All About Mie

Sawadee Ka Bangkok 2012 - Day 3

2012-02-04T20:19:00.011+08:00

I wanted to publish this entry sooner but I left my travel note in Penang (a small notebook where I jotted down important infos about our Bangkok journey for future reference), so was a bit lost on what to write while was in Kuching. Anyway, I compensated my 2 lousy sessions at Dahra Beauty and Spa, Bangkok and the Baan Silom Heritage hotel's own massage service with a 90 minutes aromatherapy massage at my favourite Thai Odyssey@Straits Quay. Finally .... rasa sangattttttttttttttttttttttttt puas! I will definitely request for Ya (the name of the therapist) again for my next session.

Sorry .... sidetrack!

By the way, I forgot to mention in my previous entry that Zaini and myself got ourselves the BTS Sky Train Smart Pass (since we traveled mostly on the Sky Train) which cost about 260 Baht (60 baht deposit + 100 baht card price + 100 baht reload value). Actually, it is convenience to have this card around having learned some valuable lessons during my last trip to Singapore, especially when travelled during peak hours or weekends. Cut the queue, cut the hassle. The BTS Sky Train Smart Pass is valid for 2 years from date of purchase.

BTS Sky Train Smart Pass and Singapore EZlink card.

Madame Tussauds, Bangkok

Our first destination on the third day was Madame Tussauds Bangkok. During my previous trip to Bangkok in 2010, Madame Tussauds Bangkok had yet to be opened. In fact, I found out about this "must-visit" attraction when helping Emelia planning her trip to Bangkok last year. It is the first in South East Asia and third in Asia after Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is located on the 6th Floor of Siam Discovery Centre. To get there we took the BTS Sky Train to Siam Station.

The ticket counter.

Naomi Campbell, welcoming visitors.

The ticket price is 800 baht which include a guidebook and a photo discount voucher. This is my first Madame Tussauds Wax Museum visit so I will not complain on the ticket price or number of wax figures on display. Except that, it was a bit smaller than I expected. We arrived early, so that we don't have to queue or fighting for our turn to snap pictures with our "idols".

Madame Marie Tussaud

Anyway, lately I truly felt blessed living in Asia ... many attractions now is coming to our region (i.e Madam Tussauds Bangkok and Universal Studio Singapore) so we don't have to spend so much money and travelling time just to visit these attractions in faraway countries. Plus the best low cost or budget airlines are also in our region ... therefore everyone can fly and everyday low fare! Seriously ... I am soooooo into Asian destinations at the moment.

The wax figures are divided into sections : The Royal Room, History, Leaders, Arts and Science, Sports, Music, Film, TV, A-List Party, Behind the Scenes and History of Madame Tussaud. There is a gift shop if you want to buy something back for your friends or love ones. I took so many photos and here are some of it ...

King Bhumibol parents

With our former Prime Minister, Tun M.

The First Lady of the White House.

Wow!!!! This is so scandalous.

Mie playing golf with Tiger.

I am sexy and I know it...

Slam Dunk with Yao Ming.

Help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Get me out from here.

Capt Jack Sparrow was not please with the "treasure" that he found.

(

Mie on Oprah ...

For other photos, feel free to check out Zaini's blog entry ....seriously, I was soooo envious of his photos with some of my favourite celebrities! (Yelaa kan some people kena "berdiri sama tinggi" baru nampak santek!)

Pratunam Market

We finished our tour at the Madame Tussauds at about 1.30pm. Initially we planned to go shopping at Siam Paragon but after seeing nothing really "unique" that caught our attention, Zaini suggested that we hit the Pratunam Market to look for costumes and accessories for shows. The taxi fare from Siam Paragon to Pratunam Market was about 50 baht (meter taxi).

Pratunam market comprised of retail stores and outdoor stalls, along narrow alleys. Most of the stalls I noticed selling textiles, clothing and accessories. Anyway, Zaini was looking for a tailor specialising in dance costumes whom he befriended many years ago. Of course we couldn't find the person, nor could he remember the exact location of the shop ... not when many of the shops looked identical.

Interesting T-shirt.

We found many shops selling costumes as we ventured further into the alley, complete with head gears and accessories. The costumes ranged from 800 baht and above. Most that caught my eyes priced between 1200 baht - 1500 baht (costume only). Consider veryyyyyyyyyyy cheap. In KL according to Zaini, one costume cost about RM 1000.00 plus plus ... The best thing is, they also do delivery. While Zaini was busy selecting the ostrich feathers, I got myself 2 beautiful batik sarongs (of all places) - my reason ... the designs were similar to a nyonya sarong and belt (only 79 baht!).

Berat OK!

Miss Universe

Fru fru

Hard Rock Cafe, Bangkok

We returned to the hotel to refresh ourselves for the Calypso show, happily carrying 2 big plastic bags containing headgears and ostrich feathers. I am sure, judging from the all the starings that we get, people assumed that Zaini was the cabaret dancer and I was his manager. It was sooooooo good to be back to the comfort of the hotel that I almost "terlajak tidur".

We hit the skytrain back to Siam Paragon and walk to Siam Square looking for Hard Rock Cafe Bangkok at Soi 2. Goodness I had forgotten that there were many great shops and booths at Siam Square selling fashion items. But time was limited and I really need to get to Hard Rock Cafe to get my T-shirt and shot glass.

Couldn't come here during my first trip. Now I got what I want!

Dinner at Sizzlers, Siam Centre

Initially, I wanted to have dinner at MK restaurant, a very famous suki/hotpot chain of restaurants in Thailand. But we were too lazy and hungry to locate the restaurant, plus we didn't have much time, so I told Zaini we should try the Sizzler restaurant at Level 4, Siam Centre. Went there before with Aey and Jett.

Just to prove that I went to Siam Paragon.

Grilled vegetable salad from the salad counter.

Grilled Bassa Pesto serve with brown rice.

Calypso Cabaret Ladyboy Show

Personally, no trip to Bangkok is complete without watching this ladyboy show (serious!). Especially first timers.

From Siam Center we took the BTS to Ratchadewi Station (about 5 minutes). The Ratchadewi Station linked directly with Asia Hotel, the venue of the Calypso Cabaret so not to worry about not finding the place. Calypso has two shows per night, 8.15 pm and 9.45pm.The ticket cost us about 1200 baht per person.

Established in 1988, you get the feel of the 1950-60s cabaret when you enter the theater. The theater can accommodate up to 350 guests per night and the seating arrangement is 5 seats per table.

We were among the first to arrive.

The ticket comes with a free drink coupon.

Mie and Zaini.

It was another full house that night and most of the patrons were foreigners and tourists. We saw (and heard) some guests communicated in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, and of course the Queen's English and some other European languages. Some even make new friends especially those who came alone or with groups of friends but were seated next to each other like the China-Chinese guy and Japanese girls on the table next to ours.

The show was divided into few performances, each with it's own theme.

(Pre Show) First Lady-The Classic

(Pre Show) Italy - Young, Beautiful, Handsome

Opening Show - With all the feathers.

The Chinese Ballad

The Ostrich Parade

The Wondergirls

Blossom

Geisha

Can't remember but I call it Burlesque.

Contemporary Thai.

Taco fantasy.

Like The Flow of The River.

Finale

The show was entertaining but I think I prefer Simon Cabaret in Phuket. The "girls" in Simon Carbaret were also better looking, plus the performances were more colourful, modern and energetic. Plus I think they have to do something on the commentaries ... a lot of "Ladies and Gentlemen". The audio sound system also they have to improve, suddenly the music just stopped with a thud instead of slowly fading out.

End of Day 3.

The Next Generation

2012-01-29T03:05:00.000+08:00

I am taking another break from penning my next entry on 3rd day in Bangkok. As you all know, I went back to Kuching for Chinese New Year 2012 and we are ushering in the year of the Dragon (Water Dragon). So water is the element of the year. Bagus lah ... cool down banyak yang "panas-panas" yang sedang hangat berlaku kat seluruh dunia sekarang ni.

Anyway, to conservative Chinese ... the dragon year is among the most awaited year. It is a year of transformation, its a year that they should have babies (kalau son lagi bagus). Many believe Dragon babies bring luck to the family and people who are born in the year of the Dragon one day will hold high positions or very influential. You see ... in ancient China, the celestial Dragon represents an emperor and power. Today, it is the ultimate auspicious symbol signifying success and happiness.

Having said that, many fengshui masters predicted that this year would not be prosperous lah sebab the most fearsome star that is 5 Yellow (ni boleh sebabkan extreme financial lost and injuries) is entering the Dragon sector of Southeast. Bad news for me, Snake also share the same sector so this is not a year for me to be overzealous in work or relationship (if any). Have to be extra careful and lay low this year. My consolation is that, this year's element is water whereas 5 Yellow is an Earth star. So water is destructive to earth so the impact will not be that bad huhuhuhu

Anyway, this year I spent most of my time with my nephews and nieces. They have grown so big, playful and naughty. I am happy that to see that the brothers, sisters and cousins are getting closer from the new generation. I did a lot of cooking too this CNY. From normal meals, to our open house dishes, to family party and gravies for my cousin Grace (so that she could cook her kids favourite dishes). I showcased few new recipes from all my "travel and living" experience in Penang - Kari Kapitan (modified), Duck in Salted Vegetables, Bangkok Tom Yum (from scratch uolssssss ... takdenyer pes pes), Spaghetti ala Aglio Olio (Amberly merajuk that everyone finished it up when she asked for 2nd helping) ... andddddd a dish I called ...


Ayer Itam Duck - inspired by the famous Ayer Itam Duck Rice and Kylie Kwong version of Peking Duck. After roasting it for few minutes, the duck then cut in pieces and pour the special gravy on top

I also babysat for Florence and Grace - supposed to be until Thursday, then the kids didn't want to go home then extended to Saturday. I loved having kids around especially when they are well-behave. Well, my cousins did a wonderful job in raising their kids ... except both of them are lazy cooks ... so for 6 days, their kids get to eat proper home-cooked food from Auntie Mie.

From left to right: Ashleigh, Amberly, Gina, Marco, Maegan and Michelle. Funny bah my nephews and nieces, my mother pulak they anggap their nenek.


The baby in pink is Fidelia. By the way, I think Michelle and Ashleigh will grow into stunning beauties one day.

The girls sleepover getaways at my mum's house.

Amberly doing the split.

Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to showcase, the little mister whom I mentioned in my previous entry. Jeng jeng jeng jeng .....

The rumor is true ... I am my Mamma Mie new man ... do you have problem with that?

This is my girl so jangan kacau.

So this CNY, I met Mr Carl Nickson for the first time. I was so shocked to see a 1 month plus baby that looks like a 3 months old baby. According to his grandma, his weight now is 5kg plus plus. Goodness, looking at him, holding him makes me want to have my own baby ... (terus sakit perut walaupun tak berkaitan).

CARL NICKSON SPECIAL SHOTS by Rambomadonna

Shot 1 - okay sleeping peacefully.

Shot 2 : Closer shot, ok still sleeping.

Shot 3: At this time, the kids were shouting and baby Nick "terkejut" (panic!!!)

Shot 4: Alamak terbangun pulak .... I did try to put him back to sleep but he kept staring at me.

"Don't kiss me anymore", I think that's what Baby Nick was trying to say.

I knew he wanted to "play".

Eh ... who taught him that ... jaga Mama pukul nanti.

I must put on my best pose too ... Aunty Amberly is too photogenic.

I love to be the centre of attention!

Sawadee Ka Bangkok 2012 - Day 2

2012-01-27T09:00:00.001+08:00

Due to the very long entry on my first day in Bangkok, now I have problem to construct my line of thoughts for this second entry to due "brain hang" (bukan komputer saja boleh hang) hehehe ... Anyway, after returning back to the hotel from Siam Niramit, plus shower and everything, I utilised the wifi facilties on my Ipad (may God Bless your soul Steve Job) to plan the next 3 days of my stay here.

The "window" from the shower overlooking the bed for some "nice" view. (Ni terpaksa bermain dengan imaginasi je lah sebab nobody untuk nak buat "tiger show tu")

Night time at Baan Silom. (Kalau i hala kamera ke kiri sikit malam tu, memang boleh nampak adegan ranjang saja-saja buat-buat tak tengok...)

Hehehe .... I thought I only find "snacks" inside the snack basket.

From the beginning of this trip I had decided to explore Bangkok from the eyes of a tourist ... it might not be as the same as the last trip where I blended in with the Thais - living with a Thai family in sub-urban Bangkok, eating home-cook or Thai street food, shopping where Thai people will shop etc, moreover travelling with great Thai friends. This time I had to figure out everything my own, but it will be equally enjoyable, only different experience and settings.

The colourful taxis bring some colour to Bangkok jam-packed traffic and sombre post flood mood.

The Chatuchak Weekend Market

To most Malaysian tourists ... one of the must-visits in Bangkok is the Chatucak Weekend Market. I missed this weekend market during my previous trip in 2010 as I had to choose between rail trip to Kanchanaburi or shopping spree at Chaktucak since both places only operate on weekends. Glad that I decided the Kanchanaburi rail trip the last time, at least I could look forward to explore Chaktucak this time around.

The map... (sekali pandang macam kecik jer tempat ni)

The weekend market is one of the largest in the world, covers an area of 35 acres, divided into 27 sections and with more than 5,000 booths offering a wide variety of products including household items, clothing, Thai handicrafts, religious artifacts, collectibles, foods, and live animals from all over Thailand. The place is sooo huge that I didn't know where to begin and what I was supposed to buy here. Anyway, imagine if we could expand Satok Market to sell goods from all over Sarawak (or Borneo), i am sure that would be exciting.

We arrived early, around 10.00 am so the crowd was just building up.

Don't forget to bring a cap or hat if you visit this market to shade your face from the sun.

You can take the MRT (to Chatuchak Park Station or Kamphaengphet Station) or BTS Skytrain (to Mochit Station) to the market. The market was about 5 minutes walk from the stations (or 1 minute if you run hehehe). Come early so that you could enjoy the place with less crowd. The market open from 6.00 am to 6.00 pm

To be honest, I had no plans to buy anything at Chatuchak. I just want to see what the hype was all about (plus like I said ... I didn't know what to buy) and why tourists especially Malaysians love to come here. The weather was fine, it was quite hot but people didn't seem to care. There were few items that caught my eyes but as usual I was more interested on food (sangat merugikan kan?) ... Food always excites me!

I was quite tempted to try out some stalls selling what I saw as mixed rice or stir fries but had to be careful as I was travelling with a Muslim friend. Then I saw a lot of people eating at this stall. Plus since I was so thirsty and suddenly felt hungry, I decided to try out the noodle.

First stop, stall selling noodle soup with chicken.

Local cola brand .... quite nice.

The noodle soup with chicken .. actually it was the noodle they used that I wanted to try. A crossover between kuey teow and meehoon.

After filling my tummy, Zaini and myself walked further up ... we saw more and more interesting food, snacks and desserts... I just couldn't resist good food!

Young lady selling Ming Kam ... Jett's favourite. About 20 baht.

If in Thai restaurant in Malaysia Ming Kam is like an appetiser and quite pricey. Here it is only 20 baht and eaten as snack. Yummy!

Chocolate coated bananas ... (wowwwwww ssoooo biggggg)

Stall selling homemade coconut ice-cream.... my favourite dessert in Bangkok.

Coconut ice cream with toppings like peanuts, read beans, sweet corn and many more.

Mie with my coconut ice-cream hehehe

If my family joined me this trip, I am sure they will start "borong" everything there especially the household items. They just love flea markets. Many of the things sold here I had seen before in the flea markets of Chiengmai, Hatyai, Phuket, Narathiwat and Penang, but I never grew tired admiring them. I was interested in few stalls selling spa products, contemporary arts, books and some handmade Thai silk.

Stopped to buy some salt scrub and herbal compress here.

I love the packaging of this product made with local ingredient. Bought some here too.

Got myself a caricature potrait drawn by a street artist. Cost me about 130 baht with frame.

Artwork made from recycle products.

For lunch we stopped at a restaurant which according to Zaini, the interior deco was sooo awesome and soooo large (we sat outdoor). Unfortunately, the service was quite bad. I saw most of the patrons were "farangs" and the waiter attending to our table seemed not interested to serve us. Anyway, we ordered 2 pineapple fried rice and mango sticky rice for dessert. Except for the mango sticky rice, the pineapple fried rice was so-so ... (I terus teringat nasi ayam and pork rice dekat satu area kami lalu tadi .... ramai orang makan kat situ huhuhu)

Mango sticky rice .... love the mango, so refreshing.

Pineapple fried rice.

After lunch we continued to look around, wishing we could bring the whole market back to Penang with us. I am so jealous of Thai people. Not only this is a great place for cheap and beautiful household items, clothing, accesories and handicrafts, it is also a great place for budding entrepreneur/artists to showcase their products/artworks and made contacts with future agents, distributors or customers. I will definitely return here in the future (banyak dah benda dalam wish lists and shopping lists).

Dahra Beauty and Spa

We completed our Chatuchak trip at 3.00 pm so that we could returned to the hotel to rest and refresh before our 3 hour 45 minutes spa session at Dahra Beauty and Spa, which we booked earlier in the morning through Victor, the hotel front office manager. No trip to any part of Thailand is complete without a trip to a local spa or massage centre. We booked for the full spa treatment package that includes facial, body scrub, body wrap and body massage at 50% discount (2490 baht).

Mie with the customer service staff

I found out about this spa from Tripadvisor while googling for spas around Silom area. Main reason to be selected ... wide range of treatments. Thai spas are famous for their hospitality and massages, and I would like to expand that to their body scrub, body wrap and facial. My benchmark for full spa treatment so far ... Taman Sari Spa, Jakarta.

We decided to walk to the spa which is at Soi 12 from our hotel at Soi 19, so we could enjoy the evening breeze, checking out the many stores along Silom Road or try out a snack or two (makan lagi). I noticed there were so many Indian tailor shops selling custom-made suits and evening dress along Silom Road. I was tempted to get myself one but luckily, Zaini manage to "save" me.

Some of the ingredients used in the treatments.

Back to the spa, I chose normal facial, white sesame with yogurt body scrub, honey milk body wrap and lemongrass oil for my massage.

The foot massage area.

The single treatment room.

My verdict:

We did our facial in a different treatment room where there was no proper treatment bed and we had to lay on the floor mattress. The facial was okay though I was not happy that the therapist did the treatment in very dim light especially during the extraction process. Secondly, they did the facial with our head on their lap. They could always do the facial in the treatment room. Anyway, I still found myself dozing off during the facial.

The herbal compress or Luk Pra Kob is a must try especially those who has very tired muscle due to stress or fatigue. Combine with slow massage strokes and acupressure (especially Swedish technique), you will definitely be transported to 7th heaven.

Unfortunately, the other treatments that followed (especially the massage) were not up to my expectation. I could understand that they might had a long day and perhaps they had so many customers that day butttttttttttttttttttt .... whatever the reason was, treat your customers like Queen and King for a day. I was soooooo looking forward to the massage my body need pampering but I think they just do it in less that 60 minutes. I was also not happy that they did the other treatments hastily and in hurry. Plus, I was not impressed with their no "protecting the customer's modesty" policy. This spa ... based on that experience ... to me was overrated on Tripadvisor (I already submitted my review) or perhaps I was just unlucky to get such therapist. Luckily we paid a 50% discount price!

Having said that, I see the rational and potential now of getting all the spas in Penang star-rated. Yes, spa treatments cost in Penang might be higher than of Bangkok but at least customers can be assured of quality and enjoyable treatment. Plus by getting the spas rated, we can make sure spa operators used quality ingredients in their products, maintained high level of hygiene (especially using fresh ingredients), used proper equipments, get trained therapist etc. I have so much work to do ....

Dinner at Silom Village

Feast fit for a queen.

To fix our "broken heart" we decided to have dinner at Silom Village with was about 50 metres away from our hotel. We were so hungry for a "proper" meal that we ended up ordering so many dishes ... all Thai specialty. By the way, we came a bit late so missed the Thai performances.

Pandan chicken (Chicken in screwpine leaves)

Tom yum goong

Oyster Omellette

Grill squid.

Steamed seabass with lime.

The food was okay ... nothing much to shout about as I think we could get the same Thai dishes quite easily in KL and Penang. Plus I have eaten much better ones in other parts of Bangkok and Thailand. The price was on the higher side (this is a tourist area) but at least the seafood were fresh and succulent. Plus we enjoyed the food and managed to finish most of it.

End of Day 2.

The Single Story - Pre Dragon New Year Shopping

2012-01-21T09:53:00.000+08:00

I am taking a break from penning down my entry for Sawadee Ka Bangkok 2012 - Day 2. Yesssss .... it is another long entry until akak pun sudah naik pening uolsss ... Dah janji pada diri sendiri kan ... tahun ni nak tulis banyak-banyak dalam blog. So balik semalam from work, rasa nak share feeling-feeling seseorang yang single and not sure nak searching ke tak beberapa hari before New Year of the Dragon.

Anyway I read in few online fengshui sites that this year would not be a great year for a snake lady like me and so I had to lay low this year. Many obstacles will come my way and therefore I should be more cautious, rest more and careful with my money. Well, I think so too. I really want to slow down this year ... about time I further my studies to a higher level.

So after shutting down my office PC, I took 5 minutes to think of what I want to do later.One thing sucks about being single is that, terpaksa lah buat semua sorang-sorang ... kena get use to it. Shopping and watching movies I am okay buat sorang-sorang, in fact I lebih suka pun buat sorang-sorang. We can plan our time and kita tak perlu tunggu orang.

Since it is customary for me to follow certain tradition and belief before CNY, I decided to shop for some important items like new underwear, new clothes etc. But first, I want to reward myself with nice food ... and I was in the mood for something Japanese.

I am so happy that there is a Sakae Sushi outlet in 1st Avenue, Penang. Well, after sampling so many Japanese restaurants including the ones that the Japanese in Penang and KL love to dine, I think Sakae Sushi is still a better alternative to Sushi King and cheaper alternative to my favourite restaurants like Kirishima (Cititel) or Muraku (G Hotel) or Rakuzen (Plaza Damas).

Monthly specialsssss ... sini nak order guna Ipad lagi.

Somehow, since I mostly dine alone, I still think its better to find a Japanese restaurant with Kaiten belt and counter top so you can simply choose and pick what you what to eat without having to bother about people looking at you sympathetically (very negative thoughts) ... actually, orang pun bukan peduli pun tapi kita jer dok segan-segan. Anyway, yesterday rasa special pulak ... tiba-tiba the staff give special attention to me pulak. Balik-balik tanya nak order lagi ke tak, nak refill air ke tak ... Best pulak.

Ikura Chawanmushi

Salmon sashimi

Trio sushi - Tamago, Sake and Unagi

The monthly special - Tropical Salmon Roll

I was surprised that I didn't eat as much as I would at Sakae yesterday. Penat kot ... Seriously, minda I sangat penat semalam. Sebab nak pastikan semua berjalan lancar for our first event on the 17 February and another one on 17th March, rasa nak gila iols plan pengisian, kerahkan staff and before balik semalam ... was really angry at my Ketua Unit PI for making a very unforgivable mistake, and it was not the first time. So after lecturing her and at the same time perbetulkan balik bajet, I rasa tenaga I dah habis keluar dari badan.

Deco CNY di 1st Avenue, Penang

Last year, the family welcomed a new member ... Carl Nickson (Baby Nick) which according to family hierarchy is my grandnephew. Hmmm dah jadi nenek rupanya I ni. Mie and Baby Nick's grandfather are first cousins, but our families are so close that we were brought up like brother and sister. In fact I called Baby Nick's great grandmother "Sindo" which means mother in Bidayuh. Baby Nick's auntie ... Gina, is the apple of my parent's eyes. I planned to teach Nick to call me Mama, sort of sounded like Ah Ma (Hokkien for Grandma) ...

Susahnya nak shop baju for baby boy ... sungguh tak seronok.

Kalau time CNY mesti selipar I hilang atau tak tau ke mana so setahun sekali kena beli slipper baru.

Rasa sedih pulak nak tinggalkan my aunties during CNY. Last year Christmas pun tak celebrate sangat with them. Usually my family in Penang celebrate Christmas as my late grandmother was born on Christmas. So i memory of her, they will hold some prayers and offer some offerings during Christmas and CNY. Balik semalam terhidu something yang sangat sangat sedap ... wah rupanya Auntie Rose made Acar (achat) for me to bring back.

Auntie Rose Acar

Acar ni a must in our house during Chinese New Year and weddings. It is a nyonya dish that ramai tak buat dah. I love to eat this with keropok. I am happy that some traditions and recipes dah sikit sikit Auntie Rose perturunkan to me. So far she taught me Gulai ayam, Sambal Hay Bee and Assam Laksa. I pulak taught her how to cook Spaghetti hehehe ... can't wait for her to teach me Otak-Otak, Acar and Jiuhu Char.

Wonder how's the preparation in Kuching.

Sawadee Ka Bangkok 2012 - Day 1

2012-01-19T15:39:00.000+08:00

Still feeling jittery and sleepy from my trip to Bangkok ... Anyway, few months back something just happened and I decided to go to Bangkok to "settle" it. I had been to Bangkok before but since the trip was all planned by Jethro and Aey, some of the details were quite blurry especially the "how to go where".

Nonetheless, since this is an opportunity that shouldn't be missed, I decided to make the most out of it though the feeling might not be as excited as the first time. I was joined by my new bosom buddy, Zaini, who wanted to learn more about the cultural scenes of Bangkok - especially now that he was just appointed as the artistic officer of Penang Municipal Council.

The Flight

I decided to try the Thai Airways as the fare was quite cheap that time plus the flight schedule enabled me to have more time to enjoy Bangkok. Thai Airways fly daily to Penang (Penang-Bangkok 8.10 am, Bangkok-Penang 7.45pm).. and of course there is our World Best Budget Carrier Air Asia ... also flying daily to Penang-Bangkok but the time didn't agree with me.

The flight was smooth, and as usual I will start comparing the interior of the cabin and the crew service with MAS. Well, not much difference to MAS but usually during take off and during descending, MAS will start playing traditional Malay music. Personally, I think this is MAS plus point. For international flights ... I feel that the national carrier is the first contact point between a tourist and his/her destination. So simple thing like light traditional music not only serves as listening pleasure but also igniting excitement to tourists.

The inflight meal - not much difference with MAS.

Actually on the cover of this mealbox was an advertisement of Thai Airways routes in Japan. Few days before, I attended the Consulate General Office in Penang talk on Discover Japan, which aims to encourage Malaysians to visit Japan post-tsunami. Based on the Consulate statistics, Thailand rank no.1 in tourist arrivals to Japan from South East Asia followed by Malaysia (no wonder).

Nok Air ... sounds exciting ...

The flight from Penang to Bangkok was about 1 hour 20 minutes and the time difference is one hour (Bangkok time is one hour behind Penang time). To be honest, upon arrival in Bangkok, I just found out that my "partner in crime" didn't book the hotel for us, reason being, want to survey first. I also found out that he didn't book the Calypso show, reason being online booking is more expensive. And because he didn't book the hotel, the Siam Niramit agent arranged for our pickup from Baiyoke Sky Hotel which is in Pratunam (and I had no idea where it was that time).

Hmmm ... I hope that he learned by now why I planned and settle my reservation before a trip... because when we are too tired, all we want is to get some rest and sleep. Up to the day before our flights, we were still busy with our works. I just don't have the energy to move from one place to another looking for rooms. Anyway, I just don't want to spoil the vacation mood by being angry or irritated. Besides I had expected it too judging from his tight schedules (pegawai tinggi katakan ...)

The Bangkok Rail Service

We took the train from Suvanabhumi Airport to the Bangkok. 2 years ago when I first set foot in Bangkok, the airport rail link was still in its testing stage. But I didn't get the chance to try it out as Aey said, it was easier to go to her house by bus. We took the commuter train which make 8 stops and took about 30 minutes to reach the Central Bangkok (Phayathai station).

The train service from Suvanabhumi Airport to Central Bangkok.

Like KLIA ERL, the airport rail link is divided into direct express trains (15 mins) and commuter trains (30 minutes and 8 stops) . The last station is Phayathai.

View of Bangkok traffic from the train.

Me with my red luggage in Bangkok

This simple tourist information card caught my attention when I arrived at the Phayathai Station. Looks so cute and trendy. It just list out the what, where, who and how in Bangkok.

Simple and cute ... informative for tourists.

The BTS Skytrain


The Silom Route

The Heritage Hotel@Baan Silom

From the Phayathai Station, we took the BTS Sky Train to Saladaeng station and from there we took the tuk-tuk to the Heritage Hotel @Baan Silom. Lucky for us, there were available rooms throughout the week. Anyway, since we too tired to negotiate the tuk-tuk fare, Bank, the tuk-tuk driver charged us 60 Baht just to ferry us from Saladaeng station to Baan Silom. To the locals it might be between 20-30 baht. But since he was friendly and helpful, I forgave him.

Bank - the tuk tuk driver with his tourist information guide. Impressive.

The Heritage Hotel Baan Silom

There were few fancy restaurants, cafes,salons,spas and shops around the hotel. Like the buildings.

The room. Spacious bed ...

The bathroom. Love the rain shower.

The room rate was 1350 Baht per night inclusive breakfast, quite okay considering the location and the type of the room that we get. It also include wifi service, queen size bed, rain shower, aircon, fan and a nice view from the balcony. Nearest BTS Skytrain station is Surasak, which is about 10-15 minutes walk (5 mins if you run) from the hotel. There are convenience stores like 7-eleven nearby (I calculated that there are about 3), TOP supermarket, lots of tailor shops, massage centres and banks. There are also ample of public transports like tuk-tuk, buses and taxis. If you take the taxi to the Surasak station, it only cost you about 40-45 Baht.

The Gem Production Co. Limited Pit-Stop

Since I really wanted to get everything settled on my first day in Bangkok so that I could enjoy the rest of the vacation days, I told Zaini that we should figure out Baiyoke Sky Hotel location, book the Calypso show and stop somewhere for lunch. I wanted to use my free time to settle some work that I was supposed to handle in Bangkok. While Zaini was handling our hotel matters, I somehow managed to schedule my appointment with the trustee to sign the papers on Monday and negotiated with Bank the tuk-tuk fare to Asia Hotel, Thailand Tourist Information Centre and Jim Thompson Mansion, which was along the same route.

We didn't plan to stop here anyway but as Bank explained to me that his sponsor will "give him coupon" if he brought us here, with no obligation to purchase. I saw no harm in admiring the jewels. I bought a sapphire on white gold ring (a smaller and stylish version of the Duchess of Cambridge's) during my last trip, so was hoping that could get a matching earings at great bargain price. Yes, there were some that caught my eyes but too bad, I couldn't afford any of it :(

Jim Thompson House

If you googled for 10 must visit places in Bangkok, you would see that one of it is Jim Thompson House. 2 years back I thought it was just another Thai styled building (I visited so many palaces and temples then) so I skipped this in my itinerary. This time I wonder what the rave was all about.

Mie posing at the entrance.

View from the entrance.

Important information.

The entrance to the main building and the garden.

Mie at the garden.

The tropical garden just took my breath away.

The Jim Thompson House is the home of James H.W. Thompson, a self-made American entrepreneur who was the founder of the world renowned Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company. Thompson's achievements during his 25 year stay in the Kingdom of Thailand have won him much fame as the "Legendary American of Thailand". In 1967, Jim Thompson went on holiday with friends to the Cameron Highlands. There he set out for a walk in the surrounding jungle but never returned. Thus began the Jim Thompson legend.

The house consists of a complex of six traditional Thai-style houses, teak structures that were purchased from several owners and brought to the present location from various parts of Thailand. Construction of the Thai house was completed in 1959. Though the architecural design is Thai, but many of the interior designs, furnitures and household items were of Western influence. I was quite impressed with the in-house guides who spoke in fluent English, French, Japanese and Mandarin.

I love the garden ... so beautiful and serene.

Mie among the farangs ...

Tropical fish and tortoise pond.

The fish look scary.

We were allowed to take photos of the garden but not while inside the house. Too bad cause I really want to show how a television looked like in 1950s Thailand. And it only has one channel. Well, apparently in the 1950s Thailand, people keep white mouse in a television-like box of maze (a bit like hamster home these days). So to keep them amused, they will watch how the mouse move from one maze to another maze until it found it's prize ... food and water hehehe..

I think that the tour inside the museum was really worth it. Considering the way our guide presented her commentaries and the number of things to see inside the house. To me it was also a great way to glimpse the lifestyle of the rich and famous in the olden days Bangkok, particular the blending of the East and West cultures.

After completing our tour at the Jim Thompson house, we realised that our tuk-tuk driver had left us. Then we understand what he meant by his sponsor "give him coupon" - meaning our tuk-tuk fare will be paid by Gem Production Limited if he bring us to the gem shop. So we decided to walk down the alley, for a little sight seeing and we found out that there is a skytrain station nearby (National Museum Station), about 5 minutes walk from Jim Thompson House.

The Lunch

Since both of us were tired, lack of sleep as we both had functions and tight schedule the day before, we decided to have lunch around our hotel area. Though Zaini convinced me over and over again that he didn't mind if I want to eat "something non-halal" in front of him, I still felt uneasy. So luckily there was a Lebanese restaurant nearby and that settled it.

Nadimos - a Lebanese restaurant

Pickles - not so nyums

Grilled Chicken with fries and pita bread.

After checking into our rooms, I realised that my luggage lock was malfunction. My God, I was so tired and I badly need a bath and this was not what I expected to happen. Zaini and Goofy (the hotel concierge staff) had to get someone to carefully cut the zip fastener in such a way that I don't have to buy new luggage bag. Zaini told me that they (Zaini, Goofy and the cutter) were shouting in excitement once they managed to detach the fastener from the lock. Hmmmm .... adik-adik sangat uolssss...

Siam Niramit

Though Zaini had been to Bangkok before, he never got the chance to explore the city well as during those days he was busy performing in cultural shows for Tourism Malaysia. I told him that he shouldn't miss Siam Niramit , a spectacular show of Thai arts and culture. It may give him some ideas on how to develop the arts and culture scenes in Penang. So okaylah, watch the show for the second time for his sake.

Taking a breather ....

We had quite an adventure figuring out Baiyoke Sky Hotel location for our pickup to Siam Niramit. But the good thing was ... that was how we found out the Pratunam market. I had never been there but Zaini told me that the place was heaven for dancers and showmakers.

Okay, our agent booked our tickets with buffet dinners so, since we arrived early, we decided to have a stroll at the Cultural Village before heading to the restaurant for our dinner.

Traditional hut

Rice cracker making.

Reminded me of the movie Nang Nak.

Funny, if this is my backyard ... i will surely cringe. But here ... cantik puler.

Funny ... I felt like i was looking at an old village house in my kampung.

The village house upclose.

Rice pudding making.

The rice pudding is seriously yummy - sweet and creamy.

The buffet spread was not as great as the Phuket Fantasea but the selections were quite okay for first time tourists to Bangkok or Thailand. I also noticed that they didn't serve any pork and besides Thai dishes, there are selections for vegetarian and Indian food.

The restaurant.

Noodle soup with chicken.

Tom yum goong

Coconut ice-cream - soooo yummy.

There were also some outdoor shows and activities such as elephant riding for guests and tourists before the actual show that starts at 8.00 pm.

Cultural show (oudoor)

Elephant riding

I think I blend well with the Thais...

End of Day 1 ( this is just the first day)

The Learning Forest

2012-01-12T13:29:00.002+08:00

Isnin lalu, penulis menghadiri mesyuarat di Taman Negara Teluk Bahang mengenai projek panel Intrepretasi dan kemudahan pelancongan di kawasan Bukit Batu Itam. Sebenarnya ini merupakan mesyuarat untuk memantau kemajuan projek di samping mendapatkan maklumbalas daripada semua pihak yang terbabit akan masalah yang dihadapi. Beberapa minggu yang lepas, penulis dikejutkan dengan berita pekerja-pekerja kontraktor melarikan diri dari tapak projek ... bukan kerananya melarikan diri daripada operasi PATI tetapi gangguan mahkluk yang tidak sesuai digambarkan rupanya di sini.

Penulis setakat ini berpuas hati dengan kemajuan projek walaupun masih ada keraguan terhadap kurangnya elemen teknologi hijau dalam pembinaan kemudahan infrastruktur yang telah diluluskan. Sungguhpun begitu, penulis tertarik apabila ketua perunding panel Interpretasi yang dilantik daripada Universiti Putra Malaysia menggunakan terma "Learning Forest" dalam semua kertas laporan beliau.

Lantas penulis pun bertanya, "Profesor, is this Learning Forest the name of a firm?"

"No, it is a concept that we want to bring forward" balas beliau.

Terus penulis meminta izin untuk menjenamakan Taman Negara Pulau Pinang Teluk Bahang sebagai Learning Forest. Sebenarnya dari segi peribadi, penulis agak tidak bersetuju dengan apa-apa bentuk pembangunan yang dilakukan di kawasan yang telah diwartakan sebagai Taman Negara. Sungguhpun taman negara diwujudkan bukan sahaja bagi tujuan penyelidikan, bahkan bagi maksud ekopelancongan, tetapi sebarang bentuk aktiviti manusia sekecil kuman sekalipun bukan sahaja mengganggu ekosistem malahan meningkatkan "carbon footprints' di kawasan tersebut.

Mungkin disebabkan tiada atau kurang hutan rimba untuk masyarakat Pulau Pinang mempelajari flora dan fauna, pembangunan di Taman Negara Pulau Pinang seperti dihalalkan bagi tujuan pendidikan dan riadah. Tapi agar tidak terjadi seperti kes Taman Botani dan Bukit Bendera, penulis tercari-cari hala tuju dan tema sesuai untuk mengawal pembangunan di Taman Negara Pulau Pinang.

Batu penyu

Batu buaya

Berbanding taman negara yang lain, Taman Negara Pulau Pinang tidaklah memiliki keunikan dari segi koleksi flora atau fauna, tetapi lebih menjurus kepada formasi alam semulajadi seperti tasik meromitik (tasik air masin dan air tawar ... satu-satunya di rantau Asia), formasi batu yang berbentuk seperti haiwan, dan kisah lagenda masyarakat tempatan. Selain itu, terdapat pusat penetasan penyu di Pantai Kerachut.

Penulis bermain dengan anak penyu dari jenis Penyu Hijau (Chelonia mydas)

Gambar ihsan daripada MOTOUR Penang Office

Semasa penulis menuntut di Universiti Malaysia Sabah, penulis berpeluang menerokai Lembah Danum dan menyusuri Banjaran Crocker bersama teman-teman. Itu belum segala hutan belukar yang diredah semasa pegawai kadet PALAPES UMS. Terkasima sebentar penulis melihat ulat gonggok yang ya ampun besarnya dan semut yang sebesar anak lipas! Itu belum lagi babi hutan, gajah pigmi, payau, dan bermacam-macam tumbuhan pelik.


Jeti Pantai Kerachut

Muka Head -pertemuan Selat Sunda (keruh) dan Selat Melaka (biru)

Jadi, tidaklah penulis takjub sangat apabila menyusuri laluan denai dan trek di Taman Negara Pulau Pinang. Bagaimanapun Taman Negara Pulau Pinang merupakan satu-satunya Taman Negara persisiran pantai (coastal national park) di Malaysia.Cuma entah mengapa, apabila terpandang perkataan Learning Forest penulis mula membayangkan satu hutan simpan yang mana pembelajarannya hidup, santai tetapi informatif. Bermain dengan lagenda, maklumat saintifik, taboo dan kata-kata nasihat atas panel interpretasi yang dipasang di kawasan tertentu di laluan trek. Tajuk-tajuk seperti MORE THAN SEXUAL, THE BLOODSUCKERS ... pasti menarik perhatian pengunjung untuk terus membaca.

Sebenarnya penulis belum pergi lebih jauh dengan memperkenalkan QR Code (Quick Response Code) yang dipasang atas tag-tag yang dipasang pada pokok-pokok tertentu.Pengunjung hanya perlu mengimbas QR code ini ke dalam telefon pintar yang mempunyai pengimbas QR code dan maklumat berhubung spesies pokok, asal, kegunaan dan sebagainya akan dimuat turun ke telefon pintar sebagai rujukan. Sekarang boleh dikatakan telefon pintar memang sudah mampu untuk dimiliki dan mudah untuk dikendalikan.

Apa-apapun ... harap impian ini dapat dicapai suatu hari nanti.

Peace Be With You ...

2012-01-10T23:22:00.001+08:00

I was doing some photo housekeeping on my digital camera SD cards when I stumbled upon my cousin's Florence family trip to KL photos. Hehehe ... the kids are so cute, adorable and cheeky ... especially the youngest one, Maegan. Maegan unfortunately is not a very friendly toddler, especially not to strangers. However, after a few days, she warmed up towards me and seriously ... she's quite a handful. Everything that caught her fancy, will be hers for the day ... including my bantal busuk huhuhu

But she is not stingy with her peace-offering ... hahaha

Hmmm ... shall we offer one another a sign of peace???

Mencari Semangat Yang Hilang ...

2012-01-10T10:02:00.001+08:00

Semalam seorang teman rapat penulis bertanya melalui khidmat pesanan BBM ...

"Uolsssss ... jadi ke nak buat Music In The Park tu?"

Penulis menjawab selamba, "Jadi ...."

Teman bertanya lagi, "Bila nak buat? Berapa kali nak buat dalam sebulan? Konsep dia macam mana? Hari apa nak buat?"

Teman penulis mempunyai niat yang sangat baik, iaitu membantu penulis untuk mempromosikan acara-acara yang dianjurkan oleh Pejabat penulis. Ditambah lagi dengan menjadi impian penulis dan teman penulis untuk memperkenalkan lebih banyak acara yang bersifat 1Malaysia ... kontemporari ... dan paling penting .... "segar dari ladang"

Tapi kadang-kadang dengan peruntukan kewangan yang belum diterima, dasar sedia ada berhubung penganjuran acara bagi 2012 di peringkat negeri masih samar-samar, penulis merasakan soalan teman penulis sangat meletihkan minda hahaha. Salah satu tips yang dikongsi oleh penulis The Happiness Projects, Gretchen Rubin, Act The Way I Want To Feel ... kita selalu ingat kita bertindak mengikut perasaan kita, tetapi sebenarnya perasaan kita banyak dipengaruhi oleh tindakan kita. Contoh: jika kita buat sesuatu yang baik pada hari ini seperti membuat orang tersenyum atau ketawa, kita akan merasa gembira betul tak?

Jadi pagi ni, dalam usaha mencari semangat yang hilang ... terpaksalah penulis merasa bersemangat untuk mencari ilham untuk acara Music In The Park tu.

Hmmmm ... Ni lokasi acara ... dapat bayang tak apa yang boleh nak letak kat tempat lapang ni?

Ni jalan nak menuju ke kawasan lapang tu. Agak cantik jugak kan?

Ini pula facade nak masuk ke laluan masuk ke kawasan lapang tu.

Gambar ni tiada kaitan dengan lokasi acara sebab terlampau letih nak fikir dan nak naikkan semangat bekerja penulis terpaksa membayangkan makanan ini ... huhuhuh

Sunday Rendezvous on 08.01.2012 @Straits Quay

2012-01-09T00:41:00.004+08:00

2 years back, my weekends in KL usually will be full of self pampering, sometimes reading, sometimes watching movies ... at times wondering and questioning why my life was so "miserable" (hehehe this one usually during the full moon lah").

I am entering my third year in Penang but I haven't quite yet settle to have that special weekend rendezvous apart from breakfast at Ayer Itam market with Aunty Rose or with Daddy at Chowrasta, followed later by sleeping marathon. Kalau rajin ... do my laundry or clean my room. Yes, my free weekends are usually boring. Main reason ... malas nak driving, secondly sleep is such a luxury nowadays.

Anyway, after reading the Happiness Project book (will share after finish reading it) ... I somehow know that I must fight my "lazy" and "negative" self. Kena overcome lah jugak that "malasness", else the next day menyesal tak sudah ... why on earth I didn't do this or do that. So, after a late breakfast and after doing some houseworks, I decided to go to Straits Quay. My body was aching all over, especially the shoulder area .. these past few days plus my friend Vincent informed me the other day that Thai Odyssey - my favourite massage center had just opened an outlet in Straits Quay. Makinlah body ache tu menjadi-jadi pulak. Sesuatu sangat ...

By the way, Straits Quay is a not so new marina retail area in Tanjung Tokong which belongs to the Eastern and Oriental Group (E&O). It housed few great restaurants, pubs and retail outlets mainly to attract the expatriates, young professionals and the higher income society of Penang. Having said that, from my observation ... the price are quite affordable lah, for Penang standard, especially when people don't come to Penang to shop for luxurious goods.

View of the main retail and apartment buildings from the marina.

With Hazel during her last visit to Penang in October 2011.

The traffic was quite smooth from Ayer Itam to Tanjung Tokong as compared to during the last school holidays. Yelaaa ... nak gi Batu Feringgi, nak gi Gurney Drive, nak gi Botanic Gardens semua pakai jalan yang sama. Poning kepalo den... though I was happy to see tourists flocked the island. Parking spaces were plenty in Straits Quay, in fact I could see many eateries were empty. Couldn't help but love the low season hehehe .. I could also easily locate the Thai Odyssey as the streamers, posters and signages were everywhere. Not much difference from it's other branches that I had frequented in terms of deco and furniture arrangement, except I noticed that all of the treatment rooms (around 6-8 I guess) have proper massage beds.


Streamer .. besar lagi tu kata awarded by Ministry of Tourism as Best Family Spa 2010.

Poster Iklan.

Some of the treatments and bodyworks offered. Anyway I still think that they give great Thai massages.

Deco along the corridor leading to the spa centre.

Haha terkujat akak masa ambik gambar pintu spa ni.

The signature foot bath before starting the massage session. Posted this on FB and friends instantly recognised the white pebbles.

A proper massage bed. In fact, for spa rating purposes ... a proper massage bed is a requirement.

The actual deco ... sempat curi-curi snap bilik sebelah hehehe

The therapist whom attended to me was quite nervous, judging from her slow strokes and hesitation. But she got great thumbs. I love the fact that she focused more on pressure points and deep tissue massage than the usual kneading, fast strokes and "eksesai" (my usual masseur Tuk Tuk @Thai Odyssey Mines would said it to refer to the bending/muscle pulling sessions). Maybe because I was already used to Swedish massage of Teratak Spa, that focuses on pressure points which is great for tired muscles. Few times I felt myself "blackout" ... Anyway, I went out from the centre ... satisfied. All my tired muscles were gone.

My next stop was Delicious, a quite well known restaurant with outlets in One Utama and Bangsar Village. I was not really thinking of trying out the dine it menu but was looking for something I had been searching for in Penang for the last few months - the Red Velvet Cake hehehe.

Anyway, the quest for Red Velvet cake began after watching DC Cupcakes on Astro. In one of the series, during Valentines the shop best seller was the Red Velvet Cupcakes. It sounded so sexy and so I was wondering how it might taste like. After weeks of searching, I finally tasted my first Red Velvet from Buttermilk in Damansara Uptown followed by a cafe in Bangsar Village.Unfortunely, the Delicious Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting was a bit dry and slighty floury ... a let down!

Yeaaaa ... finally. My first red velvet cupcake in Penang. Unfortunately the taste was so-so. Cost me RM 6.90.

Though the search was for Red Velvet Cake (or cupcake) ... something else also caught my attention. I didn't share that I was so into Pavlova and Meringue back in 2007 right hehehe ... I am soooooo going to try that Lemon Meringue Pie on my next outing.

The Berrylicious Chocolate Pavlova ... RM 13.90 each.

I tapau the Pavlova home ... sooo yummy!

Kesan from my expert drift on the way home hehehe

After feasting my eyes to all the yummy dessert I headed towards Papparich Restaurant with the intention to make Pappa richer by having Chicken Rice and White Coffee.

After lunch I felt like having something cool that I could enjoy while watching the view at the marina. It was either gelato or frozen yogurt, but my sudden health conscious self won over and so I headed to Fruuze Frozen Yogurt next door and got myself Mango flavoured frozen yogurt with 2 toppings. Cost about RM 9.00 for a small cup.

I prefer Tutti Fruitti but for now, makanlah apa-apa yang ada.

My Mango Frozen Yogurt with 2 toppings - small cup RM 9.00.

I chosed chocolate pieces and some chopped mango flesh as toppings.

It had been a long day and where else should I enjoy my frozen yogurt other than the marina. The weather was great!

(Sigh ...) Should do this more often!

Little Thing That Made Your Day

2012-01-08T19:18:00.006+08:00

My dad and I were having breakfast at our usual coffee shop last week when we got acquainted with this lovely dame. She was screaming her heart out seeking for everyone's attention and was seated right behind me. Unfortunately, Coffee Shop Uncle and Aunty (whom babysat her) were too busy attending to other customers. So the "lovely" auntie with her camera took the opportunity to snap her photos ... Enjoy!

"Lovely Aunty ... pick me pick me ... let me out from this misery"

"Lovely Aunty ... what are you doing? What is that thing that you aim at me?"

"Hahaha ... now I know what's going on ... quick take my cute pose"

Note: To the parents of this cute baby girl... sorry for taking her photos without permission. She was too cute to resist.

Five Element Dance

2012-01-06T08:08:00.106+08:00

Pagi yang hening sebenarnya penulis sedang memerah otak mencari ilham untuk satu persembahan yang bakal dinamakan Five Elements Dance. Tarian ni penulis nak buat "first appearance" semasa Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru Cina Peringkat Negeri Pulau Pinang. Selalu sangat kita dijamu dengan persembahan kebudayaan yang hanya menggabungkan tarian dari 3 rumpun sahaja. Nampak sangat cliche. Walhal, yang membentuk masyarakat Pulau Pinang yang unik adalah pertembungan rumpun-rumpun yang bertemu, berasimilasi dan berinteraksi sama ada dari sudut sosioekonomi, agama dan budaya.

Membangunkan kembali seni dan budaya Pulau Pinang merupakan hala tuju penulis tahun ini. Penulis sedang mengkaji kesenian dan kebudayaan masyarakat yang unik kepada negeri Pulau Pinang sepertinya Boria dan Chingay. Golongan peranakan di Pulau Pinang pun berdasarkan pengetahuan penulis yang masih belum terlalu mendalam kemungkinannya satu asimilasi trend seperti K-pop, Reggae atau punk atau Taiwan Milk Tea ... tidak seperti golongan Peranakan di Melaka yang mana jiwa dan raganya sekali memang beralih "tempatan" (localise). Tapi please don't quote me ... itu hanya pandangan secara umum.

Maaf, penulis tidak berniat untuk melalut ...

"Five Elements" ini diilhamkan daripada prinsip fengshui (Wu Qing) - air, kayu, api, tanah dan logam. Kelima-lima elemen berinteraksi dalam satu kitaran di mana air menyuburkan pokok (kayu) yang menyemarakkan api yang akan terbakar menjadi abu (tanah) yang mempunyai logam yang melebur dan mengewap menghasilkan air (mineral water lah).

Dalam amalan fengshui, elemen-elemen ini saling berinteraksi dan memiliki sifat pemangkin, pemusnah ataupun melemahkan. Setiap satu elemen di atas dipercayai mengawal salah satu daripada aspek kehidupan kita seperti kekayaan, kesihatan, perhubungan, kerjaya dan sebagainya.Umumnya, sekiranya semua elemen ini wujud dalam carta kelahiran seseorang yang dinamakan Paht Chee ... kehidupan seseorang boleh dikatakan akan agak stabil/seimbang. Bagaimanapun, sama ada ia membawa kelebihan atau kekurangan (kaya atau miskin, sakit atau sihat) bergantung kepada perhubungan di antara apa yang dikatakan sebagai the Heavenly Stem or Earthly Branch.

Penulis hendak mentafsirkan hubungan sesama manusia itu ibarat kitaran 5 elemen di atas. Tanpa air pokok tidak boleh hidup. Tanpa api membakar kayu maka tidak wujudnya abu (tanah) ... dan seterusnya. Selain daripada itu, api yang terlampau marak jika tidak dijirus dengan air atau pasir akan mememusnahkan kayu yang jika terus musnah maka tidak wujudlah api nanti ...

Wah ... penulis tertanya bagaimanakah sang pereka tari akan menterjemahkannya ke dalam tarian, mengambil konteks masyarakat Pulau Pinang or Malaysia. Tak sabar rasanya ... sekali lagi ... tujuan penulis hanya mau membuang cliche dalam kesenian di sini.

Give Me Five Minutes Boleh Tak?

2012-01-05T12:05:00.001+08:00

Pagi-pagi dah update blog ... saja nak lepas geram lah. Actually since start kerja on 3rd January I dah rasa nak shut down kan jer semua sistem pemikiran I tambah-tambah semua orang nak jumpa, nak tanya itu ini, nak propose itu ini ... in short lah ... as if I ni muka cop duit ...

Sometimes bagi lah peluang Ketua Jabatan itu untuk plan program dan belajawan bagi tahun semasa. Especially kalau program dan bajet Jabatan tersebut bergantung kepada peruntukan yang diperolehi daripada Kementerian atau Jabatan induk. Jangan lah terus serbu dengan alasan courtesy call lah, nak hantar kalender lah but bawak Ketua Jabatan tu sembang for half and hour. Some Ketua Jabatan maybe courteous tapi kat fikiran dia maybe dia pun nak siapkan tugasan dia.

Satu lagi antara Jabatan-Jabatan pun, janganlah push program u kat Jabatan lain ... kena ingat ... setiap Kementerian sudah ada dasar dan program masing-masing. Itu sebab ada Misi dan Visi Kementerian atau Jabatan. Kalau nak buat event bersama, benda tu kena bincang tahun sebelumnya ... bukannya nak kecoh-kecoh desak member buat pada tahun semasa.

Well, I sentiasa welcome great ideas ... yang sistematik, yang realistik dan even yang bombastik. Tapi please don't give ideas dengan harapan just nak impress I tapi niat sebenar nak cari peluang dapatkan bajet untuk kepentingan peribadi ... or pastu depend kat i pulak nak fikirkan macam mana nak buat event tu gempak. I want action plans, I want objectives and I want to know how it will benefit people ... Mintak mahap yer ... sepanjang tahun 2010 ... I dah lalui semua itu and natijahnya ... better I yang buat event atau program tu. I lebih puas hati dan I rasa suppliers pun puas hati.

Hmm yang paling I sedih pulak ... I ni kan jenis yang "don't let me tell you what should do" or "don't let me think for you" sebab once I do that maknanya orang ni memang hopeless. So kalau jumpa orang macam ni memang drain all my energy nak bekerja. Paling tak suka bila jumpa orang yang tak tahu nak manage their own people sampai kita pulak nak tunjukkan jalan. And juga palinggggggg tak suka, orang cari kita sebab tak tahu macam nak start kerja dia .... apakahhhhhhh ... baik BERSARA jer yang oiii!

I am going to say more NO after this ... percayalah ... I just want to prove that sometimes LESS is MORE.


Nasi lemak ni takde kaitan dengan cerita di atas tetapi sebab terlampau geram ... iols makan 2 bungkus, ambik kau!!!!

Sorry ... Maybe Next Year

2012-01-03T23:19:00.000+08:00

I had dinner with a close acquaintance of mine at DOME Cafe, initially to discuss about our trip to the Land of Smiles when suddenly he brought up about the Penang Beat Prelude. He told me that a big company is eyeing to organise and sponsor the event scheduled in Oct 2012.

Exotic Percussion from Thailand performing for Penang Beat Prelude 2011

Though I welcome the recognition over "that work of art" but I think I have to say NO this year for I am planning for a street party ... which based on my calculation if planned and executed accordingly may be another signature event of Georgetown. Penang Beat Prelude confirmed that the experimental music concept formula works but the success of the Borneo Street Dance 2011 organised by MOTOUR Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan sort of like putting the icing to the cake.Besides I am sooooo not going to join the craze of feeding music fests to tourists ...

Confuse?

Well, sorry I have yet to organise my thoughts on the Street Party so can't share now. But the inspiration from this Street Party is the feng shui principles of using sounds, merrymaking, lights and lots and lots of joy and happiness to revitalise and dispel lerthagic and weak chi (energy), thus improving luck and jump starting a stagnant life.

Our office is moving to a newly conserved colonial building in a once very famous street in the 1960s. During daytime, the place is busting with activities but come night ... it is like a ghost town, with all the old heritage buildings around. Usually, Chinese businessmen will call the lion dance group to grace the place as well as to dispel evil spirit and summon good luck through the loud sounds of drums, cymbals and gongs.

But I want to dispel evil spirits lurking along the street and summon good luck to all the occupants of the buildings along the street. I want people from all walks of life, race and religion to enjoy something shared, common but nostalgic ... musics of their youth (oppsssss too much information!)

I am also drawing inspirations from the streets in the Universal Studio of Singapore. If Singapore can turn their roads into an F1 International GP Circuit ... we may turned our beautiful streets into a living Universal Studio especially now that the State has declared the area as Car Free every Sunday.

Hmm ... having said that as I may not be in the position to do so ... perhaps someone may consider proposing to Hollywood moviemakers to shoot film there. Wink wink ... I am very generous with idea today.

2.0.1.2

2012-01-03T17:10:00.001+08:00

Tiada perancangan sebenarnya nak mengisi ruangan blog ini yang telah lama "gersang" dengan berita terkini hiburan sensasi. Bukan tiada bahan untuk dijadikan nukilan tapi kekangan masa dan situasi penulis di mana kalau cerita banyak-banyak apa yang dibuat kat Penang ni, nanti dijadikan isu pula oleh pihak-pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab .. paham-paham sendiri lah yer.

Mungkin tahun ni bakal berubah sedikit pendekatan penulis. Penulis merancang untuk lebih aktif untuk berkongsi pengalaman dan pandangan memandangkan kontrak penulis mungkin berakhir tahun ini dan kalau disambung pun penulis tidak merancang untuk tinggal lama kerana penulis merancang untuk menimba ilmu di tahap yang lebih tinggi dalam bidang perancangan pelancongan. Penulis sanggup lepaskan peluang pada tahun lepas kerana penulis tidak mahu tersilap langkah tambahan pula, sepanjang 7 tahun penulis bertugas di Kementerian lama ... bidang tugas penulis skopnya sungguh besar dan banyak cabangan maka kalau nak buat Ijazah Sarjana ... penulis sendiri pun tak pasti mana yang harus penulis fokus.

Kalau fokus pengurusan projek - penulis bukannya berjawatan jurutera, kalau nak fokus pentadbiran tanah - penulis hanya terlibat dalam satu skop pentadbiran tanah. Kalau nak fokus berhubung pengurusan hartanah - itu bukan salah satu bidang PTD ... walaupun sepanjang penulis di KPKT ramai pegawai-pegawai senior menjadi kenalan penulis kerana masalah perumahan termasuklah pegawai khas kepada salah seorang pegawai tertinggi dalam perkhidmatan awam.

Pokoknya ... bukan pokok kelapa sawit ... tiba-tiba rasa kelakar pulak kalau diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Inggeris ... "The tree is ..."

Pokoknya ... 2012 merupakan tahun di mana penulis berhasrat untuk mengembangkan pengetahuan intelektual dan akademik penulis. Semuanya bermula bila pakcik penulis meninggal tanggal 24 Disember lalu, beliau telah meninggalkan kesan yang mendalam kepada penulis. Sebenarnya penulis lama terpisah dengan mendiang pakcik penulis dan hanya bertemu beberapa tahun yang lalu. Penulis tidak begitu mengenali beliau kecuali perjuangan beliau terhadap kaum Penan di Sarawak.

Tetapi mendiang pakcik penulis dan penulis sememangnya ada hubungan istimewa di mana kami sama-sama menghormati pengetahuan dan pandangan kritikal masing-masing. Kalau ke rumah mendiang, penulis memang akan ada "witty debate" dengan pakcik penulis. Terus terang, disebabkan mendiang pakcik penulis ... penulis memaksa diri membaca akhbar dan majalah isu semasa.

Semasa pra-pengkebumian mendiang, penulis agak terkejut bila ramai tetamu yang hadir merupakan golongan cerdik pandai, cendikiawan dan pendukung badan-badan bukan kerajaan yang terkenal di Pulau Pinang. Penulis pernah berurusan dengan mereka sepanjang bertugas di sini dan penulis seboleh-bolehnya cuba untuk mengelakkan diri daripada mereka. Mereka juga terkejut dengan kehadiran penulis dan ingin tahu apakah hubungan penulis dengan mendiang. Mungkin yang paling sukar untuk dipercayai ialah bagaimana 2 individu yang mempunyai personaliti berbeza mempunyai pertalian darah.

Jawapan penulis ringkas : "That side of the family tackle an issue by thinking and analysing too much ... but this side of the family who will get it solved and done". Agak benar jugak ...

2.0.1.1 ... terus terang merupakan tahun di mana penulis mengesahkan sejauh mana keupayaan penulis mengendalikan satu jabatan, merancang program berkait pelancongan di satu negeri dan melaksanakan dasar negara di peringkat negeri. Terus terang penulis sangat-sangat berpuas hati dan 2.0.1.2 merupakan kesinambungan Bahagian Kedua siri pengembaraan kerjaya penulis di Pulau Pinang tapi seperti yang penulis janjikan ... penulis akan berkongsi pengalaman dan idea itu dalam blog ini, bukannya memendamkannya ...

Life is A Divine Chaos

2011-11-03T08:31:00.000+08:00

... and my Inspration Pad today ask me to "embrace it! Breathe and enjoy the ride" ...

I don't know how to response to this "divine chaos ... because for once the chaos that is entering my life right now is simply not divine and I will definitely cannot breathe and totally would not enjoy the ride!

Jason's wedding is drawing near, our office account need to be "closed", projects need to be on advance stage but people keep coming for unnecessary funding, school holidays is coming and the weather is slowing down the progress on site!

Suddenly I feel so sad!

Friends Are Friends Forever

2011-10-29T22:54:00.000+08:00

I think many of us remember this song ... quite famous gospel song in the late 90s. By the way, I would like to share this song as I have finally found and make great friends here in Penang. I mean real friends ... not friends with benefit ... (or sex friends hahaha). These are friends that will always support and be there for me. Friends that will protect and watch my back. Friends who have the same passion and believe in what matter most. But the mosttttttttttt important of all ... friends of the same age group hahahahahaha

Bukan apa lah ... before meeting these new friends ... the two person closest to me seorang teruna senja and seorang pulak andalusia. Dua-dua pun dah nak dekat umur persaraan (sebelum dilanjutkan ke 60 tahun)

I was never short of meeting people that would want to be acquainted with me or from the same social background or social circle. However, I always feel empty inside ... or not that interested to meet them for social outings or non work related. However, lately I have been laughing my heart out ... or found myself burst to guffaw of laughters. Even the Dzi beads seller or auntie who sell me wantan mee will smile widely when they saw me hahaha.

Now I have great friends that I can talk about food. Also friends to talk about arts and culture. To link this together, I have good friend who is a journalist, editor and my unofficial source on information who's who. I also have close friend in event management, an owner of the most important tourism hub in Mainland Penang, another one who always scold me like a senior boss but when we never see each other for a time ... will call me instead and say ... "what happened to you ... I miss you, you know" hahaha

Most important of all ... let say one day someone suddenly asked you ... "Can I kiss you?" at least you can have someone to share it with or analysed whether this guy was in his right mind or not. Hahahaha

Let's admit it ... without a friend by your side be it your family members, your spouse, your colleagues or even a stranger whom you befriended... it can be tough to walk this life with all its challenges, turmoils and trials. Don't live in isolation...

And I thank God from the bottom of my heart for this blessing.

Penang Beat Prelude@Queensbay, Penang 2011

2011-10-26T02:01:00.000+08:00

Hello friends ... just want to promote my latest event for Penang. Maybe some of you might wonder why out the blue I suddenly want to promote this event on my blog. To be honest, my office events during the last few months were back to back with no time for me to spare for updating my blog. As for this one, my office is the co-organiser so I have some space to breathe.

Few months back I was approached by Penang Municipal Council to assist them in this event which will be mainly funded by them. This was because, the President of Penang Municipal Council was so impressed with Music In The Park Concert during the last Parks and Gardens Carnival at Penang Botanic Gardens. Further to that, I was also made to understand that the council would also like to strengthen and focus on tourism related activities as a member of Tourism Promotion Organisation (TPO).Coincidentally, I was also doing a research on sister cities or friendship cities as a catalyst for sustainable tourism (huhuhu ... topik memang hebat tapi paper pernah tak siap-siap).

So together with the National Arts and Culture Department (under Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture), we researched, planned and developed a music fest that will benefit from the council sister-cities networks and TPO membership as well as creating new arts and culture based tourism product for Penang. To be honest, I was a bit surprised when Cik Mariam (National Arts and Culture Department Director) suggested that we explore "experimental music". Wow, when all the hype now in Malaysia is "World Music" ... from Penang to Sarawak and now Sabah ... lets be honest here that I was skeptical. I remembered talking to one of the founders of Sarawak Rainforest Music Festival ... years ago, nobody cares about world music and now 3 states are claiming that theirs are different than others.

But as we progressed further, I began to realise that Cik Mariam might have a point. It was to my great surprise that we as in Malaysia do have groups that have won numerous awards at international level and a homegrown group that just need a little push and exposure. Hahaha ... now, the Penang Beat is no longer a music fest but a platform for these groups to compete with each other. But since the genre is relatively new we decided to design it as a showcase or prelude first.

Hahahaha ... will have to stop here as I don't want to give away so much information ... just come and feel the BEAT on 11-12 November 2011 at Queensbay Beach area from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm. See you there!

Teratak Spa, Bayan Baru, Penang

2011-10-21T16:02:00.001+08:00

Sometimes, it kind of bad knowing too much. It makes us too cautious and skeptical on little, little details. Like when I was with Ministry of Housing, though it saved me from buying property from scrupulous developer, it took me about 7 years to invest in one. The same goes here in Ministry of Tourism when I had to rate hotels and spas in preparation for the Visit Malaysia Year 2013 as well as to move the Malaysia Tourism Transformational Plan - 2020:36:168. Some hotels that I had rated, looks good on the outside but sekali you go to the kitchen .... you want to pengsan.

However, on the bright side, at least you are ensured that company practised good quality assurance in their services while keeping up with competition and latest trends. Having said that ... I am still skeptical hahaha. Takut masa rating jer "fabulous" and "marvelous", habis rating ... lagi teruk dari hotel cap ayam hahahaha ...

Anyway, I want to share my personal experience with one of the spas that I had rated and in which I think deserve to be promoted by me. By the way, the lady boss doesn't know that I own a blog and going to blog about her spa as whenever I went there for "short breakaway from the office" ...she was not around.

The entrance to Teratak Spa

Teratak Spa is actually a double storey, corner lot house which was converted into a spa sanctuary in the residential area of Bayan Baru. It is actually quite near to the Bandar Bayan Baru roundabout heading towards Bukit Jambul, but most people missed it from the roundabout because there are huge trees planted by Penang Council blocking the view.

All the lush tropical greens in the garden greeting you as you enter the spa compound.

The spa concept in my opinion is a mixture of Balinese and Javanese, from the spa deco to the treatments offered. However, I was very happy when she incorporated some local elements in the deco such as spice tray (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, star anise), rattan casings, "mengkuang" mat and bunga rampai (a Malay pot-purri). The owner also created a special brew of ginger tea with nutmeg essence that was quite calming and soothing (though slightly spicy) as a welcome drink before you go for your treatment.

The bunga rampai

To be honest, when it come to massage ... I am a great fan of Thai massage by Thai masseurs. It is something about the massage technique and how they applied pressure from using their thumb or palm. Every time I went back to Kuala Lumpur, I will definitely indulged myself with a nice massage at Thai Odyssey. Sometimes, I will go to Urban Retreat at The Curve@Mutiara Damansara. I did try some local spa centres who engaged local therapists before but ... memang kureng lah.

But on that fateful day, I was actually having very stiff neck and back pain due to fatigue, stress and lack of sleep/rest. Coincidentally, that month ... there was no trip to KL. Cannot "tahan" anymore, I called up the spa for a short session during long Friday prayer break. The therapist on duty recommended me to try the 1 hour Swedish massage after a brief consultation. That time I didn't care anymore ... Swedish kah, Thai kah, Malaysian kah ... as long as it could relieve the pain and make me feel relax I am OK. She also recommended "cream bath" to go with the massage.


The treatment bed and some insight on the treatment room.

Cream bath hair treatment is actually a traditional Indonesian hair treatment to promote hair growth, elasticity and prevent damaged hair. The treatment usually uses ingredients such as coconut milk, mint leaves, aloe vera and sometimes avocado, which is applied to your hair and scalp with a light head massage. I tried it for the first time at Taman Sari Spa Jakarta and love it so much. My hair smelled coconutly terrific for days.

Most of treatment rooms come with a bath tub and built in shower.

Rain shower ... I love rain shower. The rustic wall is cement by the way.

I also love the fact that Teratak Spa use quality clean towels and proper massage bed ... among the plus points I gave them during my rating session. The treatment room was clean and tidy, with proper locker to keep your things. During rating session, I usually give special attention to the preparation area and product storage especially if the spa is using natural ingredients such as fresh fruits, yoghurts or coconut milk in their treatment. And Teratak Spa scored high marks in those area.

Anyway, lets move to the most important part - the treatment. Was it worth the money spend? To be honest, it was fantastic. I started dozing off during the cream bath treatment which was unexpectedly minty cold by the way, followed by a very relaxing Swedish massage with the right pressure on the right points on my body. Seriously ... that was the first time I enjoyed a massage by a local therapist so so much. Overall, it costs me about RM 170.00 for a 1 and half hour session of massage and cream bath hair treatment. But I really, really enjoyed it and truly recommended it to all tired and stressful ladies out there. I went there twice and both times it was excellent.

Address:
No. 31 Jalan Tun Dr Awang,
11950 Bayan Baru, Penang.

Telephone: 04-6444121

Someone Like You

2011-10-17T12:39:00.001+08:00

I really love Adele ... starting from Rolling In The Deep. I love it when the singer in Hard Rock Penang sang Rolling In The Deep to live band. It usually got me into the mood. However, for Someone Like You ... we need a nice piano and a soulful voice ... Tersentuh hati akak bila dengar lagu ni for the first time. As if satu penceritaan on akak punya perchentaan yang tak kesampaian ... hahahaah! One day I must try sing this song in my Kotak Merah session.

But anyway, I had to say it's hard to turn something negative to positive. In the song, Adele sang ... "nevermind I'll find someone like you, I wish nothing but the best for you ...., Don't forget me, I begged, I remember you said, sometimes it last in love, sometimes it hurts instead"... Fuh meremang bulu roma akak when she get into that part. 2-3 kali ulang lagu ni ... part tu jugak yang buat bulu roma meremang.

Adakah orang nak wish macam tu to their ex-lovers? Usually after the break-up, you usually wish him or her to ROT in hell. And he or she met someone else, some people will use black magic or spreading bad rumours so that he or she will never live that "happily ever after". Sedih bila mengenangkan kejadian yang menimpa one of my staff. After 5 kids, one very jealous ex-admirer still couldn't get over with it ... macam-macam dia buat to my staff's wife. Santau lah, penuju lah aiyoooo ... Kan bagus if he just write a song about his pain and who knows like Adele, it became a chart topper.

One of my friend pernah pujuk me by saying ... "God is fair ... He will send good man to a good woman and bad man to a bad woman" ... Wonder I ni kategori mana ... hmmm maybe cute and forever young ... balik-balik yang mengetuk pintu hati yang muda belia jer auwwwww ... tak rela akak! Tapi I doakan I met "someone like you" yang like 10 years ago sebab sekarang that "you" dah boroi so tak lazat hahaahahahahahahaahah

To be honest, blogging to me is a very "positive" avenue in channeling your thoughts and feelings. I had been busy these last few months that it came to a point that I myself don't know which way I am heading to. Despite the "hoohaas" I felt empty inside (unfortunately stomach never empty hehehe). But I returned back to this blog once in a while, looking back what I had done in the past ... what exciting experience that I shared ... comments I got from friends and fellow bloggers. One most important comment ... "this blog lighted up someone's life" ...

Okaylah chow dulu ... Saja nak lift up my mood on this Moody Monday hehehe

Mie On Penang after 19 months

2011-10-15T12:11:00.002+08:00

When I started blogging somewhere 2007, I managed to separate my working life and personal life as it was already quite balance. I refused then to blog so much about my working life as I was dealing a lot with housing problems - sales and purchase agreements, rehabilitation of abandoned housing projects, prosecutions of rogue developers etc. Looking back, if i was to compile all these work stories, it may be a bestseller hehehehe

Here in Penang, working life rules! So can't help lah selit-selit about work. Gosh ... I couldn't enjoy my weekends. Got calls on odd hours. Kadang-kadang tu teringin jugak tak dapat tidur malam sebab terbayang-bayang seseorang. Ni tidak, cannot sleep sebab worried work tak siap. Kadang-kadang wish jugak my heart pumping hard because nampak object yang "lazat" mata memandang. Ni tidak, jantung berdegup kencang sebab nampak no telefon yang tak lazat appeared on phone screen hahaha

Though I have all the priviledges of a state Director but at this age ... I think I deserve a good rest. Had been doing this when I was 41-44 officers. Btw, I hope the Housing Act amendment are being carried out smoothly ... it was already 80% complete when I left. Bukan nak take credit, but it was a team 4 people yang really think about it from 2009- april 2010 ... now semua left Ministry due to better offer. Hari-hari balik pukul 9 malam. But weekends ... sorang pun tak kacau.

Penang to be honest post quite a challenge for me to handle. The greatest pressure is actually how to be different or better than my predecessors. And in order to do that I need a good team. Adoh, when we first start-up, some posts were not being filled up. And ada pulak officer bermasalah yang dihantar ke opis aku. OMG! Ada yang sebok dengan DAP (Di Alam Percintaan), ada yang ada kes tatatertib, ada yang sebenarnya lari dari negeri asal sebab tak bayar kontraktor heheheheeh ... tapi after probing further some are actually mild and can be tackled easily. Masih better than one of the state directors who had to handle isu staff tiba-tiba hilang dari ofis sebab masalah pankreas atau gout stage kritikal.

But the funniest incident was when my HR officer told me that one of the staff is a disable person. The description given was "no hand and leg". I almost had a heart attack. So what can she do? Dahlah staff tak cukup, bagi pulak sorang yang OKU takde tangan dan kaki I nak buat macam mana? So when I arrived in Penang, I checked sorang-sorang yang takde tangan dan kaki. Rupa-rupanya the staff hands and legs are slightly deformed but she still can do work but slow. Now, she is one of my best staff handling homestay and program pelancongan pelajar. And has longer list of beau than me hehehe

Throughout 2010, I had been through many trials and errors ... polishing my people skills, building bridges and linking cultures, and trying to adapt Ministry's policy into Penang settings. Coincidentally, many of the programs and products introduced by Ministry or to be exact, my Lady Boss actually work in Penang. Sometimes, it's hard to tell the OTAI of tourism in Penang that the tourism scene has change and we need to change. Itu belum lagi those who think they know better than you huhuhu

Entering the tourism market now are the Gen X and Gen Ys, both as tourists and tourism players. At the end of the day, what we want to get from tourism are income, job opportunities and of course leisure. Domestic tourism must also work for both local and foreign tourists. I looked at the growth of our budget carriers. Their routes, not only it must encourage outbound but it must also bring inbound as well. I relooked at all the concrete structures implemented during 8th-9th Malaysia plan. Many of those had become white elephants as people just know how to build but dunno how to market and used it to it's fullest capacity.

I know many people dislike Dato' Seri Idris and his PEMANDU team. But having worked with him for a month I learned one very valuable lesson, if we can change the way we work, no matter how simple the idea is to create a big impact and transformed the industry, why not?

The Batu Keras Story

2011-10-12T23:19:00.001+08:00

It had been quite a while since I had a very loud, huge guffaw of laughters. Yelah status kat FB pun none yang brain stimulating kan ... Like I said before, since I now breathing, living and eating in a heritage city ... lama-lama I pun jadi heritage. Soooooo the 19 kong kong (1900 BC).

Despite that, thank you sooooooo much Sazali, for making my day and night! I had so much fun catching up with you. You know what, despite working like in a living hell for 4 years under Dr. P ... looking back we had so many stories and memories that comparitively NOW, despite all the glamour and paparan di dada akhbar (kelasssss) ... my life as Lady Di (Lady Director) is soooooooo pale in comparison. Hari-hari my blood go upstairs hehehehe

Back to Sazali ... when I got his surprised sms the other day ... I quickly called him and said .... "We are soooooo going to Batu Kerasssss today". Didn't realise that he had no idea what is Batu Keras that he had to ask his bus driver cum tourist guide, Mr Baskaran.

Zali: Mr Baskaran, where is Batu Keras ha?

Mr Baskaran: Mr Sazali, I have been living in Penang for 30 years ... I never heard of Batu Keras. Batu Uban, Batu Maung, Batu Kawan and Batu Feringghi ada lah ... Batu Keras mana ada ...

Zali: My friend is working with Tourism and she said she want to bring me to a place called Batu Keras. Must be exclusive place that locals don't know.

Hahaha ...luckily lah I didn't say ... Senorita Licin (Slippery Senorita) or Straits Kuey (Straits Quay ... hehehe) ... lagi konfius Mr Baskaran!

Yaaaaa .... this is Batu Keras. Had a great time rocking !

Singapore Trip 2011 - Reunited and Reacquainted

2011-07-17T01:50:00.003+08:00

Flu, fever and unexpected call from JPA last week sort of hindered me from writing this post earlier. But then again, I felt my mood to update my blog seemed deteriorating with age hahaha ... I felt older living here in Penang (where sits one of world's heritage site) "ditambah pula dengan" living with senior citizens. Memang heritage!

Okay, the Singapore trip was unexpected but timely. I traveled a lot last year so I thought I wanted to cut down on the travelling, save the money for London and Paris trip next year. However one assignment got me on a dead end recently and the only solution was to go to Singapore. Coincidentally, Emel got an invitation from Chan (our eating buddy during her Infeneon Kulim days who is currently working in Singapore) and asked whether I wanted to join her for the trip. Finally I found the reason to travel on Tiger Airways (hahaha) but of course as part of the "assignment" must travel with Air Asia too.

I learned a lot of things even from the planning this trip ... starting from the itinerary, airport services (which I usually buat dek jer in KLIA and LCCT), transit tours (as I arrived earlier than Emel ... about 5 hours gap), transportation system in Singapore (taxi, train, bus) as the location of places I need to cover was all over Singapore. Not that it didn't occur to me before but it term of town and infrastructure planning (hints hints) ... I take my hat off to Singapore.

To be honest, I love planning and organising my trip ... and be in control of situation. Something I learned from my last year's trip to Chiang Mai. We covered the best of Chieng Mai in 2 days ... puas hati wooo. But from my Phuket trip ... I must reminded myself that Singapore is much nearer than Kuching, somemore got 6 direct flights from Penang (everyday) on two budget carriers.. so no need to cramp everything.

If you take Air Asia flight from Penang, you will land at Terminal 1@ Changi Airport.

The first and oldest terminal. Even bigger than our KLIA. Currently there are 4 terminal operational in Changi Airport including their Budget Terminal. If I am not mistaken, one more terminal is underway.

You can find the visitor information centre everywhere. I baru perasan that Singapore Tourism Board tagline is Your Singapore, whereas Penang State tourism is currently on My Penang campaign ... who is more kiasu here.

I received stares from many people (even passengers on same flight) when I wrapped my new travelling luggage bag. Memang lah tak mahal ... sekali sampai Singapore it was raining and my bag bebas dari kebasahan. My turn to "stare back" hehehe

Many years ago ... when I first came to Singapore there was no MRT. It makes travelling so convenient in Singapore.

Once I arrived and tried it ... baru lah it make sense hehe

As part of the assignment, I must leave my bag here for a few hours. Not that pricey ... SGD 3.21 for small luggage (24hours).

It was raining when I arrived in Singapore. Nobody will be waiting for me at the airport and Emel arrived only 5 hours later. First and foremost, travelling solo sucks but please bear in mind that there might be a time in our life that we have to travel solo especially for business people or head of department. I remembered once I was stuck for 6 hours in KLIA as I got last minute notification from KL and most of the flights back to Penang was fully booked.

It didn't occur to me that day to try out the Left Baggage service in KLIA but just imagine, travelling back and forth to KL itself may cost a fortune! Galleries, museum or shopping malls around KLIA ... nada! Perhaps Malaysia Airport Berhad, Ministry of Tourism or State Government of Selangor could look into establishing satelite mini tourism based township around KLIA. I see three of MOTOUR products can be a niche there ... shoe, contemporary arts and parks and gardens!

I had to select one of the 4 hour city tour for transit passengers which I got from the Singapore Visitors Centre Guide. Taking into consideration my own plans the next few days I decided to try out the Civic District Tour ... very the cultured society gitew. From Changi Airport ... I find my way to the Bras Basah MRT Station.

Singapore Art Museum .. occupying Singapore oldest Catholic School, the 158 years old St. Joseph Institution.

They were having Video- An Art History Exhibition that day. Entrance fee SGD 10.00

They have many contemporary arts collection here.

Video art doesn't appeal to anyone ... I had difficulty at first to understand the exhibition. Actually it is about camera tricks and positioning of objects in front of video camera to get some effects. Some of the galleries focus on expression and shots. See ... I was part of the art hehehe

I didn't have much time so my next stop was the legendary Raffles Hotel.

Though on paper MRT seems to be near certain location ... but the distance from the station to the exit memang jauh. Luckily I didn't have to walk in the blazing hot sun as everything is more than 6 feet under the ground hehehe. Anyway, it was great to be reunited with Emel and Chan in Singapore. Though life has been great in Penang (ok i lied a bit here) I really miss the time when we went from one shop to another shop in mainland Penang and Kulim ...searching for great food. Ok ... the eating part here, I will blog in my food blog. Stay tune!

Dinner at Paulaner Baurhaus. We came all the way from Penang and Kuching just to eat German food hahaha

Angels and Demons

2011-07-13T10:22:00.000+08:00

I was thinking of blogging something based on the title above last night but ended up reading the e-book instead ... something I wanted to do for a very long time. I watched the movies but some Netizens commented that reading the book was soooooo much better as the storyline was simplied in the movie. I have problems with imagining something so technical or involved symbolism ... therefore watching the movie then reading the book seems to be a better option.

Anyway, angels and demons seem to be warring within me these past few days. I really don't like it that people are taking their frustration on the economy, the politics, or even the weather on government servants. Hey ...who do you think we are .. punching bags ... or God? They are angry at other agencies ... they thought that the other agencies are the same. At one point I raised my voice at one very prominent hotelier for not wanting to sponsor his project after his sinical reply that "all the money went to RM 1.8 million FB account". I told him that I am protecting taxpayers money from people like you. Personal project not taking into consideration public interest ... fund it yourself lah!

I am sure many of my colleagues are doing the same thing ... but often been potrayed differently by some opportunists. God knows how many files, records, mesyuarat pagi, minutes of meetings, minit ceraian everytime there are events ... just so that I could explain to internal audit and of course a control measure just in case, there is indeed some little Napoleon in my office. But most important of all ... I hope my successor got some guidance on how to handle those event in the future.

But even all these "bona fide" gestures might invite criticism from certain people ... "You are not going GREEN. You cut down so many trees and should go paperless". And so ... I had to let out the demon inside of me to counter them ... "what concerns you more now ... is it the tree or how we spend your tax money". By the way ... I drive a Green car, do you?

1Malaysia Parks and Gardens Carnival and 1Malaysia Harvest Festival 2011

2011-06-01T00:24:00.000+08:00

Actually I was really really busy these past few days as I have little time left to prepare for the 1Malaysia Parks and Gardens Carnival at Penang Botanic Gardens on 11th and 12th June 2011. But this is still OK compared to 1Malaysia Green and Clean launching at Penang state level last year. I had to organise it within 7 days ... after "mentertawakan" Nel (Sabah Director) who first got the "heart attacking news". Suddenly I found myself the one to launch the event in Penang whereas Nel had to appease the community leaders for the change of plans. It is really not easy to be State Directors.

Anyway, I took up any jobs "thrown" to me with an open mind and heart. As a civil servant, I have a secure job and steady income whereas there are many people out there struggling to make end meets so events such as these are their chances to get jobs or make some income... This statement may be a bit subjective as many head of departments, whether in private or public sectors, still practice the "10% culture".

However, I have to be honest that for this event, I had to organise it with "tears in my heart" as I will again miss the Gawai celebration. For the Chinese just visualise yourself had to work during Chinese New Year and the Malay, missing the Eid-Mubarak .... last year I couldn't celebrate Gawai because I just moved to Penang and running out of cash because of delay in travelling claim payment.

And to be honest, I also didn't intend to blog tonight. However after listening to Sayonara Hari Gawai (on Jethro Henry Adam recommendation) ... especially to Jenny Tan's vibrato ... suddenly I find myself started singing and speaking in Iban hahahahah (when Hokkien took me like forever!) and into the festive mood! I called everyone in Kuching ... my mom, my sisters, my godmother, my GINAAAAAA (when we started calling each other "sibuk") and everyone seems to be cooking Itik Pak Lor (5 Spice Duck). Seriously ... I miss home! I miss Gina the most.

So here is my Gawai song for year 2011 .. And don't forget to read my last year's entry for Gawai as well. Just to help you to get into the Gawai mood. Happy Gawai Dayak everyone ... harap ka bala nuan, gerai nyamai lantang senang ... and yon bara madis, dingan ... doh kambot ku mun ngan man Pak Lor hehehe

Just Do It ...

2011-05-17T14:19:00.000+08:00

Hahaha ... tiba-tiba terasa nak mengekspresikan perasaan yang terbuku di dada dalam Bahasa Melayu (or Anglo-Melayu). Lama ya tidak menghasilkan sebarang nukilan.. Terasa janggal pulak nak menulis dalam 100% Bahasa Inggeris ... "feeling" dia lain sikit. Well, memang pun 2-3 minggu ni penulis seems to be under the weather ... biasalah kan "climate change" makin teruk sekarang ni.

Sepi tidak bererti "senyap" yer tuan-tuan, puan-puan, Dato'-Dato', Datin-Datin ... Terlalu banyak yang berlaku sepanjang penyepian ini. Kalau rajin menjenguk Facebook ... tau lah apa yang berlaku. Hehehe

Sepanjang bulan April, penulis sebenarnya sangat-sangat tertekan dengan penganjuran Malaysia Books of Records untuk Persembahan Boria Teramai. Untuk makluman, tekanannya bukan sebab ia adalah penyertaan pertama tetapi disebabkan penulis dan team penulis kena pecahkan rekod sebelum ini iaitu 2020 peserta. And then semasa meeting, pengelola bersama Festival Boria, Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Keseniaan Negara dah awal-awal bagi tau peruntukan tak mencukupi dan set minimum peserta 2500. Mula-mula penulis agak tidak berpuas hati juga sebab peruntukan Festival pun datang dari Kementerian penulis tetapi entah mengapa, jauh di sudut hati penulis ... ada seakan suatu suara yang mengatakan .... "Just Do It" (ok .... perasaan ini tidak ditaja oleh Nike yer)

Dengan hati yang masih ragu dan sedikit tidak berpuas hati, penulis teruskan jugak dengan penganjuran acara tersebut. In fact, if i know it is not going to be easy ... awal-awal lagi I surrender. Dengan keadaan politik di Pulau Pinang yang sedikit berbaur perkauman, dan di kalangan yang sama kaum pulak berbaur keagamaan (dan wang)... penulis teruskan jugak sebab someone must show what it means to be 1Malaysia. As expected, a certain group of people that supposed to support us didn't even care actually (after we supported their event). But we get support from groups of people that I least expected ... local medias ... tak kira lah mainstream, tabloid, commercial, free circulation .... they seemed lebih excited and wonder .... could it work? Heard this idea was mooted many years ago.

Secara jujurnya, in between, penulis juga menghadapi tekanan dari pegawai-pegawai atasan. Mesyuarat, laporan, taklimat dan macam-macam karenah yang buat penulis menaikkan suara dalam satu mesyuarat sebab with the type of pressure that we are in penulis would prefer seniors yang accommodating rather than commanding.

Tetapi suara ini masih bermain lagi di fikiran penulis ... "Stop arguing! Just do it"

Memang sangat tertekan mengenangkan hari-hari menjelang Festival Boria. Syukur, rakan-rakan sepasukan di pejabat pada tahun ini memang sangat bagus. Sengaja penulis tak bagi semua terlibat dalam perancangan acara untuk membolehkan beberapa pegawai menjalani kursus dengan tenang, menghadiri mesyuarat dan melaksanakan tugas-tugas hakiki. Timbalan penulis juga seorang yang sangat berpengalaman dan "wise".

Sesungguhnya penulis tidak menyangka Festival Boria 1Malaysia mendapat sambutan yang di luar dugaan. Kalau pasukan penulis tidak stop pendaftaran pada jam 8.30 malam. Maunya mencecah 4000 penyertaan malam tu. Kami setuju rekod 2811 peserta. Penulis dengan pengarah Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian menangis kegembiraan malam tu. Betul ... we were soooooooo happy and relief.

Kalau dibandingkan dengan semua acara yang penulis pernah anjurkan sebelum ini, acara ini kecil saja tetapi kepuasan dan tekanannya memang luar biasa. Bila penulis dapat tahu "kesengsaraan" yang Pengarah Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian kena lalui selama 7 hari di lokasi acara ... baru lah penulis sedar mengapa penulis perlu main peranan supaya acara Malaysia Book of Records yang di bawah jagaan penulis perlu berjaya.

It was the heart of the whole festival.

Semalam masa di Perlis, penulis dapat tahu kemeriahan acara tu dah jadi topik hangat "other" Kementerian berbanding Kementerian penulis sendiri hehehehe sampai Menteri the "other" Ministry bangkit dalam post-cab (biar betul ... )

Anyway, this month pun pressure teruk jugak ... anyway ... Just Do It!

Festival Boria 1Malaysia Malaysia Book of Records Attempt!

2011-04-19T14:43:00.000+08:00

Please support us in our effort to break the Largest Boria Performance record on 30 April 2011, 9.00 pm at Kampung Seronok, Bayan Baru, Penang. So here are the dance steps for you to practise! See you there!!!

Soul Cleansing First Quarter 2011

2011-04-11T00:30:00.000+08:00

In my last entry I mentioned about life is getting tougher lately and that it took all my strength and energy to face all the obstacles. So I decided to loosen it a bit for my own sake ... with rigorous "soul cleansing" rituals that took place in the heart of KL. Yes, life is also too precious to be wasted.

Don't be deceived the sweet smiles ... the eye-bags couldn't hide the stressful life that we had.

My soul cleansing rituals started with a "coffee fix " at Pavillion's Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf with the girls. It had been quite a while since our last get together and every one was having hard time in the office (and top management). I had to be honest to them that even my current Ministry had loads of management problems that stem from people with "bad interest". My only consolation is that ... I learned more related new things.

This was just the warming up session .. Roy pun belum start tarik suara Amy Search!

Then we proceeded to next ritual - karaoke session at Redbox. Singing our heart out loud. We were joined by Datin Zaitun and Norzah's wonderful family plus Syu's hubby, Shafril. I had a blast ... shouting at the top of my lung to Whitney Houston's I Had Nothing ... hehehe! I could feel all the stress and burden were flushed out from my body. We also had a singer in the house ... Lin who sang I Will Survive so beautifully! Norzah and Datin sang exactly like the Golden couple ... P.Ramlee and Saloma. Nostalgic ...

Datin Zaitun and Norzah ... the Golden couple.

For the following rituals I had to wait for Emel, who flew all the way from Kuching, Sarawak. Yea ... it has also been quite a while Emel and I had outings like this. The last time we met was during Chinese New Year but was mostly centred on my family events. By the way, Emel had nothing else in her mind the moment she stepped on the Kuala Lumpur soil except for Thiam Sang's Hokkien Mee and Lala (click for story). Luckily she had the courtesy to tapau my Kuching Kolo Mee as I was so hungry driving 4 hours straight from Penang.

The entrance to the cinema.

I think we were the only kids that didn't require supervision that day .. hehehe

The next following rituals were mainly revolved around our favourite activities; eating, massage and watching movie. We decided to station ourselves at Midvalley and the Gardens as there are many shops and outlets to choose from. We had sushi at Sushi Zanmai (click for story), followed by trying out the expensive but exclusive GSC Signature watching the movie HOP (we couldn't find better movie to watch), then a 90-minute Thai aromatherapy massage session at Thai Odyssey, followed later by a Thailicious meal at Flying Chillies.

Banyak angin dalam badan ... terpaksa tahan kentut during massage.

Emel with that "what to order look".

The next day ... Emel and myself decided to rediscover Bukit Bintang and getting reacquainted with the LRT and Monorail system. But before that we went to KESAS Highway via Bukit Jalil for a "simple" lunch of Nasi Ayam Kampung. Gosh ... I really wanted more but need to save some space for Lot 10 Hutong and The Loaf hehehe. By the way, we found a great place to chill out at Level 2 Lot 10 and found out that it belongs to Jackie Chan!!! In fact, one Caucasian guy bought a cup of coffee and dozed off there.

Mie relaxing with a cuppa.

We also went to the Pavillion and stopped by my favourite bakery ... The Loaf to get freshly baked buns or whatever that interest me. However, it seemed that they had so many customers that they ran out of so many items. Luckily, they had my Cream Pan ... and I bought two even though I was still full from Lot 10 Hutong eating spree.

I always love their Langkawi outlet.

My cream pan ... hey who ate my bun???

I really enjoyed the rigorous soul cleansing and hope to do it more often. I really recommend it to every one with acute "heart" and "head" problem. Felt relax and lighter (literally) when I returned to Penang the following day. Now ... it's time for all the belly and intestine cleansing hehehe

Feeling Suicidal?

2011-03-31T13:01:00.001+08:00

A sad and horrific news yesterday prompted me to pen this entry. A second year student in one of the public universities in Sarawak committed suicide in the man made lake where my youngest sister used to take samples for her experiments. I don't know much about the deceased. But despite my religion teachings which against and condemn suicides, I pray to God for forgiveness of his sins and may his soul rest in peace. For whatever he did and what prompted him to do that, that will be between him and God. Best not to speculate, that the least we could do as a final respect.

I read the deceased blog and couldn't help but admire his writings. His English was superb. Actually 10 years ago, there was a similar incident happened in Kuching. Not far from my previous office in King Centre, a young Chinese guy around the age of 23 also commited suicide by inhaling exhaust fumes. Few days later, friends and family members published his writings - poems, songs which were beautifully written. And both in their last writings penned this down .... LIVING is HARD. It is sad that potential great writers like them decided to end their life stories with a tragic and devastating ending.

Note: Even scarier, Qing Ming is on April 5 this year. This news brought back a memory of another departing soul.

Again, though I disagree suicide as the final answer to one's misery but lately ... I too felt that life is getting tougher and harder to cope with. Keeping a positive (and sane) mind is taking too much energy and strength. Combine with stress, insecurities, boredom and frustration is a clear recipe for potential suicidal concoction. Sometimes I wonder, am I the one complicating matters or people around me are just difficult (of course ... this is always the answer ... NEVER me but ALWAYS them hehehe).

2 days ago, a Singaporean tourist around the age of 70 came to my office, complaining that she was chased out from her hotel even though she paid her rentals. Then showed me police report that she lost her wallet and money. But when I offered to send her back to Singapore, she refused saying that she has a court case to attend. When I offered to call her family members, she refused saying that she doesn't want to trouble them.

Then she started crying telling us stories that she was being cheated by a property developer, then she fear for her safety as she felt some people want to kill her... the story went on and on and on. I had to stop her short ... rising my voice "So what do you want me to do?"

"Actually, I don't know what and how you can help me?" was her answer.

To be honest ... this scene is nothing new to me. I saw family broken apart, blissful marriages ended up in ugly divorces, innocent men turned into murderers just because of abandoned housing projects. One time a man with parang came to my former office, just because his family threw him out because there was a delay in reviving his abandoned unit. My gut feelings told me ... there are more to it than just being thrown out of the hotel or stolen wallet.

Out of compassion, I called her niece in Singapore to confirm her mental state, then I called the tourist police to escort her to her hotel and get all her things, move her to another hotel, then I called her lawyer. It was from her lawyer that I got the whole picture and the source of her misery. Before the economic downturn in 1997 she invested about RM 300,000.00 in a timesharing program with a prominent Malaysian bank via their property arms in Penang. But then during the economic downturn, that saw the crashing of the Malaysian banking systems ...made her lost all her RM 300,000.00 investment. The property was later bought over by a new hotel company with new management. I don't know how about the buying over process but I was told that she was not listed as a creditor.

When I spoke to her niece, she told me that her aunt is a very independent woman. The last time she saw her, prior to her leaving for Penang, she seemed OK. However, the information that I got from hotels which allegedly kicked her out were the total opposite. She disturbed other guests, she always claimed her things were lost. There were times when we spoke ... she seemed OK and rational. But there were times when she broke down and keep repeating "Penang not good, Singapore better."

Deep down ... I knew that I am dealing with a very, very depress independent lady who has lost her mind over her back luck - money, property and maybe family. All alone ... in a foreign country. Hmmm... truthfully I don't want to end up like her. Suddenly, I too felt that I should something with regards to my mental health.

Anyway, these are the findings on MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF MALAYSIANS The 3rd National and Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) from DHRRA website:

Findings :
• Overall prevalence - 11.2% of adult population in Malaysia has some form of psychiatric morbidity, with the Chinese population experiencing the highest prevalence at 31.1%.
• Gender - more females than males have psychiatric problems, with 55% of them females and 45% males.
• Residence - psychiatric morbidity is higher among urban population than rural, 12.6% for urban population versus 8.5% for rural population.
• Education level – it is higher among those with no education or primary education, 15-16% versus 10% for those with tertiary education.
• Marital status – it is higher among the divorcees (13.6%); followed by singles (13.1%) widow/ widower (12.2%) and lastly those who are married (10.5%)
• Suicidal ideation – overall prevalence of acute suicidal ideas of 6.4% with the highest among teenagers and young adults, aged 16-24 at about 11%.
• Insomnia ( inability to sleep) – overall acute insomnia of 14% with those aged 70-74 having the highest prevalence of slightly over 20%.

The findings above, is an indication on state of mental health of adult population in Malaysia at the time of survey. It also does not pinpoint to any specific mental disorder. Measured over a longer period of time, the prevalence is much higher at 48.1% using the same screening tool ( chronic psychiatric morbidity).

This measures the presence of symptoms over a continual or longer period of time. Chronic psychiatric morbidity is much higher among those with tertiary education and among senior officers and managers and among professionals. This could be due to the stress associated with heavier job responsibilities of these people. (OMG!!!!)

Take care.

Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (The Malay Chronicle: Bloodline)

2011-03-14T23:48:00.000+08:00

I am not sure why I was so excited to watch this movie? Could it be because of Stephen Rahman Hughes (....of courseeeeee), or to satisfy my curiosity on why a Pan-Asian actor got the starring role. OR just to see whether KRU production manage to pull it off , you know, after my BIG disappointment with Puteri Gunung Ledang, despite the fact that they had nailed it with Cicakman and Cicakman 2.

Well, admittedly it is not really easy to bring an epic adventure story, usually based on oral history or folklore to the screen without making it either confusing or illogical. Plus delivering the story to the screen without adding some "sugar,salt and pepper" and a little imagination would make it rather tasteless. Ok ... I would not look at Hong Kong or Indian epic movies for comparison because of big cultural differences and historical relations. So my benchmark for this movie was Queen of Langkasuka by Nonzee Nimibutr (who also gave us Nang Nak and Suriyothai).

To be fair, I also watched Queen of Langkasuka because of Ananda Everingham (a Thai-English actor) and like Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (HMM) ... I also don't know much about the legend of the Queens of ancient Pattani kingdom. Interestingly, some historical writings indicate that the Queens of the Pattani kingdom were descendants of Merong Mahawangsa from the fourth child (a daughter) of Merong Mahawangsa's son, Merong Mahapudisat. Okay, please refer HERE for the storyline.

To make the experience more special, I decided to watch the movie at the brand new TGV Cinema at Penang's newest shopping mall, 1st Avenue. I watched the 2pm show and sadly the cinema hall was 25% occupied. Okay ... another problem with regional epic movies ... not many followers. Another possible reason ... many Chinese don't watch Malay movies except Jaime Yeoh and other bananas. BTW, this new cinema will definitely be my new chill out place.

So ... my overall comment about the movie. A heavy mixture of LOVE and HATE. We are almost there but still not there. Okay we know that KRU production spent RM 8 million for this movie. And to be honest, if they have another RM 14-15 million we (as in Malaysian movie) will be able to compete internationally and position ourselves in the international film industry.

First, I would like to congratulate KRU production and the movie writer Amir Hafizi on the storyline. Notably in highlighting Geruda as the pirate tribe instead of the mythical bird. Well, to be honest, Langkasuka was said to be located somewhere between Mount Jerai and Muda River. In the real Merong Mahawangsa text, it is said you can see Jambul Island and Lada Island from kingdom city. Now when I went to Bangkok last year, I saw a display of an old map which belongs to an English/French traveller that marked Penang Island as Pulo Lada. Those days, Penang provided a sheltered harbour for Chinese, Indian, Arabian and European ships during the monsoon months; this, in turn, inevitably made it fertile hunting ground for pirates. In present day Penang, Mount Jerai is about 50km from Butterworth and is visible from town centre.

Taken at Museum Siam, Bangkok (my own photo)

However, I was a bit disappointed that HMM did not (or could not) incorporate some Hindu customs and traditions of the people during those time to make it more realistic. Though Amir Hafizi did explained why in his blog (another constraint of a local movie), however tourismwise ... I saw this as a pulling factor for history lovers and historians all over the world. My point is ... long before the great kingdoms of Srivijaya, Ayuthya, Sukhothai or Pattani, there was this great kingdom of Langkasuka in the Malay Peninsula.

Thai epic movies love to showcase how great their ancient kingdoms of Siam, but historians and linguists agreed that the Thais moved from their ancestral home in southern China into mainland southeast Asia around the 10th century AD. Prior to this, Indianized kingdowm such as the Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms ruled the region. Langkasuka probably the kingdom that gave birth to other great empires in Malay archipelago ... hehehe. From just tribal villages into a kingdom.

For this, I love Shuhaimi Baba's works such of Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam for incorporating traditional and cultural elements like the arts of kuda kepang, black magic, royal court dance etc...Though the storyline is almost there ... however HMM still need to brush up on the "kesinambungan" from one scene to another . I am still confuse what the director wanted to highlight ... the greatness of Merong Mahawangsa martial arts or his leadership in the battlewar or the startup of Langkasuka.

Hmmm ... there are few tiny details that I was not really happy with in this movie. Like the costumes of the Chinese princess and her hand maiden. Their Mandarin and dialogues especially Nell Ng's acting. Hmm ... despite being a royal princess hand maiden, Nell's acting is more like an Ah So! I know she might be the comedy element of this movie. But sorry ... the Chinese royal imperial courts requires poise and gracefulness. Plus their Mandarin were heavily accented with Cantonese phonetics. I do agree that, most of the scenes were about the princess and her handmaiden travelling but looking at Queen of Langkasuka, the scenes where the princesses were in their travelling costumes and traditional costume of the imperial court made me awe in wonder. Plus, they made tengkolok, sampin and baju Melayu in songket looked so grand!

Another interesting detail which was just mentioned in passing, that the meeting point of Rome prince and Chinese princess was to be made at the Golden Chersonese because of fengshui ... it is not wrong to explained that in the Chinese Admiral line on why that place was chosen fengshuiwise (another point to promote Langkasuka site and Penang will benefit from it too hehehe). Good thing they mentioned Golden Chersonese, but what so Golden Chersonese about it should actually be highlighted in the Goan scenes ... or in the Chinese Admiral line ... you know despite being "a wild ground, with wild people". Just like how Merong advised Prince Marcus about the Chinese ("the Chinese had fought battles long before the Romans" ) haaa for that matter, we could take some idea from Pirates of the Carribean.

Stephen Rahman Hughes is a great actor, but because he doesn't speak or understand Malay, some of the punchlines and expressions were a bit off. Most of the Malay dialogues were beautifully written as "pantuns" and very poetic so it need some soul to express it in words (verbally). Perhaps with the soothing sound of traditional wind instruments in the background. However, I was sooooooo not comfortable with some secenes of Merong with Prince Marcus of Rome. Funny, I feel like Merong has more chemistry with Marcus than with Embok hahahaha (OMG).

Initially I was questioning on the choice of Ummi Nazirah for the part of Embok. Then there were certain "supposedly intimate scenes between Merong and Embok, I realised yes .... we should highlight on the authentic Malay beauty ... the skin, the lips, the hair (bibir merah merekah, pipi bagai pauh dilayang, rambut mayang mengurai). If this is not a Malaysian movie ... definitely there will soft sex scenes. But then again ... I thought of The Adjustment Bureau ... Emily Blunt and Matt Damon played with their facial expression, body language (you know the restlessness), their eyes keep looking at each others lips - that was enough to make me feel uneasy on my seat. HOT!!!

But I still don't get it why Embok suddenly acting angry with Merong. Though it was explained later (she was raped by Kamawas) but still "kaku".I think Embok's part will be better if Embok initially gave cold shoulder to Merong but slowly she was attracted to him but being a "hero warrior" Merong was also admired by young ladies of the tribe which sparked some jealousy on the part of Embok, thus the "angry intimate" scene between Merong and Embok.

" jika pintu empangan sudah dibuka, manakan boleh ditahan airnya"- Kamawas

Khir Rahman was great as Kamawas. What can I say (I am speechless)! His acting was so natural (and blown me away) that I would say he deserved an award for his supporting role. Mantapppppp .... though his line (refer to the photo caption) where he was being "seduced" by Princess Meng Li-Hua is a bit XXX for Malaysian viewers but I think in Malaysian words ... "memang ngammmm" with scene. That guy was so horny that time what...

I love Dato' Rahim Razali in this movie. His voice, his facial expression and the soul that he brought into the character of Kesum. Well, many of his lines were a bit poetic and looking at the way he expressed it, sent shivers to my spine. Yes, like other "unpaid critics" ... I don't like the hair hehehe

I don't want to comment much on the cinematography - I am seeing a bit of 300, Gladiator and Troy. The CGI was superb but need some polishing as in some of the scenes, the ships looked so obvious like toy ships.

Hahahaha ... panjang pulak komen. But anyway, it is because we are almost there but still not there. However, I applaud the efforts and money spent on the making of this movie and most importantly ... I did not fell asleep (tu yang banyak komen hehehe).

Memoirs of Roy & Lin's Wedding

2011-03-06T23:11:00.007+08:00

Years ago, I was not a big fan of weddings. I tried to avoid weddings as much as possible so that I could avoid being asked that big "mystery question" (or being lectured about the blissfulness and contentment of being married) by Good Samaritans and .... to be honest, seeing two souls being reunited as one in holy matrimony "was too much" for my then faint heart hahaha. That's why Emel, Jett and myself decided to give standard answer ... "December" (tiba-tiba si Taylor Swift polah lagu Back in December indah).

But as years gone by and maturity starts kicking in, I realised that weddings are indeed also stressful on the part of the brides and grooms (let alone parents) as much as the "unmarried" ladies attending it. They couldn't eat much, (nanti lipstick hilang), couldn't move much (nanti tiara jatuh) ... let alone "nak kentut" (nanti hilang glammmm). I remembered Nijah's wedding, even during "bersanding" she still gave instruction to her parents and aunties on the wedding cues.

Sate tulang ... one of Negeri Sembilan signature dishes.

So I started enjoying weddings ... on behalf of the brides and grooms. Tasting the food and wine (Tony's wedding was set in a very famous restaurant in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur), enjoying the ambience of the banquet hall (Kazen's wedding was set in the latest hotel in Kuching, the 4-points), enjoying the marriage of culture (Niejah's wedding incorporated a mix of Malay and Bajau tradition) ... and taking a point or two (taknak bohonglah ..) for "any" future weddings.

Roy and Lin.

Anyway, I guess this special wedding of Roy and Lin (the beautiful princess of Norzah and Datin Zaitun) deserve to be featured in my humble blog. All I can say is simple, creative and timeless. The wedding reception on the bride side was set at the bride's residence in Taman Melawati.

Kompang group leading the bride and groom's procession.

Traditional musical group.

These are not bridesmaid but more like ladies of the chamber and knights.

The gift bearers from the groom side.

The bride and groom on the ceremonial couch. Gifts from the groom were adorned with white flowers whereas from the bride were with bright coloured flowers.

Look at this very sporting and loving couple!

Actually, I knew Datin first when she was in KPKT with me and she was also the person responsible for pulling me to MOTOUR. Myself and Norzah only met for the first time (and briefly) in Langkawi but we bonded through our blogs and Facebook. Then Norzah bonded with Yoyop through my blog and Facebook, which then extended to my mum. Wah ... very the social network gitew.

My mum never attended a traditional Malay wedding in Peninsular Malaysia before. She had attended Indian wedding (when my foster brother Puvan got married last year where she even wore saree) and Chinese weddings. So when Norzah requested Princess Director to fly Pehin Datin Seri all the way from Kuching to attend the wedding, of courselah akan ditunaikan oleh Princess Director.

My mum would love so much to meet Norzah and Datin (and in fact she did mentioned about wanting to meet them zillion times months ago). So ... untuk mengelakkan dari disumpah jadi batu (hahaha), I siap flew her to KL guna the brand new Firefly Boeing 737-800 aircraft. And when disatukan pulak dengan Cik Tipah .... memang happening!!!!

Actually Norzah, Tipah and myself were actually eyeing this one tall yummylicious looking guy ... Masa tu we all on the way nak masuk rumah nak tengok bride. Suddenly Tipah exclaimed, "Handsomenyer mamat tu Mieeeee"... I pun dengan kepantasan luar biasa terus menoleh dan .... zasssssss pertembungan mata berlaku dan (quoting ayat feveret Niejah) "dada berombak ganas". Tapi Norzah recommended pulak geng-geng "overtime" dia yang eligible dan available sampai I ngan Tipah tak tau nak kata apa tengok "uncle-uncle" semua tercengang. Hahahahahaha

Sekadar gambar hiasan. Actually I took this photo because it was so 1Malaysia.

I think the best part of Roy and Lin's wedding was the phototaking sessions at the photo booth corner. We all had a good laugh there. But hold on a second .... wah apa nie???? PANASSSSSSS

Alamakkkkkkk .... kantoiiiii

What Are You Made Of?

2011-03-01T23:22:00.000+08:00

Sugar and spice and all that's nice?

Ok ... I was reading Norzah's entry last night A New Wave Rising of Expectation on uprising in African countries like Libya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Cameroon and Senegal that saw one leader after another being ousted by common citizens.. The same is happening in the Saudi Arabia States of Bahrain and Yemen.

What triggered all this?

Well that was the interesting part. My humble comment was:

African countries (which coincidentally in these incidents happened to be Muslim countries) might have opened their mind like the people of the Great Republic of China. Suddenly they realise how rich their countries are in terms of natural resources, however many still live in poverty and hunger.

Leaders should realise that internet technologies have made the world seems smaller and nearer (information wise) and have ears. Education and awareness made the people of these countries more exposed on what's going on in the other "negara aman dan makmur".

As oppose to this:

The cause of an uprising seems simply the wish of people for a fair share of wealth, or a fair share of suffering and poverty. But I wonder if it is more to it. Where we see the current uprising I fear other players, interested parties are the unseenn hands in the game. Their objectives are not about sharing power, wealth and suffering.

This is all very scary because we cannot say we are above it.

(this is the comment by blogger Al-Manar in Norzah's entry)

Or this:

We still don't know whether the uprising and the revolts are bringing the results expected by the people or they are just jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Our fear is that the interested parties whether local or foreign will waste no time to put a quick end to the ousted leaders ( who to say the least have maintained peace and stability in the countries concerned for years) in order to do what they could not get done all these years, This is especially so with regard to leaders who have all these while defied the western powers. If bombs and mortars could not get rid ot them, the new uprising or revolt is doing the work for them. We'll have to wait and see to know the truth, But the uprising seems to be catching on before we can evaluate who is gaining from the hellfire and bloodbath.

(Norzah's own comment)

Can you see the difference in the opinion?

Of course ... if we are to compare, my thinking level (including proficiency in English) of courseeee lahhhhhh NOT AT PAR dengan buah fikiran seorang ex-KSU, ex-KP MAMPU and seorang philosophical doctor. However, I am not going to elaborate about the uprising but rather the way I see things (or choose to see things. If you read carefully, you will see I usually angle my opinion with a little faith on the people, the system or a little idealistic thinking.

However, these past few days I began to ask myself ... how long can I pretend "blind" to the self interest, personal agenda, hypocrisy and greed that is lurking at the corners. And here in Penang, I sudah jelak with the word sensitive (or its derivation) cause all I am getting is sensitive skin from all the stress. Hahaha... gosh I really need the laugh.

I remembered years ago, I put my heart and soul in salvaging a low medium cost abandoned housing project only to realise later that the residential area had become a perkampungan Mat Hitam. So much of helping the so call poor people.

So sugar and spice and all that's nice? (maybe for now)

Be Careful What You Wish For ...

2011-02-27T22:18:00.033+08:00

Do you know that certain areas along the highway have great views?

I am on travelling mode again since beginning of the month and just came back from KL few days ago. As I was driving from KL to Penang in the wee hours of the morning (5.30 am) I remembered those years, working under Dr. P and cursing like nobody's business because he just could not let me out of his sights (and out of the office). And there I was monitoring states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan from Kuala Lumpur, visualizing the projects progress from 7F reports and artist impressions on the brochures.

Now, since moving to MOTOUR, I am mostly outstation than in my office. Even when I was already back in the office, my meetings with NGOs and industry players were back to back. This month in particular, my punch card was like half empty ... CNY leave (Kuching), then Mallacca, then Lumut and then KL ... still I am cursing like nobody's business ... hahaha. Snapshots of some my journey this month.

@Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan

@Lumut Waterfront, Perak

@Botanic Garden, Melaka

Be careful what you wish for ...

By the way, this is not my luck prediction. Mine's P&C but hehehe ... very lucky. To KK and Vincent dismay hahaha

Anyway I was inspired to share my thoughts about this topic after a successful program with Rapid Penang recently. We were testing some of Rapid Penang routes so that our team in Tourism Malaysia could promote it to tourists who prefer to travel with public transport in Penang, starting with route 101. So while stopping at the Siamese Temple, I decided to try out the wheel of fortune machine, which according to Vincent, my leader for Project Penang, the prediction is "very very true".

Vincent said that before I put in the coin and let the machine spin for my prediction, I should pray first and let some questions or wishes flashed through my mine. To be honest, I don't know why I was set of knowing what lies for me this year. Perhaps just a little reassurance? So in short these are some of my wishes and prayers ..

I wish for PINKEST of HEALTH ...(got some good prediction on that).

Bonding time with my family. Perhaps more family trips like this ... (we went to Haadyai last year). To be honest that trip was great. In fact CNY trip this year was great too. Everyone seemed relax and cool. I also had time to chill out with my friends in Kuching.

I wish for great team in my office (plus great boss). Lady boss also seems more understanding lately.

I wish for more great friends (and colleagues). To be honest, it getting lonely "up" here. Thanks to BBM and outings like this. We could seek each others opinion and had our "bitching" time. Oppsss kantoi pakai baju sama!

I wish for less work related stress .. I know everyone knows about the issue related to the above project. It was a real challenge for me, dealing with my management, the NGOs, the stakeholders. (BTW view was taken from the new furnicular train ... coming soon hehehe)

Ashton Kutcher's character in No String Attached - not Ashton himself. Susah akak nak jaga nanti. BTW, it was a great movie (must watch).

My wishes may be common and the usual but I think many always take that for granted (myself included). We wish for the stars when it was the sun and the moon that provide us the light. OK, my prediction readings didn't answer a VERY important question, instead it says ... something about travelling. Plus great luck this year. So contrary to my fengshui reading.

Anyway, I am rekindling with my passion with photography ... However, since I am also writing for my food blog, I noticed that most of the photos taken are mostly with my mind set for the other blog rather than this blog hahaha ... okaylah trying to adjust.

The Princess and The Froggie

2011-02-14T22:07:00.003+08:00

Just my luck ... of all the days, Froggie chosed this day to "manja-manja" with me. And of all places, he chosed Shell station Datuk Keramat Road for our "romantic" rendezvous. Well to be honest, the guy who was pumping gas next door was kinda cute, but when I couldn't start my car ... dia buat tak tahu jer ... sialan! Menonong jer dia tinggalkan the damsel in distress.

Luckily abang Bangla was thoughtful enough asking Esso station owner next door if she sell any car batteries. The auntie even help to call Mr Ee, the 24 hours mechanic to the rescue (though I had to wait nearly an hour due to heavy rain).

Soon enough, Daddy also came to the petrol station just to see if everything was OK. Thank God he came.... else I terpaksa cari jalan yang "halal" untuk bayar service Mr Ee (tak dapek den nak bayangkan). I was short of RM 50.00 ... terpaksa borrow duit His Royal Highness The Emperor.

See, my Valentine's gift to Froggie. So romantic! With the date inscribed!

Mr Ee even paste his namecard on my windscreen in case of emergency. Here I share his contact information in case anyone got car problem in Penang. Sharing is caring! True Valentine spirit ...

Be My Valentine's ...

2011-02-14T00:18:00.001+08:00

Despite the current hoo-haa in the country telling people not to celebrate St. Valentine's Day for religious reasons as well as statement from the Council of Churches saying that it's not a Christian celebration, to me I still embrace the spirit of St. Valentine's day.

Put aside the moral and sex education, let's face it ... the longer we are in a relationship ... the love tend to fade, couples found themselves drifted apart and eventually lead to divorce and break-ups. What's wrong of having one day in a year just to remind ourselves (mandatorily) about LOVE, PASSION and maybe some DESIRE hahahaha. Pheww ... it is a sexy day!

Ok ... I am not going to lecture about the issue but as the theme has something to do with LOVE, so I guess what other best day and time for me to introduce the new LOVE of my life, one that I pour my heart and soul with PASSION and burning DESIRE these past few weeks ...

My faithful readers ... please welcome Princess Di .... (my other blogger name) .... for my food blog known as Princess Di's Yummy Notes.

So far the blog have 7 entries .... about my food misadventures from Penang-Sarawak-Malacca. Well more entries are coming. So please feel free to visit my new Food Blog ... a journal of my food adventure in Malaysia and everywhere!

Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this video to all lovers and couples (old and new) out there. I have always love this song (original from Lady Antebelum) and soooo lucky that it was featured on Glee! Yeaaaaaa

Though this is a bit gayish but I don't mind being wooed by Darren Chriss like this. Anytime, anywhere hehehe

Dirty Dancing - Time of My Life

2011-01-26T08:00:00.002+08:00

FYI, Time of My Life has been one of my favourite songs. Song that will definitely bring smile to my face. Song that will brighten my day. Song that one day (...... and I seriously wish) will be my wedding dance number. Just the thought of it ... I am already on Cloud 9. Hahaha

I've been wanting to blog about this song when Glee Cast gave a new breathe to it in Season 2 Episode 9. It was truly mesmerizing listening to the beautiful voice of Quinn and Sam (sometimes it can be very boring listening to Finn and Rachel duet). However I was so busy and forgotten about it.

However, these passed few days, every time I switched on to Red.fm (here in Penang I listen to Red.fm most of the time) ... they always played the latest version and remix by Black Eye Peas. Aiyooo ... I can feel my heart bleeding mannnnnn..... How could somebody be so cold blooded and murdered this wonderful song!!!!! Really ... my heart cannot take it!

To be honest, when I first saw this movie yearssssss ago, how I wish, Bau or Pasar Batu 10 (the nearest township to my house) have all this ballroom dancing lesson. Few years back, my housemate, Nancy, did suggest that we took up ballroom dancing lessons in Sri Hartamas. But that time, my job (and till now) took up so much time.

Then as time goes by, I think I won't be able to find a dancing partner like the late Patrick Swayze that will be able to lift me up ... hahahaha (bestnyer dapat ketawa besar camni). I saw a video of Jennifer Gray and Derek Hough in Dancing with The Star ... but sorry Derek, I still feel Patrick Swayze was better (May God Bless His soul).

Therefore people, I am dedicating the original version of the song taken from the movie Dirty Dancing to all of you out there. I am still waiting for that Time of My Life! But hope I don't have to wait too long.

Ushering The New Year of The Rabbit - Fengshui dan Dzi Beads

2011-01-24T08:18:00.001+08:00

According to Lilian Too ...

"The Golden Rabbit Year of 2011" is a year of clashing discordant energy. It fuels the tendencey for many to take offence at the slightest provocation. Many will be quick to anger and impatience dominates the year. But it is also a year when many animal signs can make meaningful advances economically. Those who know how to tap into the veins of the good fortune will even rate 2011 a bonanza year.

These last 2 year I was not really into fengshui, as compared to when I first started in 2004. Having just moved into a new home, new office, being in strange land and had nothing to do during weekends, I decided I needed a hobby. I found out later that Uncle Tan studied geomancy and asked him to tutor me on some of the basic principles. I never fully master it ... for religious (and laziness) reasons ... however sometimes I did applied some of the "hard to understand logic" just for the fun of it.

Okay recently, the bad vibes of 2010 had been a HOT topic among a special group of friends and how it had affected their life. Well to be honest, the tiger year of 2010 too most was a challenging year with plenty of competitive pressures. But in general, for me a Fire Snake lady, it was ok and much better than the year before. So one of my friends told me that he was thinking of buying crystals for good luck charm for 2011. However I advised him to checkout the Dzi beads as I think it looks better on man as an accessory.

I noticed that lately these bead stones have gain popularity among private gem collectors (and feng shui practicioners) in Malaysia, usually for good fortune. The strongest energy comes from Tibetan precious white jadeite dzi, aged from 100 years above. These "old" beads price can fetch up to thousands of RM. New or young beads, aged between 2-3 years, are sold between RM 70.00 -150.00.

My first dzi bead was a 9-eye dzi bought in World of Fengshui MidValley in 2007. Cost me RM 388.00. That time, it was among the few places that sells genuine dzi beads. However, I found out later that mine was not a "young" bead. Hence, the price. Initially it came with a string of clear citrine crystal as a bangle. Later I replaced it with golden citrine for "more better " (hehehe ... apa punya English) wealth luck hehehe! FYI, contrary to some beliefs, crystal actually doesn't works for everyone if based on the person self-element.

Notice the difference in colour between my 9-eye dzi and the rest? Over the years, I bought few more into my collection, for specific purposes. Now I own a 3-eye, 11-eye, garuda, kuan yin and tiger tooth dzi beads. Some I made into bracelet, some as a necklace and some, I haven't decide what to do with it yet. Dzi beads to me ... are trendier looking than crystals (which are closely associated to old Chinese Ah So) hehehe

My favourite dzi bead stone would definitely be the Kuan Yin Dzi - meant for relieve of suffering and loneliness, and bring forth mental tranquility, strong protection, love, righteouness, joy, kindness and ensure safety in travelling on all mode of transport. Can you see the Kuan Yin image on the bead stone? I bought it in a pair with the Garuda dzi, however last year, my Garuda bead broke after my bracelet fell on the floor. Some people believe that it was a sign that a "harmful" luck as been overcome. Gulp!!!! (Garuda dzi is for very strong protection, cure serious illness)

I usually buy my Dzi beads at the Dzi Kingdoms with outlets in Mid Valley Megamall, KL and Gurney Plaza, Penang. Another good outlet is Gem Max Crystal Sdn. Bhd in Prangin Mall (Level 4). This is because some people sell fake dzi which are made from porcelain, plastic or glass. Better be safe than sorry. Make sure you ask the staff to do some Ba Zi readings first so that they can recommend the right dzi beads for you.

One of the hassle of owning a dzi beads or crystal beads is that we need to clean it once in a while to energize the "power". All you have to do is go to any crystal shops and request for "cleansing".They will put it in a large crystal singing bowl, that will create a kind of humming sound. Last year, before my transfer to Penang, I went to have lunch at Brem Mall Kepong with Mr Energy Savings and Guy Next Door. We passed one Crystal shop selling authentic Tibetan Singing Bowl. I've never intended to buy these bowls but sometimes the sound of it wasvery enchanting. Plus the one on display were just brought from Tibet. Hehehe ... i ended up buying one!

Anyway, you don't have to believe that it has special powers or what not. But I love my beads and I believe one day ... it may fetch high price, just like some rare old beads usually found in certain native accessories of Sabah and Sarawak. It's a keeper!

Ushering The New Year of The Rabbit - Part 1

2011-01-20T23:03:00.009+08:00

Today, Penangites witnessed a very grand Thaipusam celebration ... second to the one in Batu Caves, Selangor. However, my story today is not about Thaipusam ... the truth is, I couldn't take a wink ... selagi cerita ni tak dipublish! ( hehehe ... I just need an introduction paragraph).

Among all the celebrations that I celebrated, special attention would be given to Chinese New Year .... partly due to culture and partly due to just for the fun of it. Usually my routine CNY preparation just involved buying new clothes (including undergarment), spring cleaning my house and office plus checking feng shui updates for the new year. These photos were taken last 2 weeks during my last trip to KL.

This is to ensure not a single dust or spider web was missed out!

Habis all my sofa kena turned upside down.

Hehehe ... finally found the solution how to blend this wayang kulit puppet into the ID.

However this year, the preparation is a bit special because now I am in Penang and be able to witness CNY preparation for the New Year here. These are some of the photos taken over the weekend at the Chowrasta Morning Market (enter from Campbell Street). Harusssss akak berlakon jadi tourist.

Actually, the Morning Market is very famous to the locals ... seafood and poultry are sold fresh every morning. Pricewise ... quite OK. Cleanliness, acceptable.

Last weekend, the market was more crowded than usual and we could see many cars with "W" plate numbers parked along Penang Street and Campbell Street.

Bright colour CNY decorative ornaments.

The traditionally made Kueh Bakul ... between RM 1.50 to RM 5.00.

Haaa ... actually, the main reason why I wanted to visit this market last weekend was to see this particular shop's wax meat (lap cheung), which is very very famous among the locals and KLites ... was featured in the Star paper, 2-3 years back ... I was very suprised then because I usually come to this shop to buy some rations but never knew they are famous for their lap cheung hehehe

These wax meat are usually made with duck meat or pork (sometimes into sausages). Grandma love to steam her lap cheong while cooking rice. Usually, these wax sausages are cut into small pieces and added in Chinese fried rice. Never tried the duck wax meat.

Many, many years ago ... Chinese invented wax meat as a method to preserve food, especially during the winter. It is a type of preserved food that has been salted and cured but nottttttt with wax ... it just that, it looked like wax.

Next entry ... renew craze for feng shui and dzi beads!

Tiada Demokrasi Dalam Cinta

2011-01-17T20:51:00.005+08:00

Baru-baru ni salah seorang kawan akak telah "menyelar" akak dengan jelasnya melalui blog beliau bahawa akak cuba merampas Abang R dari rangkulannya. Akak pun .... helllooooooo ... Abang R yang "nak" kat I and siap add I lagi dalam FB dier. Bukan salah akak kan ... don't hate me coz I am beautiful baby...

Lepas tu kan .... kawan akak ni terusssssss taknak kalah dengan akak. Siap buat rawatan "kesantekan" seluruh badan ... Akak pun wah wah wah ... lawan tokey nampak. Anyway akak pun agak tak puas hati sikit dengan seorang Puan A ni ... aihh ... dia pun ada hati rupanya dengan Abang R and siap pesan ... "jangan bagi tau laki aku"... amboi-amboi Puan A, perkara ke-4 tu nak kena jaga jugak ... taknak masuk syurga ker?

Tapi akak nak crita kat sini, akak sebenarnya gerammm dengan kawan akak nie. Sebenarnya beberapa bulan yang lalu, kami "akak-akak" yang single lagi suci murni ni mintaklah kawan akak ni untuk mendoakan kami di Jabbal Rahmah semoga dipertemukan dengan jodoh yang dari kalangan golongan yang beriman (hehehe ... sebenarnya ada juga mohon dapat jodoh yang ganteng) hahahah

Within hours selepas beliau mendoakan kami dan dirinya maka bertemu lah beliau dengan sang arjuna yang mempunyai potensi yang besar untuk memberikan title Puan kat beliau. Duit ada, rupa pun ada, bisnes ada dan paling penting veryyyyy gentleman ... i likeeee. Tapi ye lah, kawan akak ni despite telah dibukakan jalan yang lurus untuk mengakhiri penantiannya selama ini ... nak jugak terus diuji. Jangan tak tahu ... akak siap buat simulasi lagi apa yang dibualkan semasa kenduri kawin.

(Kenduri kawen di sebuah kampung di utara tanah air)
Orang kampung: Seman (bukan nama sebenar) ... mana hang jumpa bini hang tu?
Seman: Di Mekah Pak Mat ...
Orang kampung: oooooooo .... tu dia!

And of course lah .... pengantin perempuan tu akan dipuji-puji oleh satu kampung ye tak dan akan menjadi kisah cinta yang lebih hebat dari filem Ayat-Ayat Cinta. Walaupun akak AFUNDI lah Abang R ni untuk kawan akak, tapi bak kata Norzah ... janganlah ... nanti tiada demokrasi dalam cinta. Hehehe

Tapi jauh di lubuk hati, akak masih mengharapkan kawan akak ni jangan lah menolak "salam cinta" dari Abang R. Or else ... kita akan mendengar perbualan ini di satu kenduri kawen di sebuah negeri di utara tanah air.

Orang kampung: Seman, mana hang jumpa bini hang tu? Lawa pulak tu. (Hehehehe)
Seman: Oh ... masa kat Mekah, kawan bini saya doakan untuk bini saya agar dipertemukan jodoh. Sekali, lepas tu jumpa dengan saya and dia pun introduce lah.
Orang kampung: oooooooo .... tu dia.

Kepada orang tu ... sanggup ke?

Coming Soon In March 2011

2011-01-17T08:10:00.003+08:00

There will be a lot of "coming soons" in March 2011. Not that March is an auspicious month or what not but it seems that most of my personal and work-related projects will expect to be completed in March 2011. So hopefully we could see more interesting entries by then ... replacing my long hiatus last year.

However, there is this one particular "coming soon" that I am very excited about and been working on it since yesterday. Some of the materials here might be moved or futher elaborated there (opsss ... hint hint).

FYI, I was quite "sakit hati" with few certain individuals these past few days ... so I need to channel my energy to a better use. Plus recent news that was not pleasing to the ear and heart. So I reckon, I better documented some of my works through my blog. I have few other materials as well which I have yet to blog about.

Stay tune for more updates.

PTD Story Year 8

2011-01-13T20:28:00.003+08:00

Helooooooo Malaysiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...

When I woke up this morning I knew something was special about today. Usually I dreaded to get out from my bed but today, pukul 4 pagi rasa semangat nak turun kerja (hehehe actually I went to bed early and slept for 10 hours). Still, I didn't continue my slumber but instead check my messages on my Blackberry Messenger.

Then on my way to work, the road was less jammed than yesterday. But best of all, Hitz.fm was doing K-pop .... Thanks Ian and JJ .... akak sukeeeeeee sangat! (malay version of I likeeeee). Even they taught some basic Korean like Anyeong Haseo and Kamsa Hamidaaaaa. Ohhh... I felt uplifted ... especially listening to Beast and Wondergirls.

Sampai office terus buka PC and check FB. Wah rupa-rupanya today is the 8th anniversary of PTD batch 1/2003! 8 tahun rupanya akak menghambakan diri akak kepada "perentah" (bak kata orang Sarawak referring to the Government") sebagai Pegawai Tarak Duit (PTD)! Rasa bangga pulak (sedangkan minggu lepas dah berangan nak pencen).

Anyway, Princess Di (aka Princess Director) menyambut ulangtahun ke-8 perkhidmatannya dengan me"rating" 2 hotels yang bak kata pepatah "birds of a feather flock together". Pada masa yang sama, testing kehebatan Camera Digital Canon Powershot G12 yang akak order khas for the office. Mula-mula tu ramai heran why beli kamera baru .... nah, start semalam my staffs ada yang siap ambik gambar diri sendiri lagi kerana takjub "a compact with a DSLR quality." Itu lah, bila Princess Di suruh beli jangan banyak soal. Nanti ada yang kena sumpahan 7 keturunan.

The camera (ini bukan iklan promosi for Canon ya) memang deliver what it says. This top of the line point and shoot camera was introduced to me by Thomas last year, but his was G11. For years, professional photographers around the world must have one Canon G series ni as a backup lah. Well actually this digicam is the closest you can get to a basic DSLR - with all the functions and manual settings. So sekarang kalau nak buat inspections or product updates .... my office dah ada good camera to capture the pics.

Ni akak demonstrate a few photos yang telah diambil menggunakan camera ni bagi kegunaan pejabat (dan maybe peribadi hehehe). Tema gambar-gambar ini adalah "My Job is My Paid Hobby".

For identifying potential tourism sites.

For food tasting (yang ni i likeeeee).

For enforcement (mengumpul bahan bukti and eksibit).

But on a more serious note, 2010 was the year where I learned and experimented with my new working environment, colleagues, subordinates as well as stakeholders. Building trust, identifying allies and foes and planning strategies. It was also a year where I had to make myself my new best friend forever (who wants to be seen with boss right).

So this year, I hope I could share with you the outcomes through my blog postings ... Ciao!

Promosi "Back To Work" Telah Bermula ...

2011-01-06T21:34:00.000+08:00

OMG ... these past few days were the most boring time of my life. Seriousssssly ... At first I thought maybe because it was Monday, my most not favourite day of the week (kalau ikutkan hari-hari pun tak favourite). Tapi kalau sampai hari ni masih liat nak buat kerja, something is wrong somewhere. Naturally, I will spend my time "connecting with people" on Facebook, wondering what they have been up to .. who knows I might find inspirations somewhere in the comments or the status.

To my dismay, most of my friends were discussing about their children first day at school ... how depressing (tik tok tik tok ... I could hear my biological clock ticking). But some posting I must say were quite interesting ... some posted photos of their kids's first day in class ... ada yang happy, ada yang meraung, ada yang muka kedak asam payak (so sour) ... hahaha

Then suddenly I remembered my own first day in school (hari2 mintak mummy iron baju) sampailah all the excitements of preparing for school. If you asked me what was the best part about going back to school .... well for me it would be buying toiletries (boarding school maaa) and stationery. I love being in a stationery shops and marveled at the mechanics of some stationery designs especially the ones which are from Japan, very practical.

So memandangkan akak cuma ada anak-anak ikan jer kat opis so semalam akak pun sibuk-sibuklah beli alat tulis untuk diri sendiri bagi memulakan tahun pekerjaan di 2011 at Popular Bookstore KOMTAR. To be honest, I don't like some of the stationery items supplied by my office. Although I have a say in the buying process but most of the time I let my admin staff do the ordering. I usually have special pens for signing and for writing. Hey, do you know that Lilian Too once said that good signing stroke can be very auspicious?

My signing pens.

Mesti suprise kan? Pen mahal tak semestinya memberi impak yang maksima dalam surat-surat anda. I love looking at people's signature sometime. Penting jugak signature tu nampak bold and bersesuaian dengan kedudukan dan pangkat si penandatangan.

My writing pens. Yang paling kanan pen Tourism Malaysia, latest addition.

When I was in school, friends always commented my handwriting as tulisan typewriter. If based on zodiac, Virgoans and Snake are supposed to be organised people. I don't see myself as the organise one (in terms of physical arrangement). Maybe more the organiser kot hahaha.

But to be honest, when I was in secondary school, my parents taught me to be thrifty but rewarded me once in a while. Though now I could afford to get myself an expensive Parker or Shaffer, I still reward myself with lots of Pilot pens (range between RM 3 to RM 15.00) instead. Sebabnya every time my dad came back to visit us or for holidays then, he always gave me a good Pilot pen and pesan, "This is a very good pen. Make sure you take care of it". Of course the continuous reminder that it cost him more than RM 10.00 sampai i takut betul lost the pen. Apatah lagi nak write with it.

Anyway, since I selalu kena ambik minit mesyuarat when I was in KPKT (at the same time training menulis dengan pantas for PTK) I grew fond of Stabilo Exam Grade Pen (harga RM 1.90 jer). Satu pagi yang hening, my favourite pen tiba-tiba hilang .... terusssssss akak buka kertas siasatan (IP) dan buat rakaman percakapan suspek-suspek utama tu sampai my EO that time Nasir said "Cik jaime ... cik Jaime ambiklah semua pen saya, saya tak rela jadi suspek utama". Hahahaha... (lama sebenarnya tak ketawa macam ni)

When I was little, there were 2 things that I disliked the most - my pencil sharpener and glue. Yelah, mummies would exercise their rights to "mummy knows best" when go shopping kan. .. Ingat tak dengan sharpener harga 20 sen yang ada cermin tu? That sharpener memang tak boleh pakai, kalau sharpen mesti pensil patah atau tak tajam. And then the 20 sen glue made of rice/starch. I really hate the stickiness and the mess that I made during Arts lesson using that glue ... u know masa cikgu ajar buat "collage". Even all those clear watery glue (mahal sikitlah around 80 sen). It makes the paper nampak lencun. But when I was in Form 4 and 5 ... wajib ada pencil sharpener yang ada cermin tu. Hahaha ... untuk tengok cute male classmates yang suka duduk belakang hahahaha (rear mirror) ... really miss my best buddy Sara.

Can you guess which one is for the thicker sheets of paper?

Taraaa .... Marvelous kan? Boleh masuk pencil case akak yang comel lagi hehehe

Aikkss ... high school icon lagi kah hehehe. Beli dulu pun nak simpan stationery for PTK exam. I remembered on first week in kindergarten I fought with my sister Joan (that time was 4) over my pink pencil case. My mum asked me to "mengalah to adik" and promised to buy me a new one. That weekend my mum bought me a new blue pencil case yang ada gambar gajah hahaha. Masa tu most kids maybe didn't know much about cartoon characters unlike now ... Ben 10 lah, Barbie lah

As I was going through my drawers and "courses bags" I found this memo pad calender that I bought in MPH bookstore. I almost forgotten about it.

Word of Wisdom for the month of January. Just what I need.

This one is for the month of February. Sindir aku ker?

As Penang State Government is enforcing the "No Plastic Bags" rule everyday ... I repeat everyday... so terpaksalah akak mula pegi shopping dengan bag-bag akak yang sungguh "chic" dan self promo nie hahaha .... so 1Malaysia Green and Clean and Malaysia Truly Asia gitewww ...

Last but not least, today is the 23rd birthday of my youngest sister Jayne Yvonne Bejit Yeoh ... Bejit is her unofficial Bidayuh name hahaha, in honour of her very very "lotsa jits" childhood. Happy birthday sis!

Ops Pisau Cukur 2011

2011-01-02T10:03:00.006+08:00

Nak ketawa bila baca komen Norzah on FB (I am not sure which wall post) that goes ..." happy hunting J". Auwww terasa diri ini predator sangat. Tapi bagus juga encouragement tu. Nak tunggu being the hunted, rasanya the next 10 year i will be "haunting" instead of "hunting" hahahaaha

However a long pillow talk (until 4 am ) with my friends on Blackberry Messenger group conference, I realised my hunting operation need more than just domestic goddess training, total makeover and kewl gadgets. I have suspected it few months back after reading Oprah Winfrey's article in a Health Magazine but after chatting with my friends, it sort of affirm that my thyroid problem datang balik. But instead of being hyperthyroidism, it became hypothyroidism. I read some health articles on the Internet that hyperthyroidism may eventually lead to hypothyroidism. In my case I was no longer under medication and treatment since year 1998 and my last health screening in 2002 showed my thyroxine hormone was OK.

We were discussing about my friend's struggle on coping with his gf silent temper due to hypothyroidism. So I pun tercerita lah about my family and friends struggles with my studden change in behaviour, the confusions and heartaches they had to go through. That time I was in boarding school, my teachers thought I had disciplinary problems pulak ... you know sebab trouble sleeping at night I couldn't wake up sometimes and had trouble concentrating. I knew then I was not well but I was also confused with the illness. Until my Auntie Rose (mum's elder sister) helped me out as she too had the same problem. It turned out my other Auntie Rose (dad's elder sister) also had thyroid problems. Aiya ... I inherited the Roses genes rupanya.

Back to the pillow talks, as my friend explained further about the hypothyroidism symptoms ... I think my heart stopped beating for a while. I felt like I was being diagnosed. I sort of like mistaken my sudden weight gain/lost or mood swings as effects of stress and aging. I felt depress for no reasons sometimes ... again I blamed it on stress. But some other signs like dry skin, sleepiness, keletihan and tak tahan sejuk ... haiya that's it. I am going to get medical checkup by end of this week.

So as I waited for my "mood problem" to be solved by end of this week, yesterday afternoon I decided that I should start my domestic goddess training by cooking special dish for dad for lunch. Barulah terhegeh-hegeh nak carik buku resipi yang beli jer tapi tak pernah buka. Btw, I inherited another of the Roses gene ... passion for cooking!

Auntie Rose Penang really spoil me rotten here. I am soooooo the Princess here. Oh my Gucci!!! Sampaikan pegang senduk dan periuk pun dah rasa sangat janggal. Bagaimanapun bagi memastikan operasi ini berjalan lancar, selongkarlah mana-mana periuk belanga and kuali at our town house kitchen. Then I went to Chowrasta Morning market beli asam jawa and fresh kunyit/cili giling. Don't play play u know ... here in Penang, curry, rempah giling is sold by Chinese, with recipes handed down from generation to generation.

I decided to cook Red Snapper Gulai Assam Tumis for my dad, based on Auntie Rose recipe, which was handed down from my grandma who learned it from my great-grandma. Yes .... I am from Cina Peranakan family. One day I'll post photos of my great grandma in her baju panjang. I have tasted many so-called peranakan dishes by some so-called peranakan sellers but I wish to state here that Auntie Rose cooking is authentic Peranakan. Cukup segala rempah, pedas and what not. Sometimes it is not the elaboration in the cooking preparation ... it's the flavours!

The verdict: Dad loved it sooooo much and minta me to cook again. Yeaaaaa .... Jom kita memancing!

Bienvenidos 2011

2011-01-01T12:20:00.000+08:00

Chakkkkkk .... suddenly it's already 2011.

It always feels like "it was just yesterday" we celebrated the arrival of the yesteryear on New Year. And as usual, most would just copy paste whatever resolutions they had the many last years. Me included. Easy ... as humans love planning but to get plans done, so many excuses. Just like my HOT PANT and BIKINI dreams hahaha

Anyway, I intended to get this entry done and published by the stroke of midnite. Satu kali YY and myself chatted about our 2011 strategies and 2010 painful memories, I heard countdown and fireworks from Georgetown (oh yaa... I stayed at the townhouse for New Year).

YY sent me a wish and popped up the "dangerous" question?

Hahaha, akak pun tak sangka ... so bold and spontaneous (and honest). But to tell you all the truth, yesterday morning when I woke up from my slumber and started to think of my achievements in 2010 and whether or not God has answered my prayers, I realised not only HE answered most, siap bagi extra lagi!

I tak tipu ... in 2009, hati I banyak meronta nak travelling daripada nak kawin. When I prayed to God, I can feel the yearning and desperation inside me when asking for blessings to see the world but when asking for finding the ONE, ada macam satu hesitation. Its like ... jalan2 dulu baru kawin. And another thing ... once married, not only your new family will pull u to the ground, your husband's family, your own family, your extended family ... and being a person making my own decisions throughout my life, listening to someone else making plans for you is a NIGHTmare hahaha

Why the change of heart? Kalau nak tau ... I suggested you all to watch this movie ... The Young Victoria. A story about the life of the young Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. I love this movie, siap research lagi about the characters in the movies ... who they are, how they influenced Queen Victoria's thinking/life etc etc... In a certain way, it has similarities with my own personal life. Kat mana tu, I taknak cakap.

Of course, it may not be easy to find a person like Prince Albert. But if I prayed hard, maybe I get someone better. Right? If last year, I just planned to visit few places ... sekali sana sini pulak God make me travel. Hmmm ..... inviting thoughts jugak if many hunks fight over you kannnnn .... hahaha

Sawadee Ka - Phuket 2010

2010-11-19T15:01:00.006+08:00

I have abandoned my blog ... again (and many times before). Too many things happened back to back, to many info for me to digest within this 6 months period. I would say my life is quite eventful the last few months, travelling, planning and executing projects... not what I expected when I accepted the offer to head the Penang State Office.

Luckily, which also to my suprise, the political climate here is quite OK. I have some blissful time plannning and executing my works without nasty interruption or intervention from certain parties/groups or individuals. As long as I know how or where to draw the line and think for the best interest of the people.

Anyway, I named this entry Sawadee Ka - Phuket 2010 as I planned to visit Phuket again (some times not too soon). I was a bittttttttt disappointed with the trip despite the hundreds of photo taken. First, Phuket has so much to offer but our time there was so limited. Need at least 5 days if you really want to enjoy Phuket. That includes visits to Phi-Phi Island and Krabi. I couldn't even enjoy my exclusive hotel though I got huge discount for it from Agoda.com! Phuket has so many beaches, each with its own specialness ...

I chosed Kata Beach, instead of the fame Patong Beach, as I would prefer some private time to enjoy the beach without all the hustle bustle or sea of half nude people. I planned to travel down from Kata to Patong for some night life ... but unfortunately, our night time are filled with shows like Fantasea and Simon Cabaret ...

Secondly, I was damned tired from meetings, travelling from KL-Penang the week before and not forgetting the pre-launching of the Penang Hill furnicular trains. Plus the night before our departure to Phuket, I pandai2 ajak member clubbing at Hard Rock Cafe hahaha ... By the time we arrived in Phuket, all I really wanted was a deep sleep!

Third, I underestimated Phuket. Didn't do my homework and leave everything to the travel agency and one of my staff. I didn't want to use an agent initially but considering the hassle to find transport and our time was very limited so I agree to the ground arrangement. Was quite ticked off when the tour to Phang Nga Bay was conducted in Mandarin.

And like I said earlier, I underestimated Phuket ... to be honest, my main reason of choosing Phuket was it seems to be rivalling Penang in everything ... including heritage tour. Penang is so lucky there are not many direct flights to Phuket and I don't consider people "transitting" in Penang Airport (and contributing to the numbers of tourists arrival) as tourists.

I overlooked the beautiful beaches, cheaper goods/services and extra special "entertainments". But anyway, I still enjoyed myself there ... However, it still can't rival my Chieng Mai tour with the best tourist guide ever, Aey. Until Emel was angry with me complaining and comparing....

Okay people, I would blog about each places individually ... not to cramp in one entry. So many tales to tell.

10.10.10 @ 10.10 a.m

2010-10-10T10:10:00.001+08:00

Wish something great and memorable happen at this date and time.

The 200th Entry - Sayang Kinabalu

2010-10-06T08:30:00.005+08:00

Is written in Imperial International Hotel, Kota Kinabalu. Taking a short break from "merenung" the computer screen, finding ideas to write the paper.

As I was writing this entry, I feast my listening pleasure to the song of Kimin Mudin - Sayang Kinabalu. Best bah lagu tu ... very nostalgic. Very sad when Nel, PKPL Sabah told me that the singer passed away this year due to heart attack. May God bless his soul. Many do not know that the late singer is the brother to Asmin Mudin who composed the song Gemilang by Jacklyn Victor and Kau Ilhamku (Man Bai). After Proton Saga Kelabu or Jambatan Tamparuli, I think almost everyone in Sabah know how to sing this song.

This year I balik to my forth kampung on Government budget in conjunction with World Tourism Conference. Unfortunately I could not totally enjoy and join the whole conference as I need to complete my kertas renungan and at the same time judge some blogs for 2ndBlogFest.Asia in Penang. In between, I suffered period pain and stomach cramp ... aiyooo!

Nonetheless, I tried to enjoy my hotel in terms of location and facilities as much as possible as shown in the photos below. So travellers to KK, I highly recommended this hotel and of course Le Meridien as it is really in town centre and surroundings are shopping areas like the Centre Point, Warisan Square, Philippine Market or Sinsuran area. For 3-4 star hotel, I think the price is reasonable. I paid RM 200 for deluxe size room, of course after government discount maa...

Jangan macam seseorang itu, recommend satu hotel atas alasan very cheap and good ... sekali orang sebelah batuk or kentut pun boleh dengar.

Of course while here in KK, I must meet up with Suna. Anyway, the development in KK never fail to amaze me. KK is so happening now compared to 16 years ago when I first step my foot on the Land Beneath the Wind. I don't mind posting here next time ... best bah!

Anyway, got to go. Nanti-nantilah saya sambung balik ya!

Britney Spears On Glee

2010-09-30T06:34:00.004+08:00

After a very disappointing opening last week, the second episode came back with few clips and songs to drool on based on the Queen of Rebirth ... Britney Spears. Sampai i sanggup tak study nak tgk episode minggu nie hehehe .... Here are my some great Britney MV by Glee Cast.

Toxic

I am A Slave For U

Me Against the Music

This time Brittany .... u rocks!

"Mai" Beraya Homestay 2010

2010-09-19T22:09:00.005+08:00

I am sure you all noticed that despite now that I am working with MOTOUR, none of my entry touch about my new job. Well, other than being too busy to update this blog, another reason is I was too busy to enjoy the event. This time it was different because I asked my good friends Seelan, Hana, Casly and Nora to handle it for me. Thanks dearest.

FYI, this month MOTOUR Penang is very busy until 12 October. Events and programs are back to back. Beginning with Mai Beraya Homestay (18-19 Sept) followed by Kuiz Pelancongan Pelajar (21 Sept), Pesta Tanglung (25 Sept), Malaysia Contemporary Arts Tourism -Sparkles in Penang (30 Sept), Blogfest.Asia (1 Oct), Seminar Premis Penginapan (11 Oct) and Seminar Penang Tourist Guide (12 Oct). In between, I had to attend my PTK 4 from 21st Sept -30 Sept and World Tourism Conference 2010 in KK on 4-6 Oct.

For those happened to be in Penang on 30 September, do join MCAT Penang in Dewan Budaya USM. We are turning the whole USM campus into a gallery. Plus we are doing Penang Hawker Food style lunch. Will start from 9 am till 2 pm.

Mai Beraya Homestay was actually a brainchild of mine and N9 Director Adawiyah when we discussing about how to turnaround our Homestay Program into something profitable and interesting. However, as her State is more Southern, she planned to tap the Singaporean market for Majlis Aqiqah. In my case, I need to deal with a lot of issues of resetting, reforming, rebranding and repositioning my Penang Homestays first, which I will not discuss here. For political reasons.

Anyway, before I could proceed more with our Homestay program I decided to test the local community participation and support on the homestay products, observed how the co-ordinators conduct the homestay activities as well as to test the awareness of the younger Penangites on local tourism products such as homestay. In addition to that, I also want to observe the support from other industry players particularly, travel agencies. Many programs look impressive on paper but to make them really successful, to me, there must be PASSION from all the parties involved.

So for my Mai Beraya Homestay 2010, my office chose Homestay Mengkuang Titi, Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Perai Tengah as the first host. From Georgetown or Penang International Airport it will took about 30 minutes drive to reach there. I am setting up a special blog on Penang Homestay "dalam masa terdekat". This is the assignment that I am going to give to one practical students in my office.

We also get support from the State Education Department, who advice us on the dos and don'ts with regards to the students and teachers. To be honest, the more I get to know the State Education officers, the more I think that they really care for their teachers and students. Small things like gifts and certificate of participation (actually very important untuk apply kerja or uni) were usually overlooked. 7 schools joined our 1Malaysia Green and Clean Homestay on the 18th with students from all races and religion.

Actually the idea to do the campaign first before the Mai Beraya Homestay was to ensure that the area for the program is beautify and clean up before the event. Kesian budak-budak sekolah jadi mangsa. But to be honest, it was not easy to handle them too during the event. They prefer to sit and watch instead of volunteering. We had to give them instructions to get them occupied and not wandering off. Thanks to all the teachers who were helping us out with the students.

Having said that, it was quite funny too to see the boys teasing the girls from other schools. Hahaha and also seeing some of the students "berebut nak tanam pokok mengkuang'- the namesake of the homestay.

Well, to me, I hope that the students could mingle around and meet new friends. However, maybe the event was too short. Most of them still prefer to stick in a group among their schoolmates. Anyway, we chose Tok Wan's house for the venue of gotong-royong. One of the reason is Tok Wan's house is among the remaining Penang Malay traditional houses in the village.

I saw everyone took pictures in and outside the house. Maybe because they have never seen a traditional Malay house before. I wonder how would they react if they saw our Iban or Bidayuh longhouses. They also learned how to play congkak and weave the coconut leave grasshopper (no pic sorry).

We were also taught how to "kopek the buah kelapa" the traditional way. As demonstrated by Nora here. Caya lah!

After lunch and a short break, we decided to do Sukan Rakyat. The students were mixed up and divided into 4 groups. However, as it was raining so we only manage to do the tug of war (tarik tali). It would be interesting to see the tarik upih and lari tempurung kelapa. While waiting for the rain to stop, our office taught them how to do the Tarian Cuti-Cuti 1Malaysia. Funny, this appeals them more compared to the fast beat songs of the senamrobik earlier in the morning. Really happening!

Later the homestay coodinator showed us how the villagers welcome tourists to the homestay. I was watching the students reactions, most of them were excited especially the Chinese students. The tourists were 12 journalists from Switzerland, instead of them interviewing us, they were being interviewed by us hehehe.

I guess they were quite shock with the too warm welcome and the crowd until they had to take our pictures. Hahaha ... well good for Homestay Mengkuang Titi. Actually later that night we had demonstration of Hari Raya preparation to the tourists such as "kacau dodol", "bakar lemang" and anyam ketupat. In fact that night, the tourists took photos in traditional Malay costume. It was quite happening but I don't have the photos. Maybe upload in facebook later.

The next day we had our Mai Beraya Homestay 2010. Most of the media as well as invited guests were present. It was officiated by my Deputy Secretary General for Tourism, Datuk Abdul Ghaffar. My new good friend Ibu Irzani from the Indonesia Consulate General Office was also present to give support. We met during the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle meeting and one of our roadmap is to produce a homestay network between the 3 countries. I am not sure about other states like Kelantan, Perlis and Kedah but Malacca is definitely all out for it. It was Malacca Director who gave me the insight on the IMTGT program (after many attempts to get information from IR Division officers).

Personally, I am only 75% satisfied with the program as I don't think it really meet my expectation. But I learned a lot from it. Firstly, I still need to lead and guide the homestays to think like a businessman and to be competitive without depending on the government. It took them a while to see that they can actually do special Raya packages for tourists.

Secondly, tourism players like hotels and travel agents must see homestays as partners not competitors. They were actually unaware that homestays must have activities like "sukan rakyat" and craft-making. which appeal to their guests. Thirdly, more efforts must be done to promote our homestays to our local people and youngsters first. They should be our local tourism product supporters, ambassadors and promoters. Finally, I still must monitor some of my staff. Some mistakes were result of ignorance.