Song About Jen

New Zealand: Goodbye

2012-01-17T11:10:00.001+08:00

Goodbye NZ mountains, peaks & sandflies!!!

New Zealand: Foo Fighters Concert 2011

2012-01-13T08:06:00.004+08:00

Hot chips, hot dog on stick, rain, hill, jam-packed kiwis, funny Jack Black & his brother, T-shape stage, heaps of ff's hits, Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters playing for freaking 3 hours!!! That's ff's last show in 2011!

I'm glad that I made it to the concert. That's the reason I'm back to Auckland again. On 13th Dec, I screamed my lungs out at Western Springs Stadium with 50,000 ff's fans. ~~No camera or bag allowed in the concert. So pardon my pahlia phone, this is the short clip that I managed to record.~~ "drafted this on Dec 15th and I still do not manage to upload my recording"

The annoying part of the concert is that there's a man got drunk when the concert was just started. Alcohol was sold in the event and that fella had been drinking since ice age. When Jack Black was performing for the opening act, I saw him holding 3 cups of beer with an empty cup in his pocket. In the midst of the concert, his gf/partner/wife/whoever dragged him down the slippery hill to toilet. He was staggering with his hands covering his X (you know where). I think he almost pissed in his pants. I hope someone didn't kick his ass as everyone had to give way to him and he could roll down that hill anytime if he slips. When ff was performing Wheels for the encore, he almost had a fight with a guy next to him. C'mon, that's the first song for encore and concert's almost finished. Memang potong steam lah this fella!

Overall, the concert was more than good. It's awesome!!! And now only I know, 'Cold Day In the Sun' is sung by the drummer, Taylor Hawkins. Woot!

Jan 12th, 2012
I met an Australian in my dorm room. He got a free ticket and watched the concert in Sydney. He was so close to the stage and he showed me the recording of guitar solo. Damn!! He doesn't listen to Foo Fighters and don't know much about this band and he said that they are AMAZING after watching them live. So happy to know that!!

New Zealand: Mavora Explorer Mountain Bike/Run

2012-01-07T09:35:00.005+08:00

By chance I was in Te Anau and came across the poster of Mavora Explorer event poster at YHA, library and i-site. This is how the website describes the event.

"This is a unique opportunity to explore the back country of the Mavora area.
This land has been made open to the public for one day only, don't miss this opportunity, there is an event for everyone!"

Sound interesting, isn't it?

Since I was close to the place so I was thinking to go to the event and tried to arrange bus transportation. There is no local bus in Te Anau so I tried TrackNet. I went to the office and the receptionist told me they only go by charter and she pointed me to RealJourney. She said, "RealJourney is the main organiser, you might want to check with them".

Okay,,, so I went to RealJourney office and the receptionist pointed me to i-site at next door. They just want to entertain and suck the money from those wanting to go to Milford/Doubtful Sound, Gloworm Cave or whichever bang-for-the-buck tour.

Okay,,, so I ended up in i-Site and the response that I got was... "TrackNet has a bus to go to Mavora on Mon, Wed and Fri." Duh! In the end, the wheel turns back to TrackNet again.

As expected, this is how helpful those tourism staff are in NZ. I was off to Invercargill the next day. I wonder how many people were in Mavora on Jan 7th, 2012.

All in all, get a car to travel in NZ. :)

New Zealand: Old/ New Year 2011/12

2012-01-01T12:58:00.006+08:00

So, I spent my old/ new year in New Zealand. To me, it's just another day. Some says that 2012 is gonna be the year of the end of the day. Flooding, earthquake, climate change... All these bad stuffs fall on us like there is no tomorrow.

I was in Milford Sound for a cruise on the last day of 2011 and lucky us, we spotted dolphins. Is this a good sign that 2012 is gonna be good? Heaven knows.

My new year is kicking off with another tramp. I have not done any hiking or tracking in Malaysia but this is the activity that I do the most in New Zealand. Strange eh? But, I just enjoy it. I'm going for 4D3N Kepler Track (one of NZ great walks) tomorrow. This is gonna be my first and last tramp in NZ and in 2012, I guess. Hopefully it's a good one and I will return safely. I hope I have got everything I need. oh yea, I forgot 2 very important things - Goodbye Sandfly & my lips balm.

Happy new year folks!

New Zealand: Wellington, Foo Fighters and Honey Lemon

2011-10-17T22:05:00.000+08:00

Saw my favorite band's poster in my favorite city in New Zealand.

Foo Fighters & Wellington!!!

I love Wellington so much that I wish I could work and live there. Too bad there's no working opportunity for me. I have tried my best by walking door to door to countless number of hotels in the city for job applications but to no avail. I just have to let it go. Life gives me lemon.

Foo Fighters are coming to Auckland for a concert tour. Woohoo... Of course, I snapped a ticket. How big is the chance for them to have a concert in Malaysia? Near to zero, I could say. Life gives me honey?

In New Zealand, I have my sweet and sour ~~"gu lou yok"~~ honey lemon.

New Zealand: 24 Hours In Hamilton Part 1

2011-04-08T16:51:00.010+08:00

29 Mar, 2011 - 30 Mar, 2011

The weather in New Zealand has been playing on us. It drizzled for 3 days 3 nights and the pack house had not much kiwi to pack. I only worked for 3 hours on Tuesday and made a last minute plan to go to Hamilton since there was a balloon festival going on there.

I packed and booked a bus ticket from Intercity and boarded onto the bus 45 mins later. The bus stopped at Rotorua for 30 mins and I grabbed the opportunity to book my accommodation. I was quite worried that I had to camp beside Hamilton lake as I rang Eagles Nest Backpackers earlier and I was told that dorm room had been filled. Fortunately, the nice lady in Rotorua i-Site managed to find me a dorm room at Microtel YHA. The reservation invoice and receipt were placed into a nice cover.

The bus passed by Cambridge before arriving at Hamilton. I was catching up with my much deprived sleep during the whole journey. After arriving in Hamilton and checking in to the hostel, I spent my time strolling in the city streets. Finally I was back into a city again after spending time for 3 weeks in a boring small town. Walking along busy Victoria street, I spotted Les Mills!!! I had been doing Les Mills Body Combat for 5 months before coming to NZ and it's my favorite sports so far. I walked into the gym and asked for the price and it's good to know that they allow casual visit at $19. I'm gonna visit the gym someday...

Waikato river is the longest river in New Zealand. There's a nice track at the riverside and a lot of people were jogging there. Of course, I had a walk along the river. 2 fellows were doing kayaking at the river and this is something we won't see in Malaysia. I think they are preparing for a competition because their speeds were fast.

After the stroll, I went back to YHA and took a nap. At dusk, I wanted to go to PaknSave supermarket for shopping and food. Surprisingly, the sky color was so nice I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots of Ulster street in front of YHA. The orange color sky really left me awestruck.

YHA was also painted in orange color.
>

There's nothing much to do at night and I spent my time shopping in the supermarket. And, a day has ended.

Malaysia: Thaipusam 2011

2011-02-23T10:37:00.003+08:00

I witnessed Thaipusam celebration for the first time in my life last year. This time round, I went to Batu Caves again but with my dslr and kitty lens. Being new in photography, I take it as an assignment for myself. The low light condition in the cave was a challenge for me and I got a lot of crappy shots. Here are some "can see" one.

Spinning kavadi with peacock feathers.

Another spinning trance move. I'm thinking of Flo Rida's "Right Round" song while writing this. You spin my head right round, right round...

Could you feel his move? This uncle moved in a slow motion way.

Devotee in trance state moving his body back and forth with the eyes closed.

Hand on the head giving blessings.

A man after fulfilling his vow. Personally, I like this shot other than the lens flare.

Lady devotee looking tired.

Baby devotee.

That's all for now. More shots are available at my flickr set, Thaipusam 2011.

I met Buddha at work.

2011-01-04T03:23:00.003+08:00

I met Buddha at work.

Yea, I am still working at this freaking odd hour. My company is using Office Communicator software for internal communication. Guess who is the person I'm dealing with. SiddharthGowthaman whose name is so similar to Siddhartha Gautama. It's the name of Buddha before he attained enlightenment.

Ok, I just need to entertain myself before I get insane. Good night.

Hor Weng Kei Wantan Mee + The Loaf Cranberry Cheese + Snowflake Bestseller

2011-01-03T20:10:00.003+08:00

The gym I used to go is relocating. It dawn on me that I will no longer hang out at Pavilion KL anymore. Hence, I went to savour all the good food around that area for the last time.

My favorite wantan mee. First shop was opened in SS2, Petaling Jaya since 1935. The sifu retired and the shop closed down. Another shop is opened at Lot 10 Hutong, Bukit Bintang. They named the shop Hor Weng Kei (The Second Generation) and the food is prepared by some young chap, believed to be the apprentice. The mushroom wantan mee I used to have in PJ shop is no longer available, but the char siew wantan mee here is still good.

Cranberry Cheese. Fell in love with the melting cheese after trying it for the first time at The Loaf!

Snowflake Bestseller (Cold). Brown sugar shaved ice + grass jelly + sweet potato & taro balls is a heavenly combination.

Christmas

2010-12-25T23:10:00.002+08:00

Ho ho ho... It's Christmas and it's snowing at Pavilion KL entrance. The artificial snow is made of foam actually but who cares as long as the syiok-ness and white Christmas atmosphere is there.

Beautiful lady with bling-bling shiny costume.

Learning to take some bokeh shots with the Christmas light but I failed miserably. This great shot is taken by hanlun. Damn bokeh-licious!

Merry Christmas!

Cambodia: Faces of the Cambodian Children

2010-12-17T00:41:00.006+08:00

I went to Cambodia in Nov and met a lot of Cambodian children at tourist sites. They clad in ragged clothes, suffered from malnutrition and walked around barefoot. At such young age, they should be spending their time in school but they were selling souvenirs to make ends meet. Survival! They would beg you, tail you just to make a $1 dollar business. $1 means a lot to them and even 100 riel ($0.025) could put a smile on their faces.

Some of the priceless faces that I managed to snap. This girl was standing still when I took a picture of her.

Looked confused.

A little girl who frowned. Try to look into her eyes, your heart will shed tears. I gave her 100 or 500 riel and when I left the temple, she came to me and say bye. Aww, so sweet!

Pretty little girl with big round eyes.

Be thankful for what you have. Merry Christmas!

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 - Update

2010-12-07T10:13:00.010+08:00

Incredible! Didn't know that I could survive a 21km run. The race is over and result's out 1 day after the race. I feel pretty surprise that I completed the race in 2:51:45 according to the Chip Finish Time. So proud of myself. I want to thank Su for pacing with me. If not because of her, I could have walked after 16km mark. We only had 4 hours of sleeps prior to the race hence these are the sleepy faces.

On race day, we arrived at Harbourfront MRT station at 6 a.m. in the morning. We then went to Vivo City for a loo visit and followed the crowd to walk to the starting line. While walking towards Sentosa bridge, Sentosa Express monorail zoomed past us, we heard blasting music of Black Eyed Peas song, saw the big Sentosa sign and we realized that the race was already started. We crossed the starting line 6 minutes after the gun time. Our timings for the first 6km were very slow. We jogged at a conversational pace because it's too crowded. Some of the roads were so narrow that we had to totally slow down especially the one before first water station before 4km mark. Some people just took shortcut in order to beat the jam. Before running past Underwater World, there was one point where runners completely stopped due to a pool of water. While running past the first 5km check point, I found out that we were seriously lagged behind because it took us roughly 1 hour and my normal pace is 7km in 55 minutes. So we sped up a bit and very soon we reached Universal Studio. We were first greeted by Far Far Away Castle but to my disappointment I didn't see Shrek. Maybe he had overslept. We saw Hippo and Penguin from Madagascar, Charlie Chaplin, muscular Mummy guards and some characters that I didn't know. Many people were cheering for us which helped in adrenaline boost and it made us ran faster.

After 1.5 hours, we finally reached 10km mark. I took a pack of lime flavored GU Gel. Luckily it didn't taste bad at all because I tried chocolate flavored Power Gel before and it tasted so bad that I couldn't finish it. After 11km mark along Telok Belangah Road, there was no shade and the heat was excruciating. I just knew that I had to keep moving. When I saw 100 Plus booth, I felt rejoice and I ran towards it. Starting from 16km mark, I already felt tired and my breathing was not so smooth anymore. I implemented the run-walk system so that I could still paced with Su. She's still doing good but when she talked to me I couldn't respond well because I wanted to save my energy for running. We applied deep heating rub between 16km and 17km mark.

Starting from 19km mark, there were a lot of cheering crowds. I knew we were almost there and I started to run again. The bad thing was Su had side stitch and I had to leave her behind. I started taking video while running towards the finish line. I lost concentration and I ran in the wrong lane. When I ran past the barricade, all of a sudden I heard "Half Marathon to your left". It jolted me and I made a slight U-turn to go back to the correct lane. The timing board was showing 2:57 and I had to run faster so that I could finish the race in sub 3 hours. Voila, I completed my first half marathon in 2:57:48 as per Gun Finish Time. The video was super shaky because I couldn't hold my phone well when I tried to sprint and I shot my own foot instead. Haha. Be warned, this video will make you headache.

Today, the Body Combat instructor taught us Tracklist 46 which was just launched in Malaysia over the weekends. I don't really like this tracklist because I feel that my body can't coordinate well. During Track 6 (Spitfire - Ghost Hunter), there are too much leg works. During the 4th reps of side kick and lunges, my thighs are shaking and weak. A nice preview video for Tracklist 46.

It's time to recuperate and recharge. Till then.

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010

2010-12-02T22:38:00.005+08:00

Gonna run my first ever half marathon in Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore in 2 days time. I'm so nervous. The longest training distance I did was 10km only 2 weeks ago. I really hope that I can endure the distance and complete the race.

Kudos to the organizer this year by changing the 21km route. I'm looking forward to the route running past Universal Studio Singapore because I know I won't buy ticket to just go in USS. I'm still thinking whether I should bring a camera with me to snap some shots but it will be a burden for me throughout the race.
BTW, wish everyone running the race good luck. Finish strong!

November UNIQLO Opening

2010-11-18T13:14:00.003+08:00

Japan apparel store UNIQLO opened its first store in Malaysia on 4th November 2010 11 a.m. I was on leave so I went to Fahrenheit 88 in the afternoon around 1 p.m.

To my surprise, so many people were queuing up in front of the store when I reached there. One of the staffs said that the first customer queued up since 12.30 a.m. Crazy ah?

And more people inside the mall.

A lot more...

I went there again the next day during Deepavali holiday. The same crowds were there. I gave up and went there 2 weeks later and still managed to grab the promoted jeans and fleece. This reminds me of the queue when J.Co Donuts opened in Pavilion sometime ago. Sometimes I think that KLites are over-reacting due to their kiasu-ness.

Nike City 10K KL Run 2010

2010-10-15T01:03:00.002+08:00

Woot! I have completed another quarter marathon on 10.10.10. Nike City 10k KL Run, the run I enjoyed the most because...
- it's in KL City
- the route is flat and not hilly
- I did not struggle to finish the race and almost run the full course except when climbing up the elevated highway and gulping down water
- the pumping music that kept me going
- the best running tee design

Most importantly is I completed the race in 1:16:05 which is my personal best. Not really fast but at least I have improved since SCBKLM and I think I can't achieve this at Siemens Run hilly route.

This is the gaudy running tee with finisher figurine called Jay. No idea who he is but at least there is something to keep for remembrance.

Estranged performing with a back drop of KLCC and Maxis Tower. Nice.

BTW, the ultimate challenge will be in Dec for SCSM. I need to start to train hard now. I'm running out of time.

Malaysia Day

2010-09-16T00:44:00.000+08:00

September 16th, Malaysia Day. It marks the formation of Malaysia from Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963. This year is the first year the day is declared as public holiday. Happy Malaysia Day!

Enjoy the video. HAWT!

Thailand: The Sleeping Buddha and The Sleeping Cat

2010-09-14T23:57:00.000+08:00

When Buddha entered nirvana at the age of 80 years old, he lied by side with his right palm supporting under his head. When Shakyamuni Buddha is in this posture, we call him Sleeping Buddha or Reclining Buddha. When I was in the temple, this sleeping cat lied nicely in front of the altar. What a beautiful coincidence!

Photo taken at Wat Yai Chaimongkhon, Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Thailand: On The Street Part 2

2010-07-25T23:42:00.001+08:00

Bangkok offers a variety of exotic food like fried grasshopper, bug or cockroach. I had seen a couple of stalls selling those at night but I didn't take any picture because I afraid the grasshopper would jump out from the wok while the seller deep frying it. Besides that, there are also many hawker stalls selling local food at soi (small street or lorong) in the city. This post is to share some local food available by the roadside. I didn't try any of these because I afraid my weak stomach couldn't handle it if the hygiene if not up to par. I hang out at MBK Level 6 food court and Yum Saap a few times during my stay there.

Fried rice. I like Malay fried rice, not sure how Thai fried rice tastes like.

Grilled banana. It's funny to see them selling grilled banana because we usually eat raw ripe banana or banana fritter in Malaysia. Personally, I like this shot because the seller was listening to his mp3 and wearing a RHCP tee while grilling banana. Kinda cool, right?

A close up look of 3 different types of grilled banana.

Sausage.

See how the seller hangs the raw meatballs.

Fritters. The one at most right looks like a river prawn fritters.

Waffles.

Pork satay?

Colorful kuih-muih. The seller looked stoned. It's 7 sth in the morning BTW.

Pre-packed breakfast. It's very convenient for monk offering.

I'm not sure what he's selling but the business was kinda good.

That's all for now.

Technorati Tags: Thai Bangkok Street Food Thailand Asia Travel Trip

Thailand: On The Street Part 1

2010-06-11T20:26:00.002+08:00

The civil commotion in Thailand has ended. Viva la liberte. Things are getting back to normal and I believe the town will become lively again. Here are some shots captured while walking on the street.

Local folks follow the tradition from the days of Buddha to serve breakfast or lunch offering (dana) to the monks walking barefoot on the street with an alm bowl in their hands.

Other than the reclining Buddha, Wat Pho is also famous for its Traditional Thai Massage school. I saw this funny banner of a massage parlour with a sketch depicting "Herble" Compress massage.

The lady carrying lottery tickets in a folder is trying to sell lottery to the uncle during his morning walk.

Saw this when I was on my way to Vimanmek Mansion, world's largest teakwood mansion. The officer is transferring throne for the Royal to somewhere else.

The Aladdin Elephant street art on an old building.

Technorati Tags: Thai Bangkok Thailand Asia Travel Trip

Thailand: Buddha Jump Over The Wall

2010-06-09T04:24:00.004+08:00

Behind the wall, there are peace and calm.

Photo taken at Wat Yai Chaimongkhon, Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Thailand: Bangkok Central World Experience

2010-05-20T01:17:00.006+08:00

Bangkok, once a land of smile has now become a battleground. Skin color doesn't matter anymore as this is a battle between the Thais, between the reds and yellows and between the rich and poor. It is heart broken to see a peaceful city ending up in a political turmoil and turning into a bloodshed ground for the terrorists and innocent ones.

This photo was taken during my trip to Bangkok in July, 2009 while walking to Chidlom BTS station. Standing magnificent on the left was Central World shopping mall, which is now set ablaze by anti-government protesters and burnt into ashes. It was so happening back then with back to back mini concert on weekends, both Saturday and Sunday, right next to Isetan and the Four Face Buddha. It is so depressing to know that so much has changed in less than a year. Spot the golden head statue in my photo and this one published in BBC News Live event: Unrest in Bangkok. Can you imagine??

Quite a lot of events were held inside Central World shopping mall. I had seen event launch with superstar appearance that made the fans become mad. Also, a musical performance to promote PEACE. I want to hang out in the mall for one more time. It is only a dream that will never come true. Everything is gone.

The livelihood of Bangkok is now a history. My flight ticket to Bangkok will become a waste. Let's pray for Thailand. Peace!

Thailand: Elephant Show and The Rose Garden

2010-04-20T01:04:00.006+08:00

My brain needs exercise so let me do some writing. I'm going to write about The Rose Garden to complete the day trip itinerary after Wood Carving Factory. Not much hoo-ha about this place and you may give it a skip if your schedule is tight. After the trip, I learnt that my parents also went there before 3 decades ago.

Other than the roses planted in the garden, this place showcases Thai local culture and lifestyle. Some of the traditional demonstrations include:-

Silk making process

Culinary arts of fruits and vegetables carving

Umbrella painting

Herbs as traditional medicine

Rice milling process

Not forgetting the mini paddy field for rice growing

I stumbled upon a bunch of kids who were resting while waiting for the next cultural show to start. They played a catchy tune when they saw me taking pictures of the traditional instruments.

After walking around for some time, it's show time!! It's kinda fun to watch the elephants doing some stunts with amusing background music. The audience burst into laughter, especially when one of the elephants poop. Of course this is not planned as part of the show.

Elephants can be your friend, when you gives him banana.

After elephant show, we moved into a hall for cultural show. The show comprised demonstration of some ceremonies like boys going into monkhood, wedding ceremony, martial art, Thai boxing (Muay Thai), cultural dance and so on. I sat quite far from the stage so these are what I've got.

Thai Wedding Ceremony

Ong Bak In Action

Bambo Dance

Cultural Dance in Traditional Costume

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Last but not least, the souvenir for you guys.

Technorati Tags: The Rose Garden Elephant Show Thai Bangkok Thailand Asia Travel Trip

The Silver Lightning

2010-03-27T01:03:00.004+08:00

KL city skyline during high-voltage lightning strike.

Malaysia: EM Mud Ball Project at Zoo Negara

2010-03-07T00:05:00.001+08:00

Some time ago, I participated in the EM Mud Ball Project at Zoo Negara. It's a one-day event to create mud balls which will later pour into the flamingo lake to improve the water quality. 39,000 of mud balls are required to clean the flamingo habitat. These are the materials to make mud balls.

Enzyme is first mixed with the soil. After that, the soil is pressed and rolled into a ball of a tennis ball size. We did not manage to hit the target but our effort was not totally fruitless because we managed to create 25,000 mud balls. These mud balls will be dropped into the lake after going through 3 months of fermentation process.

The flamingos now live in a cleaner and healthier environment.

India: Tiger Cave

2010-02-24T02:45:00.002+08:00

Roar! This year is Tiger year so I'm gonna kick start my first post after CNY with a place that is related to tiger. Nope, I didn't visit Tiger Temple in Thailand. But, I did visit Tiger Cave in Tamil Nadu, India.

There is no tiger inhabited in this temple however the temple has a lot of rock carved heads of animal that look just like tiger.

Tiger Cave is located in a vast landscape. What we saw were rocks, trees and the sky. Besides, it's windy and cooling because Bay of Bengal is just beside this place.

Other than that, there is a gigantic boulder clinging to the ground. See how small were my friends in this picture. This rocky boulder was actually from the sea as a consequence of occasional tsunami at Bay of Bengal.

Before ending this post, I would like to wish everyone Gong Xi Fa Cai and have a roaring and prosperous year ahead. Don't forget to support project and action plan to save the Malayan Tiger which is an endemic tiger species. Too many poachers out there lately. Some links,
The Malayan Tiger
TX2
WWF