popy

Updates...

2012-01-04T21:25:00.035+08:00

sorry....i haven't done much updating since the last 6 months or so! thanks zm for the reminder!

so in short, these happened:

1. short road trip to Cameron end July '11 before puasa. with liza, zairul, amin, iris, razeif, isal & manto. stayed at century pines, which was just so-so. but raju's ice cream was (borrowing hindi movie expression) mind blowing. hehe.

2. moved department in Aug '11 (boring fact ;-p)

3. secret life of nora. not bad. loved adibah noor & tony eusuff ;) Oct '11

4. first nephew (or anak saudara) was delivered in Nov '11, a boy named Irfan

5. Also met up w/ the girls - iris, liz & farah at 1world hotel for hi tea buffet at cinnamon cafe which was not so bad at RM60++
Plus we saw screaming girls (& boys) as Super Junior passed by. Yup that K-pop group was staying there. We had no idea it was them, we just kaypoh-ed & played along hehe.
donowhat la his name hehe

6. reunited with my good friend, nurul. haven't seen her in ages, which is my bad. had lovely (but healthy) korean dishes. (Believe me this has nothing to do with K pop OK. I just wanted to try it) bibimbab. dec '11

Incubus, Stadium Negara, 23/7/11

2011-07-25T17:45:00.078+08:00

Ah, it was a reminiscence of sorts. Of the venue, I mean. The last time I was here, it was for Muse in Feb 2007

So we arrived in the drizzling rain at 6pm, went straight to the queue. Azni & Shahril were here too, but I didn't manage to meet up with them cos I was still waiting for 2 other mates to pass their tickets. They arrived at about 6.31pm. The queue wasn't that long, we were swiftly given access into the stadium at 7pm, it was drizzling anyway. So kudos to the organizers for punctuality :)

We had a lower tier seating ticket - it was quite a good view. And the seats are comfy. Last time for Muse, I was at a different section of the lower tier - we were seated at the wooden benches. Well, I didn't sit last time actually - I hung around at the railings actually ;)

There was an opening act - a local band called Roosevelt - I've never heard of them before, I guess they must be Jason Lo's signing (he's also sponsor Tune Talk's CEO). They were OK, I didn't really pay attention to them - dashed off the loo before Brandon & co came on stage! Ah again, our seat was perfect as it was also near to the washroom ;)

At 9pm sharp, the band came on stage, blasting it off with Megalomaniac. That had the crowd kicking a$$ and head banging & (there was one chap in front of us who was highly animated with his head banging, I couldn't help being very amused lol!). Yours truly couldn't help screaming her lungs out. Woah. Luckily I still had my voice post-gig lol! Ah, my partner in crime seemed to be enjoying himself too - considering this was his first paid rock gig experience - he was jumping off his seat in excitement lol!

View from our seat

En Brandon at the screen. Gagaga..

Sing-a-long

Crowd dispersing

Incubus!

Next up was another sing-a-long: Wish You Were Here.

This song is dedicated to you Shawn!

Ah, Brandon & co sounded just like their album version, I was highly pleased ^_^ (read: going gagaga) Woah, Mike's effect pedals were all over -surrounding him. He was in his own mind – doing his thang with his guitar – the mad scientist ;) Oh, the boys had nice (Persian?) carpets spread out on the stage – and Brandon’s mic was the old type – the one which you have to hold it -that was a nice touch.

I was pleasently surprised (& pleased) that they played In The Company Of Wolves - full version - with the extended bassy + the delicious guitar licks part. Pure class! I recorded the whole song. And they continued with Thieves - another favourite of mine from the new album ;)
From the new album they played 4 songs.

Overall, they played 18 songs. Faz managed to find the setlist from the net - they were supposed to play 20 songs - they omitted Crow Left of the Murder & Love Hurts. Love Hurts was supposed to be in the encore, just before the finale Nice To Know You. Hmmm...wonder why they left the 2 songs out? Not loud enough? I thought we could have brought the roof down that evening ;)

Oh they didn't play I Miss U also - my partner in crime's wishlist. My wishlist wasn't played too - I fancied Dig. Or maybe Admiration. Oh well, I guess they'll have to come again here to make sure the set is complete! But overall, it was an awesome gig! It was cute of Brandon to address us as boys & girls. :)

The setlist

p/s: I had a tip off on Friday, a day before the gig of the band's press conference at Doubletree Hilton, which is just 1 station away from my office - but this time I chickened out from stalking them hehe.

Read the review from The Star here

At My Most Beautiful

2011-06-30T22:11:00.008+08:00

Oh how can I not post this earlier, forgive me...

It was my very good friend Maslina's wedding to her beloved Ezad on 10.6.11 just 1 day short of Mas' sweet 32nd birthday.

I'm sooooooooo happy for you my dear, I pray for your happiness, Ameen...

Reza Salleh DFP Spotlight

2011-06-30T20:21:00.000+08:00

I've heard his name before, but never bothered to check his songs out...then I found out about his show at DFP just a few days prior. It was a sold out show!
Bravo to him ;)

He brought with him his entourage of live band. They were really good. His songs were not bad too, wish I knew his songs prior to going, or I would have enjoyed them more ;)

Check him out here

I can't seem to find his setlist. Will post them if I find it.

Sound of music

2011-06-29T23:51:00.010+08:00

24.06.11

Re-blog from zu :)

These are a few of my favourite things...it was sweet and cute - especially the youngest of the Von Trapp clan (there are 7 of them mischievous ones!)

Oh, it was my first musical actually. Luckily I did my homework before going. Sweet!

Read the review here

Sinewy sunburnt gophers

2011-06-16T23:30:00.003+08:00

Gah! Why didn't I discover him so much earlier? I can't help giggling myself silly on the LRT, what would people think of me LOL!

Am talking about Roald Dahl, currently reading one of his autobiography - Going Solo.

Check him out ya, if you haven't ;)

Yogya Re-visit: Back Home

2011-06-03T23:34:00.018+08:00

17/5/11 : Day 4 : Yogya – home

Last day today before going back home! We had breakfast at our hotel – which comes with our room package – nasi goreng again (lack of ideas lol!) Our flight back was scheduled at WIB 11.40 am, so nothing much could be done prior to going to the airport.

Oasis bfast

While otw to the airport, we passed by one of the branches of Nyonya Suharti Ayam Goreng restaurant. We totally forgot about it, although we had in mind to try it. But then again, the restaurant is quite far from where we were staying. Unfortunately though, we forgot the fact that we could always take away the fried chicken – why didn't we think of it? Hmmmm....so now I had fried chicken in my head :-p

The Yogya airport – also named Adisucipto International Airport is a small one, so there's only 1 cafe available there. To kill time, we had some desserts – banana fritters and tauhu garuda and drinks at the Aero cafe. Then it was time to go back :(

Ah, we also had a battle of the bags competition going on ;)

Liza: 11.95 kg

Mine : 11.40 kg

Razeif: 7.85 kg

Winner: Manto. Only 4.20 kg

Tauhu garuda

In the flight, somehow my craving for ayam goreng Nyonya Suharti was satiated. Seated next to me was Aunty Sarah, a very friendly lady who was visiting her friend in Yogya. She offered us her ayam goreng – so of course yours truly would not decline it ;) Myself and Liza also had a heart to heart talk and advice session in the short span of 2 hours with Aunty Sarah :) I love pleasant meetings with strangers such as this ;)

Ayam goreng Nyonya Suharti - thanks Aunty Sarah ^_^

At KLIA, we had drinks first while waiting for our bus to KL Sentral at 5pm. Then we bade farewell to each other, we had fun together, it was a great travelling experience ;)

Yogya Re-visit: Dieng - Wonosobo

2011-06-03T17:33:00.044+08:00

16/5/11 : Day 3 : Dieng Plateau – Wonosobo

Wakey wakey rise and oh wait, no shine yet. We woke up early to be ready for the tour at 4.30 am WIB. It was freeeezing cold. After subuh, we gathered at Bu Jono hotel and were given hot tea for some warmth. When all was ready, the guides (which costs IDR10K) from Bu Jono lead us to Mt Sikunir lookout point riding motorcycles! How could they stand the freezing temperatures riding bikes?? Some of the foreign (Mat Salleh) tourists also rode pillion on the bikes – but then they're used to it anyway. We, however, went via our van, it was quite a bumpy ride – the road was not level so we had to “ambles” (or move slowly in Javanese).

Ahem, I checked from the Indonesian dictionary – ambles = berjalan tanpa tergesa-gesa

Cold brrrr....

Yo yo...wassup

We reached Sembungan village which is the base of the lookout point within 15 minutes. But there's some hiking of about 800m to be done tot he peak before we can finally see the breathtaking vista! When we arrived, we were awarded with a view of the mountains shrouded in clouds and mist with the sun rising slowly until it finally made its full appearance. We were now at 2250 m above sea level. From here, we could also see Mts Merapi, Merbabu, Sindoro and Sumbing. Camwhoring session quickly ensued, followed by snacking of some biscuits that we packed with us.

Oh I must tell you though that the hiking was a bit challenging as it was slippery – it rained the previous night. Climbing up was OK, but descending –some members of our team slipped and fell on their bottoms hehe...and oh, our shoes / sandals were dirty from the mud........oh my pink shoes :-p My own fault though – why would anyone hike with pink sneakers?! :-p

Sikunir sunrise

Us @ Sikunir

From Mt Sikunir, we went to the Kawah Sikidang (entrance IDR 18K) which is a volcanic crater that is still active and spews poisonous gas such as sulphur (which smells like rotten eggs). There is a magma chamber about 2000m beneath Sikidang Crater. This magma chamber produces heat and energy with a very strong pressure. If this pressure reaches its peak, there will be eruptions and a new crater will be formed. A large pool of water mixed with grey mud kept bubbling. It is said that the water and mud could reach a temperature of 98 C or more. At the surrounding area, we also saw geothermal wells which are used to generate electricity. Coolness!

Info taken from here

Us with Tri :)

Kawah Sikidang

Next destination was Kawah Warna (entrance IDR 9K per person). Telaga Warna is 2000m above sea level. Again some hiking to be done here, but the view was really beautiful -different shades of colour of the lake can be seen from above. From below, the colour looked different, in fact duller. More info on Kawah Warna can be found here

Kawah Warna

We were hungry by now. So to fill in our empty stomachs, we tried some kue bandos – you can choose it plain and savoury (gurih) or sweet.

Kue Bandos - Gurih atau manis?

Last destination of our Sunrise tour was Candi Arjuna. These temples were first discovered by a British soldier named Van Kinsbergen in 1814 on a water swamp. Arjuna temple complex is the oldest Hindu temple in Java Island which was built in 809 AD and was a place of worship of Shiva. This can be seen from the Lingga and Yoni in the main temple, and the statues of Goddess Durga, Ganesha, and Agastya on the building. The statues are now placed in the Kaliasa Museum near the temple. For more info on Candi Arjuna, go here

Oh I must mention a curious incident at Candi Arjuna, where a group of 3 young men approached one of us to take a group picture with them as they believed a picture with only 3 people would bring bad luck.

Candi Arjuna

We were famished by then – the packed biscuits and kue bandos could not sustain our ravenous appetite! So we headed to Warong Mbak Mien again for brunch. Must fill our tummies with rice! We ordered fried rice again – mushroom (jamur) and chicken fried rice. It was marvellous! (Plus maybe because we were very hungry). We also ordered fried mushroom – which I imagined was like the UTM version (I used to buy cendawan goreng from the stalls in Taman U or Taman Sri Putri in Skudai while studying) – deep fried with flour and dipped in soy sauce with chilli sambal. But Mbak Mien's version was tasty as well – cooked ala mixed vege style – much healthier than the UTM version. And it tasted fresh too!

Nasi Goreng Dieng

After our brunch, we washed up and packed. We departed from Dieng at around WIB 12.30 pm and headed to Wonosobo which is about 1 hour away just to taste the Mee Ongklok. We read it in Lonely Planet that it is a must try. We went to the Mie Ongklok Longkrang stall (not longkang ok!) The main ingredient is noodle and vegetables- cabbage and garlic chives. Noodle, cabbage and garlic chives are put in a kind of bamboo sieve and then repeatedly dip it into boiling water (ongklok-ongklok), hence the name. Mie ongklok is always served with beef satay. For me, the mie ongklok tastes like a cross between mee rebus Johor and mee bandung. Well you have to try it yourself to know the real taste. More info on mee ongklok here

Empe kemul (another traditional food of fried tempe with flour) and cireng aka aci goreng (fried tapioca flour) are some other side dishes also served here.

Mee Ongklok Longkrang

Mee Ongklok with satay

After eating for a second time, we headed back to Yogya. Since everyone was full, everyone dozed off too, except for Tri, as he was driving! On the way back, we saw school students wearing uniforms sprayed with colour spray paint. Apparently they are school leavers and were celebrating after getting their exam results. Most of them looked happy.

Budak sekolah conteng baju...

Before checking in our hotel, we had a 2^nd pit stop, at Bakpia (a local sweet delicacy) shop, curiously named Patuk75. When we enquired Tri, he explained that Patuk refers to the name of the village of origin while 75 is the no. of the house – so it's actually the address of the founder. Another curiosity is that the facade of the Bakpia shop doesn't reflect a delicacy shop – it was adorned with angel statues and roman pillars – wonder why hmmmm....

The Bakpia shop

After kue shopping, we checked in at Oasis Hotel at Prawirotaman area which is an area for mostly Western tourists. The room costs IDR261K or RM 93 per night. The room is very simple, but cosy enough for us. After freshening up, we took the trishaw (IDR 15K or RM5.3 per trishaw) to where else but our favourite lesehan – Citra Rasa at Jln Malioboro which is quite a distance away to walk. We wanted to eat at restaurants nearby, but the restaurants there mostly cater for western tourists – we wanted to eat local food.

Hotels / Cafe at Prawirotaman

Our room @ Oasis

In front of our rooms

After lesehan and entertainment by our favourite Pengamen, we went back to Prawirotaman via horse carriage (IDR 30K or RM 10.6 per carriage). It was still early, so we decided to search for ice cream! We found a decent cafe – Cafe Gading and had desserts here – sponsored by Liza. Thanks Liza! ^_^ We had banana split, pancakes, banana fritters, ice cream, latte and my fave alpokat ;) The ambience was nice, just spoilt by the faulty CD player – and Kei$ha. (I couldn't stand her songs, so I asked the staff if they could play other songs instead hehe...). Razeif was already sneezing incessantly by now – a result of him playing in the rain at Dieng :-p so we had to call it a day.

Banana fritters

Ice cream!

Yogya Re-visit: Kraton & Dieng

2011-05-31T23:43:00.045+08:00

15/5/11: Day 2 : Kraton – Dieng

After breakfast of nasi goreng and sandwich (which comes together with our room package), we started the day with visiting the Kraton. There are 2 kratons actually– of the Yogyakarta and Surakarta sultanate. The Sultanate of Mataram was split in two, i.e. the Yogyakarta and Surakarta sultanate based on the Treaty of Giyanti in 1755 after the decline in power of the Mataram Sultanate and the exploits of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The Giyanti Treaty mentioned Pangeran Mangkubumi as Sultan of Yogyakarta.

Kraton, originates from the word ke-ratu-an that means the place where the queen/king lives. The Yogya Kraton lies between Tugu as the north border (2 km stretch) and Panggung Krapyak as the south border (5 km stretch), between Code River in the east and Winongo River in the west. From north part to west part of the Palace area, there are North Square, North Siti Hinggil, North Kemandhungan, Srimanganti, Kedhaton, Kemagangan, South Kemandungan, South Siti Hinggil and South Square (the yard that is protected by high walls).

We visited the Pagelaran and Siti Hinggil area of the Kraton. Ticket costs us IDR 3000 per person (RM 1.1) The Sultan only visits the Square, Pagelaran, and Siti Hinggil three times a year, namely during the events of Pisowan Ageng Grebeg Maulud, Sawal and Besar.

Unfortunately, like the Sangiran Museum, the Kraton is not well maintained. There weren't much info and the displays that they did have looked worn down. For the record, the names of the Sultan were displayed.

For more info on the Kraton, go here

Entrance kraton

Sultan info

Inside Kraton

Sellers outside Kraton

We didn't stay long there as we were quite disappointed with the condition. Next in plan was to visit Taman Sari - a recreation garden or a resting house for the Sultan. Outside the gate, we were approached by a trishaw peddler who promoted his trishaw tour which covers 5 stops for only IDR 50K per trishaw. For the guided tour which the trishaw peddler also serves as guide, payment is up to each customer. We agreed to take the tour as it we could go sightseeing from a local point of view, plus it was cheap too!

Trishaws with Kraton guided tour has this flag

Our first stop was the Sultan's residence where its compound serves as a restaurant (Bale Raos restaurant) where you can eat royalty food. It serves the favorite cuisines of Sultan Yogyakarta, from HB VII until HB X. You cannot enter the residence (because I tried to take a peek, but was shoo-ed away :-p I heard some traditional dance music at the background).

Bale Raos resto

Second stop was the Djogjaholic kaos (t-shirt) shops, which are imitations of the original Dagadu t-shirts, which we went to during our first visit. I bought a t-shirt here for IDR85K (RM30) because I didn't buy any last time.

Djogjaholic t-shirt shop

Third and fourth stop was the Batik Processing factory and the Batik Suhardi shop, which we only stopped by very briefly. Didn't plan to buy anything here, so we quickly left.

Batik Suhardi

Final stop was the Taman Sari. It has bathing pools, canals, rooms and an extremerly large swimming pool (if the canals opened). There was also the Sugeng Puppet Handicraft outside the compound, which we dropped by to see the artisans at work carving the wayang kulit design.

Wayang kulit making @ Sugeng Puppet handicraft

The Tamansari complex consist of:

The Sacred Room
A sacred place in the complex in a separate building, which once functioned as a meditation place.

The Bathing Pool
Consists of two bathing pool that are separated by a 2-storey building. From this building the Sultan watched all the women swimming in the outer pool. Then he might ask some of them to accompany him into the inner pool. Mmmm Sultan and his etra-curricular activities :-p

Kenanga or Cemeti Island
This artificial island is a high building used as resting room and reconnaissance (surveillance) place. Only this building will surface when the canals are opened and the water over flows. From a higher place it like lotus floating in the middle of big pool.

Read more about Taman Sari here

Meditation place

Gedong

While we were on our beca, we had a chit chat with our 'driver' cum guide – Pak Iman. He actually has a degree – he studied at Universitas Mahamdiah Jakarta majoring in Islamic religious studies and civilisation for 6 years. He moonlights as a trishaw peddler while his main job is giving lectures.

Pak Iman

By the time we finished the beca tour, we had 1 more hour to kill before checking out from our hotel at 12pm WIB. We stopped by at Pasar Beringharjo to buy batik material for my brother's Batik shirt. By the time we reach our hotel at 12, Tri was already waiting for us!

We were then whisked off to Dieng plateau – our highlight of this trip. We stopped by at Padang Maimbau restaurant for lunch. Then it was approximately 3 hour drive to reach Dieng, but it was definitely worth it! The highland vista was breathtaking! Dieng is 2093m above sea level. It reminded us of the lush greenery of Cameron Highlands, only colder. Waaaay colder. Plus it had just stopped raining, so it was cold and misty. On the way to Dieng, we passed by Wonosobo town, which is quite big.

View otw to Dieng

Welcome to Dieng!

A bus with funny signage : "Sekedar hobi, alih profesi" then there's a picture of motorbike racing below!

We haven't booked a hotel at Dieng prior to our arrival- we planned to find a place only when we reach there. We tried to look for a few – finally we decided on Hotel Asri. It's not a hotel, but more of a backpacker hostel. Room was very basic, bed with blanket and attached bathroom for me and Liza, with no hot water (and it was freezing cold!) and no towel. While the boys took a room each – as it was very small. Tri stayed with us too as it was too far for him to go back to the city and come back the next day. Our room costs IDR 75K, while the boys' room costs IDR 50K. This is totally Lonely Planet territorry I must warn you – very very basic hostel, I even forgot to take a picture of our room.

Hotel Asri

We went searching for dinner in the dead cold of the night – it was freezing! (But I secretly liked it hehe...as we could see vapour forming as we talked )– feels like we were at some European country lol! But someone here couldn't stand the cold, oh poor him, he was trembling :-p We wanted to eat at the stalls to blend in with the locals – but it was not to be – a decent stall that we found was full. In the end, we settled for the Bu Djono Hotel cafe to have dinner. It was warm inside. We had nasi goreng (we kept craving for Nasi Goreng from Lesehan Citra Rasa ), french fries and noodle soup (I can't help but associate cold weather with hot soup). And hot coffee and hot chocolate for drinks. Heavenly!

The stall that is always full!

While ordering our menu, Pak Didik from the Hotel asked us if we wanted to join the Dieng Plateau sunrise tour – which will cover short hiking up Mt Sikunir for sunrise watching, Kawah Warna, Kawah Sikidang and Candi Arjuna for IDR50K (RM18) per person, with our own driver and transport (which was provided by Tri). The tour would start at 4.30am WIB. We agreed to take up the trip and would tell Tri about the arrangement later – which we found out was quite a task – as Tri was already fast asleep – several measures had to be taken to wake him up lol! Thankfully he finally did!

While waiting for our food, Pak Didik gave us some photo albums of the tour and “Buku Pesan-Pesan” in which tour participants wrote down their comments – most of them were satisfied. We wanted to write something down – but somehow the eating made us forget! When we kept on chatting and ordered a second helping of drinks, Pak Didik came by and hinted that the tour tomorrow will start in the wee hours of the morning and that we should get some sleep. I guess he was trying to shoo us away in a subtle way ;)

Buku Pesan-Pesan

We went back to our hotel – woke Tri up, then we defied Pak Didik's advice – we went out again – for a late night drink! We found another stall – Warung Mbak Mien for our lepak session. Went back for rest at almost 11pm WIB. Myself and Liza continued to chat until early morning – and we had only about 3 hours of sleep! And it was freezing cold! Thankfully we managed to endure the coldness. Next day will be another awesome day!

Yogya Re-visit : Sangiran & Ramayana Ballet

2011-05-27T00:17:00.035+08:00

Ah...this is our 2^nd visit to Yogya within 3 months! Sometimes we do crazy things, this is one of them ;)

I'm the guilty person here, I pschyed the gang into going for a short escape from the prison walls that is the office (wow the description!). Poor Liza, she barely had enough rest from her umrah trip, and now she had to endure this, plus, there's some physical exercise involved, which we did not expect. Well we did expect it, but we thought it would be an easier one. What am I on about? Read on to know ;)

Sat 14/5/11

After just a few hours of sleep (ahem, we did a side project the night before, told you we are bunch of crazy people lol!) we met up at KL Sentral 7.30 am to take the bus to LCCT. Lesson learnt from my previous trip – no more taking the bus from 1Utama! So I thought this time I'd be safe from any drama. Boy, was I wrong!

That morning we had our breakfast at McD. The gang put their luggages beside them, except me, I don't know why I did that. I put my luggage slightly at the side, near a bunch of luggages of another group, but within my reach and sight.

After eating heartily our meals, I got up to take my bag, but lo and behold, it was no longer there! I panicked. All sort of things came through my mind, expecting the worse. No valuables were in the bag, just clothes and my camera charger- but of course, the loss would ruin my escapade mood!

So we searched for my luggage at the check in counters. I prayed that I'd find my luggage, and alhamdulillah, at the second check in counter, I saw a familiar luggage from a distance – although it was similar to other bags – black and without taggging – but somehow I was sure it was mine. I darted to the group – and grabbed my bag. But one of the men in the group stopped me – he asked me what I was doing?! He said that it was his bag that I was rummaging through. I told him it was mine and asked him to let me check it first. And it was true – it was totally mine! I immediately saw my comb and Lumix charger! Then I just stormed off without looking back. I didn't know how was his reaction, but at that particular moment, I was just relieved that I was reunited with my bag!

Lesson learnt from here – never leave your luggage out of sight even just for a few seconds – and keep it near you always. Don't put it in a bunch of other groups' luggages – that was careless of me!

After that episode, we went to the departure hall and I calmed myself down. We took off as per schedule and thankfully no more drama unfolded after that ;)

Arrived Solo at 12 noon WIB. It was scorching hot. Again, the line at the immigration counter was long and slow as per our first visit last February. But at least this time they opened 2 counters. We were then whisked away by our trusty guide from our first trip – Trihan. Our first destination was Sangiran – an early man site, which is also a Unesco World Heritage Site, no 593 on the list

Much to our disappointment, the so-called museum was a rundown place. We felt so sorry about the state of the display material, it felt like we were transported to the 80s era. The museum is maintained by the government, so perhaps that's why the place is a bit neglected. Ticket only costs IDR 3000 (RM1) per person and IDR 3000 for parking.

I wonder why it was chosen as a Unesco Heritage Site – or maybe the Heritage site is specifically for the archealogical site – not the museum. We did not visit the excavation site, as it is about 15km away. We were told there were new findings the day before our visit.

Sangiran man

Well, I searched for the answer and here it is:

The Committee decided to inscribe Sangiran site under cultural criteria (iii) to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared and (vi) to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria) as one of the key sites for the understanding of human evolution that admirably illustrates the development of Homo sapiens sapiens from the Lower Pleistocene to the present through the outstanding fossil and artefactual material that it has produced. More on the Sangiran Early Man Site here.

We were then so hungry by then, but we still couldn't find a decent place to tuck in. We found some bread that Razeif brought, so that sustained us for a while. Thanks Razeif! Finally Tri found a Masakan Padang place – Murah Meriah. We had our late lunch here – it was almost 4.30 pm WIB or 5.30 pm Msian time!

Our next destination is the Prambanan Temple Complex to watch the Ramayana Ballet Show which we missed during our first trip because yours truly mislooked the show dates – the day and month was correct – but I looked for year 2010 instead lol! Now we had to come back to watch the show!

Welcome!

The stage

Tix costs us IDR175K per person (or RM 61) We watched the full story version. There's also an episodic version of the dance. We arrived quite early at WIB 6.30pm, although the show would only start at WIB 8pm. The illuminated view of Prambanan Temple at dusk was simply breathtaking. Unfortunately, my trusty old Lumix camera didn't do justice to it – hope The Prince did a better job! My Lumix didn't do justice to the dance performance shots as well.

Tix counter

But anyway, we were entertained by the dance show – although we were wondering what was going on because there was no narration – nor did we have any brochures telling us the story behind it (although I did take a peek at the French tourist beside me who had a brochure – wonder where she got them. Oh btw, she had on a pair of lovely high cut Nike red floral boots – ah love 'em – wonder where she got that too)

Kasut Nike itu saya suka ^_^

Here's a bit of description of the Ramayana story (searched post-show): Ramayana story presented in this performance is similar to that engraved on Prambanan temple. The long and straining story is summarized in four scenes, namely the kidnapping of Shinta, Anoman's mission to Alengka, the death of Kumbakarna or Rahwana, and the meeting of Rama-Shinta.

The story begins when Prabu Janaka held a contest to determine the would-be husband for Shinta, his daughter that finally was won by Rama Wijaya. The scene is continued with the adventure of Rama, Shinta and Rama's younger brother named Laksamana in Dandaka forest. There, they met Rawana that was eager to posses Shinta since she was considered the reincarnation of goddess Widowati, a woman that he had been seeking for long.

Rama Wijaya and Shinta

In order to attract Shinta's attention, Rahwana changed one of his followers named Marica into a deer. The effort was successful when Shinta was attracted and asked Rama to chase the deer. When Rama did not show up after a while, Laksmana went to find Rama and left Shinta herself by protecting her with a magic circle around her in order that nobody would be able to kidnap her, including Rahwana. The protection failed to keep Shinta in the place since Rahwana succeeded in kidnapping her by changing himself into Durna character.

At the end of the story, Hanoman, the white, powerful monkey succeeded in taking Shinta from Rahwana. When she returned, however, Rama did not trust her anymore. He considered Shinta disgraced. In order to prove her virginity and holiness, Shinta was asked to burn herself. Shinta proved her holiness when she was not burned at all even she became more beautiful. Finally, Rama accepted her as his wife.

The Ramayana story is taken from here

Hanoman

The burning

Since our show ended late, we had asked Tri to phone our hotel – 1001 Malam for late check in. We only arrived at our hotel around WIB 11pm. Although quite lethargic by now, it was quickly gone when we saw the mediterranean-styled facade of the hotel and our lovely decorated rooms. We instantly felt cosy :)1001 Malam Hotel costs IDR 391.5K (RM 138) per room per night, which includes tax and it comes with breakfast

Our cosy room :)

We then head to our favourite Lesehan haunt – Citra Rasa at Jalan Malioboro – this was our third visit! We already knew the food there is good – so let's just go with a safe choice ;) We had nasi gudeg ayam, sup ayam, gurame bakar and nasi goreng istimewa. Nasi goreng istimewa tasted the best that night so we ordered a second helping! Then came Liza's favourite Pengamen – whom she requested her mandatory songs – by Keris Patih and Samsons. The Pengamen probably recognized us by now ;)

Nasi Goreng yg sedap!

Liza's fave Pengamen - nama dia Sutriso. Fave song: Demi Cinta by Keris Patih

His notebook :)

After a hearty meal and entertaiment by the street musicians, we head back to our hotel and hit the sack. Tomorrow would be another busy day!

Gruff Rhys, MAP @ Publika, 6/5/2011

2011-05-08T10:38:00.106+08:00

Warning: Sweetnest overloaded! Read if you can handle all the saccharine ;)

This was the cutest gig I've ever attended. Baffled? Read on..

Gruff Rhys (pronounced Grif Ris) was the sweetest ever ^_^

I've always liked Super Furry Animals' (SFA) quirky music, so when I heard that BFM's 33 RPM is bringing in SFA's frontman Gruff Rhys to Malaysia, I knew I had to go! Tix only costs RM63, it was dirt cheap for an international act! (despite an obscure one though).

Tix

Gruff Rhys poster

A trivia - see my blog profile picture of a pink lion? Well that's Gruff Rhys' Candylion. So you see, I've always had a soft spot for SFA / Gruff ;)

Well back to cute. Cute because when Gruff came on stage, he saw the room was packed with everybody standing. So he asked everyone to sit down, then asked if it was enough space for everyone to enjoy the showcase. Being me, I was right in front, at the 2nd row actually, and was just a few inches away from him ;)

Another aspect of cuteness is due to his playful remarks along the show ;)

Crowd waiting before show

It was an intimate acoustic show, the room was small, and Gruff was very interactive with us. He brought along all sorts of gadget, one could never imagine these could be used as musical instruments / rhythm section (as Gruff himself puts it) to accompany him! Well this role was played by Trevor the metronome (I only knew that this is a tool to help musicians keep in beat - thanks bro! - he told me that)

A metronome

Other gadgets include a turntable, an illuminated keyboard (which inspired the song Sensations In The Dark). Ah, I have to tell you this - during the introduction of Sensations In The Dark, he asked his producer - Dan to switch off the lights - when asking this, he also said that "This is a dangerous situation" - because it was pitch dark! He actually just wanted to demonstrate how the keys to his keyboards illuminate when he presses them lol!

His turntable

His illuminate in the dark keyboard

He also introduced us to his trusty acoustic guitar which he says he "plays it upside down" as a joke with his siblings. No name though. He also demonstrated that an extension of his guitar is just a stick on - he took off the part and revealed double sided tapes used to stick it. That extension was just "to make the guitar more aerodynamic" and give "more confidence" to perform for "a more enjoyable concert experience"!
Damn funny, we couldn't stop laughing at his banter!

Talking about his guitar

This is the extension part to make the guitar more "aerodynamic" lol!

More banter

He only brought along a producer - Dan, and he did the guitar tuning himself

Some other banter from him:

*During the encore, being someone who just loves music, he brought out some local records (piring hitam) from a plastic bag (we reckon he went shopping at Amcorp Mall's store which sells old records), and said "Let's try to play one". He randomly picked Rafeah Buang's Hati-Ku Kau Churi EP and asked "Do you know the lady?" We responded "Rafeah Buang"

Then he played it to us, then asked "What's the song about?" We said "It's about love!" He just smiled ;)

That Rafeah Buang record: Hati-Ku Kau Churi EP (1971)

During the introduction to one of the songs - forgot which one - "This is a tribute to Phil Collins. He is the first ever solo artiste to ever split up" LOL! Now how can one person split up? Only bands split!

During introduction for The Court of King Arthur - he said "This song is inspired by archaelogy"

He said "Terima Kasih" a few times. That brought a thunderous applause from us :D

Before the start of another song (again forgot which one), he taught us a few lines of the lyrics to it and asked us to "karaoke with it". And at the start of the song, please give a big round of applause like when Jimi Hendrix (I think he mentioned Jimi, if I'm not mistaken) was playing LOL!

He brought along placards as cue cards for us with words like:
"Woah!"
"Applause"
"The End"

"The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness" (his collaborative album with Tony Da Gatorra)

Some of his placards

Effect pedals

Overall, he played 18 songs.

The setlist:
1. Singing A Song
2. Vitamin K
3. Sophie Softly
4. Shark Ridden Waters
5. Cryndod Yn Dy Lais
6. Cycle of Violence
7. If We Were Words, We Would Rhyme
8. Lonesome Words
9. Gyrru Gyrru Gyrru
10. The Court Of King Arthur
11. Sensations In The Dark
12. Conservation Conversation
13. Candylion
14. Rubble Rubble
15. Gwn Mi Wn

Encore
*Played Rafeah Buang's Hati-Ku Kau Churi
16. Shark Ridden Waters (this time he played the record, but added some live singing and playing on top of it)
17. In A HouseWith No Mirrors (You'll Never Get Old)
18. Singing A Song

His setlist

The End. See there Trevor the metronome in orange colour

Gruff Rhys solo showcase was opened by 2 local acts - BFM Zack Yusof's Free Deserters (not bad) and Couple.

More report on the gig here and here

The Yogya Connection

2011-04-15T21:46:00.009+08:00

Ah, I found this short essay written by my mom on my father's heritage.
Read on...

My "Royal" Connection

This is the story of 3 princesses namely Hjh Fatimah, Hjh Peng and Hjh Induk. They lived at Istana Pati (which is now the largest roundabout in Jogjakarta), on the island of Java, Indonesia. Sometime in the 1880s, after performing their Haj, the princesses together with their husbands sailed to Tanah Melayu and landed at Stulang, Johor. There, they built houses using kayu jati, Indonesian marble and ceramics which they brought along from Indonesia. They also developed the area and called it Kampung Stulang. Interestingly, one of the houses is still standing strong in Kg Stulang Darat till today. There is also a Surau Hjh Fatimah at Kg Stulang Darat.

Hjh Fatimah and her husband had a daughter named Rogayah. She married Abd Hamid from the village and they were blessed with 6 sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Rahmah, married Abd Samad and they had 5 children namely Maznah, Abd Majid, Mohd Agil, Mohd Zaid and Abd Jamil. The youngest child, Abd Jamil, died in 1980 due to illness and Hjh Rahmah passed away in 1989.

Mohd Agil, the great grandson of Hjh Fatimah, married Noraini and they have 2 children - Ajib (that's my bro - Razib) and Aida. Erm then my mom wrote a statement perasan ehehe (malu LOL!)- Or maybe we should call them Putra Agung Sriwijaya Ajib and Putri Shinta Alengka Aida.

Contributed by Noraini
26/12/2007

Sesi mencuci

2011-04-11T23:01:00.004+08:00

I haven't gotten around to thank my friends for helping me mencuci rumah, secara ad-hoc pulak tu ehehe...
Kejadian berlaku Jumaat, 18/3/11

Thank you girls & boys !!!

Lepas mencuci tu, aku bawak diorang makan mamak & tengok rumah orang2 kaya di pagi hari.
Statement paling tak tahan: Diorang ni kerja apa? Jual dadah ke??!! LOL!!!!

Lady Maslina

Razeif sempat menyanyi, penuh feeling tu fuuuuh...

Tangan camerawoman - Liza. Ni kitorang buat gaya tangan ala Usop

Manto yg kepenatan...

Mission Saigon: Day 4: 29/03/11

2011-04-09T01:26:00.034+08:00

Ah, today is the last day of our trip. Nothing much today. In the morning, we went for breakfast, local style at a back alley stall (tepi lorong) - it's a Halal stall.

We had a nom nom noodle (I forgot to jot down the local name) - it looks spicy, but it's not and a local kebab (again forgot to jot down the name). Each costs about USD2 (RM6), but the portion is big and filling. Again, Erni treated us all for breakfast! Thank you so much Erni!

Makan tepi lorong

Ulam2 for kebab lorong Lorong noodle Lorong kebab With kakak tepi lorong

Before going back to our hotel, we dropped by at Tous Les Jous again (by now, this is Azni's fave bakery). Reaching back, we headed straight to the tailor to pick up Azni's & Jue's clothes, but some still needed adjustment. So to while away the time, we went for a manicure / pedicure at Femme Nails, just a walking distance from our hotel. It costs USD 7.5 (RM 22.5) for the mani/pedi package. As for Jue and Azni's package, they took the mani/pedi with spa (massage) package which costs USD18 (RM 54)

We had lunch at VN@halal again, nothing fancy, all Malayisan dishes. Then we went back to the tailor to collect the clothes that needed adjustment, and made our final visit to Ben Thant (I've already lost count how many trips we've made there!) as Azni wanted to buy some fruits.

It was then time to pack and leave. Our flight back was at 4.20 pm local time, so we still had ample time to pack. We left our hotel at 2pm local time, then still had time at the airport, so we hung around at Illy cafe' having its iced chocolate drink (USD 6.5 or RM18.75) -it was exorbitantly priced and it tasted just so-so. Gila mahal air coklat!

Posing with our hotel receptionist. Dia dah slim pun ambik Herbal Life. So how?

We finally reached KL at 7pm. At the immigration, we were stopped by a female officer, she asked me from which destination I was from, but I didn't want to answer her, so I just said we had 2 other people with me (I assumed she may be looking at our 6 bags - all cabin sized though.) Agitated with me for dodging her question, she raised her voice and asked again - but Jue and Azni answered it, and was asked to scan the bags. Then when I came to put the bags to be scanned, another officer - a male - just waved me to pass through without scanning hehe... We finally reached back Azni's home at almost 9pm, sent back Jue, and then back to home sweet home.

Mission Saigon: Day 3 : 28/03/11

2011-04-04T17:54:00.105+08:00

Ah rise and shine! Today we had an early start as we have a full day CuChi (pronounced Ku Chi) tunnel and City tour which starts at 8am local time. After breakfast, we took the taxi to Sinh Cafe tour agent as we were a bit late to walk there. When we arrived, the bus was already there, so we immediately took our seats. We were given drinking water and wet tissue which is included in the package, no lunch provided. (The first trip in 2008, I was given water and peanuts). Luckily we had packed the delicious karipap from the kakak last night :) Entrance fee is not included in the package, so we had to pay another USD4 (VND 80,000). This is my second trip to CuChi actually. View my previous trip here

The journey to CuChi tunnel took almost 2 hours. When we arrived,it was scorching hot. But nevertheless, we braved the sun (actually we took shelter hehe) at the video viewing hall - where they showed an old footage from circa 1969 when the Vietnamese Civil War between the US and the Viet Cong (the communist from North Vietnam) took place.

The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, spiders and mosquitoes. The tunnels were often rigged with explosive booby traps or punji stake pits. The clever design of the tunnels along with the strategic use of trap doors and air filtration systems rendered American technology ineffective. (taken from Wiki).

We were given the chance to enter the tunnels and had to crawl as it is very narrow. We were told that the tunnel for visitors had been widen to accommodate us. We were also shown how the guerillas could quickly disappear by hiding in a camouflaged trap door.

The tunnel layout with hall, kitchen, water well, hiding place

One of the hiding places....now you see me

Now you don't

Happy nak masuk terowong...

Trap door

One of the booby traps

Before leaving, we were served some ubi kayu (tapioca) and tea to sample the food the guerrillas had eaten while at war. We then made our journey back to the city to continue with our city tour, which would commence at 2.15pm. We still had 45 minutes when we reached back at the tour premise, so we proceeded to the nearby Highlands Coffee Cafe to have some (more) smoothies. Again, their smoothies are lean and healthy

We got back to Sinh Cafe by 2.15pm and then whisked away to the Vietnamese War Museum. Entrance fee is VND 15,000 (RM 2.25). It was very disturbing to see the images of victims of the Vietnamese Civilian War between the US and Viet Cong (communist). Even civilians were targeted, worse, children were tortured and killed. Villages were burnt down.

During the Bertrand Russell Tribunal 1967, it was concluded that the US government is guilty of genocide of the Vietnamese people. Here is the statement:

"The United States bears responsibility for the use of force in Viet Nam, and has, therefore, committed against that country a crime of aggression, a crime against peace... In subjecting the civilian populations and civilian targets of the DRVN (republic of Viet Nam) to an intense and systematic bombardment , the USA has committed a crime of war. These is on the part of the US armed forces utilization or testing of weapons prohibited by the laws of war (CBU's, napalm, phosphorus bombs, combat gases, toxic chemicals) The prisoners of war captured by the US armed forces are subjected to treatments prohibited by the laws of war. The US armed forces subject the civilian populations to inhuman treatments prohibited by international law. The US government is guilty of genocide vis-a-vis the Vietnamese people"

The Vietnamese War lasted for almost 20 years from 1955 to 1975. Read more here

War museum

Oour very patriotic guide

Image of a girl calling for revenge after her village is burnt down

Victims of Agent Orange: Dioxin were used

Victims of phosphorous bombs

Massacre: Children were not spared

Villages burnt down

Next, we went to the Reunification Palace. Entrance fee is VND 30,000 (RM4.50)

It is formerly known as Independence Palace , built on the site of the former Norodom Palace. The palace was named Norodom Palace after the then king of Cambodia - Noronom (1834–1904). During World War 2, Norodom Palace became the headquarters of Japanese colonial officials in Vietnam.

After WW2, in 1954, Norodom Palace was handed over to the prime minister of the State of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem by a representative of the French presence in Vietnam, General Paul Ely. In 1955, he defeated former Emperor Bao Dai, the chief of state of the State of Vietnam, and declared himself president of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam and renamed the building the Independence Palace.

It was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during theon April 30, 1975, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates. In November 1975, after the negotiation convention between the communist North Vietnam and their colleagues in South Vietnam was completed, the Provisional Revolutionary Government renamed the palace Reunification Hall. Excerpted from Wiki. Read more here

the corridor

First lady reception room

one of the halls

President's office

Movie theathre

Next we brought to the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica Cathedral. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. In 1959, Bishop Joseph Pham Van Thien ordered a Peaceful Notre Dame statue made with granite in Rome. When the statue arrived in Saigon on 16 February 1959, Bishop Pham Van Thien held a ceremony to install the statue on the empty base and presented the title of "Regina Pacis". Read more here

Notre Dame cathedral outside & inside

Lastly, we went to the Saigon central post office which is just across the cathedral. The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. It has a Gothic architectural style. It was designed and constructed by the famous architect Gustave Eiffel

Post office: Inside & outside

When we finally finished our city tour, it was already 5.30pm. Since our van dropped a fellow passenger nearby Ben Thant market, we got down there too and walked back to our hotel to freshen up.

Later, we had dinner at VN @ Halal, then we went for a refreshing foot massage at Miu Miu, a Japanese spa. The massage lasted for 70 minutes and costs USD 12 (RM36). It also includes back and hand massages. Interestingly, after finishing our massage, we chatted up with a fellow customer - I think I heard his name as Pierre, asking us where we were from - and that he knew a friend of ours - Aida Othman! Woah, she's so famous, she is also known in Vietnam! Feeling refreshed, we finally went back to our hotel and had a nice sleep

Miu Miu spa

Mission Saigon: Day 2: 27/03/11

2011-04-03T23:56:00.014+08:00

Today we would be continuing our mission at Ben Thant market. Also, we would be meeting up with a good friend of mine – Izwan and his family.

We woke up a bit late today – had a late night yesterday hanging out. After breakfast of toast and eggs at the hotel (included in our room package), we went straight to Ben Thant, together with Erni. Apart from our mission, Azni and Jue also bought some materials to be tailored for their office wear. They later sent their materials to Mysang tailor, just beside our hotel and had their fittings there. Their clothes would be ready by Tuesday morning, our departing day back to KL.

That took up the whole morning. We went for lunch at VN @ halal, which is just a walking distance from our hotel. Izwan and family would be meeting us up there. At VN, we had ala carte meals, i.e. I had Bun Bo Hue – it is sort of pho (pronounced 'fur') – like kuey teow soup. But the noodles is a bit like laksa noodles. The rest had Malaysian dishes – fried rice, chicken rice and cantonese mee.

Bun Bo Hue

Us with Izwan, wife Nazila & baby Adam

Izwan recommended us to take the Saigon river night cruise at the Ho Chi Minh port (no. 2 in Trip Advisor's things to do) which also includes dinner and performances. But we didn't go as we didn't have enough time – perhaps next time.

After saying our goodbyes to Izwan, Nazila and baby Adam, we went back to Ben Thant for some more unfinished business and to a supplier outside Ben Thant until the rain came down pouring, but that did not deter us from our mission lol!

Finally finishing our business, we walked back to our hotel to freshen up, then took the taxi to have dinner at D'Nyonya - a Malaysian restaurant at Dong Khoi area. At D'Nyonya, we ordered Malaysian dishes i.e. tauhu telur (this is similar to the one I tasted at the now defunct Sundanese restaurant at KLCC – but I prefered the Sundanese version), fried chicken with salted egg, chikcen chop, beef pho, Thai style fried rice and banana fritters. All were nom nom, especially Azni's pho. All costs us USD 25.29 or RM77 for 4 persons

Facade of D'Nyonya

D'Nyonya interior

Azni's pho

L-R: chicken with salted egg, taufu telur

banana fritters

Azni suddenly realized it was almost 9pm which means a certain shop that she wanted to buy some things would be closing shop soon. Or else she would be dreaming of it tonight! I'm not kidding, she dreamt of a particular bag the previous night! So she made a mad dash to rush to the shop as if there was an emergency evacuation! Again, I'm not kidding – Azni pushed the chairs and made her way out asap as if there was a fire lol!

When we arrived at the shop, they had already shut off the lights and told us to come back the next day. But luckily, before we left, the supervisor came, and let us purchase the items that we wanted. Azni was so happy and relieved, she wouldn't have nightmares tonight ;)

Before going back to our hotel, we took some karipap that Erni had ordered from her favourite supplier at the night market near our hotel – whom also sells telekung and clothes. She is a Cham Malay , so the karipap is halal – plus, it's very tasty indeed, with lots of beef! This would be our meal for tomorrow's full day CuChi tunnel and city tour trip. How thoughtful of Erni to pack us the karipap, and sponsored them too! We are so indebted to you! :D

Us with the kakak karipap

After saying our goodbyes to Erni, we had a short stroll along the night market. Azni and Jue bought a baju kurung from one the stalls here – which in my opinion is nicer than the one at a boutique we went to earlier in the evening (I forgot the name). Ah, tomorrow we will be starting early at 8am for our tour!

Choices, choices

Mission Saigon: Day 1: 26/03/11

2011-04-03T00:13:00.050+08:00

Ah I don't even know how to start, so much happenings, so many things to write! ;)
I suggested that we have a sleep over at Azni's place at D'sara Perdana as we have a morning flight the next day to Ho Chi Minh City @ Saigon. But in the end it was me who missed it as I finished late from MGMT's concert. So I only came in the next morning. Sorry Jue, I didn't mean to ditch you...

Our flight was scheduled at 0910 am, so we took off from Azni's place at 7am. Ah yes, we have a mission this time around. Our troupe consists of myself, Azni and Jue. Another partner – Nani won't be joining us though

Anyway, back to the trip. We didn't get to sit together for the flight to Saigon. We were very hungry on the flight, as we were in a rush in the morning, plus we didn't pre-order our meals. When the steward finally came, the overly friendly passenger next to me had lots of things to say to the steward. I was becoming slightly annoyed (remember I was really hungry by now), so I cut their conversation short hehe..sorry fellow passenger :-p Later after enjoying my meal, the friendly lady chatted with me. She's one heck of a travel bug, she has at least 5 trips per year with different groups, would always eye for Air Asia's free ticket promo and had already a booked a trip a year from now. This trip to Saigon was booked a year ago, woah! She payed about RM50 for taxes only.

We arrived on time at Saigon at 10.10 am local time (Saigon is 1 hour behind Malaysian time). We took the taxi to our hotel – An Tam hotel near to Ben Thant market which cost us USD9 (1 USD = 20,000 VND = RM3). Our taxi driver was quiet weird, he suddenly swatted a mosquito (or a fly), and at one point of time, was babbling to himself, or maybe to us, but we couldn't understand him.

When we arrived at the hotel, it was only 11am. We couldn't check in until 12 noon, so we decided to go straight to Ben Thant market. It is so near to our hotel that when we step out the door, we could immediately see Ben Thant's door #5. This would become our daily routine for the next 4 days.

We surveyed around Ben Thant quickly, eyeing for our mission items (I will only reveal this in my next post! So you have to stay tuned!) Then we went to the shoe shops outside Ben Thant as Azni wanted to buy some Crocs sandals. I'm not sure whether these are originals, but most probably not, but they are good imitations. I think Azni went in and out this shop for the next 3 days to change / buy new shoes / Crocs / jibbitz lol! The shopkeeper could recognize us already!

The Crocs

Now, feeling hungry we went searching for food! We saw a very nice looking bakery – Tou Les Jours (it's French for “Everyday”). But crossing the road was a nightmare! The traffic was never ending, we had to ask for “abang hijau”'s assistance. We felt like we were in a scene from Friends' Central Perks, having buns and smoothies at the cafe. I had the strawberry banana smoothie (USD2 or RM6) as I wanted to compare it with KFC's Krushers. Verdict? Tou Les Jours' tasted leaner, sans the milk. So I prefer the 'unhealthier' version i.e. KFC's hehe. But then Azni loved her mango smoothie.

Abg hijau

Our smoothies

Hunger pangs satisfied, we moved on in search of Sinh Cafe Travel agent. It was recommended by Azni's friend Erni (who will be joining us later) to take a tour through the agent. But it proved to be quite a challenge to find it – not everyone knew the place. We asked almost everyone that we could find, but in the end a hotel receptionist was able to point us to the right direction. If we were in the Amazing Race, we would have been eliminated! Actually I did take this agent during my previous trip to CuChi tunnel, but the location just somehow slipped off my mind.

Finally finding Sinh Cafe, we decided to take the CuChi tunnel + Ho Chi Minh city 1 day tour for USD8 (RM 24). This doesn't include the entrance fee to the places that we would be going – only covering the bus transportation and the guide fees.

We then walked back to our hotel only to find that our deluxe 3 bedroom was still not ready. We were told to wait for a while, then given a 2 bedroom (room # 501), and told that an extra bed would be sent later. Upon inspection, we were satisfied with the size of the room – it was spacious for the 3 of us, and still looked new. After resting and prayers, we were up and about again. We would be meeting Azni's friend Erni at the hotel, then she would be taking us to eat and shop hurrah!

We asked the hotel again for our extra bed, but were then told it was still not ready. After we voiced our disappointements (we paid for 3 beds – through Agoda for RM123 per room per night), the hotel agreed to change our room to Room# 301. We got our 3 beds, but unfortunately, only later we found out that the room's hot shower wasn't working! We were too lazy to change rooms again, so we stuck with it till the end of the trip.

Our room

Hotel kami yg kurus

At our hotel lobby

When Erni came, she took us to Halal@Saigon restaurant. (Taxi cost about USD2) We had Ban Xeo as appetizer (a floury savoury eaten with leaves and sauce – very healthy!), Clam soup, Talapia sambal (this is a Malaysian dish) and Thien ly garlic. All cost us USD30 (RM90 for 4 persons, not bad!) The food was nom nom!

Happy eaters @ Halal Saigon

Ban Xeo appetizer

Clam soup

Talapia sambal

Thien ly

Everyone happy and full, it was time to embark on our mission. What is it actually? Let it remain a mystery ;) We almost snapped up everything hehe..well not everything, just the range that caught our fancy ;)

Day 1 mission was a success! When we finished, it was then time for Earth Hour at 8.30pm local time where participating outlets would switch off their lights to support the campaign. Erni told us that her apartment Somerset was participating, so she brought us back to her home. Boy, was it dark! We were escorted by torchlights to the swimming pool where candles were lit and the residents were having BBQ. Nice! Btw, this is the second time I'm celebrating Earth Hour in Vietnam, last year was at Ha Long bay.

Next Erni brought us to a very nice cafe nearby to her house – Take cafe where we had our current addiction – ca phe sua da (pronounced ca-fe sher-da) or iced coffee with milk. We had a photo session thanks to the very helpful waitress (I suspect she was bored – as she just readily entertained our requests for all sort of poses).

Take cafe

Ca phe sua da

We went back to Erni's place to meet up with her mom who was accompanying her for a few weeks. Although still full, she served us with more food – fruits and keropoks. At the end of the day, we might have piled up a few kilos already – and it's only Day 1! We then said our goodbyes and went back to our hotel. We would be meeting up with Erni again the next day.

Ah, a note I forgot to mention - WiFi is easily accessible here, everywhere you go, it is available! And it's free! However, facebook is blocked in Vietnam. You would need to do some tweaking to be able to access it.

MGMT, Bkt Kiara Indoor Arena 25/3/2011

2011-03-30T22:40:00.093+08:00

MGMT concert? Yes, you read it right - it's a Management concert! I can't imagine my bosses performing though! Ah still confused? The band's name is MGMT, it was meant as a joke when they started it. They're from the US - playing psychedelic rock genre. Read more about them here

Iris, as usual informed us on the gig back in January and we managed to get the early bird ticket at RM 128. Originally the venue is at KL Live (near Concorde KL), but it was changed to Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena, and the venue change was only officially announced about 3 days before the gig. I wonder if there was anyone who didn't know about this and turned up at KL Live instead.

But anyway, it sort of made my life easier as it is near to my house. Only I had to make a mad dash from office at 5 sharp, fetched Iris at Kota Dsara then dash again to the venue. Actually, I had to make another mad dash after the concert to Azni's place as I have another trip early the next morning! Yeah I think I'm quite mad to be doing all this :-p

Luckily traffic was clear. We reached Bukit Kiara Indoor Arena (it is actually located in the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club) at 7.15pm The indoor arena is actually a venue for horse showjumping competitions. Planks were used to cover the sand flooring. Me and Iris started to queue only at 8pm, although the ticket says doors open at 7pm. There was not a huge crowd yet at 8, so we just sat and waited. Finally we were allowed in at almost 9pm. We were segregated by gender, as there was a body check and they also checked our IDs (it's for 18 and above only). Lucky again I guess, as we were in the fastest lane at the left most side. We wondered why people crowded at the middle lane. Because of that, we managed to be at the front row again as the hall was still empty! We didn't plan to. We wanted to just come at our own sweet time, hang around at the back and enjoy the show.

But unfortunately, we were very near to the amplifier - and the bass was too loud. Even The Star's reporter agreed with me. (Read the review below).

Overall, I guess because the band is still very young (only 2 albums so far), they hardly moved around the stage and only stuck to their positions, although you can't blame Ben though, cos he plays the keyboard, and that cannot involve much movement! Andrew can be blamed though hehe.. Andrew did communicate with the crowd, quite a few times in fact. And he sounded friendly, he seemed to be very happy performing. Another downside is Andrew's singing voice - he doesn't have the best of vocals, I guess he can improve on that. (But then, what do I know yeah, I'm not a vocal coach :-p)

Last complaint is that the concert started late - there was a local opening act - Kyoto Protocol, and they only appeared at about 9.30pm MGMT only started at 10.30pm, and we only finished at midnight! But then from a girl I met who won a meet & greet pass with the band, I was told that the session was at 8pm at another venue nearby, so maybe that was one of the reasons their appearance was delayed

Anyway, here is their setlist:
1. Flash Delirium
2. Weekend Wars
3. I Found a Whistle
4. Electric Feel
5. It's Working
6. Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
7. Only a Shadow (Cleaners from Venus cover)
8. Time to Pretend
9. Song for Don Treacy
10. The Youth
11. Siberian Breaks (My fave - all 12 mins of it)
12. Kids
13. Congratulations
Encore
14. The Handshake
15. Pieces of What
16. Brian Eno

Anyway, back to the review excerpted from Startwo, 29/3/2011 Note: Somehow my pictures turned out very bad this time around, so not much pix to be shared here unfortunately.

It was all about flashes of delirium at MGMT’s concert in Kuala Lumpur last Friday.

NEARLY three years after exploding onto the music scene, New York-based psychedelic rock act MGMT was finally making its way to Malaysian shores. Now sporting a sophomore album, three new band members, and a few years more of touring experience, the group’s live debut in Kuala Lumpur promised to be an insane night of psychedelic thrills.A 3,000-strong crowd filled the Bukit Kiara Equestrian indoor arena last Friday night, making a strong statement that indie fans are a sizeable demographic in this otherwise oldies and Top 40-centric concert town The venue’s traffic and parking woes were also alleviated by the organiser, Future Sound Asia, arranging a shuttle bus service for concert-goers. It was an odd mix of glittered-up hipsters, underground rockers and casual T-shirt-and-jeans attendees just looking for a good party. Of course, the seasoned party crowd were spotted outside the venue gates as they tanked up before the show.

The group already had a taste of this region, performing with Whitest Boy Alive the night before down in Singapore.

Despite a late start to the KL show, anticipation remained high. The crowd was roaring for MGMT as local alternative rockers Kyoto Protocol made their way on stage.

Catching on the audience’s impatience, Kyoto lead vocalist Fuad Alhabshi half joked: “I can’t wait for them to come on, so let’s make this quick!”

Kyoto warmed up the audience, cramming seven songs into a 30-minute set.

Next up, MGMT came in like proper rock stars, sauntering in backed by a cheesy pre-recorded introduction that sounded like something from an old boxing match, “They’re not from Montego Bay, they’re from the Eastern shores and they’re absolutely crazy. Ladies and gents, this is M.G.M.T!” The 10.30pm kick-off was perfectly timed with the venue’s Twitter brigade itching to announce the rock action.

The band started with Flash Delirium, whipping the crowd into a frenzy by the second song Weekend Wars.

Weekend was reinterpreted in the band’s new sound, with more forward electric guitar and drums instead of synthesised sounds making it more rock than psychedelia.

The new approach worked just as well on older songs Moons, Birds & Monsters and Time To Pretend. Unfortunately, one of this writer’s favourites, Electric Feel was butchered by frontman Andrew VanWyngarden’s weak vocals, as he chose to go solo rather than harmonising with Ben Goldwasser like on the Oracular Spectacular record.

The venue’s sound system did the band no favours either, over-emphasising the bass in favour of vocals and acoustics instruments. VanWyngarden’s guitar was only noticeable during Siberian Breaks and encore song, Pieces Of What.

Making the best of their situation, the boys still managed the pull off a few gems, the highlights being the slower Siberian Breaks which gave fans a chance to catch their breath just before the band went all out with Kids.

On Kids, the band lived up to its name as a party band, VanWyngarden and Goldwasser dropping their instruments and howling shoulder to shoulder in the spotlight, reminiscent of when the two were the entirety of MGMT. All this was made possible thanks to new bandmember James Richardson who manned the keyboard while the founding duo showboated. Richardson definitely deserves MVP of the night for his lively performance on guitar, keyboard, backup vocals and even a bongo drum for It’s Working.

One wonders how many real “fans” were at the gig, with most leaving after the band played their most well known hit, Kids. The hardcore fans stayed on, stomping their feet and chanting the classic Malaysian concert goer cry: “We want more!”

Boy, did MGMT deliver, performing three more songs for the encore, pushing the count to 16 tracks on the night (just three songs shy of their entire discography)!

The frantic Brian Eno was the perfect closer with just the right amount of crazy, thanks to Goldwasser hammering his keyboard, unleasing a rainbow of bizarre samples from cartoon laser beams sounds to cuckoo clocks and birds chirping.

May you have as many kids as Chris :)

2011-03-21T22:13:00.039+08:00

Haha...that was what Faz wrote on the wedding wish card :-p

Note: Both my friends are huge fans of Muse, Chris is the bassist ;-)

Just a short post on a recent trip to Penang for Miele & Ridfan's wedding @ Kepala Batas 19/3/11

Went with Faz. Took the train to Butterworth (Ekspres Sinaran Utara ) from KL Sentral at 0805, arriving Butterworth 1455. Train back to KL was at 1530, arriving at 2205. We took the 2nd class seat (RM 34/way). We wanted to take the sleeper/bunker, but it is not available for day trips.

Nice scenery at Bukit Merah lake.

When we arrived at Butterworth, we didn't know that the train station is actually located at Penang Sentral, which is a hub for trains, buses and jetty to Penang island, so we walked a bit to an opposite direction and hailed the first (and only) taxi that we saw - a Pakcik was waiting outside. I told him we were going to Hotel Sri Malaysia at the mainland, but he told us there was no such thing - the hotel is at the island!

So I called Miele and she said that the hotel is at Kepala Batas, which is quite a distant, and we can take the bus if we like, but it'd be quite a journey. So we took the taxi instead. It costs us RM40 one way, it took about 20 mins to arrive.

The hotel is actually right in front of the bus station at Kepala Batas. So we could have taken the bus - but then we were tired and in need of a nice comfy bed (I had a late night project before going for the trip hehe).

After a short rest, we walked a bit to KFC, of all places LOL! I was in need of my Krushers (wanted to have one at KL Sentral, but they only start selling it at 11am). But to my disappointment, they don't have Krushers here, but they do have 3 layer tea. I wonder if they have this in KL?

KFC 3 layer tea

Then we surveyed the area - looking for the wedding hall - Kompleks Sukan Bertam. It was quite near to the hotel actually, about 5 mins by car. But we figured it would be weird to be walking to the hall at night wearing pretty baju kurungs- so we hired the hotel van for RM10 one way.

We arrived quite early at 8am, most of the guests have not arrived yet, and we were ushered to the buffet table to help ourselves to the dishes. I felt weird, as usually, if I go to wedding dinners (at night), we would have to wait for the bride & groom to arrive, bersanding and then only the guests can tuck in.

Anyway, it was a very simple ceremony, no merejnis / menepung tawar. The pengantin came in, straight to the dais, sat for briefly for the doa, and then went straight to the dining table, have their santapan, then cut the cake, and it was done by 9.30pm We took our pictures with the happy couple, then excused ourselves back to the hotel as we were both very sleepy by the lack of sleep the previous day

Resplendent couple ^_^

Next day we woke up a bit late, just in time before the breakfast buffet ends at 10am. After checking out (hotel rate costs RM140/nite for standard room), we planned to take the bus to the Penang Sentral. We were told to take the 601 bus, but after about 30 mins, there was still no sign of it. So we asked for a taxi. Just when our taxi arrived, bus 601 arrived at the same time, so we had to take the taxi. But if we took the bus, it might take another hour there, so we didn't want to risk it.

Arriving at Penang Sentral, we put our bags at the KTM luggage room - you have to ask for it, there's no locker signage - and you have to pay RM3 per bag. Then we walked to the jetty (the pakcik taxi from Day 1 exaggerated that one would have to walk 1 km from the train station to the jetty ). It took us only 5 minutes! Maybe it felt like 1km to him ;-) Funny pakcik him, quite tough to understand his thick Northen accent, but we laughed heartily anyway :)

It was only 12 noon so there was still time to kill before our train back to KL arrives at 1530. So we took the ferry to the island (cost us RM1.20 only). It's free from Penang island back to the mainland though. The ferry ride took us about 20 mins. The vehicle ferry is faster than the passenger ferry, I guess they didn't want the vehicles to be stuck in traffic.

Vehicle ferry

Passenger ferry

Going to Penang Island!

We reached Penang island at 1pm, walked quite a bit (as most of the shops are closed) under the scorching sun looking for nasi kandar. We finally managed to find one after walking about 15 mins, tucked in, then walked back to the jetty and took the ferry back to Butterworth, arriving at 2.30pm, just the right timing.

While waiting for the train, we played around with a cute and smart kitty - Mr Orange, as he has orange eyes :)

Meet Mr Orange!

Back to KL it was raining, so it was freezing cold in the train. We finally arrived KL Sentral at 2205.

Ode to Mr Vijay

2011-03-21T00:49:00.010+08:00

Got a MMS from Fifah this morning on one of our History teacher's passing...
His teaching was really unique, made our history class so interesting and funny!
He taught me in Form 4
RIP Mr Vejay
Here are what fellow friends have to say about him (copied from FB)

Yang Ibrahim Sedih betulll..:( he was the bestest history teacher in d world...I nvr liked history until I went to his class

Etty Eliany Tesno indeed... sampai skrg still ingat the way dia mengajar... all the terms that he used... ewok, doraeman... the way we laughed... :(

Yang Ibrahim Ya..I still rmmbr his jokes..biler ni etty n hw? If only I'm in kl..but anyway thx for lettg me knw...really appreciate it

Etty Eliany Tesno im not sure la. got email this afternoon from my sister. just wanted to share with my schoolmates. he is one of the best teacher n i guess all of us will always remember him...

Mahpuza Kadir Aku kenal sesangat cikgu ni... selalu buli aku kat class... aaahhh miss him so much ... cam ne jadi cam ni.... ajar Sejarah masa form 4 right

Etty Eliany Tesno oh sorry, missed lak nak tag awak. yup. form 4. sebab dia la sejarah selalu score... kita kena gak buli... tapi sampai skrg ingat kat dia... camne tu tatau la, if sesapa ade info update la

Mahpuza Kadir ayat paling power..... "bullshit" yes, I remember him

Nurul Aida Agil condolences.. i dpt mms from fifah this morning. yup, betul,he made our history class most lively!

Mas Ayu Mohamad i still remember him..one of my fav teacher. dia membuatkan kelas sejarah tak boring.. btul etty.. aku ingat dia panggil ko doraemon..

Etty Eliany Tesno hahaha... aku ni mmg salu jadi mangsa gores dan menang cikgu ni... tapi pape pun mmg seronok blaja dgn dia... dah 15 taun pun kita sume still ingat lagi kat dia kan...

Mas Ayu Mohamad mmg ingat sgt2.. time kelas sejarah la bole ketawa gile baban. sampai senak2 perut la gelak..

Etty Eliany Tesno no hal ayu... zaman kegemilangan sejarah kita dulu kan bersama dia... teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. he will remain always with us... as long as we can remember... huhu...

Mas Ayu Mohamad yup..always.. R.I.P mr. vejay..

Nik Azranee Nik Husin Rasa br je bercerita psl dia... tima kasih atas jasamu Mr Vejay...

Nazim Annas tq kepada mr. Vijay. banyak memori indah masa dia mengajar. RIP

Elia Ramli Baru crite kat my officemate pasal cikgu ni..sbb diela I dpt 1 utk subject sejarah tu...:D may him rest in peace.

DalatiDamia Nawi condolence to his family...mr vejay yg introduce aku kat 4 melati...still remember.....thanx a lot teacher....

Nina Idrina Ab Rashid cikgu sejarah yg paling sporting... masih ingat lagi kalau time kelas dia siap gelak2 je.. condolence to his family....

Muhd Tarmizi tqvm etty tagging me..cikgu paling best..kelas dia aku xpernah ponteng walaupun aku xminat sejarah...hehehe..RIP...

Shamsul Bahrin Zainuddin walaupun dia tak pernah ajar aku. aku still ingat lawak2 dia. R.I.P

Fauzah Mohd Mokhtar RIP Mr Vejay.. Rasanye dia ada ajar tp mcm ingat2 lupa... Sakit tua ke dia

Shamsul Bahrin Zainuddin dia kena heart cancer rasanya.

Roslina Ruslan hahaha...aku ingat,,aku ingat cikgu ni...dia msk kelas sastera mesti bengang sbb kami lawan ckp dia balik...dia yg kena buli..maaf kan kami cikgu...lawak mu tatap menjadi pOjaAn hati kU..

Ahamad Emran kalau cerita bab sejarah, mesti ada raja yang main congkak dengan gundik.

Tootee Gemini Cikgu Hoki....REST IN PEACE teacher.

Tootee Gemini Sebabkan dia ni lah saya jadi coach Hoki kat UiTM Melaka utk Fakulti saya...Juara pulak tu tempoh hari. hasihh...

Sharifah Enson Al-Shahab Caya la Tuty..rindukn kt dia..?

Tootee Gemini Enson- itulah baru je tringat kat dia masa team hoki saya tgh game.

Farhan Rahman My condolences to his family... Very sporting teacher

Eina Latiff RIP Mr Vejay....

Noor Baizura Hermeyney yep coach hockey kite kan...RIP

Abu Ammar setuju Mr Vejay cikgu sejarah terbaik. Dulu kalau ada budak baru mesti dia suruh nyanyi. dia cakap tradisi kat sekolah budak baru masuk kena nyanyi. Cikgu vejay memang best.

Nina Idrina Ab Rashid a'ah.. baru aku ingat... asal ade budak baru je kena la nyanyi kan... best giler style dia kan..

Borobudur – Parangtritis

2011-03-12T23:39:00.001+08:00

Borobudur – Parangtritis, Yogya 14/2/11

Ah, it's Day 3 already. As usual, after breakfast, we headed to Borobudur temple, about 38 km or an hour's drive from our hotel. We arrived Borobudur quite early, but there were many people already, mostly local school students. Lesson learnt from yesterday's Prambanan trip – this time we hired a guide for IDR 75K (RM 26) – we got Aishah as our guide. Entrance fee cost another IDR135K (RM 46) each. Parking is another IDR5K (RM1.70)

Back to Borobudur. It is also a Unesco Heritage Site, no. 592 in the list. It is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument. It is a shrine to the Lord Buddha. There are 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades, each depicting a different story. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year to celebrate Vesak.

Unesco Heritage Site: No 592

Borobudur was built between 760 and 830 AD, during the peak of the Sailendra dynasty in central Java, when it was under the influence of the Srivijayan Empire based on the carved reliefs and inscriptions used in royal charters during that period.

Borobudur is built as a single large stupa, and when viewed from above takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. It has 9 platforms - the lower 6 are square and the upper 3 are circular. The upper platform features 72 small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped, statues of the Buddha sit inside the stupas.

Borobudur temple complex

One of the Buddha statues

Some Buddha statues missing its head

Stupa. There is a statue of Buddha in each stupa.

The relief panels (the picture carvings) are grouped into 11 series, which can be divided into 5 types of story:

Karmavibhangga - The law of karma which illustrates cause and effect. e.g. depiction of blameworthy activities, from gossip to murder, with their corresponding punishments .

Lalitavistara - The birth of Buddha

Jataka - stories about the Buddha before he was born as Prince Siddhartha

Avadana - similar to jatakas, but the main figure is not the Bodhisattva himself. The saintly deeds in avadanas are attributed to other legendary persons

Gandavyuha – tells about Sudhana's search for the Highest Perfect Wisdom. Sudhana was a youth from India who was seeking enlightenment. The pilgrimage of Sudhana mirrors that of Gautama Buddha

Relief panels

Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The monument was not forgotten completely, through folk stories - Babad Tanah Jawi (or the History of Java) and Babad Mataram (or the History of the Mataram Kingdom). During the British administration after the Anglo-Dutch war in Java, Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles, was collecting Javanese antiques. In 1814, he was informed about a big monument deep in a jungle near the village of Bumisegoro.He was not able to make the discovery himself and sent H.C. Cornelius, a Dutch engineer, to recover the monument. In 1973, UNESCO funded renovation for the site. In 1985, 9 stupas were badly damaged by bombs planted by extremist groups. Last Nov '10, it was closed to clean up the ashfall from the Merapi eruption – this was the original schedule that we were supposed to go to Yogya, but our flight was eventually cancelled.

To know more about Borobudur, read here

Us

Us with Aisyah

We were now already hungry and ready for lunch. But before we could go out of the compound of Borobudur, we had to walk through quite a long stretch, and so had to endure the throngs of street peddlers persuading us to buy their souvenirs for very cheap prices. But we couldn't buy them, or more of them would be swarming us.

Lunch was at Boyong Kalegan restaurant, about 32km from Borobudur at Pakem Sari (about an hour's drive) which was quite a nice restaurant with huts and a very big fish pond with very big fishes. We had gurame bakar, bawal asam (which was more like sweet sour), tumis kangkung, sayur asem , and lalapan. All costs us IDR211.2K (RM72). Taste was just so-so. By the time we finished, it was already raining.

Fish pond @ Boyong Kalegan

L-R: Bawal asam, tumis kangkung, tauhu, gurame bakar

We then set out to Kota Gede, an area with silverware shops. We didn't stop here, only passed by otw to Parangtritis beach, which would take about an hour ( about 45 km). We planned to ride the horse and catch the sunset there. But then, it was raining, so probably the sun would be shy. I couldn't resist the beautiful scene of the rice fields, so I asked Tri to stop by the roadside and we took some photos. We then resumed our way to Parangtritis.

Paddy fields otw to Parangtritis

We were greeted by a main gate upon reaching Parangtritis, and paid IDR14000 (RM4.8) for entrance. I wonder how residents come and go to Parangtritis daily? Did they have to pay too? Probably they know how to differentiate visitors from residents I guess.

Parangtritis beach has black sand, unlike the white sandy beach of Malaysia. It is surrounded by an open sea – the Indian ocean – so the sea was rough – the waves were high and swimming is not allowed here. Liza was excited to see the horses and couldn't wait to ride them. There were also ATV rides available.

Open sea: Indian Ocean: No swimming here

Black sand

Horse carriage by the sea

After dipping our feet in the seawater, we rode the horses – individually – with the guides following closely by the side. It was quite an effort to climb up the horses lol! But eventually we managed to, and soon we were riding the horses by the beach! The horse ride cost us IDR20K each (RM7) and lasted about 15 minutes.

Riding horses :)

We then chilled out by the beach, eating jagung bakar and drinking air kelapa muda, taking in the gentle sea breeze. But just before sunset, it started to drizzle, so we had to make a move.

Sipping air kelapa muda

Sunset @ Parangtritis

Since this was our last night in Yogya, and we still had money, we asked Tri where we could buy nice t-shirts. So Tri brought us to kedai kaos Unit Gawat Dagadu (UGD), a neat t-shirt shop at Jalan Pakuningratan. I was so impressed with the cute designs, I forgot to take a picture of the shop. According to this website, Dagadu originated from a group of architecture students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogya who designed creative Yogya t-shirts back in 1994 when they opened their first stall at Malioboro mall. I particularly liked the United Nations logo which was changed to the state of Yogya, and another one with Colonel Sanders (yes, the KFC mascot) wearing the topi jawa. I wanted to buy it, but then I thought I might be shy wearing it in public ...so I didn't.

Dagadu t-shirt shop

That t-shirt looked like this: Colonel Sanders with topi wak
Image taken from here

The rest bought loads of t-shirts for their family members – Liza being the winner and had to gesek her kartu here ;-)

After getting the t-shirts, it was time to nom nom again yeah! But it was raining quite heavily, so Tri dropped us at the same spot the previous night we had our lesehan dinner, and end up eating there again! This time we ordered gurame bakar (again!), udang goreng, ayam goreng, ayam panggang, and lalap. All cost IDR 186K (RM 64).

Our lesehan

Ikan gurame

Ah, a group of pengamen (buskers / street musicians) came to our stall, so Liza requested her favourite songs –Kenangan Terindah (Samsons) and Demi Cinta (Kerispatih). The group was complete – with a drummer, guitarist, violinist, double bassist and a banjo-ist (hehe no such word). But before the band came, an mbak came, singing in classic Javanese, that even our own Professor Jawa couldn't understand :-p

The pengamen band

After the pengamen group finished, the solo pengamen from the previous night came, whom Liza wanted to make a request too, but couldn't because the patrons beside us were hogging him (non-stop request) until we had finished eating! So this time, Liza asked for Tapi Bukan Aku (Kerispatih). We requested only 1 song, then he went to the next table, and I heard he played Yogyakarta, yeay! (I forgot to request that song)

The solo pengamen

Since it was raining, we decided to go back by trishaw (beca). We had to take 2 becas as each could only carry 2 persons. I wanted to go to the biggest roundabout in Yogya, which was nearby, but since it was raining heavily, we cancelled the plan.

We chatted with the bapak, he told us that he has a brother working in Shah Alam as a driver, that he lived about 30 minutes away from Jl Malioboro, that he does double jobs to earn a living, he would go back in the wee hours of the morning, rest for a few hours, and be back again for his day job. And it was raining so hard, he was drenched from top to toe...poor him. Makes us feel thankful with what we have.

That night we had a nice hot shower after a long day out. And sob sob it's the last night here in Yogya. I will surely be coming back for some unfinished business ;-) The next day we would be going back home via Solo, so it's another 2 hours drive there after breakfast. Our flight was scheduled at 1215 WIB. See you soon Solo / Yogya!

Us with Trihan

…
Di persimpangan, langkahku terhenti
Ramai kaki lima menjajakan sajian khas berselera
Orang duduk bersila
Musisi jalanan mulai beraksi seiring laraku kehilanganmu
Merintih sendiri, di tengah deru kotamu

Meet our friendly reporters!

2011-03-10T21:58:00.010+08:00

Ah before I post the 3rd day report of our Yogya trip, I must first report on the wannabe reporters! :-p

We had fun reporting ;-)

Host Chak! Jom Jalan2

CNN cum Bernama reporter cum vulcanologist cum archealogist

Professor Jawa cum sign language interpreter

Our very able but shy camerawoman

Kaliurang – Prambanan

2011-03-01T23:36:00.063+08:00

Kaliurang – Prambanan, Yogya Sun 13/2/11

Ah rise and shine! Today we would be visiting Kaliurang, a view point of Mount Merapi in the morning and Prambanan temple in the afternoon. Tri suggested that from Kaliurang we go to Borobudur instead, but because we wanted to watch the Ramayana ballet which was scheduled tonight (or so I thought, there's a story behind it, read on, I'll tell you later), we decided to stick with our original plan. I have checked the Ramayana ballet schedule online beforehand here.

After breakfast, we headed to Kaliurang (900m above sea level) which is about 30km (45 minutes) from our hotel. “Kali” means river, while “urang” means prawn, so literally it means prawn river. It is located on the southern slopes of Mount Merapi. We then proceeded further to the village of Kinahrejo near to Kaliadem which is 1100m above sea level and about 6km from the Merapi summit. In its original state, it is a scenic lush green pine forest with cool mountain air.

Kinahrejo

Kinahrejo was badly affected by the recent Merapi eruption in Nov '10. We could see trails of destruction from the ravenous Merapi lava spewing hot clouds of 800-1000 C air. The lava flow left a valley of dried river.The hot lava set afire the houses, villages and plantations, burying them under the hot sands. What was left is grey sands and rocks from the lava. Trees were destroyed, but the people of Kinahrejo have come back to build back their lives by planting new crops – we could see patches of greenery sprouting up. Some were also seen trying to salvage whatever they could from what was left behind and building back their houses. There was also a CSR effort going on where we saw volunteers cleaning up the area under the “Peduli Merapi” campaign.

Valley of dried river

Trail of destruction

Peduli Merapi

Ooops excuse us, we like to jump around :-p

We saw a house that was missing its roof, part of the walls tumbled down, with chairs, tables and bed frames half submerged in the volcanic ash. Clothes were strewn around. A car was flipped with only its chassis carcass left behind, its metal melted by hot molten lava (tongue twister intended hehe)

Carcass of a car

Houses destroyed

Unfortunately also, the Gatekeeper of Merapi – Mbah (wise old man or grandfather) Maridjan perished in the Nov 10 eruption. I was told his body was found in a prostrating (sujud) position. Mbah Maridjan was a royal servant, born in 1927, and was given an order by the King of Yogyakarta Palace to be Mount Merapi's gatekeeper, continuing his father's job. Every year he lead the ritual of Labuhan Merapi, a ritual which hundreds of people climb up near to Merapi's peak and pray to God to protect them.

Going Solo

2011-02-20T02:40:00.041+08:00

Solo – Yogyakarta, Sat, 12/02/11

This was our 'postponed' trip due to the Merapi eruption back in Nov '10. This was also Manto's first overseas trip. Welcome onboard! I can happily report that he seems to have been bitten by the travelling bug, oh and neither has he committed any serious crime ;-)

Anyway, back to the trip. This time we were down to 4- myself, Liza, Razeif & Manto. Mas couldn't join us. We sure felt her absence. It would have been louder with her around, wish you were there!

Ah but the trip couldn't have come through without drama, at least for me. The rest went to KL Sentral to catch the bus to LCCT, while I decided to take the direct bus to LCCT from 1Utama as it was nearer to my home. I thought I could just purchase the ticket before boarding the bus, like the norm at KL Sentral. But my mom reminded me that I should buy the ticket beforehand. Stubborn me just pooh-poohed her. I assured her there would be no problem.

So my parents sent me to 1U and I was right there by 6.45am But the counter wasn't yet opened. Slight worry there. Just before 7am, the bus arrived. But the driver wouldn't let those without tickets to board the bus. He gave me a number to call, I called, but there was no answer. We waited some more for the counter to open, but there was no sign of it opening. By 7.30am, the driver decided to move, only taking those with pre-booked (via online) tickets to board.

Panic, I called my mom, asking her to send me to KL Sentral directly. Being my heroine, she came to my rescue. I reported to Razeif with much trepidation that I'd be late and would be trying to catch the fastest possible way to reach LCCT. Luckily we had done the web check in, and there's no luggage to check in, so I only needed the minimum 1 hour prior to flight time to reach LCCT. I managed to reach LCCT by 8.50 am (our flight were scheduled for 10.30am)

Ah the gang was having breakfast at McD, there was still sufficient time, phew! Shortly after that, we proceeded to the immigration counter and were on our way to Solo! Going Solo yeah.

Our flight to Solo would take us 2.5 hours. We arrived on time at Solo (or Surakarta) at 12 noon WIB (local time or Waktu Indonesia Barat). WIB is 1 hour behind Malaysian time. The Solo airport is small, when we reached the immigration counter, only 1 was opened. We were in queue for an hour! And we ended up last in line, although when we started to queue, there were others behind us. I guess we were not kiasu as the rest ;-) Btw I noticed that for first timers, the procedure was a bit longer. Manto had to have his picture taken, and both his hand prints taken, yes hands, not thumb.

Oh, another drama unfolded- Liza's luggage was detained by the immigration for inspection because she brought a bottle of vitamin. Lesson learnt - next time just bring a few of the vitamins in a small package.

Adi Soemarmo airport

Finally we met up with our guide- Trihan from Tanah Agung Tours. Razeif had made prior arrangement with him through the forum. Such a nice, polite guy ;-) We were then whisked to the Kraton Puro Mangkunegaran, as it would be closing at 2pm. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, it was already closed. But the nice satpams allowed us to take pictures from the kraton compound and did not charge us the entrance fee. The kraton closes early as it is managed by the government, hence opening hours follow the government's working hours. I was disappointed too that we couldn't visit Sangiran, an early man site, which is also a Unesco Heritage Site, no 593 in the list, as it also follows the govt working hours.

Kraton Puro Mangkunagaran

A little background on Kraton Puro Mangkunagaran- it was established in 1757 by Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Aryo (aka Mangkunegoro I ). The Mangkunagaran Principality was founded on the western side of Pepe river (Kali Pepe) after a series of bitter struggles against his family and the Dutch V.O.C (East India Company).It has the characteristics of a typical kraton (or palace) - pamedan, pendopo, pringgitan, dalem, and kaputran.

Pamedan - is where the Mangkunagaran army train - just outside the main gate

Pendopo pavilion - is in the centre of the Palace Compound. It is a place to perform banquets and traditional dances accompanied by gamelan music

Dalem or Dalem Agung i.e. The Great House - is a traditional house with a room called Pringgitan , a place where traditional and sacred ceremonies are performed.

There is also European influence from the Dutch VOC colonisation which can be seen from the angel and lion statues.

More info here

Kraton Mangkunagaran

We headed next to the Triwindu (or Windujenar) Antique Market, just across the road from Kraton Mangkunegaran. You can find batik fabrics, old bank notes and coins, batik stamps, old gramophones from Europe, puppets painted on old wood plates, bicycles from 1930s, old paintings, oil lamps, Buddha statues, coal irons and others. We didn't buy anything here, just looked around and took pictures.

Triwindu antique market

Trihan then took us around the backalleys of Klewer or Batik Market where we saw stalls selling ketan (like dry glutinious rice) shaped into bicycles. We didn't stop here though, just passed through. We did stop at PGS (or Pusat Grosir Solo). Me and Liza did some shopping here while the guys waited for us.

Ah we were hungry already by then. Knowing Wong Solo (means orang Solo) restaurant originated from Solo, I asked Tri where is the branch in Solo. Tri explained that the restaurant is no longer popular there because of the originator's “extra-curriculum” activities, so people boycotted him. Not really sure if this 100% true or not, but we sure didn't see any of the branches in Solo nor Yogya, although it is doing brisk business in Malaysia.

So Tri brought us to Dapur Solo instead. We had late lunch nasi padang style, but we chose the dishes first. The dishes tasted sweet, not too spicy, unfortunate for Liza who is a fiery eater. We took quite a lot of dishes, but all only cost us IDR 97500 (RM35). The restaurant is situated just beside the train railway, so as we ate we watched trains passing through. And it was drizzling at the time. It brought some sense of laidback and calmness.

Dapur Solo

It was then time to go to Yogyakarta which is 60km away and will take about 2 hours as there is no highway, but traffic was clear. A bit of history on Solo and Yogyakarta:

In 1744, the Mataram king Pakubuwono II, backed the Chinese against the Dutch, and the court at Kartasura (Surakarta or Solo) was sacked as a result. Pakubuwono II searched for a more auspicious spot to rebuild his capital, and in 1745 the entire court was dismantled and transported to Surakarta, on the banks of the Kali (River) Solo. In 1757, the kingdom of Mataram was divided into the Surakarta Sultanate (northern court) and the Jogjakarta Sultanate (southern court). Rivalry between the two was a deliberate ploy by the Dutch to distract the attention from the presence of the Dutch colonial power.

Then another rival royal house of Mangkunegoro was established. Hence, the establishment of 2 kratons in Solo – of Mangkunegoro and Pakubuwono dynasty. Duringthe proclamation of Indonesian Independence, both Mangkunegara VII and Pakubuwono IX declared Surakarta a part of Republic of Indonesia (RI). Because of this support, President Soekarno declared Surakarta as Daerah Istimewa Surakarta (DIS)/Surakarta Special Region.

More info here

As for Yogyakarta, the City of Jogjakarta and the Kingdom of Jogjakarta was established as a result of a "Gianti war treaty" by HRH Prince Mangkubumi, who later become HRH Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. Officially, the Kingdom of Jogjakartawas established in 1756 as a result of civil war among the bloodline of The Kingdom of Mataram.

The root of the civil war started when Sunan Pakubuwono II agreed to cooperate with the Dutch colonial government and submit to foreign (western) powers, while his younger brother, Sultan Hamengkubuwono fought against this until the defeat of the Pakubuwono forces and declared sovereignty in the Kingdom of Jogjakarta south of the original Kingdom of Mataram. Because of this historical act of bravery and sacrifice, Jogjakarta is given Special Administrative Region (SAR) status, making the Province of Jogjakarta the only province headed by a monarchy.

More info here

Another interesting note is that the names of the streets in both Solo and Yogya are based on their brave warriors e.g. Slamet Riyadi, General Ahmad Yani, Laksamana Adi Sucipto (the name of Yogya airport- he established a flying school in Yogya), and Officer Adi Soemarmo (name of Solo airport), among others. There are also many statues erected in the name of these noble men.

A statue of the warriors

We finally arrived in Yogya at 7pm WIB and checked in at our hotel- Abadi Hotel. The rate is IDR 580,000/night/room with breakfast (RM200) for Superior room. Fortunately none of the Bandung episode happened here ;-) Our room was clean and comfy with mineral water, a plethora of satellite channels (sempat layan bola sambil massage) and hot water. We decided to go for massage at the hotel, and straightaway, as the spa would be closing at 9pm. Myself and Liza had our massage in our room. Unfortunately, there was no massage spas around the area, so that was the only session that we had for the trip.

Our room

After a slightly rejuvenating massage (Liza preferred a stronger massage), we hit the streets again. We walked along Jln Malioboro where a hive of activities (and throngs of people) were still going on as if the city never sleeps. Young people hanging around, chatting, playing music or just chilling out. There were homeless people too, sleeping by the roadside, in front of closed shops where there were spots free of the lesehan. Trishaws and horse carriages (yes horse!) wheezes past us, the ones without customers trying to persuade us to take a ride.

We declined and we continued walking until the end of the road where we saw lightings beamed to the night sky. It was a Sekaten - it commemorates the birth of prophet Mohammad and is one of the most popularly celebrated festivals in Yogyakarta. There is a night fair going on, which is held at Alum Alun Utara for almost over a month. There were clothes and food stalls, ferris wheel, merry-go-round etc. There is a special midnight parade where the Royal Sevants or the Abdi Dalem marches from Ponconiti hall carrying 2 sets of Gamelan that are are considered to be sacred. The two Gamelans are played simultaneously for seven long days and they are finally returned at the Kraton.

The end of the Saketan festival is signalled by the Gerebeg Mulud i.e. a parade of the Palace Guard comprising of ten units - Wirobrojo, Daeng, Patangpuluh, Jogokaryo, Prawirotomo, Nyutro, Ketanggung, Mantrijero, Surokarso and Bugis. Gunungan or rice mountains are also made at the termination of the ceremony. It is made of vegetables, peanuts, eggs, sticky rice and red pepper. This traditional dish is said to symbolize prosperity and the wealth of Mataram kingdom

Aksi ngeri

2011-02-10T23:39:00.004+08:00

Meena, see this Gigi...so naughty lah!
Dah panjat, tak tau turun :-p

Boys & girls, don't try this at home :-p

Nomming @ Abdullah Chan

2011-02-01T19:01:00.020+08:00

Another post on nomming :D

This time it's at Abdullah Chan chinese muslim restaurant, Dataran Glomac, Kelana Jaya (behind Giant - near to Aladdin's)
Went there at the recommendation of Nick - thanks Nick! (but the one he went to was in Tmn Melawati)

We ordered these :

Clockwise from left: part of sing kong taufu, marmite chicken, butter prawn & baby kailan oyster sauce

Shark's fin soup

Sing kong taufu

Stim Siakap Asam

Note: I was so hungry, I just quickly snapped the pics & chowed down!
So pls bear with the bad angle of the piccas :-p

Verdict:
Sing Kong taufu Muhibah > Abdullah Chan
It was a bit diluted
Shark's fin (imitation only, not the real one ya), Butter Prawn & Stim Siakap Asam was nom nom!
I'd definitely reckon the Stim Siakap Asam - excellente!

All only costs RM123 (for 4 persons), which is quite a deal! Would definitely come again :)

Our dish

p/s: Otw to Abdullah Chan, we saw Dong Yi Shun nearby! Hurrah the restaurant is still around! We went to the outlet at The Strand Kota D'sara July last year, but it was already gone without any notice! So glad we found it back. It serves authentic Chinese food (from mainland China). And it's halal :)

Love Will Come Through

2011-01-29T11:30:00.000+08:00

Someone dear to me got engaged today.
Lady, I'm so happy for you
After all the ups & downs, I pray for you only happiness & His blessings, Ameen...

Love will come through it's just waiting for you

Pix nicked from Isk

Teaser :Jogja

2011-01-26T23:13:00.005+08:00

Pulang ke kotamu, ada setangkup haru dalam rindu
Masih seperti dulu
Tiap sudut menyapaku bersahabat penuh selaksa makna
Terhanyut aku akan nostalgi saat kita sering luangkan waktu
Nikmati bersama suasana Jogja
...

Di persimpangan, langkahku terhenti
Ramai kaki lima menjajakan sajian khas berselera
Orang duduk bersila
Musisi jalanan mulai beraksi seiring laraku kehilanganmu
Merintih sendiri, di tengah deru kotamu

Yogyakarta, by KLA Project

Solitude

2011-01-20T23:26:00.005+08:00

Attempt at night photography @ Cherating

Arrested Development, HRC, 12 Jan 2011

2011-01-14T23:45:00.072+08:00

Ah I admit, I'm not really familiar with Arrested Development (not the TV sitcom ok)- a hip-hop 8 piece ensemble from a diverse background. They have been around for a long time and have won Grammys in the 90s. Check out Everyday People, Mr Wendal l and Tennessee and chances are you might have heard one of them without knowing (myself included)

When my bro told me that they were performing 5 days before show day, I had my reservations. Firstly, I'm not really into hip-hop & secondly, I'm not so familiar with their music. If I did a test - I did this before deciding to go to Stereophonics - if I knew 50% of their recent setlist, then I'd go. I'd fail here miserably :-p

Anyway, I defied my theory again, and went anyway because after doing some homework -listened to my bro's CD: 3 Yrs, 5 months & 2 days in The Life Of..(1992) - I thought it was good, and reading that the group promotes respect for women, family, spirituality and responsibility in their lyrics/rapping, I decided I'd go!

Arrested Development performed for the first time in Malaysia (after 19 years in the business!) at Hard Rock Cafe. No need to buy tickets, just pay for the cover charge of RM55 (with drink). It was a small venue - the stage is a bit too small for the 7 of them (not all the 8 members came - 2 singers, 2 MCs (rappers), a drummer, a guitarist & a bassist), especially to accommodate one of the female singers - Montsho Eshe's crazy dancing!

The group kicked off with The Who's Who Are You riff (that CSI Las Vegas theme song) - that made everyone excited! They gamely played along with the audience - getting us grooving to the thundering basslines and the drumbeats. Of course we were highly entertained by Montsho's energetic dancing! They asked us to repeat after them a chorus off 4 Non-Blonde's What's Going On? during a teaser of Everyday People just for fun - and that had the crowd roaring for more!

Altogether they played 24 songs with 1 encore - yes, Everyday People of course!
Here's the setlist (which I got it from here):

Who Are You riff intro
We Rad We Doin It
Motivational
La la la
World is Changing
Fishing for Religion
Dawn of Dreads
Bloody
Ease My Mind
Tennessee
Let Your Voice Be Heard
Inner City
Mama's Always on Stage
Freestyle
Honeymoon Day
Miracles
Mr Wendall
People Everyday (teaser)
I'm Bad
Haters
Raining Revolution
Redemption
I Got Feelin
U

Encore
People Everyday (full version)

Finally, enjoy the pics!

On the right is Montsho's crazy dancing ;)

Hands in the air!

Nom nom nom nom

2011-01-09T23:13:00.018+08:00

Ah another post on food!

Brought my mom to Sekinchan Ikan Bakar outlet in Kota Damansara (near to Giant)

This is the outlet at Tmn Setiawangsa. Image taken from here

Again forgot to bring camera. Anyway, we ordered:
Ikan Bakar Siakap (RM 44)
Ikan Bakar Kembung (RM10)
Rice (RM1.00 per plate)
Nasi lemak bungkus (RM2.00 per pack)
Ulam (RM 1.00 per plate)
Keropok (RM 3.00 per plate)
Orange juice (RM3.50)
Lime juice (RM 3.50)
Overall price was RM69.00 for 2 persons

Verdict:
The ikan siakap mom chose was quite big for 2 persons, but that was the smallest size available. The gravy is yummy (nom!), the fish is fresh. But at RM44 mom felt it was too expensive (She told me the fish of that size would cost around RM17, so the grilling+ sambal gravy making costs another RM27 then)

If you could tolerate waiting, then it should be fine, as the waiting was quite long, we ended up taking the nasi lemak & keropok as we were getting hungry. But then again, there's a notice there saying waiting could be up to 45 minutes, so be warned!

It is a self service restaurant, i.e. you only order drinks, then you choose the seafood at the counter, and take your own rice/nasi lemak/keropok/ulam/soup as you please. They will calculate it according to your helpings.

Note: Nom is a tribute to Cookie Monster's nom nom nom sound when he devours his cookies. Nom was beaten as Word of the Year 2010 by app (reference to iPhone / smartphone apps).
Read it here

Of tolerance and salmon

2011-01-09T00:24:00.070+08:00

Today I realized a beautiful thing.

I hung around with Iris (met her at Placebo's gig & made friends with her) the whole day. Went lunching (meatballs! - ahh reminds me of Liz, another sweet gig mate) and Ikea-ing, then back to her apartment for swimming.

Then I realised it was time for Maghrib. Iris being a Non-Muslim, I admit, I panicked a bit on where to perform my solat. But then I just asked her if she knew where is the direction of sunset (West), then she showed me. (I have no fancy handphone). I explained to her that I needed to perform my solat at her place, she said go ahead, no problem. She was blasting Radiohead on the stereo (one of our fave bands), I apologized & asked her if she could turn down the volume a bit, and she did without any hesitation. So I performed solat in her bedroom.

I was deeply touched by her act of tolerance & understanding.

Then it was time for dinner. She took me to a happening place - Sunway Giza - it's actually near to Giant Kota Damansara. We decided to eat at Ichiban Boshi (a Japanese restaurant). But before deciding that, concerned on my needs for Halal food, she went to ask the restaurant (I didn't ask her to). She was told it is pork free, the meat is halal, but they serve alcoholic drinks - and asked me if I'm OK with it. Again I was deeply touched by her act of concern.

It made me stop to think - we should be more understanding and try to accommodate to each others' needs. I'm definitely touched & proud of Iris.

Ahh done with the serious talk, let's go to the trivia part ;-)

As I've mentioned, we had dinner at Ichiban Boshi. (Ichiban means number one btw) There was a whole lot of menu, I was spoilt for choice. I think I took 15 minutes to decide on what to eat. Because I felt like eating salmon, I chose the salmon tataki or half grilled salmon with special sauce. I chose that from salmon capriocci (spelling?) or raw salmon with spicy sauce because the waitress told me that the tataki option had more salmon portion. Salmon tataki costs RM12.90 (ala carte), so I chose that with rice set (rice, miso soup & fruits) which costs another RM 5.00
Iris had the Business set at RM22.90 (which comes with Salmon sashimi or raw salmon, grilled mackerel, tofu, chawanmushi, tempura, rice & fruits).

When my salmon came, I was disappointed with the very tiny portion. I walloped everything in less than 5 minutes. Too bad I didn't bring my camera to take the pix.
But Iris' set was generous - so I walloped her tofu hehe...

This is the Executive Meal set, image taken from here

So lesson learnt at Ichiban Boshi: Opt for Set menu instead for big eaters like me ;-)
I later wrote in the survey form to add more salmon portion. In fact, my survey form was full of salmon comments lol! :-p

Oh, and while we were at Sunway Giza, I discovered Fullhouse Lifestyle Store & Cafe, which Mas had mentioned to me before and wanted us all to eat there. Definitely we'll go there next. It's so full of cuteness!

Fullhouse images taken from here

2011

2011-01-03T21:27:00.104+08:00

..started with eating activities (one of my favourite pastimes!)

We initially planned to go to PD for our eating endeavours, but changed our plan to avoid the New Year crowd

We started with lunch at Wong Solo, Bangi - a sort of ritual place for us ;-)
What else if not for Ayam Penyet set?

After a bit of rest, we headed out to Sg Pelek, Bagan Lalang for seafood dinner, following Zu's suggestion. Thanks Zu! :) Luckily we set out early, after Asar, as the crowd was really big there. People coming in later were told they had to wait until 10.45 pm to have their orders ready.

We had udang masam manis, ketam sambal, sotong goreng tepung, ikan siakap bakar and kerang bakar. All are superb, we wiped clean everything! And it all costs us RM129 for 4 persons. Not bad :)

However, please bear with the drinks -the fresh orange was too diluted. And there was a confusion when we ordered new drinks - they never came - we had to cancel it in the end.

The stall we went to is Wak Lan Restoran Bayu Malam. To go there, just follow the direction to Golden Palm Tree Resort, Bagan Lalang. Thanks to Zairul for the recommendation! (Although there was no alas meja biru bunga2 anymore :-p)

Gah! There's a story behind the resort though - I'll tell you here - we just wanted to check out the hotel and get some brochures. As we were passing the security post, a Mak Guard stopped us, asking if we were staying there - we said no - we just wanted to check the place out. Then a Pak Guard stopped us to check our bags! (huh?). We reiterated ourselves again - then he said that the resort is closed for visitors for 2 days, only for hotel guests- we were not allowed to go in and the resort had already ran out of brochures. He was giving all sorts of excuses to prevent us from going in there.

Post script Note: I checked out their website later - they are having a soft opening, and the resort looks like a 5-star resort (sort of like the 7-star Palm Islands of Dubai). So probably that's why they were chasing us away? But it could have been done in a subtler/more respectful way.

Anyway, here are the pix, courtesy of Liza :)

Pix taken from here

Ketam masak sambal

Ikan siakap bakar

Sotong goreng tepung

Kerang bakar

An Indian Garden Wedding

2010-12-18T23:58:00.021+08:00

Ah I enjoy learning about other people's culture, so I considered myself privileged to have attended Praveen and Rashmi's Garden Wedding at Putrajaya Wetlands this evening. Praveen is the son of my mom's ex-colleague from office - Auntie Womana. Mom and auntie have been good friends for years, every year they will treat each other lunch for each other's birthday. Sweet! Ah Praveen is married now. I remember passing my PMR/SPM books / notes to him and his younger sister Priya after I finished my exams. Sis Priya has grown into a very beautiful young lady ;-) Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a picture of her as she was busy attending to the guests.

Their wedding started at 6pm, but me and mom only arrived at 7.30pm as we came after Maghrib. The setting was simple, but beautiful, with lightings and decorations. When we arrived, they were just about to start to eat. Food was served buffet style - with delicious thosai, pilau rice, dhalca, mutton kurma, fried ladies finger and prawn sambal. There was also a free flow of beer, but of course me and mom passed that one ;-)

Then there were performances by the Malaysian Bhangra Dancers - my, these people really like to dance! No wonder they MUST have song and dance in their movies ;-) Oh btw, Praveen's wife Rashmi is actually an Indian national from Bangalore. They met on the internet. At the end of the wedding, all the families joined in to dance together. The bride's family from India are really a sporting lot. And they LOVE to dance!

It was a really happy occasion and we were happy to be a part of it.

Bhangra dance

Intricate decor

Bride & groom dancing

Another dance performance

The family dancing together

Travelogue: Jakarta Day 4

2010-12-17T22:49:00.010+08:00

Day 4: Jakarta

Tue, 7 Dec 2010

Last day today. Our flight back is scheduled at 2pm WIB. So we still had some time for last minute shopping. My mom asked me to buy bumbu (sachet containing spices/ingredients) Rawon (a Javanese dish). We used to buy the Indofood brand last time, but I couldn't find one at Plaza Indonesia the previous day. So today's mission would be hunting for bumbu.

Our room came with a packed breakfast which was sent to the room. There were 3 choices, but all of us chose Nasi Uduk (local version of Nasi Lemak). The sambal was not enough, but the tempe tasted really good.

After breakfast, we set out to Tanah Abang again via the 3-wheeled motorcycle or bajaj (pronounced bajai). We were told that we could find the bumbu at the stalls outside Tanah Abang around the Kebon Kacang area. The bajaj swiftly took us to the market in about 15 minutes, going through back alleys. It was a public holiday too – Awal Muharram. So that's probably why there was less traffic. The bajaj ride cost us IDR 20,000. What a steal ;-)

the backalleys

We asked around where we could find the bumbu and was directed to the Gandaria wet market. We asked around at most of the stalls, but tough luck – until we asked the last stall just near to the exit. Luckily, they have the bumbu – but it was the only one left! So I bought other bumbus as well – Soto Ayam and Sup Sayur for dear Mom (which I will eventually eat anyway hehe). We got bumbu bandreg or teh susu jahe (milk tea with ginger) here as well. We searched at another mini market nearby – but still couldn't find any. I wonder if Rawon is a specialty dish for the Awal Muharram holiday? Nah, just kidding ;-)

Gandaria wet market

Saw this at the back of Gandaria: a makeshift merry-go-round, where it has to be operated manually by cycling the bike extension. Smart eh ;-)

Us in bajaj

After that, we bought some padlocks for Mas and my luggages. Realising our different reference for padlock (mangga VS gembok) , the shopkeeper asked where we were from, then he remarked that we were brave to come unaccompanied (by a local) to that area. I think he was worried about pickpockets maybe.

We still had time to kill. We went to the Tanah Abang food court to have a drink before going back. Bandreg was in my mind ;-) But there was no local hot drinks in sight, so I ordered a Bakso instead. It was then time to head back to the hotel and check out.

Bakso

Pak Dodi sent his friend Pak Erwin for airport transfer which cost us IDR200K or RM17/person with double the number of luggages from the first day ;-) Only Razeif didn't have additional luggage. How the heck did he fit everything in that small rucksack of his? Hmmm :-p

Pak Erwin turned out to be “too friendly” At first we just laughed it off as a joke, then he got quite carried away with some inappropriate stories that Razeif had to divert away his attention. Thankfully before he could start another story, we had already arrived at the airport.

There was another obstacle at the airport – human traffic. Thankfully we had done online check in. But we were still stuck at the luggage drop off queue. We just had enough time for another swift last minute shopping and lunch before boarding our flight. We departed about half an hour late, but arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Did the pilot speed or something? Anyway, all is well as we have arrived safely back home.

Thanks to Mas, Liza and Razeif for yet another excellent adventure :)

Travelogue: Jakarta Day 3

2010-12-17T21:58:00.024+08:00

Day 3: Bandung – Jakarta

6 Dec 2010

Today it was back to Pak Dodi serving as our guide. Transportation with guide from Bandung-Jakarta today cost us another IDR 700K (RM61/person) just like the first day. We headed straight to Jakarta to beat the traffic jam after work hours. We had to choose between Jakarta city or Puncak/Bogor as we couldn't fit in both on the same day. Because some of the members wanted to go to Tanah Abang, we decided to forego Puncak and Taman Safari/Taman Bunga and head to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII).

We reached TMII quite early at 11am WIB. It is located at the Pondok Gede, Pasar Rebo Sub-district. It was the brainchild of Ibu Tien Soeharto. It was first conceived in 1968. The park would consist of traditional houses complemented with cultural-art performances and presentations of the wealth of flora and fauna and other cultural elements of each region existing in Indonesia. It was officially opened by President Soeharto in 1975. More here

Because the area is vast, we decided to drive around in the van and pick a few regions to take photos. The sight of the huge Komodo shaped building caught my eye and I asked Mas if she would like to take a look there first as she loves reptiles (especially crocodiles). Yes I have wierd friends, but I still love them ;-) The Komodo is a large lizard found in Komodo, Flores, Rinca and Gili Motang islands in Indonesia.

We were in luck that day as we met up with a very helpful zookeeper- Akang (means elder brother in East Java/Sundanese) Redang (it was easy to remember his name – his namesake is a famous island!) He brought us to the Komodo captivity. We met up with Bima – an 18 year old tamed Komodo dragon. Bima relented to us touching him and posing for pictures with him. His skin is soft – unlike a crocodile's, but with scales. Wait, I have actually never touched a crocodile, I only assume its skin is hard

Akang Redang

It also has a long, yellow, deeply forked tongue which it uses to detect, taste, and smell. Its scales, some of which are reinforced with bone, have sensory plaques connected to nerves that facilitate its sense of touch. An adult Komodo dragon usually weighs around 70 kg. The largest verified wild specimen was 3.13 m (10.3 ft) long and weighed 166 kg, including undigested food. Read more here.

Bima, an 18-year old Komodo or Ora in local language

Next we went to the Bali house because Mas was crazy about going to Bali. Posing at a replica of a Balinese temple was close enough, for the moment ;-) We also dropped by at the neighbouring Rumah Adat Sumenep of East Java. Madura island is part of this region.

Wayang kulit scheduled at 7.30pm, but we had to forego it

Bali garden

Rumah Sumenep

It was then already 1.30pm so we had to move to Tanah Abang already. Tanah Abang market is located in the Kelurahan Kebon Kacang. It turned out that we would still be stuck in traffic. We arrived at Tanah Abang at around 3pm. We had only 2 hours to shop at the 14 storey building. It is the biggest textile market in SEA.

Macet Jakarta

Tanah Abang: 14 storey building

We didn't shop much here as it was too big and too confusing to manouvre through. As usual I was already feeling hungry (we hadn't had lunch yet), so we headed to the Food Court at Block B. But it was close to 5pm so the food stalls were also closing. We went for solat instead, and by the time we were done, most of the shops were already closed. We had to go back to Block A as our van was parked there. Since the connection bridge was also already closed, we had to cross the chaotic road, with people and vehicles full to the brim. It was challenging too, to find our way back to the lift at Block A. Thankfully a Satpam (security person) guided us through.

Shops already closed!

From Tanah Abang we headed to Plaza Indonesia as Mas wanted to buy some t-shirts from Hard Rock Cafe. After that we had dinner at Kafe Betawi. Nice cafe, reasonable price. I tried the Mie Tek Tek (it's the sound of the sudip banging the frying pan while cooking it). A little bit more window shopping to compare prices of original items back in Malaysia, then we headed to our hotel – Smart Hotel nearby.

Mie Tek Tek

Kafe Betawi @ Plaza Indonesia

No more episodes of changing hotels as we were satisfied with this one. Although the room is quite small, it was comfy, clean and looked modern. The girls were staying 3 at a room (there's no option for triple sharing at this hotel), so we just cramped up for the night. It was only one night after all. I asked reception for any massage spas nearby, but they were not sure of any. They suggested a massause could come to our room for a foot massage at IDR200K. I declined and went for sleep therapy instead

Jakarta @ night

Our Smart room ;-)

Travelogue: Bandung Day 2

2010-12-13T23:24:00.042+08:00

Day 2 : Bandung

Sun, 5 Dec 2010

Alhamdulillah, Ibu Yanti got my message. She arrived at Unik Hotel on the dot at 7am with son Ady and Pak Suhana (supir). While waiting for us to have breakfast, Ibu went to the nearby Kartika Sari cake factory and packed some local delicacies. (I forgot the names, but will check it out ) Lovely!

We then fetched Razeif at Arwiga. He seemed OK with his room though, so he would be staying put there. We then headed to Tangkuban Prahu, which is still an active volcano, about 1 hour from Bandung city, in the Subang district (yup there's also a Subang area here). On the way up, I saw some rabbits (kelinci) big and small lined up at the stalls – to be sold as pets or end up on plates as satay (poor them...I couldn't bear eating those cute creatures).

Back to Tangkuban Prahu. Its name originated from an upturned boat. Legend has it that Dayang Sumbi, a beauty who lived in West Java cast away her son Sangkuriang for disobedience. She was granted the power of eternal youth by the gods. Sangkuriang decided to return to his home after many years and fell in love with Dayang Sumbi without them recognizing each other. But then, just before their marriage, Dayang Sumbi recognized his birthmark. To prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to build a dam on the river Citarum and to build a large boat to cross the river, both before sunrise. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed and called on her workers to spread red silk cloths, to give the impression of impending sunrise. Sangkuriang was fooled, and upon believing that he had failed, kicked the dam and the unfinished boat, resulting in severe flooding and the creation of Tangkuban Perahu from the hull of the boat. Excerpted from here.

Geologically speaking, Tangkuban Prahu is a part of the series of volcanoes on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is one of the 45 active volcanoes on Java island / Sunda straits. Yes, and there are more – 35 active volcanoes on Sumatra (much bigger island than Java), and more volcanoes on the Sunda Islands, Banda Sea, Sulawesi and Halmahera (north of Maluku archipelago). See here for the list of volcanoes in Indonesia. Overall there are 150 volcanoes in the list. In terms of shape, it is a stratovolcano – a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava, tephra, pumice and volcanic ash. It last erupted in 1983. There are a few craters here – Kawah Ratu (the main one upon reaching from the entrance), Domas and Upas (already inactive).

Upon reaching the park by van, we were greeted by breahtakingly beautiful view of Kawah Ratu and the strong smell of sulphur . It was foggy and cold, but most definitely refreshing. The vegetation of Tangkuban Prahu is also unique to mountanious conditions – comprising of Ericaceae and Dipterocarpaceae plants.

Ratu spews poisonous gas, so visitors are not allowed to descend to the crater. So we hiked to the now dormant Kawah Upas about 1km away. We took the opportunity to take photos at the boulder between Kawah Ratu and Kawah Upas, and of course our jumping shots. That was a truly once in a lifetime moment to take photos on a crater!

Kawah Ratu

Ubat panau from volcanic sulphur

Us with Ibu Yanti & Ady

The unique vegetation

Jumping among the trees

Trek to Kawah Upas

In between Kawah Ratu & Kawah Upas

Jumping between Kawah Ratu & Upas

From Kawah Upas, visitors can trek about 4 hours to reach back at Kawah Ratu using a different route. But we turned back instead as we were not prepared for such conditions and Ibu was waiting for us anyway. Ibu mentioned that during her university days, she did hike up Tangkuban Prahu.

By the time we reached back, we were already hungry. So again Ibu fed us with tahu goreng isi, eaten with cili api and washed down with hot Bandreg (milk tea with ginger). Ah such simple pleasures are highly satisfying. We then hunted for some souvenirs – miniature musical instruments and knitted dress and a toy for little Alya.

Stalls selling souvenirs

Next destination was Restoran Kampung Daun at Cihideung for our gastronomic pleasure. But wait, hadn't we just eaten? We are a bunch of perpetually hungry people LOL! The journey to Kampung Daun was quite a distance – took us about an hour – enough to catch some forty winks (or as Razeif calls it - “power nap”) Just as we left Tangkuban Prahu, it rained quite heavily – that some parts we passed by seemed almost flooded and there were minor landslides.

What a beautiful place Restoran Kampung Daun turned to be! Definitely worth the long journey. There were huts where we would be eating lesehan style, with comfy cushion (too comfy, we felt like lying down after eating ), surrounded by a river flowing from Mt Burangrang . Ibu ordered us all the specialties of Sunda dish – Nasi Timbel Bakar, Gurame Bakar and Gurame Goreng Sambal Cobek. For dessert she ordered Es Goyobod (Es Campur) and Surabi keju. All the dishes tasted great. Ibu treated us yet again – she was just so nice to us :-)

The waterfall at Restoran Kg Daun

Ibu Yanti

Our snugly hut

Surabi keju

Nasi timbel

Gurame bakar

Es Goyobod

We then headed for Pasar Baru to shop for ahem, materials for Mas' upcoming events, Liza's sister's engagement and telekung (or mukena). The girls almost got all that they wanted here. Almost because we arrived at about 4pm WIB so we had only 1 hour to shop. Pasar Baru closes at 5pm. Mas got Ibu's help to bargain for the items. Liza fared quite good bargaining on her own.

Liza bargaining

Shopping done, what else to do but more shopping! Painting hunting was next on the agenda at Jl Braga. Razeif or Liza could help with the name of the shop. Scenes of card swiping (or gesek kartu) was now in full swing because cash was running low, and it was only the second day!

Painting along Jl Braga

Painting shopping done – it was now back to the Factory Outlets (FO). Ibu brought us to Heritage, For Men and Terminal Tas at Jl Martadinata (Riau area). More shopping ensued until closing time at 9pm WIB. Feeling hungry again, we now headed to Pak Pancha's favourite haunt at the Cilaki seafood stalls. But before going for dinner, Ibu again tapau-ed us more food – this time me and Mas' favourite Roti Bakar Cheese from Bakeri Tunggal. (Pak Pancha always brought this to office everytime he came back from Bandung)

At Heritage

Roti Bakar Tunggal. Yummy!

At Cilaki, we had Udang Pelas Saos Padang, Cap Cay vegetable and ayam kuluyuk (I think, based on the menu VS googled images). We were also entertained by 'live music' by the street musicians singing their self-written songs. Ibu mentioned sometimes a singer with the voice of a female (when singing) but changed to male when talking would come to entertain, but he/she didn't show up that night.

'Live music'

Udang pelas saos Padang

Ayam kuluyuk

Cilaki Seafood Waroeng

After dinner, Ibu could finally sigh with relief of being 'released' from the clutches of the food and shopping hungry Malaysians ;-) Ady had called his mother a few times asking when she'd be coming home, while Dina her daughter (she didn't join us as she had an exam coming up) had already went to sleep. We hugged Ibu and said our goodbyes to her. We promised to take her for lunch/dinner/take her around whenever she comes to KL. Such a sweet and most generous lady to treat us to Tangkuban Prahu, lunch at Kg Daun, dinner at Cilaki and the delicacies from Kartika Sari and Bakeri Tunggal. I guess it's true – do good unto others – it is contagious – it will spread on :-)

We are so indebted to Ibu Yanti, Pak Pancha and family.

Travelogue: Jakarta - Bandung Day 1

2010-12-12T21:51:00.078+08:00

Batavia – Paris Van Java (Jakarta – Bandung)

4 Dec 2010

This was an ad-hoc trip. We were supposed to go to Yogyakarta last November, but had to defer the trip due to the Merapi eruption. We were given a credit shell, and Jakarta was the most viable option in terms of cost. In fact, we still had credit balance to make the trip to Yogyakarta. We would head to Solo though this time around, in February, as it was much cheaper.

Our flight to Jakarta was scheduled at 7am, so we had to arrive by 5am at LCCT. As usual, myself and Liza bunked at Mas' place then took a taxi, while Razeif went to the LCCT during the night and lepak-ed at the Premium lounge instead (albeit with some interruptions)

The LCCT was already busy early in the morning. Flight was smooth and we arrived at Jakarta as per schedule. Razeif had searched for a guide from a travel forum. So we pre-booked a van with a driver cum guide. Our guide turned out to be Pak Dodi (not Edward or Jacob, unfortunately – our guide agent's name is Bella, hence the Twilight reference). Our transport with guide for Jakarta-Bandung costs IDR 700,000 or RM61/person (there was 4 of us)

We decided to go to Old Jakarta first. Much earlier in the 4^th century, during the Hindu kingdom era of Tarumanagara, the port of Jakarta and its surrounding areas was known as Sunda Pura. After the power of Tarumanagara declined, its territories, including Sunda Pura, became part of the Kingdom of Sunda. The port was then renamed as Sunda Kelapa. During the Muslim Demak era under Fatahillah, it was renamed to Jayakarta. During the Dutch colonization in the 17^th century, it became known as Batavia (or Betawi by the locals) until 1942, when it was renamed as Djakarta during the Japanese occupation and finally named Jakarta in 1950 after gaining independence under Sukarno. Read more here

When we reached Kota Tua Jakarta, we took some photos of the Batavia hotel, then proceeded to Taman Fatahillah or Fatahillah Square. Unfortunately, we couldn't get into the Jakarta History Museum (or Fatahillah or Batavia museum) as it was closed for renovation. It was previously the town hall of Batavia which houses the office of the Governor General of the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or the Dutch East India Company).

Batavia Hotel

History Museum Closed!

We then went to look around the square – there was the historical Fatahillah Post Office (Kantor Pos), which is still in use. There was a classic red post box – called Brivenbus in Dutch. We thought of posting a card back to Malaysia, but then I guess we forgot to do it. Our attention was diverted to the bicycles neatly lined up with cute matching hats in front of the post office. On closer inspection, we found out that these bicycles (or sepeda) are offered as part of the Kota Tua tour, cycling around the old city with a guide leading us. Sweet! We agreed to take the tour without much thought ;-) It only cost us IDR 40,000/person or RM14/person.

Kantor Pos Fatahillah

Brievenbus

Sepeda for Kota Tua tour

Our guide spoke with quite thick local accent, so I was having a hard time understanding him (perasan balik kampung, ingatkan boleh faham). Luckily, Liza was better than me -thanks to watching too much Sinetron on Astro. Our first destination was the port of Sunda Kelapa. It was the main port during the Sunda Kingdom of Panjajaran era. It is now only a minor port and it only caters to the pinisi – a traditional 2 masted wooden ship, serving inter-island freight service. I was told the items traded nowadays include tobacco and textile, among others. It is strategically placed near to markets such as Glodok, Mangga Dua and Pasar Pagi. During its peak from the 13^th to 16^th century, it was an international port of trade for spice, especially pepper. The main port is now at Tanjong Priok which was opened during the Dutch era. Read more here and here

It was not an easy task to navigate the busy roads of Old Jakarta with the bicycles. At busy intersections with no traffic lights, our guide had to serve as a traffic police as well. Phew! It was a close call. Actually, you have to be confident to cross to the other side. Vehicles will give way if you just raise your hand to cross over.

But it proved to be too challenging for our Diva Shanana Mas. She surrendered and asked to be sent back to base, and she would wait for the rest with Pak Dodi. Our guide chaperoned Mas back on his bike and Razeif had to cycle back too – on a pink one heheh, to bring back Mas' bike. Me and Liza waited at the port and we took some pictures of the boats and boat kids swimming happily in the sea. We also took some pictures with them and pictures of them diving from the top of the boats. They were happy to see us, and they even greeted Razeif in English ;-)

Mas going back. Razeif on a pink bike ;-)

Sunda Kelapa port and the kids :)

When Razeif and the guide came back, we made our way to the observation tower or Menara Syahbandar. We didn't go into the tower, just made a short stop. We then walked to the nearby Maritime Museum (or Museum Bahari). On the way to the museum, we passed by some shops selling traditional / local produces such as mortar and pestle (lesung batu) and steel pots at the Pasar Ikan Luar Batang area. The museum is also still under renovation. It was previously a warehouse storing spices during the Dutch era. The museum now houses some replica of boats used during the old days. As usual, it wouldn't be complete without our obligatory jumping shots!

One of the boats in Museum Bahari

Jumping jack outside Museum Bahari

Kota Intan drawbridge

Next we cycled to the Kota Intan drawbridge, took some pictures, then proceeded to the Batavia Hotel area which we had just taken some pictures before we took the cycle tour. Then we went to Toko Merah which was the house of the Governor General of VOC from 1745 – 1750. After that it was back to base where we were re-united with Mas.

Toko Merah

Pak Dodi then suggested that we move straightaway to Bandung to beat the impending traffic jam (macet) and had Nasi Padang Sederhana (this is the name of the restaurant) lunch at the R&R. Before we went off, we all had an ice cream each as our stomachs were already growling by then.

Now there is a highway to connect Jakarta and Bandung which had cut short the journey down to 2 hours. Hence the traffic jam at Bandung as it was a Saturday, so it was a weekend getaway for the city folks to wind down or shop at Bandung. Last time I went to Bandung in the 1990s, we had to take the trunk road, so it took longer to arrive. But the good thing was- there was no traffic jam back then. With the highway, we would be bypassing Puncak and Bogor and head straightaway to Bandung.

We learnt a short history of Bandung in the van courtesy of Pak Dodi. It is located 768m above sea level. Hence the cooler temperature. It lies in a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains, - Tangkuban Prahu and Kawah Putih, among others. Long-term volcanic activity has created fertile soil for rice, fruits and tea plantations. It would be awesome if we could make the journey by train as the scenery would be breathtaking! (Excerpt taken from Wiki)

The railway bridge passing through paddy fields & mountains

It is Indonesia's 3^rd largest city after Jakarta and Surabaya. Bandung was dubbed as Parijs Van Java (or Paris of Java Island) due to the luxurious hotels (e.g. Savoy Homann and Prengear), restaurants, cafes and European boutiques in the city. Read more here

It was drizzling when we arrived at Bandung. And it was already jam packed at Pasteur toll gate. We were crawling bumper to bumper to reach Bandung city. We decided to go to Factory Outlets (FO) and have dinner, then only check in at Arwiga Hotel . We haven't paid the deposit for the hotel (only phone booked), so Pak Dodi called the hotel to confirm our arrival.

Macet in Bandung

I texted Ibu Yanti on our plans for the next day. Oh yes, Ibu Yanti is the wife of a colleague of mine at office – Pak Pancha. At first, I just asked him for recommendations on shopping places / restaurants around Bandung. Upon learning that we were going to his hometown, he insisted that his wife would take us around there. I tried to decline politely, but he would have none of it. ;-) I also told Ibu Yanti about the traffic condition and she replied that it wouldn't be Bandung without it :-p

At the FO, the gang got some jeans / clothes for themselves and their loved ones, while I was being more picky, so I still couldn't find something to my liking. We went to Grande and Central Fashion at Dago area. We then went to the spa for massage (I forgot the name of the spa). Razeif and Liza took the 2 hour Kenanga massage while Mas took the 1 hour manicure and pedicure. Yours truly was feeling very hungry so she went to McD instead and tapau-ed herself a Cheeseburger LOL! She then continued on her quest to find the perfect jeans at Jalan Setiabudi area and found one at an FO near to Rumah Mode. Not sure whether it is an original or not, but it felt comfy ;-) I did check out Rumah Mode too- it was packed, many of them Malaysians :-p Branded garments are sold here at a slightly lower price.

The spa

After that, we were re-united. Then we went to the Saripowon restaurant to have dinner at 9pm WIB (10 pm M'sian time)! We were seated (duduk bersila or lesehan) at the huts. We ordered ikan gurame bakar and Mas ordered her favourite crab (or kepiting). I don't know how to eat crabs lol! I just watched ;-) By the time we finished, we were the only customer left there. There was a live singing, and the lady singer invited us to sing up front. Since there was no one else there, Mas took the opportunity to sing! And it was recorded by the owner of the restaurant. He promised to post it on his Facebook. Mas would be famous now!

Ikan gurame bakar

Pondok @ Saripowon

Mas singing her heart out

Full and happy, we were now ready to hit the sack. We checked into Arwiga Hotel at almost midnight. All we wanted to do was to have a good rest. Lo and behold, the sight of our standard room shocked us. I admit, the room only cost IDR 280K (RM97), but we could get a much better room with the same rate at Krabi. But then maybe we shouldn't compare with a totally different place.

We didn't take any photos of the room as we were too shocked of the condition, it looked damp and creepy. It was a basement room. It was very tiny, just enough room for 2 single beds and a mattress (yes, we booked for an extra bed, but we were only given a mattress – an extra bed wouldn't fit in!) At first I didn't want to think much about it as it was only just a few hours to sleep over then we could check out early next morning. I took a shower, then readied myself for solat. Then just as I was about to prostrate (sujud), I saw a squiggly red worm near my forehead on the sejadah. I think it was an earthworm, about 6 inches long and half inch thickness. Ah of course I didn't measure it, it was just an approximation. Surprisingly, I kept my cool. I will usually shriek and jump about if I see any worms/maggots/flying cockroaches. But then both Mas and Liza were worst off than me so I had to do the honour. I took a tissue paper and scooped the squiggly worm and put it into the dustbin. I didn't hurt it OK. I told you we were in a basement room – it's the worm's nest we're staying at!

That worm looked something like this

That was the ultimate blow out for Mas. She decided there and then we HAD to move out instantly! I resumed my solat on the bed instead, then we were out of there! By this time I think Razeif had already slept like a brick. Mas called Pak Dodi, thankfully he was still around the area, menongkrong with his friends. He checked for other hotels for us – and he found Hotel Unik, near to the Kartika Sari cake factory. We checked out of Arwiga (thankfully they didn't charge us for anything) and landed ourselves into the Family Room at Unik which was much more spacious and comfortable. It costs us IDR 428K (or RM 149) for a weekend rate, while the next day would cost us IDR 378K (or RM132) for a weekday rate.

I texted Ibu Yanti about our change of meeting place (she was supposed to pick us up from Arwiga at 7am) and texted Razeif that we had already abandoned him LOL! Ibu Yanti didn't reply (of course, it was already 1am) so I could just hope she would read it before picking us up. I drifted to sleep to Cat Deeley's 888 cute accent (So You Think You Can Dance was on the telly)

Pix by Razeif/myself

Gigi the envious cat

2010-12-01T22:59:00.011+08:00

More on Gigi

Gigi has a favourite spot on the sofa at the hall - she has a special blanket on there which she likes to sleep on.

One night, she was eating her biscuits on the table at the hall, she saw me carrying my laptop and going towards her sofa. (I like to steal her spot)

She quickly jumped off the table and ran towards her sofa, sat herself there.

She won't let me sit there!

I had to sit somewhere else.

I never knew cats can be dengki too :-p

Gigi says: This is MY spot!

ATV @ Kemensah

2010-11-28T11:00:00.047+08:00

Sat, 27/11/10

Ah...another excellent adventure organised by PEERS! :-)

ATV (all terrain vehicle) at Kemensah (further down Zoo Negara). What's an ATV anyway? Here's a short description of it: It is a vehicle that travels on low pressure tyres, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control. The rider sits on and operates these vehicles like a motorcycle but the extra wheels give more stability at slower speeds.

Find more here

The ATVs that we used are automatic transmission vehicles - no clutches, hurrah! (I have not driven a manual car since taking my driving license!). There is only front, neutral and reverse gears. The gas (accelerator) is on the right handlebar, the brake at the right handlebar is for the rear wheels, the left one is for the front wheels.

ATVs

This time around we were missing 2 head honchos of PEERS recreation committee Zu & Shawn due to domestic causes. Wish you were here!

We were supposed to gather at Kemensah at 4.30pm. I fetched Liza & Aida (well, another Aida, of course I didn't pick up myself :-p) from LRT Gombak and we reached the ATV right on time, together with Razeif. But we were told that we would only start at 5.30pm There was another group before us which hadn't finished yet, so we would have to wait for them to return with the ATVs

To pass the time, me and Diba (Limau's wife) made a splash at the swimming pool (yes, there is one here!) The water is from the river here.

The pool

We started our briefing at around 5.30pm when it started to rain heavily. It was intermittent really, the rain- it rained cats and dogs at one time, then receded, but it rained heavily again. There were 16 of us (4 didn't show up), so we were divided into 3 groups. Being with Liza, she wanted to be in the second group so she could see how the others were doing it first.

Briefing

I picked up the bimbo-est helmet (a pinkish flowery one!) We were told there would be two 45 degree hills; we should just press on the gas and not lose momentum during the climbing. We were told not to try to balance the ATV like a motorcycle as it is designed to traverse rough terrain (hence the name ATV). We were given the chance to practice first and made a few rounds. I was quite lousy during the practice session (still nervous).

Then we were ready to go! I was the first to go in our group. I was so nervous that the guide decided to climb on my ATV and drove me down instead! (We started by going downhill). It was a slow start for me, still trying to familiarise with the machine and getting the hang of it. Both times during the 45 degree climb, I asked for assistance. At one point, I stuck out my foot to balance the ATV like a bicycle / motorcycle. Hah! The guide was right after all – he already told us not to, the ATV would balance itself. Still not confident enough.

Ready to roll!

However, after the 2^nd climb, I finally got the rhythm and felt confident I would not fall off / drive the ATV off course. I manouvred the first downhill part without assistance and made it through until finish without assistance hurrah! It suddenly felt exciting, and I could go faster (but Aida#2 was faster – she was merempit-ing in the jungle – had to catch up with her!)

The team

Our halfway point was the Air Terjun Sofea Jane – according to Limau, this was where she acted a scene from the film Perempuan, Isteri & … Because it was already 7pm by then, it was dark and cold, so we didn't spend too much time there. Limau mentioned it'd be awesome if we could have a picnic of piping hot maggi by the waterfall. Ah suddenly I felt hungry at the mention of food!

Hurrah! We made it!

We reached back base at 7.30pm, washed up, solat and ready to roll for dinner! But by the time, most of the participants had already left, so there was just 7 of us remaining. We headed to Istana Bambu by the MRR2 for dinner - it was an excellent choice! Great ambience, good food and good company ;-) Loved it! We ordered quite a lot – butter prawn, fried calamari (nama glamer sotong goreng tepung), tom yam, dried chilli chicken and fried tofu. I especially love the tofu (I love tofu!). All cost about RM160 (about RM23/person). Not bad at all! Feeling full, we then head back to our nests and called it a day.

The remaining gang

Nice food & ambience

Note: All pix courtesy of Razeif. Thanks Razeif!

Gigi's new habit

2010-11-27T09:32:00.007+08:00

Gigi has a new habit.

She would plonk herself on the dressing table every morning and night, every day, waiting to be groomed.
She likes to look at the mirror too.

Kucing perasan! ;-)

A shooting train

2010-11-24T23:54:00.003+08:00

The LRT overshot the Kelana Jaya terminal just now. Panic, I pressed the red emergency button. (This is the emergency communication panel). Not a stop/emergency brake button :-p

We end up on top of a lake (I suspect nearby the now defunct Kelana Seafood), it was too dark to see.

The operator then made an announcement that we would be turning back to KJ. Drama sekejap :-p

Teaser : Batavia

2010-11-22T23:54:00.003+08:00

All images are taken from the web

Reminiscing Jakarta Part 2

2010-11-19T21:38:00.034+08:00

Ahh...the shopping malls. I remember dad taking us to Blok M, where there is a huge handicraft centre at the uppermost level. We spent hours there looking for souvenirs, and it was all beautiful!

Public transportation is by Bis Angkutan Kota (bus) or Blue Bird Taxi. The Blue Bird group range of vehicle rentals are all based on “Bird types” e.g. taxis for high market (Silver Bird), car rentals (Golden Bird), charter buses (Big Bird) and container trucks (Iron Bird). Cute!

Oh, there's also the bajaj (pronounced bajai) which is like a motorised trishaw.

The roads in Jakarta were always jammed (macet), you can imagine there are 9.6 million of people in the city alone! At that time, there were already elevated expressways where you can choose between the tolled or non-tolled routes to get around in Jakarta.

OK here are some photographic evidence ;-)

Ibu Sumami wears the tudung actually, please forgive me for posting this Ibu, but this is the only picture I found of her....Aha see the Khong Guan biscuit tin there, I'm not lying you know ;-)

Me and Yana. OMG I was so gede (fat) :-p
This was on the way to Puncak on 07/12/96
Good thing I wrote a note behind the pix ;-)
According to the note, Yana was in Jakarta from 30/11 - 8/12/96

Me and Nazli. At Tangkuban Prahu, Bandung on 26/12/97
It was windy

Lomba makan btwn my uncle and my brother :-p
At Restoran Rindu Alam, Puncak. This was during the first school holiday of 1996 (May or June probably)
Love love the ikan gurame and air alpokat

At Coolibah II Resthouse, Puncak 8/11/95
OMG this bungalow is sooo beautiful, with a swimming pool, and it even has a fireplace!
It was so serene, surrounded by the cool air of Puncak and the fir trees
I somehow remember the caretakers of the house were Nasir and Ella

Kangen pada Jakarta

2010-11-16T23:51:00.048+08:00

Longing for Jakarta...

Barrack Obama's recent visit to his childhood playground spurred me to write this. It was really sweet when he told his Indonesian audience that he was back: "Pulang kampung nih"

I've never blogged about my other 'kampung' – Jakarta. So here I'll try to collect the memories the best I can

My dad was based there between 1994-1998 so we visited him twice a year during the school hols.

We had fond memories there. House was Mampang Arkadia Ap artment , Jl. Lo ka Indah , Warung Buncit, South Jakarta. It's still there! :D It's so spacious, with 3 bedrooms, we loved it there! Back then, we didn't have Astro yet in M'sia, so going back to kampung gave me a chance to watch satellite TV :-D

Mampang Arkadia (taken from web)

Love our helper – Ibu Sumami, she's so strong, she can lift a 20 litre mineral water bottle dispenser (over there mineral water is called aqua i.e. the most popular mineral water brand name, like we call Milo for chocolate milk here). Water supply from the tap is contaminated with E. Coli or fecal coliforms and other pathogens. Hence, the buying of bottled mineral water.

A 20l Aqua bottle

Missed her so much, such a sweet lady, how can I find her? She's probably in her 70s now. She earned extra money by cooking mee segera for the Satpam (security guards) at our apartment. She lived with us (there was an indoor extension to a tiny bedroom and a tiny bathroom through the wet kitchen)

Will scan and post her pix later

My father did his weekly grocery shopping at Golden Truly. The building was burnt during the 1998 riots, which mainly targetted ethnic Chinese Indonesians and their premises (possibly the mall was owned by an ethnic Chinese) as a consequence of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

But the mall still exists – based on the website, but it's probably at a different location.

Mom learnt to cook the Rawon dish from Ibu Sumami, at first she bought the bumbu, but later on, she prepared the ingredients all by herself. Me? I just eat lah hehe..

Rawon Sapi (beef) dish

Bumbu Rawon

Ibu Sumami also loved to bake us cookies every time we came and she would fry the delicious krupuk udang :-D She would store them in a Khong Guan red biscuit tin (tin = kaleng) I did help with cooking too, but just vegetable dishes. I would bang the sudip thrice against the frying pan to signal when I was done, and Ibu Sumami would burst out laughing. I loved doing it ;-p I remember cooking/eating with kecap Cap Bango or Cap ABC. I loved those thick sweet soysauce!

Kaleng merah biskut Khong Guan

Kecap Cap Bango

I brought 2 school friends to spend the holidays there – Elyana and Nazli (but at different times though). Brought them to the Taman Bunga Nusan tara in Bogor and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (like Mini M'sia in Melaka). Nazli even followed us to Bandung.

Oh, we also went to Taman Safari in Bogor, during our very first trip to Jakarta. The next day, a visitor was attacked by a white tiger after taking a picture with it.

I'll probably write more as I remember more things. Will have to dig up the old albums.

Heart heart heart Jakarta ;-)

J's BJ (Upcoming) Excellent Adventure

2010-11-15T21:04:00.005+08:00

Woah! My ex-housemate J, a die-hard Bon Jovi fan is finally going to see them live! Not in M'sia. Not in SG. But in Sydney, Australia this Dec 17th!

The furthest I've ventured is just SG.

They did come down to KL (Shah Alam stadium) back in 1995. See here.

Can't wait for J's report ;-) It should be an awesome experience! :-D

The Flaming Lips (I Wish!)

2010-11-12T15:52:00.013+08:00

Agagagag...I was stuck here in KL due to work and so missed The Flaming Lips' concert in SG last night at the spanking new Marina Bay Sands

The gig was sure as heck mind blowingly epic! There's Zorbing, a bear(!), giant laser-emitting hands, lots of balloons and confetti! Note: Background music of the video is "Do You Realize?"

A friend of mine Nut from SG got lucky to have won a pair of tix to the gig! His winning story is here (find ewoksoldier's entry)

And he got a lucky break again that the tix had to be picked up from Junk's office in PJ (but he's based in SG!) when another tix winner from M'sia offered to pick up the tix for him & met up with him & they had a blast going to the gig! I'm not kidding, here's his account:

On that night itself, some dude named Omar email-ed me about joining him and his friend for the road trip down to Singapore for the show (he must've gotten my email from the Junk website). So I replied that I'm in Singapore and asked him if he can be arsed to help a stranger and get me my tickets from Junk HQ, highlighting the fact that he can run away with them and that I can do nothing about it. In return, I'd treat him and his friend to supper after the show. He replied with a very sincere "yes"!

So this super-duper nice fella did get me my tickets at 10am SHARP thurs morning, and gave me a call right away to assure me that he's not running away with it! Such a nice fella right..

I brought my lucky friend along and we met Omar and his friend at Marina Bay Sands (it was their first time driving into Singapore and kudos to him for finding his way through this extremely confusing place) after work. I think he's the last human being of this kind (helpful, selfless, honest). I received my tickets and he said he'll take a smoke while my friend and I go look for something to eat (but we didn't in the end). Apparently there isn't a single fast-food restaurant in that bloody huge place. Not a big fan of fast-food but we needed to bite into something light just before the show, so we ended up with coke.

Then we went to the exhibition hall and there was a queue. Went to check out the merch stalls and I bought a tee. I loved it. We decided to join the queue but soon after, Omar came and called us to his BIG group of friends who came down from KL too, and they were near the front of the queue!! Then I spotted my colleague (who's a freelancer so I had no idea she was attending the show too) on the other side of the queue, where we were a minute ago and I did the right thing by passing along the good deed, so I pulled her to our huge group of cool people (apparently some of them are in a Malaysian band called Flocks, if i heard correctly... google isn't giving me any result so I must have heard wrongly then). Then it was 8pm and we were ushered into the hall and it was the beginning of a lot of surprises for me.

Moral of the story: Do good unto others. It's infectious :-D

Dazed and Confused

2010-11-07T02:15:00.051+08:00

It has been a heck of a very confusing week indeed for the 5 of us.

Tue, 26/10/10: The start of the confusion

My brother texted me that there were signs of an impending eruption of Merapi. I texted Razeif asking him to check for details as I was away attending a course at the time and he replied it was true.

Back to office, I searched for more info, and even asked a colleague from Indonesia, Pak Pancha whether it was safe for us to travel. At that stage, he and his mate assured us it was safe, in fact he mentioned that it would be an awesome experience if we could experience the volcanic eruption live! That made us all geared up again :D

Then that night Merapi first erupted. Just before it erupted, there was an earthquake off Padang, which triggered a tsunami at Mentawai island.

We then followed the progress religiously everyday, suddenly taking an interest in volcanic activity, and it coincided with the G&G course I was attending!

Sunday 31/10/10 : Credit Shell Notification

Zal texted me that AA posted a notification on their FB page that those who booked flights to Yogyakarta between 31/10/10 – 6/11/10 have the option to apply for credit shell and make new bookings via their website. Thanks Zal! I kept silent first as I did not want to worry my other travel mates (yet).

Monday, 1/11/10 : Another situation

M hadn’t made his passport yet, and being from a state in Malaysia which has special immigration arrangements (go figure!) he was told it would take him a week to get his passport! This is because his application in KL would be faxed back to his state of origin and the office there would review his application, then decide to approve or not (check for records). If approved, the paperwork will be faxed back to KL. Oh, and he needs to have his surat beranak as well for the application. No kidding.

And I thought everything could be done online now?

Later, I called AA’s customer service line, and was directed to a so-called premium service line (costs RM1.95 per minute – bergurau apa?) which I was put on hold forever – had to listen to all the promos first – before I was passed to a human agent. And he sounded like a native Indian (he didn’t sound like Malaysian Indian). I suspected I was being directed to a call centre in India (many companies do this to save cost). I was told by the agent that, no, there’s no credit shell, only airport tax is covered, and we have to pay additional costs for the rest. I told him about the situation in Yogyakarta, which he was unaware of.

AA’s customer service is definitely lacking big time (I’m restraining myself here from using stronger words)

Was this a sign that we should forego the trip?

Still, we kept on holding to the belief that we would be able to go.

Tuesday, 2/11/10 : A glimmer of hope

M successfully collected his passport within a day. But with constant follow up with the immigration.

I called Wisma Putra to ask whether there was any travel advisory against going to Yogya. The officer answered that there was none, the government is not restricting any travels to Yogya. However, we should notify the M’sian embassy in Jakarta on our travelling dates, where we were staying and contact no, in case they need to contact us.

But then later in the afternoon, there were new updates that flights to and from Yogya were cancelled.

A notification of cancellation was posted on AA’s website, but without mentioning until when. It only mentioned until further notice.
We finally relented it was not meant to be.
Plan B was needed.

Wednesday, 3/11/10 : Plan B

Checked for other destinations on the same date, not so positive. As it was only 2 days left, the other destinations were already too expensive.
We also thought of changing dates instead, and go on a roadtrip instead this weekend.

I checked AA’s website again. Lo and behold, the cancellation notice was no longer there. Back to confused mode. And there was no SMS notification from AA neither.

Drastic measures had to be taken. We went to AA’s counter at KL Sentral to get it settled. We were told that flights are now cleared to land at Yogya. So we cannot apply for the credit shell. (It was first notified on the FB page the credit shell option is valid for flights until 6/11/10) Ours was scheduled for 5/11

If we want to change date / destination, we had to pay the normal penalty fees.

Behind us, Diana (also travelling to Yogya this weekend) overheard us. She mentioned that her group was adamant to change the date without paying the penalty as it was a safety concern. Diana asked us to change our date too, and fight for the credit shell. She said it was too dangerous to proceed. She said that she would pray that we would not be able to go.

But us being stubborn (despite family and friends persuading us not to go), decided we would go (and secretly being excited about it).

We exchanged numbers and promised to inform each other of our progress.
That night Mas watched the movie 2012 and suddenly felt worried so she texted us all her concerns.

I searched for info, and found a guideline:

1) If you have sensitivity of breathing (asthma), strongly suggest you skip or bring meds. Otherwise, carry extra face masks. The ash is very fine like smoke and can irritate your skin.

2) If you have important work schedules after the holiday, and cannot tolerate returning late, better skip.

If you do not experience any of the constraints above, then visiting yogya & capturing on photo a live active volcano will be one of life experiences you'll never forget. From borodubur you can capture images of Merapi in all its splendour..

Liza and Razeif were very very excited about the trip. Myself and Mas kept changing minds all the time. M, if he had his own way, would avoid any natural disaster prone areas altogether!

Thursday, 4/11/10 : A day before

We carried on as usual with our work today. Checked for updates, no flight cancellation notice.

Later in the afternoon, we went to change our money.

Mas picked Liza and me up tonight. We were supposed to sleep at her house and take a taxi to LCCT at 4am. We planned to arrive at 5am as our flight is scheduled at 7am. Razeif and M would be going from Razeif’s house and take the bus from KL Sentral to LCCT.

Friday, 5/11/10 : The day. Will we make it?

It was Deepavali eve. It was hard to sleep as the fireworks were too noisy.

Mas was still packing her bags when at 2am we received a text from Razeif:
Flight to Yogya on 5/11/10 is now cancelled due to volcanic eruption. Pls call (certain number with certain password) for further enquiries.

We didn’t know how to react.

In the end, we laughed it loud thinking about all the mess we got ourselves into. We thought again: the signs were all over the place telling us not to go. Even families and friends preferred us not to go (but they did not stop us).

Degil sungguh.

Mas tossed her unfinished packing aside, and went to sleep instead.
Razeif, being pro-active, called up the number instantly and was told that we would be receiving the credit shell within 48 hours and we can make a new booking, but the travelling date must be within 3 months. No full refund although cancellation is by AA.
All this happened while M was still sleeping :-p

Around 7am we received a text from Pak Pancha when only we realized the degree of severity of the situation in Yogya. There was a new eruption at midnight, which was the biggest so far, (since it first erupted on 26/10) and it had claimed another 30 lives. The radius of danger zone is now expanded to within 20 km radius of Merapi.

We were thankful that we didn’t make the trip. It was indeed the best for us.

We pray that Merapi would calm down soon and the people of Yogya could return back to their normal lives soon. Condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.

Yogyes adventures is now postponed indefinitely.

Spelunking & WWR

2010-10-25T00:21:00.036+08:00

Ahh been so busy, this report is 2 weeks late! Anyway, read on ;-)

Gua Tempurung Caving & White Water Rafting at Sg Kampar, 23/10/10

Had another blast spelunking (caving) at Gua Tempurung and White Water Rafting at Sg Kampar, courtesy of PEERS. Being a crony of PEERS, I was one of the earliest to be booked for the trip hehe (belum bagi nama lagi, booking dah confirmed!)

For this trip, we only payed RM90 for the adventure package and RM30 for transportation by bus. What a deal! Thanks PEERS!

We were supposed to assemble at KLCC and depart at 7am. But being Malaysians, we took off at around 8am instead :-p Because it was still early, most of us hadn’t had breakfast yet. There was a total of 40 participants.

We had a pit stop at Rawang R&R for half an hour, then moved on to our destination. We took the Gopeng exit, and finally arrived at Gua Tempurung at around 11am. I had experienced caving at Gua Tempurung before back in 1995, while in high school. I remembered at one part, we had to crawl in the river water, we got our clothes really dirty. So I had on me erm, eheh, a free teambulding t-shirt that I don’t mind discarding if it gets way beyond recognition lol!

Caving @ Spelunking

It was quite hot when we arrived, so going into the cave was really welcoming! After we changed our clothes, we moved in to the cave with our guide. Oh, Izwan our PEERS President & wife came by to visit and gave us a warm sending off (sort of ) hehe…

Ready for Tempurung!

We took the Top of The World & River adventure which took about 2.5 hours where we had to climb a flight of stairs (680 steps!) then return via an underground river where we had to slide down the rocks which was about 5 meters deep (this is a dry slide down), then squeezed down through a hole (not as small as Batu Maloi’s – Batu Maloi's is waaaay tougher) and crawl in the river through a very shallow tunnel (we had to almost dive). But it was fun, and the water was cool and refreshing.

Our guide explained some funny looking rock shapes, according to his very wild imagination! There was Osama bin Laden, chicken drumstick, a ghost, monkey riding a vespa with a helmet on, a pregnant lady, a lady washing her hair etc. I must say, they really have a lot of time to observe the rocks! Our guide also showed us a spot where the stalactite (hanging from the ceiling) flows water 24-7. The water comes from the rock. There was also a spot where it is windy and very cooling. He explained that the wind came from the cave entrance, but was only felt there as it was a confined space where the wind can be felt.

A COP session was going on in the cave courtesy of our senior Geophysicist – Mr Kamal. He sure was very enthusiastic about rocks! And since I am on Geofantasy mode, I paid some attention to him. Though the rocks look like marble, they are not, they are carbonates/limestone and are easily dissolved, and they are also relatively virgin. Marbles come from metamorphic rocks which are more stable.

By the way, it was not the bat season right now, so we didn’t see any bats or stepped on guanos (bat droppings) – I think! Or maybe we did lol! I didn’t smell any sulphur-like pungent odour though, so I think there was no guano lying around.

In the cave!

We reached at the cave door at 1pm, and we were all so hungry by then! We ate like horses (although horses only eat grass hehe)

After a hearty lunch of nasi putih with ayam masak merah, sayur campur, pajeri nenas & udang masak lemak, we were ready to roll for our White Water Rafting adventure!

More about Gua Tempurung package here

White Water Rafting (WWR)

This is my second WWR adventure. Check the first one at Jeram Besu, Pahang here. This second one is more exciting as the rapids are faster. The first one I went was during the dry season, so we had to paddle more.

Ah memories of taking the van sayur at Cameron came gushing back :) We took an open top lorry ride to Sg Kampar from Gua Tempurung, for about 30 minutes (I think). Nizar said it was so thrilling he didn’t feel time passed lol! We had to dodge the vegetations along the way (I finally gave up and sat down instead). We passed by a very nice kampung –Kg Jahang with fish ponds and kampung houses. We all agreed it would be nice if we could build a house and stayed there!

When we arrived at Sg Kampar for the WWR adventure, it was raining. Some were very excited as rain meant more rapids, some were quite concerned. We were then briefed by the very capable instructor – Max. He explained on our sitting positions in different situations (jump jump, boom boom) how to paddle (front & back paddle), and how to react if were thrown overboard (just float facing downstream and cycle while floating, and wait to be rescued with the lifeline) and of course, the high five, paddle style.

Sg Kampar is a Class II & III type of difficulty, i.e. medium. The rapids were not really strong, so no rafts capsized, but all the teams had to experience the rafts being overturned by the guides. We had 7 members to a raft (including the guide). I was in the “good” raft while the rest were evil haha :-p The other guides liked to target us and wanted to overturn us all the time! Well that’s not entirely true because the guides attacked all the teams actually! We had fun though. I was personally attacked twice, i.e. being grabbed from behind and backthrown into the water. I secretly liked it actually hehe

Our team@ Budak2 baik hehe

Ah a tip if you’re facing an attack: If the attacker is trying to overturn you from the right side, everybody huddle to the right so it’d be too heavy to be overturned (and vice versa). Or you could do the “jump jump” i.e. jump on your seats together-gether.

Team Budak Jahat, always want to capsize our team's raft :-p

We then had to do bodyrafting, i.e. float in the water and just let the flow of the river bring you downstream (facing downstream of course, i.e. same direction as flow of river) and cycle. My team mate Liza drifted slightly to the head guide (Max) while doing this (ahem). Pergi mana tu? ;-)

There was only 1 major rapid - the chicken rapid, if I remember it correctly, but since it only started to rain when we were arriving, there was not enough current to overturn our rafts. So all teams survived!

The rapid - looks tough, but we survived! - due to our very capable guides :D

We finally finished our adventure at around 6pm. It was really cold, and we were all hungry again! We returned back to base (at Gua Tempurung), showered and changed, and finally left Gua Tempurung at 7pm. We stopped by for dinner at Tapah R&R, and finally reached KLCC at 10.30 pm. Whoa what an adventure!

More about Riverbug (WWR organizer) here

Such an excellent adventure! Thanks PEERS!

P/S I Love You

2010-10-24T19:07:00.003+08:00

OK I apologise, but this is too sweet for me not to re-blog it...so I take back my hiatus declaration :-p

Awwwwwwwwww read it here

Geofantasising

2010-10-20T23:36:00.002+08:00

Will be on hiatus for a while for geofantasising :-p

In Loving Memory: TomTam

2010-09-22T09:52:00.002+08:00

Was greeted by a sad news when I came back from the roadtrip last Saturday.

Mom told me TomTam, our neighbour's cat had met with an accident - he broke his leg, but more worryingly, mom suspected there could be internal injuries because TomTam was not eating or drinking

Last pix taken of TamTom on 1 Sept 2010

He suffered for 5 days. TomTam finally passed away on Wednesday, 22 Sept 2010. Recieved SMS from mom at the office.

I'm not sure when I first met up with TomTam, but it was probably about a year ago, after the fasting month. Our neighbour told us that her daughters found him at the nearby playground and begged her for them to keep the cat.

He was a scrawny little black kitten, but he liked to eat so much. Although he got bigger and very heavy, even heavier than Gigi, he's still quite small in size (i.e. like a pygmy @ in BM 'katik').

Initially, our neighbour thought he was a she, so he was called "Black Beauty". Then they realized he was a he, so they just called him Hitam. Me & mom did some improvisation, and called him TomTam instead.

He was a very active and naughty cat, but very smart too. If we close the sliding door (but still let it slightly open,but he couldn't fit in) he would bite and drag the edge of the curtain and slide it open!

Mom also put some railings halfway at the door and window grille, but he would climb over it and he would be inside in no time! His only fear is - like most cats - water! We would show him the water spray and he would run scrambling off

TomTam wrestling the bear

He also liked to tease Gigi. He would hide and wait for Gigi to walk past him, then he would ambush Gigi from behind, and Gigi would jump out of surprise, but if she was annoyed, she would slap TomTam in the face lol! But she was used to it already, so they continued running around, taking turns to chase each other. First it would be TomTam chasing Gigi, then it would be the other way round. We were all very entertained by the clownish acts of the duo ;-)

Another unique thing about him was he liked to rest in a superman-like pose. He would stretch straight his hind legs, tummy on the floor, front legs also stretched.

TomTam doing the Superman pose

But now Gigi would be lonely without the her naughty neighbour. Although the little black one sometimes drove us crazy with his hyper activeness, we missed all his funny acts. He was a chatty cat too, he liked to talk a lot. Not meowing, but talking, something like mumbled sounds. Especially after eating, when he's full. Perhaps he was showing his happiness.

Dear TomTam, we know you won't suffer anymore, you are safe there in heaven. May you rest in peace.

Sept 2009 - 22 Sept 2010

Roadtrip: Kluang-Melaka

2010-09-19T23:11:00.045+08:00

Ahh…another roadtrip, with the girls this time around – comprising myself, Mas @ Diva Shanana (I’ll tell you why later :-p) and Liza. Our roadtrip is just a short one, from KL to Kluang to Melaka and back to KL for 2 nights. Anyway, one of the highlight of the trip would be driving the Diva’s spanking new SX-4 woohoo!

Day 1 KL-Kluang, Thurs 16/09/10

Today is Malaysia Day, so this is just a short escapade, while taking the opportunity of a newly declared public holiday. Well you may be wondering, of all places why Kluang? Since it’s still the first week of Syawal, a member of our trip- Liza is still at her hometown in Kluang, so we are sort of kidapping her from her family during Raya ;-p

We take off quite late at 12.30 noon. I offer myself to drive since I am eager to test drive the new machine (ahem). It’s really smooth (compared to my trusty old Waja, of course) and the brakes are taut, just needed a gentle push to the (brake) pedal to halt. It is fully assembled in Japan, so it has a heater (the ac temperature can be adjusted to a heated level – certainly not needed in sunny ol’ Malaysia!) It is a 1.6L Sporty 5 door hatchback with front wheel drive automatic transmission. OK I’m not a car expert so that’s all I can review here :-p

We stop by at Pagoh R&R as I am already feeling very hungry. We have delicious Mee Bandung Muar (remember to buy at Gerai Selera Anda) for only RM3.50 Certainly a value for money meal. Before we continue back our journey, we bump into Aula (a colleague from office – of all people!) and her family who are heading towards Singapore.

We take the Ayer Hitam exit to go to Kluang. Thanks to the ‘kakak’ Garmin GPS :) Well ‘kakak’ because she can’t stop nagging on the speed limit if I go exceeding it. Yes, yes we know it is only for our safety. We just need to follow the road to Kota Tinggi it seems.

We finally arrive at Kg Sri Lambak, but it turns out there is a difference between Kg Sri Lambak and Taman Sri Lambak. Liza's house, which is in Taman Sri Lambak is further down and is not updated in the GPS map. So we have to depend on a ‘manual’ GPS, i.e. Liza physically fetching us. Wow, this is the first time I see her driving, and she drives fast! I have to play catch up with her. Not bad for someone who claims she is afraid of driving hmmm… and she drives a manual too!

We check in to Liza’s ‘hotel’ around 5pm Her house is a nice cosy bungalow with 4 rooms. Very homely. And there’s a fish pond in the garden too. Her mum fries us some karipap for tea and later cooks ikan asam pedas and sotong masak kunyit for dinner. It is heavenly! If I live here, I will surely be putting on more weight!

Liza's garden

Liza's house :)

Tonight we search for a massage at Kluang town. It is just a small town, but we manage to find a decent one, at Relax Reflexology, just above the Kluang Railway Kopitiam (which we’ll be visiting the next day). The foot massage costs us RM35 (with 5% tax) i.e. RM 36.75 per person for 1 hour. There is a mix up on our special requests – Liza is having a headache so she wants a short head massage, but the masseuse massages the Diva instead. This is because the masseuse are from China, so they don’t know Malay or English. I end up with a pakcik masseuse although I specify I want a female.

Relax reflexology

Massas massas

Day 2 Kluang-KL, Fri 17/09/10

Today we head to Melaka, also quite late. We only leave at 2pm as we have to wait for Liza’s parents to run some errands. Can’t leave before saying our goodbyes to the parents can we? ;-) It is drizzling when we leave.

We drop by at Kluang Railway Kopitiam before heading to Melaka. This is not the original kopitiam which is situated at the railway station itself, but a newer branch near to Kluang Mall (yes, there is a mall here) The coffee is nice here, according to Liza (I don’t like coffee). We order some bread toasts and a mee rebus. The “teh C” is also nice.

Kluang Rail Kopitiam

We only reach our hotel – Hotel ‘Puti’ – Liza accidentally mis-spelled it – supposed to be Hotel Puri at around 6.15pm Some confusing directions from ‘kakak’ GPS. We later learn to look at the road name, instead of relying on kakak’s direction of turning left or right. Sometimes there are many junctions, and kakak’s direction comes a bit too late for me to just swerve in. But it’s OK, we manage to find the hotel anyway.

It is a nice boutique hotel near Jonker walk, on Jalan Tun Tan Cheng lock. It is originally the ancestral home of a plantation owner, Tan Kim Siang (1805 – 1864) , a third generation Peranakan (Straits Chinese) born in Melaka. The house is so huge it used to house a mini zoo said to have included a tiger and several deers. The building is conserved to retain the unique architecture, original structures such as its carved doorways, mosaic floor and wall tiles and marbles. See here for more history.

Hotel Puri interior decor (minus the ladies ya ;-)

After having our shower and solat, we take a taxi to the Quayside. We want to take the river cruise from there, but first we need to eat! It is actually within walking distance, but since we are very hungry, we need to get there ASAP. We plan to go to the Restoran Peranakan, but it is already closed. The taxi ride costs us RM15. If we take a trishaw ride, it will cost us RM45 per trishaw, and it can only fit 2 passengers per trishaw. So we decide not to take the trishaw as we can’t leave 1 person alone on the ride.

Our dinner of asam pedas tetel, sotong goreng tepung, butter prawn and kangkung belacan only cost us RM48 or RM16/person. The sotong goreng is excellent. The butter prawn, unfortunately is just so-so. The asam pedas is too oily, plus it contains ‘tetel’ or fat from the beef.

Dinner!

We then head to the jetty for the river cruise. The ride cost us only RM10/pax for a 45-minute cruise. Because we get a special discount voucher from the hotel, we are given 20% off, i.e. RM8/pax for the cruise. The banks of Sungai Melaka is beautifully illuminated at night and there are many bridges built across the river to connect people since from the ancient times on both sides of the river. Sungai Melaka used to be a very important port for trade.

My highlight of the night cruise would be the view of Kampung Morten. The name is taken after a British Land Commissioner Frederick Joseph Morten. It houses about 85 traditional Malay homes, and the villagers are still living here. The state government sponsors the electricity bills of these homes as they are illuminated every night.

Kg Morten

That's not The Eye on Melaka

Monorel coming up in Melaka!

After the night cruise, we decide to walk back to our hotel. It isn’t really far actually. Plus, we are also passing through Jonker Walk, so walking will be a breeze! (Read: shopping!) The Diva Shanana and Liza embark on their quest to find some nice blouses, funky handbags and cute hair accessories. Myself – just contented with what I have lol! That’s not really true actually, I haven’t enough cash on me (forgot to withdraw earlier) and I am supposed to find a tiffin carrier (mangkuk tingkat) for dear mom. I later find out that the place here only sells antiques, so they can fetch up to RM400!

Jonker Walk

By midnight the stall peddlers are already packing up, so we head back to our hotel armed with the map that we got from the hotel. After consulting a slightly confused Rela abang, we finally reach back our hotel to get some rest…

..not before wishing and singing to Liza a Happy Birthday!! It is her XX (write appropriate number here hehe) birthday today.

Day 3 Melaka – KL Sat, 18/09/10

We have a late breakfast today at the hotel. Just so-so. But the beautiful garden in the hotel compound (used to be an airwell of the peranakan house) more than made up for it. We then pack our things and check out of the hotel before continuing with our shopping.

Garden cafe

We have an early lunch at Restoran Peranakan, just a few units next to Hotel Puri. I ask this from my friend Nurul as she had eaten here before. We order ayam keluak, ayam pong teh, ikan goreng cili, tauhu peranakan and kangkung goreng belacan. It costs us RM62 (for 3 persons). But it turns out to be bland and not spicy enough. If you really must try, just try the ayam keluak and tauhu peranakan. But then again, the restaurant interior décor of Peranakan heritage more than made up for the lack of gastronomic pleasure

Just so-so

Another nice staircase

The restaurant interior

Aha, and I shall now tell about the story of ‘Shanana’. As usual, after eating, we have our camwhoring session. We ask for help from an ah pek to take pictures of us. He turns out to be a funny guy, arranging us to pose in certain ways (macam pro pulak hehe) He asks the Diva– “Yang cermin mata besar (Fendi shades OK!) Shanana tu berdiri belakang sini” (or something like that :-p) And so the term “Shanana” is coined!

We then head to Dataran Pahlawan for more shopping and some spa works for the Diva before going back. No luck finding the tiffin carrier again here though..

Post script: The next day, myself and mom continue our pursuit of searching for the perfect tiffin carrier at Amcorp Mall’s Sunday Flea Market – but to no avail. There used to be a lady selling the one mom has in mind, but we can’t find her today.

The search for the tiffin carrier continues…