Kuching Trip - 2008 (Day 3)

Day 3 was filled with activity from the time we wake up. Early in the morning, we join a tour "group" consisting of a family of 6 (3 girls, dad, mum & granny) who came from (surprise, surprise) KL & a couple (whose girlfriend who wear highly inappropriate dress with spaghetti straps & stilettos type strappy high-heels!).

First stop was to the Sarawak Cultural Village. Fortunately the weather was good... Not too hot or wet. It was a good visit as we get to know the many different tribes in Sarawak, their cultures, customs, the house that they live in, their music etc etc. It consist of several traditional building of the various tribes / races in Sarawak (including Malay & Chinese - go figure!) built around a lake. I can't remember the name of the tribe, but the house I found most fascinating is the one built more than 3 storeys above ground. The "stilts" that supports the house are actually a whole tree trunk of hardwood (balak) & the joints are actually carved & pieced together like a LEGO set - quite an engineering feat! I really wished I have the pictures now to upload here... Will try my best... Anyways it was amazing! We finished the trip around the lake & ended in a theatre watching a cultural performance of traditional music, dance & even martial arts from the variance tribes in Sarawak. The performance was really good & quite professionally done up. The only irritating thing was the "Narrator" or MC for the whole show was trying too hard to speak in accented "Mat Salleh" English that I didn't catch a single word he uttered! Only "Velcome! to Ser-raw-wek Cul-thu-rel Vil-lage... ashsher.. resher..shawer... bla...bla..bla.." Goodness! I was embarrassed. Why can't we just stick to our Manglish. At least the foreigners can still understand that.... :-p

Sadly, we then have to move to our next destination - Semenggoh Orang Utan Sanctuary (hope I spelled the name right...). There were many Orang Utans & mostly were on the trees swinging from branch to branch. There's even a mother & child Orang Utan among those that appear around the observation deck. Can't help comparing to the Bohorok Orang Utan Sanctuary near Medan, Indonesia though. There were more & the surrounding area is beautiful. There's also a guide explaining on the stages / process an orang utan had to go through to reacquaint to the wildlife & sadly how some did not survive the trauma of abuse in the hands of their captor & thus had to remain in captivity for the rest of their lives. Wish we had that in Semenggoh, but no.... no guided tour... but I love the boards where it had the names of the Orang Utans & their offsprings, Date of Birth, where were they "found" etc & pictures with their names underneath. The funniest of all, I heard a tourist exclaimed "Poor monkey to be called that, especially when it's a girl!..." when he saw a picture of a female Orang Utan named "Saddam"! hahahaha......

After that it's back to the hotel, but not before visiting the nice seafood place we went on day 2! Can't get enugh of the cheap lobsters! :-p

That concludes the end of our trip & the next day was just packing up to leave for the airport. Oh but would like to mention that we took Chinese Wine MeeSuah & Kolok Mee (it's actually our dry wantan mee) for breakfast - it was superb. Especially the Mee Suah - not to mention the cheap prices. Coffee is lousy though. 1 other comment, I've not found a single restaurant in Kuching so far who has good quality soya sauce. All of them are so dark & salty - tasting like salted black ink water - with some strange residue at the bottom. Avoid them like the plague!

Kuching Trip - 2008 (Day 2)

Not much happened in Day 2 as we pretty much covered Kuching in Day 1. We wanted to visit Fort Margherita but the weather wasn't letting up. It has been cloudy, drizzling, raining & back to cloudy almost 24-7, which made walking quite depressing. So we decided against taking the "ikan bilis" sized boat across river just to look at a Fort. I had Fort Cornwallis back home - belief tht is good enough & even then I didn't pay it much attention... :-p

We explored the "Chinatown" of Kuching & sample their local cuisine - Sarawak Laksa, Kolo Mee (which is pretty similar to Pen. M'sia "KonLou Meen" aka Dry Wantan Mee (without the Wantan), Chinese Wine Meen Seen, breads, biscuits, pau & many more (not all in 1 seating mind you - that is throughout the day lar....). We also took some pictures of the "Single" cat monument that is located right at the end (or the start - depending on which direction your coming from) of Chinatown. Behind the cat statue is a huge gate with Chinese roofing & Chinese characters.

Out of boredom, we decided to walk along the river again & decide where it leads us. We came to a squarish building which looks like a section of a tower to a castle... can't remember the name of the place, but it is directly beside the river & houses the artwork of a popular local native artist who made it big around tht region. In general we just took pictures of anything & everything that caught our fancy, even if it's an ugly looking "dragon" look-alike that is suppose to spout water.

Then we went to explore the bazaar again just to snoop around for good local handicraft (though nothing is cheap nowadays. My last trip a few years back were definitely more affordable) & book ourselves a day trip to cover the not to be missed Sarawak Cultural Village & Semenggor Orang Utan Sanctuary.

The highlight of the day is surprisingly - dinner! We took friends recommendation & headed to a restaurant; which according to their combined description 'is located at the roof-top of a 4-storey carpark near Hilton hotel, directly opposite Tun Jugah Plaza'. The restaurant displays an array of fresh seafood, vegetables & many of other choice foodstuff over a multi-level display counter & the customers get to pick & choose the seafood / vegetable they want, tell the order takers how they want it cook & walla! meal is served. The food is really fresh & really value for money (by Pen. M'sia standard. Not sure if it's still the case for the East M'sians). The fresh fruit juice is so fresh & tasty even without sugar that we feel quenched after downing a glass.

As we moved to a "cheaper" hotel (compared to Hilton), we had to make the long trek home (cos' hubby is cheapskate enough not to pay RM10 for a taxi ride because it was less than 5km distance). Reached home feeling tired to the bone & slept like a baby after a nice warm shower.

Kuching Trip - 2008 (Day 1)

Actually I went there like a month ago? but I tot I wanna wait for the photos to be downloaded into the PC to upload into the blog before I write anything... but after 1-mth I thought "It's going to be the New Year if I wait for that!". So here's the story now.

Hubby was sent to Kuching for some learning session for 1 whole week & I have earlier taken leave on Friday of the same week! So we decided that I should join him in Kuching on Friday & extend our stay till Sunday. If I remember correctly, Monday was a Public Holiday, so we use tht day to "recover" from our trip. ;-)

Flew to Kuching by AirAsia which is cheaper than MAS, but could have gotten cheaper tickets if we were informed much earlier of his trip. Reached Kuching at around 9+am & took a taxi to Hilton (where hubby is staying) - 1st thing we did was to find another hotel to move to cos' it's pointless to pay for Hilton when we'll only be in the hotel room for about 10hrs a day max (most of it sleeping time). Then was poring through all the print outs from the internet on places to visit in Kuching to plan where to go for the next few days. Decided to cover the riverfront area, since Hilton is so strategically located near the Kuching riverfront.

On the way to the river, we came across the infamous Cat statue. However this Cat "monument" has a pair of feline surrounded by kittens instead of the single white cat with 1 outstretched paw in greeting that we normally see in travel brochures. I was then informed by hubby (who got this info fr his Kuching colleagues) tht there were actually 2 main Cat monuments. 1 is tht "famous" single cat & the other is this. Apparently, the Kuching town is "split" into 2. 1 part was previously managed by a Chinese guy & the other a Malay / Sarawak Bumiputera (can't remember which). The Chinese guy was single (reason given was to take care of his ailing dad & fully serve the ppl - uhuh... yeah... we belief tht...); thus the single white cat at the Kuching Chinatown gate overlooking a HUGE roundabout (Sarawak has large land area - can afford massive roundabouts... :-p). The Malay / Bumiputera however is married with many children; thus the pair of cats surrounded by kittens in the other end of town. So there you have it, the Kuching Cat Monument "mystery" unravelled. How true is the story? Dunno... Trust the locals...

Next, comes the infamous Kuching Riverfront - nothing much... There's a huge boulevard for walking, lots of stalls but not open & the river, like any other rivers in Malaysia, it's 'teh tarik' colour. The only difference is it's HUGE! A stroll along the river is quite nice though. The trees shaded most of the way, tht made the walk a cooling & relaxing treat.

Towards a bent of the river, there's a white & pink building (yes... pink! reminds me of a building that you might see in Legally Blond) that is apparently housing the Chinese History Museum (watdayaknow...)! Unfortunately it was closed for lunch, so we strolled to the most talked about temple in Kuching - situated just opposite the Museum. It's called the "Tua Pek Kong" temple. It's small, but the architecture & carvings are beautiful / delicate. Was told that the temple is about 100+ years old, but the fresh coat of paint & the chandelier lightings made it look rather new. Can't help feeling that I would prefer to have it in it's original splendour even if it has peeling paints & candles all over the place. No disrespect intended, but having it refurbished made it look like an old woman on Botox & thick make-up. I don't mind a bit of paintwork to avoid the wood-decay (because the pillars & the beams - the whole structure in fact are made of solid 1 whole tree trunk hardwood), but the new coat of paint made it really shining red brand new. It's beautiful nevertheless & I took lotsa photos at tht place. Will upload into the blog (if I ever got it transfered fr my camera!).

When the museum is finally open, we spent about an hour there reading about the Chinese migration to Sarawak, the trading / business / plantation activities they involve in, the famous Chinese figures in early Kuching society & their rise to power, fame & fortune. There were also many ceramic everyday pots, plates, bowls, urinary, "pillow" (yeap! ceramic pillows) & figurines on display. I really love 2 figurine of an emperor & empress made of total white ceramic with intricate carving designs. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures; otherwise would love to take a pix of tht.

We then continue to walk along the famous Kuching Riverfront Bazaar that has many local arts & crafts stores, stores selling local produce - black pepper of course. Managed to refraint from buying anything expensive (the beads were not as cheap as it used to), but still managed to pick up some bargain stuff :
1) wooden ladle (good for my non stick pan. The plastic 1 I had is "melting" at the tip. Don't wanna poison hubby wif platic / melamine material)
2) black pepper (of course)
3) 6-pocket letter holder cos' the letter holder at my in-law's house is really in a sorry state...
4) beaded bracelets for the small girls back home (my nieces & cousins)
5) 2 HUGE pandanus-family-dried-leaves woven bags (only RM10/piece! Bought 2 for our grocery shopping to substitute the plastics - go green!)
All-in-all, thought that was very good shopping restraint! ;-p

Ahhh.... Back to hotel to rest... Will share day 2 onwards & maybe an article dedicated to the food we ate in Kuching... when I'm free next...

The Day the Earth Stood Still Review

After the Away Day, hubby dearest fetched me from Shell Hse (took the company chartered bus back to office cos' he didn't know Putrajaya tht well) & we decided to catch a movie at Cineleisure Damansara (thanks to OCBC Titanium card tht offers Buy-1, Free-1 movie tickets, we became "regulars" there).

Not having much choices (me hating horrors & hubby hating cartoons), we finally settled for "The Day the Earth Stood Still" staring Keanu Reeves.

In summary, it abt this Aliens that are from a more advanced civilization than ours. They sent some "spy" in the form of a Chinese guy some 60-70 years ago to assess the human species & found tht we're really a "spoilt-rotten" race cos' we take-take-take & leave Mother Nature raped & ravaged. Not caring for the survival of other species / planet earth itself. In essence, it's saying - "If the humans live on, Earth will be ruined & it'll be the end for the diverse life-forms on this planet; but if the humans are elliminated, the planet will survive & so will the unique ecosystem it supports". So the civilized aliens decides to "elliminate" the human race & all it's creations - buildings, vehicle, cities etc.

As usual, when it comes to catastrophy movies, the US Government & their Ministers are potrayed to be brainless, trigger-happy, stubborn bunch of ppl who insists on attacking the UFO despite acknowledging tht they are more advanced being that can easily render the most advanced weaponry useless; which further validates the conviction that the human race is really 1 lousy bunch of ppl not worth keeping.

And as usual, a scientist managed to convince the Alien rep (Keanu Reeves) that we're not tht bad afterall & tht we will learn our lesson. So, he/it managed to stop any further destruction from happening. At the point when he did tht, the Earth / time practically stopped - thus the name of the movie.

Ok lar if we don't over-analyse the movie... Only comment - how will we learn our lesson, when the Aliens stopped the "ellimination" & left without leaving a message / mandating that the human race should turn over a new leaf or else....... Trust the potrayed to be dumbass government officials to do tht? I don't think so.....

So, we can expect a secual cos' we never learn.... hahahahaha......

Finance Away Day 2008 - Putrajaya

I always have mixed reactions whenever the company organizes an Away Day.

Wary cos' I such outings can be quite political... i.e. people trying to show tht they have teamwork / leadership qualities in front of their bosses. Activities / "games" ended being a competition to show who's best & some might end up making the experience horrifying when they turn into "mini-Hitler" on a misguided impression tht it is "Leadership" qualities...

Dread cos' the teambuilding sessions can be quite taxing & God knows I have not been exercising / not fit to endure an "Amazing Race" style teambuilding activity.

Fear in case we're paired with a "Room-mate from Hell". Some of us had tht horrible experience last year & the year before.

Fortunately, this year is rather pleasant...

First off, the Dinner. Rather than having difficult themes like "Tribal" / "Vegas" / "Oscars night", where ppl spend hundreds on a rental just to look good / fit the theme, this year it is "Traditional Costume tht is not of your own race". Great! I have a Philipino blouse called a "Saya" tht I've been dying to wear but have not found the occasion to. I bought it during my last trip to Manila when I was on business trip. It's made of Banana Fibre & is semi transparent - the more famous kin of this costume is the men's version called the "Barong". Am suppose to wear a white camisole underneath & pair the blouse with a long black skirt. Unfortunately I don't have a white camisole, so I had to settle with a black one, but looking at it, it still works. The really traditional version is actually made out of pineapple fibre, but was advised by my Philipino colleagues to avoid tht cos' it tends to be rough & irritates the skin. Bought a matching Barong for hubby dearest too on tht trip. Didn't expect to win "Best Dressed" / anything, but it's the first time tht I followed the theme.... :-p

Secondly, the activities were not as strenuous as before (or so I thought... had aching shoulders & aching tummy throughout the weekend from doing 20 x push-ups & 20 x sit-ups). It was scary at first cos' the facilitators were from a company called "The Jungle People" & as they said "Cos' it's a Jungle out there"... You Bet!!! It was rather fun in fact & more meaningful / insightful. I was nervous though when we were asked to make a "self-propelling vehicle" out of a limited number of stuff (the usual - straws / satay sticks / cardboards / balloons / rubberbands etc)... I was like "Hello! We're Finance ppl... not engineers... How would I know how to make a self propelling "vehicle" tht doesn't involve pushing / pulling / using a slingshot (unless the slingshot is in-built on the "vehicle)! The key word here is "Self-Propelled". Irregardless, it was all good fun & we did have a number of "vehicles" tht actually can move a foot or 2 (though, we do have many more tht did not move at all)... :-)

Lastly, I was paired with Storm! Which, although was a relieve, but maybe not a very good idea... We ended talking & talking till 3+am & we had to wake up at 6+am!

I chose to stay back & enjoy the hotel room cos' I juzz didn't like getting drunk when I know I have to attend many activities the following day - end up watching Norbit on telly. While Storm went out to "party". She came back rather drunk but we chatted as we usually do. Somehow, the conversation turned towards serious stuff like Lubs business / Product Costing / Pricing etc-etc... I was surprised wondering since when Storm talks about work after work? Then I thought, maybe she just wanted to tap on my past experience... ok... layan lar...

When she's sober the next day, she said - "Eh! Did I ask you about lubs stuff & work last night? I must be really drunk! I remembered asking you about work, but for the life of me I don't know why I did that!"... Well she better remember what I told her, cos' I sure won't repeat that "tutorial"!!

Super Early Christmas Party

During the last Raya Haji long weekend, my hubby's eldest sis suggested to hold an early (very-very early *wink*) Christmas party because most of the family members will be away travelling / holidaying during the long Christmas break.

She told us it'll be potluck!

My greatest NIGHTMARE! HORRORS of HORRORS! My cooking can never meet the mark of my collective in-laws! They're Super Cooks.... & I'm d lousy 1... & my hubby had to put up with it :-p

OMG! OMG! What to cook! What to cook!
Pumpkin cream soup - I've done tht
Steaks - they don't take beef
Ox-tail soup - again no beef
Lamb / Mutton - they don't like the smell
Carbonara Pasta - that's not party food!
Lemon Chilled Cheese Cake - someone's buying cake oledi

Finally I decided to make maki sushi (no... I'm not scolding - aka maki, the sushi... It's a type of sushi... you put Japanese vinegered rice on a sheet of seaweed, some savouries in the middle, roll them up & slice them to get finger-food sized sushi). Though I've done it before... but what the heck... Sure is easier than trying to bring a pot full of soup! Besides, they already have curry in the menu. If I bring along pumpkin soup, they'll be filled with water!

Surprisingly the sushi was almost demolished (with 1.5 rolls left out of 11 rolls made)... phew... less embarrassing vs having 10 rolls left behind (1 roll for the failed taste buds trial)!

We also had homemade crispy pork courtesy of my hubby's eldest brother 1st trial... If not for the over seasoning of salt, the pork skin was really crispy & nice! (sorry Gangsta Mama - sensor... sensor...)

After dinner, I got my hubby to adorn the Santa's hat & distribute gifts to the children... Oh they were ecstatic (except the youngest mite who's terribly afraid of my hubby's size & his love for hugging & kissing them on the cheek - stubble & all!). That's when the party had to take a down turn when someone just had to say "eh... u better get a kid of your own soon or else you'll continue to lose out... all output no input"

Grrrrr...... Firstly - Show off!!! I know lar he/she got a baby of their own already! Do they need to rub salt in my / our wound ALL the time at every occasion that I tend to dread family gatherings! Pls be sensitive & remember the time when they still had not had 1 yet after many years of marriage. The tears they shed every time the spot of blood comes to visit every month. We're going through that stage now OK! So insensitive!

Secondly - Christmas is a season of GIVING... I'm not expecting anything in return... As long as the kids are happy, my heart soars with them. The delight on their little cute faces is more than enough to "compensate".

Fortunately, I didn't need to bear that for long though cos' soon after someone suggested watching a movie on DVD (Transporter 3), so we all adjourned in the mini "theatre" & that concludes the party.

Overall it was fun & fortunately less stressful than most of the other occasions (at least the "baby" subject did not turn up as often as usual)...

Transporter 3 - A Surprising Treat

Went to watch Transporter 3 recently & was pleasantly surprised. It was really good & hubby dearest enjoyed it so much he watch it again on DVD! - His brother bought a pirated version which wasn't tht good cos' we can't hear the conversation on most parts & the English translation was just ridiculous - as bad as the "lonely girl seeks company of vegetable" type of quality.

The fight scenes are definitely better than James Bond.
The car is cooler - Audi vs. Aston Martin? (come on.... no match man!....)
The gadgets more interesting (75 feet away from the car & kaboom!)
The storyline - more interesting
The hero - both balding, but Jason Statham looks more muscular, well built & cool fighting style vs. Daniel Craig - errmmmhh....
The heroinne - both not beautiful... Prefer agent Fields... or Storm... *wink*

Overall, a worthwhile watch...

Madagascar 2

Went to watch Madagascar 2 recently. The teasers were damn funny & some parts are also ok-ok funny lar... but other than that, it was just "normal".

Probably was expecting a bit too much.

hmmm.... what to watch next? Ms Storm advised not to watch "Tropical Thunder" cos' she had DVD of it.... Don't seem to have much left to see then....

The "Igor" cartoon movie is in the movies, but after the slight disappointment in Madagascar 2 (& the fact tht I dragged a very reluctant hubby to the cinema for tht), I daren't suggest another cartoon...

Oh well... might just settle with watching some old DVDs favourites in the comfort of our own home...

Sigh.... why is 5pm taking so long to arrive.... Classic Friday distractions.

Back to work....

'A' for Aliens, 'A' for Anniversary

I was having a tough time figuring out what to get for my hubby for our 4th Wedding Anniversary. The normal tie / pen doesn't work cos' he works in the refinery! He doesn't need a tie / a fancy pen...
wallet - he has 2 (1 using & 1 in the drawer)
belt - he has lots (bought during our trip to Chiang Mai)
shoes - a boot full
sandals - 1 will suffice for him
perfume - for a guy who says "natural sweat smell is manly"? I don't think so.....
leather jacket - I can't even get him on long sleeve / long pants... I doubt he'll ever use the jacket
cufflinks - to be used for his refinery safety jacket? hmmm.....

Aaahhhhh....... What do I get for him?!?!

Then a spark of inspiration hit me... I came across a shop in Berjaya Times Square selling collection items for all sorts of action figures. Most importantly, they are cheaper than the other shops I've come across. Cool.... I know he'd love it!

StarWars - nah.... he's not a fan

Indiana Jones - he likes the movie, but Harrison Ford action figure doesn't look cool enough

Terminator - another of hubby's favourite but it's the human version.... I want the "naked" terminator. Errr.... I mean terminator where you can see the robot inside... not the naked Arnold - puhleeezzzzz.....

Then.... aha! Alien vs. Predator! Lovely.......
The Aliens are damn ugly but cool.... you can see the sinews of the alien muscle, bone structures, odd shaped head - all in all, very detailed / intricate figurine...
The Predator is just as ugly if not worse... but juzz as cool...

Problem - There are at least 3 versions of Predators, 2 versions of Aliens & 1 what the shopkeeper call as "Predalion" - apparently it's the hybrid of Aliens vs Predator (you'll be shocked to find out tht the shopkeeper who tells me this is an auntie with a late 20's / early 30's son!)

Errr.... am no AVP expert... I cringe / close my eyes at least 50% of the whole movie (or rather a series of them)! I'll accept the "expert's" advise on what is alien / predator / predalien (although she's in the form of an auntie around my mother's age!)

What did I finally buy?
1 x 18" Alien
1 x smaller (can't remember d dimension) Alien
1 x Predator (same size as the small alien)
1 x Predalien (same size as the small alien)
though the poor predator will be surrounded by aliens, but can't help it! The Aliens looked so much Cooler....

I know my mum-in-law will freak if she sees this gift (she's alwiz saying tht looking at ugly stuff especially when you're pregnant - the baby will look like tht ugly stuff... Baby Alien spawned by a Human? yikes!). Let's hope it not the case.... (if I ever get pregnant...)

"Royalty" treatment for Public "Servants"

It irks me every time when I have to move aside to give way when I heard a siren - thinking that someone might be critically ill / there's an emergency somewhere - only to find out that I'm giving way to some politician! What's worse, his / her outriders can be a mile long before he / she arrives.

As if their time is more precious than mine. Hello!.... I'm the tax payer here! They're my "employees" (ok.... I won't use "servants" I'm a kind employer), getting paid by "MY" tax contribution... What are they doing wasting my hard earned money! We pay our taxes to have police on the streets to keep our city safe! Not used to "clear the road" for an "employee" of the "Malaysian-Tax-Paying-Citizens"!

If they need to get to a meeting venue & KL is always jammed - then improve the traffic system! No wonder our politicians is always "disillusioned" that our road system is well and fine. They never need to sit in a jam for 2 hours just to get to a place that normally takes 15mins!

If the public transport is the way to go to reduce the number of cars on the road; hence reduce jam - try taking the commuter! It's jammed pack like sardines! If you can't enter the current 1, you'll have to wait for 18-20 freaking minutes! Add that waiting time with the travelling time - what's the difference to sitting in a jam? At least I get to reach right at my destination doorstep & not some train station that will require another wait for a feeder bus / taxi to bring me to the exact location I need to get to.

Why is this "Employer" feeling like a "Slave" to the "Employee"? Ever wonder if this could be the reason for the bad election results?

I wish someone among the "Employees" will just "Wake Up!" & stop the nonsense / energy spent making petty remarks / police reports / suing each other for some statement like :
"prison food is like dog food"
"Chinese can go back to China if they're not happy!"
"Chinese & Indians only 'tumpang' in Malaysia"
"having translated street names is not showing respect to the National Language"

Come on... There are more important tasks to do than squander it on non-public-benefiting activities (yea... the only benefit fr the squables are the laughs we get from the silly remarks thrown between many very mature adults)

Make me feel that whatever I pay in my tax is worth it, then you get my vote! Squander it, I'll give my votes too... Out....

So.... wonder if this article qualifies for an ISA (shakes head... then my vote will change to "What vote?!? This voter does not exist")