Experiencing 4WD

I had a new experience last weekend when I was part of the group who went for an Off Road adventure. It was the media group, all of us had arrived from Kuala Lumpur to cover the Sunday Bike Ride @ Raub with the Minister of Tourism.

The 4WD adventure was to Lata Beremban one of the hidden waterfall that is only accessible by 4WD's or on foot. It was a 15 kilometre journey from the Sungai Klau morning market.

I am not going to write much here because I had posted the story HERE.

This is our destination - Lata Berembun

The trip was worth an experience for me and I am looking forward to more such adventures in future, I mean a more challenging Off Road adventure......

Visited Port Weld

It was my first visit to this historical site, where the first railway line in the Malay Peninsular was constructed between Taiping to Port Weld. This place Port Weld is now known as Kuala Sepetang. This town is home of a thriving fishing village of Chinese community. It is one of the coastal town of Perak situated quite a distance inland buffering from the sea by mangrove swampland and the outlet is Kuala Sangga. These fishermen specializes in cage fish breeding.

Port Weld was named after a former governor, Frederick Weld and the railway station is located in the centre of the town. However the whole railway line is now dismantled and only ticketing booth ( now a Chinese coffeshop) and signboard still remains.

Wikipedia has this to say, Kuala Sepetang has excellent seafood and it has a famous restaurant situated on the upper floor of a shop lot overlooking the river. Kuala Sepetang is also well known for its mangrove swamp reserve park which is open to the public daily. It has a boardwalk built over the swamp for tourists, and chalets in which tourists can rent to stay the night on the riverfront.

Anyone who visit this town must not miss the most popular dish here, the Mee Udang. I had the opportunty to savour the cuisine, with lots of fresh prawns and the gravy is thick.

Kuala Sepetang is reachable through the trunk Route 1 and if you travel on the North South Highway, you can either exit from Taiping Utara or Changkat Jering and take the route towards Simpang. From the junction it is about 11 kilometres on the Taiping Kuala Sepetang road. Along the way, if you have time, just make a stop at a historical complex that house the Kota Ngah Ibrahim. Read more HERE and HERE. 

When I first reach Kuala Sepetang, I did not find the Port Weld station site and after a stop at one stall on Jalan Sungai Manggis for a plate of Mee Udang, I asked the local for the location. The sign board is quite hidden between the shophouses and I mark the location below. Google map can help you or if you use Foursquare, it can help.

Definitely not to be missed is a memory snapshot at the 1885 Port Weld railway station signboard.

Too bad I knowledge about the existence of the Ticket booth that has been turned into a coffee shop. Maybe I’ll make another visit to this town and also make a stopover at the Kota Ngah Ibrahim in future. 

My Life History Repeats

Whether it is coincidence or otherwise, I am living the life of a retired civil servant with some sweet memories to be inscribed into my historical annal.

On my birthday the beginning of the life of a retired person, I celebrated at the house I bought when I was in service. Then on the same day I went to meet my mother and father.

Today (23 Dec 2010) I had an opportunity to go back to the place where I started my career life as a school teacher at SMK Kota Marudu, Sabah. I borrowed rented a Perodua Viva from one of the participant at just RM 50.00 for the trip because going by public transport will be too time consuming and I won’t have the time for that return trip since i have a plane to catch in the afternoon. For that odd 120 km drive I filled up RM 10.00 at Bakut Petronas Station and again another RM 10.00 at Shell Petrol Station (no choice) in Kota Marudu.

Even though just barely two hours at the town, it was a nostalgic memory and what more I went back to the now abandoned government quarters where I stayed and my eldest son and first daughter was born.  This happens in the first week of my new life. Not everybody can experience these nostalgic moment. What more for me I am staying in Kuala Lumpur and my career starts in a district in Sabah when going back will incur high cost on transportation. I consider myself lucky to achieve all these as if its a repeat of life.

This picture on the left is the government quarters that I stayed, get married and where my first two children's born.  

The opportunity to recall memories happens (on Allah’s will) when I came back to Kota Kinabalu to lecture on a topic under Sports Management and this is my first lecture after retiring. It is teaching and I start my career 34 years ago is also teaching. Being given this opportunity to lecture in Kota Kinabalu is, I consider a godsend opportunity. As Muslim I deeply believe that I can just plan but Allah permits. This lecture was at first scheduled a week before, that is the last week of my career life. Then it was postponed and it falls in the first week of my retirement. Its as if Allah want all this as a repeat of my experiences on different life, adult life and golden years life. Well, of course coming on assignment all my expanses are paid for and can consider a free trip. All the same as when I first on Sabah soil in 1974, was paid for by the government.

It was a worthy trip for me since I can recall my memories.

Why Not Some Signal At Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam

For two days, 20 and 21 October 2010, I was at Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam to attend the Sports Tourism Outdoor Pursuit and Event Management Training organised by Paximej and Malaysia Sports Tourism Council. 

The two days seminar was held at the Perkampungan Budaya's Dewan Sri Pekan. This is the first time after 14 years visiting this Agricultural Park owned by Ministry of Agriculture Malaysia. Lots of development had been done with more venues for activities to cater for outdoor needs of individual. It is located just next to development, that is City of Shah Alam.  

The Perkampungan Budaya has a very beautiful surrounding and setup imitating Malaysians rural Malay village with the main building and other smaller buildings scattered within the same location. I am not sure whether it can be a getaway destination for some reason. Firstly it is about 2.7 km from the main gate. Gate closed at 4.30pm. Rental per house is RM200. It might be nobody else staying in other houses. You can be very lonely. However that depends on individual preferences. 

During the two days one of my personal setback is without phone or internet line. These are the two daily essentials for people of this era. Staying alone in the heart of the jungle can be very lonely and communication with the outside world can be considered lost. If there is the basic necessities besides water and electricity, this place can be a very conducive venue for seminars, meetings or gatherings. These activities needs the basic  communication facilities. The nearest celltower was(I think, based on my signal) is from Bukit Jelutong and the signal is very weak from one or two bars to zero and most of the time only on SOS signals. 

I was thinking why not the Ministry concern just allocate a free plot of land for a celltower and shared with all the service provider within the park. People who come are not all team building groups (who might ban mobile phones) but including casual visitors.  

Is There Really Crocs In Port Dickson

I had just came back from a workshop at a resort in Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson. The most talked topic when it comes to the idea of swimming is crocodile and that was publicised in blogs and forums. This triggered by this  incident where a picnicker was bitten by something and dragged towards the sea. He however manage to escape. Read HERE too.

Then there was a confirmation that there are crocs and being sighted at Tanjung Tuan. One blog post about the croc HERE and Youtube video HERE.

However today Negeri Sembilan MB denied that there are crocs in Port Dickson. Read HERE.

Which is true? If it is really true that there really "stray" crocs around the beaches of Port Dickson, then tourism  will suffer. If we trust the Negeri MB, then there might be lives at jeopardy.

October 2009, I Am On A Winning Streak

October this year seems to be a very lucky month this year for me. I've been on a winning streak and this evening when I checked my email I found out that I won another prize again for the Nuffnang Project Alpha contest. This time I wrote a posting about Redmummy and that post won me the 10th prize for week three. It's just a real motivation for me. For the tenth prize I will collect these :

• Adidas A3/ Rimmel London/ Montagne Jeuneese Pack worth RM150
• 5 tickets to Pyramid Ice worth RM100
• 2 tickets to all Sunway Theme Parks for a day worth RM180

to my collection. 

What a lucky October 2009 to me. That is what I call 'rezeki' and syukur Alhamdulillah. My winning streak for October are:

• 4th Prize for Project Alpha Blog contest week 1
• 4th placing in the Malaysian Super Lite Paintball  tournament.
• 10th prize for Project Alpha Blog contest week 3

Now I am keeping my finger crossed on two of my blog entered for the Blog4FT contest for this month that was launched on the 5th of October 2009. 

The blogs are :

Look!! HOHO...the bus

KLCC Through My Lens

Please help your friend by voting the above blogs. Thank you in advance.

Miri City Fan

The only place that I visited while in Miri for 6 days is the Miri City Fan. The reason is because the garden is situated on the way from the hotel I am staying to Miri Stadium.

Miri City Fan is a fan shaped urban civic park comprising about 26 acres located near the hub of sports activities in Miri. The public swimming pool, Miri Stadium, Mini Stadium, Paintball arena are all within walking distance from the fan. See what I saw HERE.

@ KL Central Waiting

waiting at KL Central. Switced on thelaptop to try reload my prepaid using Cimbclicks but OMG, service is temporarily unavailable. So, online transactions is not 24/7 as supposed to be.

Hownice now to see loading on my laptop is speedier compared when I was in Miri yesterday. Phewww!!!!. But wait till I go back home and use my P1 Wimax. I'll be stressed again. Hey! Control your stress!!!!!!. Oh ya.....now on Maxis Broadband. OKla middle of Klang Valley

Blogging In Miri - Airport

Sitting here at Miri Airport is my last day since arriving here on 12th July. Waiting for my Airasia flight back to KL at 8.45 p.m. Drafting and posting this blog from Starbuck at Miri Airport that provide Free WiFi. Before coming to this location, I tried to surf from another location, Mr Bean Restaurant on the first floor. There is signal from Starbucks but connection is poor. I tried using my Maxis Broadband too, there is network but problem logging on to the internet. So had abandoned the first location.

Concluding, this visit is not a fruitful one, in terms of blogging, since my intention to blog something new about Miri seems futile. I just do not know where to go and stayed most of the time in my room whenever I am free. Places of attraction seems do not motivate me to write about them anymore. Besides that, I have transportation problem.

The Grand Old Lady: I've seen her in both condition; her maiden contidion and her present condition. When I visited her in the 90s, it was in her original form and "unadulterated". A friend of mine took a handful of the oily soil to show to his students back home how soil at oil producing area look like. What a thougthful teacher he was.

Well, I visited the place again in 2007 and everything changed. The area surrounding the Granny were already landscaped and there is no more originality in a place that has historical value. No doubt the intention is good but from my opinion at least just keep the Granny and the soil around her in the original condition instead of covering it with pebbles and stones.

Deep in my heart I felt sad because future generation had lost the natural view of history.

Stayed at Mega Hotel and it is the most convenient place to be for visitors. I conclude this from my observation and experience. It is centrally located with easy access to banks. Just within 5 minutes walking distance there CIMB, Maybank, Overseas Union Bank, RHB Bank and just across the road is EON Bank. There is also a shopping complex within the building but not much choice for visitors except maybe for the convenience store opened 24 hours or you want to have Singapore Chicken Rice.

The hotel provide Free WiFi in all rooms besides lined connection. Since the signal is weak and signal drops so frequently, I requested for the lined connection which is also Free except that you have to pay a refundable deposit of RM 25 for the connection cable cable.

The ground floor house a coffe house, The Chatterbox but breakfast has not much variety. The main dish is rice ; either nasi lemak or fried rice and fried noodle or koayteow. What can be complimented to the chef is that the taste is suitable for diabetics and those who are concerned with healthy eating habits: less salt and less sugar. Food at the coffee house (breakfast) I can give 8/10.

Talking about health, there is also the Sakura Health Centre and room service can be ordered until 12 midnight. Hey, what are you thinking about?

Mega Hotel has a swimming pool too on the fourth floor.

Malaysia Airline and Maswing office just behind the hotel. I could see Airasia agents office too. Er......erm.......for you who want to relief your tired feet (and body) there are a few Reflexology Centres nearby and you can let the lovely "China Doll" (?) massage your feet and also based information from local friends a good full body rub too (wink).

Just across the road there are some Malay restaurants and will be very convenient for Muslim visitors which is open till late midnight. However one experience I learn is that the price at one of the restaurant is quite exorbitant for such an outlet. A glass of Iced Lemon Tea (medium size) costs RM 1.90. OMG!. One evening, I took plain roti canai and Iced Lemon Tea and was surprised the price was RM 4.00. If the Iced Lemon Tea is RM 1.90 then the price of apiece of plain Roti Canai is RM 2.10. Oh......writing this I am getting angry. The name of the Restaurant is Serai Wangi, next to EON Bank. In the picture (below), it is somewhere there I sat for a RM 2.10 plain roti canai the evening before. Comparing to another mamak restaurant at the back of the hotel, I ordered Iced Lemon Tea and Roti Telor for just RM 3.80. Can you compare the price. Well!!........thats another Xperienceoflife.

I had an experience and lesson learnt from the convenient store next to the hotel. Maybe it is the same at other places. I bought a RM 10 reload and the charge is RM 11.00. It might be normal for consumers here, but why do they have to charge extra Ringgit when they are already getting commisions from selling the prepaid reload. So I turn to be wiser on the second reload where I decided to go to Maybank ATM and reload from there. However, I couldn't reload from Maybank ATM because that particular service was not available at the time. So I went to CIMB instead and learn some new lessons.

Lesson 1: When I insert my ATM Card, a message " DEVICE FAILURE" appeared. After trying on another machine, the same message appears and I decided to inquire at the counter. I found out that the chip on my card is not readable that constitute to the failure. So the lady at the counter asked me to change to a new card and I have to pay RM 12.00 for it. I have no choice because I will have to use the ATM card for future transactions.

Lesson 2: From there I learn that mobile reload can be done at CIMB ATMs. I knew before, that it can be done using online banking. So a lesson learnt is that reload is easier with CIMB because reloading is automatic compared to Maybank where you will receive a transaction slip and have to reload manually. That is what I call The Xperience of Life. It is always an ongoing learning process.

I will update later if time permits. Going to check in first.

Mean while watch this.

Blogging In Miri - Going LCCT-MYY

I thought I have to fork a few hundred Ringgit more to buy another flight ticket to fly to Miri from LCCT. It was quite a stressful ride on the KL Central- LCCT shuttle bus and the speed of the bus seems so slow. Time is running fast for me.

My flight from LCCT, Sepang to Miri was at 15000 hours (3.00 pm) and the bus took off from KL Central at 1.10. The journey will take about 1 hour. It all started when my daughter can't send me to KL Central by car because she is playing in the Futsal tournament at Kompleks Sukan Negara, Bukit Jalil. My other daughter too went to Johor to attend a wedding and my wife can't drive. So I have to take the LRT from Bukit Jalil station to Mesjid Jamek before changing to the Kelana Jaya line to KL Central.

As usual when one step down to the ground level to where the express bus to LCCT is stationed, ther will be the company's worker canvassing for passengers to ride their company's bus. There was a group of worker from the yellow bus company (can't make up the name of the company) waiting to grab prospective passengers. The bad image about them is that they will approach you thug like. Of course they are not thugs but the way they lure prospective passengers are like thugs. I repeat, they are not thugs but just to competete with another shuttle provided by Airasia which is RM1 more than the yellow company. Airasia bus is RM 9.00 per trip while the other one is RM 8.00. Travel duration more or less the same.

It was 1.00 p.m. One of the guy (quite an old thin guy) asked me for my flight departure when I asked him when will the bus leave. He told me it will leave at 1.20 and I will reach LCCT about 2.20. So it merely mean that I might miss my flight. He even toldme that I have to buy another ticket to fly. When I turn and see the Airasia bus, he told me that the bus will leave at 1.30. So he said if I don't want to miss my flight, I must take a taxi and he called a guy, whom I think is a taxi driver. Immediately what came into my mind is there might be some sort of secret dealing between both of them. Or else why will the guy be there when it was suppose passengers go to the taxi terminal to board.

I decided to take the bus after all because, eventhough the schedule is 1.20, but usually, the bus will leave without waiting for the scheduled time if it is full. I sat in the first row and then suddenly the Airasia bus that the guy told me will leave at 1.30 left at 1.00 and 20 minutes earlier than the bus that I am on. I do curse the man in my heart. Meanwhile, all the while I was praying that there is full capacity and the bus will leave before schedule time.

We arrived LCCT at 2.10 p.m. I took my luggage and rushed to the check-in counter. Then at the baggage scanning machine there was a long queue and that raised my stress further. Immediately after scanning, I rushed to counter R21 and saw that the signage has been switched off. However, there are still staff manning the counter and I asked to be checked, and she asked for my ic. Phew!! what a relief for me at the moment. I manage to check in and am on my way to Miri.

There were grouses and complain that Airasia does not honour time and some people change the tagline "Now Everyone Can Fly" to Now Everyone Can Be Late". But maybe passengers on that flight AK 5186 were among the lucky ones. The plane landed 15 minutes before schedule time. So "Now Everyone Can Be Early".

Miri, here I come again and could see some visible changes. The last time I came there is no flyover but there is one somewhere near Dynasty Hotel (the first hotel I stayed on my first trip to Miri years back. There are new building and some high rise around.

The Xperienceoflife Will Be In Miri Again

The first time I step foot in Miri was in 1997 and during that first visit I had the opportunity to go to Lutong and also to visit the Grand Ole Lady. After that I go to Miri a few times more. In 2007 , I had a very memorable visit because Ladybird organised a bloggers gathering and I was invited to attend. It was so nice to have met some popular Miri bloggers and until now I do visit their blogs from time to time. Hope to stumble upon some of them when I am inMiri.

12 - 18 July 2009, I will be in Miri again and this time hope to find more interesting corners of Miri to blog. I know there is no end of materials to be blogged.

Bloggers@RWMF 09

Besides the PJ Challenge 09 for bloggers at Petaling Jaya on 2oth Jun 2009, there will also be another bloggers gathering in Sarawak. This gathering is to coincide with the Rainforest World Music Festival 09. What is Bloggers@RWMF09? Get more details HERE.

Rainforest World MusicFestival is a unique festival celebrating a diversity of world music where musicians from all over the world The annual event is making itself felt and the Sarawak Tourism Board is working very hard to ensure this years event is as successful as ever if not more.

Any good samaritans want to sponsor my trip to the festival?

The Largest Gong In Malaysia?

The picture shows a gong and might be the largest gong in Malaysia or maybe in the world. Read more HERE. 

Tanjung Simpang Mengayau - I Wuz Here

Objectives achieved. I step on the northernmost tip of Borneo Island - Tanjung Simpang Mengayau. Read more HERE. 

Blogging In Kudat

Arrived Kudat this evening and recalling all the sweet and not so sweet memories when I was working in Sabah. 

Stayed at the Kudat Golf and Marina Resort. Too bad I am not playing golf. It was a tiring journey and had travelled the whole day. 

Left my house at 7.30 in the morning and arrived Kudat at about 6.45 in the evening. Nearly 12 hours of travelling. The best thing is that I arrived earlier than my luggage. The luggage arrived about 9.50 tonight. There is an interesting reason for that. I don't have the time to relate the whole story of this journey tonight. Maybe I'll post it in my other blog. 

My guess was wrong. I was looking forward to a no internet access but now I can surf at the lobby of the hotel. So I am not lost after all. 

Ohhh.....hungry. Gotto go out for dinner. Will post later......

Southern Tip and Northern Tip (Mistake Rectified)

Today will be my last day in office before I go for a long two weeks assignments. I am looking forward to the two weeks without being able to ride the waves of the internet. Last week I was in Labuan and there were no Maxis coverage. No WiFi signals added salt to the wound. That was a week I felt just like the olden late 90s and early Y2ks where internet is so scarce. The situation make me think why do they concentrate development in the Klang Valley only and leave out other parts of Malaysia crawling and biting the dust.

Come Sunday I will be leaving for Tanjung Pengelih in Johor. The southern tip of peninsular Malaysia separated by the narrow strait from Singapore. I can foresee that I will not be able to log on to the internet again for the next five days. OMG! I have to face life without the internet and it will be quite a technological stress for me. Stress because not being able to get connected to the world and cyberspace.

Seems to be a coindicence with this two consecutive weeks of activity. Firstly being present at the southern tip of the Aurea Chersonesus (I remember my late history teacher Mr Ch'ng Chin Eong when he taught us history). Yes the Malay Peninsular or Golden Peninsula was described by Ptolemy circa 150 AD as Aurea Chersonesus.

Then the following week I will be at the Northern most tip of Borneo Island. Kudat to be exact. I am hoping to be able to go to the tip that is Tanjung Simpang Mengayau.

It might be interesting to be in these two places and I might have lots of thing to blog about but too bad I am looking forward to no internet connection. Definitely my mobile broadband will be out of the question. So now what is only left to me is the cyber cafes. Two whole week missing the internet will be something missing in my daily life.

Going To Kudat, Sabah

Yes, I am going to Kudat on the northern tip of the island of Borneo. 

Actually Kudat is not a new place for me to visit since I have been to this town in the 70s when I was working in Kota Marudu, Sabah for five years. However after years of leaving the Land Below the wind, Kudat might look much more different from what I can remember and visualise those days.

I have been googling on Google Map to see how Kudat looks like lately and trying to landmark places that were present when I visited the town. There are definitely lots of changes. 

Since I got the news that I am going back to Kudat it will be a nostalgic memories for me and recall the experiences I had been through when I was there. This time around I will try to make my home coming more memorable. There are new places for me to visit and I think the top in my priorities is to visit Tanjung Mengayau, the northern most tip of Borneo Island. I will blog about the visit this time.  Hope there is someone from Kudat reading this posting and better if you are a blogger too so we can share the experiences. 

Just counting the days to leave for Kudat. 

Tasty Kampung Food?

Three claypots of frehsly cooked curry. Read HERE. 

Three Layer Teh Tarik In Sarawak

One specialty at Sarawak Waterfront is the three layered teh tarik. Its interesting to watch how the drink was blended and on the last visit I decided to take pictures to show how it was prepared. On the first night with my friend I was arguing about which layer was poured in first. My agrument was tea was poured in first and followed by milk. Since milk is denser than tea, so the tea will be pushed up the glass forming the upper layer. When my friend asked what about the froth, I was blank. 

The next evening, we went again to the Waterfront and this time I decided to take pictures on how it is prepared. 

First milk was prepared and the "tarik" process was done. This is to build up the froth or buih.

milk was poured into the glass.

Then only tea is poured onto a spoon to soften the flow. Tea will overflow on the spoon and because of that, tea just floats on the layer of milk and settled under the froth. 

Three layered teh tarik is ready. To drink it, you have to spoil the layers. What to do, you are not just going top see the three layers but to drink it. So stir it to mix the milk and tea.

Day Trip To Langkawi

I went for a  day trip to Langkawi. It  was the weekend of the CNY and I did not expected there were so many visitors going since its not a school holiday. Most visitors are Chinese who might have taken the extra three days after the CNY. The number of visitors was my first surprise. 

My second surprise was the ferry fare. Adult fare between Kuala Kedah to Langkawi is RM 23 while children between 3 and10 years is RM 17.00. I think the fare is far too expensive. 

My third surprise was on the way back using the last ferry from Kuah to Kuala Kedah. They over sold the ticket. When the ferry starts sailing, there were about 6 more passengers without their seats. So it means they overload which means the ferry violate the law. I was just hoping the Police Marine or Jabatan Laut made a check but the ferry arrived Kuala Kedah scott free.

 This is the property of the ferry Fortune Express - registered in Pork Klang

I will write more in my travel blog.