Caseytaykc Blog

Hot & Hot

2011-04-09T15:30:00.000+08:00

A nice big hot chili during a really hot day.

Pango

2011-04-02T06:00:00.002+08:00

(Pango aka PangGo aka Pingo)

Or also known as a cat or monkey

Banana Falls

2011-03-26T22:00:00.008+08:00

Ok, it's actually known as Pisang Falls. I don’t think there is an English translation for it. I can’t remember why it was called Pisang Falls? It really made me ponder since I don’t see much banana trees around.

It was my turn to drive this time round. Milo drove to Fraser so I volunteered. Milo house was on the way to the falls so it was more convenience for me to drive anyway. After fetching my darling, we headed on to Milo’s house. GPS reception on my phone was crappy that day. It was so frustrating to hear the ‘Lost satellite connection’ especially when you approach a junction. I manage to reach Milo house anyway, though a few minutes late. We switch to his dedicated GPS for more accurate navigation.

Breakfast was Mcdonalds. We drove thru since the queue inside was really long due to the 2 free big breakfast promotion. Even so, we waited in the car for nearly 30 minutes. We headed on after that to our rendezvous point at around 0810hours. There while waiting for the rest to come, we had our lovely breakfast. There were 7 of us, in 3 cars. Cybershack lead the way to the falls. We had to park our car at the underpass point of E8 Karak Highway. If you drive further up, you will reach an Orang Asli settlement.

Pisang Falls is not visible from the highway. We had to do some tracking to get to the falls. It’s quite an easy hike, but the place is crawling with leaches. Probably because of the rain a few days ago. There are two ways to reach Pisang falls, one with river crossing, and the other one without (easier). We took the one without.

Karak highway is on the left

Walking on the shoulder of Karak highway

Trail to Pisang Falls

About 15minutes of hiking, we reach the falls. The easier trail leads us directly opposite Pisang Falls. There we had a top down view and it’s absolutely amazing. We hike further up and secure a spot near a smaller waterfall. I shall call it Mini Pisang Falls. There the fun begins. Load of diving and water splashing.

Mini Pisang Waterfall

Mini Pisang Waterfall. Our diving spot

Woo Hoo! A leap to glory

And a triple leap to glory

Lunch

Our picnic spot. See cybershack hammock at the back? Perfect for an afternoon nap

Besides the waterfall, there were load of photography subject. However, I think the waterfall will be enough to keep you occupied throughout the day. Here's some of mine.

Froggie.

Yellow Flower

A green ~~dragonfly~~ damselfly
(Thank You Cybershack)

Butterfly

My tripod submerge in the river. It was constantly abuse throughout the trip.

Mini Pisang Falls.

Pisang Falls

Fraser's Hill Day 2 - 13 March 2011

2011-03-20T22:05:00.003+08:00

Here's some next day photos.

Panoramic view from the balcony of the apartment we stayed

Leaf Monkey

Little Pied Flycatchers

Leaf Monkey

A leaf monkey stuffing itself with food meant for the birds. Greedy lil fella.

Red-headed Trogon (Female)

Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush

The tarantula webbing the entrance of their burrow in the day time.

Trap Door Spider burrow. Difficult to spot unless you look closely.

Trap Door Spider.

(The spider was not harm in anyway and was handled by a professional.)

Moth (arguda insulindiana)

On the way home

We had 3 Tripods in the car and non of us brought it down.

All of Us

(cybershack as the photographer)

All of Us

(Milo as the photographer)

Crab Spider feeding on a queen weaver ant.

Land planarians

A Cicada emerging from its exoskeleton

A waterfall on the way towards Fraser's

And one for the record

Fraser's Hill Day 1 - 12 March 2011

2011-03-20T22:00:00.003+08:00

The only memory I had on Fraser Hill is this particular ‘nothing’. The last time I was in Fraser’s Hill was like twenty odd years ago, when I could still hang upside down on an uncle’s arm. I had no recollection whatsoever on Fraser Hill. The journey up Fraser’s Hill was a windy and narrow one. The lower and upper gates controls the up and down traffic to Fraser’s. Most part of the roads only allow one car to pass.

We left early so we could make it for the 7am entry

Reaching above, we were greeted with the beautiful sound of nature. There were lots of birds chirping. It was like heaven to bird lovers. So I present to you my shots from Fraser's Hill.

Silver-eared Mesia

Malayan Laughingthrush

Long-tailed Sibia

Malayan Laughingthrush

Fire-tufted Barbet

Acusilas Malaccensis

Streaked Spiderhunter

Black-Throated Sunbird

Whoo Hoo!! ~~Lunch~~ Dinner Time!! Thank You Lisa and Maureen for preparing lunch
(Thanks Cybershack for the correction)

On our way out to 'capture' some Tarantulas. (Taking photo of course)

The Tarantula retreating back into it's hole

If you notice, most of my photos are labeled. Many thanks to Andy, Cybershack and Milo

Coffee Fish

2011-03-19T08:18:00.002+08:00

Mr. Fisherman never thought he could fish a fish from a coffee cup

Jedi Mime

2011-03-12T07:20:00.003+08:00

Bird Park Re re Re re Visited

2011-03-08T23:10:00.000+08:00

Yes I made another trip to KL Bird Park again, mainly because I'm still not satisfied with the photo I took. I'm still not satisfied though. But I think I'll give it a rest. After all, they have increased the entrance fees to RM20.

There were 7 of us romping through KL Bird Park, shooting any birds in sight. I have to thank my friend Gan, for organizing this event and by the way he already have plans for the next photo outing, Batu Caves.

Anyway, here's the photos.

Indian Blue Peafowl

Striated Heron

Changeable Hawk-Eagle
(My favorite shot that day)

Love Birds

As usual, the rest of my photos are in my Picasaweb

Obi vs Vader

2011-03-05T07:00:00.002+08:00

Lili and I had a sudden frenzy for Lego Mini Figures especially the Stormtroopers. I think it all started out when we were in Toysrus looking at Lego, when we came across the Lego Mini Figure Series 2 set.

We are now eyeing for the Imperial Landing Craft - #7659. The box set includes an Imperial Pilot, Sandtrooper (x2) and Stormtrooper (x2) and a cool Landing Craft for about RM400. Haha.

A duel between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi

Darth Vader pushing on with the force

Join the dark side or die!

Obi at the verge of defeat

Obi-Wan fights back

With Chewbacca slice in half, Obi-Wan makes a retreat.

(ok this is totally random. Haha)

YES! I say yes to YES

2011-03-01T18:00:00.024+08:00

Having a laptop without internet access makes you feel a wee bit incomplete. I have been contemplating on Digi or Maxis 3G Internet for quite awhile. P1 was kinda out of the question based on feedback I’ve receive. The reason why I have never subscribed to any is because I don’t really have an urgent need for it and the extra cost I have to fork out. It’s really nice to have though.

Recently there was a promotion for YTL's YES 4G where they waived of the RM50 activation fees. Even so, it took me quite awhile to decide if I want to give it a try. I did anyway after persuasion and poisoning from friends.

The thing I like about YES is the pay per-use concept. I don’t have to be bound to any contract. YES claims that there is no expiry date on your credits, but requires you to use a minimum RM30 worth of data. At 3 cents per MB, you need to use a minimum 1GB of data a month to make your money worth. They deduct your credit to make it RM30 at the end of your billing date. Even if you don’t use YES, they still deduct RM30 from you. Your credit can fall into the negative zone. You have 3 months to settle your outstanding before they terminate your line.

They currently have 2 products on sale. The Go and Hurdle. I got myself the USB GO Dongle, though I think the ~~Hurdle~~ Huddle (thanks Divemuster) would be a better buy. However, they kinda bind you down for 24months if you go for their easy payment. Upfront payment of RM1200 seems kinda heavy for me.

I paid RM99 + RM20 credit for my account. They rebate me RM10 every month for 10 months. So my GO Dongle is free. RM20 is to make sure I meet their minimum usage quota.

My account was activated within an hour or so. Maybe less. Connecting to YES network was simple. You just need to download their YES Connect application and you are good to go. Note that the YES Connect app is also in the Dongle itself, but I recommend you to download the Connect app from YES website and install it first. I had some freezing issue when I do it otherwise. To make calls and send SMS, you need to download their YES Life application.

YES Connect

YES Connect after connected

The overall speed is great. I am getting on average around 10Mbps depending on signal strength and area. Connection wise, stable with one or two disconnection. But it reconnects back without any hassle.

A whooping 17.88Mbps. Must be my lucky day!

As for voice communication, I think it’s not too bad. It’s a bit of a hassle since I do not have a 4G phone. All voice communication needs to go through their YES Life. I do get disconnection and breakage at the other end of the line, but I can’t tell for sure if it’s YES or the other telecos. It maybe the phone too! I had similar experience with Maxis. Voice charges are 9 cents per minute.

SMS is charged 9 cents per sms. Not the cheapest around. Similar to voice it needs to go through their YES Life app unless you have a 4G phone. However, I kinda enjoy sending SMS from my computer. So much easier with a full size QWERTY keyboard. Most of the SMS I sent were delivered instantly, but there were one or two occasions where my SMS was only delivered after a few hours. Again, can’t say it’s YES or the other telecos.

So every time I want to call or receive calls, my PC needs to be on. I don’t plan to give out my YES number. It’s going to be solely for my internet purpose.

YES Life application to make calls and send sms

I have no issue with their customer service yet. No message telling me their customer service representative is busy at the moment. They reply my mail within 3 days. I sent my mail on Friday by the way. (Is this considered ok?)

I guess YES seems good at the moment because there are not many onboard I guess. Hopefully, when YES customer base expand, their service won't deteriorate.

The YES GO 4G Dongle

It's even faster than my Unifi at home.

Woo Hoo!! now I have internet access everywhere I go for a price

Aedes Mosquito

2011-02-28T18:00:00.003+08:00

Caught one half dead Aedes Mosquito while I was in the garden

It couldn't fly, but it was still hopping around

So I sent Darth Vader and my Stormtrooper to finish up the job

Say Hello To Stormtrooper!

2011-02-28T00:26:00.000+08:00

I am so cute. Wahahaha!!!

Click here to see more stormtrooper

Rodent

2011-02-16T22:00:00.002+08:00

This is Rodent. An unwelcome visitor, who is not afraid of anything and makes itself comfortable in your home.

Li li dislike this cat since its always bullying and finishing up her cat's food. The owner must have not been feeding Rodent well.

LEGO Minifigure Contest

2011-01-29T15:58:00.001+08:00

Woo Hoo!!!! My Mum and Li-li won 2 complete sets of Lego Mini Figure 2 Collection, and it's all mine!!!!

See the Facebook Post Here

Congratulations Karena

2010-12-12T07:30:00.000+08:00

Congrats congrats. You have our full support!!

First time experience in these kind of event. Coincidence, I met my cousin there as well.

Sunway Lagoon @ 11/12/2010

No.1 Karena

Some local celebrity interviewed during the break

The top 10 finalist. Karena is on the 5th from the left.

Yeah.. digital zoom :(

Karena poster standing tall.

Me and lili giving our ultimate support.

Photos from my trusty N73. Regretted like anything for not bringing my camera along. :s

5d MKII - I heart

2010-12-11T22:07:00.001+08:00

Congrats Keen Leong & Annie

2010-12-08T21:46:00.000+08:00

Congratulations and wishing you both happiness and everlasting love. It was a pleasure and an honour to be your wedding photographer.

The Bride, Groom, me and lili

Congrats!! :)

Sashimi

2010-12-06T18:30:00.001+08:00

Wooohh yummy...

Sashimi Set @ Rakuzen

Congratulations Shi Harn & Fong Fong

2010-10-24T23:14:00.001+08:00

Congratulations to both of you! May you be bless with lots of love and happiness

Shi Harn & Fong Fong

Lego Bike - 2nd Attempt Macro-Pano

2010-10-20T23:04:00.003+08:00

Made another attempt to stitch 34 images together. The original photo is 10340x6400 pixel, taking almost 340mb of my hard disk. But it was well worth it. Ahahaha!! I can see dust.

My old trusty Lego Bike. Lying on top of my cupboard collecting dust.

Image may take time to load. ~186kb

Lego Man in Panoramic

2010-10-20T21:01:00.002+08:00

Macro Panoramic? Is that what you call it? I've stitch 6 images together to form this image. Original image size turn out to be 3897x6735 pixel. Hmmm.. not that great after all since its about the same resolution as the Canon 550D. Might need to get more closeup lens. What do you think?

Mr Dusty Yellow Space Lego Man

aka Digi Yellow Man

Suria KLCC & Menara Public Bank

2010-10-19T23:30:00.000+08:00

Took this impromptu shots when I was out one night. Hmmm... I should return one day with my tripod. The thing is, it's quite scary nowadays to go out at night. Milo, wanna go take some night shots? Maybe we can go take all buildings that starts with Menara. - Maybank, Digi, Maxis?

Suria KLCC

Menara Public Bank

Haha.. Nothing fascinating really, I just wanted to update my inactive blog.

My RC Helicopter

2010-10-18T20:00:00.003+08:00

Suddenly RC helicopter seems to be the in-thing at where I work. So I decided to get one nifty helicopter myself. Known also as a micro heli, it’s supposed to be flown indoors only. The slightest wind will send it twirling out of control. But flying outdoor seems like a better place to show of my heli.

Heli Launch Pad

Should have lift off, but ended on the grass instead.

Yeah!! we have lift off

Making a turn back

And flying pass my car.

Back to the launch pad

And touch down. Perfect landing. :p

Lifting off from my hand

Flew it much higher, and lost control of it. Haha.

Me and my RC Helicopter

My landing skid broke after a hard crash.

Oh, well, my helicopter still can fly, though not as balance. Now should I get a bigger one?

Keen Soon's & Radiance ROM

2010-09-28T20:25:00.001+08:00

Keen Soon and Radiance, wishing you both with love, health and happiness together. Congrats.

i-City - City Of Digital Lights

2010-08-15T14:30:00.002+08:00

I never knew this place existed. I saw it once in someone's blog but never thought it was in Malaysia. Located somewhere in Shah Alam, this place is light up with millions of colorful LED lights. The crowd was huge, even more during midnight. There is an entrance fee of RM10 per car, which you would receive a RM10 voucher to be spent inside i-City.

Other than ogling at the lights, there is practically nothing else to do there. Maybe the place is still new. There are many empty shop lots there. There is no specific theme there. They just lit the place up with whatever they have. However, it does feel a little more 'christmassy' than anything else. Here's some photo to give you an idea what the place looks like.

There are more displays behind those buildings.

It's Christmas

It's so colorful

Nette and her butterfly

Chinatown

All of us

Present Comes Early

2010-07-31T12:00:00.001+08:00

Thanks Darling for the present. She got it before it was even officially released in Malaysia. Was holding on to it for my birthday, but decided to let me have it early. Not my fault ya if I don't wanna go out shopping. Haha.

Woo hoo!! Starcraft II.

See the sticker?

Hey!! Its really TULEN!!!

Wings Of Liberty

Muaks!! ^_^

Day 2 – 25th July 2010 – Danau Pacat Trail

2010-07-31T11:00:00.001+08:00

I woke up at 7am sharp. It was a good night sleep. Somehow there weren’t any mosquitoes around. The rest in my room were still sleeping. I changed and got ready for breakfast. The air was really cool until one of the staff there started burning twigs and leaves. Breakfast arrived in baskets. I have no idea what they are called. See the photo. 8 course breakfast, I couldn’t ask for more. It wasn’t long after breakfast we set of for our Rafflesia hike. We traveled through the same road we took last night. Though the path look really different.

Breakfast

Resting on a hammock after breakfast

A rubber tapper at work

Dripping latex

Decomposing palm oil. During our journey into the Semai Community

The Kitchen of the Semai people. You can see our guide Ngah standing by the doorway

As we were waiting for another few others to arrive, we took the opportunity to visit the Rajah Brooke Birdwing butterfly colony. There we met a photographer (I forgotten his name) and his laser triggered camera rig.

Getting ready for the hike

Rajah Brooke butterfly

I don't know what is this but I love the colors

Laser triggered rig. Snaps a photo when butterflies fly through.

Is this the facebug

We started off our journey with the guide giving us a short briefing. They warn us that there might be a bear roaming around as they heard it growl last night. They also said they saw tiger paws. Well it doesn’t seem to deter us from proceeding on. Haha. The Rafflesia Trail was known as Denai Pacat or Pacat Trail. It’s a leach infested place especially when it’s wet, hence the name. The first portion of the walk was fairly easy, with mostly flat terrain. It was after crossing a river (not sure if it was Sg. Pacat or Sg Damak) that the trail got steeper. Throughout the steep climb, they have ropes for you to grab on, just incase you slip or need your hands to pull you up. The sound of nature really takes your mind of a lot of things.

So Pretty

A bee came for some breakfast

Look like some nucleus or something like that

Spiders yet again

The muddy trail

Mushrooms!!!

There were a lot of uphill hike

A small stream

More uphills

Ropes to assist you climb

Taking a break. The climb is not an easy one

Data from Eng Hoo

Thanks Eng Hoo for the data. You can see from the graph that the hike was a steep one, especially at kilometer 2

The Rafflesia is usually located at Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. The distance to Terminal 1 is around 1.8km, Terminal 2 most probably another 700meters extra. A lot of us were already exhausted when we reach Terminal 1. Here we saw many Rafflesia Buds and also decomposed Rafflesia flower. We continued our journey after a good 20minutes rest at Terminal 1.

Rafflesia Bud

Decomposed Rafflesia

A bug

I reach Terminal 2 at around 12.00pm. There were only one newly bloom Rafflesia, and a small one too. Most of the species here are the smaller one. Loong, an Orang Asli, jokes that this is a male Rafflesia because of it small size. Another guide explains that it was smaller because of the dry weather. It usually opens up more when its wet.

A newly bloom Rafflesia. Around 1 day old.

Me! with the newly bloom Rafflesia

Another bud. There were a lot of them all over the place.

Further up at the end of the trail, lies a 5 day old Rafflesia. It was already at the end of its lifecycle. If you get really close to the Rafflesia, you can smell a foul smell coming out from it. I think it smells like toilet, others had their nasty smelling experience.

Rafflesia at the end of its life-cycle. This is around 5 days old.

After satisfying ourselves making the Rafflesia a star, we proceed down the trail. It took a good 2 hours to reach the bottom. By the time I reach the point where we started off, my legs were like jelly. Ok, not that bad, but I was really tired. Carrying an 8kg backpack didn’t help at all. It was already 2pm plus when we reach our rest house.

A real hairy worm. Touch it and you get itchy all over.

Shrooms!!

The climb down

Hello!! Me!!

A small falls where you can freshen up

Some weird looking mushroom

Our lunch was already laid out nicely. We filled up our hungry stomach we Adeline’s delicious cooking and even had durian for dessert.

My Lunch

My Dessert

Professionals opening durian. They even have their own durian opening set.

Delicious!

At around 3pm, it started pouring heavily. A few didn’t mind the rain and took off earlier. The rest of us hang around and enjoyed the down pour. I don’t know how to explain it but I have never like rain so much before. Now if only we could have a cup of really hot coffee to go along with it. We waited till almost 5.30pm for the rain to stop. We were really lucky to have such nice weather. Throughout the one and a half days, nice sunny weather. It actually rain right after we had lunch. I can’t imagine if it started raining while we were still trekking down. But then again, I think I would have enjoyed it. Haha.

It was raining heavily. So while we wait for the rain to subside, I had my go on Eng Hoo and Milo lens

We headed back to KL this time via Gopeng town instead of the short cut. I reach home at around 9.00pm feeling really satisfied. Can’t say enough, I love nature. Hopefully there will be more to come.

On our way home

<< Day 1

Day 1 – 24th July 2010 – Geruntum Waterfall, WWR, Nightwalk

2010-07-31T07:00:00.002+08:00

Once in a while we really ought to expose our town butts to greeneries. That’s what I did. I think my last visit to nature was in 2008 during my trip to Sarawak. This time around, I was heading down to Gopeng, Perak. I must take this opportunity to thank Eng Hoo for organizing this fun filled trip and Lisa for allowing me to tag along in her 4WD.

We started our journey from Kelana Jaya, my meeting point to hitchhike a ride from Eng Hoo and Lisa. We departed at around 8.00am, stopped by a coffee shop to pack our lunch. During our journey to Gopeng, we made a stop by the side of the road to do some photography. Location? Not sure but there was a signboard further up that says 18km to Tanjung Malim. Yes it was really dangerous and I admit I was really anxious to quickly get moving. Well I guess you just have to take the risk when you are traveling with some hardcore photographers and nature people. Since we were at it, I manage to take some photos of a Serpent Eagle, resting on a tree. Even by walking in drain makes my leg tremble. Cars and trucks were swooshing pass so fast.

Serpent Eagle

We made a stop at Ladang Bikam rest stop to rendezvous with the rest of the group. This was our meeting point. Time was around 9.50am. We continued to Tapah rest stop for some drinks and food while waiting for Milo to arrive. We reach Gopeng toll at around 11.30am, where Eng Hoo took us through a short cut to Adeline Rest House in Kampung Geruntum. If I remember correctly, right after Gopeng Toll, turn left at the traffic light and turn left again at the first turning into some Kampung area. After that, just follow the path straight on. There should be some signs that you could follow. The best thing about this short cut is that is by pass the need to go through Gopeng town. Bye-bye traffic light and speed bumps.

The shortcut passes by small Kampungs

We reach Adeline Rest House at around 12.00pm. It was a really cozy place with bamboo huts of different sizes. The rooms are square with nothing inside except thin mattresses. There is no attached bathroom, but toilets with shower and flushable bowls are close by. This place is great for those who would like to live in nature but can’t do without a proper toilet. Of course there is no hot water and all water sources come from the river. The water is cold but really refreshing. Surrounding the area are mainly rubber and durian trees.

The entrance to Adeline Rest House

Adeline Rest House

Parking area. The shack on the left is the registration counter.

And this is Adeline, the bubbly and friendly owner

My Bamboo House, Rumah Durian

Pillow and mattresses

A room made out of bamboo with nothing but thin mattresses and pillow

Layout of Adeline Rest House

One of the bamboo house

There are bathrooms around. You don’t have to go dig a hole to do your business.

After unloading all our stuff and choosing our desired rooms, we headed straight for Geruntum Waterfall. I think that’s what they call it. Entrance fee is RM2/person, paid to maintain the falls. The waterfall is around 15minutes drive from our accommodation. Beautiful place. I wish I brought my tripod. Then I can take those cool dreamy waterfall shots. Anyway, we had our pack lunch there. The water was really cold. While most of us were soaking ourselves in the water, Milo was busy looking for subjects to shoot. I spotted a water snake slithering in the water, but didn’t have my camera with me. Anyway, I joined him later and had a chance to use his really cool 100mm L macro lens.

Me! On my way to the waterfalls

Centipede

Geruntum Waterfalls

Spiders

Shot using Milo's 100mm L Macro Lens. Thanks Milo

At around 2pm, three other friends and I left for White Water Rafting at Sungai Kampar, a Class I-III rapid. The rest continue soaking themselves in the fall. We headed back to the rest house to change and unload all non waterproof equipment. I still can’t believe I actually left my camera gears in the room that has no locks or windows. By the way, all the huts there have no locks. I was re-assured by Eng Hoo that it was ok. After signing my life away on the indemnity form, 4 of us and the guide walked to the river bank. We were given our standard life jacket and helmet for safety. They made us do body rafting. This is where we lie on our back peddling gently with our legs down the rapids, swimming to the side right after the rapids. I guess they wanted to see if we were comfortable with water. I was laughing and smiling so much that I took a big gulp of water. We were given briefing on rafting at the bank of the river before setting of for our first rapids. There is just so much to talk about, but I guess I’ll just let a couple of photos do the talking.

Setting up the raft. Ours is the blue one.

Me! During one of the breaks

Our guide, a Sabahan, talking to Eng Hoo

Photo by Eng Hoo

Photo By Eng Hoo

The water level wasn’t high enough to proceed further. We stopped at around kilometer 7. There was supposed to be another 3 kilometers more I think. Since we had already traveled all the way down the river, we had a lorry ready to send us back. The raft was loaded on to the lorry and we had the honor to sit on top of it. It was a true experience not to be forgotten, dodging tree branches and leaves.

Carrying the raft out of the river and onto a lorry

Never before have I sit behind a lorry before

The rest was already at the rest house when we returned. Had my bath in the icy cold water and went round the place to take some photos with Milo. Rubber seeds were exploding constantly making these really loud bang and dropping seeds on the ground. I picked up a few just for the hack of it. To be honest, I have never seen them before and learnt that if you take the seed and rub it hard against a concrete floor, it can actually produce enough heat to burn your skin.

There were two friends who opt to do camping instead

Hammock. Really comfortable to sit in, especially during breezy days

So these were the culprits that were making the noise

This one did not explode like the rest

Mushrooms were all over the place

Is this a dragonfly?

Dinner was ready at 7.30pm. We had the honor to have our dinner at the new Adeline Villa. Adeline Villa was around 500meters from where we were staying. Same owner, but marketed for different class of people. I’ll say it’s for those who so call wants to bond with nature but still have to sleep in comfort. The villas there are equip with air condition and attached bathroom. And yes, the rooms come with locks. Laughing out loudly, Adeline told us that there have been times when her customers had to mail back the keys to her. She exclaims that most of the time she too forgets to ask the keys back from the customer. Having room keys is just not her thing.

Our dinner was lineup neatly ready for us to gorge in. There was so much food, all personally cooked by Adeline. The thing that intrigues me most is the soup in the bamboo. So cool.

Walking to Adeline Villa for dinner

The kitchen

Adeline cooking for us

Soup in bamboo

My Dinner

After dinner, we just chilled at the makan area, sharing stories with one another. The most interesting part was when Adeline starts sharing her stories on how this place got started. It was really interesting and she was extremely friendly. Eng Hoo said that she was always afraid that her customer had not enough to eat. Well that explains the amount of food serve to us.

Anyway, a few of us who were going for night walk had to leave earlier. Our guide, Ngah was waiting for us at Ulu Geroh. Being a Green Badge Guide holder, he is really experience and had eyes like a hawk. He spotted most of the insects and birds for us. The journey into Ulu Geroh was around 5km from our rest house. We traveled in a 4WD passing through the palm oil estate and entering into the Semai community. The first few kilometers of the road was a smooth one, leading to a really bumpy ride in the middle and back smooth again at the last few kilometers.

We started our journey into the Rafflesia trail at around 9.00pm. Yes it’s the same trail we were going to take tomorrow morning. The trail wasn’t pitched dark as it was almost full moon. The path was lilted up brightly by the moon. It wasn’t really good for us as most insects won’t be out. Anyway the main itinerary for tonight was to see if we can catch a glimpse of the Bioluminescence Mushroom. I don’t know what it is called thought. The night was really dry and these mushrooms only grow when it rains a few nights before. However, we were really lucky that Ngah spotted one extremely tiny one for us. I didn’t have the proper equipment to take a picture of it but you can see it from Eng Hoo’s blog (this was taken during his previous trips) or Milo’s blog (this is the one I saw during the night). We saw a whole lot of insects that night. Most of the time I don’t even know what I am photographing and this is my first time shooting in the dark.

A lizard sleeping

But was awaken by us. Who wouldn’t, with flashlight flashing non-stop at you.

Grasshopper

Is this a leaf bug?

Caterpillar

Another leaf bug

Spider

A spider feeding on its prey. It went into defensive mode when it saw us.

Cockroach

This little fella was way up a tree and Ngah manage to spot it. Thank Eng Hoo for lending me his 100-400mm L.

So many spiders. Where are all the Spider Hunters. Eat them all up.

See it was almost full moon

You must be wondering what those 3 are doing. There is a really huge spiderweb in front of them. If you look closely at the lady’s shirt, you can see the shadow of the spider.

Stick Insect mating

And their egg

And finally, the spot light of the night. The Bioluminescence Mushroom. Look how small it is. Microscopic.

Photo by Milo

(see his post here)

This is the same mushroom as the photo above. Flashlights were all switch off to see it glow. Really tiny and only Milo was equip to photograph this.

Photo by Eng Hoo

(see his post here)

This was take by Eng Hoo during his previous visit here. This was way bigger than the one we saw, but still tiny. A beautiful shot.

Our last stop was at the glow in the dark mushroom breeding place. By that time it was already 12am. We headed back down the trail and drove the same 5km back to our rest house. We expected the rest to be sound a sleep, but instead we heard burst of laughter filling the air. I took my bath is the super icy water; slip on my PJ’s and was knock out completely. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s Rafflesia Trail hike.

On our way back, spotted a sleeping bird

Day 2 >>

Baskin Robbins in the Cinema

2010-07-01T20:00:00.001+08:00

Ever had a pint of Baskin Robbins in the Cinema? We have :)

Lili and Me enjoying our pint of Baskin Robbins while watching The Bounty Hunter.

Perak - Ipoh

2010-06-30T20:00:00.000+08:00

3 days 2 nights trip to the capital of Perak, IPOH. Located around 200km from Petaling Jaya, it was a place to indulge in Taugeh. Why Ipoh of all places when there are many other interested places to go with 3 full days. Well, first of all, its completely last minute, impromptu kind of trip. I’ve been to Penang; I’ve been to Melaka. Langkawi, Sabah and Sarawak were too expensive since I would be buying last minute air tickets.I have always wanted to travel around Malaysia. Visit every city there is. So I thought why not Ipoh. I’m dying to eat Ipoh Hor Fun and Nga Choi Kai anyway.

Ipoh the state capital of Perak, the taugeh chicken, the salted chicken, the Kuey teow, and lots of cave temples. I’m a little lazy to blog again so I think I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

Day 1 - IPOH - 11th March 2010

Ipoh Famous Kai

And here is the Nga Choi

Nga Choi Kai - Our lunch at Lou Wong

After lunch, we went round looking for Soya Bean drink. We remember reading somewhere that it was the best soya bean in Ipoh. As we were making our round, we spotted Lai Kei Soya. We weren't sure if it was the one but decided to give it a try anyway.

Lai Kei Soya Bean

Biscuits anyone?

While on our way home, we spotted the one we were looking for. You don't even need to get down your car, as they will take your order and deliver it straight to your car. Anyway, I couldn't really taste the difference. It's almost similar.

Funny Mountain Soya

Perak Tong - It was already late, so we couldn't tour around the Tong. The stairs to the top was already close, so we didn't get to see the surrounding town. I heard it was breath taking.

The Hotel We Stayed In, Impiana Hotel.

Hor Hee Noodle

Our dinner

See the taugeh. Everything come with taugeh in Ipoh.

Li Heng Fatt. This is where we had our dinner.

While walking towards my car, a bird pooped on my head. Shitty little bird.

Before we retire to bed, we went to the hotel lounge to enjoy some live band. Surprisingly, drinks there weren't what I expected to pay. Less just say it's way below normal hotel price.

Day 2 - IPOH - 12th March 2010

On the second day we woke up early as we were excited to tour Gua Tempurung, another attraction in Ipoh. It was around an hour drive from our hotel. The place was really quite and we thought it wasn't open. The only other guest was a couple who arrive right after us, they were from Ipoh. As I approach the counter to purchase tickets, the person manning the counter was really ignorant. As I ask about getting two tickets, all he said was minimum 5 people, ask the other couple if they would like to join you. He continued reading his paper and wasn't really bothered. So we approached the other couple and ask if they would like to join in. They too were waiting for other guest to join. However it didn't work out as we had different interest. I was looking forward to the normal cave walk, the were into the more extreme one. Seriously, I don't mind getting dirty, but i was really not prepared for it. I have my camera with me and no waterproof housing. We waited for another half and hour to see if there were more tourist arriving, but none came. I guess everyone is working, after all it was a weekday.

Gua Tempurung. I'll be back one day.

Since there were nothing much we can do anymore at Gua Tempurung, we headed on to Kellie's Castle, another hotspot when in Ipoh. You won't take a lot of time here, an hour will be more than enough. It's quite creepy when you walk along the corridors. I can imagine some dare devils making out in the castle. I'm not joking, the place is filled with signs not to hanky panky around. Crazy people. I believe this place can be improved. I remember reading somewhere, there is a lot of secret passage which were not discovered yet.

Kellie's Castle

A bear hugging the tree

Side view of the castle

Kellie's Castle

A monkey enjoying the view of Kellie's Castle.

Our next stop was the fame Sam Poh Tong. Lili told me that there will be a lot of Pomelo girls around. However, upon reaching, I was approach by a old lady pushing kang kong to me. I bought one anyway, for fear that she would carve a tortoise on my car. Anyway, the RM2 kang kung was well worth it. Lili enjoyed and had so much fun feeding the tortoise.

Even the fishes eats the Kang Kung

Scenic view of Sam Poh Tong. Not really well maintain

Sam Poh Tong

The entrance to the temple.

Walkway to the Tong

Since there weren't much to do after Sam Poh Tong, we decided; might as well visit the other two Tong next to Sam Poh Tong. Nothing much there too.

Ling Sen Tong

Some other Tong.

Lili and Me

We went hunting for lunch after that. I really wanted to try Ipoh Hor Fun. One recommended place was the Thein Chun Restaurant (House of mirrors). With my trusty gps, I found the place right away.

Ipoh Hor Fun

It taste really good, but I still prefer my Hor Fun from Pau Kee restaurant

Thein Chun or known as the House of Mirrors

We were about to return to our hotel for a rest, we discovered another Tong to visit. Unlike the rest, this one was deeply hidden in the residential area. And among all the Tong I have visited, I think this is the best. It's beautiful mountain scenery is just breath taking. At the other end of the cave opens up to a wide open area. Kinda like those movies where you enter into a different dimension.

Kek Look Tong

The entrance to the cave

An innocent looking dragon sculpture

The main hall

View from the other end of the cave

Lili engross in composing her masterpiece

Kek Look Tong Landscaping

Mountain view

We headed back to the hotel as it was drizzling a little. Rested for awhile before venturing out again for dinner. We decided to have Nga Choi Kai from Ong Kee this time. Ong Kee is just right opposide Lou Wong. After dinner we stopped by at Ipoh parade just to pass off some time.

Ong Kee Nga Choi Kai

Pomelo, a famous fruit in Ipoh

Heong Piah

Day 3 - IPOH - 13th March 2010

The last day of our trip. We check out really early as I have another appointment with my sister.

On our way home to KL

My trustworthy GPS leading me home.

Standard Chartered Marathon KL 2010

2010-06-27T13:16:00.009+08:00

To be honest, I was totally unprepared for this 10km run. I have no training whatsoever. Unlike my Energizer Marathon, I just couldn't find the time to practice running. Anyway, I proud that I manage to complete within the 90 minutes time frame, with seconds to spare. Hehe...

Somehow I find the Energizer Marathon better. I feel that there weren't enough drinking stations around. All we get after the race was a finisher medal and a free sample of Tiger Balm. Our cert will be sent to us at a later stage. Around the 9th km of my race, saw a fellow runner by the side of the road. He was in quite a bad shape as people were giving him CPR. The medic team was no where near and some volunteers where shouting frantically for medic to come. Hopefully the runner is ok.

The place was pack, but I still manage to meet one or two of my friends there; Jessica, William and Shelly. I didn't hang around much after the race. Was really tired and my shirt was soaking wet. I was actually cold and hot at the same time. Hot when the sun shines and cold when the wind blows.

Anyway, I think it was a good run and I'm looking forward to run in another event.

Lili and me with our finisher medal

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2010

Hoho... my 10km Finisher Medal

No sure if they will post the timing, but if they do, I'll update it here. So check back later ya.

Updates (29/06/2010):
I manage to complete my 10km run in 01:21:47, ranking 2050 out of 4321 male runners. Shall try to target 1hr 10 minutes in my next 10km run. Lili's timing somehow did not get recorded. She must have gotten a faulty tag.

Updates (05/07/2010)
Hmmm they updated my ranking. I'm now rank 1768. I think they split the veterans out.

Baby Meng Hin's Fullmoon

2010-06-26T10:00:00.002+08:00

9th June 2010
OMG, I'm officially an uncle. Happy Fullmoon Meng Hin!

Red Eggs

Meng Hin

Meng Hin's Jelly Cake

Mummy and Daddy cutting cake with Meng Hin

Mummy being cheeky.

Screwing my old Hard Disk

2010-06-24T23:16:00.002+08:00

I've been waiting for this moment for quite awhile. Yes, the destruction of a hard disk. I'm just curious to see what is inside the metal casing. Somehow I never have the heart to open up a working hard disk. I know It's practically useless since newer computer don't support them and my flash drive is 4 times its capacity, but I just can't do it. Anyway, this unlucky old fella, fell sick and I had to do what all doctors had to do, Operate on it. :)

Seagate Barracuda Hard Disk

I love screwing. I mean, screwing is cool, no no I'm screwing to see.. ahhh never mind.

Screwing out the back now. I mean, screwing the other.. @_@

It's so clean inside and I actually expected to see more stuff.

The huge magnet holding the Hard Disk head is now my magnetic strip destroyer.

Bird and Butterfly Park Revisited

2010-06-19T22:30:00.014+08:00

I guess this must be my 3rd visit to the bird park. They have increased the admission fees by RM5 to RM20. Note that this is for MyKad holders only. If you are a foreigner, you pay double. I guess this is justifiable since they would require money to maintain the park. There are a few new additions to the park, which may justify the increased in price. I also notice more new birds in a much cleaner environment.

Remember to bring sufficient supply of water, unless you are willing to fork out premium price for their mineral water. It's RM4 for a 500ml bottle, in case you are wondering.

We had our lunch at the Hornbill Restaurant and Cafe, the only restaurant in the vicinity of Bird Park. As expected the price was exorbitant especially the drinks. RM9 for mineral water. The water must have come from some sacred mountain. The cheapest drink on the menu is tap water which comes with a RM2 price tag. I initially wanted to drive out to have my favorite Ipoh Hor Fun. But since it was already late and we wanted to visit the butterfly park as well, Hornbill restaurant seem to be the only choice.

Located close by is the KL Butterfly Park which is our next stop. I believe this should also be my third visit here. As with the Bird Park, we MyKad holders get discounted admission fee. However, they do charge RM1 if you wish to bring your camera in.

I think this is the most disappointing visit for me. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of butterfly flying around. The problem is, they are too active for me to even get close to them. So there is not many butterfly photos to share.

More photos in my picasaweb album

Happy Birthday Gong Gong

2010-06-13T23:30:00.008+08:00

May you be blessed with good health and happiness always

Betty’s Midwest Kitchen

2010-06-05T18:04:00.030+08:00

Hoho... my sister 'belanja' me lunch today. It's such a rare occasion. More to come ya, sis!!

We ordered a soup and three different plates of pork. They are suppose to be famous for their pork, so we did just that, everything pork.

Tomato soup like

Some apple pork chop

Grilled Pork Ribs

Their signature Meatloaf

Me & Lili

Yes, the Paymaster and me. Muahahaha... Thanks so much for the wonderful lunch.

Awesome lunch with no left overs. I love it.

Thanks so much for the superb lunch.

So It's True

2010-05-14T23:01:00.000+08:00

Yes, it's true that a 9 volt battery contains 6 AAA batteries inside them. Well they look like AAA batteries and fit pretty well in most devices I have. I was a little scared when I open up my old expired touch n go battery. Fearing I would lose my fingers and scaring my face. I did it anyway. Muahahahah!!!

It's not easy prying open the battery

Ooohh.. Finally!!

The 9 volt battery actually consist of 6 AAA look a like batteries

Sorry Energizer. My curiosity is just beyond my control

Energizer Nigth Race 2010

2010-03-27T18:52:00.006+08:00

27th March 2010

Running 10km wasn't an easy task for me. I walk a lot but I seldom run. This was also my first 10km run, which at first, I doubt I could finish in time. My first run was the KL-Marathon 2009, and almost didn’t make it for the qualifying time.

The place was jam pack as many roads were close or block off for runner to pass. I collected my head lamp and gathered with thousand more people at the start point. Energizer Mascots were walking around giving encouragement to runners. The run started at 9.00pm and 10.30pm was the qualifying time. The last kilometer of the run was the most motivating of all. From a far, the drums beats can be heard, people cheering and screaming.

I manage to complete my run in 1hour 10minutes. I still have 20minutes to spare. It may not be as good for some people but for me it’s like a ground breaking record. Haha. Running pass the finished line was really satisfying.

I’ve sign myself up for the 10km KL-Marathon 2010. Kinda got bitten by the marathon bug. Let me run another 10km before I decide if I’m up to the challenge to tackle half marathon in the future.

I'm proud to show of my 10km Finisher Medal

This is so cute. I love the medal

Update: My friend Samantha is running for a cause in KL-Marathon 2010, raising funds for the National Cancer Society. If you wish to donate you can visit her profile here: http://www.kl-marathon.com/profile/22321

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T11:14:00.005+08:00

Happy Valentines Day Lili

Gong Xi Fatt Chai

2010-02-14T11:11:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone.

New Year Bears :)

The Moon

2010-02-01T23:48:00.004+08:00

Where's the bunny?

Sunway Piramid

2010-01-30T23:08:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year is just around the corner so decided to do some shopping in Sunway Piramid. The place was pack with shoppers, and the air condition wasn't working very well. I was purchasing coffee when I receive a call from my colleague, Dennis who happened to be there as well.

Lunch at Pasta De Gohan

Me and Baby Chloe

My Sis and Chloe

You want a piece of me...

Cheeky Chloe

Daddy and Chloe

Look at her smile. Daddy must have promise her a sports car.

Ah.. so cute

Tired after all the laughing.

Sunway Piramid. Decorations were simple compared to previous years.

Key San & Shiuen Ching's Wedding Dinner

2010-01-04T12:25:00.003+08:00

Congrats again.

Shiuen Ching's ROM

2009-12-12T22:29:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to you, dear cousin. May happiness and love follows both of you always.

Ah San & Shiuen Ching

Mr & Mrs Chan

2009-12-11T22:22:00.001+08:00

Congratulations to Keen Leong and Annie. May you both be blessed with lots of love and happiness.

Mr & Mrs Chan

Ken Wah & Sharon's Wedding

2009-12-08T21:10:00.001+08:00

Congratulations Ken Wah and Sharon. May you be blessed with lots of love and happiness.

Chinese New Year comes early. First experience seeing lion dance in a wedding

The Happy Couple.

Me and the happy couple

Baby Chloe

2009-11-22T09:16:00.001+08:00

I made an impromptu visit to Dennis's house last Saturday, to visit his baby girl Chloe. Following the GPS coordinate Dennis gave a long long time ago, I manage to find Princess Chloe residence. I was suppose to visit Chloe last last last…… last month. Yeah, it’s been really long and Chloe is already 9months old. Though it rained really heavily when we arrived, but I would say it’s just the right time, Chloe just woke up. I get to see the two sides of Chloe. Really quiet at first, but hyper active after that. Anything thing that lands in her hands gets bitten by her 6 little teeth. Her favorite, the Astro remote control.

I'm tired

Ahhhh so cute..

Daddy must have promised to buy her a new astro remote control

Chloe and lili. Chloe seems quite comfortable with lili.

Chloe and Me. Took me quite a while to persuade her to sit with me. Ok, ok I carried her and had a quick snap before she crawled away.

I'm still hungry

2009-10-21T08:38:00.002+08:00

As I didn’t have my second breakfast pack from home, I decided to stop by at those breakfast stall right outside Masjid Jamek. I ordered a pack of mee hoon with an egg top off with a drop of sambal. Cost me RM2. I could finish it with two mouths, one if I open bigger. There isn’t even a single ‘taugeh’ in it. I might as well drop by McDonalds to have a Sausage McMuffin with premium roast coffee (100% Arabica beans) for RM4++. Best of all, free refills.

DnD

2009-10-05T10:00:00.000+08:00

Sleepy Cat

Day 9 – 6th June 2009 – The Departure, Back to reality

2009-10-04T14:00:00.001+08:00

Our flight was at 0900hours, which all international departure requires us to be there 2 hours earlier, the journey to the airport, ~1 hour, pack up and get ready, ~2 hours. So if you do the maths, we had to wake up at 4 in the morning and be on our way to the airport by 0600hours. Yes, considered one day of tour.

There was no time for buffet breakfast, so our tour guide has instructed the hotel to 'ta pau' for us

Our Malaysia guide took over and checks us in. This is one of the worst flights I have ever taken. After 7days of hot sun, the weather took a change. It started raining heavily. Our plane was grounded for nearly an hour due to bad weather. During take off, the plane vibrated terribly. The seat belt sign was constantly on and air crew were strap tightly to their seat. It got better after nearly half an hour of terror only to have the seat belt sign reappear. Again, the plane vibrated due to turbulence, and for some reason, I kinda feel that the plane accelerate and decelerate inconsistently. The engine would make a loud roar only to quite down after awhile. Maybe there were some problems with the auto pilot.

Of course it did get better, but the seat belt sign was always light up. I was praying constantly and was hoping it would land safely soon. Uncomfortable as it is, I was really disappointed with MAS airplane standard. One thing for sure, is that they did not clean the plane properly and excuses such as the plane just landed last night was not a very good explanation (I found out when I change my pillow). I think the previous passenger who was on the same seat as I was threw up. Yeah, there are still some traces of the dried up yucky stuff around especially on the pillow. Yuck! No more Airbus A330 for me, ever.

The plane I was going to board. The weather was gloomy and it started to drizzle.

We were grounded for nearly an hour due to bad weather.

Yummy, Lunch. Yup, despite all the turbulence, lunch was still necessary. :p

Wonder what’s it like swimming in the clouds

Other than a few set backs, I think the trip was superb and I enjoyed it very much especially with my family holidaying together. I can’t wait to go for another trip.

The Bus driver, The Malaysian Tour Guide and The China Tour Guide. (From Top Left, Clockwise) Thanks for bringing us around.

<< Day 8

Day 8 – 5th June 2009 – Free and Easy

2009-10-04T07:00:00.003+08:00

Today is the second last day of our tour. Technically it is the last day to do whatever last minute shopping and visits you missed out. Our hotel was located at the shopping district of Beijing, very convenient for shopping. I wanted to visit the Lama temple situated a few stations away from Xidan station. It was somewhat of a challenge for us as none of use could speak mandarin. The most difficult part was actually finding the Xidan train station located nearby our hotel. Everyone I ask couldn’t understand what I meant by train including their police. Anyway we did manage to reach the temple, but we didn’t go in. Big joke huh. My sister says she has a headache and my little brother complains that he was tired. So, we took a train back and out of the blues, all the tiredness and headache disappeared from both of them.

In the train station. Looks so much cleaner than our KTM.

The whole day was spent inside shopping malls, the grand ones and the dodgy ones. All shopping malls look the same to me.

Some of the shopping malls.

And some of the business offices.

A signage board in one of the complex. Hmmmm… Im on the ‘Crash’ Floor. Think I’ll try the ‘Happy’ Floor now.

My aunt with her big bowl of noodles. Oooo.. I like. Bound to fill you up.

Yes, I just have to be in the picture.

More shots around our hotel area.

A shop selling Ferets I think.

The store keeper giving the feret a little bath.

Morning to evening. That was how long we walked. By the way, see the area with the green lights? That’s our hotel entrance.

Well, that wraps up another day. We headed back to the hotel after dinner, pack our bags and got ready for bed.

<< Day 7 | Day 9 >>

Day 7 – 4th June 2009 – Tian Jing and The Bullet Train

2009-10-03T14:00:00.002+08:00

The very next morning after our breakfast with a view (facing the golf course) we left for Tianjin. Tianjin is the 6th largest city in China. I don’t know much about Tianjin or why it was in our itinerary except for the CRH train to Beijing. It was a two and a half hours journey to Tianjin from our hotel. We were drop of at a street (no idea what street) where we were given time to walk around.

Most of the stores there sell souvenirs. One thing for sure is that almost all the streets I have been to throughout my trip is really clean.

Tian Jing Street

I bought myself a Chinese Yoyo here.

The store keeper demonstrating and showing of some skill. Customer service by this guy is superb. He’ll test the yoyo that you are about to buy from him.

After lunch, we were given time to walk around the food street. The food street mainly consist of Chinese delicacy, sweets and their specialty, a long twisted like biscuit.

Food Street.

Tian Jing Specialty. I have no idea what it. Not bad actually and it come in many different types of flavors.

When our bus arrived, we proceed to Tianjin train station. The place was pack and stuffy. I think their air condition is set to the minimal. This time we will have a chance to experience China Railway High-speed bullet train (CRH)

Tianjin Train Station

It’s so stuffy in here.

China Railway High-speed bullet train (CRH)

We have the whole coach to ourselves.

The train traveled at a top speed of 333km/h. 334km/h was the fastest I saw.

Just incase you are feeling nausea, a bag is provided so don’t dirty their train.

We reach Beijing South Railway Station in just 30 minutes over a distance of ~115km, where we went straight for dinner.

They clean the train after every stop. Now who says China is dirty!

Waiting for the bus

Our last hotel. 2 nights here before we return to Malaysia.

Both the hotel we stayed earlier really put a bad impression on this one. I was shock when the bell boy showed us to our room. The hotel rate is not cheap. In fact it’s even more expensive than the previous two we stayed, maybe because it’s in the prime shopping/business district. Not only the rooms are dark and gloomy, it’s filled with cigarette smell. To make matter worst, there were actually functions going on right outside our room.

Taken from my hotel room. They we having their karaoke sessions and it was really bad. Imagine having another 1 more night to go.

Eventually, we requested to have our room changed. They obliged. We got our new room at a higher floor. The thing is now one of the rooms was very uncomfortable to stay in. My dad, my little brother and my aunt felt it. Not taking any chances, we squeezed into the other two rooms we had. The very next morning, when my dad told the reception about the incident, the hotel management almost instantly, changes a new room for us again. So they do know that the room was ‘dirty’.

<< Day 6 | Day 8 >>

Day 6 – 3rd June 2009 – Front Gate, Heaven Street, Temple of Heavens and Shopping

2009-10-03T07:00:00.002+08:00

Woke up early in the morning and had breakfast early. A big group just checked into the hotel we were staying and there weren’t many tables around. True enough, the place was pack and just a minute late, and we would be sitting on the floor. While we waited for the rest of the group to gather, I had a go at the Chinese yoyo. I have never tried one before and frankly, it was quite fun to play with. Great exercise for your flabby arms too. I had a hard time balancing the yoyo on the string. How those acrobatic performers perform stunts with them really amaze me.

Giving it a try.

I had a hard time balancing it on the string. Somehow it always tilt sideways.

The hotel which we stayed 4 nights in. Quite a good hotel to stay in, however it’s not walking distance to the town area.

On our way to the Front gate and Heaven Street, we pass a building that look like 3 incenses. Our tour guide describes it as Beijing’s Feng Shui building. China believes in Feng Shui a lot and most building is bound to have one or two Feng Shui ornaments or design.

Feng Shui Builing.

The largest KFC in Beijing. KFC is much more popular than Mcd in China. We made a stop to try their pork burger.

Our first visit for today was the Qianmen Street. The Chinese government rebuilt it to bring back the old history of the street. It was recently opened to the public during the Olympic. There are still constructions going on when I was there. This street used to be a commerce area during the past but was burned down to ashes during one of the revolution or wars, I think.

The place is filled with stores and shops, all sorts of them ranging from traditional one to modern ones.

Qianmen Street

Tram

Qianmen Street

The famous Peking duck is also here.

We proceed on to the Qianmen after that. They only allow a specific number of people to enter at a time. Now I know why. There was nothing much to see inside. We were brought into the gate, where a guide would take over. (ahemmm sales ahemmm person). She briefly describe the layout of Beijing, why was the Forbiden City built this way, what north south east and west means and a whole lot more. It was really interesting, listening to the Feng Shui talk and how it affects the prosperity of the emperor and the city. After that, we were lead straight upstairs to a room filled with jade and Feng Shui ornaments. In here, she gave another short talk on Feng Shui and how it affected us. I guess by now you should expect what’s coming up next. Yup, buy buy buy.

Front Gate (Qianmen)

Just some random policemen shots while walking to the bus. Lunch is all provided.

Police Man Having their lunch

Moving on to the Temple of Heavens. This is also another magnificent place to visit. With a build up of nearly 667 acres, it’s nearly 4 times the area of the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heavens was a place for the emperor to worship the heaven and pray for good harvest. You can see that the emperor respect the heaven a lot as they always put themselves second. The emperors think they are the son of the heavens. During the duration of the prayers, the emperor have to go on vegetarian, refrain from working and woman for 3 months. That must be really hard for them.

There are two temples here, the inner temple and the outer one, both surrounded by two high walls. The place is huge with so many building, but I guess the main ones are the Altar of Prayer area and the Circular Mound Altar, all within the central axis or straight line. As far as I remember, from the Forbidden City to the Temple of Heaven is located the central straight line. It’s another Feng Shui purpose.

Temple of Heaven entrance

Another entrance after the entrance

Stone Alter. If you look carefully, you can see 9 stone slabs surrounding the middle circle, doubling each time the circle gets bigger. The number 9 is a very powerful number.

Imperial Vault of Heaven where they place the tablet of God of Heaven.

If you stand on the first stone and shout or clap, you’ll here 1 echo, second stone 2 echoes and so on.

Coincidentally, the clouds from a dragon.

Another gate before reaching the main temple.

The main temple

You will be surprise that not only tourist flock this area, but the retirees as well.

On our way to the imitation shopping mall, we pass by two CCTV owned building, the new and the old.

The new CCTV building.

The old CCTV building. It was burned down during New Year and insurance company refuse to pay due to negligent of their staff.

I actually didn’t enjoy this part that much. The only good thing was, the free wifi from Starbuck which allows me to Skype my Lili.

Imitation shopping mall.

Looks like our Sungai Wang.

And the new original shopping mall. You’ll buy the real stuff here.

We left for our hotel after spending around two and a half hours there. I was pretty bored actually. We could get most of the stuff back in Malaysia. Of course there was dinner first as our hotel was located outskirt of Beijing. By the time we reach the hotel it was already late evening.

The place was like a resort, with a hot spring to relax in. However, there definition of hot spring wasn’t what I had in mind. Communication was a barrier for me. Getting them to tell me where the hot spring is was a really problem. They keep telling me that the hot spring was next to the swimming pool or I could enjoy it in my room. Huh? In my room?

I forego looking for the hot spring and jump into the swimming pool instead. I had to buy a swimming cap before I could jump in. The water was freezing cold. I didn’t swim long and proceed to the Jacuzzi area. And yes, that was the hot spring they were mentioning. No wonder I could enjoy it in my room. Its just spring water heated up conventionally. I thought it was a natural pond like hot spring area.

Anyway, it was still a very beautiful hotel. Romantic as well. Good for those on honeymoon.

Hotel walkway

The room

A little bowling after swimming.

<< Day 5 | Day 7 >>

Day 5 – 2nd June 2009 – Summer Palace, CCTV Tower

2009-10-02T14:00:00.001+08:00

The Summer Place is the largest imperial garden in China, measuring to almost 290 hectares. Originally named Garden of Clear Ripples (Qingyi), it was renamed after the garden was burned down by the Anglo-French Allied Forces and rebuilt by Empress Dowager Cixi. If I remember correctly, I think the garden was destroyed and later rebuilt again.

The garden is huge, with so many buildings, halls and hills. I think the three main areas are the Court Area, Longevity Hill Area and Kunming Lake Area. You’ll hear a lot of ‘I think’ phrases from me. Haha.. There is just too much to remember. In fact, we only visited a small few main areas due to time constrain. We left it to our guide to select the main attraction of Summer Palace.

Entrance to the Summer Palace. Again, I don’t remember which entrance is this.

Kunming Lake

Our tour group, including both our tour guides

Chinese writings

This arch is used for concubine selection. If you can fit through this door with your hands on your waist, you pass the qualifying test.

The Long Corridor (Changlang) measures around 728 meters. I think it’s the longest in the world. Every supporting beam is painted and decorated with paintings, including the monkey god story.

It was too crowded inside the corridor, so we decided to walk along it.

Marble Boat. This boat can’t move and it’s mealy just a decorative item for the emperor to relax in. There are two large mirrors on both level of the boat, acting as a large photo frame reflecting the lake.

Dragon Boat Ride

Cruising in the dragon boat

Seventeen-Arch Bridge. There is some story about this bridge which I could not remember. I think it was design with some feng shui in mind. Counting from the left to the middle arch will result in the number 9 and vice versa.

Bronze Ox made in 1755.

After our half day tour in summer palace, we were brought to the pearl factory before stopping for lunch. We were given a demonstration on the oysters. In fact I was a little surprise to find not one but 23 pearls in one oyster. The pearls are small and usually used to make facial cream, medicine or other cheaper pearl accessories. Of course they also have the larger ones, but they are not as common to be used for demonstration.

Opening the oyster

Lunch

We were left with only two itineraries for the day, CCTV tower and Wang Fu Jin Street.

Standing tall at 238 meters is CCTV tower, home to many TV and Radio station in China. Just like our very own KL Tower, there is an open air observatory deck (Ok, we don’t have this.) and a revolving restaurant. I think would be a whole different experience if we visited the tower at night, but day time is fine as well. You’ll overlook Beijing city, including the Forbidden City.

CCTV Tower

A view from above

Yeah.. Our very own KL Tower

Guides telling you what’s in front of you when you look out the tower.

After the observatory deck, you’ll have a chance to shop for souvenirs and have some photo taking fun.

Official CCTV News commenter. My mom couldn’t stop laughing at my dad comical character. He was mumbling in so called mandarin, but sounds nothing like it.

Right at the ground floor, there was a small display of China history.

Oh, I should brag about this. Muahhahaha…

To the bottom right of this photo above, you will see a small clown booth. Before you go up the tower, you have a chance to play paper, scissors and stone with the clown. Depending on the prize, you will have to win once, twice or trice in a row to get that specific prize. Of course with such a genius mind like mine, I went for the biggest prize which requires me to win the clown three times. Being so use to water, stone and bird, I draw out a bird on my third attempt, with the clown drawing out a scissors. You should have look at his confused face. Ahahaha… Anyway, he took it as a stone and I won myself a box of mint. A cool little metal box with the CCTV tower imprinted on it.

It was burning hot today, with degrees soaring over 30 degrees Celsius. We headed on to another popular tourist attraction, Wu Jian Street. It’s just another street, with lots of shopping complexes, small shop lots and restaurants.

Shopping at Wu Jian Street

Food Street

Creepy Crawlies to satisfy your taste buds. Anyway, I didn’t give it a try this time round.

Dinner was at a dumpling restaurant. We were served with 10 different varieties of dumpling. Some tasted really good, and some… well lets just say it’s not my cup of tea.

Dumplings in progress

Dumplings

<< Day 4 | Day 6 >>

Day 4 – 1st June 2009 – The Great Wall, The Ming Tomb and Factories

2009-10-02T07:00:00.003+08:00

Today was like the main event of my trip. I’m going to climb the great wall. We stop at the Jade factory which was coincidentally on the way to the Great Wall. Haha, somehow I was never really a fan of Factory visiting. We did not purchase any jade, but I bought those little inverse bottle painting as souvenir.

Learning and having some fun from the bus driver

Jades

Located 60km away from downtown Beijing, Juyongguan Great Wall was only recently open to the public during the Beijing Olympic. The Juyongguan great wall is connected to the popular Badaling Great Wall in the north via a divider at the last tower (highest tower).

Me at the Juyongguan Great Wall. Still a long way more to go.

Long traffic jam

Looking down at the Souvenir tower. They sell really expensive ice cream here.

On almost every tower, you will see a CCTV installed.

Rows of souvenir shop next to the smelly toilet.

Almost, almost

Finally, the last tower for Juyongguan Great Wall

To the left will lead you to Badaling Great wall and to the right, back to where you started.

I’m a true man.

Like the saying goes, “He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man” Yes, I’m finally a man.

Exhausted, we had lunch our at a restaurant right above the pottery factory not far from the great wall. Lunch wasn’t good as every dish that came was really oily.

Workers working on handmade pots.

There won’t be any photos for the next attraction I was visiting, The Ming Tombs. Our tour guide actually advice us not too for Feng Shui purpose. Being superstitious myself, I decided to heed the advice and pack my camera away.

There weren’t much to see in the tomb except for a few replicas. Most of the originals were stolen and burnt during the revolution. I was quite confused actually, why people were actually making wishes in a tomb. You’ll see mountains of notes lying around the replica coffins and a well. I’m not joking and it’s not small amounts. A lot were actually 1000RMB notes.

Our next destination is yet another factory. Medicine Factory Bai Fu Ling, which sells magical medicine or so it claims. A cream which can be used for anything from mosquitos’ bites, pimples, rashes to burns.

We had our dinner at a hot pot restaurant. This was one of the best dinner I had through my trip. Fish based soup, but not fishy, with lots of delicious meat.

Yummy

My Family

<< Day 3 | Day 5 >>

Day 3 – 31st May 2009 – Pandas, Stadiums and Acrobatic Show

2009-10-01T14:00:00.002+08:00

Our phone rang at around 6.30am, wake up call. Breakfast was at 7am in the hotel, buffet style. They had two different styles server, the western and Chinese. I had my two eggs as usual, but had problem conveying to them that I want sunny side up. I had to stop them from breaking my egg yoke and over cooking them. After breakfast we were off to the Beijing Zoo to see Panda bears.

Panda Zoo

Souvenirs…… lots of panda in all shapes and “colors”.

Panda bears enclosed in a glass enclosure. Some of the pandas were actually from Sichuan. They were brought over after the deadly Sichuan earthquake in 2008. They should be returning to Sichuan soon.

So cute… I was lucky to have the panda craw right under my nose, sat down and posed for the camera.

I bought most of my souvenir here. The price was really reasonable and they are just so cute to resist. If you are looking for souvenirs, I suggest getting them here. It's cheaper here and worth the money you pay for.

We left for the Bird Nest stadium after spending quite an amount of time in the souvenir shops. We headed straight to the silk factory where tourist can spend more money and help the China economy.

Sales personnel explaining and convincing potential customer to buy silk.

Silk worm in their cocoon. If you can break one of this with your bare hands, they will give you a silk comforter for free. Try it if you have the chance. It’s really near unbreakable. Maybe the Shaolin monks can do it.

However, once wet in warm water, it stretches easily.

Silk worms

Workers demonstrating how a silk blanket is made. You need a lot of skill doing this, stretching it from one corner to the other. From a small tiny piece, stretch to the size of a king size bed. We tried and the silk, well ended up for the pillow instead (They don’t waste any silk; all are made to good use).

We proceeded on to the Bird Nest stadium afterwards. I thought we were only going to drive pass the stadium since that’s what the tour brochure specified. But our tour guide actually brought us in. Our bus was park quite a distance away from the entrance to the stadium, so there was great deal of walking.

The Bird Nest Stadium

A 7Star hotel. One of the most expensive hotel in Beijing, or is it the most expensive.

Interior of the stadium

They are not in their right standing order. BeiBei, YingYing, HuanHuan, JingJing, NiNi (nearest to furthest). The mascot actually means “Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni” or Welcome to Beijing. But I think they need a bath.

Even the street lights are in the shape of the stadium.

Watercube Stadium. We didn’t step in this one.

We had tea drinking session at Dr Tea House after that. No photography was allowed in the tea house.

Right outside the Tea House was the minority village. Here they display the villages of the minority group in China.

We didn’t go in any of the village. There weren’t much time and we wanted to get to the Beijing Theatre early to get good seats. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed in the Theatre, most probably because they want you to buy their CD instead. Fantastic performance and very entertaining.

Anyway, this was the only picture I manage to take, before they ask me to stop.

Our tour ended with a good 10 course dinner and back to the hotel to rest. We had to sleep early today as it is going to be a long journey to the Great Wall.

<< Day 2 | Day 4 >>

Day 2 – 30th May 2009 – The Flight, The Duck and The Forbidden City

2009-10-01T07:00:00.002+08:00

On board the plane, you’ll feel more like in a child’s playpen than an MAS airplane. What’s with the horrid colorful chairs? And a 5 hour plus journey plane with no individual TV. Somehow it just lowered my expectation of MAS planes now. Even Air Asia seats were more comfortable. Anyway, thank god for good weather, though throughout the journey I kept hearing creaking sound from the window. To skip to the chase, we landed in Beijing international airport safely, though the pilot jammed the breaks so hard that I thought we had run out of runway. A bunch of health officials came on board to take our temperature before we were allowed to get off the plane. They were quite stringent with their health check as we had to pass another round of screening even before we could pickup our bags.

I feel like I’m in a plane for clowns

And OMG, no individual TV

Aerial Shot of China

Yeah! Can’t wait to land.

We met up with the local China guide and she took over from then on. Not wasting any time, we boarded our tour bus and headed straight to our first tourist attraction, The Forbidden City. Built during the Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden City was listed as a World Cultural Heritage Building in 1987. It occupies an area of 177 acres and has approximately 8700 rooms. Ok, go read more from here if you are interested.

Forbidden City. We entered from the back to avoid the crowd. I think its called the Shenwu Men.

The Forbidden City is huge.

A common sight you see in Chinese shows.

The toilets are rated. Personally, I think toilets in Beijing are so much more pleasant than those in Malaysia.

The more dragons the building have, the higher ranking the building is.

Exiting from the Wu Men, we proceeded to the Tiananmen Square. We had to go through a security check before we could enter the square. Surprisingly I didn’t have any photo of the entire square, but imagine it being able to accommodate almost 10 million people at one time. That’s how large it is. One of the larges square in the world as a matter of fact. In the square itself, you can make visit to the Tiananmen Tower, Great Hall of the People, National Museum of China and the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. We didn’t visit any of it. Guess it was not in the package. We just mealy walk across the square

The Forbidden City taken from Tiananmen Square. You can see Mao Zedong, the first chairman of the People's Republic of China. Mao Zedong picture is replaced with a new one every year.

Monument to the People's Heroes, To commemorates the martyrs who devoted their lives to the Chinese people

National Museum of China. The museum is currently closed for renovation

The sun was burning hot. I feel like a roast duck, which coincidentally was what we were having for lunch. Mind me for not remembering the names of the restaurants. They were all in Mandarin. The duck restaurant we went to was another popular duck eating place meant for groups. There is another one which actually give you a certificate for eating duck somewhere around.

A chef skillfully cutting the duck for us.

China own local beer. They had their wine too, and errrr… it taste really bad.

We headed on to our next attraction, Hutong tours. The one we visited is actually quite commercialized. Tons and tons of trishaw wait for your business, to take you around the small cramp lanes. I read somewhere that Hutongs are alleys or lanes that exist only in Beijing. How true that is, I don’t know.

Riding in the trishaw through one of the Hutong lanes. Like I said, these were the more commercialize Hutongs, so generally they are not as cramp.

One of the courtyard in Hutong street. The owner of this place still stays here, but have opened for tourist.

After a long day out, we check in our hotel, Royal King Residence Hotel. It was a business hotel in the city area. Not too bad and they provide Internet access (LAN access only). As most of our group was tired due to the long walk and sleepless night in the MAS plane, we had a short rest before going for dinner.

I’m a banana. I can’t read mandarin, so I rely on my tour guide to translate all the sms China Mobile sent to me. I bought a China sim card by the way. Roaming calls and sms was just too expensive.

Right after dinner, we headed back to our hotel to rest.

<< Day 1 | Day 3 >>

Day 1 – 29th May 2009 – The Gathering

2009-09-30T14:00:00.002+08:00

Our taxi came half an hour earlier than scheduled. Because of that, we arrived at the airport pretty early. It was not until 10.30pm we met up with our local guide who check us in. The rest of the hours were spent roaming around KLIA. Yup day one of our tour ends here.

My family waiting for the check-in counter to open

<< Beijing Here I Come | Day 2 >>

China - Beijing Here I Come

2009-09-30T07:00:00.003+08:00

Ah… China! Not a place I though I would visit so soon. Places like Thailand, Cambodia or anywhere else which is easy on the pockets were more on the top of the list. Initiated by my dad, it was a family holiday we hadn’t had for a very long time. Initially, I did not want to go. Firstly because I couldn’t get Lili to go with me. Second, it was a tour and it cost a lot. Third, the H1N1 scare. But hey, what’s a family trip without me. :P. Besides, everyone was able to apply for leave, including my sister. Now, I myself would actually recommend people to go to China-Beijing. The place is just beautiful, so clean and modernized. Though there are still one or two bad hats who spits and some rough people who bulldoze there way through, it was still one of the best holiday trip I’ve been to.

Officially, it’s a 9 day, 7 night tour, but as with all tour, 2 days is always used for traveling.

Beijing 2009. And yes I visited Beijing in 2009

Day 1 >>

My Neighbour's Doggy

2009-08-24T09:00:00.002+08:00

Cactus - Flowers Bloomed

2009-08-23T09:00:00.001+08:00

Kittens

2009-08-22T21:00:00.001+08:00

A stray gave birth to 4 little cute kittens. I think they are around a month plus old. I love their color and the stripes on them. Roaming freely in my backyard, entertaining themselves with anything their little paws can paw on to.

Anyone want to adopt them? Just drop me an email.
(I can't promise on their availability as they might one day migrate somewhere else.)

Oh when Oh when

2009-08-20T21:31:00.003+08:00

Seriously, when are you going to let me win my millions

Eyes through Raynox DCR-250

2009-08-17T00:04:00.002+08:00

Some close up photos to share. Other than cropping and conversion to JPEG, all images are straight from the camera. No sharpening done.

Extreme vignetting when used with my 17-50mm@17mm

This is what you get with the Raynox, +2 and +4 filters

50mm with Raynox 250

100% crop from the photo above

Floria 09 @ Putrajaya

2009-08-01T08:47:00.001+08:00

Recent shots from my outing to Floria 09 at Putrajaya, Celebration on Colours. I think Laman is so much better with more exhibitions and flowers to see. The only difference, this one is free.

Photo by Lili

Suk Ching's Wedding

2009-07-11T21:00:00.000+08:00

Congratulations Cousin Suk Ching and Gim Hui

May both of you be filled with love and happiness always, not forgetting prosperity too!! :)

A photo with the lovely couple.

Aquaria

2009-06-21T23:19:00.002+08:00

Some pictures to share during my recent trip to Aquaria this year.

Under the sea... well not really.

Lili and Me

Butterfly Park

2009-06-20T22:00:00.003+08:00

A gloomy Saturday morning, and while we were having breakfast, it started raining. We ensue with our plan to visit KL Butterfly Park anyway, with Planetarium next in mind if it didn’t stop raining. Somehow the weather was really nice to us when we reach KL. Beautiful cooling weather, we couldn’t ask for more. The entrance fees was fairly reasonable, RM8 per person and extra RM1 if you intend to take pictures. No tripod was to be use however due to the space constrain in the park. It’s not a very big park, and most likely you can complete the entire park in less than an hour or so.

Here's some shot from my trip to Butteryfly park with lili and nette jie

A fallen Butterfly. Pity

They call this the Man Face Bug. I like this one with the tounge sticking out best.

See more at my picasaweb album

Gong Gong's Birthday

2009-05-24T23:00:00.002+08:00

Happy Birthday to you Gong Gong!! May you have good health and wealth always :)

Gong Gong Cutting the cake

Morib - A day out in the sun

2009-05-24T22:00:00.000+08:00

Relying solely on GPS, we manage to find our way to Morib. We weren’t expecting any beautiful blue sea, but so long as it was a beach it will do fine. Our initial plan was actually to take either sunrise or sunset, but I had family dinner and waking up at 5.00am for sunrise was just no justified enough for us.

It looks like a ribbon to me

A cat left its mark here

We sat and waited for this little creature to come out of it burrow

Some sea shell

Lying defeated and dead. Poor fella

Kah Jeng and Kai Lynn

Sea Shell

Me and Lili

Lost Dog

2009-05-18T22:49:00.004+08:00

**Updated**
Glad that my friend has reunited with her doggy.

A friend of mine lost her Silky Terrier yesterday, anyone who happens to see Dolly please contact me.

Lost my silky terrier yesterday. She ran out from the house but all the time she will come back by herself ( she has been coming back home without failed every time she ran out from the house for the past 5 years) , so if someone picked her up. Kindly PM me please. Yesterday i scouted her for nearly 3 hours + with my family . No where in sight thou and there is no sight of hit and run as well.

Dolly, Mei Siew's lost doggy

Details:
Name: Dolly
Gender : Female
Coat Color : Golden Brown (Whole Body)
Hair Length : Currently has short fur (Just sent for gromming). Otherwise it has long fur.
Age : Around 5 years old.
Weight : 5kg – 6kg
Lost Area : Around Grace Assembly Church and the housing area (Taman Chi Liung Klang) nearby.
Lost Time : Around 1pm
Lost Date : 17 May 2009

So sorry for your lost. Hope you find Dolly soon.

Zoo Negara Outing

2009-05-02T22:30:00.006+08:00

I had another visit to Zoo Negara, this time with Lili and Jeng, who now also owns a cool camera too. Akakaka… Nothing to blog about, just some photos to share.

18SX - Blue Balls... akakaka

Me and Lili

White Water Rafting @ KKB

2009-05-01T22:00:00.009+08:00

It’s Labor Day and I’m going to spend it outdoor. I need a good break from my boring repetitive day job. I’m heading of to Kuala Kubu Bharu (or KKB in short) this time for White Water Rafting. Yeah, I better make my thanks to Mei Siew for organizing this trip. Thanks so much.

Yup, this is my first time rafting and to top it off, Sungai Selangor is a Grade 4 river. There are 6 classifications for Whitewater. Grade 6 of course being the hardest and most dangerous. I was told that this is one of the best rivers to do White Water Rafting. People from all over the world come down here just to raft.

The journey took around 1.5hours and we met up at the designated meeting point, the KKB Post office. There were almost 42 of us. I do not know most of them though. Ahahaha yeah, friends-of-friends-of-friends. After a quick breakfast, we met up with our guide and he brought us to the rafting point.

Before we proceed, we were given a short briefing on white water rafting and safety procedures. We form groups of 4 or 5. My group had 7 including 2 guides (one in front and one behind)

Preparation of the raft

The PFD, Helmet and Paddle.

I should charge them for doin it on my sleeve

All geared up and ready to go

Some demonstration on how to rescue your fallen mate

We will have 7KM of fun down Selangor River. It kinda contradicts with the term White Water Rafting since the river is brown. We jump on the boat and row ourselves out. We had another refreshment course before setting off.

Start Point of our 7KM adventure

My Raft Team Mates

Rescuers position at each drop for safety percautions.

Photo by/from Andrina Cheng

Chicken Drop
Photo by/from Andrina Cheng

Cooling off under a waterfall

The calm river signifying the end of the rafting

Being pushed gently by the river. I was lazy so I held on to the raft, no need to paddle on my own

The water level that day was low since it’s the dry season. But, for a first timer, I guess it was ok, though I would wish for a little bit rougher and stronger currents. Nevertheless, I had lots of fun and would definitely love to come back again. More photos in my Picasaweb album.