SIONG'S LIFE

Merry Christmas!

2013-12-23T22:20:00.003+08:00

Merry Christmas! Here's to all the presents that I never received.
I remember one episode in Futurama:-

Fry: Christmas. You know? X-M-A-S.

Leela: Oh, you mean Xmas. You must be using an archaic pronunciation.

Like when you say "ask" instead of "aks".

Fry: Xmas, huh? [He sighs.] Y'know, this'll be my first Xmas away from home.

Leela: Hey, hey. Let me aks you something: Would it cheer you up if we went and cut down an Xmas tree?

Fry: Yeah! An old-fashioned Xmas tree!

The Xmas tree turns out to be palm trees as pine trees went extinct.

Nobody can predict how things would change in the future including Christmas traditions.

It has snowed in Vietnam and even in the Arab countries, maybe it might snow in Malaysia in the future?

HK Day 2 - Macau to Kowloon (5/10/2013) - Part 2/2

2013-12-14T13:55:00.000+08:00

Part 1 of Day 2 - HERE

As we got out from the boat, the distance from the pier to the Immigration Centre or the Main Building of the Hong Kong Macau Pier in Kowloon, therefore, it is advisable to have wheels for your luggage so that it'll be easier to get them to the Immigration. After the Immigration Centre, we decided to walk all the way through and searched for Nathan Road which is one of the main stretch of road in Hong Kong.

Stayed at Just Hostel which was found through Booking.Com. The place is pretty nice and clean but quite small and only sufficient for two single beds with a small lane between these two beds. Just Hostel is not really a hostel in a sense, it's more like a hotel with several different small rooms. Not all of the rooms have windows though and I specifically chosen one with windows as the experience in a no window room in Singapore is pretty much very unsettling.

The Hotel is located on 11/F of the New Lucky House building, where the entrance to the building is very very near to Ezit B1 of the Jordan MTR Station which is one of the main selling point of this hotel in my opinion. In Booking.Com, many people were confused on how to get there, so hopefully the following series of pictures will help. Once exit from the Station, stand at the same spot and look up to find New Lucky House Entrance just right in front.

Exit B1 of the Jordan MTR Station

New Lucky House Entrance - Notice the Ample Exchange Signage

Go into the Entrance and find the last elevator in the left.

Go to Floor 11 and turn left. At the first corridor, turn right, immediately see a

H sign where the hotel is and knock on the door.

After a short break in the room, decided to go to the Waterfront Promenade for some daytime Hong Kong city view. Actually wanted to go to the Space Museum First and then to the Avenue of Stars. Took the MTR and headed to Tsim Tsa Tsui Station which was nearest to the Promenade. Walked from the Station and somehow headed the wrong way and ended up at the Science Museum which was the opposite where we were heading. Admittedly lost in Hong Kong. It took some time before we found our way back to the Waterfront. (Later we found out from a friend studying in Hong Kong that you can take exit E directly to the Waterfront area).

Due to misdirection, ended up going for the Avenue of Stars and then to the Space Musuem. Avenue of Stars is long stretch of path where hundreds of palm prints of movie stars and singers are placed on the floor similar to those found on TCL Chinese Theater in the USA. How many of stars can you recognize from those taken below?

Hong Kong City

Nicholas Tse

Carina Lau Ka Ling

Sean Lau Ching Wan

Cecilia Chueng Pak Chi

Eric Tsang Chi Wai

Datuk Michelle Yeoh

Samuel Hui Koon Kit

Micheal Hui

Yu So Chow - Somewhat felt like heard the name somewhere before

Shek Kin - A pretty famous actor back in the 60s 70s era

This Statue is near the Space Musuem

The famous clock tower at the Waterfront

The next part of the trip, being the Space Museum was nothing to hu-hah about. In fact, it was pretty disappointing. But for a mere price of RM10, can't really expect too much of it. Sadly, I even slept through the Dome movie they were showing. Later that day, waited at the front of the promenade for the Hong Kong Light Show which was hailed as one of the must see in Hong Kong.

Stanley Ho Space Theater

Also met with another university friend which I haven't seen for at least 5 years and had dinner and desserts with her. It was great seeing after so long and due to this, I can't even remmeber the place for dinner. All I could remember was that it was roasted stuff at one the cafes in Tsim Tsa Tsui. Roasted goose, chicken and BBQ Pork are recommended in Hong Kong and it was true to the words. Better than those in Malaysia.

Roasted Goose with Rice

BBQ Pork With Rice

Roasted Pork With Rice

Mango Based Dessert

Waternelon Hor Fun

Durian Chee Cheong Fun

Next:-
Hong Kong Dim Sum, History & Science Museum,
The Peak and Madame Taussads

Interesting Song and Singer

2013-12-10T10:44:00.001+08:00

I accidentally watched an episode of 全能星战 which consisted of some famous stars such as Sun Nan, Wang Xiao Hu, Tao Zhe, in a reality show style battle of singing prowess. From all the contestants, I found Gong Linna 龚琳娜
to be the most interesting of all. Seems like the other singers have the common voice or singing style, but her's sounds more original and interesting. Among my favorites by this singer:-

Tan Te - which is notoriously famous for it's difficulty.

Walking the Path of Life - Good Changes in rhythm and original song at the late part of the song

Rippling Brook - Nice vocals

Fahai, You Don't Understand Love - Catchy Song with nice lyrics

Falling In Love with a Fool - Cute Song

Jing Ye Si - Melancholy Singing

She definitely reminds me of Faye Wong.

HK Day 2 - Macau to Kowloon (5/10/2013) - Part 1/2

2013-12-08T00:06:00.002+08:00

(Continued from Day 1 - Macau )

Part 1 of 2

The next day after a hearty English breakfast at the hotel, there was still time for more sight-seeing. To avoid the crowd and the afternoon heat, it is decided to head to the Ruins of Saint Paul's Cathedral which is one of the main icon of Macau. Heading out along the way, we felt how the local Macanese lived and went about their daily lives. It felt somewhat quiet and not as glamour as it was usually portrayed in travel shows or in magazines. Tried asking the hotel receptionist for directions and the receptionist with a rude face told that it is around the Senado Square somewhere. That wasn't really helpful but no longer any mood to argue, the only way was to grope around near the area. It's only 5 minutes away anyway.

Right out of the hotel in a narrow street

Motorcycles parking

The Steep road down to the hotel

Further along the way

Nearly there

Senado Square Intersection

Senado Square or the Historical Centre of Macau is pretty small. It consists of a small square and several paths connecting to it. To find the Ruins, there are plenty of signboards around the Senado Square and therefore, it was a saving grace. As it was too early in the morning, not many shops are open and nothing much to see. It took less than 5 minutes before we arrived at the Ruins of Saint Paul's Cathedral.

Senado Square - Not sure what was the purpose of the pagoda

Ruins of Saint Paul's Cathedral

Another shot - Ruins of Saint Paul's Cathedral

The Main Gate of the Ruins - Nothing else behind the Gate

Closeup of the Gate

Looking down from the Gate

Famous almond cookies can be found right at the foot of the Stairs of the Ruins. An outlet of the famous Koi Kee. Went to buy two boxes of almond cookies and some peanut candies. In which after that, we went back to hotel and packed, getting ready to go to Hong Kong next. To arrive in Kowloon, the best place to take the ferry would be the Hong-Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal instead of the one in Taipa which is further.
Ferry to Hong Kong was pretty much uneventful as sleep gave in.

To be continued in the next post!
Things to come:- Star Prints, Roasted Rice, and Hong Kong Skyline

Part 2 - HERE

Yokoso! ようこそ!

2013-11-30T11:35:00.000+08:00

YOKOSO - Welcome to Japan!

Got my tickets booked! It's time to start saving again.
Definitely looking forward to this next trip to Japan!

I've actually been to Japan once.
READ HERE

HK Day 1 - Macau (4/10/2013)

2013-11-30T11:04:00.003+08:00

Day 1 Hong Kong - Macau (4/10/2013)

Arrived at the HKIA and without going for Customs, went to Transfer Area E5 where there are counters selling ferry tickets to Macau. For visitors like us, one way would be to either to put Macau at the start or at the end of the trip to save on the hotel room rental in Hong Kong. Took Cotaijet and it was a nice change of pace from the cramped AirAsia seats (But who can challenge the low fares? No choice but to endure it).

Pretty quiet in the waiting hall for the ferry to Macau

Journey lasted about 45 minutes and mostly slept through the journey though. Was tired from the flight. When we arrived in Macau-Taipa Ferry Terminal, the first thing was to get buses to the hotel. But the bus transportation system is horrible, bus tables are available but the station names are long and they're in Portuguese. If you're in the Macau bus, and were expecting English names for the station, think again. The English names are read in Portuguese. I didn't expected it and was lacking research in the bus factor. I advise anyone visiting Macau to thoroughly research on the bus routes. There are many buses that although are different number, in fact travel almost the same route.

Macau Bus Route Table (From http://rizalchristian.blogspot.com )

I thought it was only me but another friend which went to Macau earlier also mentioned that they got lost as well and ended up at the Macau Bus Station. Fortunately we were able to speak Cantonese and ask the bus driver uncles which bus to correctly take. Pretty confusing and frustrating. Even the locals have to look at the table to check where to stop.

The first thing we looked for is the famous Prawn Roe Noodles. Strangely, it is not the prawn roe noodles that I thought it would be like in Malaysia. In Macau, it is in fact, wanton noodles with added prawn roe on top. It doesn't taste too bad though. Next was the milk pudding. The milk pudding was surprisingly amazing. Pretty smooth akin to tau foo fa.

Top: Curry Wanton Noodles (Soup tasted like Maggi Curry)

Bottom: Shrimp Roe Noodles & Soup

Milk Pudding with Red Bean Topping (Pretty Good)

The Venetian is the next stop. There isn't much to do around here besides shopping and gambling. However, the "sky" ceiling seems like a pretty nice idea. Quite realistic. Took some photos and went to the casino area which photos were not allowed. Won RM200 though from the spinning wheel. We ended up having McD for dinner as was really exhausted from getting lost in Macau with the bus system.

The Venetian from the outside

The Main Area the Venetian

A live performance of classical music done by this lovely string quartet

Cafes and more Shops (Not sure if the 2nd floor can be accessed though)

Shopping Area at the Venetian

This is not Venetian though, the nearby Galaxy Casino

Hong Kong In a Few Short Words

2013-11-24T22:05:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong trip was concluded way before today, on 11th Oct but only today that the mood to write is a little bit in hand, that also increased due to peer-pressure. But anyway, Hong Kong is not really the place for me, I guess it's too packed or something. The homey or welcoming feeling is just not there. I expected the food to be great but turns out the good eats are mostly ok-ok but not great. Cantonese style cooking in Malaysia or in Hong Kong does not differ by a large margin and are similarly comparable.

I find most Hong Kong people are not welcoming. If you think your Cantonese is ok and you think it will be fine as you can understand TVB dramas, think again and twice. You'll be amazed by how different it is and the speed of how the locals say it is unbelievable. Incomprehensible for me sometimes.

Well, Hong Kong in a few words would be:-
A place where if you do not shop, is too small to visit and not worth staying too long.
Macau is the Las Vegas of the east and if you do not gamble is just not worth as well.

Recommended:-

- To sit the cable car to Ngong Ping 360
- To visit the Ocean Park
- To take the tram from one end to the other
- Madame Taussads
- To have Dim Sum in Hong Kong

Not recommended:-

- To visit Chueng Chau / Tai O
- To take the public bus in Macau
- To visit the Space Museum
- To visit the Science Museum
- Heck, to visit and of the Museums (Simply Not Worth)

Well, the next post would simply be Day 1: Macau.
There is more pictures than words though.

Public Food Preparation with Hands

2013-06-27T11:57:00.000+08:00

I just couldn't get why some people are too particular with cleanliness. I understand that for people with AIDS or some immune deficiency sickness, that will be of upmost importance, but the for common folk, I wonder why some are so obsessed with it. While searching for Hong Kong street foods just to get an idea on the atmosphere, what's available and what's good, I came across Youtube videos showing the preparation of food around the world.

Naturally interested, I watched these videos as well, but as I read the comments, some people seems to have some issues with the cook having used their bare hands in the preparation process. This is more apparent in the preparation of local street food. Let me show you two examples:-

Video1
Japan - Preparation of Goza Sorah cakes

Video 2
India - Preparation of Pani Puri

Video3
China - Dan Bing (Egg Crepes)

I would really like to have a chance to try these tasty morsels even if the vendor wasn't using any gloves. But some people, would rather die than to eat these food, stating the reason is that they were not wearing gloves and that the hands has germs. These germs might make them sick...(Aww...you poor thing, go to your posh restaurants and pay 50 dollars for a measly biscuit and more of the local culture for the rest of us to enjoy...)

I wonder really, do these people actually wear gloves when they prepare food at home? Or when they eat with their hands, they use gloves as well? Even if gloves are used, the gloves might not be so sanitary as it seems. A little germ in the body won't hurt and maybe beneficial at times, to help the body to familiarize with these pathogens and thus strengthening the immune system.

If the body is too clean, minor disease would be a disaster don't you think?
Excuse me, but I can't wait to get my hands on local street food...
That's one of the greatest pleasures of travel, being able to live like a local, albeit temporarily...

Hong Kong 7-days 6 Nights Itinerary

2013-06-24T13:15:00.001+08:00

I've been longing for a nice holiday for a long time, and finally booked Airasia tickets 2 weeks back.
Tickets were quite cheap (I think), amounting up to about RM890 for 2 persons both ways, including luggage, taxes and seat choosing. So, while the hotels have been booked at about RM120 per night, where Macau is somewhat more expensive at RM368, the itinerary is still a little bit sketchy. Here below I put my schedules for anyone who is willing to comment.

DAY 1 POST IS UP!

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
FRIDAY 4/10/13	0345	DEPART FOR LCCT AIRPORT
	0510	CHECK-IN
	0710	FLIGHT TO HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
	1105	ARRIVE AT HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
	1130	PURCHASE OF TURBOJET TICKETS TO MACAU
	1200	DEPART FOR MACAU
	1300	ARRIVE AT MACAU
	1400	DEPART TO HOTEL - OLE LONDON HOTEL
	1500	ARRIVE HOTEL - REST AND RELAX
	1600 ~ 1800	AMA TEMPLE MACAU TOWER
	1800	DINNER - MACAU STREET SNACKS
	1900	DEPART TO THE VENETIAN, MACAU
	2200	RETURN TO HOTEL
	2300	REST AND SLEEP

DAY 2 Part I | DAY 2 - Part II

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
SATURDAY 5/10/13	0700	WAKE-UP & BREAKFAST
	0815	RUINS OF ST. PAULS
	0845	MUSUEM OF SACRED HEART
	0945	HISTORIC CENTER OF MACAU
	1100	BACK TO HOTEL FOR PACKING
	1130	CHECK OUT OF HOTEL
	1200	ARRIVE AT MACAU FERRY TERMINAL - PURCHASE FERRY TICKETS TO HONG KONG
	1230	DEPART FOR HONG KONG
	1330	ARRIVE AT HONG KONG FERRY TERMINAL
	1430	DEPART FOR HOTEL
	1530	ARRIVE AT HOTEL - FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
	1545	REST AND RELAX
	1645	TSIM TSA TSHUI PROMENADE WALK - HONG KONG SPACE MUSUEM - HONG KONG CLOCK TOWER - HONG KONG PIER - HONG KONG MUSUEM OF ART
	1645
	1900	AVENUE OF STARS
	2000	HONG KONG LIGHT SHOW - AT AVENUE OF STARS
	2030	YUEN LONG DINNER AND VISIT
	2200	BACK TO HOTEL
	2300	SLEEP & REST

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
SUNDAY 6/10/13	0700	WAKE-UP & BREAKFAST
	0900	DEPART TO MUSUEMS
	1000	MUSUEMS OF HISTORY + LEI CHENG UK HAN TOMB
	1300	MUSUEM OF SIENCE
	1500	DEPART TO THE PEAK
	1600	PEAK TRAM GALLERY
	1700	PEAK TRAM
	1730	MADAME TAUSSADS
	1930	SKY TERRACE 428
	2100	WAN CHAI NIGHT VIEW + SUPPER
	2300	BACK TO HOTEL
	2400	SLEEP & REST

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
MONDAY 7/10/13	0700	WAKE-UP & BREAKFAST
	0900	DEPART TO OCEAN PARK
	1000 - 2000	OCEAN PARK - AQUARIUM - RIDES / THEME PARK - WATER SHOW
	2000	BACK TO CENTRAL
	2100	DINNER AT TSIM TSA TSUI
	2200	BACK TO HOTEL
	2300	SLEEP & REST

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
TUESDAY 8/10/13	0700	WAKE-UP & BREAKFAST
	0800	DEPART TO WONG TAI SIN TEMPLE
	0900	DEPART TO CHUENG CHAU
	1000 - 1700	- KWAN TAI TEMPLE - TIN HAU TEMPLE - MINI GREAT WALL - PAK TAI TEMPLE - SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS - SHA TIN BEACH
	1700	BACK TO CENTRAL HONG KONG
	1800	BACK TO HOTEL FOR REST & RELAX
	1900	CAUSEWAY BAY DINNER & WALK
	2200	BACK TO HOTEL
	2300	SLEEP & REST

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
WEDNESDAY 9/10/13	0700	WAKE-UP & BREAKFAST
	0900	DEPART TO LANTAU ISLAND
	1000 - 1800	- TAI-O - BIG BUDDHA - KWAN-TAI TEMPLE - PO-LIN MONASTERY - NGONG-PING VILLAGE
	1800	DEPART FROM LANTAU ISLAND (LAST)
	1900	BACK TO HOTEL TO REST
	2000 - 2200	TEMPLE STREET NIGHT MARKET + LAN KWAI FONG (DRINKS?)
	2200	RETURN TO HOTEL
	2300	SLEEP & REST

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
THURSDAY 10/10/131	0700	WAKE-UP & BREAKFAST
	0830	DEPART TO STANLEY MARKET
	1000 - 1200	STANLEY MARKET, LADIES STREET, FLOWER STREET, SPORTS STREET ETC
	1200	LUNCH AT THE MARKETS
	1300 - 1800	MONGKOK - SOHO - ELEVATED WALKWAYS
	1800 -1900	DEPART TO HOTEL + CLEANUP
	2000-2200	DINNER AT JUMBO FLOATING RESTAURANT + ENJOYING LAST DAY IN HONG KONG
	2200	BACK TO HOTEL
	2300	SLEEP & REST

DATE	TIME	ACTIVITY
FRIDAY 11/10/13	0700	WAKE-UP & BREAKFAST
	0830	LAST MINUTE SHOPPING
	0945	PACKING FOR DEPARTURE
	1045	DEPART TO AIRPORT
	1145	CHECK IN AT AIRPORT
	1345	FLIGHT TO KUALA LUMPUR
	1735	ARRIVE AT KUALA LUMPUR

I wonder if it's ok? Anyone got anything to say about it?

A video of some of the attractions in Hong Kong:-

Chasing Stars

2013-04-13T14:30:00.001+08:00

Recently a person I knew invited me to go to a particular shopping mall to see real-life drama star, particularly Hong Kong star, Rocco Chan. Rocco being a guy, didn't stir much interest in me and thus, I did not go. Later, this person told me Aimee Chan were there as well. It was definitely a chance missed. Realizing that a popular star would never even make friends with the likes of us, even a hand-shake will be memorable.

Aimee Chan

Although I don't really chase these stars but I think it will be a nice feeling to actually meet them in person. But come to think of it, what is the point of actually meeting these stars?

Do they actually give you supernatural powers? Nope.
Do they give you money for meeting them? Nope.

Were they in fact aware who you are after the visit?
Maybe. If you're a hardcore fan who had devoted your entire life to
the star alone and know every detail about him / her even more of
them know of themselves then just Maybe?

That is only if you're not so creepy until you're willing to die for them or that you want to marry
them so badly that you threaten to blow yourselves up together with them. But then again, you're already a hardcore fan, anything's possible.

Although this, we still throng by the hundreds just to get a glimpse of them even though it's almost the same as seeing them on TV, but then again, there's hope that maybe one day they'll take notice of you
and you can boast about it to your uncles and aunts.

Cats

2013-04-01T16:08:00.001+08:00

Cats, usually refers to the creature has that distinctive look which makes
every human being go meow-meow (As if we understand their language).
A good example would be the following cat:-

Meoew...meow, meow..ehem...
Although other feline creatures are also considered to be cats such as tigers, lions and panthers.
It wouldn't be advisable to go meow-meow on these group of cats, instead, when you encounter one face to face, I would suggest that you instead start shouting the words:-

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

These big cats are not to messed with but their young though, do resemble little kittens and there's proof that these big feline creatures can be tamed and they do recognize you like a dog does which is evident with Christian the Lion. Other than that, the domesticated cats have different breeds.

Calico cats - X-brand cat (So called cap palang)
a mix here and there

Tabby cats - Black colored Garfield

Sphynx cats -Furless felines - Not really what I would want in a cat

Singapore cat - Singapore has their own breed of cats?

Malaysia got stone cat! Stronger and survive longer.
Don't even need to feed. Although, you will find them unresponsive though.

Manx cat - Tailess felines

Scottish Fold - This one of my favorite breeds.

There other different breeds that are also refereed to as cats
which has been discovered in the modern years, recently, including:-

Cats

Thundercats

Bobcats

Robotic cats

All About Cartoon Characters

2013-03-26T22:04:00.000+08:00

Got a challenge from JieJie to write this...
Challenge accepted but not sure what is the main content
to write though but here it is.

As a young kid, we watch them and usually don't understand a single thing what's happening on screen, and it sometimes just is plain funny (Even if its supposed to be sad, as a kid, it will still be funny).but as you grow older, you begin to catch the story, the illogical ideas or the sometimes the "subtle messages" that we didn't get as a kid. As an adult, we sometimes see how these characters look a lot like us, and sometimes too much like reality. It really could relate sometimes.

The first thing to wonder:- Is it about the characters of cartoon or the characters of a cartoon?

Or say, the cartoon characters are all about, where the sentence being rephrased as "All About, Cartoon Characters." To explain the character of a cartoon is fairly simple, a film / clip which is a 2d hand-drawn with significant exaggerated expression and body language which is usually funny. 3d based films are no longer considered cartoons but are animations. Meanwhile, the characters of cartoons? Even more simple, some of the more popular characters includes (and my personal comments):-

Spongebob Squarepants

Really a yellow sponge underwater, which

can still water plants underwater?

Bugs Bunny

The rabbit who's sole job is to terrorize others and

maybe has visited the doctor too often.

Doraemon

A blue robot cat? (Does he come in other colours?) I mean, blue?

Why can't he be yellow like Dorami? Looks weird as below, irradiations?

Donald Duck

A duck that doesn't wear any pants.

Although this, this is one of the characters which I still like until now

Goofy and Pluto

Wonder if Pluto is the mentally challenged equivalent in the cartoons.

Compared to the other animals, he's the only one considered to be a pet.

Transformers (Jie, you asked me and I had to include it)

These guys are the craze in the 80s. I didn't understand the story back then

and all I could remember was:- "Autobots, let's roll!"

Chilly Willy

I only saw him once but the impression was huge.

A penguin with a big appetite.

Ah..those were the days. But generally, these 2d cartoon characters trumps over their 3d counterparts due to the fluidity of the animation made. 3d cartoons does seem nice, but it is for one thing, too real. I might as well watch a costume show or movie if I ever wanted it to be realistic. Excuse me while I go find some downloads to satisfy the kid in me..

Arigatou Gozaimasu

2013-03-23T13:02:00.000+08:00

Been meaning to post this for sometime now but procrastination has been pulling me back. Japan has been fascinating to me since I was young, maybe due to the fact that it was expensive back then and we rarely traveled anywhere for holiday, but it is one of the places which I've wanted to visit.

Our first accommodation, First Cabin at Haneda Airport.
It was pretty small and I didn't sleep much. Slept at 12am and
woke up at 4am.

The first item I bought in Japan is this chocolate biscuit which I had
for breakfast. The taste was ok, but it totally reminded me that
I'm in Japan from the vending machine I bought it from.

Had nothing to do due to unable to sleep and took this video of the "cabin"

Had free time the next day, and so, we visited Shinjuku, Shibuya and Akihabara.
Akihabara was a great place for me. Lots of electronics, figures, dvds. Didn't take
much photos of the other places though. Was in a working mood, didn't thought
of the places, which was a waste.

Big Celine Dion poster at Akihabara

Streets in Akihabara

This video reminds me of the sights and sounds of Akihabara and to me is the
definitive video of the trip to Japan. The atmosphere is clearly heard and displayed.

Trains in Japan are pretty much similar, but I noticed one of the more prominent
sounds is the squeaking of the trains due to age?

With a price tag of almost RM150 per night, Toyoko-Inn
Souka-eki NIshi-guchi (eki = Station, Nishi = West, Guchi = Exit)
is a pretty nice place to live in. The rooms were quite spacious
with a soft bed. Its pretty far from Akihabara though but good
for the adventurous which likes to explore the outskirts of the city.

Our original intention in Japan was to visit the laboratories to see
their capabilities to compare with the local laboratories for building
products. Throughout the trip in Soka we had the pretty Satomi Hoshi as
the translator (far right).

Plastic food display do look nice but we didn't eat the actual food in
respect to the Muslim lecturers which I accompanied in this trip.

Besides Soka, we went also to Osaka, using the high speed
bullet train Nozomi N700. Its a bit pricey, with RM500 for the ticket
from Tokyo to Osaka. At 2 hours for a 500+ km distance, it
really is fast though. There are other options, slower trains
but cheaper tickets. But since we hadn't too much time to spare
we took the fastest available.

This cost me 1000 Yen which is about RM30++.
Its a bento box with fish, caviar and mushrooms.
Kinda salty though with the caviar. The original intention
was to buy this because the box looks nice and I thought
maybe to keep it as a souvenir. But heck, the box is made
of plastic with a paper bottom.

One of the last photos of the box which I had to throw.
Sad that it cannot be kept.

Forgot the name of the hotel at Osaka but the room is pretty small.
Costs more than the one in Soka but with smaller rooms. There;s no wifi
at the rooms either.

We visited a number of places which can be categorized into two:

being sight-seeing and shopping. For shopping we went Shinsaibashi and

Namba while for sight seeing, we went to the Osaka Castle park and

Umeda Sky Building.

Osaka Castle Park video

Eating to Live or Living to Eat

2013-03-10T20:07:00.001+08:00

This video made me think. Are we eating to live or are we living to eat.

La surconsommation

Treatment to Insensitive People

2013-03-02T07:55:00.002+08:00

Recently, I've read a post by Felis-domestica-licious here that mentions on friends that the she would unfriend on Facebook. What caught my attention was this:-

*update*

This case no. 3 bests all cases: a university friend died in a workplace accident. Friends offered condolences on FB. One persistent agent wrote something like: this is the outcome of not having sufficient insurance coverage: your loved ones suffer when mishaps befall you. Contact me to review your insurance policy.

Unfriend! There’s no other way!

How much more insensitive can a person be? A person died and all she (the post was made by a she, a friend to felis-domestica-licious) knew was to advertise her services? Did she mean she could defeat Death with her insurance policy? With this in mind, when anything happened to the FB persona, I suggested to felis to advertise the following:-

TradeLet

2011-04-20T09:48:00.000+08:00

Double-back again! Been out of the scene for quite a while.
I just started my own website, trying to some small business you might say. It's called TradeLet or Trade Outlet here. It's a site where I let people post their items for sale . classified adverts where I charge them only RM1.50 or USD$0.5 per post which is permanent for as long as they want. Here in this blog maybe I would start chronicling my progress and steps I've taken to get publicity, adverts etc so that other people may learn from it and may one day be more successful than I did? or maybe they have things to advice me? Anyways will start tomorrow with a post on it!

玫瑰香 Rose Incense

2010-12-27T19:52:00.000+08:00

I used to be looking for this song until I recently heard in on Superstar.

It's called 玫瑰香 or Rose Incense I think (Google translates it Muscat).

I wonder what's the name of the original Orchestral (Russian?) version name?

Ramblings - 24th Dec

2010-12-24T09:59:00.000+08:00

First, I'm going to congratulate a friend of mine on her 26th Birthday!
Happy Birthday Elaine!
Life is short, with so much suffering around the world, natural disasters, war, hunger, flooding, earthquakes, crimes happening every other day...so every birthday is definitely worth congratulating.

Now to the main point.
Life is short, sometimes I wonder, are humans born to be selfish? Taking care of our own priorities first before anyone else even people closest to you? Are there actually people who care about others first before themselves? Some crave popularity and neglect people on their side, not realizing that sometimes those on their side get hurt? I've seen a lot of these happening lately and I wonder if myself is to blame? It makes you reflect back but I guess these things are part of the world / part of life and as long as one is happy with his own life and actions, the rest doesn't matter. Maybe the last sentence actually and totally envelopes the concept of human selfishness?

The Singhsons

2010-12-20T10:55:00.001+08:00

This is funny. An Indian version of the Simpsons called the Singhsons..
I hope no one is offended as it was intended to be humorous...

It's nearly X'mas - 22nd Dec

2010-12-20T10:38:00.000+08:00

Ah. It's nearly X'mas again. (Christmas is an archaic language in the year 2999, see Futurama S2E17). Anyways it's the time of the year where everyone gives or receives gifts and maybe just give but no one gives back, but anyways I've started to make resolutions for next year, hopefully they'll be achieved.

Even though it was supposed to be a time for joy and merriment, but it saddens me though that some of my fellow bloggers have abandoned their blogs. Some cannot be blamed due to political pressure, some due to lack of time, some due to lack of interest from the community, hence lack of readers. To many it was hoped that the blog can help them generate money, but to me, I just write whenever I like without caring for money or anything.

But well, this year has been tough and I hope next year would be better. One of the first resolutions I have in my mind now would be to update this blog with anything, at least twice a week. Hopefully everything will run smooth and readers will increase!

Back from Oblivion - 21st Nov

2010-11-21T10:12:00.000+08:00

Well, I'm back!

After such a long time missing, I guess it's time to revive back this blog. All this while, work has rendered my time filled with all sorts of activities from work to my Masters studies. There are a lot to catch up especially my gaming and other crazy things happening all this while. I'm actually wondering, up to now, there isn't actually much readers, and I guess it won't increase anytime soon either but heck, I'm doing this for the fun of it, not for other reasons, so, well, here we go again, hopefully with more vibrant content!

Happy Fathers' Day !

2010-06-20T09:54:00.001+08:00

Happy Father's Day to my Dad!

May everything go smoothly for you!
And be happy always.

HAPPY FATHERS' DAY!

BFBC2 Review - 12th May

2010-05-12T10:16:00.000+08:00

By: [MBT[UltimaWeapon

The sound of explosions, of rifles ejecting bullets, of your teammates shouting away from a distance, people running from one corner to the other, of cannons blasting away with echoes of sniper rifles being shot in the background and of buildings crumbling, those were the objects of fascination and usually associated with heroism, excitement, action, leadership, teamwork and maybe fear for some. It was, one of the things that most people have often tried to imagine themselves to be in. In the midst of a battlefield, the feel of covering for your squad, planning ahead the path to thread and threats to eliminate next, has made a great deal of excitement in a lot of people. It was a wonder, how would it feel like to be in the situation of a war? With immersive sounds supported by Dolby Surround, and believable graphics, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 makes explosions right next to you. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was developed by DICE, a Swedish company well-known for its Battlefield series, and published by Electronic Arts. DICE was the company which revolutionized the multiplayer component of gaming, where 32 players can play in the same field where previously, it was limited up to 8 players only on other games. In this game, although the single-player component is not the main selling point, but the game play was very well worth the money paid.

Battlefield:Bad Company 2 single player campaign focuses on a squad known as Bad Comapany, consisting of Sarge, Marlowe, Sweetwater, and Haggard which were characters from the original Battlefield:Bad Company 1. First mission starts off during WWII which serves as a background to the story and tells of a weapon of mass destruction developed by the Japanese during WWII. The weapon was then acquired again in the modern day and threatens to unnerve worldwide safety. With your squad of four, and armed with modern day variety of weapons and rifles such as the M16A4 assault rifle, AKS-74u, M95-Barrett sniper rifle, M60 Light Machinegun and UMP-45 sub-machinegun, your mission is to prevent the destruction of the world and recover this weapon. The excellent sound design further enforces your sense of place. Though there are some blurry textures, occasional screen tearing, and awkward moments caused by the pervasive environmental destructibility, these are mere blemishes on the ambitious look and immersive sound of Bad Company 2. Environments range from lush and dense forest with even mosquitoes buzzing to snowy locales which the howling winds could literally chill your ears.

With the new Destruction 2.0, every building, every nook and corner can be used to your advantage or disadvantage, working like a double edge-sword. Almost every building and structure can be leveled to the ground and many a time, this has been used to achieve objectives, either by killing enemies or crushing your objective. Any object you find in the environment can either be your worst enemy or your best ally depending on situation. Often, you would find yourselves running for a new cover when your previous cover was blown to bits, maybe from a cannon shell or making new cover for yourselves by blowing up the walls of a nearby building. This adds to the unpredictability and often you would find that you will never stay in the same place even in different rounds of the same map. Never are two games the same, even the way objectives are achieved or places which you used for cover, which promotes for creative thinking such as hiding a tank in a building or even using a C4-rigged UAV to blow up buildings. When the building starts creaking, it’s either run or risk being crushed.

Multiplayer wise, depending on your preference, there are four kits available which are: Assault, Medic, Engineer and Recon. Main tasks of the assault would be the main attack force in the front, pushing enemy lines back with a number of rifles, while the medic provides first-aid healing and reviving fallen teammates armed with his light machineguns. Destroying objects are the specialty of the engineer and his arsenal of rocket launchers and mine. Lastly the recon scouts and spot enemies for his teammates while providing the quick elimination of sniper rifles. The sensation of getting a sniper headshot after a careful target lining up while compensating for bullet drop is very satisfying is also part of the war-stories told after having played the game. Balance is not a question as even snipers requires two shots to kill unless it’s a headshot, which is an instant death for the target. With ACOG and RDS as unlockable options, accuracy is no longer an excuse for missing targets.

With over 51 weapons and 16 vehicles such as Abrams, Bradley, Bakhcha, Hind and Apache, there are almost countless ways to do what you wish in the game, and achieving the objectives of the 4 available games mode including: Rush, Conquest, Squad Deathmatch and Squad Rush. Each game modes play distinctively from each other, being Rush having to either defend or destroy stations situated across the maps and conquest to capture and defend flags for points. In terms of multiplayer experience, the main concern was of lag issues. Lag or latency is the way how a game compares the timing difference between you and other people. This is important to determine the hit rate and whether does your firing actually hit a moving target which either results in your target surviving or meeting his fate. Even for countries far apart, such as between the United States and Malaysia, the lag was very much playable due to the dedicated servers available for the game with a large number of locations for each region. This ensures that there are no arguments on who has the latency advantage as everyone is tuned to the player with the highest latency.

In Malaysia particularly, the Battlefield community was spearheaded by the Malaysian Battlefield Team (MBT, www.mbtcentral.net). MBT was established in 15th September 2006 by four gaming enthusiast with the sole intention of creating a dedicated, well managed and reputable organization of gamers. MBT focuses on First Person Shooter genre game the Battlefield series from Electronic Arts and other titles which emphasize teamwork play. Since then, with limited means of advert MBT has grown steadily over the months and the number of members has increased from a mere 8 to currently a total of 51 and still counting. Anyone from Malaysia is free to apply for membership which is only given after a week of trial playing with current MBT administrative personnel. Members are then divided into divisions according to their preference, such as the Alpha ( α ) division for frontal assault and Borneo Head-Hunters ( B[H]2 ) division for reconnaissance and sniping. Although each player is free to switch between kits, each division they belong are expected to perform tasks provided over the VOIP system, Teamspeak 3 which promotes teamwork and tactics. For best gaming experience, MBT has started their own dedicated servers based in Singapore which guarantees a much lower latency for players in the region. To play in MBT servers, search for MBTCENTRAL.NET and you’re in for a blast!

Having being said, the Battlefield Bad Company 2 game is indeed a well-worth for money game to get. There are no further doubts about this and could easily be one of the better FPS games out at the moment. With the unpredictable single-player and action oriented multiplayer, coupled with the dedicated servers, especially the MBT servers in Malaysia, it’s time to blow things up. Excuse me while I see an enemy in my 12x scope, I have a bullet here with his name on it.

Pros: - Destruction 2.0, Balanced Weapons, Vehicles, Large maps

Cons: - Not much variety in game modes, Very addictive

Thanks to Gest, Guardian77, Mobster, Wallydragon, Apam_Savior

No Thanks to Schizodroid

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T09:02:00.001+08:00

It's Mother's Day again this year!

Wishing all Mothers of the world, a happy:-
HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!

Infinity Ward Mass Resignations - 18th April

2010-04-18T09:26:00.000+08:00

With the firing of Vince Zampella and Jason West from Infinity Ward by Activision over an issue which the gaming community calls as a abomination, the chaos was created by Activision so that they will not have to pay Vince and Jason the royalties that they deserve for the sales of Modern Warfare 2, many other staff of Infinity Ward are now currently in the process of leaving Infinity Ward and more are possibly coming. The video shows people who are currently not in the company anymore.

Video Games | | Who's left Infinity Ward so far?

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

As a summary, people who have already left:-
Directed By:- Jason West
Engineering Leads:- Francesco Gigliotti
Engineering:- Jon Shirling, Rayme E.Vinson
Design Leads:- Todd Alderman, Steve Fukida, Mackey Macandlish, Zied Rieke
Art Leads:- Christopher Cherubini
Animation Leads:- Mark Gringsby, Paul Messerly
Story By:- Jason West, Todd Alderman, Steve Fukida, Mackey Macandlish, Zied Rieke
CEO:- Vince Zampella