Song About Jen

Ini Kali Lah!

2013-05-05T01:01:00.002+08:00

Actually I can't wait for this GE to end. I so eagerly want to know the polling results and hope that Malaysia start anew with a new government. It's time to end corruption, cronyism, Lynas and Banglasia. Politics gets dirtier day by day. Really no eye see.

Exercise your right as a rakyat. I believe we can outnumber the Banglas. Cast your ballot today!

Keep Running

2013-04-22T23:38:00.005+08:00

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
~Robert Frost

Friday Rant

2013-04-13T01:12:00.000+08:00

BIM, supposed to be my first run of 2013. I kinda anticipated it and registered myself last year. It would be exciting to run a half marathon when the clock ticks to 12 midnight on election day and face the ballot box few hours later. Due to time constraint and my inability of teleportation, I gotta give this run a pass. I choose "ubah"! Plan B tells me to hike Mt Kindabalu again this August with Coalition Duchenne. After checking on AA website, reschedule a flight would cost me at least a whopping of RM200 for a return trip. Arrghh... I guess I have no chance to visit KK again this year. Probably till BIM 2014.

I'm a laggard in technology and just got myself a smartphone Nexus 4 early last month. And gosh my phone got snatched during lunch time near to my office end of last month, on that very day I got my bonus. Really wtf!

Just like the title of email from BIM race director, "You get screwed whichever way you turn!". Time to deal with impermanence.

End of My Running Chapter in 2012

2012-12-16T20:27:00.003+08:00

I thought I would retire from running after my first half marathon in SCSM 2 years ago. In fact, it's not. I'm back to running again. I had just completed my last run of the year, Malakoff KL 12km on a very hilly route. I had WL pacing with me for the first lap and I enjoyed the run very much albeit challenging. She did so well as a first timer and nice accompany too.

After a year of hiatus, I manage to complete 5 runs this year. I am planning to do at least 3 runs next year, targeting on mainly half marathon. I hope I can clock a better timing. Hopefully 2 hrs 45 min. Gonna join gym, train hard and pia again next year.

My medals after blood and sweat!

My Level Up

2012-12-08T01:29:00.000+08:00

Saw a little bit of me in this video. Mentally support for this fella!

New Zealand: Post Card For My Parents

2012-11-22T16:27:00.001+08:00

I was in NZ for 10.5 months and I never sent a post card to my parents until 1 month before homecoming. That's one day after I did Mueller Hut tramp.

When you experience life and death moment, you'll know who is most important to you. Appreciate the people around you!

New Zealand: How I met NZ photographer?

2012-11-05T00:54:00.003+08:00

Diamond Lake and Rocky Mountain is located 12km from Wanaka town. It's recommended by NZFrenzy, my trusty NZ travel guidebook. Since I did not have a car, I had to rely on tramper shuttle big time and it wasn't cheap. Most of the time there's only 1 or 2 companies in the area that monopoly the business. Return trip to Rocky Mountain would cost me NZD40 and with that fare, I could travel to Queenstown already. I went to the trailhead though Wanaka Alpine ConnecXions and conjured up courage to hitchhike again after my first successful attempt in Arthurs Pass.

After done with my hike at around noon, I walked to Mt Aspiring road and put my thumb up. Lucky me, a van stopped. The driver, clad in green macpac tee, came down and cleared the rubbish on the passenger seat. I hopped on and tried to be chatty. His name is Thierry Huet and he's just done paragliding at Treble Cone. He is from France and years ago he had a choice between Switzerland and New Zealand and eventually he chose Wanaka to settle down and works as a ski instructor in winter. Amazingly, he is also a photographer. He had his 2012 calendar for sale with lovely shots of Wanaka. Winter mountain shots in Treble Cone, Lone tree at Roys Bay, Rob Roy Glacier, Rippon Vineyard etc. One particular Wanaka lone tree picture with red background taken at dusk really caught my eyes. I wanted to buy the calendar but thinking that it's going to add on weight to me backpack and I had a long journey to go, I gave a second thought. Before ending my trip in NZ, I tried to look for the calendar in Queenstown but too bad I couldn't find it. Else, I will be having both Wanaka and Queenstown calendars hanging in my office cubicle already. I really admire him and think that he is one of those rare know-how-to-live people I met in my life.

I spent around a week in Queenstown before leaving NZ. That's the last leg of my NZ trip. Initially I planned to go to Arrowtown, join the Lord of The Rings tour to Paradise and Glenorchy and squeeze my time to tramp Routeburn Great Walk. But in the end I just spent my time chilling in Queenstown, listening to Mathias the Piano Man (I know where he keeps his piano) and spent those budget on good food. I was in Patagonia a couple of times drinking their hot chocolate and eating ice cream. This was all due to the unpredictable weather that week. The sky was gloomy for whole week. Rain, shine, rain, shine, back and forth. It even snowed at 1000m level on the night before I left.

New Zealand's Queenstown 2012 Calendar by Jason Law

On Saturday morning, I was on my way to Patagonia again and walked past Arts and Crafts Market. Jason Law photography stall caught my attention because I subscribed to his facebook photography page long time ago. He was away that time to get a coffee. I proceeded to Patagonia to online and had my hot chocolate. After some time, it started to drizzle and getting windy. From the glassy window, I could see sellers at the market packed their stuffs and left. He was still there and he was like 'the last one standing'. Astonished by his spirit, I walked up and bought 2 calendars from him. One as a souvenir for my friend and another for myself. I always thought that he's Asian due to his surname Law. Actually he's a kiwi. He put up a note saying if you have questions about photography, he is willing to share his knowledge. Rain's coming, it's not a good time to talk. Lol.

Landscape photographer has to walk the off-beaten path to look for hidden location, endure extreme weather sometimes and wait for the moment to capture golden shots. Please extend your support to their hard work if you ever meet them.

Madness

2012-10-24T00:29:00.000+08:00

Yes, this song is driving me madness. Endless stream of madness gushing into my mind now... From Muse latest album, The 2nd Law.

Oh yea, AirAsia is operating a new route which is Kunming. There are a few places that I want to go. One of them is Yunnan. I have a thought of flying to Vientiane, Laos, cross to Yunnan overland, travel all the way up and ultimately hike the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge. Probably I can save some time by taking direct flight between KL and Kunming, if I don't have enough annual leave. Of course it would be cool if I can just quit my job and take my time to travel. I want to do it in the month of November because Dongchuan Red Land has the most beautiful colors at that time. I shall put this piece of note into a time capsule and see what happen in next or next next year November.

Dream on. Good night!

Thailand: My Hosteling International HI Experience in Bangkok

2012-10-20T01:20:00.001+08:00

Before I went to NZ, I signed up for Hosteling International (HI) membership for 2 years. It helped me save some bucks in accommodation especially when I bought the vouchers in bulk. Since I was traveling alone in Bangkok and my stay was short, I opted to stay in YHA.

Actually I have nothing much to tell from this point onward. facepalm!
I was in Sukhothai bus station and planned to catch the bus at 5pm to Bangkok. When it's my turn in the queue, ticket was sold out and the next bus to the city was at 8.30pm. Lol. Due to the 3.5 hours gap, I arrived in Bangkok at 3.30am in the morning. My plan was to wait until daybreak so that I could catch a train to Siam station and check in to Lub D hostel. After some time, I realized that this was not a good idea so I decided to check in to a hostel first and catch a sleep. Prior to my arrival, I wrote down a few YHA addresses and informed the metered taxi driver to send me to the YHA in Dusit area. HI Baan Thewet and HI Bangkok are located nearby. In case there's no 24-hour reception, I still have an option. That's my so-called contingency plan. Lol. After some troubles finding out the location of the hostel, finally I made it there. The problem of traveling in Thailand is the locals couldn't understand address in English and I have problem writing Thai language. I gave up before the taxi operator giving up. I need to thank him very very much. Kop khun ka!

There's a late-middle-age guy arrived before me. His nationality is France but he looked like an Asian. He wanted to save some bucks so the receptionist reckoned him to stay in dorm instead of single room. She told him that he had to bunk with another Thai guy in the dorm. He popped a question, "Is it safe?". Lol. He must be a first-timer.
Since it's still early, I asked the receptionist where could I do dana offering to the monks. She showed me the map and explained to me that the Thais make offering in odd number like 1, 3, 5 etc. She didn't know why and that's the practice so I just followed suit. Streets in Bangkok are lively early in the morning and alms offering is best to be done before 7am. I bought several ready-made fried rice packets and offered to the monks. Some monks would chant a prayer after the alms-giving. Take a read at this blog post to learn more about offerings to monks. H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche explains best.

This plant looks special to me. You can't find it in KL, only soi in Bangkok on YHA wall.

The hostel did provide pretty decent breakfast. Toast, eggs and coffee/ tea. I shared the same dining table with a Thai business man and a few Cambodian undergraduates. The undergrads got scholarships from the government to obtain their tertiary educations in Thailand university. One of them speaks English well and others just afraid to talk, I guess. And the course that they enroll in is IT. Opps!
The hostel host is an American guy from San Francisco. He's patient because I overheard his conversation with the Japanese guys and he repeated the same sentence for a hundred times. Lol. He hired the locals to help him in cooking and cleaning. One Thai lady let me try a cup of blue-purplish chilled drinks. She said the plant is called "Butterfly Wing" and showed the flower to the host somewhere outside the hostel. I think it is made from the flower that made up the color of nyonya kuih. The locals just boil it and drink like herbal tea. My favorite Thai beverage still goes to Roselle. :p

Hostel is not luxurious but being a frugal traveler, I'm satisfied. I call YHA in NZ home.

New Zealand: My Bird Feeding Experience

2012-10-03T00:01:00.002+08:00

While I was strolling along Rotorua Lake, I met this uncle who was feeding bird at the lakefront. Surrounding by lots of gulls, he held his hand up high with a small piece of bread and the birds automatically spread their wings and grab it. I felt pretty amazed and I snapped away. He looked chill only and smiled at the camera.

Look at the genuine smile on his face!

He then walked to me and offered me a piece of bread to feed the black swan. I tried and the black swan bite. Ouch! They put up this notice for a reason. Lol.

In the end, he left when there's no more bread. I stayed there and continued taking photographs of the black swan. Minutes later, guess what? He returned. With French Fries!!! So, this time round I learnt from him and hold the fries high. Wait wait wait and damn why the birds did not fly up high and grab it? Were they full or what? I waited patiently and feeling embarrassed simultaneously, a bird finally gave me face and grabbed it. The bird was so close to me and it was flying right in front of my eyes. The feeling was just great.

By chance, the reporter from Rotorua Daily was there too. We were busy taking pictures of him feeding birds and had fun feeding birds and black swans until all the fries ended up in their stomachs.

Big thank you to this uncle for giving me a chance to experience the joy of bird feeding. During my stay in Blenheim, I walked to Horton Park at 6am in the morning. Strolling on the soulless streets gave me peace and there were thousands of birds on the field. Woot! It's a great way to start my day, or should I say end my day because I was working night shift back then. Other than Blenheim, I also fed birds at Te Anau lakefront. But, those birds just wouldn't fly up high like those in Rotorua. Why??? Damn fat birds!

I saw a flock of pigeons at Masjid India occasionally and this reminds me of the great experience in Rotorua. However, I don't think I can feed them. Sometimes, I kinda envy the kiwis. They can just live simple life and be happy.

New Zealand: Last Winter

2012-09-23T23:31:00.002+08:00

Last winter, I had mixed feelings, both melancholic and happy. My south island journey started like a bear market. I met a great teacher who made me bang my head hard on the wall. I learnt about reality and how materialism could turn a person into a b*tch. Should I say thank you? Yes, I should. That's the time I bonded with my travel mate. Hard time made us talk more and plan things out.

Mid of August, winter almost ended. But the weather had gone haywire. Snowstorm was hitting New Zealand hard. We stopped working for 3 days and left the depressing city on a plane to Wellington. I had no regret of making such decision although my current job paid me pretty well. The hourly wage was the highest I got among all the jobs I worked in NZ. The only regret was I didn't bid farewell to my colleagues. Apology to Rose, the supervisor who hired us when my bank account was down to dollars. I don't know how to repay her kindness and hope that she accepted our voice mail as proper resignation. I kinda miss my colleagues Stacey, Isaac, Josh, Jerry, Todd, Kate and Gemma. I'm grateful for any help I got from them.

I was in 4 cities within that 2 weeks. Christchurch, Wellington, New Plymouth, Wellington and lastly Blenheim. It's kinda refreshing to experience weather change when I traveled up north. From Christchurch that was blanketing with white white snow to Wellington with freezing wind chill. There was one time when HN, FB and I were having dinner in Welly, there was a sudden hail falling down from the sky and lasted for a short 10 minutes. Surprise?! After a short stay in Welly, I traveled further north to New Plymouth to see the magnificent Mount Taranaki. I arrived in New Plymouth by bus and walked my ass up the hill to YHA on foot with my duck down jacket on. I was sweating profusely. It's so much warmer there. My moolah was still running low, I had to settle somewhere and get a job. After New Plymouth, I went back to windy Welly and walked door to door to every hotel I could find and applied for job. However, all the applications ended up in drain.

Eventually, there I was, Blenheim and the season changed. Cherry blossom season. Welcome Spring :)

P.s. It has been more than half a year I left NZ. I hope I could post more because the places and experience are just incredibly amazing! Probably, I will pick up a little bit on photo essay.

Thailand: Sukhothai Underwater

2012-09-14T01:05:00.001+08:00

Sukhothai Underwater

It's monsoon season and I was in Sukhothai 2 weeks ago. Yes, it did rain and the water level was high. I stayed at Sila Resort which is near to the Yom river bank. I could see the water level was really high. I thought that it's a norm there and the town is guarded safely by the flood wall. Seems like reality is not as what I thought. When I watched the news in CNN today, a big NOOOOO uttered in my heart. The town is flooding. A place where I got my sunburn is now flooding. Kinda hard to believe right? Hopefully the water will recede very soon and everyone is safe. Pray hard!

Photo taken from my room window. I visited Wat Si Chum and it started to rain heavily in the evening.

I even saw double rainbows. Last seen in Glenorchy last year.

New Zealand: Land of The Long White Cloud

2012-08-12T16:46:00.001+08:00

New Zealand got its name for a reason. The Maori name for NZ is called Aotearoa which means the land of the long white cloud. By chance, we encountered this scene while my friends and I were on a road trip.

Long white cloud as the backdrop of houses.

Train of Thoughts

2012-05-08T00:45:00.000+08:00

My mind had been racing profusely for the past few days. How I wish it was calm and still just like the time when I was spending my time in front of Lake Te Anau for sunset with a mind that was completely void.

I am grateful to have a day out last Saturday with my friends. Sharing on their very wise words, they are like my personal wantologist.

Did some reading on the same day, and this is the 4th verse of "Eight Verses of Thought Transformation", a very profound teaching by Buddha Shakyamuni.

Whenever I meet a person of bad nature,
Overwhelmed by negative energy and intense suffering,
I will hold such a rare one dear
As if I’ve found a precious treasure.

My mind is now freed. :)

define: bliss

2012-03-07T23:31:00.000+08:00

It is not some rocket science to have a blissful life.

Doritos. How could you resist?

Speight's - The Pride of South

and best pianist - Mathias The Piano Man playing at Queenstown

Nom...

2012-03-01T22:47:00.002+08:00

Lunch at mamak shop in Masjid India and I saw them selling Gulab Jamon at 70 cents each. I had this super sweet golden balls during my trip in India. It tasted yucks but at least I tried. Dinner at Burger King and to my surprise, they are selling Powerade, the isotonic drinks. I had gulped down n bottles of them and always carry it during my hiking trip in New Zealand.

Didn't know that lunch and dinner could give me surprise too. I shall explore more. Maybe I will find sambal bidin, amok fish or khanom bueng in KL.

27th Feb

2012-02-27T18:51:00.001+08:00

Just like bubbles fizz away in my Speight's bottle. Time flies.

Last year today, I escaped from the cobweb of no-life working life and ventured into the realm full of uncertainties. With a 15-kg backpack on my back, my friend HN and I took off from Kuala Lumpur. We landed on Melbourne the next day and off to Auckland the following day. With our sleepy eyes and stoned brains from jetlag, our bittersweet journey of New Zealand working holiday started since then.

Today, I embark on another journey. I'm going back to the vicious cycle of work, sleep, work, sleep, (no need to type so many times, it's gonna be infinite until I hit 55 years old)... Sad but reality is just cruel. How I wish I'm capable of turning the Dharma wheel instead.

Foo Fighters - Wheels. It explains best.

I will break the wheel one day, someday.

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.