Memoirs of a Teh Tarik Drinker

Slump

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:24:00 +0000

I really don't know what is going on, I suppose this kind of situation happens to the best of us... Never thought it would hit me real bad though...

I'm officially in a writer's slump mode at the moment.

I'm pretty sure that I have been absent from blogging for a bit, not because that I was lazy (ok mebbe a little bit) but quite honestly at the moment I really don't know what to write about.

At the moment I am preparing for my trip to Munich this weekend and then another trip to Seoul in the end of the month but right now, I really can't come up with anything out of my head at the moment and it is really starting to bug me. A lot.

Please help guys...

Explaining Hate Using a Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:21:00 +0000

I'm sure that everyone around me at the moment are enjoying their uber long holiday for Chinese New Year and to be honest, I did get myself a long rest over the weekend as well. But with that amount of time in my hand, something came to my mind.

I was watching my favourite show The Big Bang Theory when I got this idea (and they say you can't learn things from TV) at it occurs to me that maybe something there that I can use to actually explain the state of mind of some people these days.

It is unfortunate that I have been surrounded with much hatred among people lately and for most of the time it is for reasons that either is unclear or even unknown to people, including those involved. So what actually causes this kind of hatred to stem?

Enter Schrodinger's Cat

The theory behind this cat is simple, it kinda explains in what state of mind where it is "in between" two states of mind and thus creating a paradox of "two states". Allow me to break it down.

First, a cat is placed in a sealed box.

Inside the box itself is a Geiger counter that holds a mechanism with a hammer that is placed on top of a vile of hydrochloric acid and at a random moment, the counter MAY OR MAY NOT ACTIVATE the mechanism of the hammer which might break the vile of acid itself.

So in this situation, there is no way for a person to know whether or not the cat inside the box is alive or dead or whether the hammer itself was activated by the counter. Since that we cannot know this fact, quantum law dictates this "superposition" as a state of mind that until you open the box or examine the cat, the state of mind stays at a position that the cat "is both alive and dead" at the same time.

Wouldn't this in some way explain the current situation that most of us here are currently facing? For most of the time that we ourselves don't even know why or what causes us to hate a person so badly. I would even dare say that some would even hate a person so badly for reasons that they themselves don't even understand fully or worse, no reason at all.

Imagine the box with the cat again.

This would mean that people today prejudge another "without even opening the box" and in the end, creates his/her own assumption of the state of the person itself. Most people today would not want to take the trouble to actually examine the person by finding out either who the person really is or what is the real reason all this is happening.

Figuratively, by opening the box.

So instead, they come out with their own "prejudge" conception in their mind of what they should think and thus hating a person for really "no reason at all" which is a crying shame. So many times I have seen cases where people just simply hate and when asked why, they can't seem to bring themselves to explain further then "because I think...". So many times I have seen people taking the trouble to ensure that people see their hatred for another but not take the same amount of effort to actually find out the exact and real reason of hating the person.

In a way, it is interesting how so many fights and arguments can be avoided in this world if people would first find out whether the person is actually worth being hated to begin with. Honestly, I don't have a problem about hating a person, as it is just another natural human reaction. But find out exactly why the person should be hated and have a conclusive reason to do so. Otherwise, just don't do it.

Maybe after this article, I can always say to people. "Just open the damn box and find out..."

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Nuffnang Volkswagen Test Drive Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:30:00 +0000

Over the last weekend, I got a call up from the awesome people at Nuffnang to come around to Desa Park City to try out a range of Volkswagen's latest collection of cars. Being a car nut myself, I find it rather hard to say no this opportunity.

[*whispers* Das Auto...]

All these time I have been one extremely impressed with the marvel of German engineering and it is a known fact that the greatest example of this would come from their line of automobiles. For most of you out there without that much knowledge of car history, Volkswagen has been known to come up with ingenious designs and built on their cars that define their pride on the reliability.

[Some of the range of cars for testing that day!]

So as I made my way to Desa Park City (I admit was rather stressed out to get there because of the stupid weekend traffic), I realized that the day was extremely beautiful, with not one cloud hovering across the sky which makes it perfect for test driving and taking pictures! :D

As I got to the place (slightly late) a lot of the other familiar faces of Nuffnang bloggers were already at the scene, some already hitting the cars for a test drive since the morning session. Because of the number of people that were attending that day, they decided to separate the bloggers into two sessions for the day.

[Very obvious that Sergy Boy got excited for finding the hidden Elmo]

[Nuffies handling the registration booth]

Fuuny how at this point I kept pestering Farah to gimme the keys for the Passat, which she says she don't have. Something suss... I even got the opportunity to catch up with regular faces at Nuffnang events, which I haven't seen in a while.

[With Jayren]

[Didn't recognize Ernest at first without him in his purple shirt and... well... cartoony]

[The always gorgeous Ms Liki]

So on that day, I was given the opportunity to try out two of the the most popular model from the latest line of Volkswagen vehicles and I'll tell you one thing, they are popular for a reason!

First up, was the Polo GTI!

[Mini Monster!]

This little nipper is their latest from their series of hot hatches and compared to their last model, this time they made sure that this fella can fly!

Equipped with a 1.8 litre turbo engine, I tested out the speed to it and it can really run like a bat out of hell. One of the reason why I wanted to try out this car badly was because that this baby was suppose to be the direct comparison to the Phantom and I wanted to see it for myself on how they stand toe to toe.

Performance wise without a doubt that the turbo pushed in more power to the engine which results to its speed capability but in handling wise, I didn't really fancy the heavy steering set that was in the car. However, with that drawback it compensates itself with the power behind the wheels and to some they might really like that idea.

[caught with a serious face driving the GTI]

The interior look of the car is really nice however if there is one thing I can comment in comparison with the Fatoush is that the size is really small. For a big guy like me, I might have trouble getting in and out comfortably from the car which is a big no no for me. So in general I had my doubts with the car to be honest.

Which was then compensated with this marvel.

[Volkswagen Passat CC 2.0]

My ultimate favorite of the Volkswagen series, the entire machine defines not only class but smooth handling within the car itself. It's size isn't exactly the biggest in it's class but to be honest it would be hassle if you were to drive around in KL traffic with a tank by your side.

Apart from the performance of the car, I really do love what it inside of the car itself.

[Inside the Passat]

Despite the fact that the color of the seats looks like it came from a 1970's James Bond movie, everything else in the car is superb. Rear view camera, switchable suspension and steering mode, keyless start and locking system, it even has 3 point automatic adjustable seats. Pure friggin bliss to be honest....

[All smiles on this blogger!]

If there is any car that would make me hate my own car, it would be this one. However there are a few issues with the car that raises a few eyebrows. Firstly the gearbox ratio is rather slow when hitting full speed which kinda dampens the driving mood and of course, the ghastly looking seat leather color thingy that doesn't really appeal to the sport yet classy side of me.

But I will still get one if I have the chance. :D

[I...VANT...ZE...CAR!]

If you must know, I was actually trying to mimic this particular Passat advertisement with that pose...

[fuuuhh.....fuuuhhh....fuuuhhh...]

All in all I had a great time with the Nuffies and the rest of the Nuffnang bloggers and to be honest, I found the driving experience, albeit a little short, to still be a great experience in total. Great time with cars and great time with awesome people, how much more do I want? :D

[Volkswagen FTW!]

Do check out the other entries of the event!

Serge

Vince

Uzair

Jackie Loi

Zaid

Myvitrd

MadamMondoq

Eyriqazz

TeratakArmo

YeongBoon

Liki

Simon

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Internet Blackout : The Buzz about SOPA and PIPA

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:34:00 +0000

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This might be the remaining "lawyer genes" left in me talking but I would have to warn you peeps, its going to be a rather wordy post about legislations. Gracias!

[Campaign against the SOPA Act]

Not sure how many of you out there knows what is going on (particularly readers from Malaysia) but at the moment, the entire internet realm is pretty much buzzing about what they deem to be the possible end of freedom on the internet.

In a bid to end piracy over the internet, the US Senate came about to pass a legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) and the Protect IP Act (Senate Bill 968), both known colloquially as SOPA and PIPA respectively. How this legislation works is that it gives power to the US Department of Justice to take legal action against websites that may have been suspected to pass information or pirated materials within their websites and by court order, would be legally obliged to remove the material. Based on that power, this would mean that the act would be able to stop not only the transfer of information that are deemed "pirated" but also any other method of passing through this information including streaming, linking, and even to the point of search engine link.

As much as the intention of this bill to be passed is good, the downside of this situation is that this would give ultimate control to media watch authorities to pretty much control majority of the content within the net and pretty much giving them the power to shut down "any website that are deemed to have pirated content, within their fair judgement".

In response to this, yesterday we have seen several website giants decided to "shut down" their websites (wikipedia, google, reddit, The Oatmeal just to name a few) as part of their protest against this legislation and to show as to how far can this legislation damage the modern day usage of the internet as we know it.

However, would it make a difference?

From the latest news that I heard, several key congressmen within the Senate has already backed out of their support for the bill HOWEVER the review of both legislation are to continue regardless of the protest that has been made against the bill and from the way thinks are looking, the legislation might be passed regardless.

Personally I feel that with the intention of the senate is good, the enactment of these legislation would actually hinder the use rather than solving the piracy problem on a very simple ground : it is an outdated method of solving the problem.

Time and time again I have made myself very vocal about "cut and paste" websites around town that is becoming very common around us, particularly within the blogosphere locally in Malaysia. But to have a "totalitarian" control method to ensure that illegal material would only stop people from actually using the internet properly.

Consider this scenario, "where because of the mass usage of information transferred within Google that is then reported to the authority and in the end, Google would be legally obliged to remove the content, PayPal would then be forced to stop doing business with the website and even removing the website's ISP from even existing within the web."

-derived from Gizmodo-

What this would create is a situation where we would open a "floogate" of other uncertain issues and level of control to be passed without prejudice to most websites around town. No more streaming videos, no more searching for images or web pages, no more indexing on information on the web. And all of this is because of an outdated answer to a modern day problem.

Perhaps some may argue that a senate bill passed in the US would not have that great of an impact within the global usage of the internet. However bear in mind that because majority of these sites are hosted in the US, their operations then fall under the jurisdiction of the US Senate, which evidently if both of these bills are passed, would fall under their jurisdiction as well.

So I know that there are those that have mixed (or even no) opinions on the subject but to the perspective of this amateur blogger, passing this bill will not have the impact that the senate hope to have but rather create a far greater problem for the general public as to how the use of the internet is going to be like in the future. The net is a place where information transfers freely and should there be a regulation to ensure that all information are passed legally, there has got to be a better way than something as totalitarian as this acts.

Henceforth why I am joining the cause.

Teh Tarik Drinker is against the passing of SOPA and PIPA.

Thanks for reading peeps! :D

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Teh Tarik Reads : Run Denim Butterfly and The Sarong Runner

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:01:00 +0000

I do realise that there has been back to back running posts in this blog now so this would be the last write up on running until my next event, I promise! After this is back to the usual funny post programming so bear with me peeps!

In getting myself in the right mindset and mood to either train or even run for a competition, I tend to get my daily dose of motivation from reading other people's experiences when it comes to running. Most of the times I love watching Kenny Sia's old videos that he took while he was running, showcasing all the experience he got from his runs.

However, much like to the tradition of this blog, I give ode to the little guys in blogging that I really do fancy reading to get me going running. So for this month's read up, I'M SHOWCASING TWO WEBSITES that I am reading at the moment.

[Run Denim Butterfly]

First up, I stumbled in a rather petite runner who shares her love of running, skirts and dress up with her friends which I thought was awesome! Enter Ms Road Runner from Run.Denim.Butterfly who has a series of running events under her belt (or fanny pack) and writes a really fun review on her runs!

One of the things that really got me reading her blog is that you would think that a girl like her would be just one of those girls who participate runs to look good and not take it seriously but interestingly enough, she actually just managed to complete a full marathon in one of the biggest running events in the world. The New York City Marathon.

Carrying a Malaysian flag to the finish line.

I am so going to do the same for my first half marathon in Gold Coast mid this year.

Then I found another running blogger that got my attention. For all you couch potatoes out there, running is not an easy task. If there are those that told you that you can simply spend money on expensive running material and let loose like a mad bunny. It really is tough.

And then you have this guy, who's trademark is to run, believe it or not, in a sarong.

[Mr Yim aka Yimster]

The original sarong runner, he has made thousand of heads turn in every event he goes into while running in a sarong rather than expensive running gear. Very well known in the running community in Malaysia, ever since he made this popular I have seen so many people copying his trademark in several events, which I think its a compliment to him.

Oh and did I say he is also famous?

[Just a few clippings on the news about him]

[He even did a run in full baju melayu, inlcuding sampin!]

Seriously I love reading up on his experiences as well as various tips on running techniques and debates which makes it even more interesting to check out his site.

So these are the blogs that I am reviewing for this month and honestly would love to meet up with these two in my next events.

[RunDenimButterfly and Yimster]

CONTEST TIME!!!

So, just like my previous reviews before, I'm offering TWO SEPARATE PRIZES for this review instead of one!

Since that RunDenimButterfly is known for running with skirts, I'm giving out one lucky FEMALE reader any running skirt of her choice from Running Skirts as a token of appreciation!

And since Yimster has been running in a sarong, I'm giving out a sarong. Kidding.

I'll be sponsoring one lucky MALE reader a limited edition running shirt from an international running event from Nike, much like my RunBerlin shirt that I always wear which is something that you can NEVER FIND IN Malaysia, that much I can guarantee you!

[Something like this... but its a surprise!]

All you got to do is very simple:

1. Visit either Run Denim Butterfly or Yimster's website
2. Leave a comment on THEIR LATEST POST on what you think of their websites / accomplishments
3. Don't forget to mention that the TEHTARIKDRINKER sent you there.
4. Best FEMALE and MALE comment will be chosen.

The best comment will get the prizes like I said above!

So that means I WILL BE SELECTING A FEMALE WINNER AND A MALE WINNER for this contest!

So, I'm leaving this contest open til the end of this month, which is the 31 JANUARY 2012 and I will make my announcement of the winner in a undisclosed freezing city of Munich on the 6th of February 2012!

So, do check out Run Denim Butterfly and Yimster and get your comments going! :D

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Mizuno Wave Run 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:24:00 +0000

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<data:blog.pageTitle/>Truly my last weekend was one that was full of things to do, I'm struggling to recover from the hectic schedule over the weekend. Nevertheless it was fun and to start the blogging off for the week, we have another running event!

[Mizuno Wave Run 2012!!!]

Coming in from my successful attempt to break my own personal record from my last run, I was coming in this one with a vengeance and better still, so was the rest of the people that was running with me this time. As per usual I manage to gather a battalion of runners to come with this event and even they had their own agenda of their own!

Ash, who ran with me the first time around in the Putrajaya Night Run was determined to get things going from his last run, in which fatigue may have hindered him to perform better than he thought he could. This time, he was going to better that.

And Martin, my work colleague who ran with me during the Penang Bridge run wants to make the last couple of months before leaving back to Germany to count by making every running event as awesome as possible.

[Team Running TehTarik!]

Unfortunately this time around I didn't have my lady luck with me by my side so I was a little more nervous than usual but I kinda calmed myself down mentally preparing for the run itself.

Our journey there was not one without stories, of course. The Mizuno Wave Run this year was done at their usual location which is at the University Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) and to drive there was not easy especially navigating you way around in the middle of the morning. One of the biggest complaint that I have about the race was that no proper signs was actually given to the starting point of the race itself once you reach the university area and most people end up driving around the university, trying desperately to get to find where the starting point was. And the uni was huge....

Regardless, we got ourselves set up quite early so decided to take pictures and warm up.

[Last 20m of the race!]

[Race starting point!]

[Martin and Ash decided how they are going to finish the race today]

[Although mine turned out to be a bit... urm... puff]

[We all decided to bring our own stuff for the race. Ash brought this to warm up his legs...]

So preparation was done and we were waiting for the event to start around 7.10 in the morning. For this event, the organizers decided that they were going to flag off the girls to start first and then later the guys. Martin pointed out to me that this would be good because it then serves as a motivation for guys to run faster to catch up to and run with the girls. He has a point.

[O-hai!]

[photo courtesy of Runner Footprints]

At kilometer 1, I realized that despite the University not being one of the top in Malaysia, it does have really beautiful landscapes and greenery.

At kilometer 3, I caught up with a large number of the female runners, so I figured I must be doing well. Ankle problem was still not that visible yet.

At kilometer 5, we had a few pitstops and excellent people from Pacesetters Malaysia lending in their support to the runners. One thing I didn't really like was some really selfish people decided to take the whole can of drinks instead of just the paper glasses, which made it difficult for the organizers to fill in the glasses in time for the rest. Some people...

At kilometer 7, I had to endure more and more high inclination roads which is starting to hurt the ankles again. The ankle support that I was using was NOT HELPFUL at all and I was cursing on how much pain the stupid thing was cramping my foot.

At kilometer 9, I thought I was doing quite well since I have yet to stop apart from the pit stops and it was just another kilometer to the finishing line.

And then the surprise came.

Right in front of me was a hill road of at least 60 degrees angle and it was staring at me with all it's fury. I called it the "Mizuno Kilometer from Hell" was the one that took out so many runners, including myself. In the end, I thought I was just going to walk up this hill and sprint like hell for the last distance.

Which was what exactly I did. Took everything I had in me and summoned every last strand of strength I had left to sprint like a mad man to the finish line!

[Mizuno Wave Run 2012 - CONQUERED!]

[Met with StormyReza's sister, Arina!]

So, my official time for this run was....

1:12:01.1

Slightly disappointed with my timing for this run, as I thought I could go faster than my Penang Bridge record. My fault to be honest for not putting more effort on training the last couple of months. More reason for me to hit the training harder then!

So, my first run of 2012 has been completed with ease and this is the start of many more running events to come. I vow that by the end of the year, I will be running full marathons rather than just 10km and by the looks of it, things are looking to be on track for that one! :D

[Mizuno Wave Run 2012 - COMPLETE!]

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Preparing for a Marathon : What do you Need?

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:57:00 +0000

As most of you who have been following my twitter feed so far, I suppose that you would know that I am preparing to undertake my first run for the year with the Mizuno Wave Run 2012 coming this weekend (yay!).

[Someone here must be in the wrong category...]

However I have to admit, being a noobie when it comes to marathon running or running in general, I am still lacking far behind when it comes to knowledge and preparation needed in order to actually get myself going for a particular run. In the past, I may have included a few items in my arsenal to get myself going for a run but I honestly believe that I am not doing enough.

So with my humblest request to all you running readers out there, I do have a few questions in regards

There were a lot of discussions among running forums on the shoes that you use for your run and it does bring a lot of thinking of what exactly should you get for running. I know that my choice was a little unconventional in comparison to the normal running shoes but I decided to opt for the Nike Lunarglide +3 which I know would get much criticism from a lot of you out there. But so far I would say that it has been serving me quite well for my past runs and does well to lock in my ankles while I am running. The downside that I have been having is that the cushioning of the shoes may be a little stiff which does burden the feet a little while running.

And then of course you have my uber awesome, tested over time stopwatch. It records how much time I have taken. Thats it.

I believe the problem that I am having now, much like to those who are noobie runners as well, are facing is that we don't really know what exactly should we get in order to prep ourselves for either a run, a half marathon or even a full marathon. Personally I feel there should be some indication as how we should get or even avoid getting for our upcoming run.

There were some that suggested to me that it is essential for every serious runner to have a running belt with waterbottles, pouches or etc just for the sake of ensuring that you don't get dehydrated during your run.

Also included in those advices were packets of gel mixes that absorbs into your body fast so that you would get exhausted and crash aka. "hitting the wall" while running. I suppose that this also helps in order to ensure that I at least have a shot on maintaining my energy during my runs.

And then of course there are those that mention how important it is to get your joints support during runs because more often than not, my injuries from even my sports history before revolve around ankle and knee injuries.

But with all this in mind, are these what we really need to get to start a running hobby or am I missing some other things as well that are essential to get during runs? If so, which one should I go for and why? Would it burn a hole in my pocket every time I try to get these things?

Honestly I would appreciate from the bottom of my heart for any input on the veteran, pros, or experienced runners out there that has got any information on this. I am sure that it won't just be me that would appreciate this but the rest of the newbies out there as well.

PLEASE HELP!!!

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Sports Athlete Comeback : Should it Happen?

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:09:00 +0000

I was watching the FA Cup game last night with dad and truly I couldn't believe my ears when he told me the news. I thought Dad must be doing one of his "I-am-joking-even-though-I-look-dead-serious" routine but then I realised that he was telling me the truth.

Paul Scholes has resigned for Manchester United.

Don't get me wrong, as a 17 year supporter of the club, its always good to see the ginger haired legend to play in the Theater of Dreams again and lets be honest, we are honestly lacking in the midfield department desperately. And I really mean DESPERATELY.

The problem is, from what I know from my general sports knowledge that return of legends don't usually mean a good thing for whatever sports they hail themselves from. Some usually end up so atrocious that one would question to what extend should a player call it quits and stay that way?

[Iron Mike Tyson - nomnomnom]

First up, look at Mike "Iron" Tyson. One of the greatest in the boxing history and packs a punch so mean, some of his competitors claim that you brain literally shake after a solid haymaker from him. Nevertheless, we have seen his immediate downfall ever since then and from his recent attempted comeback, a three round knockout AGAINST HIM after all the trash talk he was talking about his opponent. Tragic.

And then, enter the legend of legends Michael Schumacher. For most of you non racing fans out there, one must need to understand that this man defined the entire sport into the modern world. At one point was completely unbeatable, Schumy was a class of its own and there was nothing to stop him. I even had the opportunity to sit in the same table with him back in 1999 together with his long time rival at that time, Mika Hakkinen. Ever since then, his return to the sport has been a mediocre one, marred by either on track controversies and a shadowy memory of what he was before.

When this man decided to take a short term loan to United, I was the first one to give the WTF face. Henrik Larsson was the man that drove Swedish football to a whole new level in the modern era and until today, there is not that many from that nation that can say the same. Epic ball handling and killer finishing instincts, it a sad picture to see the man he is today who is still back in the game but completely marred by injuries and horrendous form.

So with a few examples above, its obvious that nothing good can usually come from legends getting themselves out of retirement and coming back to play as most people would know that it would just end in heartbreak.

That is of course with one exception in one man.

Enter His royal Airness.

[The flight of Michael Jordan]

If there is one man that can almost break that rule, it was the man that broke the laws of gravity himself. Michael Jordan announced his retirement back in 1993 after the murder of his dad and decided to stay away from the game for a while. The Bulls then got their rear behinds handed back to them in a silver spoon without him and in 1995, Jordan mentioned only two words to the press.

"I'm Back"

Turned around and nearly continued where he left off by dominating the game for another 4 more years. Even then, his second comeback was a disastrous one and some honestly mentioned that him trying to relive his glory was the biggest mistake he has ever made.

So I wouldn't know how to react with the arrival of Scholesy for the next couple of months, with fear that this may be in line to another disappointing arrival of another legend. We'll see...

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Nur Amalina Che Bakri : Genius or Social Pariah?

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:57:00 +0000

Another filler post while I am editing a few pictures for my next post. However disturbingly, I have been reading on the net about this girl that is currently studying medicine in the UK after receiving a scholarship to do so.

[Record Breaking Genius Amalina]

Problem is, as to true Malaysian social media fashion, the attention given to her these days are no longer of her achievements but rather her social life that has changed, supposedly ever since she made her way overseas to study. Blame it on peer pressure, culture shock or anything else, she does look a tad different than how she use to look like in the past.

[What she looks like today]

Truth be told, and before I start I would like to apologise for some of the language used in this post, is WHO GIVES A HOOT?

Most of the reading that I have done, I have seen too many of a times that people are just more interested in the juicy facts of her life rather than what she has been achieving so far. Yes, fact of the matter is that she does look very very very different than what she looks like and that is about it. Yet people are so hung up over it more than anything else.

Let me be the one to say it first people, people would change their personality or even their appearance WITH OR WITHOUT being overseas and it sure as hell would not be THE ONLY INDICATION of personal degradation in a person.

Perhaps I would like to be the voice of logic that more over that not, we have seen even BIGGER drastic changes of looks among girls happening here in Malaysia more often that those studying overseas and funny enough, none of those get into the attention of people as much as those who study overseas. So many times I have seen girls studying locally here in Malaysia also getting themselves involved with "wild" activities as much as anyone else studying overseas.

So what I would want to know, why should we be so hung up over her personal life when what we should be concerned about is more to her academic progress as she is using the country's resources to be there in the first place. Is it because that we are really concerned or is it just because that we are just interested in juicy gossip news?

[Sufiah Yusof - Child Prodigy turned Hooker]

There are concerns that Amalina might end up like the tragic stories of other child geniuses like Sufiah would happen again here.

I concur that fears like that may be genuine but can a situation like this repeats itself all over again just because of a change of appearance? Would a tragic situation like this happen again because of the difference of environment?

In the end of the day people, I believe that Amalina is a grown woman of 24 who should be able to (at least we know she should be smart enough) to know the rights and wrong for her own actions and as decent people, we shouldn't really be to hung up of her own personal social life that may or may not be different as how she was when she left the country.

But one thing is for sure, I WOULD LIKE TO REINSTATE that just because that a person studies overseas, it does not become a reason why a person changes their personality or anything of that nature. I went overseas to study for many years in my life and I turned out decent and randy dandy fine as always. :)

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Teh Tarik's Guide to Tokyo Disneyland

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:28:00 +0000

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We have come to the final chapter of my trip to Japan and quite frankly, I think I saved up the most exciting for the last. Regardless of what one might say, there is no such thing that a person will ever grow old out of Disneyland. I remembered that my last visit to Disneyland in Anaheim California was back in 1995 and I remembered both my parents had the same amount of fun as I had with SafrizOnline.

More than 15 years later, we were back to Disneyland with the same gang!

One thing that I do know is that people may get confused on what to go on first when coming to Disneyland and most of the times you would have a very limited time to spend when visiting the park. So I would personally like to share on what you need to do when you're there!

The park itself is divided into 7 different locations, each of them are color coordinated with the floor of the park itself. The first thing you need to do is of course to get yourself into the mood.

I got myself an awesome Goofy hat which I wore everywhere (including the flight back home!). Not only it looks the set, Goofy's huge nose covered my eyes from the strong winter sun that day!

SafrizOnline went for the more "cooler" look by getting himself a Pirates of the Caribbean hat with Mickey's ears popping out. It even comes with a set of dreadlocks on the side!

All these items are made available at the Main Bazaar area which is an area with a collection of shops and restaurants that you will see first upon entering the park. Don't stay too long when you're here though, you will get the chance to do shopping when you're coming out of the park.

However I might have to mention that I've spotted a bunch of popcorn stalls around the park, serving rather odd flavors than the ones that we are used to.

[Boring old salted popcorn]

[One for the sweetooth]

[Nice but oh so sinful!]

[Taste surprisingly better than it sounds]

[Starting to get weird...]

[This one is kinda special because you can only find it in front of Winnie the Pooh's place]

There were a few more that I didn't manage to take a picture of (black pepper, strawberry, maple, etc.) but that one I'll leave it to you people to explore.

Once done, turn right towards the first park which is Tomorrowland.

[Entrance to Tomorrowland!]

One of the reasons I would recommend for people to go here first is because I myself is a thrill seeker and they have the best rides in the park here, unlike the other Disneylands. You would want to start of with a few mild rides first, one in particular would be the car ride through the story of Monsters INC. and Buzz Lightyear shooting ride.

[They actually built the actual Monster Inc. factory just like in the movie!]

The main attraction that you would want to get on is the perilous Space Mountain. Not for the weak hearted, this ride is the one ride I remembered the most from my last trip. High speed rollercoaster set in a space setting and with that, it is so dark in there you would not even be able to see the tracks when on the ride!

[Kinda hard to pose badass with my Goofy hat]

Interestingly enough though, they are adding a new ride this coming year which is rumoured to blow every Star War's geek fan's mind out of the world. The Star Tours, which is a motion styled ride that makes you believe that you are part of a tour group that goes around the Empire Galactic Planetary system and the best part of all, each ride would actually get you in a different type of tour so you need to go on it more than once!

While I was there, there were still in construction so looking forward for this addition!

Next up, you have Toonland!

The entire area itself is made to look like the town where all the characters of the park lives (note to fact that the parade actually starts from here!) and this is also where you would find their individual houses to play around with!

Because the interesting sights you would find in this area, spend more time trying to "goof" off with what you can find!

[Had to handle the traffic there...]

[Found the town gym so decided to work out a little bit]

[Couldn't resist a jumpshot in front of the town hall]

The main attraction on this park would be the Chip n' Dale Mini Coaster which is a milder version of the ride, just to get your heart going.

[Mini Whee!]

Once covered with the rides there, your next destination would be Fantasyland!

To be honest, there is nothing much that is exciting for me here in Fantasyland. Most of the rides here are very slow and are catered more for kids of a much younger age. The rides revolve around telling the stories of the Disney movies in the past and even focused more on having the characters running around the streets, taking pictures with the people.

[The oldest ride in the park - It's a small world]

[My infamous inability to take a serious picture strikes again!]

The main attraction for this area would be the Haunted Mansion,which is definitely worth a visit. Without spoiling much about the ride, the setting of the ride is quite amazing and one to look forward to is the use of it's 3D hologram imaging for the ride.

[Interior and exterior setting of the ride itself!]

Next up, is Critter County!

With the setting of the typical bayou countryside of the States, this area houses the more raw and outdoor kind of rides for Disneyland. Expect to see more boat rides and nature type rides here in this area which for me was always fun!

[My Goofy hat fits perfectly here in Critter County]

[Made a new friend at the canoe ride]

[Most of the rides here are hidden in cave, as are their restaurants]

[Mississippi Steamboat rides across the river]

The main attraction here is obviously the scary looking Splash Mountain. 7 drops in the watery log ride which include a final 3 stories drop which from the outside is enough to make your stomach turn. One fair warning to the people going on this ride, you will get wet.

[That's the closest I can get without getting wet]

Right next to this would be your next destination, Westernland

Set with the backdrop of the Western Cowboy era, the entire town itself is decorated with booths and restaurants just like the ol' saloon of the cowboy days. Personally there is nothing much to actually spend time here although this would be the good place for you guys to take a break and have lunch after exploring the rest of the park beforehand. There are a lot of restaurants that can be found here so go nuts.

Apart from that, I personally think that this area only offers shooting galleries and round up games which doesn't really appeal to the thrill seeker in me.

Except for one.

[Big Thunder Mountain Railway Coaster!]

[Awww yeah!]

A very fast paced railway rollercoaster that has the twist and turns which would scare even the metal hearted. One of the best thing I love about this ride is that they actually put most of the backdrop really close to the ride and give you the feeling of crashing into the props, decapitating you in an instant. Awesome!

Finally, you would then drop by the more mellow yet interesting site, Adventureland!

With a more jungle setting in place, one would be able to expect a more safari or amazonian styled activities here in Adventureland. Considering that this would be the last part of the park for you to visit, it is only fair that they do have some really interesting rides in this part of the park.

[Swiss Robinson Family Treehouse]

[Jungle Cruise Boat Ride]

[The guy driving the boat could only say three english words which was "EEENNGGRRISSHH??" "RREAAALLLY" "GOOODD BOOIII!". Still it was freaking hillarious!]

There are two attractions here which is a must go for anyone that is here. First up is the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Interestingly enough though I went on this ride back in 95 in the states and today they changed everything to suit the current Johnny Depp version of the series, which makes it even better!

[Pirates of the Caribbean!]

[Piece of advise, watch out for the talking skeleton! :D]

The second must go ride from this area is of course the Tiki Room, also known now as the Lilo and Stitch Aloha E Komo Mai Room. It may sound childish but you'd be surprised how much fun it would be with hundreds of singing mechatronics around you in a room!

[The Enchanted Tiki Lilo and Stich Room!]

Another thing that you guys need to know is that for every half and hour or so, Disneyland organises a street parade consisting of the Disney characters for the visitors of that day so you would need to time yourself in order to either catch the parade itself or avoid the crowd entirely. Don't forget to join the fun of the parade as well!

[Mickey's parade car!]

[Donald and Daffy's santa car!]

[Dancers and Snowmen dancing!]

[Huey, Duey and Louie escorting Santa!]

So, that pretty much covers all the park location as well as mention worthy rides that you would need to cover while being in Tokyo Disneyland. Another system that they also put into place is the "Fast Pass" system where a limited number of fast pass tickets are allocated each day for visitors on a first come first serve basis. Perhaps if there are any of those that you would want to choose, you can go with the ones that I have suggested with above.

And thus comes the end of my journey to Japan. It was one hell of a cold ride I have to admit but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the trip from start to the very end. I really do understand why some would love to come back here over and over again. Perhaps next time, I can haul the rest of TeamTehTarik with me as well!

Do check out my previous post of Japan:

Teh Tarik Travels to Noboribetsu

Teh Tarik Travels to Niseko Village

Teh Tarik Travels to Otrau and Sapporo

Teh Tarik Travels to Tokyo

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[ADV] Don't Let Other's Speak for Your Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:25:00 +0000

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I know that there are a lot of people out there or even around me speculating on when exactly will the upcoming General Election and by the word of mouth, a lot of people are getting real excited about it as well!

[Loving this picture!]

However as is the case for every time the general election comes to town, many would have failed to either vote or even register themselves to vote even after way surpassing the eligible voting age, for whatever reasons they can come up with. My favorite would always be:

1. Lazy (however can still catch their weekly episodes of their favorite series religously)

2. Too crowded at the voting area

3. Don't know where to register

4. Don't feel like their votes would matter anyways

Regardless of what the reasoning is, I've always felt that there is seriously no good enough reason for a person to forgo such responsibility as in the end of the day, regardless of the rumors and accusations, the responsibility of actually choosing your ruling government or people representing you in parliament lies within your votes.

It comes to no surprise where my political pinions are aligned to but one thing is for certain, with every meet up with politicians that I have done in my life, the notion that was brought in by every politician is always the same. Regardless of where you stand in your political opinions, the first step of political maturity is for the people themselves to realize what it means to actually register and vote. To let their voices be heard.

[Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya]

With that in mind, I believe that it is great that now the Voting Committee (Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya) are trying to create as much awareness as possible for people to find out the ways and places they can register to vote. My usual place to register would always be the post office but if you would prefer another way, by all means go and check it out. :)

One of the interesting feature that is worth a special mention here on the SPR website is the addition of the "Hebahan" box which identifies and highlights any news of announcement in regards of the general election. It was there that I found out more on the introduction of the "indelible ink" for the upcoming election, as part of them ensuring a smooth and fair casting of votes.

I know that for most of you, politics and politicians are alien to your daily but many would have failed to realize that if we keep screaming and shouting for a fair and stable election and government, it means nothing when we fail to even realize the importance of our own responsibility as the general public.

So if I was to sum up what I was trying to say in one word, it would be simply this:

So, I've registered. Have you?

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Teh Tarik Travels : Tokyo Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:00:00 +0000

My sincere apologies for the delay of the last two post from my previous Japan trip. There were a lot of things that I needed to catch up before the year end and editing the pictures seem to take forever. Nevertheless, continuing on from my previous travel posts.

Do check out the previous post on:

Noboribetsu

Niseko Village

Otaru and Sapporo

[Ohayo!]

So our next destination was to get to the busiest central city in Japan, Tokyo! Known around the world as not only the business capital of Japan but also the fashion capital of the country. Unlike the sights that we found in Hokkaido, everyone here seem to be in a hurry somewhere and its uber fun to be in the middle of it!

[Latern ho!]

So our first destination in Tokyo was to do some sight seeing visit as well as get some gift shopping done since that we are returning back to Malaysia within a couple of days. We were brought to another temple right in the middle of the city and at the same place, we also found a row of shops located across the temple for us to get some shopping done!

[Another Buddhist temple in Japan]

[Visitors are required to "smoke" themselves before entering the temple]

You would think that after seeing so many temples around Japan, you'd get bored of seeing another one. But one that that you must realise that here, each temple has its own personal characteristics which makes them different from one another. The practice of their believers might be the same for all but for a non-Buddhist visitor like me, its amazing to see the different sights on each of the temples.

[Row of shops around the area of the temple]

[This curious lil fella decided to chill on one of the altars. I tried to go close but she gave me tulan look]

[Knife shop that actually still makes the old school way of knives, including samurai swords!]

After heading out to town for some sashimi lunch, we decided to go on our own way to complete some more shopping since that we would have much time the day after because of our tour program. Naturally, we decided to head out to Ginza, which is the brand shopping area of Tokyo.

To make things easier, I would liken Ginza Street like our own Bukit Bintang area or even like Oxford Street in London. Mind you though, shopping around this area won't just burn but rather thermoblast your pockets to kingdom come.

[Ginza St. yo!]

[They still have trickshaw rides across the roads, even with all the big buses moving beside them!]

[SafrizOnline testing out the Sony PSP Vita at the launching in the Sony Building!]

[Trying out some stuff as if I was buying something. :D]

[We even found a toy shop that has its own race track inside!]

It was then suddenly I realised that Murphy's Law decided to kick in around this time of the day. Of all the things that I forgot to do before leaving the hotel was to charge the damn camera and this was after camwhoring the day before around the snow areas of Sapporo. Realising this, I needed to spare some of the pictures that I was taking for this post to the necessary ones only.

Of course I had SafrizOnline but he is taking his sweet petunias time to process his pictures. Photographers...

Now if you guys realise, I will try my level best on each of my visit to get to every single Hard Rock Cafe that I can find in the country as I am an avid collector of the guitar pins from all around the world (so far my collection has reached 37 pins!) and we were not going to lose out on this trip either. However that would mean that we would have to navigate our own way around Tokyo using the public transport, which is mostly in Japanese.

[Ah crap...]

There are three locations around Tokyo that we needed to visit for Hard Rock. From our original location in Shinjuku, our first destination was Roppongi, an upbeat and clubbing central of Tokyo!

[Night falls on the busy area of Shinjuku]

[Train network around Japan]

Surprisingly enough, figuring out the network of trains under the Tokyo town isn't that hard, seeing that I got used to reading the maps and using the London Tube during my time in the UK so it wasn't that difficult to figure out our way to get to our locations.

[HRC Roppongi Tokyo!]

[Street full of karaoke pubs in Roppongi]

Our next stop was to detour to the town of Akihabara, since we got a little confident on navigating around Tokyo. Since that a lot of people back in Malaysia talks about the gizmo and gadgets in Japan, Akihabara is the central location for you to get all the IT and other geeky products that you want. Imagine LowYat Plaza but the entire town itself!

[Somehow I feel like someone watching me...]

Our next stop was Ueno, a district that houses most of the working class people in Tokyo.Unlike Roppongi or Shinjuku, this area is a little quieter due to the residential area of this district which kinda surprised me on why would they have a HRC here.

[We finally found it, located INSIDE the train station!]

And finally our last location that we needed to go was Narita, which is about 10 minutes away from the Narita Tokyo Airport (which is a butt load distance away from us). Nevertheless we still powered on and managed to find it. Believe it or not, I actually found the Hard Rock Cafe located inside A JAYA JUSCO!

[Even found Jaya Jusco at Japan!]

So as you can imagine upon returning to the hotel room, I was exhausted and was desperate to find a power source to charge the camera's batteries. Be prepared for tomorrow's post people, it may or may not be an inside look of a place that idolises a mouse .... :)

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TehTarikDrinker says Adieu to 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:32:00 +0000

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Ah yes, another end of the year post is almost due and considering of how I have been doing this for the past 2 years, pressure is on to make sure whatever I recap for the past year in 2011 must at least be better than before.

[Adieu 2011!]

So, was 2011 a good year for me? I have to admit if comparing between the year 2010 and 2009, things may have slowed down a little bit for me for the past year. Nevertheless, I still had a bunch of things happening for me that I would feel that it would be worth a mention.

Of course if you have been reading my blog all this time, I apologise if all this sounds rather repetitive... :D

Got myself into a new hobby : Running!

What started as a participation of a company run event has now turned into a full blown obsession. Recently I find myself participating in almost one running event every single month and truly loving every minute of it! I am not sure what it is but I do believe that its the exhilaration of running in a crowd that actually got me hooked into all this!

Let my dreams of being a lawyer go

This one is a little hard to talk about. Three years ago after graduating, I thought that my path has been set of becoming part of the law fraternity but alas, as most people would mention, some things are just not meant to be. Despite my valiant efforts of getting there I am now officially out of the law profession.

[This law grad is hanging his wig]

Joined in a multi billion dollar conglomerate company

With a chapter closed in one's life, another will always come knocking and I was super, absolutely fortunate enough that the opportunity that came for me was from a really large global company. That's one huge step for the TehTarikDrinker to the corporate world!

Increase travelling time by 5x!

Whether is for work or for leisure with the family/TeamTehTarik, I have to admit that 2011 has been one hell of a travelling year for me! from Japan, Berlin, Munich, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia already under my belt for the year, I am really looking forward to double that number for 2012!

Lets see if I can achieve that!

Got more time to join events with Nuffnang

As part of my resolutions last year, I did mention that I would try to make an effort to be more visible for the blog and I suppose that 2011 have been a year that I got myself a little bit more seen, with the help of the members of TeamTehTarik of course.

The entire year added more friends in my circle of contact and with the help of GPlusMY, more involvement with events throughout the year!

It was a great year with them Nuffies. Really looking forward to see what else can be done in 2012!

Got myself a new car!

Ah yes, the arrival of my pride and joy. After years of saving and prancing around in my parents' car, I finally got myself to get a brand new car on my own and finally have something that I can proudly call mine. Truly, the arrival of "Fatoush" has been an absolute blessing!

Plus look how shiny it is!

Got someone crying on video

I know that Miss Ave T is going to hate me for writing about this (again) but it was a fun highlight of our year when I got the Cadbury people to come and help make this year's anniversary special. Check it if you haven't. :D

Of course now I am in a pickle because I need to figure out something to top that one and of course it is still miles and miles and miles away in comparison to that meme proposal. :D

So considering the relatively slower year, recapping whether I have made my resolutions happen this year is one hell of job. Unfortunately...

To learn mandarin - still in progress... and when I mean progress I meant just only downloaded the Ipad app

Update blog 4 times a week - almost got this one done but travelling seem to make things little difficult

Get blog to reach target rank - for personal reasons I will keep this one to myself. :D

Pass CLP and become a lawyer - haih....

Travel more than one place this year - Check and check! :D

At least hit gym more consistently this year - this one I got covered. Hitting gym 5 days a week now

Learn the Piano - does the one on IPad count?

Lead more awesome event on GPlusMY - So far so good but got to have more!

Get dream business ideas done - also check and check!

And so as the new year comes in, of course we need to set in a new list of resolutions from my end? How do I top this one then.....

1. Get Mandarin done!

2. Break 500 visitors to blog per day!

3. Get promoted within the year

4. Travel to 5 different locations within this year

5. Get gym target done (12% - 10%)

6. Run at least a half marathon overseas!

7. Learn how to skip rope (yup I admit it....)

8. Be more involved with Nuffnang and GPlusMY

9. Take relationship to next level?

To all my friends out there reading this, thanks so much from the bottom of my heart for an outstanding year for which I truly enjoyed. Right now in my mind all I can think about is what to do in 2012! :D

Happy New Year everyone!

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Fixing Innit for the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:40:00 +0000

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After a long Christmas break at home (practically doing nothing apart from processing 400 pictures from my last trip), a sudden thought came to my mind.

For years a lot of us have been using Innit as a base to promote our posts but there seem to be something wrong that is happening to the page today. Once I remembered that the page itself was once a place to not only promote your posts but also at one point was a place for bloggers to meet up and chat among one another. I remembered at one point of time, the people there were even gathering their own communities among one another from the page and it did serve it's purpose as a medium to promote bloggers to one another.

Then it all changed.

[Innit new layout]

Particularly after the new implementation of the new layout to Innit (as well as the direction of moderation of the page), the page has become nothing more than a place for people to promote their new post and have no interest in getting to know people there anymore.

Even the topics that are promoted in the site no longer represent true blogging but mere reproduction of either "traffic tips" or "money making stories" that gets the top attention among the readers. Nothing else.

So as part of the new year initiative, let see if we can change that.

[GPlusMy - voice of bloggers]

I believe that the whole reason of the implementation of GPlusMY is to give voice of the concerns of bloggers especially to Nuffnang and this would be a good reason for me to use that opportunity to fix this situation.

I know that there are many out there that would want Innit to serve its purpose as more than just a place to "sell your posts" (as was aptly put by a few veteran Inniters) and would want the community to be back to where it was before. A place that bloggers (at least here in Malaysia) can really hang out and read stuff that is worth reading.

Long gone were the days that people actually recognise each other from Innit and actually chat about interesting things (bad or good) rather than coming in to the chat room for a "flash promo" on a blog.

So what I am planning to do here is simple: compile all of your suggestions and comments as to how and what can be changed with the Innit system and discuss on possible improvements that you would want to see happen in Innit. I in turn will bring this up to the people in Nuffnang and make this changes happen for you guys.

Tell me what you think should be done in order to fix this situation. Tell me what you want to see happen.

I believe that as the president of the group, initiatives like this should happen for Nuffnang bloggers and there should be a way for you guys to have a say on this. I know that there has been many of a times that people complain that we don't like how things have ended up with the Innit site. So this is your chance to voice up and start somewhere to make the change.

Spread the word, let the discussion begin.

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[ADV] Teh Tarik Drinker as a Guest Writer!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:34:00 +0000

I know this would break the norm that I usually do with my blog posts but I do have rather exciting news to share!!!

I JUST GOT PUBLISHED AS A GUEST WRITER ON PRUDENTIAL MALAYSIA'S PAGE!

[Click on picture to go to Prudential's R U Ready Facebook Fanpage!]

A while back there were asking me to give my honest thoughts and opinions on the things that I considered on my approach of getting fatoush and also write in some advise that I would give for those out there who are just about to get their first car.

For this I had a lot to say but do check out what I wrote

here!

This is the first time I am writing as a guest writer so do be kind with comments on my writing. In the mean time seriously go check out the page, like the Facebook page and tell me what you think! Super exciting!

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We Need Chimneys That Can Fit Santa!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:58:00 +0000

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My thousand apologies for delaying the Japan post for one day. A little cock up on my end between processing the pictures for Tokyo and the ones meant for Disneyland, hence the delay of one day.

[Christmas festivities are here...]

So with that, I am taking the opportunity to address the coming Christmas festivities that is around the corner as well as the end of 2011. Enter the night celebrations, the gifts, the secret santas, the end of the year holidays and many many more.

But I was talking to someone the other day that maybe the whole festivities may have lost its original charm, with everything being too commercialised with material goods (may be a good excuse to use to avoid buying Miss Ave T a gift) and people today may have lost the innocence of the festivities.

That was until of course when I was listening to my usual morning radio show, Fly FM and they were talking about this story that made me smile for a bit.

Enter a boy named Leo Park.

[Plea letter from Leo]

When he moved into his new home for Christmas, all he was worried about was the fact that the chimney (which was in conventional size) would be too small for Santa and he didn't want him to get stuck there during Christmas Eve and can't deliver the rest of the Christmas gift to the rest of the world.

So what he did was he sent a letter to the developers of the house, with the letter you see above. Their response?

[They listened and rebuilt the chimney with Leo watching!]

[Detailed plan on how the chimney is going to work]

If this doesn't put a smile to your face, then you no longer believe the innocence of a child anymore. It sure as hell got me smiling.

So with much love from myself and the rest of TeamTehTarik, we would like to wish you guys Merry Christmas for those who are celebrating and Happy Holidays for those who are not. May the new year be a good one for you guys!

[Much love for the holidays!]

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Teh Tarik Travels: Otaru and Sapporo Hokkaido

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:06:00 +0000

I suddenly realised I may have miscalculated the number of blog posts that I would be making for my Japan trip and I have seem to miss out on one post in total. That would mean more work for me but more fun stuff for you guys to read and pictures to see in this blog. Rejoice!

[Otaru Canal]

Waking up in the morning realised that the snow was still relatively thick in Hokkaido which still means more winter pictures for this post. Coincidently enough though before coming to Japan I was actually reading up on Cheesie's post on Hokkaido and I actually was taking pictures at the same spot where she was in he blog post. The difference? Hers was actually taken during spring whereas mine was taken during winter so can see the interchange difference after a snow storm. Yayness!

In the next agenda of our tour, we were brought to explore around the town of Otaru which houses quite a number of interesting places as well as very quaint looking rows of shops which of course, WAS STILL COVERED IN SNOW!

[Shophouse town of Otaru]

According to our guide, there are several shops that are ideal for us to visit for either taking pictures and also doing a bit of shopping around the town of Otaru. This is the part where I would have to note that I love everything that this country has to offer as a travel destination EXCEPT FOR one small issue. The stuff here is expensive as hell...

But with the right amount of hunting, you might still get a good bargain over the items there!

So our first stop was a music box shop which houses a friggin large collection of toy music boxes as well as other mall trinkets and stuff!

[Inside the music box shop]

[An array of music boxes. They even have the theme song to Final Fantasy!]

[Coin boxes made out of Japanese ceramics]

[They even have a big ass music box which as you can see cost a king's fortune!]

Its easy for you to get lost in awe in towns like this just because of the scenery and arrangements of the town itself that is made with a hint of Victorian style buildings on top of the obvious Japanese culture imbued in the town. Once we were done with the music shop, we went around hunting for more interesting things in the town.

[Tried to wrestle a Hokkaido Brown Bear!]

[I like it coz its GOOOOOOOOOLLLLDDDDD....]

Apart from souvenirs the town also houses some really good snack food stands and shop which is something that you really got to try when you're here. From grilled corn, to barbecued abalone with its shell, to even soft cone ice cream (yup, you actually eat ice cream in this weather here!), the things you can try is endless. One of the must buy snacks here in Otaru is definitely the shiroi koibito which is only available here in Hokkaido!

[Got ourselves some biscuits, much to the delight of the rest of TeamTehTarik back home]

One of the downers that I find about winter is that it gets dark quite early here in Hokkaido (around 4.30pm usually) so it kinda limits the picture taking opportunity during our trip, even though we head out to town at 7.30 in the morning every day during the trip. Regardless that doesn't really hinder our travels that much because even at night we still had places to visit.

One of them is the toy factory + shop in Otaru!

Made to look like a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the place houses some of the nicest designs of toys and stuff from all around Japan. The outside however is a garden arrangement of small huts for you to walk around in, including a rail road track for a mini train that goes around the building.

[A brilliant overview of the design in the shop!]

[Found myself a friends to chillax with]

[The view of huts outside the building]

[Small hall outside which is even used for wedding receptions!]

It was rather taxing walking around in the cold while sightseeing but every now and then a sit down with a glass of warm cocoa really does the trick. Once we were done with everything there, we decided to head out to Sapporo town which was approximately 1 hour away from Otaru town (I'm making a huge guess here because I decided to take a nap on the bus).

Once we arrived in Sapporo town, one would be able to realise that its quite similar to Tokyo town but much smaller. A hustle and bustle town of Hokkaido with much less snow than the places I was before! :D

[Even Sapporo was not lacking on the light decorations!]

There are a billion things that you can do here in Sapporo, which is what you would expect in a township area in Japan. One of the things that you can do while you are here is to really explore the 13 avenues of shop houses that are arranged consecutively to one another which is of course a sight for you guys to see.

And of course, try the food! (but watch out because they charge more here!)

[One of the avenue of shops in Sapporo]

[Of course the thing that got my attention was the Pachinko+Game Arcade+Sticker Photo shop]

[HItting my drumming skills in Sapporo!]

[Found a very familiar shop for us Malaysian]

When a person mentions about the city streets in Japan, I believe that most of our expectations are brightly lighted buildings in rows just like the ones we always see in the movies. They really didn't disappoint us that's for sure...

[Shots of the town itself]

[Sight that I believe we would all expect from Japanese cities]

[Even found a costume shop for cosplayers and more "adult" users alike]

We got ourselves to recuperate before heading out again to town the next morning for our last day in Hokkaido before heading out to Tokyo. We were warned not to eat too much for the day. You'll find out soon enough why...

So our first destination is an actual Winter Olympic site that today has become more of a tourist site for people to come and visit. Mount Okura was once used in the 1972 Winter Olympic Ski Jump event and was today is revered as a must see tourist destination for people coming to Hokkaido. Using a ski lift chair to go up to the top, you'd be able to see a beautiful view of the slope and the town of Sapporo from there!

[An average view of the slope....]

[And the actual majestic view of it!]

[Sapporo town over the yonder]

One look over the Mountain you can see that this is seriously a scary event to participate in the Olympics.

[SKI HO!]

[Even got myself a medal for coming all the way up here!]

[See? Told ya!]

Once we came down, the finale of our trip in Hokkaido was to experience what the town is really famous for. I do realise that I hardly do much food coverage here in Japan but for this one is a must.

The Spider King Crab is of course an iconic animal here in Japan and is also a cuisine like never before. Compared to our crabs in Malaysia, the King Crab makes ours look like an underfed crab by just the sheer size! We got ourselves to a restaurant that is built on top of a seafood market so we get to choose which crab and seafood we want to eat and they would grill it on the spot!

[Say hello to Spike!]

[Check out the size of these crabs! Huge!]

[Come to think about it, I really shouldn't piss them off...]

[Any octupus that lost an arm out there?]

One of the reasons why this place is so special is actually the way how they cook the food. You can practically find crabs like this in other places around the world but as I was told, most of the time people would tend to bake their crabs. Here however they would rather opt to grill the crab and seafood which is obviously more work but so much difference in taste!

[Abalone cooked in its own shell!]

[Grilled Salmon in Olive Oil]

[Fried Oysters]

and of course finally...

[King Crab, grilled to perfection!]

How can you not love this place? Adios Hokkaido, I had an awesome time with you guys!

Next up, TOKYO BABY!

Do check out my past post on Niseko Village as well as Noboribetsu as well!

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Teh Tarik Travels : Niseko Village, Hokkaido

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

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If you guys think that the previous post was a lengthy one, you guys would want to grab a chair for this one. Continuing on from my story, our next destination was the beautiful resort of Niseko Village and the winter town of Sapporo!

[Greeting the morning in Hokkaido with my daily jog and walk!]

After spending the night in Noboribetsu, we head out to our other destination which is a famous ski resort in Hokkaido. Apparently Malaysian owned (YTL Corp) it was said that they have one of the best snow there so its a must to visit. I guess I should explain that with the tour, we were changing hotels everyday so that we would enjoy as many places as we can during the trip itself.

[Iconic devil statute of Noboribetsu!]

[Lake Toya at Mount Usu]

[Our ride up the mountain]

Our first destination was to visit a volcanic lake which can be seen on top of Mount Usu, which was said to be one of the magnificent view point of the entire valley. Of course to get up there was a 10 minute cable car journey but boy when we got there, it was worth it. Clear blue sky with snow as far as the eye can see, and even an excellent view of the lake itself.

Of course me being myself again, I took the opportunity to annoy my mom even further by trying to take dangerous shots and went nuts destroying everything I can see!

[MOUNTAIN TOP JUMPSHOT!]

[DECAPITATE ALL SNOWMEN!]

[DESTROY ALL SNOWFIELDS!]

ok the last one hurt like hell coz I landed on hard snow. Mom laughed like hell.

Regardless, the other thing that the place is also famous for is their Hokkaido Bears facility which houses a large number of really really large Hokkaido brown bears. Said to be really brutal and ferocious...

[Our tour group photo at the bottom of the mountain]

Surprisingly when we got there, the bears were not even that scary at all. Once we got there, the bears would actually get on their feet, wave at you one time and start begging for food to be thrown at them. They even catch them apples with their mouths! :D

[Hokkaido bear in action!]

[This curious fella starting sniffing the feeding pipe when I got closer]

[Even got a picture of a bunch of fatty raccoons!]

The time when we were done with the sanctuary was just after 11 am but the temperature was dropping rapidly which was actually the best time to get ourselves to the resort. We got some quick lunch and quickly headed for the resort.

From the mountain it was just under an hour to reach the place and what we saw was simply amazing! Snow as thick as all the way above my knees with a ski and snowboard slope to die for. Of course I didn't opt for that option on the simple basis that my previous experience in Australia has been an excruciating one...

I'll be quiet for a bit to let you guys enjoy the snow pics!

[Checking out our ski equipment]

[While SafrizOnline opted for the professional pose...]

[...I opted for a more blogger worthy pose!]

[Dad still posed #likeaboss despite his feet are stuck in snow!]

[called truce with mum and took a proper picture]

[SafrizOnline decided to help by being completely useless in my snowman project]

[We tried to get him to work by pelting him with snowballs. That didn't work]

[Halfway through our project. We decided to name it "Ramon". You'll see why...]

After we were done with the snow, all of a sudden there was another blizzard coming our way. That was when we were given another treat with the snow! Apparently in Hokkaido, there are places where you can actually drive you very own snow bike at full speed while blazing through the fields in a snow storm You tell me how was I going to pass that kind of option?

[Couldn't help myself doing a rempit shot with the bikes]

[Halfway through while blazing through the storm!]

[My lips almost got frozen because of the strong cold wind + speed of the bike!]

[Taking a break]

[SafrizOnline's planking lvl -20 degrees!]

BY the time we were done we decided to head back to the hotel for some rest after a long hard day playing in the snow. At that time the snow storm outside was getting pretty intense and we were looking at almost everything being covered in snow. Of course in my mind I was wondering whether Ramon the Snowman actually survived the storm.

Then came the big finale of the night

Normally in Japan, after a long day in the snow people would retreat to one of the hot spring public bath (onsen) to warm yourself up as well as it being really healthy for the body, because of the natural minerals that come into the water from the soil. Here's the problem.

1. You are not allowed to wear ANYTHING while at the bath (and I really mean completely nude)

2. There is a stockpile load of people there in the bath itself!

So us being shy Malaysians, I was wondering how the hell was I going to get this done. I got myself into my Yukata (traditional Japanese bath robe and hovered around the front door of the bath for about 45 minutes wondering whether I should go in. I even went to Twitter asking people's opinion (to with the lovely BonjourGlow was pushing me to get naked and go in) and was even tempted to ask our Japanese expert blogger Cheesie for advice online (although I opted not to with fear of sounding uber creepy...).

Then I thought to myself, most of the people there are either old uncles who don't really give two nuts (excuse the expression) about nudity or fat guys who are concerned about their looks as well, whereas I look like, well, me. Why should I be scared?

So, gung-ho in mind, I jumped in.

[You put your robes and towels here]

[We agreed to go in separately. Way too creepy to go in together...]

[This is where we wash up before/after getting into the pool]

Once I was in, it wasn't long before I got over the awkward phase and just enjoyed the pool. They had about 7 different kinds of pool in there, each with different temperature and functions. From jacuzzis to waterfall and even a slide straight into the pool!

One of the most awesome thing you can do is after a long soak, get your naked self outside in the snow where they have an OUTDOOR POOL waiting for you! The feeling is crazy, when you get the cold gushing on you and then immediately jumping into a hot spring pool while snow is dropping on your head. Imagine that!

[Sneaky awesome view from the pool outside in the snow!]

All in all it was really an eventful day out in the Niseko Village. 5 star services with a lot of snow activities that you can do while you are down there. Of course the next day my wonder is whether the snowman survived the night with the huge snow storm that hit the area through out the night.

guess what?

[Ramon survived the night!]

We named him Ramon over the ever famous Japanese character....

[RAZOR RAMON SUMITANI!]

To check out the post before from Noboribetsu, CLICK HERE

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Teh Tarik Travels : Noboribetsu Hokkaido, Japan!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:08:00 +0000

OHAI-YO fellow readers!

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Ii suppose I've mentioned this quite frequent already but I for one am super excited to start writing on this ever since I got back, which was actually yesterday!

[Japan here we come!]

I do realize that for most of my travel post in this blog, I would have majority of the TeamTehTarik members to come along with me on the trip but due to the circumstances of the trip, I only had the ever reliable resident photoblogger SafrizOnline to tag along with me to chase after the many adventures that we will be facing during the trip! Surprisingly enough that this is going to be the first time for the both of us to really explore what it is like in the Land of the Rising Sun!

Before I begin, once again I would like to mention that I will be segregating my posts into 4 separate posts, which are:

TTD Travels : Noboribetsu Hokkaido Japan

TTD Travels : Sapporo and Niseko Village

TTD Travels : Tokyo Baby!

A Teh Tarik Guide to Conquer Tokyo Disneyland!

Also do be warned, there are going to be a butt load of pictures so stop that download right now!

[Photo Op!]

As many would have guessed, my parents came along with the trip to Japan with the both of us so it was huge fun having them around for once. Funny enough that throughout the entire trip my mom was busy snapping away pictures and immediately posting them on her Facebook so frequent that it would put KennySia's microblogger title to shame. Nevertheless she was rather pissed at me seeing that she wants to take proper photos of us and I for one am not known to stay still during photos.

[See what I mean? *poke*]

Our trip took us around 7 hours to reach Narita Tokyo airport and from there was another 1 hour transit flight to Hokkaido. We were told that it was gonna be uber cold when we get there. I for one was brushing that thought aside since I have been living in the cold country before.

This was far worse.

[This was taken in full speed landing, and you can see, WE'RE LANDING ON FRIGGIN SNOW!]

Once we reached Hokkaido, we were greeted by a snow storm that looked as if it was going to blow the plane away and was pelting the plane hard with snow pellets!

[Reached safely in Hokkaido!]

So our first destination was to a sleepy town of Noboribetsu which not only houses one of the largest hot spring in the island but also several active volcanoes which I believe heats the hot spring from the ground below.

Once we were there, our first stop was LUNCH!

[our lunch area was a large hall with rows of wooden bench tables!]

[large assortment of sashimi and seafood delights!]

[Steamed rice and prawn!]

[Miso soup with seafood]

I was told that one of the things Hokkaido is famous for is its food. Comparatively to the ones that people would find in Tokyo for example, the food here is much fresher and nicer especially the seafood. For one it does look kinda weird to share a large dining hall with a bunch of strangers but doing so in the middle of a snowy winter, it does have that warm fuzzy feeling while having lunch.

Once we were done, we decided to have a first look at what Noboribetsu looks like.

[The view from outside our restaurant]

[Crack of sunlight after a snow storm]

[it was so cold, I had to buy a hot coffee from the vending machine!]

For our next travel destination, we went to visit one of the active volcanoes that I mentioned earlier. Seeing that Japan is in the middle of the volcanic belt, it is common to see mountains with steam coming out of its edges around Hokkaido. In fact, the one that we visited was the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park had an eruption as recent as 2000!

[the view of the volcanic pool, with the strong sulfuric smell!]

[went down and obviously did not take the sign seriously!]

[Sign to the park]

One of the most amazing thing about this place is that despite the dangers of a volcanic eruption in this park, people here seem rather unfazed with the whole scenario. They were even showing videos of the eruption in 2000 and people were still happily snapping photos as the spot where I took my pictures! Crazy...

So, once we were done with the park, we headed to our resort for some rest. The best thing about the place is that not only it incorporates everything about traditional Japanese culture but it also houses one of the best hot spring bath in the country, because of its location not 10 minutes away from the volcano park mention earlier.

[This is a shot of our entire room! Where are the beds you ask?]

[The hotel staff makes our beds on the tatami while we are out for dinner!]

Since that the town itself is kinda small, there is not really that much to do around at night except for a few things. While exploring the town at night, we found your local watering hole for people to have a drink and of course one of Japan's favorite pastime, Pachinko!

[Moving around was even difficult with the blizzard coming back!]

[SafrizOnline ask me to find the big yellow rat. Where am I going to find such animal?]

[Luck looking good... looking goooddd...]

[Crap...]

For those of you guys who do not know what Pachinko is, its basically similar to your slot machines in the western country only instead of coins you use metal balls which you shoot inside the machine to get it into the designated slots. Of course I couldn't figure for the life of me what some of the words mean but I had fun with the machine making a lot of noises! :D

The other thing that you can do after a long day is to hop inside a Japanese hot spring public bath (onsen). This one was an experience of a kind because of the nature of the place itself but I'm going to save that one for the next post because I got nicer pictures from the other hotel then here!

[Japanese Bath time!]

Basically, that was the end of the first location that we had in Japan. Slightly a slow and easy day for us, considering that we just arrived in Japan and needed our rest for the next couple of days. Do bear in mind however our activities went even more crazier as the trip progressed, which will also translate to the things that I am going to write next!

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Teh Tarik Blog Contest Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:45:00 +0000

<data:blog.pageName/> <data:blog.title/><data:blog.pageTitle/> OHAI-YO!

Its so good to finally be back home to Malaysian soil after a long and awesome trip. As mentioned in my previous post, do expect to see a line up of consecutive blog post, showcasing the many (mis)adventures of mine as a fellow TeamTehTarik colleague of mine in Japan for the next couple of days!

[Chilling before jumping into a hot spring public bath (onsen) at the hotel lobby!]

Nevertheless before I left for my trip, I did organize a small blog contest promoting a fellow Nuffnang comic blogger and as promised I will be getting the lucky winner a small token gift all the way from the Land of the Rising Sun itself!

So in the mood of all this talk of Japan, I decided to brave the Hokkaido winter to make the announcement myself! Check it out!

[Congratulations Priscilla at PriscillaunPerfect!]

So, congratulations to Priscilla from Kuching for being chosen as the winner. As to the mechanics of how the winner is chosen, you might wanna ask Ernest on how he did. He may or may not put everyone's name in a bowl and chose one... just saying. :D

As for the prize, it will be featured in one of the post in the next couple of days, of course she will be informed earlier about this, so keep an eye on this for new post coming in the next couple of hours!

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The Return of the Teh Tarik Drinker from the Land of the Rising Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:14:00 +0000

I have been fully aware that I have been missing for the past one week, but rest assured I will be returning back to Malaysian soil in a matter of hours!

Rest assured i will be hoarding this site with consecutive Japan post in the next couple of days. I will be breaking my post to foyr seperate post, based on the places I've been, including a DETAILED GUIDE INSIDE TOKYO DISNEYLAND!

See you soon, my plane is boarding!!!

Money Drop Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:01:00 +0000

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I know I don't usually write about the shows that I watch on a daily basis (especially the one that involves a bunch of geeks and a hot girl or the one that involves a man talking to his children about their mom) but recently I got my attention on a show that is something completely different than those shows.

[Money Drop Malaysia!]

What this game is all about is really a game show with the same objective as everything else, win as much money as you can in a series of question. The only difference is that the contestants already have the money in hand, you just have to place them in answers that you think is the right one.

[The game board]

Sounds simple enough, you even have the opportunity to put multiple answers per question. However the catch is that you would have to leave one answer blank, you have to invest all of the money you have and there is only one right answer. Whichever wrong answer happens, the money "drops" into the lose bin and you are left with whatever you have left.

Check out how it goes on in a round shorten to 5 minutes.

and of course, check out what happens when you get a question MAJORLY WRONG!

It would be interesting to see how this show goes on in Malaysia, a somewhat new breed of gameshows than the ones we are used to in the past. I'd be more interested to see what are they questions they give for the contestants here because I have seen the ones posed overseas and I have to tell you, its a toughie....

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Chokers of Manchester

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:08:00 +0000

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Woke up this morning, and this is what I have to see...

[Manchester United crashes out from the Champions League]

With the odds stacking in favour of the Red Devils who only required to draw the game, we still manage to choke up the game and lose to a much lower ranked team, Basel.

This is the point for all of us hardcore Manchester United supporters would wander if this is the wake up call that we need to realise that there is a necessary shake up within the team to revamp the whole team altogether or a self realisation that United is being way too complacent with their game these days.

Regardless I am going to keep this post short. As expected a lot of the UnitedHaters Club members are voicing out their glee with the exit of the team and I am not one to comment on that because it is very obvious:

[Haters gonna hate]

However the consolation prize out of this whole scenario is that at least we manage to drag the noisy neighbours down with us....

[All that money and still no glory eh Robbo?]

BTW I am still running a small contest til Sunday so go check it out HERE

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TehTarikDrinker Reads : Bro, don't like that la, bro...

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:59:00 +0000

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I like comics.

I am a comic geek.

That has been a known fact that I rarely hide from people around me and I am sure that a lot of you guys out there would also enjoy the same comic goodness every now and then. Hence why it has come to my knowledge that here at home we have what we dub as "comic bloggers" as part of a category in the blogging community (check out the list of comic bloggers in town HERE)

[Click on the banner to check out the site or click HERE]

But there is one among the rest of the comic blogger especially here in Malaysia that I religiously read every single day would be these guys. Doting under the name of Bro Don't Like That La, Bro depicts the everyday craziness and life of 5 average Malaysian dudes who get themselves involved with some of the wackiest stunts and stories I have ever seen. Drawn primarily by the main author, Ernest, I honestly and truly find real life things that even we can relate to in our lives.

And he makes it funny as hell.

[The list of brothers under B,DBLTL,B]

In the earlier days of my life, I spent my time growing up in an all boys boarding school and we developed a bond among brothers in that school which was for life. For that is probably I can seriously relate to the hilarious nature of these guys in their everyday life. Trust me if I was to depict the nonsense and stories that I have experienced with my Malay College brothers, I'd be writing for three days straight.

[one of the funniest ones to my opinion. I usually do a "Daryl"]

So I contacted Ernest the author that I was a fan of his comic and I was going to review his site here on my lowly blog and in return, he was really nice enough to do this for me....

Courtesy of Ernest of Bro, Don't Like That La, Bro..., TeamTehTarik cartoonized! :D

[See if you can recognise all of us!]

so, in the spirit of this review, I've got...

TehTarik Contest Time!

All you gotsta do is simple, drop by the Bro's website HERE AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON HIS LATEST POST, SAYING THAT THE TEH TARIK DRINKER SENT YOU THERE!

I'll open this till the end of this week (Sunday) and Ernest will choose one lucky winner of the contest by then.

Because I am actually going somewhere for a trip this Saturday, the prize will be a mystery prize from that place I am visiting, depending on the gender of the winner of course!

[hint hint?]

Not to disclose much of where I am going but apparently people say that place is where the Sun gets up in the morning.... :D

Good luck guys!

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Best Car Wax and Polish in Town?

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:15:00 +0000

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Ah yes, the tale old lazy Sunday is back and I am taking full advantage of it. I have to admit that with the new job, its not always that I can get to really laze about in the weekend like this so I am really treasuring it now.

[Car Wash +polish + wax = shiny goodness!]

But of course for most guys out there would do, we spend weekends like this paying some attention to our cars by either washing or even polishing our cars to ts level brightest. Just like our female counterparts, we too like shiny stuff, only ours is made our of pure fiber glass metal awesomeness that can go zero to holy crap in mere seconds!

So myself, like all the other dudes out there have always been asking the same question, which among all of those brands out there is the best for my car?

[The Phantom aka Fatoush!]

7 months ago I got hold of a brand new Ford Fiesta which I have been obsessed about keeping its sparkling condition at all times and I have been researching around for the last couple of months to find out which would be the best one for me to use. Before that, I'd like to clear out some misconception.

Myth 1 - Car wax and Car Polish are not the same thing

Much common misconception among car owners thinking that you only need to do one of them. A car polish basically removes the layer of dust and scratches from your car which leaves the paint exposed with a shine while a car wax would then be the finishing touch that leaves a layer of "wax" to protect the exposed layer of paint that you used with the car polish.

Myth 2 - You still need to wash the car before polishing

Funny as it may sound but there are those that assume a car will beautomatically clean when you polish it. Do that and you're going to be left with a rather chappy workmanship on your car...

Myth 3 - You need to polish and wax frequently to keep it shiny all the time

I heard people coming out with this concept a lot of times before and quite frankly, they will be doing more damages to the car than protecting it. As I mentioned above, car polish scraps a layer of paint each time you use them so use wisely!

Myth 4 - You need to spend hundreds to join membership to auto saloon spas.

This is where my review will prove otherwise.

So, among all the ones available in the market, which would be the one that works well for me? Mind you I am not paid to write this post, just using my own research and tests among all the products.

[The furious four that I would recommend!]

I would stick to these four products as far as I am concerned solely because that these would be enough for you to actually get that "mirror effect" shine that you want with your car without burning a hole in your pocket.

[Car Polish - Turtle Wax Ice Synthetic Polish]

If you are looking for something that can really leave a long lasting effect for polish in your car then this is the one you want to look at. Currently the newest range that they have under the Turtle Wax group, Turtle Wax Ice really does bring the best out of the car itself. Friggin easy to use (even for an amateur like me) and I could even use this under the hot sun, without getting it all dried up and pasty.

But here's the main reason why I use this product:

[Zero flaky residue]

NO matter how many layers I would put on the car, it doesn't have any flaky residue while polishing which can get very irritating with all them polish dust going into the nooks and crannies that you can even reach.

For this product, I would recommend to use 2 layers per session to really make sure everything gets covered on the car.

[Car Wax - Turtle Wax Platinum Series Ultra Gloss Liquid Wax]

Once you got two layers on your car done, this is the crucial stage you need to remember. Turtle Wax Platinum Series Liquid Wax is by far the best one I have used so far because not only it actually covers the car with a layer of protective wax but you can also use it to pick up the underlying dirt that has been stuck on your car because of harsh heat of unforgiving rain, much like what we have in KL these days.

[Wax on, wax off]

For this, a single layer should suffice because you don't want to much used on the car which will take away the initial shine from the polish. All you need from this is just a protective layer.

[KIT Tyre Shine]

Although I would have to admit that the brand doesn't really do that well with its polish and car soap, the tire cleaning solution does wonders. Very easy to apply with the foamy solution and just wipe of, the best thing about this one is that it also cleans the rims, especially those with high brake dust residue.

Quite honestly you shouldn't be spending too much on tire cleaning products as most of them would work just fine. Focus should be put more on the detailed bodywork of your car.

[Interior Cleaning - Armour All Original]

One thing I realized that most people would actually neglect cleaning the interior of the car, which is a huge no no. The constant heat of the sun as well as other things can really hit hard on the dashboard and steering wheel if not taken care of properly which I would really insist on most car owners out there to really take into consideration.

ArmourAll is the best one I've used so far, reason being that its multipurpose use for almost everything in the car gives an easy option for us to not be lazy to clean the interior of the car.

So with that in place, how does the result of using these four products looks like?

[Finishing wipes on the car]

[Mirror Effect Showroom Finish!]

[Bling Bling!]

So, I hope that has been helpful for you to choose the next time you want to polish your car. Do drop a comment with what your thoughts are on the matter as well!

Nang this post if you like it guys! Thanks!

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