsssss. Whoooo....I just couldn't wait when the clock turn 6.00pm and the phone can finally shut up! (our office blocked incoming calls after 6pm)

Bought a take-away nugget set from McDonald's after work and I feel sooo nice to be at home now. Enjoying my french fries + Ribena, with the scented candle smell filling the room. Hmmmmm....loving my room.... =)

Well, hasn't got a plan for this long weekend yet. Probably have a good and long sleep, clear up my mountain like laundry and some impromptu dates.

Happy labour day for those who works like a cow!

Biking @ Taman Pertanian Malaysia

2009-04-26T09:58:00.027+08:00

I have got no idea there is such a place exist in Malaysia until a friend of mine invited to join them for a biking tour.

My friend said we gotta be early there to get a good bicycle so we arrived around 8.45am and who knows there are more early birds waiting already. I though it was just a leisure ride around the lake, taking pictures....but haha....it has got uphill/ downhill and the place is huge. I have chosen the wrongest outfit of the day, t-shirt with jeans.

Bukannya cannot cycle but it just feel not so comfortable.

The place is surrounded by tall trees and plants, finally these city people have some fresh air to breathe.

And the huge taman consists of few other small tamans like "taman buah-buahan", "taman bunga", "taman haiwan" and maybe some others which we didn't have the stamina to explore already.

My friend Esther becoming a cactus lady

This parrot know how to say: "hi, assamualaikum, apa khabar, bye and @$*&@$$ ". She was showing off her tough and sharp mouth by pecking the tree stem. We gave her a round of applause and she got so happy! haha...cute her..

A very fun place for outing and I guarantee you will sweat A LOT. Make sure you have the right outfit or you will be suffering painful butt like me =(

I don't really know how to direct you to the place. All I know it is at Shah Alam, say 20 minutes from Sunway area? But you can get directions from maps.google by typing "Taman Pertanian Malaysia". It shows clear direction from your departure point to your desired destination.

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Useful information

Name : Taman Pertanian Malaysia @ Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam

Opening hours : 9.00am - 5.30pm @ Closed every Monday (except public holiday which falls on Mon)

Entrance fee : RM 3

Bike rental : RM 3 for first hour (RM 1 or 3 for every subsequent hour)

Hanoi city, Vietnam

2009-04-20T19:37:00.018+08:00

I am back. For more than a week actually. Was busy un-packing luggage, washing the mountain like amount of laundry, souvenir giving and of course, back to my 9 to 6 job. So how did I enjoy my trip? Well, it was mentally re-charged but physically discharged. Got myself a 2 hours feet and body massage the next day I came back but I don't feel like enough.

Alright, back to Vietnam. My friend and I arrived at Hanoi in the afternoon and someone picked us up from the airport and checked in to Especen hotel. Good to know that our room was on the 5th floor and for your information, it doesn't has lift service >_<. So we started doing warm up exercise on the first day already. While waiting for our 2 other JB girlfriends arriving at night, we went to explore the city first since we have only two short days in Hanoi.

This is the first lunch we had after searching for a few streets and have no idea what to eat. We finally stopped at one restaurant which seems to have more crowds and used our body langugge to order our food. The meehoon is meant to be eaten by putting it inside the bowl of soup with grilled pork, and mix it with some raw vege. Er...I wouldn't say it is very delicious but good enough to fill our hungry stomach.

The rest of the afternoon we covered some of the main attractions like:

Hoan Kiem Lake - big lake surrounding by a park and benches where the locals chat around, play chess, do exercise, and you even find a lot of models and couples having their photo shoot here

Thang Long water puppet show - it is so called a must see in Vietnam but I personally find it a bit boring. 1st class ticket selling at 60,000 Dong and 2nd class at 40,000 Dong (USD 3.5 or 2.5). The tickets sold out fast, so if you want to watch the show, get the tickets earlier.

Ly Thai To statue

Souvenir shopping

Ho Chi Minh musuem and mausoleum - It was already closed when we arrive at the museum. However, this is the place to showcase Ho Chi Minh good deeds and life, a leader where every Vietnamese pay thier highest respect to.

St. Joseph Cathedral - This cathedral is just less than 5 mintues walk behind our hotel. Happened to pass by during their Sunday prayer. Aleluyah~~~~

On travel...

2009-04-01T22:05:00.011+08:00

Hello people! I have reached Phnom Penh, Cambodia after 6 hours bus ride from Vietnam. Whooooh, it has been real tired for the past few days because we did lots and lots of walking.

Our hotel in Cambodia is very lovely, we will slow down our tempo here and try to get some rest before we depart to another city. Hang around the pool just now and I am feeling re-charged again. Going out for dinner and explore the city...c ya~

I will be away

2009-03-28T20:58:00.003+08:00

I am flying off tomorrow to Vietnam and crossing border to Cambodia for the next two weeks. My travel partners are my coursemates which is also our so called degree's graduation trip. This time we make it a budget trip, going to cheap places, staying in cheap hotels, taking cheap public transportation, eating cheap food, but hopefully not coming back half dead. hahhaa...

Wait for my return with lot's of interesting stuff!

Earth Hour

2009-03-25T21:15:00.008+08:00

Have you seen this "60 Earth Hour" billboard very often recently and wonder what is it?

Is yes, congratulation and thank you for paying at least some attention to our mother earth.

If no, you're not suppose to but this is also my purpose of writing this entry.

Earth hour is an event organized by WWF encouraging the households and businesses to switch off unnecessary lights for one hour, in order to create awareness towards climate change and global warning.

Earth hour 2009 has attracted 83 countries and more than 2700 cities around the world to participate in this event.

I am supporting it of course! And it's my pleasure to invite all of you to join together with millions of people from north-south-east-west. No matter from which corner you are, switch off your light between 8.30pm - 9.30pm on 23 March 2009. ( depending on your local time)

And here are some ways to spend Earth hour in dark.

* Gather family & friends for a night picnic in your local park and look at the stars
* Enjoy a family dinner by candlelight
* Organise a treasure hunt in the dark
* Take your dog for a night walk
* Have a candle-lit bath
* Sit in the dark and share stories
* Organise a family night playing board games
* Share a romantic night in with your loved one
* Upload your ‘on the night’ photos and videos to flickr and YouTube respectively, and then add them to the Earth Hour flickr group and the global YouTube Group.

www.earthhour.org

International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta '09

2009-03-23T19:38:00.008+08:00

The 1st ever international hot air balloon festival has been held over the weekend from 19 - 22 March at Putrajaya. Balloonist from different part of the world have came to join the fun! I have personally tried flying on hot air balloon once not long ago, and this time I got even more excited seeing so many balloons at a time.

preparing 1...

preparing 2...

"purple+red+white hot air balloon" from Belgium

"orange+yellow hot air balloon" from Japan

this is actually an orange from Belgium but she was to shy to take picture

"blue hot air balloon" from France

"colourful hot air balloon" from unknown

"basketLESS hot air balloon" from Malaysia

Look closely! their feet are hanging in the air

"yellow hot air balloon" from unknown

"giant nescafe mug hot air balloon" from New Zealand

"ele-pig hot air balloon" (elephant ear + pig nose) from Belgium

"sad clown hot air balloon" from Belgium

*life is wonderful, remember to smile*

Crocs

2009-03-22T21:04:00.006+08:00

Pampered my feet with a new pair of Crocs. This newly arrived crocs named "Olivia" has a simple yet girlish design, where the fingernails are nicely protected by the enclosed front and leaving the feet to breath from the strap behind in warm weather.

There are two holes (front and back) which can be can be exchanged/ decorated with accessories, making it different from others. By the way, the original bling bling was actually white.

The nubs inside the sandal help to stimulate blood flow and act like masseur while I'm walking, it's so comfortable =)

Back to KL

2009-03-20T20:18:00.010+08:00

Ah...finally it's weekend! I came back to KL last Friday after enjoying a month long holiday back in Sabah. I am currently half-employed/ unemployed. Half-employed because the previous company I attached for internship is short of manpower so I'm back to help out. As I promise to be there temporarily so I am still consider unemployed, while waiting for my Degree's result.

Well, I had really laid back lifestyle for the past one month and I am still trying to adapt myself to busy KL life.

This is my Mon-Fri daily routine:

6.45am - Suppose to wake up at 6.45 but I will normally snooze until 7

7.15am - Wake up unwillingly and kelam kabut take shower, change clothe, dry the hair

7.30am - Depart from house

++Stuck in the traffic for an hour++

8.30am - Arrive office and have a quick breakfast

9.00am - Start working!

12.30pm - Lunch time (for 30 minutes because we are really busy)

6.00pm - End of the day. But most of the time we need to stay back for at least 15 minutes (or up to 1 hour)

7.00pm - Stuck in the traffic again for an hour

8.00pm - Reach home. Exhausted......

++Do some house cleaning, laundry, dinner, check mail bla bla bla++

11.00pm - Time to bed

I am typing this with my eyelid half close....good night people~

Kundasang

2009-03-11T10:15:00.008+08:00

Had an family outing/ mum's classmates gathering to national park during the weekend. How great my mum still keep good contact with her high school friends after so many years they have graduated. We stayed in Celyn Resort Kinabalu with a group of 24 persons. Most of them were husband & wife and only few families brought their children along. And I guess I was the oldest "child" there. =(

The row of white buildings are the hotel rooms we were staying

With a long balcony outside where the uncles and aunties had late night talks

And the best part is, our hotel rooms are overlooking Mount Kinabalu!

Surrounding the resort is full of mountain ranges, flora and fauna. I am not sure how high we were exactly but I am sure we were higher than the clouds. haha...

I woke up very early to catch the stunning sunrise. And that is also the best time to see clear Mt. Kinabalu before it got covered by the cloud.

Some random shots when I was too boring there

Dad and I cannot tahan the boredom and we went and visit Sabah tea farm

My favourite shot of tea leaves and the blue sky

White water rafting @ Kampar river, Perak

2009-03-05T15:06:00.018+08:00

Aha. You should have an idea of WWR by now if you read my earlier post. So as promised, we gonna raft across the South China Sea from Sabah to Perak this time.

I didn't actually plan for the trip, in fact it was a prize won by my friend in a photo competition and he was given a 2 days/1 night stay for 4 persons in Adeline's Rest House. Well, we knew it isn't a fancy 5-stars resort with mouth-watering cuisine but what interest us was the water rafting activity located just 5 minutes walking distance from the rest house.

Oh yea, this is the photo that he won us the trip by the way. I was the "so-called" model. hahaa...

Bus ride from Pudu bus station to Medan Gopeng took about 2.5 - 3 hours and we were later transferred by Hilux to the inner land. Another 30 minutes more on the narrow and stony road before we arrive.

See, rest house also got reception, don't play play....somemore hand-written one, so artistic. It was still acceptable until Adeline, the founder/ lau ban niang/ receptionist/ the cook showed us our room after check-in. We were half fainted when we see this.

Open air big room with tilamss berlipat-lipat at one corner. Not even a proper bed.

This is how our little "cute" bamboo hut looks from outside. The lower part is the dining area and the upper part is the bedroom. Oh wait, should I call it a bedroom because it looks more like an empty room storing recycle tilams to me. ahhaa...Anyway, according to Adeline the concept of the rest house was purposely built based on Orang Asli style, enabling the guests to experience kampung life.

Okay, forget the bad part and I really love the first lunch provided. Maybe we were hungry too, the chicken wings are delicious! And we were told by Adeline there is a spa we can enjoy after lunch. So my friend and I went and check it out.

O...kay.... so this is the natural spa Adeline was talking about. Freaking cold water spraying out from the pipe. I tried to put my hand in and I can feel my body freezing already.

Undeniable, air is so much fresher there and the quiet surrounding making it a good place to escape from the noisy and polluted city.

Since it was a 2D/ 1N package we were thinking to have water rafting on the first day unfortunately it was a heavy rain day. We had a cold night in the "bedroom" and I was so happy I brought my super giant size scarf because I don't feel like covering myself with the blanket they provided. I am afraid they never wash it and I can smell the body scent of the last person who used it.

Luckily it's a sunny day the next morning (at least something to woo our day) and we can finally go ahead with the activity we have been looking forward.

Yea, this is the rafting river I mentioned earlier, just 5 mins walk from the rest house. There is a bridge actually, if you wonder how the bus cross the river. Water level gone really high due to the heavy rain the night before.

This is our embarkation point. The water here seems clearer and more like a white water comparing the milo colour one in Sabah. And this time I have pictures while we were rafting. It was taken by one of the raft master.

I am sitting in the middle with pinky shorts

Paddle hard! Our raft master, Kevin looks so cool behind.

We all look so nerdy with the helmet on. hahaha...

I enjoyed the trip overall except the accommodation as you can read. But if you are someone who likes to enjoy back to nature life, that would defnitely be a heaven to you. However, if you're a city boy/ girl like me, the rest house is a no no. You can choose to stay in Gopeng town and join a day trip to water rafting. Nah, my second cert. for chanllenging the Kampar river.

Oh by the way, Riverbug is really profesional in rafting. Check out http://traversetours.com

White water rafting @ Padas River, Sabah

2009-02-27T11:40:00.009+08:00

I was first introduced to this activity when my oversea friend wanted to visit Sabah. So I was doing some research for "places of interest in Sabah" and came across white water rafting activity. Since my friend and I were totally new to this and we were adventurous enough to give it a try!

The day trip package costs RM 100 per person (student + Sabahan's rate, I bet the price has gone higher now), which includes:

- return transfer from your preferred city hotel

- water rafting equipment

- light refreshment and meals (you'll be dying hungry after rafting)

- certificate

And this is a brief itinerary.

Pick up from city hotel and transfer to Beaufort railway station (approx. 2 hours from town)

experience the slow moving. . . . . steam train. . . .

passing by scenic route for an hour

and here we are at the milo water rafting river (oh no, i mean white water ^_*)

Light refreshment will be served. Raft master will then brief everyone for the safety precautions

The real fun starts right after the briefing with a team of 5 - 6 members in a raft. It takes about 1.30 to 2 hours to complete the whole journey, depending on team members' skill and co-operation. In the mid of the activity, you will see people accidentally drop off their paddle, or he himself fall into the river, and even seeing the whole raft turning upside down and people screaming like hell! hahhaha....I don't have all these pictures but you gonna try experience this yourself! It's challenging yet FUN FUN FUN! I immediately fall in love with water rafting after my first try.

At the end of the day you'll be given a certificate. This is mine, conquered Grade 3-4 @ Padas River.

- End of trip-

Next entry: water rafting in Perak.

Singing along...

2009-02-24T10:18:00.000+08:00

Got addicted to Khalil Fong's songs recently, have been repeating his track day and night.

He is Hawaii-born Chinese, not so handsome looking (i will be killed by his fans) but another talented singer (i'm saying something good at least). Google "方大同" if you are curious how he looks. U can see from the music video below anyway.

This is one of my favourite. Try to relax your mind, close your eyes, listen silently, by yourself......

No more short hair

2009-02-18T14:59:00.016+08:00

I used to have short hair all the while. Since most of the girls were having long straight silky hair and I wanna be slightly extraordinary with a short haircut. So people can easily recognise me mah..."tu~ tu~ that girl with short spiky hair one ah..."

Yes, my hair wasn't only short but very short. I need to wake up at least 1 hour earlier than others to shower, blow dry, and style it up. You know this is when those hair-styling products such as wax, mud, gel, etc...come into circumstances. Then I need to wash those thing off before I go to bed. (what a pain!)

me|yvonne|lilian|elvina

My mum doesn't really like me to be in short hair because she thinks I am so boyish. But who cares when you're in teenage. The more mum mumbles, the more I do. haha...However at the same time, strangers will come up to me and say: "hey..i love your hair so much". It makes me feel even more proud with my short-hair. So for the past 20 years, my hair length never touches my shoulder

I don't know what hits my brain when I turn 21st or I am just frustrated to style up every morning and wanted to keep my hair long. So I went up to my hairstylist and told him about my request. He recommended me to straighten it because my hair structure is rough (due to massive exposure to sun and sea water according to him) with natural curl. Yeap, I taken his advise and my hair doens't only turns straight but becomes much more softer now. Lovin' it!

Ahh...my main purpose of this post was actually introducing my hairstylist but I don't know why I wrote so many craps up there. hahaha...Okay, back to the topic, Kevin HO, is my hairstylist that I have been following for nearly 6 years now. (we did some counting when I went to his saloon today). I love his professionalism in explaining to you about your hair, what to do and what not to do. How you must blow your hair and comb it this way, style it that way. His charges are ridiculous sometimes but thinking of having a nice haircut after all and I will close one eye and pays for the bill.

This is how men earn women's $$$$$$.

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Address

Lot S-1-34, First Floor, Block F, City Mall,

Lorong City Mall, Jalan Lintas, 88300 Kota Kinabalu

Contact

012-8333 703 (Kevin Ho), 088-484 987