Merry Christmas

Hello...... Just in time to wish everyone a very meRRy chRistmas with a new blog banner.

May all the Joy & Peace befall everyone...

a BIRTHDAY celebration

KK March 08 trip

(credits & details here)

We were quite lucky this time coz we got to celebrate Mom & Dad 'in-laws' (finally) brithday. Though it's a bit early but this was the best timing we had in the 4 years...

After we got down from KK park, we rested for awhile and when everyone came home from work, we drove down to city center for this very good dteamboat dinner. They have all you can eat or ala carte. Since we are not a big eater, we choosed ala carte, which is a wise choice when the bill arrived.

The food there is very nice and my favourite (Arial's too) is the special fish noodles and the scallop 'siew mai'. It's quite different from KL because here, you can enjoy it in a/c place and yet, you got the freedom to choose wat you want from the serving trolley. And how to know the price? He he, here's how they used the sushi system... color coded tray... smart eh ... And not to forget there's 1 long table where the customer get to choose the sauces, the toppings & oils to have it with the steamboat.

At the end of the dinner, we took out the green tea cake which was bought by my 2nd SIL, Natalie. It's so delicious (Arial finished 1 pc by herself) and just nice for everyone. I wish we have that cake here in KL now... so refreshing.... So, that ends the celebration and our 2nd last day in KK.

PS: More photos & scraps of the event will be show later.. having some artistic block for the scrap :p

our KK Park photos

(credits & details here)

Finally, I have finished resizing the KK Park photos and uploaded into slides... phew.. it's really not an easy task to resize and choose the 'better' photos to upload. There's really alot that I loves but then, not all are presentable coz some is quite blur especially those shots where we attempt to capture the sky and the green grass (us jumping up) at the Golf Club at Mat Silau. My favourite will be those captured in the 'meadow field' as shown at the above scrap. It really reminds me those places in fairytale books (^-^)

And here's our short trip up to the park :

Up to the Kinabalu highland ...

March 08 KK trip post

The March trip I insisted on going up to the KK park again. It has been ages since we go up (ok lar, not ages but it's been a long time since 2005). I just want to have a day trip to the KK park and also the Mat Silau & Desa Dairy Farm to snap some photos. Though the Dairy Farm was closed for expansion, we detour to the Golf Club and the view is breath taking. One can mistake it for New Zealand or any European country from the photos (will upload soon). I just fall in love with that place and just continue to snap till it drizzle whereby we just stop at the rest area at the golf course and snacks our Pringles and 'You Chi' kuih.

After that, we head down to the KK Park and have our lunch in the coffee house ( a planned lunch) before going home. They serve buffet at RM 35 per person and we just got in at the right time. The sky decided to throw a heavy downpour the moment we sit ourselves in the cafe *phew*. Since it's cold, we really whack alot from the buffet especially the beef and the banana fritters which is fresh from the pan.

Here's some of my favourite photos that I scrapped and will definately print it out & frame it.

(credits & details here)

Here's a closer look of the 2 page layout (^-^)

Some words from Gerald :

{ It was a planned trip that was almost scrapped. lucky cheryl was persistant, enough to say "go lah"timing was perfect, but mt kinabalu is a mountain with an attitute.it only showed her face once, and that was it. i stopped the truck and took as much pictures as we can. as soon as we got on the road, a thick blanket of clouds covered her up....it only showed her face once, and that was it.....}

Now I need to get a reading magnifiers to look tru all the photos and upload it into the gallery

Langkawi Teambuilding Trip

I am back from my teambuilding in Langkawi and here's the updates of the wonderful and tiring trip. I really lack of sleep during this 4 days but managed to recover during the weekend. Here's what I did during the 4 days.

Day 1 : 28th Oct 07

We took the 11am flight to Langkawi and reached around 12.30pm (AA didn't delay, so, that's really good). Our first activity of course is to fill up our tummy, so, we head for the Orchid Ria Restaurant in Pantai Chenang. Food is good but we make a mistake on ordering the Tiger Prawn coz that is really expensive!!

After that, we went to the airport again to get the 2nd batch before we start our mini tour around the island. We only stop by 2 places and the rest is just looking tru the bus window :p.

Here's our first spot : Cable car ride at Oriental Village to Gunnung Mat Cinchang. The cable car ride is scary (drizzling & wind) but thanks to the group, I dun feel the fear of height during this trip. I totally enjoy the run to the Cable bridge (suspension bridge) and posing for special effect photo (being blown by the strong wind as shwon in the bottom photo).

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After that, we stop by Pantai Pasir Hitam (Black Sand Beach) but the beach is not as beautiful as during 2001 visit. It look a bit polluted and only my colleague dare to touch the balck sand while I snap photo for her and my other colleague captured this photo.

Day 2: 29th Oct 07

This is the day for serious stuff such as meeting, presentation and brain storming for the 2008 goal (it's a very long day as well, more tiring than physical activities). Though it is serious by day but during our lunch and dinner, it is another light & easy mood for everyone. Do you notice our nice baby blue t-shirts? It is custome made just for our team building *wink*

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Day 3 : 30th Oct 07
After a day of long meetings, today is a day for physical challenge coz we are having Andaman Sea Pirates Challenge. Sad to say that the weather is not on our side (we have to face the heavy rain and the rough sea in a small boat and also not able to capture the photos of the entire challenge).

We are divided into 2 group, Yellow and Blue and are given 4 task to complete while we did island hopping. It's quite fun (minus the rain) and I enjoy the ride and the sight seeing. I get to jump into the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden (a wise choice coz the water is very warm), fishing in the last island (I caught 2 fish) & lastly, soak in the sea water while waiting for the storm to go away so we can get back to land safe.

Here's the task that we need to do :

1. Quiz challenge, Charade
2. Hunt for 'Turtle Eggs' and Chicken Egg and cook the Egg in 15 mins.
3. Find the fishing bait in the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden (Pulau Dayang Bunting)
4. Fish as many fish as we can to win the challenge.

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After we set foot on land again, we had our lunch and some light games that brings the kids out of everyone of us. The games that we played came with interesting name such as Harry Potter Race and Mad Bull Race. In the end, we are very happy and even enjoyed a few games of beach volleyball before the BBQ Dinner.

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Last day : 31st Oct 07
We have to check out at 12pm and catch our flight back to KL at 2.15pm. So, I had a short morning to do what I want & I decided to go for a dip in the swimming pool with 2 other colleague before packing our stuff.

Pampering in Kota Kinabalu

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I am not a nail person but will always have my nails done when I am back in Kota Kinabalu. This is because of Gerald's good friend (Joey) has a profesional nail saloon. It's sort of a pampering session for me cum reunion session for them as well. I must say that her work is superb and I have 100% trust in her service & customer satisfaction (not to mention that she always gives us discounts). I can't stop myself in admiring my beautiful nails after that pampering session by her.

Here's her shop and if you do happen to be in Kota Kinabalu, do have your nails done by her.

Name : De Nail Place (O.P.I products used)

Location : Palm Square, Kota Kinabalu

Business Hour : 11am - 9pm (no walk in available unless they are empty slot available)

Mini Trip 3 : Cameron Highland

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It's been years since our last trip to this highland and we love the weather so much and the away from city air. Since Gerald is back and the Brinchang pent-house is available for use, I planned this short family trip to Cameron Highland. I extend the invites to Tina & the brats (Rachel, Annabelle & Joshua) *Gerald's sis family* since the kids love the highland as well.

1st Day:

We leave KL around 9am and head toward the North South Highway towards the new road up the hill (was told that it's wider & easier than the old road) but I dun feel like using that road again. Maybe because the Wira is so under power when climbing up the hill. It feels like a tortoise man ...... & since I am an impatient person on the road, I practically grumble all the way till I reach Brinchang. By then, we were all starved and head to Tanah Rata for lunch and check into the pent-house at Brinchang.

Since it's cold (coz raining), we decided to have steamboat at Tringkap where we found this restaurant that serve good & reasonable priced steamboat from our last visit. All we need is just call them and order in advance. It's such a yummy & warm dinner (^-^). After a heavy dinner, the best things to do is walk the night market and buy somemore food as supper *LOL*.

Here's the must try food:

2nd Day:

The next morning, I go for the hunt of the yummylicious fried pumpkin balls while the rest just enjoy the bargains for veges, fruits & dried products from Cameron. After the morning session (no breakfast), we packed our bags & check out from the hotel. It was raining zoo then & cold but we must leave the place before 1pm, else, the road will be heavy with traffic :( So, we berave the rain & made our way to Tanah Rata for quick lunch before going down the hill. The journey down the hill was fast & we reach KL in no time.

Attractions in Cameron Highland:

1. Strawberry Farm : There're too many farm to choose to go & buy the fresh strawberry, strawberry jam & dried strawberry in honey (new additions).
2. Cactus Valley : It's just located opposite our place (Star Regency) but we never go there. Instead, we went up towards Tringkap to see the cactus for sale :p
3. Night Market : It's just below our place as well & I love to walk this night market. I can get alot of food to eat & a good place to shop for fresh veges & fruits. I managed to bought the strawberry jams & some fried vege for supper.
4. Bees & Butterflies Farm : Bee Farm is free entrance and a good place to visit if you're interested in looking at the busy bees & buying the bees products. Butterfly Farm is almost the same as those in KL, so, we skipped that this round.
5. Pasar : There're a few market that sells fresh veges, fruits & flowers along the Brinchang - Tringkap road. All you need is to lookout for the stalls in your left & right.
   

Here's some photos from Cameron Highland:

Mini Trip 2 : Penang sight seeing

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Initially, we planned for a 4days 3 nights trip to Penang & Langkawi but due to time constrained, it has been shorten to just 2D1N to Penang coz we have bought the free ticket from Airasia. Why Penang? Coz Gerald has not been to Penang before and he insist on getting back by bus coz he want to see the Penang Bridge *LOL*

We fly to Penang on 5th June 07 early morning and reached Penang International Airport around 8.30am. Transportation was pre-arranged tru phone (thanks to Catriena) for the private tour around Penang (we chartered a taxi @ RM 25/hr). Photo taking is limited coz I forgot to bring my charger with me *slap head* but I managed to snap alot also *he he he*

1st destination : Penang Hill

We bought the ticket for the 11am tramp ride up to Penang Hill but thank God that we managed to get into the 10.30am tramp. It's really an experience not to be missed coz the view is awesome (though it's a bit cramp in the tramp) & I think you will never get this anywhere in Malaysia. The ride took about 1/2 hr to reach the top coz we need to hop on to a 2nd tramp that will continue its journey up the hill. Penang Hill is a great place if you love to walks but to us, there's nothing much to do and it only took us 30 mins to explore and head down the hill again (the tramp system got me puzzled and out of curiosity, I observed the tramp when going down hill and took some photo of the tracking system *LOL*).

2nd destination : Kek Lok Si Temple

We went up to the Kuan Yin Statue first before heading to the pagoda. The Kuan Yin statue is so huge that I barely manage to snap the whole of it up close. The statue is very impresive and although this area is still under construction, tourist still can visit & make donation for the construction of the pillars. Once it has completed, we must really visit it again. After snapping some photos, we head down to the old section where the pagoda is located. Since this is the 1st for Gerald, we climb up the pagoda to catch the spectaclar view & also to count how many story are they (silly activity) and can you believe that I got so scared when I reached the top floor. I practically have to walk around the pagoda sticking close to the inner wall & gather my courage just to take 1 photo with Penang view behind me *giggle*.

3rd destination : Khoo Kongsi

By the time we finished the Kek Lok Si, it was already 2pm and I am rushing time to complete the tour in 5 hours coz dun want to pay more *stingy me*. Since there's nothing much we want to see, we wanted to just go to get the famous tau sar pheah (green bean biscuits) but were detoured by the taxi driver to a place that's quite historic, Khoo Kongsi. It's a great recommendation by him coz the building is so well maintained. There's lot of carving and I was like (^0^) all the time when I was there. This place was like a club house for the Khoo clan in Penang and according to the historic writings, they are very powerful and rich in Penang. They even have special privilege (imagine that).

4th destination : Golden Temples

Yup, it really does looks like gold from far & near. We went for a quick snap & run photo shooting in 2 temples that housed the longest Sleeping Buddha (Siamese Temple) and tallest sitting Buddha (Burmese Temple). I don't really like the Siamese temple coz got lots of thsoe weird & scarry figurine which will definately give me nightmares if I stay any longer. As for the Burmese temple, it's very educating coz they got painting with the whole epic of how Buddha came to be (good for tourist & non believer).

After that, we head to get the Tau Sar Pheah and check into Copthorne Orchid and refresh ourselves before the met up with Catriena for makan-makan session & also bring Gerald to Gurney Drive (my personal thought of this place is not very good coz it's a place with overly priced food).

That's it for this sight seeing post. Will post the gastonomic tour later (full of good food photos *wink*)

Here's some photo that I managed to snap

Mini trip 1 : Melaka

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We went to Melaka on 3rd June 07 for a short getaway cum wedding dinner. The main purpose to go down to Melaka is to feast. Yup, it's more like a makan makan session. We aim to cover the famous chicken rice ball and while we were there, we saw lots of people having cendol as well. So, we went to hunt for it. And we found the famous Nyonya Cendol.

Armed with the cool nyonya cendol in hand, we continue our walk at the Jonkers Street and found some more food (Teng Teng candy & home made dodol) and suddenly, this caught my eye.

It's actually a Hokkien Huay Kuan aka Hokkien Society Club House. Very nice antique looking place, I must say. After that, I found one shop selling nice baju and I got myself a pair of short pants (Gerald pay for it *LOL* ). Ok, we are done for the Jonkers Street and head to look for our hotel, Equatorial (we dunno where it is though). Took us awhile to look for it and found out tat it is just nearby the A Famosa.

After checking in, there's still some time left before the wedding dinner and we made our way to A'Famosa and also the new mall. Nothing much to wow about hence, we made our way back to the hotel to refresh ourselves for the dinner.

We head back to KL the next morning and I managed to reach office at 9am. Not bad for a short trip ;) but it's a bit tiring coz we will be flying to Penang on Tuesday.

Mini Holiday to Genting : Part 2

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This is the last part of my mini trip to Genting 3 weeks ago with my dear cousins. After the b'day celebration (just a simple ice cream cake makan-makan session), we prepare ourselves for the main event of the night - Hacken Lee concert (sponsered by my cousin BIL). The night was so cold (very windy), and I just had on a very thin cotton jacket that provide me with little warm (lucky we detour back to take the car, else, I won't even have my jacket coz forgot to pack it). We walk to the Arena of Stars which located at the outdoor them park and all the way, I saw girls with mini skirt and boots (can u believe that? It's cold yet they can wear that, for me, I sure became an ice cream stick liao).

The concert was great. He really sang over 40 songs from 8.15pm till 10.45pm. He even came out to shake hands with the audience. Lee Ying was the first to spot him out and shake hand with him. Then, my this 'biu jeh' rush down to shake hand with him (she's a fan of him) and came back on cloud 9. As for me, I just stand where I was and look and snap photos. So, after that excited round, he have his encore session and that was the end of the concert. People started to leave but there're half of them in the stadium shouted for more encore.... and giess what? Hacken Lee came out after 10 mins coz he so excited that people want more of him. He came out, say that no more song coz he just prepared for so much. So, he grab some music sheet, chat with the band and sang 2 song (un practiced) and thanks all the people. Ok, by then, I am in front of the stage and manage to snap this close up photo of Hacken Lee for my cousins.

After that, we went to look for supper and call it a night. The next morning, I woke up very early for breakfast at Coffee Beans coz that's what I wanted to have beside the mee. The tree of us had the sausage and egg set with coffee or tea. I had my rounds of nice english tea while the 2 of them had coffee and hot fresh milk.

After the healthy breakfast, I had more shopping session with Lee Ying while my 'biu jeh' went to the casino to try her luck with the jackpot machine. I bought a cropped jeans, a mini skirt & a hotlink phone card on my 2nd day shopping spree in Genting. If my 'biu jeh' don't meet us soon, I will spend more money on stuff I dun really need.

So, the mini holiday ended at 2pm or so, and we head back to KL. A great trip for 3 girls (^-^)

Mini Holiday to Genting : Part 1

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Although it's a mini trip (2D1N) but there's alot of things to write, so I separate to 3 parts.

Last week today I went up to Genting with my 2 cousin sis, Yue Wan & Lee Ying. It was not as planned but all wells, ends wells. We started with the plan of taking the KTM to KL Sentral to board the Genting Bus at 9am. Not knowing that there're a lot of people with the same plan in mind, the earliest bus available is 1pm, yet we buy the tickets & head to Mc Donald for breakfast.

In my mind (since 1 week ago), I don't understand why we need to take bus coz I can drive up to Genting (not with my old Wira though) so, I voiced out my mind. After a long discussion (more to laugh), Lee Ying volunteer her Kenari for me to drive up. Ok now, we got 3 bus fare to sell, hence we go look for our victim (manage to sold 2 off only, still rugi). So, I called my lil bro to fetch me at Bdr tasik Selatan and head back to get the car. By then it is already 12.30pm. But I am proud to annouce that it took only 1 hour for us to reach Genting (with a Kenari, mind you :p ) plus all the giggles of the stupid plan *LOL* that we get to tell people.

The 1st thing to do is check into the hotel and head off to satisfy our hungry stomachs *LOL* and plan to get a surprise cake for my cousin Yue Wan (it's her b'day & her hubby's treat for the trip plus Hacken Lee concert). Here's what we got for her, a Baskin Robin ice cream cake (my 1st ice cream cake *yummy*) and she love it ...... That's my 1st part of Genting (^-^)

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A little adventure

He he... I will be going to Genting today for Hacken Lee Concert (courtesy of my cousin BIL as present for my cousin sis) & this would be the 1st ever trip to Genting Highland with just my 2 cousin sis. A little adventure I would call it coz I will be taking bus & cable car to go up there. I hope it would not rain coz I hate wet & cold nights.

Since all of us are not working on Saturday, it would be a really early journey coz I relly have no idea how to get there by public transport (too use to drive up). Let's hope I won't get lost and enjoy the day in Genting Theme Park...

Last day of my Singapore trip

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After a tiring day of shopping, the last day was a much refreshing itinerary I ever had on any holidays. I wake up very early for a much anticipated picnic session suggested by Woan Jiun & seconded by me, Jazzmint & Hui Shi. The down point is, we gotta get up at 7am so that we won't get burned by the hot tropical sunshine (it's hard to do coz we slept around 2am - 3am, busy preparing our picnic basket).

I make my all time favourite sandwich filing - the egg & sausage, simple but yummy (agreed by all) while WJ busy artistically cut out ham & cheese (so that it looks good for photos) while Jazz cut the bread into bite size.

Here's the picnic basket:

Clockwise from top right : lychee, strawberries, fried chicken, apples, cold chicken salad, egg & sausage sandwich fillings, mini cheese sausages, ham & cheese & bread.

Here's the one & only photo taken with my face in it *LOL* coz I m busy snapping away on the food & the rest of the gals....

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After a scrumptious breakfast, we head to another spot for some fun meant for the 2 lil girls but I love it so much.... It's bubbles ... well, I m not chasing it but creating the bubbles with the bubble maker WJ bought for Cairo. While not playing with bubbles, I continue to snap away the surrounding landscape coz it's very serene & beautiful.

The picnic spot? Lower Seletar Reservoir which is a few minutes away from WJ's place. This is my favourite landscape photo of the place.

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That's my picnic in Singapore & after that, we head back and prepare to leave to Vivo City for last minute shopping (to kill time) coz our coach leave at 5.30pm.... Adios Singapore...

2nd day in Singapore

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After a tiring Friday that is full of sightseeing (Zoo & Night Safari), we had a shopping session on Saturday. Well, the plan is to get up in the morning & head to Orchard right away (no breakfast coz we plan on an early lunch @ Tony Romas).

Why Tony Romas? This is because they serves pork & their ribs are what they're famous for. Since we know that their serving is hugh, we ordered 1 starter (baked potato skin with bacon chips, cheese sticks & chicken wings), 1 Tony Romas rib sampler (12 ribs) & 1 Tony Romas baby ribs (12 ribs). Ther serving is really large & it's just nice for 4 of us since Faythe still sleeping on her stroller. As for dessert, we had the Chocolate Avalanche (Faythe wallop almost all & I love the way she eat it (^-^) . You can check it out at Jazz's site).

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What follow next is the Moonlight Hippo but we missed it coz the tour started at 6pm instead of 6.30pm (we rushed like mad to get from Orchard to Suntec City, so it's a big dissapointment). We are so tired , rested in front of the musical fountain in Suntec while thinking on what to eat.

Too lazy to go find the directory, so we decided to have the folowing for dinner:

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Yes, what you see is correct. Had soup ( clam chowder & mushroom soup), breads with vinegrate & salad for dinner. The servings of soups are very big while the breads are free flow and there're a few choices for the bread.

After we filled our stomach, we walk to Marina Square and I think God pitied us so he let us catch some fireworks while we're on our way to Marina Square before we called it a day ( Got to prepare for the next day's picnic some more).

Note : All photos were taken by Jazzmint coz my camera was left to charged

1st day of Singapore trip

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It's been about 2 weeks after I came back from Singapore and only now I have the time to scrap & blog on my trip. On the 1st day, we went to the Singapore Zoo and we were there from 9am till 1.30pm.... (Yup, 4 hours there & we haven't really finished touring the zoo). Here's a brief touring of the zoo in photos ...

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Our 1st show is the Polar Bear Feeding Show at 10am (just in time) as shown here.

Up close with girafe during the feeding session.

Probosis Monkey, the older the monkey, the longer the nose they have.

Ah, a group of penguins.. too bad we missed the show.

The white tiger, prowling in the water... maybe it's too hot & decide to cooldown in water

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We ended the zoo tour with kangaroo. The kangaroo area is an enclosed house where they can roam freely whilte we walked.

Okay, that's my zoo tour with some animal highlights... It's late now & I shall go to sleep soon (after chatting with Gerald)... I can say this is the most productive night since the trip because I manage to do 3 scrap on the singapore trip.