The 13th General Elections

5 years had gone by. This round was held on Sunday, 5th May 2013. 

Of course I had been there to fulfill my civic duty. There was a huge turnout this time. Much more than the previous round. Even before the gates to the polling center were opened, queues could already be seen, much to the surprise to both myself and my sister. We had initially thought we would be one of the earliest, looks like a whole lot other people beat us to it.

 

Lining up to get in

The different "channels"

 

Our turn is up

And done!

Had a mini school gathering while queuing. Met a few ex-school mates. Good to see friends returning home from overseas just to cast vote. That's the spirit!

Proud to be a Malaysian.

{ Continue Reading... }

I painted it, again...

I've got an interest for art now. Painting on my own, that is, after a friend introduced me to this paint-by-numbers handicraft. Yeaps, I still got to work with numbers, even for a hobby.

But this is pretty easy. The colours are mixed for you. Just pick up a brush, dip into the allocated colours and work your way onto the canvas. Perfect for lazy and non-art talented people like me. I would never have painted anything from scratch.

It actually had became an addictive remedy. They said colours eases the mind. Indeed it has. You seem to forget all the misery once you focus on the colours in front of you. Worked wonders. You should give this a try, if alcohol doesn't do the trick anymore.

  

I'm tempted for a third piece. Dad is already complaining that I'm turning the house into an "art gallery". Well dad, that saves us on wall accessories. Your daughter, me,  is going to have all of that covered. Home is going to be my personal gallery from now on, starting with my room.

{ Continue Reading... }

Phuket, on the 29th

Okay, the dates have been arranged on purpose. But the location was not. And I was glad that there are people spontaneous enough to celebrate my birthday with me away from home, with it being the last of my twenties.

It was supposed to be budgeted trip. Turns out that we spent more than we should, with no idea where the extra spending had gone to. Phuket was selected because someone had wanted an island getaway. And this had been the only affordable island that all of us have not been to.

The trip was for 6 days. A little too long, so I've been told. Indeed it was. Cause there is nothing too fancy about this island. I've been to much better ones. Not too sure why it's on the "must go" list for all avid travelers. Now why do I say so?

First, the sea waters are not clear and rather murky. Thumbs down for snorkeling. Second, there are no corals to be seen. Probably got washed away by the tsunami back then. Thumbs down for snorkeling. Third, the beach is not pleasant to walk on as it is full of rocks and crushed corals. Thumbs down. Fourth, every place is crowded with tourists and speedboats. It's a chicken's den, so says my tour guide. Thumbs down for an exotic and relaxing holiday.
 

 Maya bay, 

"polluted"

Well, not all is bad. There are still a few things to boast about the island. While you could forget about taking cabs and  other public transportation in getting around, you could always rent a car. We got ours for THB900 per day, for a Toyota Yaris in reasonably good condition. Fuss free!

Our ride

The local cuisine is splendid. For one who always try foreign food on a foreign land, I've made it a point to avoid the commercialized places and cuisines. Well, you could get western food and fast foods even back home right? We found these diners from a guide book - Tunk-Ka Cafe and Raya diner. Well recommended. Reasonably priced Thai food with the right ambience. Not only the food got to be good, the place has to look good as well. Seriously, the food is real good. Well cooked to the Thai flavour. Those Thai diners we have back in Malaysia, are nothing compared to these.

 

Tunk-Ka Cafe entrance

Hilltop view

Raya entrance, 

sino-Portugese architecture

Raya interior, rare

As for the scenery of Phuket, I was pretty surprised with this one. We had actually planned for Promthep Cape, one of the more famous tourists spots, famed for its sunset view. But a wrong turn made us stumbled upon this place instead. I don't even know what it is called. But the view, was absolutely breathtaking. Watching the sun set from this hill was totally unforgettable. If I ever return to Phuket, this would be one of those places that I would visit again.

I guess there is still one island that earned a thumbs up from me. No, not Phi Phi, not Maya, not Phang Nga. But Raya. Raya island, a not so well known island, about an hour's boat ride from Phuket, preserved its clear waters and white sandy beaches. Very much to my liking. Now this is what you call an island. This is what an island should be.

What I couldn't get over the trip was, that I'd been repeatedly being mistaken for a Thai! C'mon! I'd been a typical tourists with maps and all. Don't I even look Chinese? Apart from the hotel reception, everyone else spoke to me in Thai - the waiters, the spa masseuse, the drivers, the gas attendant, the 7-eleven cashier, everyone! Only when I gave them a dumb-founded look and said 'English please?", only did they realized I wasn't local. Great! Perhaps I should pick up a few lessons on the Thai language. They might give me better discounts if they thought I was one of them. :) 

Oh ya, part of the trip was to celebrate my 29th. The last one before I hit the big 30. Thank you for the gift and for the surprises. Although the cake had been a complimentary one from the hotel. There are certain perks in traveling on birthdays. I do like the pearl alot. I never knew pearls could come in so many colours. All I knew was white and beige. There are actually pearls in green, purple, blue and like mine, brown. They are indeed genuine pearls, if you should know.

Happy 29th!

And the wine sucks! Someone got conned! :p

{ Continue Reading... }

Disappointments

It's inevitable. 

Question is, how many times can you take it?

I came to learn that, to avoid one, is to be less expectant. 

Not everything works the way you want it to be....

Not everyone becomes the person you want them to be....

{ Continue Reading... }

Playing to win

Have gone from one after another. From place to place. Have tried to stay clear out of it. Have tried not to get too involved in it. Have actually got pretty tired of it all. But it's like a plague that couldn't be avoided. It somehow manages to float in and stick to you, no matter how you shake it off.

Fine. If it's not to be avoided, then we shall all play along, shall we? Even if it means turning me into someone that I wouldn't want to be.

So, let the games begin....

{ Continue Reading... }

Fang-ed teeth

I never had perfect straight teeth all my life. It has always been crooked & fang-ed like. It was an imperfection that had tarnished my self-esteem. All those girls out there have got nothing to hide when they smile. And I used to hold back mine so that my "vampire" teeth wouldn't be too obvious.

Had actually consulted with the orthodontist. I was given the explanation that this happens when the molars crowd the canine, which means I had too many teeth for my jaw to accommodate. Braces would fix it. But that would involve the extraction of 4 other teeth to make way. I didn't like the idea of having my healthy teeth pulled out in the name of beauty. And so I stuck to my imperfection.

But lately, I had been craving for that "perfect" smile. The idea of getting those braces came back. Just when I am in serious consideration of having my teeth extracted, I found out that fang-ed teeth has become an "in" thing in Japan! It has become a fashion trend in Japan!

Japanese women are going crazy over it. They are spending a bomb to have their perfectly straight teeth to be crooked and fang-ed like. It's called the "yaeba" look. And Japanese men loved it! They love the "yaeba" smile of a woman. Unbelievable!

Can you believe that I actually had people coming to me and say, "Oh, you've got those fang-ed teeth!". And I had replied shyly, "Yeah, I was thinking of getting them fixed with braces." "Oh no! You shouldn't! They are so cute!!" I thought I had heard it wrongly. My imperfect teeth, cute? You've got to be kidding me.

Does that mean I can scrap my braces plan now? Or if I still want that "perfect" smile, I can always move to Japan? At least I've got that "yaeba" smile naturally. No cosmetic procedures involved. Guaranteed!

this is cute?

{ Continue Reading... }

The Return

The initially thought was perhaps, this has been out-grown. With the likes of Facebook and Instagram, there really isn't a need to maintain this page. Pictures and events could be shared on them. The double re-posting here could be done away. So this have been left alone for close to 6 months now. There was even a thought to have this page closed off.

But it seemed like the urge to write has not died away. Although other social media tools have allowed the posting of pictures, but nothing beats the blank page here that allows words to be typed freely. With no constraints.

And so, the writing continues....

{ Continue Reading... }

The people that I would always miss

It's been a couple of months since the last entry. I wonder if my readers are still following me. But I don't care. You read as you please. I write as I please.

This page has become more like a hideout. No troubles, no posts. Something unsettling happens, and here I vent it all out. I guess one would have noticed the patterns.

Well, I just wanted to say that I really miss you guys a lot. A whole lot.

I don't know how else to let you all know.

{ Continue Reading... }

Letting go

As I lay awake on bed, with the mind shifting back and forth to all the people that has crossed paths in my life, the mind paused on him. I had contemplated to pen this, ever since that evening I watched him walked down the aisle. All the memories kept, all the hopes I had, all the fairy tales that I was anticipating, vanished on that same evening. Meeting him, all those years ago, had been what I'd liked to call a little fate. Fate had kept us close all those years. And it was also fate that 'tore' us apart.

I have been holding on for the last decade, refusing to let go, even when he has found someone else. Always wishing for a miracle. Always wishing to turn back time. Always wishing for something to ease the regrets. It has finally ended. Our fate has finally ended. And I have no one else to blame but myself. For it was non other than myself who have allowed it to happen. For it was I who have let him walked off.  I let him walked off without him knowing.

As he made his vow to her that evening, there was nothing more to be done. Nothing more to hold on to. It was finally the time to shake it all off, put it all behind and move on. Yes, it's been long enough. It really is time to move on. And let the memories fade...

{ Continue Reading... }

Magic!

This would be the first encounter I had with a magician. A young chap. Alvin, I guess.

Was having some drinks with friends over at this coffee house in 1st Subang when the owner of the place came over to our table to introduce him. We thought he was doing a promotion of some sort for the place until he introduced himself as a magician and up came his videographer and camera man. Oh boy! This is for real. We are going to be on TV!

He did a couple of tricks, either for pure entertainment or to show off....

 the mutilated fork

I swear that the fork was a very normal fork before he did his "magic" on it. I swear! The fork was what a fork should be. We've all seen and touched it! All he did was a few flips and the poor fork turned into that, all with his bare hands.

We reacted exactly to what you see on TV. Wide eyed and dumb-founded, with our mouths turned into a huge "O". "Wow!" "How did you do that?" "Are we hallucinating?" As much as we tried to make an explanation out of it, we couldn't find any. So we continued to be his audience.

 the bent coin

And yes, the coin was very normal before it reached his hand. He bent one side of the coin without touching it. "Surely the trick can be explained". We refuse to be taken for fools. And yet we applaud his skills.

Oh well, he succeeded in entertaining us! Perhaps we would appreciate his skills more had we been kids. Hah!

{ Continue Reading... }

Dilemma

C'mon fui! 

Make up your mind already!

{ Continue Reading... }

Subak, dine with nature

I just have the knack for places like this. Or I should say, places like this interests me. And I jump at the very instant on finding one.

A diner in the hills. Perfect! Surrounded by trees, laid out in wood and bamboo furnishings, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Accompanied by the sounds of flowing water and crickets in the backdrop along with the view of fishes swimming lazily in a pond, just serves as an ideal place for supreme relaxation.

Dining with nature, it is

Main entrance

Reception area

Dining area

Functions area

Another dining area

 Walkway

 Garden

 Restroom

 The pond

 

 Romantic, isn't it?

Did I mention it is of Balinese cuisine? Yes it is. Mixed with western and local flavours. Serves as another alternative to Bumbu Bali. Prices are reasonable as well, ranges from RM15 - RM100, right from appetizers up to desserts. 

Lamb shank

Beef ribs

Es Teller

My dream home would definitely look like this. Minus the mosquitoes, of course. 

Feel free to take a peek at Subak Restaurant  to kill your curiosity. 

Do pardon the photography skills. The camera had its limitations and I didn't quite know how to work it to its full potential.

Sunset at Subak

{ Continue Reading... }

Tea with Karen

Remember her? Our lead actress in the local movie Nasi Lemak 2.0? Still doesn't ring a bell? Alright, read this again to freshened up : Something I don't usually do.  

Yesterday afternoon, I was being dragged down (again) to Sungei Wang Plaza to support her road show. She is back in Malaysia now, promoting her newly released single.

And to make up for that, I get to have an afternoon tea with her. Yay! Well, it was more like she was catching up with a friend of hers, which is a friend of mine as well, and I sort of tagged along.

She introduced Caffeinees Cafe to us, located at Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur. If you are local and you know where Rendezvous is, it's just next to it. One look at it and I'd immediately fallen in love with the place.

All pictures courtesy of Google

It's sort of the same ambience as Levain Boulangerie Patisserie. English styled. Airy and spacious with lots of room for relaxation. They serve a variety of fusion cuisines. Which, suited to our taste buds very well. And affordable indeed. It is unfortunate that we didn't get to "explore" indoors as it was closed for a wedding function.

Karen was all cheery and bubbly when she arrived. "I am sooo hungry", was what she first said. It turns out that she is one who appreciates food, introducing us to cakes and coffees and diners which she found interesting. I can't help but say that she is a very humble and down-to-earth kind of a person. Very much the girl next door. No such diva antics. No sticking her nose up in cockiness. It surprises me that someone of celebrity status like hers is able to chat care-freely on just about anything. And not to mention that she makes an effort to get to know you and boy, does she have a good sense of humour.

Our little hang out lasted for about an hour and a half, which she then got to be ready for her next show. It was a real pleasure having tea with her. It was my first experience in getting up close with an artiste. And she made it a wonderful experience.

Strawberry tiramisu dessert with a strawberry yogurt drink

{ Continue Reading... }