Hello!

Hello!!

Been wanting to drop by and write a few words, but that procrastination had been ongoing until...now

Will only drop by a few words here and that is:

1) Because of the strong principal that money can't buy time, and I feel that I am not utilising my time  well, the negativity is there....
2) Because of uncertainties and over expectations, disappointments ensue..

but..(lessons)

1) We should try our best in anything that we are chanced upon (oh well, including the cooking part)
2) Be adventurous and anticipate uncertainties, since nothing can be done about it..

Just like this horsey who came charging at me when I was taking its picture not too far away....=.=
This was taken at Newforest by the way...

Not sure if it is a pony or horse...but how would I say; playful? :P

Chiang Rai, Thailand Snack Shop that you should NOT go and buy; A visit to Chiang Mai

Thongsuen and Pattaravadae Co. Ltd

68 Moo 5 Wiang Pa Pao, Chiang Rai 57170

PLEASE DON'T VISIT THIS SHOP!!!!

This was the shop that we bought some snacks such as the following..

And she found tiny black insects in one of it that she thrown off so fast for getting so disgusted..

All the packets of nuts that my aunt bought were with a weird smell :'(

How could these people sell such goods?!!!

Worst, it can cost liver damage and lives from food poisoning!!!

At Mae Hong Son, there was a lady that sells avocado that cut the fruits in front of us. However, both cut avocado were oxidized (turned bad) and she was so embarrassed. I felt warmth with her honesty actually.... ... But this snack shop is really bad =,= 

We bought some very fresh nuts in the Warorot Market, which has many artpieces at the basement shop and is known to have better quality souvenirs. The nuts were labelled with 'AAA' markings and were even fresher than the morning local market that we went when we wanted to buy offerings for monks. This market is within walking distance from the Night Bazaar. Some magnet souvenirs were hand drawn so well!

Won't be blogging much on this trip but just as a precaution for you guys, please DO NOT visit this Chiang Rai snack shop. Thank you.

So long..

KTM woodlands to KL

Finally tried the Singapore Woodlands KTM train to KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 
Usually, to go to Johor Bahru (Jb), I would take mrt to kranji mrt, and then board 160 or 170 bus from there. The bus queue to Jb is usually long at peak hours, so that means you can safely queue up even without asking anyone there. Do take note that bus 160 or 170 also picks up passengers from Jb to Kranji MRT, and thus the buses with these numbers that stop by the bus stop only have alighting passengers but not for those that are heading to woodlands CIQ- immigration. 

As for my story, as I had boarded from kl back to woodlands before, I was overconfident that the way to the ktm station at woodlands (#my first time taking train from singapore to kl) would be somewhere near the immigration. Thus, I took the exact route and on reaching the entrance of CIQ woodlands, moments before heading for immigration checkpoint, l sensed that this way doesn't make any sense. And so, I went to the security counter with few friendly police officers and asked if it's right to head for the immigration. Luckily the friendly police officer told me that I am still early, and would be able to walk across the long bridge to the woodlands Sheng siong.  He said: do you see the very bright lights far over there ( referring to the lights at the new woodlands ktm building)? Go down the lift, then walk straight to exit where you'll find lots of benches. That's where you'll be departing from. And he smiled. I was thankful with his friendliness and helpfulness but erm, in a rush, I forgot to look st his name:p
Anyway, it was really long, long way.., erm I mean, bout 10mins walk.

Lesson 1: remember to ask the bus driver when you're about to board from kranji if the bus stops at Sheng siong woodlands ( that's where to board the train to KL) I need to check out the bus numbers too...

Lesson 2: there are washrooms at departure hall while waiting to board train so no worries ( I was rushing for it before immigration checkpoint, worried that I couldn't see any during my long walks from the first wrong stop to the train departing hall..)

Lesson 3: read more of the following notes and you'd know;)

And then we checked out through Singapore and Malaysia's immigration there. After that, I only proceeded with the 1130pm train. However, the service is still delayed as usual- which I never understood. Someway on the bridge between Singapore and Malaysia, the train halted for at least 20mins already ( that explains all my writing here is done within the waiting time>< 
I just don't understand why there is never an improvement in this even after so long! Perhaps there's an underlying problem that halts this train for direct departure which we'll never know..

Anyway I'll try to get a nap now (12.09am) somewhere on the bridge between SIN and Msia. Sigh. Good nite..

P/s: moving now at 12.11am!!:)

Lesson 3: 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that although you have bought allocated seats and board from Singapore, the system works as u just take any seats from Singapore as you'd be changing train when you reach Jb. Actually this is good also as at Jb, the train is already occupied with those boarding from Jb.. 

Finally I can have my sleep at 1222am.. Good nite!!

Kranji Farm

Due to lotsa work and limited outdoor activity, we've finally decided to go out for a good photography session..In short, to get back to our beloved interests :D

LG suggested that we go to this Kranji Farm, where there are numerous industrialised farms here..In fact, I was quite surprised that Singapore has farms :P

The bus driver is an exceptional friendly uncle. He was introducing the farms to a US tourist (and perhaps to us also).
However, the shuttle bus service is only available at a long interval of 1 and 1/2 hours..which made us walked like !@#$%^& at such a hot weather.

We also learned another lesson: apply sunblock!!! Sigh..when I reached home,  I could clearly see the vast skin colour differences between the skin hidden underneath my watch with those exposed areas >.<

The farms over there were leased out by the Singapore government for 20 years and these farmers will get initial funds to set up the farms. These are the photos, do enjoy =)

Btw, to go to this farm, visit this site for its location and maps..make sure you guys do enough homework before going to these farms, as waiting for the next shuttle bus is a really a time-wasting and energy-draining experience~ Especially if it's a really really hot sunny day..
Also, there's a public bus that goes in there :SMRT bus no 925 from Kranji MRT.

What caught my attraction at this fish farm was mainly this huge friendly macaw! :D It reminds me of my past visit to Singapore's Bird Park which I had the ultimate chance to pat and scratch the macaws at the talking-birds session. In fact, some of the macaws in the bird park were initially unfriendly and some were jealous when they see you scratching others but not themselves. 

I was told by one of the zookeepers to ask the macaws "Can I touch you?". If the macaw leans forward with its head bowed, that means that you can scratch their heads. If this sign was not given, you should not put your hand/finger into the cage because those macaws can bite. (However, any injuries resulted from my statement here is at your own risks and discretion yeah..Don't blame me or sue me later if you got bitten :P)  

Aiii...I missed those moments greatly! I even told myself that I want to go volunteer there if I have those opportunities.. :P

The 'Hello-greeting' Macaw at Max Koi. Sooo soo cutee!!

Unidentified satellite mushroom by the roadside during our place-hunting spree

At Nyee Phoe Farm..:

Water droplets of a spider lily stem

At Hay Dairies with cuteeee goats and kids~

 

 

Rained heavily after that..got drenched =.="

But a good experience~

So long~

FGS Dong Zen Temple Jenjarom

Went to FGS during CNY (Chinese New Year) with my family:D
But only posting up the pictures now..aiksss

Beautifully handcrafted paintings..

 

And all these nice paintings were sewed like this! Really delicate works...

 It was a fast trip there but we all definitely enjoyed it =D

So long~

West Coast Park

I loitered at West Coast Park with my baby soon after I came back from home (post December 2009), but the pictures were still in my baby's memory until recently..

Aiii... see la how busy my life is *ahemm...

Going to parks like these while bringing some snacks and a good book is perhaps, one of the best past time favorite in me.. It's definitely definitely much better than going to overcrowded places and feel like can-packed sardines..

Sky-packed kites

Soaring eagle~

Waited until sunset :P

And before left, this man's kite dropped into the sea right before me! Using life-saving skills, he then pulled up the distraught smiley kite..

So long~

Bukit Tabur- lessons for climbing hills

In fact, I went to Bukit Tabur with the intention to meet and talk with long-time buddies and never expected it to be that hard to be climbed.

I thought it was just some normal hills with paved roads, because I used to climb another easy hill somewhere there many many yearsss ago.

I never expected them to be that adventurous. *Salute!*

Frankly speaking, I was definitely unprepared for this climb..Why? Because of these:-

1) I didn't eat heavily for the breakfast (#should have a heavy meal that gives sufficient energy!)
# Also, bring energy bar or fruits such as banana or apples so that you can eat it halfway while enjoying the view

2) I didn't even bring any bags with plasters or first aid stuffs
# in case accidents or injuries, and bagpacks because climbing hills need both hands and feet (dumb me! Luckily my bottle was stuffed into Sha's bag)

3) I didn't wear the most appropriate attire for climbing a rocky mountain (# should wear the most stretchable clothes ever and long pants, if you are afraid to have cuts on your legs).

and

4) ****most most importantly, I didn't make any homework on this at all..

Plus, this is the first (yep, first!!) harder hill that I've ever climbed! All these while the hills that I went through were just slopes with grass or paved roads (paiseh!) or high levels of stairs..not rocky hills..
Sigh..

The only thing that I brought was a liter of water. =.="

So, after returning to home for a good rest with muscles aching for both my triceps and biceps, cuts on both of my legs, some cuts on my hands and also some other mishaps, I searched for the mountain's information online. The accidents that had taken place sure had shocked me. For a rocky hill like this, the accidents that had taken place were quite severe! The most recent accident is stated here.

But I couldn't fail to admit how beautiful the scenery was, though my mood was already bad halfway through the climb because I couldn't wait for the going down the hill part.

I thought there were about 7-8 peaks only but it was more than that!

I felt so so cheated for coming to such a hill unprepared >.< Plus, when I asked them how the front pathways would be when we first climbed about 100m of rocky hills for our warm ups, they simplified it to be as easy as ABC! *Sweat* Their reason was : I didn't want you to chicken out if you know how hard to climb this hill Sigh.. Then, moments later (within first 5 minutes), I finally realised why the other friend failed to turn up.

The whole climb took us 3 and 1/2 hours..

Anyway, this are some of the pictures that I had captured there.. More nicer ones can be seen here (not mine!)

At 7+ am..near to 8am

The water reservoir

Genting Highlands can be seen from this hill!

Small small peaks..the tenth one..and I thought there were only 7-8 peaks!!

In fact, I feel a bit embarassed for I kept on asking "How long somemore???"
Feel sorry for them but really, I wasn't prepared for this climb at all..with my unsuitable 3/4 (khakis) pants >.<
You know, I think I was bugging them like in the Shrek movie "Are we there yettttttt??"

Anyway, lessons learned : Do homework, don't be lazy!!

So long~

Bali trip

Happy New Year 2010!!

Had some traveling few weeks ago, or precisely end of last year from 17th to 21st December 2009. Most of my photos are uploaded in facebook, and I'm pretty sure that my friends had captured better pictures too so I'm just uploading some (many) of my favourites here =)

The cute cute guy who caught our attention (especially mine! :P) due to his hyperactive behaviour..

We stayed in a homestay before waking up at 5.30 am at Lovina- as dolphins is a must-see there. However, I personally think that it's not fun for the dolphins at all as all the boats with tourists like us were racing towards it just to see them..

Babi Guling (Pig fried dish)- a famous dish which made us curious but most of us felt that it was definitely too 'piggy' as the pork smell was too strong with lots of internal organs served to us. I couldn't finish the dish :S But the fruit tea was very light and refreshing.

Jimbaran Beach- where you can watch beautiful sunset while enjoying seafood dinner..The platter costs SGD20 or RM50. Unfortunately, many of them had diarrhea the next day

At their temples- Goa Gajah and Tirta Empul
Note that their statues wear sarungs
They have many multiple-coloured Bougainvillea there..grafting skills must be good

Kuta Beach- where you can fly kites and surf all you want

Tanah Lot- the must see temple that was built by the seaside. We couldn't catch the beautiful sunset there (The bright sun was so clear that day when we watched from the car that we were traveling with!). We had to leave much earlier because of the booked spa event..

The group of patient drivers waiting for tourists in front of Tanah Lot entrance
And stalls selling these..

Decorations at the spa area
For Balinese prayers

At homestays and hotel..


One of my fav drink!! :P Found the tree..so so happy:P

And this is their petrol station- Pertamina with petrols
So long~