For You

50th to Malaysia, 1st to us. Happy Anniversary.
Cameron Highland - August 2007

i find there's nothing much to write about this cameron highland trip, it's jus a quiet breakaway wasn't it? we spent most of our time at the tea plantations, admiring the lush of greens around us. i guess our biggest achievement was we made it to the top of gunung brinchang - one of the peak which tags along titiwangsa range, n the road leads up there is the highest road in peninsular.

wat adds it to be a memorable one - we spent our 1st anniversary there. 12 months with ups n downs between us, i hope we have more years to celebrate being together. n wat a coincidence was, we had fireworks right in front of us, in front of the balcony. good.

wat we took upthere

view of BOH tea plantation, taken from the balcony of the cafe.


the cafe & exhibition hall at the BOH tea plantation


roadside vege stalls, brinchang.


...


busy bee.


cabbages growing wild everywhere in brinchang.


a 'self-plucking' strawberry experience.

FO..O..O....O...OD Orgasm! May 2007

the only thing still linger in my memory from the trips in the month of may is the FOOD. it resulted in almost 4kg extra spread on my lower abs, inner thigh, n causing my biceps & triceps lose their shapes n finally messed together forming into a lump of flappy meat... except these unwanted (but expected) outcome, it's a happy holiday after all.

• Penang •

i wasn't very keen to go penang, i jus wanna get out of town n since the other one mention the place, i said: ok. the journey that full of food started way before we even reached penang.

we had breakfast at the rest & relax (r&r) stopover, plenty of fruits picked up at another r&r stopover, then the famous chicken chop for lunch in taiping at yut-sun, a hainanese restaurant. our stomachs was already fully loaded but it seems to be a must-try so we stuffed it in. it worths all the risk to be obese. the chicken chop, which looks humble, indeed a dish to crave for.

before, after. the yut sun restaurant at taiping.

the weather in penang was cloudy n at times there was heavy downpour. we stayed at batu ferringhi for it's nearby the beach. we looked out for a seafood dinner on our first night, we ended up with a restaurant that the food quality didn't impress us much.

so much drama goin on in penang sky.

the next morning we headed to town for penang nasi kandar. everyone knows kayu restaurant which claims to be the original nasi kandar in penang, but i wonder how many people know the one that really rock is line clear (name of the stall).

i wonder y they name the stall 'line clear'? with so much good food offered, the line will never be cleared.

humbly set its business in a narrow alley, with tables and chairs arranged in a practical format that seats around 100 people, line clear offers dishes with original taste of nasi kandar. u gotta trust the old man who handle your plate of food, when u see him scoping different kind of gravy (curry sauce) on the rice, don be skeptical, that makes the whole plate of nasi kandar tastes extra good with rich taste of herbs, meat, seafood and with slightly sour from the tamarine juice normally used in fish curry, it arouse you appetite instantly (i actually hav to pause n swallow back my sliva when i wrote this...)

business is good.

another thing that makes line clear so happening is all the dishes are steaming hot. the moment u step into the stall, the heat jus wrap all over you. i got excited when facing so many choices of smelling good food, i jus picked n picked till my plate was formed into a small hill. believe me, it was food orgasm.

the verdict.

we travelled up to teluk bahang on our second night in penang. it was jus a drive around and sight seeing kind of stuff so it wasnt intentionally to hav our dinner at the tai tong chinese restaurant nearby, but it turned out to be another food orgasm.

the boss mr. niam is a simple minded and honest man, his restaurant serves only the freshest ingredients and the must try is the asam curry prawn. this dish is full of the flavor of penang, the curry mixed with tamarine juice and also the ingredients of penang asam laksa like ginger torch, daun kessom, lemon grass and garnished with mint leaves when served. for 6 pieces of king prawn, each curled up like the size of my fist, this claypot asam curry prawn only cost rm23.00. we "drank" all the gravy till the last drop, till now, it's still my unforgettable dish so far...

we headed back to hotel with stomachs look like 5 months pregnant.

dinnet at tai tong seafood restaurant. dried chilli crabs. the bloody big prawn. the amount of paper napkins
i used for the crabs.

the next morning we went searching for another nasi kandar again. we tried another restaurant, though the stomachs are filled but seriously, nothing can compare to line clear. we left penang around 2pm, had the chicken chop at taiping (again) around 4pm, packed some deep fried snacks to munch on the road and guess what? we had nasi kandar for dinner when we reach kuala lumpur (it's actually quite sickening the way we are so addictive to it).

kuala lumpur was like a huge oven the few days we came back from penang. one morning we woke up and decided to run away from the heat, we went genting.

• Genting •

there's nothing better than having a steamboat under the cold weather. it has almost becoming a ritual whenever i go to hill vacation, steamboat is a must. the ingredients are fresh and soup was fine... if i would pick a flaw to our steamboat in genting, it would be the price. expensive!

besides that we had a steamed talapia with asam paste at rm2.30. it was the restaurant promotion and only limited to one order per table. tht's probably the cheapest fish i hav had in a restaurant for my entire life.

jus another before and after scene.

we came back home after just one night stay there. we looked at our stomach and signed...

• Melaka •

before we digested the food stored in our stomachs from the last 2 trips, we headed to the historical town, melaka.

for foreigners it's about the a famosa, hang lipo's well or the st. francis xavier's church...etc, but for us, it's the hainanese chicken rice balls, chendols , baba nyonya kuih n seafood... it's the melaka FOOD!

the hainanese chicken rice balls is the food u cant miss when u visit melaka. the rice is cook with margarine (some restaurants use chicken fat for more authentic taste), ginger, pandan leave, shallots...etc, it's cooked with more water than the usual chicken rice so it's sticky n then rolled into small bite size rice balls. it's convenient to eat. i guess maybe of its shape the fragrance of the rice is much concentrated, it's solid but tender in texture n the rich taste spread inside the mouth when u chew. of cos the chicken oso plays an important role here, the good one has to be steamed chicken, not boiled, so the original taste of chicken is not lost to the soup but reserved back to the chicken itself. we tasted the chicken rice in 2 famous restaurants during our 2 days stay here, both located at jonker's street, hoe kee n chung hwa r packed with customers, waiting to be seated really challenge my weakness - patience. (i used the links from other bloggers tht i don know, i hope they don mind, many thanks for their wonderful write-up n pics)

again another before and after scene, n this is not the last one....

we strolled along jonker's street n stopped at a small but busy restaurant for dessert. the durian chendol n the mango ice kacang is so good especially under the extremely hot weather in melaka. am sure other options of dessert taste very good too n we wil definately come back for more whenever we r here again. besides desserts there r many local delights like asam laksa, curry noodle, rojak...etc to choose from the menu.

we escaped the hot sun n rested at hotel before we went to portuguese square for the famous seafood. the moment we got down from car, few stall owners greeted us and tried to take us to their restaurants. we looked around n decided to trust the crowd, so we went for the most crowded restaurant. our decision was correct cos even a simple dish like belacan kangkung taste specially good here, the price? unbelievably reasonable! it's highly recommended for anyone who fancies seafood, n it's the first restaurant by the sea on the left hand side (i forgot to take the pic, sorry).

ok, this is the last one, i promise.


Gallery
the trees at taiping lake probably older than my late grandfather.


the beach in front of lone pine hotel, the first hotel established at batu feringghi in 1948.


hurricane katrina came to penang?

dramatic weather in penang.


the long zig-zag jeti at teluk bahang.


market in town center penang.


corner of the garden at han jiang association, also a temple with
great architectural design n full of ancient chinese culture.


taken from the pagoda in genting, cant remember which floor.


nap time.

Fraser's Hill Feb 2007

Almost Europe : Fraser's Hill Feb 2007

a 3d-2n holiday at fraser's hill during early february this year truly refreshed our minds. we did nothing but walking, walking, n walking in the greens. the public buildings n private residences here resemble a lot of old english style, while we were walking in the thick mist n looking at the bangalows along the winding roads, we imagined n almost believed we were at the countryside of england...

we stopped by a sleepy town on the way up to fraser's hill. kuala kubu baru is a very unique small town, the street is so clean u can even sleep on it (ya a bit exaggerative here but it's really clean). nice landscapings r found everywhere n trees r planted in front of each shop. it is so quiet here we felt like entering a twilight zone. in fact i hav a chill on my back comes to think of it now, kind of creepy actually...

trees in front of the shop • kuala kubu baru - the sleepy town • restaurant where we had lunch there

the journey to fraser's hill was not so bad, i survived the winding road n swallowed back the food that already reached up to my throat. we checked in to the hotel, which is right at fraser's town centre. there r few shops, restaurants, a police station, a post office, a tenaga national office n 2 banks, these conclude the town.

view from the room balcony, overseeing the town n the golf course.

it was already afternoon after we settled in the hotel, we went out to buy some junk food, n checked out the town a bit. apparently this is not a place for you to shop n dine, the food options here r generally disappointing. the hotel's coffee house seemed to be our only choice for food. we drove around following the map, finally we stopped by a hut overlooking the endless mountains n talked nothing but nonsense there... till our brains r waken from the bullshit by the cold wind, we headed back to the hotel in the evening.

a nice restaurant but remained closed at all time • a handsome cat in the local grocery shop
• the clock tower, symbol of the town • the endless mountain n my signature post.

we had steamboat for our first dinner there, the soup was ok, but the ingredients were not. however i was still happy, steamboat is always my favourite especially in cold weather like that. we were not adventurous enough to roam around when the sky turned dark. the shops closed quite early leaving the town dead. we watched tv in the room, n often had some self-tortured act by standing in the balcony n freeze ourself in the cold wind, n sometimes romanticized the situation by holding a glass of red wine in hand. it seemed boring but surprisingly we liked it a lot.

the second day was more fulfilling, we decided to go jungle trekking after breakfast. as i didnt bring the proper attire for jungle trekking, we chose the easier n shorter trails. i was a bit nervous before entering the jungle, insects r my no.1 enemy in the whole wide world, a single bug would easily got me killed there. luckily the jungle is not as uncivilised as i imagined, there r steps, ropes n road signs every here n there as guide. tho it's quite a easy trail to walk but when we were out from our first trail - hemmant trail, we were so happy, as if we conquered mount himalayan. 2 foolish people cheering n gave each other high 5 at the end of the trail. quite stupid now i'm thinking of it, haha...

we check out a few bungalows turned public accommodations along the way before we entered the second trail - bishop trail. in fact i agreed to go in after long persuasion by the other one. this trail is much longer n with more obstacles than the hemmant trail, but it's still consider as a safe n easy one. at the end of it am glad i did it, i never thought walking in the jungle under cold weather could be such a breeze. i doubt i wil do the same if the venue change to a hot n humid jungle. after finished the bishop trail we walked pass the horse riding centre n almost half the hill before reaching the hotel at noon.

we cleaned the mud on the shoes then we had ice-cream at the small strawberry farm. we headed to the hut where we talked nonsense before with our take-away lunch, we had keropok ikan, pisang n ubi goreng upthere. most of the tourist spots like jeriau waterfalls, allan’s water r closed. we don play golf so it left us nothing much to do next besides taking a loooong nap. we woke up for a nice dinner around 7.30pm, we walked to the mini market to buy ice-creams n chilled in the dark street. i hav a stupid thought when i was there, i believe the moon is bigger there becos we r at a higher ground so we r closer to the moon. the night ended in silence...

leaving the trails of...


quiet life at kuala kubu baru


nature beauty


another nature beauty


and another nature beauty


second night dinner


where do u want to go?


we took photographs, and away with us also a good trip memory.

Goodbye 2006

2006, ended in a blast - phuket

hello! phuket.

the long planned phuket trip finally ended it's chapter, together with year 2006. the whole trip from planning to coming home was full of unexpected "surprises", till the moment we touched down homeland, we were glad n grateful tht we actually made it home...

from the date we booked the flight in september, we couldnt get any hotel as new year eve is really the "peak of the peak" season in phuket. we only managed to secure one in the month of december, which was about one week before our departure.

on our very first day, the flight delayed as the pilot needed to step down dued to personal reason (!?). the plane reached phuket airport but parked slightly off the skybridge (!!??), tht caused another 20mins delay. after a long winding road to patong beach, tht made me omos wanted to puke in the cab, we finally got ourself settled in the sofa of rico's hotel at bangla street, the most happening street in patong. our mood was cheerful til we were told only cash terms is accepted for the room charge. our jaws dropped n we spend omos 50% of our cash on the room oredi.

we counted our cash balance in the room then a breaking news from tv got our full attention, saddam hussein was hanged. for the next 3 days aljazeera omos became our main channel in the hotel room. protests started. people got killed.

we did a lot of streeting hopping in this trip, ed drank beers like there's no tomorrow (damn cheap, i mean the beers). on the 3rd day, we rented a bike n travel from patong all the way down to promthep cape. we made quite some pit stops on the way there - karon beach, the tyre shop (cos d bike tyre punctured, someone blamed it to the pork i took. nonsense.) elephant jungle trekking centre, kata beach, na yui beach, the view point, and the last is the promthep cape. the view along the way is simply, magnificent.

the most memorable part of this trip have to be the new year eve countdown. firework was expected but we never have imagined the firework were all around us, n even right on top of us. the sound, the blast, the fire, the smoke n thousands of lanterns released to the sky made the night so graphical as if we were in a movie set. we released a lantern too, i wish my sangria is healthy n happy in heaven...

in the early morning on our last day, we received a sms telling us the flight wud be delayed for 2hrs. we couldnt get the late check out since next guests were expecting the room, we wandered around patong aimlessly n stopped by few cafes n shopping mall. later in the afternoon when we were at phuket airport, i was so sure the phuket airport tax was included in the air fare, but we were told not. i cant imagine if we didnt keep spared ringgit and usd notes, we wud hav stranded there. we checked in after the havoc, again we were informed the flight wud be delayed for another 30mins. we accepted jus-another-hiccups quietly as we were too exhausted to bitch about it anymore.

jus when we thought no more unexpected incidents wil happen when we reach lcct sepang, we found out we didnt have enough ringgit to take a cap home. we laughed, cos we couldnt think of anything better to do at tht moment. finally we got a "taxi sapu", a "flies" tht willing to giv us a ride at the amount we hav tht night... it was the 1st january 2007. happy new year.

pieces of here and there in phuket...

she shouted: "pussy power!".

i witnessed the "pussy power" on my first night in phuket. we were approached by a guy who later led us to a "a-go-go bar", which is small and dim inside. there's a narrow stage with few dancing poles, about 10 seats right in front of the stage and an elevated platform approximately fit 15 guests.

it was my first time watching a show like that, i was told how funny it is tht these women can do "stunts" with their privates downthere, but when i finally saw them doin it, i jus couldnt laugh at all. first thing i noticed is how uneasy was their expression, n when they did the "stunts", they hav this deep frown in their face. seeing them putting ping-pong balls, bananas, strings with razor blades...etc into their privates n push/pull them out, i had a deep frown between my eyebrows too. what kind of job for living is that? dignity can mean so little when we r in poverty. i walked out of the bar with a long n heavy sign...

we traded our souls for, food.

we spent with careful calculation for the rest of our days in phuket after paying a big chunk off the cash to our stay. yet our stomachs stil get treated well, all thanks to the credit cards. the starvation wil start during month end when the bills arrive, yeah we certainly know the terms & condition when swapping the evil plastics...

monkey's business

we stopped by this elephant jungle trekking centre, 50 ringgit for 25mins short ride on the giants, our wallets asked us to focus on the 2 funny monkeys instead. these 2 r truly born comedian. we had some fun there, with the monkeys at the elephant jungle trekking centre. hmm...

picture this & that...

reminder to the disastrous past.


many talented artists r found here, but mostly doin imitation work on famous paintings.
maybe they r in the middle of finding the true colors of themselves.


the bumpy bus ride to phuket town.


love birds in d bus.

what a piece of graphic.


let me say it again, it's really not because of my weight ok?


nice apartments at karon area.



ya nui beach.


chilling at ya nui beach.


somewhere on the way to promthep cape.


the view point tht overseeing half of phuket's coast line.


jam packed & crowded bangla street on new year eve.


forgive my camera for not being able to take a panaroma shot, but trust me,
this is not even close to the number of lanterns being released to the sky tht night.


n trust me again, it did happed like this, all blasted at the same time!



- the end-
happy 2007