30 Days Countdown

It's getting to that time of the year again...

Journey Down South - The Final Installment

I was supposed to do a 2 post coverage for the Tioman leg of our Southern Tour but considering how it took me more than 3 months to actually get myself seated and complete this blogging episode, I thought it would be better to trim it down to one.

We left the hotel early in the morning with our hearts set for one of the most beautiful islands in Malaysia and, according to some magazine, the world.

In Singapore, we did plenty of sightseeing and exploring in the 2 days we were there. It took a lot out of us in terms of energy and so I personally was looking forward to some much needed rest in Tioman.

A private speedboat to transfer us from the jetty to our resort at the southern tip of the island.

We stayed in Minang Cove Resort. It's a well maintained and furnished resort and was just what we or at least I was looking for - Peace and tranquility.

The view from our chalet balcony...amazing isn't it?

We were well ushered in by a beautiful hostess named Vicky and her partner Alex who I think are both British. We got briefed on the activities available and time of meals and then were showed our very own chalet.

One of the twin peaks visible behind the resort.
The view in the mornings were breathtaking!

The four of us just tried to relax by sunbathing, snorkelling and just enjoy getting pushed around by the waves. The weather wasn't nice to us on the second day as there were strong winds and rough seas causing us to postpone our snorkelling trip to Renggis Island, but we did manage to make the trip there anyhow that very day.

I shall say no further but let the following pictures describe our feelings there...

We just love this jetty, it's our favourite hideaway!

Sunset at Tioman was unforgettable!

3 days passed us by before we even realized and we had to put an end to our 6 day escapade.

Now back in the ferry, you know me...

hahaha...sleeping so soundly...

a worm could crawl into his mouth and he still would be asleep :P

So back to KL it is! I took the wrong way, ended up driving for 4-5 hours, was totally spent but satisfied!

It was such a memorable experience and I wouldn't mind doing it again.
Journey Up North anyone?

Journey Down South - Pt 3

The third day started pretty much like the second, we had dim sum for breakfast and headed for Singapore immediately after.

Chun Wei had been bugging us about visiting the Singapore Science Centre as the Da Vincci Exhibition was going on. He's quite an avid fan of him...or possibly just the movie. We obliged of course! We just want to see him happy even if it means sacrificing our precious time seeing a boring dead man who's a pretty good artist and an innovative inventor!


Luckily for the rest of us though, the science centre wasn't all about Da Vincci ;)

They had Dinosaurs 10 times the size of our very own bear :P

We first entered the intellectual section of the science centre. We saw some things that just amazed us, some things that just confused us and some that our shallow minds just can't understand. To summarize it, it's just mind boggling!

We even saw disasters made small and unharmful so we could view it and even touch it...

I was playing with a mini tornado that didn't blow me off the ground or blow my wig away!

And i thought that was dangerous...now Seet Hoong on the other hand...

she was causing multiple nuclear explosions to happen!
And you thought north korea was dangerous...huh!

Next we went to the Da Vincci exhibition, unfortunately no photography was allowed in there so we didn't take any pictures. Lucky for me! Cause if i were to upload any of those pictures in here, it would bore you readers to death i'd definitely get the Boring! box below ticked endlessly!

Anyway, after Da Vincci, we headed to the only 'COOL' place in Singapore...

The Snow City!

It's the closest one can get to experiencing temperatures below freezing in South East Asia.

Chun Wei even modelled the winter fashion wear 2009 for 21chapters magazine :P

Again...this was a place where no photography was allowed inside the snow chamber...
But they do have photographers placed in there...they offered to take pictures for us!
Better still...they don't charge for taking photos!

Before slidding down the snow slope on inflatable snowtubes

But as always, there's a catch! Taking photos for you is free, but if you want the photos...
Now that's another story altogether!

On the way down the slope alone...all of us ended up with wet butts!

Despite needing to pay above our noses for the photos, we still did...we even requested for the photos to be burned in a CD and got charged extra for that. I think we paid RM60 for 4 photos and a CD...if i'm not mistaken.

We then exited the science centre and proceeded to Orchard Road via MRT.

It's the Bukit Bintang of Singapore...except it's probably better than Bukit Bintang! We didn't have the time to walk in the malls so we just strolled along the street and did some quick window shopping in the much acclaimed Takashimaya just to be able to tell others that I have actually been there! haha!

This Old Chang Kee was selling lots of fried stuff and you can see how many people liked it! I went to GSC 1Utama a week ago and I saw a small OCK stall with no one queing whatsoever... cause all they sold were curry puffs!

Enjoying our Old Chang Kees!

Ong Chun Wei @ Orchard Rd 2009

We only got to spend a short while in Orchard before making our move to our final destination in Singapore.

To get there...we headed to Vivo City and had to travel by Cable Car!

this is definitely not the 1st time in a cable car for any of us!

Now you know, in cable cars, it can get pretty boring if you are not interested in the surrounding views...

So...in order to keep urself entertained...one will have to...

clap hands and sing...
"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands...clap clap"

Soon...someone else caught that disease(not the H1N1)...

Kin Hon thinking: I'm happy so i'll clap my hands!

I wasn't into any of those childish acts...so I just observed the surroundings!
I saw something that I believe belong to Malaysians...

Resorts World

The Genting Casino and theme park project bound for completion next year!

The cable car journey was a short one and we arrived in (if you haven't already guessed it) SENTOSA Island very soon...

Time was of the essence when we got there because it was getting late, so we didn't get to tour the island but we did get to experience their version of the Underwater World!

Kin Hon warming up for the Tioman fishes!

Some fishes were just weird looking and spooky!

It was seet hoong's 2nd time here...but she still enjoyed it nonetheless! I think...

Kin Hon doing a pose on the walkalator in the aquarium

please take a pic of me, take me, take me!

I chased & ran after this stingray just to get a photo of it swimming over me!

Thank God for that glass seperating me and that creature!

As it was quite late already...there weren't many people still around...it was as if the whole place belonged to us!

how often do you get to pose with a dugong?

Nevermine that...How often do you get to see a face as ugly as this?

It was great fun...but we had to leave as they were closing :(

We took the Cable Car back to Vivo City and had our dinner in KFC before we headed back to JB.
*Did that rhyme?

Overall...Singapore was really eye opening, i would love to go back there whenever i can!
Any joiners?

Manchester United Asia Tour 2009

I've been a Manchester United fan ever since i started watching football some 9 years ago...
and though i know the team almost inside out, I've never had the privilege to see them play right in front of my eyes. They came to KL quite a few years back but i didn't manage to catch them then.

This time around, you would think i wouldn't want to miss the opportunity again! Well...when the tickets was first being sold, i wasn't the first to rush to the queue, neither was i the second or third...in fact, I was nowhere to be found! The reason being i was afraid i would be away on work duties. Turned out I was right! I am going to be leaving for Johor today for more than a week. But imagine my joy when my sister-in-law called me up last week and asked me if i was keen in going for this training session as she had a few free passes courtesy of her cousin...I was like...YES...YES......YES!!

And now here I am!

Happiness written all over my face :D

My brother came along with me and so did shoban, his sister and one of her friends.

The Malaysian team were having their training session first and its funny cause i didn't recognise any of them...and I'm a Malaysian! malu je!

The crowd were roaring at their every move...a shot, a miss, a fall...practically everything!

They roared each time the players looked like they were leaving the field, only to make their way back in again...

They even roared when the riot police emerged from the tunnel...

They also roared when the goalie post bearer boys came out...

They roared and cheered when the Malaysian team eventually left the field...

But then when this guy came...the whole stadium...especially my stand just erupted!

I guess making it into MUTV is the most important for all of us!

After him, more ang mohs('Caucasians' for those who don't understand) followed and the noise level just kept going up!

Fans were just anticipating when the players would make their way out of the tunnel...


And then came...

Paul Scholes!

The stadium was filled with noise at this point as fans were just expecting the next superstar to turn up on the field!

Scholes doing some long kicks

Ryan Giggs and Nani joined up soon after...

I have no idea what Nani was doing...prob tempting someone to whack his bum bum!

Fans were already cheering at the top of their voices when they saw this man enter the field...

Wayne Rooney

And they just found another gear and went nuts, I tell you, NUTS! Endless chants of 'Rooney Rooney Rooney Rooney' could be heard all over, just shows how much fans value his commitment to the team. By the way, that's the club photographer taking a picture of me i suppose...heh!

Then the Boss, non other than Fergie himself made his appearance...

no doubt the best football manager ever!

Soon, most of the players were on the field.

Near where I was sitting, the goalkeepers were having their training.

Van Der Sar having his warm up

It was becoming hilarious as fans from my stand were just shouting his name repeatedly...someone even shouted 'Moscow'! He'll definitely be most remembered for that historical day!

The players then gathered in the middle of the field and applauded us...the fans...which was really nice!

Then it was time to get serious...
Their training routine started with a jog of 3 rounds around the field.

notice the leftmost person?
Its our latest signing Michael Owen...and he looks pretty lonely!

Until Rooney decided to come cheer him up!

and soon they're both laughing off! good job Rooney!

Now look at Wes Brown...emm...a bit indecent there! lol

These guys look like a bunch of professionals!
Oh wait...they are!

Foster: What're u doin?
Kuszczak: Well, i'm thinking of auditioning for gymnastics since u're now ahead of me in the goalkeeper's pecking order!

Look at Ferdinand...

Rooney can seriously just make anybody laugh!

Stretching exercise was the next routine...

or gay exercise as some prefer to call it

Us fans had a good time with this mexican wave too!

It went around 4 times and i heard someone begging for it to stop...lol!

Kuszczak proving he can be a true gymnast!

Then we saw some ball action, the players had a 'keep ball' session.

And finally, it was warm down for the players

Jog of honour and appreciation for the fans

And then they left...fans were going crazy shouting as they did

Outside the stadium, I managed to get a picture of Sir Alex entering the bus


Hundreds of fans awaiting the bus to get a closer glimpse of the players


And soon it made its way out...

I managed to see Rooney, Berbatov, Brown, Anderson and Ferdinand when the bus passed, it was pretty satisfying!

And that's how the day ended, at least now I can say I've seen the Red Devils/Angels, whichever way you like to call them!

Man Utd Rocks!

Journey Down South - Pt 2

SINGAPORE!

That was probably on all of our minds the minute we woke up! I brought the guys out for a bowl of abalone noodles(bao yu guo tiao mian) before we headed for the bus station. It took us slightly more than an hour to get to Jurong East in Singapore.

We were kinda lost when we got there so we just followed the crowd towards the MRT station. Had a bit of complications while trying to get the train tickets/coins. But we somehow figured it out with the help of the kind staffs over there.

while we were waiting for the train at one of the underground stations

Seet Hoong, our Singapore trip planner (she did a good job, saved the 3 of us the hassle of doing research & planning) suggested we head over to Raffles City Mall first...and so we did! It was kinda like our very own Suria KLCC...and that's why we left after a short walkabout...cause we were poor! :P

We went in search of Suntec City Mall instead cause that's where you find all the cheaper Mid Valley standard stuff! lol! I got myself a nice pair of Nike shoes at quite a bargain and a pair of adidas sandals. I'm not sure whether any of them got themselves anything though...

Then we headed for lunch time makan at the mall's very own food court called Food Republic.
I like the fact that their food court is all so clean and their stalls are so organized!

Money, money money!

After lunch, it was tour Singapore time babey!

Behind us were the 5 finger towers in Suntec

Unfortunately we missed out on taking a picture at the fountain of wealth, the largest fountain in the world! Seet Hoong didn't have it on her list of places to visit...heh!

Anyway, we then took a bus to go to chinatown, we could have taken MRT there but because chun wei wanted to sit on a double decker(again...1st time!), so we did. It was a really short journey from where we were to chinatown, like less than 5 minutes.

but it was all worthwhile, wasn't it?

We even spotted adverts such as this while on the bus...

unfaithful spouses are everywhere

one of the quiter roads in chinatown

Not surprisingly, their streets in chinatown were so much cleaner and they pretty much only sell legal stuff.

This cd shop sells 100% original discs only.
No cetak rompak whatsoever!

All of us got ourselves a unique Singapore T-shirt. I got one for my sister too. But when i got back to Malaysia...i noticed that the salesman gave me the wrong size...which meant i couldn't fit in it...ended up with my sister having both...she's so darn happy now!

Time passed ever so quickly while we were there and we had to move fast in order to do more sightseeing. Marina Bay was next, i think we travelled by foot all the way there from chinatown.

The famous Singapore River and the Esplanade in the background

One thing I liked about Singapore is how they mix olden days historical buildings with modern day skyscrappers. It's something about the city that I liked so much! And of course, it's all so systematic in the city, we barely saw any traffic jam even during rush hour!

The Fullerton Hotel, one of the famous landmark buildings in Singapore

MAYBANK MAN! HSBC was just a couple of blocks away and it was a midget compared to this!

kin hon was trying to blend in with them
maybe if he stood there long enough, he could end up like one of them

So cruel! See how the boy at the bottom was just hanging in mid air only attached to the other boy's foot?

Of course our adventure wouldn't be complete without a picture of the Merlion! The view of the surrounding was just breathtaking.

And that was how we ended the first day in Singapore. We went back to JB just in time for a late dinner and were looking forward to our 2nd day there. If the first was all about shopping & sightseeing, the second promises to be a day full of adventure!

And we shall end on a bombshell...

Chun Wei actually thinks his leg is a guitar...Nutcase!

Journey Down South - Pt 1

Date: 14th-19th June 2009

Places visited: Malacca, JB, Singapore, Tioman
Objectives: Have fun, discover, relax, shop till we drop
Participants: Chan Seet Hoong, Chow Kin Hon, Ong Chun Wei, Me

6 days of pure enjoyment. 1st up...Malacca!

You see, chun wei and myself had this plan to visit Singapore during the 'Great Singapore Sale' some 3 months ago and it all just went on from there with Tioman & Malacca added to the list later on.


In many ways, chun wei benefited from this trip because he had never visited any of those places before! Never mine singapore and tioman...but malacca?? Like no way am i gonna let him turn 21 without ever stepping foot in malacca!

this is by far the worst i've seen of someone trying to imitate this statue

We did the usual stuff when we were there i.e. chicken rice ball, laksa & cendol, visit historical buildings, stroll around dataran pahlawan, yada yada yada...

the famous cendol shop in jonker street

After a heavy brunch, we thought it would be good to have a walk around malacca town, i mean what better way to see and experience the place than by foot? Well 'Princess Chan' was not very keen of that idea...but we dragged her with us anyhow!

look at chun wei...so happy!

WAIT...don't fire!

thanks to seet hoong's friend for taking this pic for us :)

After all the sightseeing, we continued on to Dataran Pahlawan and even managed to do a lil shopping. I even finally got to try the famous milk crepe cake at Nadeje.

notice the change in our shirts?

It was really good! As I write this post, i've even visited the place a 2nd time with my brother just 1 week ago when I visited Malacca with them again!

We headed down to JB after that, my brothers were kind enough to let us have 3 nights of free stay at the hotel...huge THANK YOU to them! :D

had a bit of traffic jam on the way to JB

After dinner, we went back to the hotel's bistro to have a bit of a drink. Instead i got forced to making my debut in karaoke...

lol, i'm an awful singer!

A new beginning!

Yep! :D

Thought that i should create this new blog cos i was getting tired of the old 1! I wanted to continue using the previous blog by just changing the template and stuff but it all turned into quite a mess and that was when i had this idea to start this new blog with a new theme :)

I decided on the new theme titled '21 chapters and beyond' because in a few months time i'll be hitting 21...when I can finally be addressed as an adult and subscribe to my own credit cards(dangerous!) and enter casinos legally(lagi dangerous!). It seemed a good time for a blog change!

I'm very excited to be honest and i intend to use this blog as my new life sharing space where i try to pen down as many of my life experiences as possible besides also counting down to my 21st! I really hope to have you, my readers and friends enjoy this new journey with me!

Also, I would appreciate if you could rate all of my posts after reading it. There are 3 options below each post which are 'interesting', 'its okay' and 'boring'. You could leave a comment too, I love receiving comments, it's that element of surprise...wanting to know what has been written that always excites me! lol, i feel like a kid :P

I guess that's it for now, but stay tuned as a new post will be up soon!