Hayden Chan

Infinite timelines and infinite posibilities

2017-09-07T18:34:00.001+08:00

The writer is currently on a break since 2015 until further notification. Although multiple attempts to post what has been drafted here, he couldn't find a sustainable meaning to write or share in long term. There are no tell tale sign if he would return to write his life experience or adventure. However, he is currently on a journey of infinite timelines and infinite posibilites in search of the meaning of life.

Rest assured, he is perfectly fine dancing between the dark and bright side while preparing some of the best recipes for success in life. To friends that he has lost in touch, he send his regards and wish everyone is doing well. To regular readers, he send his apologise for not producing anything since 2015. To close friends, he is in debt of gratitudes for being there for him.

Someday he will return when he is ready. That's if blogger is still alive. In the meantime, he can be found at instagram updating his regular life while enjoying his Rick and Morty cartoon, Marvel comic and Game of Thrones. Not to forget, saving people lives one tablet at a time.

Hayden Chan

Seven Grains - The unique fusion food

2015-08-28T21:35:00.001+08:00

Hello guys! It has been a while since I last updated my blog. Things has been busy and times really flies. I have been dragging my finger around the keyboard since forever but no post was made prevail.

The only reason I feel like writing again is because this new restaurant in town deserve a good review in details. Located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu city. Seven Grains is the new restaurant in town and they serve fusion food that will not disappoint you.

Personally, I have been here twice and initially I was hesitate to try any of their food. However, after the first visit I was impressed how well done their food was. My first meal in Seven Grain was Miso Marinated Pork Cutlet (image not available here) and it's definitely one of the unique fusion food I've tried because the aroma and flavor of the miso is perfectly marinated into the pork. On top of that the chef was skillful enough to maintain the juiciness and tenderness of the pork cutlet by cooking it at the right time and right temperature.

Best of all. The value for food is excellent. It's not too pricy and the portion is just right for guy with 6'1 foot and weight over 80kg like me.

Despite having the first good impression. I wasn't moved to write about it. However after my second visit. My long buried writing passion was reingnited and not introducing this new restaurant will be a sin for me.

*dramatic much

So here are the two new dishes I tried from Seven Grains.

Smoked Salmon Spaghetti - RM18.90

Golden Pork Patty (stuffed with cheese) - RM16.90

The Smoked Salmon Spaghetti was simple and well balance with rich flavor of salmon and bacons. The spaghetti was grilled with minimal oil and basically it didn't have much taste in it. However, when all are combine together, everything becomes great! It's nothing fancy but definitely worth the price that you're paying.

Next the Golden Pork Patty stuff with mozeralla cheese was the bomb! Finger licking and lava melting cheese stuff in the pork patty is the best way to reward yourself after a good long day of hard work. Remember how certain good food could make your eye roll up with eye lid jittering? Well, this is one of them and you will feel like having the food linger longer in your mouth before you get it down.

I'm not too certain how long they could hold their quality because KK restaurants always disappoint me after a year or two. But! One thing for sure, waste no time to come to visit this unique fusion serving restaurant at Gaya Street called Seven Grains. Lunch bento set is available at even more affordable price too!

Location tips: same roll as Legend Cafe and opposite Gaya Reflexology.

Contact number: 088-312130

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday - 11am to 11pm

Saturday to Sunday - 11am to 12am (last order at 11.30pm)

Payment method: Cash only.

Ps: So now that I've start writing. I would like to say thank you to some of my friends that were concern over why am I not writing for an almost a year now. Well, things has been exciting for me and I'm doing great! I'm stabilizing down and will continue to write like how I used to back in those days. Maybe I would even share my experience on what I have been through. Until then, Cheers!

Hayden Chan

Carlsberg Diamond Idol KK 2014

2014-11-29T11:39:00.001+08:00

Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2014 happened on the 2nd November 2014 ended with a blast! A new bright star was born and crowned as the champion of Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2014! A total of twelve finalists was chosen from the best of the best during area audition from Miri, Kuching, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu. They were then flew to Kota Kinabalu and fight for champion title during Grand Finale at The B.E.D Club,Waterfront, Kota Kinabalu.

Carlsberg Diamond Idol kicked start with finalists performing CDI theme song with well synchronize dance to welcome the audience and followed by the appearance and introduction of judges by the host of the night. The judges of the night were Z-chen, who has gained fame in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Marsha Milan Londoh, The third runner up of Akademi Fantasia Season 3, and lastly Jonathan Tse, the all time favorite singer/song writer.

Running it strong in it's fourth consecutive years, the singing talent competition organized by Carlsberg have attracted over 100 aspiring singers or music lovers during the auditions organized in Miri, Sandakan, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. The selected finalist from respective area converged at Grand Finale with high hopes of claiming their cash prizes amounting total to RM30,000 which include RM12,000 for the champion.

In the past, Carlsberg Diamond Idol have created and debuted some of the most local talented singers;

Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2011 – Chong Vun Jien, Miri

Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012 – Esther Thian Eik Cher, Kuching

Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2013 – Sylvester Lee, Kota Kinabalu

With the judges unanimous decision Carlsberg Diamond 2014 Champion goes to..... *Drum roll..

Tai Chun Leong from Kota Kinabalu! It was an awesome sensation for the champion after long night of battles. All his hardship and dedication have spelled victory for him and lead him to RM12,000 cash prizes. The first runner up went to Rachel Wesley Pai from Kota Kinabalu, second runner-up went to Vivan Wong from Miri. The third and fourth runner went to Esther Au from Sandakan and Christina Huang, Miri respectively. As for the rest of the finalists, you have done great coming this far in the competition.

Tai Chun Leong - CDI 2014 Champ picture by Tom

Congratulation once again to Tai Chun Leong for his outstanding performance of the night and claim his place as the Grand Finale CDI champion 2014. Your victory will continue to inspire many more singers and your news will continue to echo in many seasons to come.

Teoh Nar Teik, regional Sales Manager of Carlsberg Malaysia mentioned about this year CDI showcase some of the most talented finalist he have seen for the past 4 years. He also compliment the finalists impressive and electrifying vocal, dance skills and overall performance. during the CDI Finale at The B.E.D, Waterfront in Kota Kinabalu

For more information on Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2014, visit www.carlsbergdiamondidol.com.my

Bali Vacation 4D3N Under RM500 All In

2014-08-18T19:55:00.001+08:00

One of the cheapest vacation I've ever made cost me under RM500, which inclusive the flight ticket, accommodation, local inbound tour, food, multiple temples entrance with performances fee and light shopping. All it takes is some proper financial planning/management and you're all set to go on your budget vacation in Bali too.

Bali Day 1
Taxi transfer from airport to hotel 140,000 IDR /3 (RM38/3)
Bakso at Joshua Warung, Kuta 20,000 IDR (RM5.50)
Nasi Campur Random Warung along Kuta Beach 25,000 IDR (RM6.50)
Coconut packet drink Supermarket at Lippo Mall 4,580 IDR (RM1.20)

I was surprise with the huge amount of tourist lining up in the immigration station upon arriving at the airport. It took us more than 2 hours to go through everything. At the airport, they required certain nationality tourist to pay a small amount of "entrance fee" but one thing for sure Malaysian doesn't need to pay that and you can skip the long queue and go straight to the immigration queue.

Moving around in Kuta is very convenient because there are more taxi on the road than pedestrian tourist. One of the culture shock I experienced was the frequent honking by the taxi. They honk whenever they spot tourist walking beside the street. I had heart attack each time a taxi honk at me. Another thing about Kuta is there are more none local food store than local Balinese food. I believe it's mainly because they wish to cater the need for the foreign tourist. Having said that, I'm delighted to be able to try in one of the small warung (stall) outside my hotel.

Bakso at Joshua Warung

The alternative ways of moving around in Kuta would be the horse carriage. It probably wouldn't take you far but it is still quite convenient to move around in town. But! before you jump in, you have to negotiate and get a good price first because I think the price riding a horse carriage is even more expensive than the local taxi.

Kuta beach, the place where you can find surfboard rental and lesson, and not to forget the pretty chicks.

Bali's economy rice is one of the famous dish and it is similar to what we have in Malaysia, except for the types of side dish they serve. The most unique thing of their economy rice would probably be the fried mee. I'm not really sure if there is any other culture practice having rice and noodles together. Either way i love their economy rice because they are so much flavor and aroma to it.

P/s: The food may not be the weak stomach person.

Basically the first thing we walked around Kuta and chilled beside the sea. We also visited shopping malls, stalls and local stalls around. If you want to party, the night life would definitely be merrier over at Legian.

Bali Day 2
Breakfast - Babi Guling 44,000IDR Random Restaurant beside the street (RM12)
Taman Ayun 15,000IDR entrance fee (RM4)
Ulun Danu Beratan Lake Temple 30,000IDR Entrance fee (RM8)
Street side bakso for lunch 10,000IDR (RM3)
Coconut and ABC at Tanah Lot 30,000IDR (RM8)
Tanah Lot entrance fee 31,000IDR (RM8.5)
Uluwatu temple 10,000IDR entrance fee (RM3)
Kecek dance 100,000IDR performance fee (RM30)
Ayam bertutu goreng 45,000IDR Dinner (RM12)

Second day morning, we were pick up by the driver (tour guide) and he took us to eat Babi Guling as breakfast. Babi Guling is one of the famous Balinese food that comes with rice, jerked water spinach, deep fried pork intestine, fried tempeh and signature thick piece of well roasted crispy pork skin. As sinful as it was, I love how flavorful the dish was and couldn't care less about the oiliness of it. Up to now I still think this breakfast alone packed at least 2000 calories, which is enough for the entire day.

Ulun Danu Beratan Lake Temple

Beratan Lake Temple is located near the moutan in the central of Bali. It took us almost 2 hours plus to reach there from Kuta and it's much more cooler at Beratan Lake Temple because of the altitude. It's spectacular to see how beautiful and well preserve the temple.

Tanah Lot

We were not in luck during our visit to Tanah Lot because it was high tide and we couldn't cross over to the temple. The best time to visit Tanah Lot is in the evening because you will be able to see beautiful sunset. Besides the beautiful scenery and strong breeze sea, you will be fighting for your life with all the other tourists along the edge of the rocky beach to get a good spot for nice background photo. I bumped into several rude tourist that would jump infront of my camera without saying sorry and continue their business of taking picture. P/s: Guess which nationality they are from?

Uluwatu temple (The kecek dance)

Located beside a tall straight cliff, Uluwatu has one of the best sight in Bali and they offer traditional show called Kecek Dance. Although the performance fee was quite a pitch to our wallet, it's definitely worth the time and money.They prepared written synopsis of the Kecek dance with different languages in paper so you can understand the real meaning of their dance. It started with the mouth made ryhtm kecek.. kecek.. kecek and it goes on and on for the entire performance.

I like how the performers interact with the audience. Somewhere in the middle of the act, out of no where a red fat mask costume guy started to spurt out random Balinese words and everyone gone quiet with a confuse face. He stared around the crowd quietly and creepily and suddenly he speaks English and shouted "How are you?! ". It made everybody burst out and laugh because nobody expect that. He even gave his gratitude and warm welcoming to everyone in 3 - 4 different languages before they continue the show again.

Ayam bertutu goreng

Ayam bertutu goreng is by far the spiciest food I've ever try in my life for now. It is nothing compare to the innocent looking colorless tom yam I tried in Bangkok. The spiciness of Ayam Bertutu was so spicy that it made me sweat like a mad cow after the first bite on it. What makes it even harder to tolerate is the fact that the spiciness actually lingers in the mouth for a few good minutes. After having the dinner, it left me with a numb tongue and Angelina Jolie's lips.

P/s:If you love spicy food you must try this even thou it might burn your tongue.

Bali Day 3
Breakfast Indomee instant noodle 10,000 breakfast at random stall (RM3)
Batuan temple 1,000IDR by donation (RM0.3)
Babi Guling Ibu Oka, Ubud 97,000IDR (RM26)
Sausage 45,000IDR (RM12)
Goa Gajah 15,000IDR entrance (RM4)
Tour at Goa Gajah 36,000IDR/5 (Rm10)
Tirtra empul holy spring water 30,000IDR (RM8)
Kitamanis volcano sighting Free
Bebek bengil - late lunch 95,000IDR /5 (RM26)
Naughty Nuri 97,000IDR Dinner pork rib (RM26)

So, on the last day in Bali the tour guide took us to have a fast breakfast in some random road side stall. We spotted the signboard writing Indomee and we were really excited. We had our expectation high because we thought we would be getting ourself some authentic Balinese fried mee but it turns out to be, they serve Indo Mee which is the instant noodle you could find on the supermarket shelf.

Boy, that was "exciting" and because we were rushing to start our tour of the day, so we had no other choice to dine in and try out the instant noodle. You couldn't imagine how "excited" our face were when the Indomee is serve to us. Well, breakfast was fine and our tour started with more temples visit. Up to the point where I believe it's a little bit too much because most of the temples looks similar but the story behind them are uniquely different.

Batuan temple

Kitamanis volcano sighting

This is the first time I've ever seen a volcano and I could spot the traces of solidified lava leaving grayish black all over the green jungle terrain. I wonder how it would be if I'm there when it erupt.

Babi Guling Ibu Oka, Ubud

Babi Guling Ibu Oka at Ubud serve pricier babi guling. I think the flavor of babi guling at Ibu Oka isn't as strong as the one we have on the second day, but it is still alright. One thing that made me go green was the sausage we had. We didn't know it was stuff with internal organs until we have it in our mouth. The taste of bloody liver and other stuff made me felt really uncomfortable. So! If you are not a fan of internal organs, don't order this.

Tirta Empul Holy Spring Water

Unfortunately, I didn't dive in the holy spring water lake because I didn't prepare any extra cloths but I drank a few sips of water from the natural fountain and it tasted mild sweet. *I hope it's not a re-circulation water from the pond where everyone dip in. I think the pond is clean and I believe it's quite refreshing to be in there and if I ever return I would definitely jump right in.

Bebek bengil - Late lunch

Naughty Nuri - Pork rib Dinner

They say the best always comes the last and we were indeed blessed to had try the famous pork rib in Bali. Naughty Nuri serve one of the finest and juiciest BBQ pork rib in town. I would give 10/10 over their tasty pork rib. They have interesting interior design and hot server with great fluent English proficiency.

Bali Day 4
Souvenirs 150,000IDR (RM40)
Airport transfer from hotel 100,000IDR/5 (RM27/5)

We left the hotel before the sun rise to catch the first flight back to KL. One of the pros of getting to the airport before dawn break is there is no traffic on the road and there aren't many tourist in the airport yet and we can go through the immigration station hassle free.

Tips #1: Do not allow the airport porter to pick up your bags because they will charge you for porter fee. The distant they send the bags are less than 50 meters.

Tips #2: Do not spend all your Indonesian Rupiah cash before you leave because you will need to pay a small amount of cash to the Bali tax station.

Tips #3: The airport is freaking big and filled with trillions of tourist ,so arrive earlier.

Inbound Private Tour

We took 2 days consecutive tour. A tour normally last for 8 hours per day and it cost around 500,000IDR if you've ever exceeded the time, it would be nice to tip him off. Just like what we did on the second day, where we had 9.5 hours tour and we tip him off well.

First day 550,000IDR/5 (RM150/5)
Second day 600,000IDR/5 (RM160/5)

Tips #1 : Most of the inbound personal tour drive an Avanza Toyota which could fit around 5 - 7 people. It's best to get 5 - 7 people on this trip because they charge the daily tour per car instead of per person. The more people is in the car the cheaper it gets.

Tips #2: Paying for the driver's meal is optional. It's really depends if they are willing to join in the meal. Maybe you could invite the driver over for lunch or breakfast if the place doesn't serve expensive food.

Tips #3: They driver the best free historian/entertainment night light guide you could find, so don't be shy to ask tones of question.

Flight Ticket

Our Bali flight ticket from KL to Bali two ways cost around RM200 because we bought it during Air Asia zero fare promotion. It wasn't easy to get the promotional tickets these day because the competition is higher and everyone really stays awake throughout the night. But! I believe the trick of getting cheap flights is to check the flight ticket around 3am to 5am where it is less traffic and smoother page loading time.

Tips #1: It's best to stay somewhere near the airport to reduce the taxi fare. Places like Kuta, and Legian are consider near to the airport.

Accomodation

We stayed in a place called Nakula Guest House around Kuta District (15 minutes away from Kuta Beach and 10 minutes away from Bali Airport). It's a little secluded because it is located around 50 meters off the main street but it is a wonderful hidden gem with friendly hospitality. The room even comes with fridge and bath tub for you to store food/drinks and relax. They also provide wifi and light refreshment in the room. Do check the website at Nakula Guest House. You can also checkout Tripadvisor and Agoda about their latest promotional rate because there is where we made our advance book prior going to Bali. Briefly, we share the accommodation fee and I spend around RM150 for 4D3N.

Recommendation

Balinese temples are great to visit but it is not necessary to visit all the temples I did. I would strongly recommended you to visit Ulun Danu Beratan Lake Temple, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu temple (Kecek Dance), Tirtra empul holy spring water, and Kitamanis volcano sighting. You should probably spend rest of your time shopping at Kuta, partying at Legian (don't forget the magic mushroom) and sun tanning at Kuta Beach. Besides that, you could also arrange transportation to check out dolphin at northern side of Bali. Generally the temples looks the same and I'm sure the temples I recommended above is way enough for your vacation in Bali.

So that's all from me and I wish I can return to this wonderful and beautiful place again. I hope this guide could help you to plan for future Bali trip.

Hayden Chan

Hot Rod - Sausage House and Beer Garden, Warisan Square Mall KK

2014-07-30T10:50:00.002+08:00

Hot rod restaurant and bar has been around in KK town (Warisan Square Mall, opposite Waterfront KK) for 2 years or more now and I finally get to eat their legendary super juicy tender thick big long sausage.

Armed with cowboy interior design, Hot Rod is famous for their 9 inch monster sausages. They serve sandwiches and sausages with charcoal buns and two choices of beef or chicken for the sandwiches and Italian sausage. You could also order a varieties of alcohol drinks from the bar and enjoy yourself with their in-house singer.

Picture by sabahgo.

I had Hot Italian with truffle cream sauce RM24.90 and it's highly recommended by me. The thick creamy truffle sauce with dense pack sausage is the epitome of how great sausage should be like.

We spend our night by indulging awesome sausages and the meal portion is sufficient for 2 people. The food price range around RM20 to RM30 and it's worth the value of the food. Overall, we had a great time at Hot Rod restaurant by making all the food sound "right". Personally I would rate their food at 4/5 because I love authentic tightly packed real meat in the sausages.

So, here is the common question that others would ask. Will I return again? The answer is definitely! Not only they serve great food and provide good vibe, it's a great hangout place with friends too. As always, do check out Hot Rod, Hot Dog & Sandwich on #foursquare. http://4sq.com/1azewmw , facebook page.

Hayden Chan

The Launching of Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2014

2014-07-24T11:06:00.001+08:00

Hey guys! Carlsberg is back to bring you the Fourth Edition of Carlsberg Diamond Idol (CDI) again. Organized by Carlsberg Marketing Sdn Bhd, CDI 2014 will exclusively available for Sabahan and Sarawakian in Borneo. The fourth edition of CDI 2014 offer attractive cash prizes worth more than RM30,000 and here is where the audition will be held:

Open audition location

Sabah (Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan)

arawak (Miri and Kuching).

During the audition, participants are required to perform 2 songs (Chinese, English, or Bahasa Malaysia) and only 12 selected participants from each audition will advance to compete at respective Area Final. Top 3 from each Area Final will be attending Diamond Idol Camp at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah for 3 days. Lastly, the Grande Finale of Diamond Idol will be held on 2nd November 2014, at The BED, Waterfront Kota Kinabalu.

This year the cash prizes for the entire competition stand more than RM30,000 which included a staggering cash prizes amounted to RM12,000 for the Grande Finale Champion 2014.

As for the prizes offer for the Area Final are;

Champion RM1000 + Trophy

1st Runner- up RM600+ Trophy

2nd Runner-up RM300+ Trophy

3rd & 4th Runner up RM150 + Trophy.

This year's CDI is proud to present a group of famous judges to evaluate contestants during the grand finale. They are comprised of singer/song writer Z-chen, a local artiste who has achieve fame in Taiwan and Hongkong; Marsha Milan the 3rd runner up for Akademi Fantasia Season 3 and singer/wrongwriter and music producer Jonathan Tse.

For more information on Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2014, visit www.carlsbergdiamondidol.com.my or facebook page at www.facebook.com/carlsbergdiamondidol.

10 Food You Want to be at Your Doorstep by Foodpanda Malaysia

2014-07-01T13:57:00.000+08:00

Hey guys! It's time to add in more types of food delivery into your list besides McDonalds, KFC and etc. Foodpanda is one of the pioneers and leaders in Malaysia that provides food delivery service with various cuisines to your comfort of home or office. Armed with over 500 restaurants to choose from, foodpanda offer you the ease to order online in their website at www.foodpanda.my.

1. Starbucks

Starbucks is available for delivery at Ampang Point, Bangsar Village 2, Bukit Bintang, Jusco Maluri, Plaza Mont' Kiara, dan setapak. If you are based around the locations I have mentioned above, then you are in luck to order your favorite Starbucks drink to your place now.

2. Chatime

Love by all generations across the nation, Chatime is one of the Taiwanese beverage company in Malaysia you must try. Definitely one of my favorite bubble teas to drink during the hot weather of Malaysia.

3. Fish & Co.

Serving fresh seafood all day long, Fish and Co. are now ready to be deliver to your place.

4. Tony Roma's

Meister of ribs and steaks in town, Tony Roma's is available with the ease of online order via foodpanda.If you're in the mood to get your hand on their ribs, this could be your best solution because you can now indulge your favorite pork ribs like a barbarian without anyone starring at you. It is after all the best way to enjoy delicious succulent pork ribs.

5. Kenny Rogers Roasters

I love Kenny Rogers for their tasty roasted chicken and how they marinate the chicken with spices and herbs and slow then grill over the oven to preserve the flavors of everything in one.

6. Sakae Sushi

Salmon and unagi lover can now get their cravings satisfied as Sake Sushi is now available for delivery too! No more long queue or long waiting time for the food to come.

7. TGI Fridays

In TGIF everyday is a friday.TGIF serves western food such as chops, steaks and burgers. Fridays' is one of the good choices to stay healthy because they also serve Caesar salad and chicken Caesar salad. Imagine now you could enjoy Friday's meal with your guest at home over a wine .

8. A&W Root Beer

What other better ways to enjoy a huge cup of double scoop vanilla ice cream under the intense heat in town.

9. Old Town White Coffee

I love their coffee and toast bread. Not to forget, they also serve famous Malaysian Cuisine.

10. Italiannies

Craved for some delicious pasta, and pizza? Bored with the regular choices of fast food pizza available? Here is your alternative choice to satisfy your Italian taste bud. Italiannies offer a wide range of pizzas and it's known to be one of the best pizzas in town.

So there you go! The 10 food you would want to have it at your doorstep by Foodpanda Malaysia.Get in touch with Foodpanda at twitter @foodpanda_my, facebook page and www.foodpanda.my to know more about them. You can also download Foodpanda apps at itunes and and Google play to get updated with the latest promotions or restaurants around you.

Hayden Chan

5 Jogging Tracks You Must Run in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

2014-06-05T18:26:00.004+08:00

Hey there sport enthusiastic! If you're planning to run for the next marathon in KK or you will be here in KK for vacation, do not forget to pack along your running shoe because here is the top 5 jogging spots you must run in KK.

1. Tanjung Lipat Jogging track (Longest jogging track in Sabah)

Distant: 5 - 8km
Route : Tanjung lipat route
Amenities: Public toilet + shower *but it doesn't open all the time.
Limited parking space, *you might need to do what Malaysian do best, park beside the road.

Review: Tanjung Lipat track was officially open earlier this year 2014. It is equipped with numerous stations for body weight workout, bicycle stops and street light. The best recommended time to run on this track would be sunset because you could enjoy the sunset and the sea breeze in the same time. Nothing is more refreshing and revitalizing than catching the fresh air of KK and reminiscing all the good old days of yours under the beautiful KK sunset. The tracks are mainly flat with colored tarred road. This is definitely one of the best place to jog, except for certain sections of congested breeze walking people and cyclist zooming through occasionally. You will be finding stalls along the way and bringing small cash would be nice to reward yourself after a good jog. As usual, do be careful and always jog in pairs or group to avoid unwanted incident.

2. Tanjung Aru Perdana Park

Distant: 2 - 3km approx
Route: Tanjung Aru Perdana Park route map
Amenities: Toilet is available

Review: Tanjung Aru Perdana park is located near KKIA 2 terminal. It is one of the highly visited jogging track in KK. They are also well known for the free musical fountain with periodically performance. The tracks are soft and it has small section of incline and decline which is great for burning more calories. It is relatively safe to jog because of the fence up security and guard house at the entrance.

Source [link]

Picture source by [link]

Opening hours
Monday to Friday - 7 am to 8 pm
Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays- 7 am to 10 pm
Free Admission
Parking fee is around RM1 or RM2

3. Taman Ujana Rimba Tropika

Distant: 1 - 2 km approx
Route : Teluk Likas route map
Amenities: Uncertain *to be update
Review: Taman Ujana Rimba Tropika also known as Tugu Pahlawan Sabah is located along the Jalan Penampang. You can easily spot the unique structure from the road side.

by wikipedia

Source [link]

4. Tun Fuad Stephens Park Bukit Padang jogging track

Distant: 3 - 4 km
Route: to be update
Amenities: Public toilet
Review: One of the oldest and famous jogging track in KK. Tun Fuad Stephens Park house not only joggers but also Tai Chi. If you're seeking for something different, this is where you need to run. The tracks are incline and decline at a good angle for you to train. It also provide an off road uphill hiking track for the adventurous ones.

Source [link]

5. Likas stadium lakeside jogging track

Distant: 1.5 - 2.5km
Route: Likas route map
Amenities: Public toilet

Review: Sufficient parking space is available and most of the path are shady. The tracks are generally flat and you will be circling a beautiful lake in the middle. Street lights are available and it will be turn off after 10pm.

Source [link]

So there you go! the 5 jogging tracks you must run in KK. Do drop me any more ideas or suggestion at chanqingsheng@hotmail.com. As always have a great day and stay healthy and fit!

1 Corinthians 9:24: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

Hayden Chan

Best Century Egg Dumpling Kon Lou Mee at Market 88

2014-05-26T17:09:00.001+08:00

Kopitiam Sandakan is serving one of the best dumpling you can find in KK. Filled with century egg and minced meat, the dumpling is originated from Sandakan. They opened their establishment somewhere around early of 2013 if I'm not mistaken and it is located at Penampang, Market 88.

Address

88 Market place, Lorong Pusat Komersil 88/1

Kota Kinabalu

Opening hours
Monday - Sunday: 6.30am - 2.00pm

Foursquare : link

You can enjoy a bowl of kon lou mee with century egg dumpling and fried pork meat at a reasonable price of rm6.50. However it wasn't filling for me because the portion isn't big enough for me. Having said that, it's a must try delicacy around KK.

And oh btw, your probably want to skip the kopi ping.

View Larger Map

Hayden chan

The World Longest Island to Island Zipline by Coral Zipline Sabah

2014-05-24T23:03:00.000+08:00

Zipping through the island,

in an one fast zipline trolley,

over the sea we zip through,

screaming all the way.

Ohhh coral zip coral zip.

zipping all the way.

Oh what fun it is to zip,

in the world longest zipline!

p/s: Sing this in Christmas spirit will you? ;)

Yes my Christmas spirit came earlier and I had an awesome time zipping myself from island to island and it's one of the wonderful weekend spend in my life. Coral Flyer is the first and the world longest island to island zipline in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It's located between Sapi island and Gaya island.

The Coral Flyer ticket desk is located on the jetty of Pulau Sapi, you will be asked to sign a liability waiver, issued with a ticket and proceed to the jetty where Coral Flyer's board will transfer you to Padang point (starting point) on the island of Gaya. You will need to have a short walk to the harness station, where the staff will fit you with harness and helmet and issue you a zipline trolley. From there onwards you will need to hike at least 5 minutes up to the starting point and zipline down back to Sapi Island. Check out their Facebook page [here]

What to expect?

Awesome view of the sea from high up above with strong wind breezing through the face while accelerating down the zipline. The ride takes roughly around 10 to 15 second if I'm not mistaken because it felt like I'm going slow motion when I was up there. Everything look so tiny below and I could see beautiful KK city on the right side. It's definitely worth the ride.

Zipline information

150meters long, 60kmh maximum speed
Stainless steel high - strength cables
Price : RM50

Restrictions
Maximum weight 120kg
Minimum weight 40kg

There is no minimum age though the child has to be able to fit our child harness usually 6 years and up, they are able to bring children on a tandem rig with one of our staff at standard fare.

Tips

Everybody want their moments to be capture and I would recommend you to bring along your digital camera and tight the straps tight to your wrist while zipping down. But remember it's at your own risk to do so. If you have GoPro camera that would be even better because you can strap it on their helmet.

Upon reaching the end point (Pulau Sapi), you can head out to the metal platform and snap pictures of the zipline.

Earlier that day, we grouped up around 9am and I looked like stoned because the day before I had back to back basketball and Frisbee tournament. It was pretty awesome that finally all bloggers could finally meet up and best of all our gang Tom, Calista and Charlotte are all there!

*When you see it.

We return to the mainland around 3pm and took a huge selfie with Simon the owner of Coral zipline (in yellow shirt). Here I wish give a huge thank you to Coral Flyer for sponsoring us the ride and big thank you to Beverly for coordinating us and making it happen. Pictures courtesy goes to Meitzeu.com and Murphy Ng, you guys did a great job in snapping great selfies and pictures of everyone.

Hayden Chan

Awesome Shopping Experience With Adidas NEO

2014-05-21T23:51:00.003+08:00

Adidas NEO spoiled me with all the choices they have and they have been really generous to have sponsored me a good amount of voucher to allow me to get a full set of clothing top to bottom , bags and shoe. Putting their generosity into good used, I got myself a pair of sneaker, a pair of jeans, 3 shirts, and a bag.

I've never get myself a red sneaker before because it has been always a challenge for me to match it up with other apparel. Going red in your fashion statement could probably required you to match it up with lighter color of jeans and tees. So I went on to pair the red sneaker with light indigo-blue slim fit denim jeans and a basic cotton white Adidas Neo label tee and the result was great.

White cotton t-shirt:RM80, Jeans: RM220, Shoe: RM160.

Next, I got myself a bright orange tee because the vivid bright color of tee makes me look younger and more energetic. Needless to say, now I look like a secondary school guy again.

Orange color graphic tee shirt RM70

Adidas Mes sling bag: RM160

I also got myself a sling bag to replace the old sling bag I had with me for more than 9 years. Adidas Neo Mes sling bag is made of canvas with strong stitches along the side to give better durability to the bag. Best of all, the interior of the canvas bag has polyester fabric which gave it the water resistant properties and protect any items that you put inside.

Next up I will be talking more details on the product I get from Adidas NEO outlet. Meanwhile you might want to check out the previous post on my shopping experience at Adidas NEO outlet [here]

Hayden Chan

Adidas NEO Product Review

2014-05-21T21:46:00.000+08:00

Previously, during my shopping spree at Adidas NEO, I got myself a good pair of jeans, sneaker, bag and 3 pieces of colorful tees. I'm extremely please after trying them around on my daily outing and the quality is top notch. Thank you so much for sponsoring me all these awesome products. Here are the breakdown of the products I purchased from Adidas NEO.

VLNEO BBALL LO (Red) Sneaker

First thing that came in to my mind on how to spend my vouchers is to get myself a nice comfortable sneaker. I decided to get a bright red color sneakers because I wanted to add some color spice into my fashion style. For a guy, embracing something different could be a daunting task but fear not, pairing the red sneaker and light blue indigo jeans is like ham and cheese, they looks perfectly match.

One of the things I like about Adidas Neo's sneakers is the comfort that it can provide. The sole is designed by one of the leading sole maker company in the world, Ortholite. Vlneo Bball allows my feet to quickly accustomed itself to the smooth and comfortable sole. Besides that, the thin and light fabrics of the sneakers allow more breathable feet and keep the feet dry all day long. Available in range of colors, retailing at RM160, check their sneakers out here and choose the right one for you.

Slim fit denim jeans

We all know how hot in Malaysia can be and staying outdoor for a couple of minutes could drench you in sweat as if you just came out from sauna. So, selecting the right pair of jeans will keep you cool all day long.

I like how soft cotton like and stretchy the adidas slim fit jeans is, which could be the best thing you want to be in when the temperature hit 31 degree Celcius. Pairing the jeans with basic tee gives a casual and clean styling statement of yourself just like what Pharrell Williams wore during his 2014 Grammy Award.

The bright indigo blue jeans brought in tones of attention and compliments when I wore it around in campus. With the price tag RM220, this is highly recommended to any guys outside that is seeking a new pair of jeans.

NEO ST MES Bag

I've always wanted to get a new sling bag to replace the old bag and this time round I got myself Neo St Mes Bag. Stitched and crafted perfectly together, the canvas bag is very spacious and practical for your versatile daily activities. You could bring it to campus, traveling, and even gym. The fine canvas sling bag embedded with a NEO metal tag comes with the price of RM160.

It contained two exterior pocket with button lock which allows you to have fast access to things like car key, access card or medium size drink bottle. Besides that, it also provides you one interior and exterior zip compartment for things you wish to keep secure and best of all it has one mobile device holder compartment inside the bag. Hassle free bag it is. It comes with a adjustable strap for you too.

What I like about Adidas Neo sling bag is it has polyester fabric stitched in the interior side of the bag and give it a better water resistant and protect your delicate gadgets inside.

NEO LG BALL Graphic T-shirts
I got 3 Adidas Neo T-shirts with simple design perfect for daily wear to any occasion.

I got myself 3 pieces of simple graphic tee shirts with 100% cotton material. I wore it a couple of times and it shows good durability in cloth material because it doesn't shrink even after washing and tumbling drying a few times. Adidas NEO really brings out the price worth quality value in their graphic tee collection. perfectly made for humid weather in Malaysia by keeping the body cool all the day under the shirt. The price tag are RM80 left, follow by RM70, and lastly RM70.

So! Give it a try on changing your fashion style and visit the nearest Adidas NEO store today and get some of their latest products! Lastly, I would like to thank Adidas and everyone that made this awesome experience happened.

Stay young and cool.
Hayden Chan

Breakfast for the Champs! or maybe not at Pete's Corner Asia City KK

2014-05-20T23:18:00.001+08:00

Hey guys, it has been a while since I last conduct any food hunting in KK and bIt took me at least 20 minutes to search for Pete's corner because it is hidden from the main street of KK city. Plus I think Pete's Corner change their signboard recently to Milo sponsored because previously it was Pepsi sponsored signboard. For Pete's corner opening hour and location you can check them out [here] and the best description I came out with can be find [here]

Address:

Asia City (Ruang Singgah Mata 3),

88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

What's special about Pete's Corner is their breakdown price for different types of food which allow you to mix and match into a huge platter and form what you call American breakfast. For starter, I selected twin sunny side up, 2 slices of beef bacon, 1 cheese sausages, generous amount of baked beans and toast bread. Satisfied with my choice of food I continue to add a cup of banana ice blended to complete my breakfast of champion. All of these cost me roughly RM15 - 17, which is pretty decent for such a wide selection of different types of food.

Breakfast for two : RM 25. pretty decent and worth the cash isn't it? You might want to skip the mushroom soup because it is prep from can and it's diluted. Other than that, all is good and I'm looking forward for my next visit to try their famous chicken chops and lamb chops.

Special thanks to April lee for the recommendation of food on her instagram.

Hayden Chan

Style yourself up with Adidas NEO Label

2014-05-19T20:35:00.001+08:00

On 25 April 2014, I visited the Adidas NEO store at 1 Borneo Hypermall because I was given a hefty amount of vouchers to shop by Adidas Malaysia at their store. Being greeted with friendly staffs upon arrival, there were no holding back on my shopping spree. *evil grin Well, I was like a kid in a candy store, going all over the store grabbed all things that look good to try on. It was one of the kind experience that I could hardly get.

Basically Adidas is all about dressing up the youngster with vibrant, bright, and urban apparel style. From fun to funky, Adidas NEO is suitable for everyone with young soul.

The interior of the store was all of bright colors giving it a feeling of contemporary urban and you will not miss them out if you're in 1 Borneo mall.

Adidas Introduces Casual Sports Fashion Label adidas ‘NEO’

Vibrant, colourful and fresh apparel line tailored for today’s youth

Adidas is set to blaze the horizon in bold, clashing fun colours and dynamic patterns come fall with the launch of its latest fashion forward label adidas ‘NEO’. The teen-inspired line features a multitude of colours, styles and designs suited for today’s fashionable youth while still maintaining the brand’s original inspiration in sports fashion.

The adidas ‘NEO’ label is targeted at teenagers who are into pop culture and marking trends in fashion from influences in pop culture and through friends. The new line under adidas is part of the adidas Sport Style Division – home to adidas Originals, Y-3 and SLVR. Each of these collections represents a different aspect of fashion and the adidas NEO Label is inspired by the latest mainstream trends seen in today’s trendy upbeat generation.

From fun and funky footwear, apparel and accessories - with vivid colors, geometric graphics and playful patterns - to a relaxed, sporty and fresh David Beckham-inspired line, the NEO LABEL features collections that reflect the latest fashion trends, stir up self-expression and encourage individuality. The Pattern line uses bold prints in unexpected ways to brighten up seasonal staples. The Party Circuit collection combines casual cool with glamour, dressing Women up in shimmery fabrics and kicking men’s fashion up a notch with sharp cardigans and vests.

Source

The NEO label’s denims, this season, come in classic styles with interesting stitching and colourful washes. For girls, the jeans are available in skinny and slim silhouettes, denim shorts and mini-skirts come in shades of blue, black, aqua and purple. Guys’ jeans are in both slim and looser--‐fitting styles in light, dark and black denim. I personally love their denim jeans and I will be writing more about it in the next review on Adidas NEO.

I got myself a pair of sneaker, a pair of jeans, 3 shirts, and a bag. So, stay tune for more reviews about the products I got from Adidas NEO!

Adidas Neo Label outlets in Sabah :

Suria Sabah
Lot No. B-57,
Lower Ground Floor,
Suria Sabah Shopping Mall,
Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens, 88000
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

One Borneo Hypermall
Ground Floor, Lot G-310 & 311,
1 Borneo Hypermall,
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon Race VS Mt. Kinabalu Climbing Experience

2014-03-21T01:29:00.000+08:00

Hey guys! I just did my Mount Kinabalu climbing trip not long ago and it was awesome! I could barely feel my sole during my descend to Timpohon Gate, Kinabalu Park. Regardless all the ruthless pain during my climb, the view from the top of the summit was worth it! I felt like I was on another planet and I could never look at my hometown the same anymore.

I arrived at the summit around 6am and I stopped hiking up and stand on a slightly steep slope to witness the wonderful daybreak accompanied by the visible clouds movement below me. The view was magnificent, priceless and rewarding. The wind was strong and it surged in and out my ears giving me natural rumbling noise. I couldn't imagined I have made it so far and I could only hear my strong heart beat with heavy breathing because the oxygen level was low. The temperature of the day was zero degree Celsius and I was shivering even though I wore 3 layers of shirts and jacket and 2 layers of warm pants and tracksuit. I don't mind

Since I have done both normal Mountain Kinabalu Climb and 24km Kinabalu Climbathon Race itself, I'll be sharing my experience here. Perhaps it could help those who wish to participate either one of them. Having said that, both had their own unique challenges and it can be very hard to those unprepared climbers.

Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon Experience

Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon Adventure route (Red dots line) started from Kinabalu Park - Timpohon gate - Layang-Layang hut - Mesilau Nature Resort - Kundasang Town. There are two routes (summit and adventure) Summit route is only open to elite racer with pre-fulfilled requirement on past race achievement. The adventure route is open for public to join and I think it's one of the toughest race in Sabah.

The Freezing Start at Kinabalu Park to Timpohon Gate (4.5km)

One of the challenges is the cold weather at the starting point of the race at Kinabalu Park. I think the temperature was around 13 - 15 Celsius because I was shivering badly before the race. Fortunately, 30 minutes into the race and my body warmed up and I could run properly again. It took me about 45 minutes to complete the first 4.5km route because of the cold temperature start and stiff tar road.

Tips: Best not to run up the stiff road section but try to take huge steps. It helps.

The Though Ascent Trail from Timpohon Gate to Layang-Layang (4km)

Timpohon trail is famous for it high steps. Their steps can be as high as 3 - 4 feet and there are man made wooden stair in certain part of the trail. It's extremely hard to keep on going during the ascent and you need to practice interval rest before you continue a section of ascent.

The Never Ending Descent and Ascent Trail from Layang-Layang to Mesilau Gate (6km)

Layang-layang to Mesilau gate was the worst nightmare that I could ever face in my life. During this part of the route, I picked up the pace and I got better in finding better path to run. I was literary hopping and jumping down the rocky trail with full speed ahead but that excitement ended tragically when I slipped and sprained my leg ankle and butt landed on a huge round solid rock. So now I got two injuries but good thing I didn't slip and hit my head or anything.

Mistake #1: I wore a gym type shoe for this race. It has thin shoe sole and it hurt my sole like hell.

The Agony Descent from Mesilau to Kundasang Town (9km)

Well.. Unfortunately I didn't complete this part of the route because 6.5 hours had pass by the time I exited Mesilau gate. A week before the race I injured my knee during one of my training session and I discontinue my run to avoid any further irreversible injuries to the knee. The last stretch of 9km trail is tarred road with sharp decent which could lead to knee injuries if you're not careful. If you ever make it into this section of the route you will be more awesome than me, but bare in mind the organizer will set a time to swipe down all runners that exited Mesilau gate after a certain time frame. Be sure to exit Mesilau gate as early as you can to continue your last stretch of run.

My personal advise and tips
1. For the first timer, wear thick sole shoe instead of normal jogging shoe because it will help in reducing the pain on your sole.

2. Train extremely hard before you join this because it is not like any other common marathon race where you can hitch hike anytime when you are not about to continue. Bare in mind, you will be running in a thick tropical jungle mountain trail with limited access of help during emergency. The last time you want to experience is trap inside there.

3. Last but not least, arm yourself with chocolate bars such as Kit-Kat or candy gels. Do not bring any water bottles because they are provided along the way every 500 meter *if I'm right about the distant. Instead of bringing bottle waters, bring hydration salts pack and mix it with the water provided along the way.

Overall, the race was YOLO kind of thing. Regardless, I had a great time meeting juniors in my faculty. Although I didn't really get to know them but they sure can run! or maybe I'm just too old for this.

For more information, check Climbathon website.

Mt. Kinabalu Climbing Experience

Basically there are few ways to go up and down to Mt. Kinabalu. The route that is given to us was Mesilau trail up to Laban rata and summit and all the way down to Timpohon trail. As you can see the picture below, Mesilau (based) is located on the bottom right and the middle intersection (Layang-layang) between three routes lead to summit trail (to Laban Rata and Peak) and Timpohon trail (based). The provided distance from Mesilau to Layang-layang is 6km, while Layang-layang to Laban Rata is 2km. Lastly Laban Rata ascending to Low's peak (summit) is 2.5km.

Mount Kinabalu website

Photo credit

Let's break down the entire journey of Mount Kinabalu Climb here;

The Stay at Mesilau Nature Resort Lodge (Day 1 pre-climb)

We chartered a van that provide us 2 ways transporation from KK to Mesilau Nature Resort which cost the 6 of us RM80 per pax. Registration at National Park is required prior Mesilau resort check-in (Permit fee RM6, Certification fee RM14). Surprisingly, our stay at Mesilau Resort was luxurious. We were well fed with great food during buffer dinner and feast like a barbarian.

The Ascent from Mesilau to Laban Rata (Day 2 real climb)

Surprised by the horrific news about a German climber fell to death at Low's peak summit, we started our climb at 8.30am with a short briefing by our guide. It was definitely one of the last news you wanna hear before you start a climb. It was a tragic that it happen but I think there are tones of safety features that can be added at the summit to prevent things like this happen again.

The ascent part from Mesilau to Laban rata was fairly easy and it's all about taking short rest before taking the high steps.

As much as I enjoyed the climb, one thing I regretted was bringing up a 9kg bag without hiring a porter service. I thought it would be easy but I was wrong. That 9kg bag became 9999999kg in the middle of my ascent to Laban Rata. I was so frustrated at stage where I'm so tempted to throw the bag away. Initially I think I was foolish to do this but looking at the bright side, I can actually tell others I climb with 9kg weight. Nevertheless, I have to tip my hat to the strong porter that carries up to 50kg of climber bags and necessities such as food, gas fuel, wood, steel and etc up to Laban Rata few times a day.

Lesson of the day, just hire a porter service. 1kg RM10

Oh ya! Don't forget to play with the squirrel when you're resting in one of the hut.

The Ultimate Ascent from Laban Rata to Low's Peak Summit (Day 3 Epic Climb)

We were extremely lucky and blessed to have great weather during our ascent up to summit because there have been reports of heavy rainfall throughout the week and climbers were not allow to ascent. We woke up around 1am in the morning and start to climb around 2am. It was pitch black and we have to depend on our headlamps. The journey starts with a huge group of climbers departing from the Laban Rata hut and do expect traffic jam along the way because the trail is narrow.

Somewhere during our climb we can actually see KK city with brights city lights shining and I can never forget how beautiful the view was. However, knowing that everyone was well a sleep in their warm bed and I'm few thousand feet above doing crazy thing just annoyed me. -.-

Anyway, you will need to register yourself at Sayat-sayat check point to enable certificates to be issue at Kinabalu Park. After Sayat-sayat check point, you will be very close to the summit and Low's peak. When we arrived at the summit the wind was extremely strong and temperature was around 4 Celsius.

Tips: wear at least 4 layer of cloths and 3 layer of long pants.

The Soaking Wet Descent from Laban Rata to Timpohon Gate (Day 3 Rain)

Unfortunately, during our final descent from laban rata to Timpohon, it was raining heavily and the trail turn into waterfall. Eventually my shoe got wet and I had to bare with it for 7 hours until I exited Timpohon gate. Descending down is going to be painful for the sole after all the intense climbing.

Tips for going down? : It's all about pain endurance

Generally the mountain climbing is definitely easier than climbathon but the greatest challenge will be the altitude and extreme low temperature during summit trail. Both have their own unique challenges and it takes physical and mental strength to complete them. Mean while, I don't think there is any need to worry the altitude sickness for Climbathon Adveture Race. The highest altitude for it was at Layang-layang hut (2,702m above sea level). Plus, climbing the mountain made easier because I purchased myself a trail running shoe from reebok because previously during my climbathon race I wore a gym shoe.

Tips: Bring extra RM100 - 200 cash for emergency such as porter service.
For all the contact, packages, tips and video please check it out at Mount Kinabalu website.

Will I do it again? Probably not in near future because I would love to try Mount Fuji at Japan and The Most Beautiful Thing TMBT race in the interior side of Sabah. I can't wait to do the next extreme sport and push to the limit.

Hayden Chan

The Finale of University Life.

2014-03-18T18:26:00.000+08:00

Currently I'm in my final year last semester in food science and nutrition. My final semester is definitely one of the toughest and the most hectic period ever. I have been staying in lab for 7 days a week for the past month to do research work and I'm still far from completion. Fortunately, I found joy in any situation and now I'm enjoying myself and live in the moment because it's just another life experience.

What am I doing for my research?

My research is about creating tiny beads ranging 2mm containing healthy bacteria aka probiotic "which you can find in yogurt or cheese" and study if they can survive with different materials and conditions. Scientifically term would be 'lactic acid bacteria encapsulated beads'.

Can you explain more?

Basically my main objective is to create beads and have it protecting the bacteria during simulated gastrointestinal and freeze drying. By obtaining high count of bacteria, i could understand which material will help the bacteria survivability. Besides that, high count of bacteria will provide health benefits to the host, which is us.

How do I create them?

Let me put it as simple as possible, I dissolve powdery gum at a certain near boiling point temperature in the water, let it cool down and mix bacteria into it and drop it into an induce-gelation chemical solution with syringe-needle and the gum harden into beads. The shape of the harden gum depends on how you drop it into the chemical.

How does a bead look like?

This is how a bead look like under the microscope and that's what basically for my research. Besides forming probiotic beads, I also look into different parameter such as prebiotic "food for probiotic", cryoprotectant and many more.

Is it tough?

I guess it's nothing tough in terms of science but the time is extremely limited and the work is extremely tedious. Hopefully I can meet all the datelines and complete my study design and graduate!

Any future plans after graduating?

I will be finishing my study around July and graduate on Nov. I plan to search for work in Selangor or KL but I'm gonna see how things go.

I guess I may not be updating this blog as frequent as I used to be. I have to set aside my passion and focus on research. Perhaps I'm going to update twice a month if time permits.

Until then, let's pray for the return of MH370 and pray for the government efficiency in dealing it.

Hayden chan

Happy Chinese New Year Guys!

2014-01-31T23:30:00.003+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year folks! Yes I'm well aware the picture the picture above is not related to any CNY greetings but I'm using it anyway because I find myself look fairly nature in this picture. It was taken at Tanah Lot Temple during my recent trip to Bali.

The trip was amazing and I spend awesome time with a group of happening friends. We went with the private tour to tones of places and tried some of their famous local food. Beside that, we were amaze with how humble and friendly Balinese people are. Awesome story aside, since this is my first post for the year 2014, I wish to take the opportunity to greet everyone may great prosperity and wealth bestow onto you.

My new year spirit came late for me because I was having my exam throughout the new year. It was horribly soul draining to deal with research and exam during the season of new year. I'm guess it's one of those experience which I would probably deal with later working life. However, my soul was total recharge after I returned from my Bali trip and to top that up, all the great time spend with cell group does help me in soul healing. Previously, I was dragging myself to start the year 2014 but now I'm ready to rock 2014 and looking forward to find a job after I graduate. Beside that, I'm one step closer to my goals and I'm excited to start my life blueprint and tie a knot when the time is right.

So yea! That's all from me for my first post of the year. Do look forward for my Bali trip write up. I will be including all my expenses in Bali and you will be surprise how budget my Bali trip is. As always, have a great Chinese New Year ahead! Be careful with firecrackers and stay awesome.

Hayden Chan

Things 2013 Has Taught Me

2013-12-24T15:19:00.000+08:00

Hey guys! It's the time of the year where I will warp up my awesome roller coaster life in one amazing post.

1. Free food isn't free

The year 2013 is where I started to realized that blogging for free food wasn't how I wanted to be. Initially it was really cool to receive free food and blog about it but over time I felt could be more to this. I've always been thankful for what is bleseed onto me but as I grow as an individual I realized that it was tough to keep writing commercialize reviews about the food. I know most of the blogger wouldn't totally agree with me but there will always be a certain degree of biases when it comes to invited review post.

Moreover, the total time spend on traveling, food photography session, image editing, uploading image to hosting site and brain storming creative commercial food article isn't worth the free food given. I'm better off trying any new food on my own and write an honest review or being selective on food promoting post.

So I've resorted to distancing myself to any invitation and currently I'm happy to write about any food I tried without wondering would it affect their business or the other way round. You may want to check out my honest review about KK Burger Bakar or Subang Burgertory Cafe at Subang Jaya SS15.

2. Great freedom comes with great responsibility.

Living few few hundred miles away from parents during my internship gave me the privilege to do anything I want. I could mimic a tsunami aftermath in my room with my laundries or unlimited curfew. I could pack a bag and do road trips without getting any mindful of ear from nag. Well, the point is it's great to live all alone outside but above all, one thing I will always keep in mind was no matter what I do, stay safe and don't screw up.

Here is one of the unfortunate events where I fell a sleep outside and I got prank by friends. I was left alone and they snapped my picture before leaving me alone. The rest was history.

3. I can do all things if I want to except for singing and dancing.

2013 is the year where I discover I could do cheer leading, crossfit, arm wrestling, modeling, tug of war, bridge project, 23km Mount Kinabalu Climbathon challenge and white water rafting at Padas River, Sabah. Looking back at all these memories made me wonder how did I managed myself to achieve all of these? It's incredible that I've been awesome people along the way and I will continue do things that I've always been wanting to do.

Thanks to City Harvest Church KL for organizing annual Emerge. No doubt it brought youth closer to each another and God.

4. Internship is where I realized University hasn't prep me well.

Earlier of the year I made a leap of faith forward and took up the challenge of living aboard at Selangor and undergo my 6 months internship. Which is pretty long but it's definitely a good wake up call for me about how limited is the university has prep us. I did my internship in one of the well known alcohol company in Malaysia, Guinness Achor Berhad. No, I didn't get myself drunk over there but the freshly brewed beer that were serve at the company pub was delicious and beautifully brewed.

I worked in the Quality Assurance Department where my task is to ensure certain parameters of the beer quality is being fulfilled. They applied strict analysis checking on every stage of the beer production until the end. The best thing about doing the intern over there was, I was giving training and tones of opportunities to handles mini projects as a part of my learning. Personally, the working environment in GAB is really positive and fun because all my colleague and even to the manager were really supportive.

I would strongly suggest whoever study in the field of food science, food technology or others should try to apply internship or work in GAB.

5. It's about time for me to think about marriage.

My closest best kao kao cousin sister got marry earlier of the year. She is one year older than me and she is now happily married to an awesome guy. Together, they build a family with a healthy chubby daughter and now residing in KL. I'm so happy for her and hopefully I could see her in coming Chinese New Year during family reunion dinner.

Subsequently from the her marriage, I gave a good thought about marriage and asked myself the when, where, who, why and how question. But, at the end of the day I believe He will provide.

6. There is a need to change for our Government

2013 is where I get to exercise my voter rights for the first time and I'm truly disappointed with what is going on around Malaysia during election. I believe in the upcoming generation election, we will change the nation and continue to educate the youth to step out and vote.

Right, the amazing pretentious permanent marker pen used during GE.

What am I doing now?

Currently I'm doing final year and busy performing my research. I was one of the of the fortunate students to be receiving one of the toughest titles among my batch. The research that I'm doing is related to healthy bacteria where you can find in yogurt, milk and cheese aka probiotic. You know the opposite of antibiotic but it's microorganism which is capable of boosting up the health immunity and exhibit multiple benefits to the hos. If you want to knoe more about it just just tweet me at @haydenshinchan.

Well, 2014 is going to be a transition year for me because I will be graduating and I need to get a job. But before I start to work, I've set a couple of goals to achieve and I'll share it in future. It's going to be awesome.;)

I guess this will be my last post of the year because I'll be preparing for my final exam on the 30 December. Yes it's odd because that's how the Minister of Higher Education have set it.

Until then, continue to do awesome things in your life.

Hayden Chan

Some of the Food in Phi Phi Island

2013-11-17T10:00:00.000+08:00

Phi Phi island is one of the highly visited islands in Krabi and majority of the tourists are westerners. You can hardly find any Thai people except for the local shop workers. Basically you can find different types of food in Phi Phi Island. However the majority of the restaurants there served western food such as grilled salmon, pizza, American breakfast and etc. Most of the Thai food we found over there were overprice compare to the food you can get in Ao Nang.

Most of the Thai food stores are not located in the main street of Phi Phi Island and you have to take the back alley or maybe the street that is with less people. I don't have a map to show you where I found all these food but i do hope the sign board helps a little bit.

Pad Thai is thai's fried glass noodle. It's one of my favorite dishes in Thailand and everywhere i go i would order their Pad Thai because it taste differently. The sprinkle of crunch peanut and juice of lime intensified the aroma of Pad Thai. Not to forget the spicy chili flakes and chili oil makes it even more delicious.

You can spot this Thai Grilled Pork Satay along the way to View Point Hill. It's called Mu Ping and it's one of the best food you must try in any part of Thailand. The tender juice meat is indescribable and I always have this whenever I spot a stall selling it. It's way better than any pork satay I can find in my place Sabah. Oh by the way it's not expensive and it cost around 20Baht to 30Baht.

Thai Beef Noodle - Gwaytio Neu Nam. I'm a hakka-chinese and beef noodle is like a culture food for us too because we have our own version of it which is called Ngau Chap or Ngau Nam. Which sound similar to the name of beef noodle in Thai. After having thai beef noodle, I could conclude that both are equally good. The beef broth in Thai isn't as beefy as the one we have in Sabah but the meat and meatballs is fresh and juicy. At the end of the day, I love any beef noodle serve on to me.

This pancake over here is like murtabak kosong with nutella spread on it. It's a unique food where they normally call it as pancake over there. I read articles mentioning about it was inspired by the Inidian culture food Roti Canai but with their creativity, they have created lots of varieties of pancake.

p/s: The pancake in Phi Phi Island is 3 times more expensive than the one you can find in Krabi City. The price increase exponentially from Krabi, Ao Nang to Phi Phi.

So there you go! These are some of the food I tried in Phi Phi Island. I stayed at Phi Phi island for 2 days 1 night and didn't get to try much food over there.

Hayden Chan

How I Meet My Cell Group D11 City Harvest KL

2013-11-15T00:28:00.003+08:00

Hey guys! Lately, I have been busy with my final year project and it's one of the most soul draining ever season in my life ever. I didn't had enough sleep for the past few weeks because I had to complete my research proposal title. Well just so you know, I'm now in my final year of my degree and like every other final year students, we are required to conduct scientific research study based on the assigned title and graduate with Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition. *If all things are well. I, however are some of the 'lucky' students to get one of the toughest research titles. But! as usual, I guess I just have to do whatever I could and challenge myself to complete the project.

Putting things aside, it has been a while since I last left KL and all those awesome memories are still inside my mind vividly. I miss my cellgroup back in City Harvest Church KL E11 aka D11. All those moments spending time with them were great and fill with joy.

~~Kids~~ Guys, here is the story on how I meet ~~your mother~~ my cell group back on mid 2013. It wasn't just any other story about someone bought me to church or someone introduce me to them. Personally, I believe it was actually God lead me to them. It was one simple text I send to Careen and with that, it changes my life in KL dramatically.

Well, before I was in KL I have already know about City Harvest but have been living on a routine daily life of working, home, gym and the cycle repeat. On March, I received an email from JQLee inviting me for movie screen with the underprivileged kids at Genting Resort. I was so confused because I have always based in Sabah and how would they found out that I was at KL but since it was a free ride so I decided to go for it. Few weeks after the screening, she finds me for another event launching WeChat apps. This time she was helping another friend, Careen Tan to spread the job news and the pay was good but this time I had to cancel them out last minute because I don't have any transport and I requested Careen's contact and personally apologized.

So, I followed her twitter account and weeks later I saw her tweeted about E11 cell group picture. The moment I saw the picture I felt like there is something great about her cg and I was thinking it would be nice to get to know them. It was really hard for me because I wanted to visit CHCKL badly and get into cg but I don't even know how can I make it there. I thought of texting Careen but thinking that it would be way too odd to just text some one that I barely known what more to ask to join her cg and follow her to church.

I was hesitating till the end of April and one day the bible app featured Proverbs 16:33. It said: We make our own decision but Lord alone will determine what happen. Profound and surprised I decided to text her and ask if I could join her for church and cg. Surprisingly, she was able to fetch me to church and that is where everything single awesome things started.

First day at church was also the first day of Emerge 2013 and the funniest part is she was so busy that she had to hand me over to Wai Jin the LU cluster leader to tour me around the church and get me introduce to everyone. It was definitely overwhelming for me to get to know so many people in the church. Especially during Emerge season, where I accidentally join so many games and competition. I was so excited with all the sports and games they offered and decided to sign in as many as I could without any second thought. Anyway this part of Emerge story will be in another post and now back to my cell group.

This picture was taken during Boon's surprised birthday party. It was on August 31.

It took me roughly a month plus to get to know everyone in the group. It was pretty awkward in the beginning but some how Boon (the cell leader/ Careen's husband) introduced me to everyone and get everyone to know me well. I don't know how it happen so fast because in the mid of June until august the bond between us was strong and we connected so much well. Till the point where I felt like 'this is who I want to hangout with every week, and maybe even grow old with them'. Because my time was short and limited in KL, I know I must to attend cg and meet them up as often as I could. And thinking back all those time that we spend together, I had no regret of sacrificing my time for rest and gym session.

I had fun during BBQ session because I love to set up fire. Setting up fire was like a second nature to me because I burn a lot of things when I was younger.

Besides gathering up in the house we had an outing to Sunway Lagoon. There I discovered my passion and talent in surfing and they were so kind to leave me there after we played every single game together. :D The vuvuzela ride was crazy and I really appreciate the time that we spend together.

This picture was taken by Sabrina Chin and it was one of the competition 'Fittest man challenge' I joined for Emerge 2013. I remember half of the cg members was there cheering me up as I was completing the task even. I was grateful to have such an amazing cg which gather up together and spend the afternoon cheering me up. Thank you Sab for the picture. :)

Charissa chong, winner of Miss Global International Malaysia is one of our members, like a younger sister to me, she is one our cg member. I remember there were once I scared her during cg gathering and she ended up running to me and kept on smacking me. Oh hilarious good old times. XD Well, I'm really proud of her winning the title and representing Malaysia to Albama. She is definitely one of our inspiration and role model.

This is one of the moment that I will not forget. Having Careen up on stage during the finalist of Man Hunt Emerge 2013 was like having fellowship. She made me felt comfortable and confident on stage. Too bad I didn't made it to Top 3 but we will talk about that some other day. Anyway, it was really sweet of them to support me during that night and even I didn't make it into Top 3, I was still happy because I made it so far. :)

Fan boy moment when we took picture with Chuckei. She is really shy and quiet in real when we meet her during Emerge conference.

Towards the end of August was actually the hardest moment for me because time is getting shorter and shorter and I wish I could spend more time with them. Unfortunately, I have to return to Sabah and continue my final year. I was heartthrob and to make thing worst a day before I leave them, they decided to throw me a huge surprise party. Man, they are so good at throwing surprise party acting. They actually gather up different group of friends I made from LU cluster, POS team, Man hunt and beauty pageant team to surprise me before I go home. I seriously didn't expect it because everybody seem to be busy the night before I leave. It wasn't really suspicious that Boon and Careen asked me out for dinner on the last night but when I enter the restaurant and walk all the way up to the top, I know something is going to happen. When I enter the top floor and all of the suddenly Fibie jumped out and shouted SURPRISE! Almost gave me a heart attack. :S I was speechless and I can't stop smiling. :)))))))

Each of them gave some speech to me and in return I have to give them mine. It's really rare to have someone else to give speech about others and their comments about me was standard. "Initially when I get to know Hayden, he was kinda cool and the impression of him was top up. After knowing him well enough, he was crazy and seriously full with lame jokes." XD no face given by them. :S

Thank you Tzia for the awesome huge Postcard you made for me with all the meaningful words from everybody in it. It was a really hard work and I really appreciated it.

John my man! He is full with funny jokes. Thank you for the ride home after cg. I really appreciate your effort and prayers to me :)

Ele! The awesome dude that taught me how to kao lui! HAHA Just kidding. He is a man filled with passion in serving God and you can spot him up on stage during the weekend playing guitar.

Alfred to coffee expert taught me so many things about coffee. A subzone member but close to us like a family. He sings very well and love to drink coffee. Thank you for everything man.

The last meal we have together you know like the last supper.

Elie! She is as awesome as Hayawesomechan.

Initially I decided to get a train ride to KLIA but they insisted to send me off because they want to see me cry. -.- After a few attempt of emotion last words given by them to me, they successfully made me tear off. The moment I cried they were laughing hard. -.- The reason why was they felt rewarded to see me cry because their effort of sending me off to the airport wasn't wasted. Mean people everywhere -.-

Thank you guys for the great time, family, support, inspiration, motivation, laughter, tears, joy, food,transport, happiness, God's word, and many more. I couldn't imagine what would life be without you guys. I can't wait to see everyone of you when I'm back and I shall return like a ninja surprising everybody. :)

Thinking back the one text that I decided to send to Careen made me realized that the word of God is powerful. One simple phrase Proverbs 16:33 changes my life so much and gave me so many things that I could never expect from Him. I'm glad I made that decision. Thank you Lord.

Hayden chan

Discover Google Glass on 24 Nov at gDayX Kota Kinabalu 2013

2013-10-30T22:43:00.002+08:00

Hey guys! The annual gDayX is back in Kota Kinabalu again. There will be a good line up of speakers talking about various topics such as about marketing, entrepreneurs and internet. Looking at the Agenda of the day, one particular thing caught my attention which is the Google . The one and only Google Glass will be feature after coffee break and I hope i can get my ~~face~~ hands on it and Google all sort of weird stuff, which you probably don't want to know. Anyway the location will be at Suria Sabah, 24 November 13.

Venue: Suria Sabah

Date: 24 November 13

Time: 9am - 5.15pm

This post was made because I'm helping a friend of mine. Do check him out at his [website] and follow him at [twitter] for more information on this event.

It's gonna be fun and inspiring and perhaps you might want to invite your friends along! See you guys there. ;)

The Most Laid Back Trip Ever, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Full Write up

2013-10-13T21:53:00.004+08:00

Hey guys! Recently I've just been to Ho Chi Minh City, and it's a wonderful city. There are so many things to shop, food to eat, cultures to experience, language to speak, history to learn, new friends to make and epic massive traffic to be in Ho Chi Minh.

We departed from KL at 6am and arrived at Vietnam at 7am (Vietnam time) because Vietnam is 1 hour behind Malaysia time. (Total travel time 2 hours) The night before my flight to Vietnam, I had only 1.5 hours of sleep. Our cell group launched a surprise birthday party for our cell group leader at midnight and we continue to fellowship until 3am. I barely had my sleep before heading to LCCT. Come to think of it, I was out from 9am to attend Emerge 2nd day conference and continue to be out active until Sunday 3am. It was crazy how much energy I had. The moment I checked in the hotel at 7.30am I collapsed on the bed and dozed off until noon..

My trip lasted for 5 days 4 night and personally I think 4 days is more than enough. We chilled at local coffee cafe and enjoyed Vietnamese coffee at the road side. It was so great to finally get myself away from all the busy life I had in KL. Not that I hated KL's life but sometimes it's just felt good to go somewhere and slack. p/s: Self healing !

This is my first time traveling with good old friend, we were ex-high school mates and we have been talking about traveling around the world for ages. I really enjoyed traveling with good friends because they know me so well that whatever I do, they will understand and I like how straight forward close friend can be. Traveling with high school friends can really be fun, especially when we all know each another so well that we sort of can mind read or predict what they wanna do next when you're hanging out with them. Too bad the other close friends to us could join us this round.

How was Ho Chi Minh at first impression?

Bikes! Bikes everywhere! Hundreds over bikes are sighted cramped together in a big triple lanes. You can't believe how many bikes population over there, it's over 5 million from what I have been told by the tour guide and it's still increasing! Most of the time I could see one complete family on the bike with 4 passengers on it. Mum, Dad and 2 kids. It's just crazy to see how unsafe it is to be on the bike but surprisingly I heard there are rarely any accidents occur.

Accommodation - Ruby River Hotel

Ruby River Hotel is well located near Saigon Square 1 which is one of the ultimate place for you to do your shopping when you're in Vietnam. The famous Ben Thanh Market is located just 5 minutes away and Vietnam famous coffee shop Trung Nguyen.It's important to try Trung Nguyen's coffee when you're in Vietnam because its like a Starbucks in Vietnam.

Review of Ruby River Hotel - It's definitely one of the best hotels that I stayed in before. Their hospitality is at top notch. The best thing about the room is they have a bath tub in it! They served free fruits during dinner and send it to your room. Their daily breakfast buffet is wonderful.

Faith Crossing aka Jaywalking with Faith

One thing about Ho Chi Minh City is how many how many times you try to cross over the busy city street, you will never get knock over or scolded because they will somehow someway steer around me like a group of fishes. It's pretty neat! because if I jaywalk in Singapore I probably get a fine, and if I jaywalk in Ho Chi Minh, I will be fine, but! If i jaywalk in Malaysia, I won't get a fine nor I will be fine because I will get ramp over or road rage driver would curse me. Yea so, that's how safe is Vietnam traffic.

Ho Chi Minh City Independence Day

We were so happen to be there during Ho Chi Minh City independence day which fall on the 2nd September every year. We had the chance to watch beautiful fireworks at Saigon River and experience the massive tuna sardine motorbike jam on the street. It was amazing to see how coordinate they were on road.

Cuchi tunnel

The famous cuchi tunnel is one of the places you must go when you're in Ho Chi Minh city. It was one of the most complicated man made underground tunnel that has ever been made during Vietnam war with America. I went down the tunnel and try one of the safe trap doors and they are so tight and tiny! During the tour, we were given the opportunity to try going through 100 meters tunnel route with 5 exits every 20 meters. . The tunnel was so small, dark, hot and humid. I had to squat and walk like a duck with weak light fixed at the sight of the wall. There were some part where the tunnel become bottleneck like and I had to crawl like a baby. Unfortunately I gave up and went up at the first 20 meter exit.

I'm impressed how Vietnamese survive and live in the tunnel during the Vietnam war. The tunnel is 121km-long and currently only a small section of the tunnel is open to the tourist.

A few interesting facts about Cuchi tunnel and Vietnam war.

Vietnamese fighters made their sandal from the tyres rubber, the shape of the sandal platform is reverse because they want to trick the enemy of their direction. Meaning to say, when they walk forward, the foot steps that they left behind is the other way around. Smart right?
The mud that were dug up during the process of building the tunnels were channel out to the open field far from the actual exit and was being construct as termite nest.
The underground kitchen's chimney were channel far from the actual kitchen, so that the enemy couldn't discover the real kitchen when they discover the smoke chimney. Next thing is, the Vietnamese only cook during or before morning dawn, so that the smoke produce will blend into the dawn mist and go undetected.
Back to the termite nest, it seems that I was told some of the man made termite nest actually supplied oxygen air to all the level of the underground. Brilliant.
To keep the water supply constantly available, they constructed the tunnel connected to mekong delta to provide them fresh water during the war.
In order to confuse the army dog to trace their scent down the right tunnel entrance, Vietnamese army search for their enemy shower supply or the fallen solider uniform and place it at the entrance to confuse the dog scent.

I guess that's all that I can remember during my tour at Cuchi Tunnel. Here are some of the pictures and instavideos I made. The second instavideo was taken at shooting range and so happen I had my safety ear plug along from my internship and I went down to take some hilarious video. The sound of the ak-47 firing is extremely loud and each fire made my ear to have tinnitus. Even when I'm with safety ear plug, the sound is still extremely loud. I wonder how does the army withstand this kind of loud noise exposure during war.

Mekong Delta

We had a full local tour to Mekong delta and we book our tour from the hotel. It's always better to get a local tour because it's much more cheaper. Honestly speaking there is nothing much in Mekong Delta because it's really similar to Sabah wetland. But since we were there, we decided to check it out to fill up our time up. We get to try super duper nice coconut candy and drink sweet honey drinks at the end of the trip. They also provide us free fruits and lunch which is pretty nice because they really take the effort to treat us well during the trip.

Disclaimer: I did not drink snake wine. I made it because I think it would be cool to prank everybody.

So there you go! I visited joined two tours to Cuchi tunnel and Mekong Delta during my entire trip. It was really relaxing because we didn't rush here and there like how you would expect from a tour.

Here are some of the Vietnamese food I tried.

Normally whenever I travel to anywhere I will do my research on food to eat. However for this trip,I didn't do any research on food before I went to Vietnam because I was too busy and decided to let myself off the hook this time. But I had something in mind and I roughly know some of the famous Vietnamese food must try over there.

Coi Cuon - Soft vermicelli summer roll. This thing is full with mint stem and leaf and personally I couldn't take the taste of the mint. It's really not easy for me to get it all int but still it's something special and you should at least try one. Plus! It's healthy!

Banh Mi - It's a sandwich stuff with cucumbers, tomato, and fried chicken. It's filled with celery and I had to take it out one by one before enjoy it. Ya i know, I'm picky.

Pho - Soup noodle served with slice beef. This is good! must try!

Stirred fried pork and herba black chicken. How i ended up having this is a mystery. All I can remember was I was hungry and I randomly walk around my hotel and found this restaurant which the owner is cable to speak Cantonese.

Fried mee street food.

This food resemble lobak kou but it taste way better than the one we have in Malaysia.

Pandan coconut

Noodle soup with prawn

Trung Nyugen coffee is like the Vietnamese version of starbucks. I could see chain of stores opening around the city and they serve great coffee. We spend our first night chilling and catching up with each another over there and it doesn't felt like we're traveling at all because we are so laid back about everything.

One of the thing I enjoy traveling aboard is meeting new friends along the way and spending time with them over a meal or two. The last time when I was Bangkok I made two friends from Canada and China and we decided to spend the day together touring around Golden Palace and riding around with tok-tok. It was really great to spend time with them. This time round, we get to meet two new friends from New Zealand. We spend our time over hot steamboat dinner and coffee at one of the tallest tower in Ho Chi Minh City.

It was great knowing you guys and awesome sharing our culture and experience. I hope I could see them in future!

So I guess that's it about my Vietnam trip. I didn't really plan extremely well like what I did during my Bangkok trip but I had fun doing random things. I spend a total of RM950 plus including airfare, hotel, food, and shopping for 5 days 4 night. On top of the our tour is sponsored as a courtesy by Indochina Legend Travel (Chu Chi Tunnel Half day tour and Mekong Delta full day tour), the hotel accommodation was on promotion by Groupon and we bought our flight ticket during Air Asia zero fare which makes everything dirt cheap.

It's really great to travel with Denise and I hope next year Vigita, Elaine, Flor and the others will be able to travel together to somewhere far. Currently, I'm caught up with university final year projects. It felt great to come back to KK again but I'm looking forward to return to KL.

Stay awesome!

Hayden Chan

Epic Padas White Water Rafting Experience

2013-10-02T22:53:00.001+08:00

The itinerary for water rafting:

6.30 - 7.50am From Kota Kinabalu to Beaufort train station
7.50 - 10.45am From Beaufort train station to Rayoh train station
10.45 - 11.00am Change for rafting and keep your belongings there
11.00 - 11.30am From Rayoh train station to Pangi train station
11.30 - 11.45am Light refreshment and safety briefing
11.45 - 1.00pm Water rafting from Pangi back to Rayoh train station (approx 10km)
1.00 - 2.00pm Lunch + shower
2.00 - 2.40pm From Rayoh train station to Pangi train station
2.40 - 4.00pm From Pangi train station to Beaufort train station
4.00 - 5.30pm From Beaufort train station to Kota Kinabalu

Itinerary recorded by Amanda.

Contact: Joulian
014 2844062
016 8044892
016 8360280
Min 4 RM150 each.

I paid RM150 and it include transportation from home to train station, train ticket, lunch, and back home ride.

Email: jsadventurerafting@yahoo.com, Rafting@sumisi.com

Alternatively this is just one of the private companies that offer water rafting and there are others company such as Riverbug and etc.

Now that you have gone through some of the important information let's hear about my experience on Padas water rafting! First thing first, the map above shows the starting point (Pangi Station) and ending point (Rayoh Station). You will first arrive at Rayoh station to drop off your bags and change your clothes and wait for the next train to Pangi Station. They do provide waterproof bags on board but personally I think it's better to keep in your bag because the drop off bag location are well secure by people.

The stretch of this rafting is 12km where you will go through 2 km of warm up. They will purposely capsized the boat to stimulate real situation and allow you to try to climb into the boat with techniques that will be taught during briefing. They will also brief you on paddlling instruction and where should you swim to in case of falling off the boat. After the 2km warm up river stretch ended, the real fun begins!

Epic water rafting experience

For starters, during the 12km of river we have to go through few rapids stage which contain fast streaming and unpredictable huge waves. We started with some simple, and fun rapids stage and there was this one special rapid stage called "Washing Machine". We were told by the boat guide that a day before there was a person got thrown off the boat and suffer deep cuts on his nose because of the shallow water. So we were advise to take the easy path of the rapid and avoid the middle section of the rapid because it may capsized the boat.

Photo used as illustration credit by [link]

We enter the rapid with full paddle strength, initially it was a rough ride and all of the sudden as we approached to the middle of the rapid, a large rock hit the center left of the boat while I'm sitting front left. The impact caused me to fall off from the boat despite me locking my feet. I was wash off at least 10 feet away from boat and got pull by the rapid current to 20 - 25 feet away from boat. It was horrifying because I landed on my back first on the river and hit the rock on the bottom and I was turn over and over again by the strong current.

I tried to reach my paddle but it was too late, the paddle got wash off faster and further away from me and when I realized I couldn't get my paddle I was already at least 20 feet away from my boat. Initially, I tried to grab hold of a big rock but the strong current lifted both me and the rock up. Oh man at that moment my hand was scrambling to grab hold of another bigger rock and the second attempt I successfully grab a huge heavy enough rock to sustain my weight and the current. At that point I was thinking of letting go the rock and swim to the side or hang on and risk my boat leaving me because of the strong rapid. If i were to try to swim to the side I will end up hurting myself with all the rocks in the bottom of the river.

Thankfully, I realized by the time I locked my position on the rock strongly, my boat was already coming side way towards me at high speed with the strong rapid current. And because of the strong current they couldn't stop and pull me up but hope that I could somehow get into the boat. At that moment, I felt everything was going slow motion, the expression of two of the boat guides, the movement of the boat and I could even felt the water current goes slower in my mind. I was repetitively telling myself "God I'm not gonna die here, not now not today".

In that instant, my mind could only imagine two things. It's either I got ramp down full force by the boat in the face or I grab hold on the boat strings and get drag through the rapid. Without split second to waste I grabbed on the boat shoulder, miss the string and amazingly somehow miracle happen I got ejected myself from the river like a salmon fish so high that I was able to spin 180 degree and land directly into the boat on my back.

And the guide shouted " Okay! Paddle ON! We got a good catch today!" and paddle forward we went. When i got onto the boat, we were still 40% away to complete the rapid and I was relief that I got into the boat so fast.

I thought I lost my paddle and I had a little joy in my heart that I do not need to paddle and enjoy the ride until the end but as soon as we passed the rapid the guide shouted "Let's grab the missing paddle! it's floating gently on the left side!" I was like "Seriously?! And back to where my position is on boat and we continue to paddle until the end of the course.

So yea, that's how epic it is during my rafting at Padas River. It was dangerous because the rocks in the shallow water could potentially cause serious injuries. Thank God I didn't get into any serious trouble that day and we all went home with some stories to share.

How's the train to Pangi Station (Rafting starting point?)

The train that you will be taking from Beaufort to Pangi Station is one of the oldest train you can find in Borneo. Do expect the heat, smoke, noise and shakiness when you're commuting it. It is after all the oldest train since World War 2. The train is lack of seats and the seat's cushion may be a little wore of. It's best to arrive earlier and grab a seat. Oh ya, the fan doesn't work btw it's just for decoration. ;)

How's the safety measurement and precaution of water rafting in Padas?

Generally they have done a great job on briefing us on safety issues such as helmet and life jacket wearing, how to keep yourself save when you're in the river, how to climb yourself up the boat, where do you lock your leg during rafting, how to hold the paddle and etc. But as always, there will always be risk in any extreme sport. Be ready to act during time of emergency and do not freak out.

Are you able to see the instavideo below? If you can't let me know thanks!

Will I do it again?

Perhaps not in near future. Overall, if you're an extreme sport lover, adrenaline junkie and love the thrill of rough water rafting do try out Padas White Water Rafting. Just remember to keep yourself safe! and plan ahead by checking the whether forecast.

Stay safe and be awesome.

Hayden Chan

p/s: Just leave your question below the comment section and I will reply! ;)

Artisan Roast Coffee HQ PJ | Section13

2013-09-16T21:12:00.005+08:00

15Sheets @ Telawi, 9, Jalan Telawi 2,
Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.
Open daily, 11am-9pm.

Artisan Roast @ Petaling Jaya, 19,
Jalan 13/2, Section 13, P
etaling Jaya.

Artisan Roast Website

It was another hectic night where we had to gather up and build bridges for Emerge Bridge project competition. I don't know how I got enrolled into this project because I had zero experience in architecture and interior design. I studied Food Science and Nutrition and the last thing that I want to do was building some weak bridge that will lead to our team downfall.

We were given 120 Popsicle sticks to build a 30 cm long and 13 cm wide bridge. One team consisted of 4 team members and on the day of competition the bridges will be tested on their strength. Judges will be placing weights hanging below the bridge. We designed 2 bridges and start building 3 weeks before competition and surprisingly 4 days before the competition we design the 3rd bridge randomly without any proper plan and it won silver medal! *read here for more awesome experience of Emerge 2013.

Ele and Shangee the dream team build the bridges in artistic ways. Special appreciation to Matthew, Rebecca, Amy, Ele, Shangee and Sze Yun for making it possible to achieve silver for LU. The time we spend together was definitely worth remembering forever. I remember back then I was playing and fooling around all the time but surprisingly everybody seems to be tolerating well with me. I was rather annoying towards the midnight because I became cranky, and tired. I started to crap things like " Oh I'm gonna die", "The world is gonna end soon", "Send me home now! or I will die". and many more hilarious things which only a handful of people know how annoying I can be when I'm lacked of sleep. But! Still a good experience for others of knowing me better I hope...

Oh before you leave please read my simple review Artisan Roast Coffee!

I heard there are quite a numbers of branch of Artisan Roast but this is the best place to hangout because you can find serenity and peacefulness over their big and spacious cafe. Well, I'm not a big coffee fan but soon to be because I realized the power of coffee ever since I started to work. On the other hand, I'm a sweet tooth person and I can ensure you that all the desserts are worth trying. I loved their cheesecake, chocolate slice and lemon slice. It's a great place to spend the night off by reading books all alone or maybe some fellowship with some coffee mates.

Suggestion!

It will be great to have some Vietnamese coffee and our Sabah local coffee aka Tenom coffee serve in Artisan.

Oh well! That's all for now and I miss all my friends back in City harvest!

Hayden Chan

Three Little Pigs & The BIG BAD WOLF | Bangsar Village

2013-09-11T21:16:00.001+08:00

Greetings fellow readers! I'm back on track to hunt down some of the great food that KL has to offer. After weeks of not rewarding myself with any great food, I finally got the chance to try one of the trending burger food store in Bangsar. Tagged with one of the longest store name in town I ever heard of, Three Little Pigs & THE BIG BAD WOLF is located behind Grocer supermarket itself where common glaze around the mall wouldn't help to spot down the store.

I don't think I noticed any huge board name outside the Grocer supermarket but you can ask the information counter for direction. They seems to be very well known about the restaurant because the moment I said: "Where is the Three Little.. " and immediately they show me the direction.

Facebook page : 3 little pigs and a big bad wolfLocation address

Lot G1A, Ground Floor,

Bangsar Village,

No.1, Jalan Telawi Satu,

Bangsar Baru, 59100, KL

Banana toffee nut cake Rm15.00

Banana toffe nut cake tasted regular and nothing much to comment about.

Mighty Piggy Burger RM28.00

Big Bad Burger RM32.00

Generally both burgers are indeed reach to my standard on how a burger should look and taste like. Vegetables are fresh and crunchy and the fries are good. It would be great if the burger came with melted cheese and generous sauce on it. Although I have to agreed it's a good burger overall but the beef burger patties were overly compressed giving it a texture which resemble sausage. Personally I prefer perfectly compress beef patties like how they do it at Carl's Jr *it's the best reference I could give because everyone try it before. Having said that, it's still something that you should give it a try because it's one kind of burger that you don't want to miss it.

Satisfied!
Hayden Chan