MyDiaryMyBlog

August 31st...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:59:00 +0000

August 31st is always full of important dates. First of all, it marks the day when Malaysia got its freedom from British colonial rule in 1957. This year is the 55th Independence Year for Malaysia with its theme "Janji Ditepati". For a nation of multi-racial, we were blessed with peace and harmony throughout the years and for years to come. Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia!

Secondly, it also marks the day when Lady Diana was killed in a fatal accident together with her companion Dodi Fayed in Paris 15 years ago. I remember watching the news of her death through TV3 evening news in Seri Malaysia, Alor Star, Kedah after a long trip from Thailand. Her 'fairy tale' wedding to Prince Charles broadcasted live on tv when I was a kid was dubbed as wedding of the century.

Next is the occurrence of the "Blue Moon"...not the one in the movie The Smurfs. Blue Moon is a term given to a full moon that occurs as the second full moon in a given month. Blue moons are not typically blue in color. There are two full moons in August, the first one was on August 1st. If you miss this one, you'll have to wait three years for the next blue moon. There will be two full moons in a single month in July 2015 (July 1 and 31). Now that explains why the phrase “once in a blue moon” means something very rare!

August 31st is an important day for me too. This day for this year, marks the 15th years that I have been with my hubby. We enjoyed and shared the good and bad times that we had. It takes a lot to reach 15 years together through thick and thin.

Had wanted both my kids to be delivered on Merdeka day too but did not worked out as planned. One was eight days earlier and the other one was 4 days earlier. Otherwise I would have another 2 more important dates on 31st. August. Now that with two kids in the family, it means more and more happy days ahead. Life is wonderful!

Miniatures..A World of Mini Wonders

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 17:40:00 +0000

Do you like miniatures? A miniature is a reproduction of something in greatly reduced size. Came across this interesting miniature collection from a tv programme recently. How I wish I could just own a few of it. So small and cute! Meet Teresa Yu from Hong Kong...a miniature collector for the past 15 years. She even makes her own mini food items. Her collections are so extensive that it is not an exaggeration to describe her collection room as a museum. It is a private collection and all not for sale. Here are some of the photos shared from her webpage ...

Teresa Yu and her collections

1925 Saloon

The making of "Gone With The Wind"

Food Galore

Kitchenware

Teapots and Plates

Need a gown for dinner?

Stationery Shop

Fish Stall

Wanna join us for a picnic?

Fruit Stall

Fish Market

Yummy...Dim Sum

Cake Shop

Mummy, I want this Biscuit!

Bread and Pastries

Pastries in the process

The Artist Corner

A miniature look of Teresa Yu and her room...

Actual photo of her room....

Strange and Odd Looking Clouds in Sabah, 12 June 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 08:26:00 +0000

Cloud watching is fun, because different clouds form under different circumstances. These few photos below were shared from facebook. Looks strange and odd but definitely scary...

Sunset Views from My Home

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:35:00 +0000

Sunset is one of the most beautiful daily sights. Although they occur every day, the quality and majesty of a given sunset depends largely on the amount of clouds, the amount of particulate matter in the air, the angle of the sun, and the location. Every so often, all the variables come together just right, and a beautiful sunset is born. No matter how busy I am during cooking hours in the evening, nothing will deter me from taking a glimpse of the daily beautiful sunset view from my balcony. As my unit is located on the upper floors, I get a very good view of the sun going away for the day overlooking Sunway and its surrounding neighborhoods. No words can describe the beauty of it...

Partial Lunar Eclipse 4 June, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 05:38:00 +0000

Today, we will be able to observe a partial lunar eclipse. In general, lunar eclipse will occur when the Moon passes the Earth’s shadow during full Moon. The eclipse will begin at 4:48 pm when the Moon start passing penumbra shadow of the Earth but most observers will not be able to visually detect the eclipse since penumbra shadow is less dark and the Moon is still below horizon at that time. The Moon will start passing umbra shadow of the Earth at 6:00 pm and the eclipse will be in maximum phase at 7:04 pm. It can only be observed when the Moon is rising at 7.18 pm until 8:07 pm when the Moon totally leaves the Earth’s umbra shadow. The eclipse will ends at 9:18 pm but it couldn’t be observed since it is at the penumbra (less dark shadow) phase. No matter where you are in Malaysia, as long as the sky is clear after sunset, looks at the southeast east direction for the Moon. You can observe the eclipse with naked eye.

-angkasa-

Transit of Venus Across the Sun - Wednesday, 6 June, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 06:06:00 +0000

On 6 June, 2012 as Venus leaves the evening sky to enter the morning sky, this brightest of planets will pass right in front of the sun, to stage one of the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena that is the transit of Venus across the sun’s face. Planet Venus will passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, becoming visible against solar disk. During the transit, Venus can be seen from the Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun. In Malaysia, this phenomena will begin to occur when the Sun rises and ends at 12:50 pm. The last Venus transit took place on 8 June 2004.

All Malaysian will be able to observe Venus transit at sunrise until transit ends at 12:50 pm. The transit begins with its first contact (contact I) at 06:09:29 am, reach the maximum phase at 09:29:28 am and finally the transit ends at contact IV at 12:49:57 pm. Citizen in Sabah, Malaysia will be able to observe the entire phenomena because the Sun rises before the transit begins meanwhile citizen in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak can only observe the transit at Sun rises.

This upcoming transit of Venus will be the last one for the 21st century. It will take place across a period of nearly seven hours on June 5-6, 2012. This extremely rare astronomical event won’t happen again until December 11, 2117...which is another century later. The last transit of Venus was June 8, 2004.

Depending on where you live worldwide, the transit of Venus will happen on June 5 or 6, 2012. If you live in the world’s Western Hemisphere (North America, northwestern South America, Hawaii, Greenland or Iceland), the transit will start in the afternoon hours on June 5. In the world’s Eastern Hemisphere (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia or New Zealand), the transit will first be seen at sunrise or in the morning hours on June 6. Much of the world will see it.

You must find a way to protect your eyes if you plan to watch the transit of Venus on June 5-6, 2012. Amateur astronomer with a telescopes will be using safe solar filters on the sky end of their scopes to watch the transit. If you don’t have this setup, you still have options, but not as many as for a solar eclipse. Remember, the sun is small in the sky, and Venus is much much smaller. So solar eclipse glasses and welder’s glass might not work. Unless you have a telescope with a special solar filter, you’ll probably want to use one of these options:

- A home-rigged indirect viewing method.

- Local viewing at astronomy club, park or nature center.

- Online viewing.

Whatever you do, NEVER look at the sun directly without a safe filter in place to protect your eyes. Besides your unprotected eyeballs, here are some other things you should not use. Do NOT use sunglasses, polaroid filters, smoked glass, exposed color film, x-ray film, or photographic neutral density filters.

Last transit of Venus in our lifetimes! Get ready to observe the transit ...

-sciencedaily n angkasa-

Japan's Skytree - World's Tallest Tower

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:28:00 +0000

The Tokyo Skytree, holder of the record for the world's tallest tower has opened to the public. About 8,000 visitors took the high-speed lifts up to the observation decks of the 634m (2,080ft) tower on its opening day. Eager visitors have reportedly waited in line for more than a week to purchase tickets for the building's panoramic views.

Tokyo Skytree will provide services for digital radio and TV transmission, as well as an aquarium, theater, academic institutes and regional heating and cooling facilities. Tokyo's current broadcasting tower, Tokyo Tower, is at 333 m (1,093 ft), and is no longer tall enough to give complete digital terrestrial television broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by many high-rise buildings.

Two observatories are open to the public, at 350 meters and 450 meters. The latter features an “air corridor” - a glassed walkway. Simulations have shown Tokyo Skytree is able to withstand an 8.0-magnitude earthquake, according to Hirotake Takanishi, PR manager for the Tobu Tower Skytree holding company.

The lower observation platform houses a restaurant and shops, many of which sell something related to the tower's 634-meter height. The tower's official color is “Skytree White,” which has slight bluish undertones. Though it can show many night-time color combinations, the tower’s default illumination is blue or purple. Blue is to reflect the image of the once-blue Sumida river, while purple symbolizes miyabi, the popular purple kimono color from the Edo era.

The Sky Tree was confirmed by Guinness World Record in November as beating the record previously held by the Canton Tower in China, which stands 600m (1,968 and a half feet) high. Under Guinness World Records guidelines, a tower is a structure in which less than 50 per cent of the total height is useable floor space. The world's tallest building and also the tallest free-standing structure on land remains Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which stands at 828m (2,717ft).

-telegraph-

Eating cupcakes without adding any calories?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:11:00 +0000

Don’t you ever wish you could stuff yourself with all kinds of delicious treats without feeling guilty about putting on weight? Just read an article that we’ll be able to do just that.

Familiar with electronic cigarettes? They are ingenious cigarette like gadgets designed as an alternative for smokers who just can’t put the habit away. Basically they turn a nicotine containing liquid into vapor that is allegedly a lot safer than tobacco smoke. US based company Vaportrim was apparently inspired by e-cigarette technology to create a similar device that is meant to help people lose weight. Their particular health aids apparently allow users to inhale delicious sweets like vanilla cupcakes or blueberry muffins without the many calories that usually come with them.

The colorful vaporizers take advantage of the taste-smell connection. According to their research, 70% – 75% of what we taste is actually smell. So as you inhale delicious vapor, smell and taste receptors send messages to the brain, which in turn releases hormones telling your body it’s full. Apparently, studies have proven that the sense of smell triggers feelings of fullness before our stomachs do. So, by enhancing taste and smell, the inhalers help you feel full faster, so you eat less and lose more weight. There is a wide choice of flavors because it comes in 14 different flavors to choose from.

Being advertised by Vaportrim as the world’s first calorie-free dessert, it sounds great in theory, but does it really work? I wonder... It just looks more like e-cigarettes without nicotine marketed as a weight-loss products.

"SUPER MOON" on 6th May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:31:00 +0000

"Super moon" phenomenon, known as a perigee full moon, means the Moon appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than when it is furthest from the planet. The Moon’s distance from the Earth is not always the same due to the elliptical shape of the orbit and variations in the gravitational attraction between the Moon, Earth and Sun, but it was the closest it will get to the Earth this year and appeared larger because of that.

At its peak, it was about 356,400km (221,457 miles) away from Earth as compared to its usual distance from Earth of 384,000km (238,606 miles). However in Malaysia, we did not have the chance to observe this phenomenon because the Moon rose at 7:32 pm.

It may have been only an optical illusion, but a sight to remember to those who are able to view it. The moon is always beautiful and a full moon is always dramatic. The "super moon" rewarded many moon gazers with bright, crisp detail of the full moon's craters and basins. The biggest and brightest full moon of the year on Saturday night, graced the skies and glowed around the world.

In Brazil it illuminated the landmark Christ the Redeemer statue. In Florida, fishermen worked their lines amid the moonlight in Bal Harbour. And near Athens, tourists watched as the moon rose behind the Temple of Poseidon.

Wesak Day at The Buddhist Maha Vihara Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 May 2012 05:52:00 +0000

This was my 6th year observing the Wesak Day celebration at the Buddhist Maha Vihara Temple in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. Buddhists celebrated Wesak yesterday by paying respect to Lord Buddha on his birthday. Wesak Day is held to commemorate the birth, enlightenment (nirvana) and death (parinirvana) of Lord Buddha. The year 2012 marks the 2,556th Buddha Era.

This year, we went over early in the morning as we didn't want to get caught in the heavy traffic and crowd there. Arriving at the temple at about 9am was a good choice. Parking was always an issue when it comes to Wesak Day but we were lucky. Got one, not too far away from the temple.

The weather was just nice and drizzling from time to time not like the previous years when we were drenched in our sweat. Coincidentally, our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was there too together with a few others. Here are some of the photos taken...

Pineapple Tarts, Pineapple Tarts and more Pineapple Tarts!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:35:00 +0000

Just collected my Pineapple tarts from my schoolmate who is also a blogger. Good service and hassle free! The tarts are delivered right up to my home...that's the best. No payment in advance needed when I ordered...only COD (cash on delivery)**. The pineapple tarts arrived in perfect condition just as how it looks like when it's out from the oven.

How did it taste? How good is it? Perfect, Good n the Best! It just melts in your mouth and not too sweet. Made from 100% good Quality Butter (Anchor) and with rich pineapple filing. 100% Homemade, No Mass Production and most important of all 100% Halal! That's what I like! Wanna give it a try? Just click to this link norahomebake to make your orders or drop a message to her on her facebook link. Easy as ABC! Ok I am off for more pineapple tarts again hmmmm....yummy! 'Cuba sekali, nak selalu'...

**terms and conditions apply - please refer to link

Future Smartphones can see through walls!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:54:00 +0000

It sounds interesting to have one but at same time it is scary if others are watching at you by using it. Brace yourselves: The future just walked in the door, because soon smartphones not only can just take photos but will go well beyond its current feature by allowing you to LOOK THROUGH WALLS, as well as wood, plastics, paper and clothes (just like Superman). University of Texas, Dallas, researchers are translating an "unused range in the electromagnetic spectrum" called the terahertz band (sounds like fancy talk for magic) through microchips made of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor, aka wizardry) into images which can be seen via a computer or smartphone.

Terahertz radiation has been in the news, or at least the news that doesn't hit the headlines, quite a lot recently. It's suggested to be a safe alternative to X-Rays that is still capable of seeing through walls and under cloths and has been promoted for use at airports for advanced scanning of passengers, to determine if they are concealing items. This technology has basically limitless implications, from detecting counterfeit money to helping doctors identify tumors. However, if you're nervous this could turn the world into an unwilling peepshow, relax: Researchers want to focus on uses in a range of less than four inches (10 cm).

-ndtv-

Reminiscing My Childhood Days

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Had a great Sunday rest after rushing all my weekends chores and groceries done up the day before. Lying down on my lazyman chair while listening to the selection of oldies songs chosen by my hubby out of the thousands of CDs that we have. While listening to all the familiar songs that I have not heard for some time, I started to think back of my childhood days.

Even though being born as a Kelantanese, I hardly know much about this northern state because I was there only for a few months old. Raised in a small town ie. Kluang (the place where the famous Kluang Station coffee was born) in the state of Johor, my family lived on top of a hill where the radar station for the meteorology department stood. For the first 10 years of my life, most of my time besides than attending school were spend there.

Surrounded by jungle nearby and the fact of living in a small town, life was slow and easy. Almost alternate days, there's visits by squirrels, porcupines and wild birds. In the day, grasshoppers and butterflies will be hopping and flying around the grassy slope. By late sunset and at night, fireflies will be lingering around the area. School was fun because I had a bunch of good primary mates that I knew ever since my first day at school including my current blogger friend missyblurkit. How I miss those days and all my friends there...

Many things changed when my family moved to KL because of work and also for a better future. People living in a big city are always short of time. Everyday is a rushing day...maybe we have not adjusted ourselves to it yet. Life was not easy. The unexpected cost of living in KL as compared to a small town really did created big problems for my parents. My mum had to grab as many over-time as possible to overcome it and she's always thrift in many ways. $ and temper were always the spark of all arguments between my parents. As daughters, we did not understand her and all her great efforts much back then. If I could just turn back the time and gave her all the support she needed...To my mum, who is now staying happily half the globe away...I am so sorry for that. You will always be in my heart and love you always!

School to me was like a nomad way of life...changing from school to school. Not that I am a bad student but just the fact to cut down on transportation and rental expenses, we need to get to the nearest and the cheapest one around. So in my first year living in KL, I was in a girls school for a year and then we moved again to PJ. Due to this, I have to change to another school just for my final primary year. Met some new friends and maintained for a few years before moving to another school again. That's where I knew fellow blogger xDer and also his wife nOra now. A nice and very quiet person.

To me, friends are my source of joy and means a lot. Friendship last forever. I can still remember the short verse that we will usually pen in autograph books "Enid-Blyton I am not, so I cannot write a lot...just three words Forget Me Not". My childhood days though not a happy one but I learned something valuable out of it in which I always practice and put it in my mind. Money is important but never ever argue over it in a relationship. It destroys a family in a long run. Always practice open conversation and be true to your family members...nothing to hide. Now being a mum to two great kids, I will always make sure my kids go through a happy childhood. They are my future :) I love my family!

'Giant' or 'Giant Crocodile'?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:16:00 +0000

What is hypermarket? Hypermarkets are retail store that combines a department store and a grocery supermarket. Often a very large establishment, hypermarkets offer a large variety of products such as appliances, clothing and groceries. They are convenient, clean, save, polite, helpful and regularly reasonable in price. But why are retail store nowadays are so different than before? Remember that those days we only have Kimisawa around, one of the first startup of the blooming hypermarkets bussiness in Malaysia. They were the “hoo-hahs” of all time but later years all companies came to action like Yaohan, Carrefour, Makro, Cold Storage, Tesco, Giant and the recently changed imaged Jusco-AEON.

Many of these companies have their own procedures and level of politeness or shall I say good customer service. Let’s compare a foreign company and a local company. I have made comparison and witnessed by my own eyes that foreign company does very much better in terms of customer service. The helpfulness and services that render to the customers are unforgettable and unbelievable. When during rainy days, security guard may have an umbrella to escort the customer from the car park to the main entrance, cashiers will say “Thank you, please come again” or “Terima kasih, jumpa lagi” to you but for the local established hypermarket employing those untrained employees who will not say a word of “thank you” to you after payment but to show you their frowning faces during check out. You may say that I am lying but it is true. Who is paying for their salary?

Couple of days ago I have an extreme bad experience with a local hypermarket in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong...the one and only Giant Hypermarket. They all started their business back in the mid 40’s by The Teng family and have been growing ever since then. Known for its everyday low prices, big variety and great value motto, it is the choice of many Malaysian families for weekend groceries. The only thing that I am skeptical with, is their politeness and they way they serve their customers.

I was purchasing my weekend groceries at there. No doubt that they are cheaper by 10 to about 20 cents per item than compared to Tesco and AEON but that’s for only certain local canned items. After getting all my items, as I was scrolling the trolley to the checkout counter, the first thing that caught my eyes was the cashier next to the lane I am queuing, taking chances of having mini nap during peak hours. Squatting down at her counter, it look as though that she was not feeling very well but then, how could she laugh and made funny movement while she holds her forehead looking that she was having a headache and chatting to her colleague? It was quite near to closing hours and usually at other hypermarts like for instance Tesco, you will see a supervisor moving from counter to counter to make sure that there is a smooth traffic and no extreme long queues at any particular lane.

When it was the time for me to make payment, I have used my debit card to pay for the amount. It was a small amount of around RM100. As far I remember, Maybank used to have many of these card problems ie. card decline, not accessible, off line and the list goes on. Over the years, Maybank has improved a lot and been using this mode of payment at other hypermarts without problems. The first attempt to charge to my debit card was not a success because of some problem with their terminal. The second was also unsuccessful because the line was not going through and the third was declined according to the cashier. It made me so embarrassed as though that I do not have the money for it. The queue was very long at that time. I have no choice but to cancel paying with my debit card. Since we did not have enough cash with us, I have to wait there while my hubby went to withdraw cash from the nearest ATM.

While on my way back, something tells me that my card has scammed by someone because I always keep track of what I have charged and was pretty sure that there's enough funds in my card. I went to the nearest ATM machine to check and found that all my money was drained away. I got in touch with Maybank through phone but nothing can be verified because their system was down. Immediately upon reaching home, I went online to check through maybank2u.com. From my transaction history, it clearly shows that my account have been debited 3 times of the same amount at Giant.

I immediately called up the hypermarket and spoke to the Manager On Duty, Mr. Poobalan. He told me to quickly return back to the store and he will settle it off for me. When I reached there, I was being told that no refunds can be made and I should negotiate on my own with the bank on the following day. He says that it is the merchants fault and takes very fast for the bank to cancel it off and return the money back to my account. One of his assistant called up Maybank to enquire for us and we were told by Maybank personnel that it takes up to 7 - 14 days for the cancellation but the MOD of Giant Kinrara told us it is very easy and fast to get our money back. Well, does 7 - 14 days consider fast?

Overheard from their conversation that this did happened before last time. Why can't they just advise their customers that after the first decline, not to try again for the second attempt? Why must I be the one who does the job? Isn’t that they should be working? We are paying for their salary. Instead they still insist not to refund back. They claimed that they will have to get the amount from their own pockets to refund and all kind of stories. I know I was at the top of my voice already by then, after realizing that slow and gentle discussion does not work at all.

Luckily in the end, they did pay us back after a long session (almost an hour) arguing and fighting for it and it seems they got the cash money from their claims fund in which they said can't be done initially. I had to sign the refund form with the condition that I shall not inform the bank for any future cancellations. If GIANT BANDAR KINRARA had refused to refund back the amount on spot that midnight and let us deal on our own with the bank for 7-14 days, for every unit in the trolley I am paying four times of the price! Is this the best deal in town???

It was not our fault but purely it was their merchant and management problems. To me, it seems they wanted to do the easy way out. If nothing can be done because it's late, please don't tell their customers to rush back all the way to their outlets at late hours. Why should the customers be the ones to solve their internal problems? Staffs wasn't well trained and informed. They should have done something about it way back since they knew there was a few times it happened before and not letting it to continue on like that until a big issue crops out.

As a customer, what's the first few words that you like to hear when incidents like this happens? A word of sorry will be fine and I do not expect them to get me a cup of tea (the Chinese way). NO THEY DON’T! Sadly to say that they did not admit that they are wrong. As compare to others like Tesco, Jusco, Isetan, Metrojaya or maybe Parkson, they would smile and still say “We are sorry. Thank you. Please come again”. Where are the manners??? Even Barney has both of the phrases in children songs.

The management did not keep to their promises. Before we left at about 12.30am, we were told by the MOD that the branch Manager, Ms. Catherine will give us a call at 9.30am, as soon as she comes in. Got up early on Sunday morning just to wait for their call on my two mobile lines but did not hear from them...not even an sms since Giant Bandar Kinrara uses a 010 mobile number. Instead they called at 1830 hours (6.30pm) which we were not available at that time. If I am away after 10am to catch a flight, will I be reachable? As a manager, he or she should be responsible towards any promises made by his or her staffs. Giant has now become a Giant Crocodile. They will take and pretend nothing has happened. They are really lack of customer service training!

What a shame to such a big organisation...so called the Malaysia's Top Retailer!

Google's Project Glass...Getting Connected with a Difference?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:17:00 +0000

Can't get enough of going online on pcs, notebooks, smartphones, androids etc? Well, let's hear about the Project Glass revealed by Google yesterday. You may think texting while walking is dangerous but what about with this Google's futuristic, internet-connected glasses? These glasses can do anything a smartphone or tablet computer does now. Just imagine, directions to your destination appearing literally before your eyes or talking to friends over video chat, taking a photo or even buying a few things online as you walk around.

Well no doubt, it changes the way you get connected and a new way of looking at the world but personally I think the user will be more prone to dangers. It's all very futuristic and there is no release date set for it yet. For sure, it definitely brings back the trend of wearing glasses, cool again.

My Earth Hour 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:03:00 +0000

My Earth Hour this year was a good one. Just as the clock starts to countdown, my kids got ready and all geared up to really support the Earth Hour event this year. Both of them reminded me many times as to what to switched off and shut down before it starts. Last few years in fact I was the one who told them but this year it was the other way round :)

Good that they really understand the meaning of it and we actually went beyond the hours in the dark with just their homemade lanterns around. It was a fun filled two hours for them with taking photos and eating their noodles in very dim lights from their lanterns.

A great moment to spend some quality time with my kids minus the tv, radio, games and computers especially facebook...watching them growing up every minute! To me, it seems it was just not too long ago when they were still babies. Time indeed passes by very fast!

Seriously...She's smaller than an iPhone!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:20:00 +0000

Here comes the smallest, cutest puppy in the long history of small and cute puppies.

The female Dachshund and Chihuahua mix puppy named 'Beyonce' barely survived being born on March 8 at a northern California animal sanctuary, needing mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions from veterinarians in the first minutes of her life. Beyonce was the fifth and final dog of her litter to be born and wasn’t breathing at first. Her mother had been living on the streets before being picked up and rescued.

She was so small at birth that she could fit into a spoon. Weighing just about four ounces, she’s even smaller than a can of soda but the palm-sized puppy is getting stronger each day. She has been bottle fed around the clock since then (every hour to be precise). At two weeks, she's about the size of a business card. Nothing demonstrates the size of this little puppy other than comparing her to something we’re all familiar with like an iPhone…

Meanwhile, an application has been submitted to Guinness World Records to see if she be able to nab the world's smallest puppy title.

Fancy living in an Upside Down House?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:39:00 +0000

It is a cozy looking small house with the area of 140sq. metre, comes equipped with a kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, bedrooms with its interior decorated with many unique features of Sabah...just right for a small family. Everything had been placed upside from its roof to its floor including a Kancil parked in the garage, fridge, stove and rice cooker in the kitchen as well as a functioning old sewing machine. The house is furnished with various native arts and crafts apart from the everyday household items and sofa sets.

Alexander Yee, a Sabahan has forked out half a million ringgit to build Malaysia’s first upside down house to send out an environmental message. The unusual structure at Kampung Bantayan-Telibong, about 40km from the city, was worth every sen. Alexander Yee, who owns a construction firm besides operating a tourist lodge (Trekkers Lodge) in the wildlife-rich Kinabatangan district in Sabah’s east coast believes if humans keep exploiting natural resources at the current rate , sooner or later we will find our world upside down.

The upside down house took nearly six months to build which it involved reinforcing the roof, walls and the floor from where the interior furnishings were suspended. The unique house on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu has attracted more than 3,000 visitors ever since it was opened to the public. The house is a mix of ethnic Sino-dusun and Dusun style.

The upside-down house of Borneo is probably the only one in South-East Asia, though there are more then a dozen houses and buildings built with the upside down concept across the globe, including in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. So far, The Malaysia Book of Records has confirmed the house is one of its kind in the country.

Miniature Food...hmmm Yummy?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:41:00 +0000

To all food lovers...check out these miniature food photos. How many of these plates do you think it would take you to be full? Probably twenty or thirty or maybe even over 500 if they tasted as good as they look. All the sandwiches, dumplings, and cakes all look so delectable.

Well, they’re not actually food, but very small scale models. Here are some photos of the incredibly tiny and amazing miniature food sculptures that’ll make you hungry! It’s visually enticing and incredibly detailed despite its tiny size...smaller than the size of a coin. Simply scrumptious!

1World 1Malaysia 1Fiesta...4th Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:19:00 +0000

All sorts of shapes and sizes and colourful hot air balloons are floating in the skies of Putrajaya for 4 days. This is the annual international hot air balloon fiesta which is held from March 15th to 18th (7am - 9pm) at the Monumen Alaf Baru in Precinct 2, Putrajaya.

More than 26 balloons from 13 countries are competing in the annual event, which is now in its fourth year. Visitors this year can look forward to hot air balloons in the shape of a birthday cake (USA), kiwi bird (New Zealand) and cartoon character Felix the cat (Vietnam). The fiesta also includes our local balloonists Mohd Sobri and Khairudin, or “Captain Rudy” as he is more commonly known throughout the international ballooning fraternity.

The uniqueness of the event draws crowd from all around Malaysia and neighboring countries. It encourages family togetherness by having fun in variety of activities for all ages. Held during school holidays, it is the perfect time for quick family getaway.

This year’s fiesta will also see the return of the widely-talked about and highly anticipated “night glow” event on Saturday night, where the balloons light up in a synchronised manner to the sounds of music, culminating in a fireworks display.

There is no entry fee for visitors and based on my past experience (my last visit was in year 2010)...if you intend to drive there, please be there early due to limited parking space available. It would be best to use public transportation to visit the fiesta.

Another piece of advice from me...bring along your umbrella, hand fan and drinking water because you will need it somehow :)) Here are a few of the photos taken from my past visit in 2010. Happy Viewing!

Beautiful Aurora Photos from March 2012 Solar Storms!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:40:00 +0000

Auroras supercharged by the recent March 2012 solar storm. Stunning and spectacular photos! What is an Aurora? An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere.

Aurora over Tromso, Norway

In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the northern lights). Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction.

Aurora over Minnesota

Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis (or the southern lights), has almost identical features to the aurora borealis and changes simultaneously with changes in the northern auroral zone and is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, New Zealand and Australia.

Aurora over Lake Superior

-space.com-

Earth Hour 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 09:19:00 +0000

Time flies very fast. It seems it was just not long ago when we were still counting down to Christmas 2011 and New Year 2012 to arrive. Now it is already a quarter of year 2012 gone...so fast! What have we in mind for March 2012? Well...off course it is the yearly Earth Hour event. Been following the yearly Earth Hour event for the past 4 years. My kids like the Earth Hour event and already bookmarked it, way in advance.

For those who are not aware, Earth Hour 2012 will be on Saturday, 31st March, 8.30pm to 9.30pm under their campaign "I Will If You Will" (IWIYW) with the intention of engaging its growing global community to go beyond the hour. It is a way of "Uniting People To Protect The Planet". As from today, it is just 21 days to countdown.

Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change caused by human activity.

Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008.

Using a dedicated YouTube platform, IWIYW asks Earth Hour's digital community to inspire people from all corners of the globe to take sustainability actions, and to share their commitment to the environment with their own social media networks. Any movement of change begins with symbolism and it’s a needed step to prove enough people care about an issue.

Earth Hour is past the beginning now and lots of people are switching their lights off every year in March. The Earth Hour YouTube platform hosts a global library of “I Will If You Will” challenges and encourages people to share their dare publically through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email. With the power of social networks behind the Earth Hour message, it hopes to attract even more participation so we can build a truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet.

Earth Hour 2011 was the biggest year in the campaign's five year history, reaffirming it as the largest ever voluntary action for the environment. It took place in a record 5,251 cities and towns in 135 countries and territories in all seven continents, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It had an estimated reach of 1.8 billion people across the globe. In addition to this, the campaign's digital footprint grew to 91 million. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

In 2011, Earth Hour’s iconic global ‘lights out’ event, some of the world’s most recognized landmarks, including the Forbidden City, Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, Golden Gate Bridge, Table Mountain, Christ the Redeemer statue and Sydney Opera House switched off their lights in a global celebration of the one thing that unites us all – the planet.

Why must we get involved? Simply reason...because our future depends on it! There’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice and working together on the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse) to create a better future for our planet.

iStove???

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:48:00 +0000

I guess anything is possible in China and here’s something you don’t often hear about. Just checked out the photos below. China's reputation for selling knock-offs products with illegal branding is well known but the latest infraction from the region involves iPhone branding on the most unlikely product you could ever imagine...iPhone stove!!!

Police in Wuhan, China recently raided a warehouse and seized 681 stoves that had been illegally branded with the Apple phone's logo. Interestingly, there’s a compliance certification label on these iPhone branded gas stoves, saying…“Apple China Limited”. That’s totally hilarious and we should get one if we see it available for sale in stores.

-dvice-

Leap Year or 'Jumping' Year...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:13:00 +0000

As I opened today's local newspaper TheStar, a few articles about leap year caught my attention. What happens if your birthday falls in a leap year? Celebrate it every four years once or just ignore the 29th and get it done on the 28th? Rather tricky... The best part is their Birthdays are like Olympics because it is the same year that Olympics Games are on! Happy B'day to all born on this date and Happy Leap Day to the rest of the world!

Continuation from my previous posting...where was I...aha...Langkawi! We had a 4D 3N stay there. Visited many places there. Mahsuri Mausoleum was our first stop point. Kids gained much about the famous legend of Langkawi. Next, was the Masirat Field, located right next to the airport, was the site of a mass paddy-burning spree conducted by Langkawi’s inhabitants when Siamese invaded in 1821. Even until today we can still see the burnt rice grains on the ground two hundred years after the incident.

After leaving Matsirat Field, we visited the Underwater World Langkawi at noon. Wow...a total change of weather as compared to the humid and scorching heat outside. We like it! The Underwater World Langkawi is an innovative marine aquarium which houses 5,000 types of aquatic life and some mammal and reptile species. It took us a few hours to walk and see everything in it. Huge area!

We left at the time just right for the sunset to set in. Drove our car along the coastal roads to get the best view of the beautiful sunset. Amazing view! No words can describe the beauty of it. Seafood was on our list for dinner that night. After scouting around, we found a perfect and cozy restaurant along Cenang Beach. Price was a bit pricey but taking into consideration of the food quality and ambiance, I would say it was ok. Dinner checked...what's next?

Slow moonlight drive around landed us at Kuah town. Kuah town is more like a commercial center and shopping zone. The town has many excellent duty-free stores selling everything. Confectionary, tobacco and perfumes are easily found and the stores may not always be pretty, but they serve their purpose. Chocolates, beer and liquor attracted us. Invested a portion of our spending money on it. So cheap!

The next day we went for island hopping. Fun filled sightseeing! Langkawi isn’t just one big island, but a collection of around 100 islands that form an archipelago. While most are uninhabited, a few have been designated for tourism so that visitors from all over the world can admire and appreciate the magical beauty of Langkawi. There are many locals operating island hopping tours and a good bargaining power helps. We joined one of the island hopping tour after 15 minutes bargaining for a good price to bring us around.

The tour operator took us on a journey in a speedboat ride to explore Langkawi’s most illustrious islets. First we were taken to visit ‘Pulau Singa Besar’ (Big Lion Island) and we got the chance to watch the king of the skies, eagles as they soared and circled overhead...observing them as they dive to catch their prey or chicken bits that the boat driver has thrown into the water, with deadly precision. It was a great photo and video opportunity.

Next, we head on over to Pulau Dayang Bunting (Dayang Bunting Island) and the silhouette of the pregnant maiden from a distance was truly amazing. This was how the island got her name and believe it or not...at a certain angle, you will be able to see the island, resembling a 6 to 7 month pregnant lady, lying on her back. Some people might take it as a coincidence or the act of nature, but it somehow creates an amazing linkage between the island and her name.

Two minutes walking distance from the jetty, we were able to see the entrance to the Tasik Dayang Bunting (Lake of the Pregnant Maiden) known with its supposed ‘magical’ waters is another breathtaking sight. While walking, we took our time to enjoy the wonderful scenery as the sea in turquoise is surrounded by thick and lush forest with many wild monkeys roaming around. We were advised not to feed the monkeys and to keep all plastics bags away or else you will have them chasing after you for food! Walked for another 15 minutes before reaching the lake. Concrete walking path has been built all along the way thus making walking in the forest easier...only need to beware off the monkeys around. Humidity was very high and tiring walking uphill!

The island hopping trip ends with a visit to ‘Beras Basah Island’or Wet Rice Island. It's another pristine Langkawi beach with clear waters and far reaching views of the sea where we relaxed and soaked ourselves in the sea after a day spent trekking up to the Pregnant Maiden Lake and feeding the eagles. Kids had a great time playing on the white sandy beach. There were convenient stores around so no worries for a cold cool drink. That makes my day :) Tired and drenched out...so no more roaming around for the day!

Third day was the best day of all. Again short check-in to Awana Porto Malai, Langkawi. It is located at the edge of the sea, its a dock with an ancient buliding and a light tower...great view. Took a few snapshots there and left for the Langkawi Cable Car ride. The entrance for the Langkawi cable car, which takes visitors all the way up to Mount Mat Chincang, Langkawi’s second highest peak, is located in The Oriental Village in the upper northwest of Langkawi Island, near Kok Beach.

Along the way to the cable car ticket counter, there's many souvenir shops around. My mum couldn't resist buying a few for her friends even though the price was not an ideal one after bargaining. We managed to be seated in the same cable car for the six of us. As the cable car ascends, the temperature drops as windy breeze begin flowing into the cabin through ventilation slits at the top. As the gondola style cab makes its way to the top, we got to see a bird’s eye view of legendary Langkawi as well as numerous outlying islands in the distance. The view of the Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells) Waterfalls which cascades down a grey rock face is beautiful.

Upon reaching the peak of Mount Mat Chincang, after climbing a set of staircases that cuts through a thin forest to reach the observatory deck above, we could see the magnificent view of the surrounding horizon, the island’s landscape, skyline and seas beyond. At the side is a steel bridge suspended across Mount Mat Chincang and a neighbouring mountain. Walking across this bridge was a fantastic experience and offers a different viewpoint of the island and sea towards the north. Well the best time to be there is when the sun has to say bye bye for the day :)

As for the final dinner in Langkawi, we went back to the same Chinese restaurant on the first day. Food was yummy along with fresh coconut water for the kids and beer for us. We had a great time drinking beer to our hearts' content! After dinner, we had an evening stroll to the nearest night market for titbits and later back to the hotel for a good rest before we start packing up our stuffs the following day.

Got up early and after breakfast, we were on our way back to where we last parked our car. Time flies very fast. There goes the 4D 3N holiday in Langkawi. It wasn't enough for us...lots more to conquer! We will be back again for more :) We shall see you again...Langkawi! Don't know why but I always relate my Langkawi holiday with the song 'What A Wonderful World' by the late Louis Armstrong. Maybe it is because our world has so much to offer and it is never ending :))

Back on the road again, heading to Ipoh, Perak. When I think of Ipoh...I think of 'Dim Sum', 'Popiah, 'Hor Fun' and 'Chee Cheung Fun'. That's my favourites and the best one only comes from Ipoh. My mum came from a very small town in Perak and most of her relatives are based here. We had to stopped over for a few nights for my mum to catch up with them as she missed them very much. From there, we made visits to my aunties in Parit, Bruas and Kuala Kangsar all in a day.

Time to go back to where we came from...Kuala Lumpur. A great holiday and hoping that this leap year she will be back again to Malaysia for a visit. It has been four years already. She had a bad flight experience home to USA the previous leap year as she was travelling during the Beijing Olympics season. Transit flight in Beijing airport caught her with many surprises.

Hardly able to find any airport personnels who can communicate in English language. She had to check in with my stepdad to a low budget hotel (no more rooms - peak season) with no food for the night because they only accept USD (my mum did not carry enough USD and money changers were all closed). No credit cards were entertained too. No complimentary tea or coffee in their room. Just plain water!

Luckily my mum remembered about the 2 hard boiled eggs prepared by me that she carried along in her handbag before they departed from KLIA, Malaysia. It was such a disappointment because Beijing as host for the Olympics Games was not up to the world standard at all. My mum will never ever step in to China again even though it is paid holiday! For her, it is the first and the last time. Well...that's my 2008 leap year story and hope 2012 leap year will bring in more interesting stories to post...

Leap Year 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Today is 29th February and it is a leap day. This year, 2012 is a leap year and consists of 366 days. This particular date is special because it only comes in every four years once. What are your best memories of a leap year? My previous leap year 2008 was a memorable one because my mum and her spouse came back from USA for two months holidays in Malaysia. They had a great time here and so did we.

Age did not deter my stepdad (my mum's spouse) from travelling. He was very sporting indeed for his age :) I remember having our two weeks journey driving from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu. We did a short check-in at Awana Kijal in Cherating before heading on to Kota Bahru. We passed by the Kerteh oil refinery along way and also managed to visit a few of my mum's relatives in Kuala Terengganu. My mum had her favourite durian after so many years and rambutans too but not for my stepdad...he has to stay FAR away from the aroma!

We continued our journey through the small towns in Kelantan along our Malaysian borders and moved on from Jeli, Kelantan to the beautiful Pulau Banding in Temenggor Lake, Hulu Perak before reaching Gerik. The view in Temenggor Lake was awesome! That was my second time visiting the lake. Located approximately 35 kilometres to the north-east of Gerik and covering an area of 15,200 hectares, the Temenggor Lake is the largest man-made lake in Perak. In a clear day, jungle stretching to Thailand can be seen from the top!

With the East-West highway running through the island, Pulau Banding is the only island in Malaysia that is serviced by two bridges linking it to the mainland. The tranquil beauty surrounding the lake is complemented by the diversity of its flora and fauna. This enchanting atmosphere is home of the `orang asli’ with their unique traditional lifestyle of totally depending upon the jungles and surrounding lake. The lake has a rich variety of freshwater fish including Toman, Sebarau, Tenggalan, Baung and even the renowned Kelah, providing ample challenge to fishing.

From Gerik, then we moved on to Pengkalan Hulu (near the border of Kedah). Along the route, we can see signboards reminding drivers "Beware...wild elephants crossing"! I can still remember the previous time when we came here years back, there was a few elephants sitting right in the middle of the road at night. Drivers are not supposed to honk or put on their car lights on. We have to turn off our engines and wait till the elephants move away.

By the time we reached Baling, Kedah it was late in the evening...way past dinner time and was raining heavily. After having a simple dinner there, we continued on to Kulim, Kedah and since Penang is not very far, we moved on. Spend three days in Penang roaming for food and moving around. A break from being confined in the car for days. Penang food is super good! I love Penang food! Well that wasn't the end yet...

We decided to add a few more days to our vacation and the next destination is Perlis and Langkawi. The following day, we made a move to Sungai Petani and Alor Setar. By the time we reached Alor Setar, Kedah it was already late afternoon. Check-in for a night at Seri Malaysia Hotel and visited a few places there. We adjourned our journey early morning the next day. Using the North South Highway and the Changlun - Kuala Perlis Highway, we reached Kuala Perlis, Perlis by noon.

We have to park our car at the parking bay. Walking to the jetty, buying the tickets and waiting for the ferry (because we just missed one ferry) took us quite a while. My hubby and I have to carry most of the bagages (kids still young and my mum has to take care of my stepdad). We reached Langkawi by late afternoon. After renting a car, we managed to get a comfortable room in a hotel near the Langkawi airport.

Nothing much can be done for the day...we took a short rest and waited for dinner time to come. We had decent and reasonable chinese dinner in Kuah town. Drinking, drinking and drinking...beer was so cheap as Langkawi is a free trade zone! After dinner we were back to the hotel to recharge our body for the following day. Super tiring but it was great. Many things and places to see. "To know Malaysia is to love Malaysia" by our late Malaysian singer, Sudirman Arshad is very true. More to come in the next posting...stay on ;D