Slide Show

March 31, 2010

Busy Bee!

Erk..!

i've been extra busy lately.. Had a static modeling course, going on a geological fieldwork in Kota Kinabalu, preparing and working for PGCE 2010.

OK, i know that those don't make sense to you non-oil-and-gas related people; static modeling? Fieldwork? PGCE? Trust me these suck the energy out of you and leave you jaded, super-tanned, berjerawat yang maha dahsyat, and exhausted. i feel so ugly.

Later loves!
March 19, 2010

Setting Footprints in Singapore.

i went to Singapore last few weekends. Main objective is to catch Paramore live. Secondary objective is to jalan-jalan and getting to know the neighboring country coz i think the last time i set foot in Singapore was when i was 5..or was it 6?

Where we stayed?

At Fragrance Sapphire Hotel. We chose this area and hotel for its near distance to the Singapore Indoor Stadium and its cheapness (is there such word?) because i'm like super broke after my Krabi trip and buying stuff for the new house. To tell you the truth, the hotel is not a wise choice. Why? For a start, here’s a conversation between us and our taxi driver:

Uncle Taxi: You tinggal mana?
Me: Fragrance Sapphire Hotel, uncle.. itu Geylang sana..
Uncle Taxi: Hah?? Geylang ha? Why do choose Geylang? It’s your first time here and they advice you to go to Geylang?
Me: Umm.. becoz it’s near to the indoor stadium.. Why uncle? Is it too far? *freaking out about the taxi fee*
Uncle Taxi: No lorr.. It’s a red light area..
Chuna: *confused* Red-light area tu ape uncle? Banyak traffic light ke?
Uncle Taxi: *LOLed like nobody’s business* no laaa.. manyak itu perempuan malam-malam punyaaa..

Geylang= red-light area (similar to Red Light District, Holland). Geddit?

Chuna is so cute, asking that honest question :p

But yea, memang red light district la tempat tu.. Bapak ayam di mana-mana. Ayam-ayam nyer menyorok-nyorok.. malu-malu la kunun.. Before going to bed i will call Mr. Chenta and Apiz’ room, warning “Hey.. kalo ade orang ketuk pintu jangan bukak okeeee.. korang nak kene AIDS??”

Surprisingly the hotel rooms are clean and well decorated. A little bit small, but it’s enough for two people. OK for 2-nights stay. i also like the fact that there’s a 7-11 and Muslim restaurants nearby (ok, they’re actually mamak restaurants.. asalkan halal sudeyh). Senang nak breakfast and beli air, jajan, dan sebagainya.

Where did we set our footprints?

We only had 2 days to explore Singapore. In such a short time, we only managed to go to:

1.       City Hall area
2.       Orchard Road
3.       Bugis Street
4.       Sentosa Island
5.       And oh, Singapore Indoor Stadium

City Hall
Basically what we did was took the MRT from Kallang Station (the nearest station to our hotel) to City Hall MRT. i have to tell you, honestly, i was surprised to see their MRT system. The trains are so long and spacious (unlike those maximum four coaches we have in KL) and the stations are BIGGGG and clean and so KLIA-like. This is by far the best LRT/subway/tube/MRT system i’ve seen. Even the tubes in London and the Metros in Paris are far behind compared to Singapore’s MRT.

Okay, sorry! Lari topic jap. From City Hall station, we have easy access to a few shopping malls like Suntec City and Marina Square. Honestly i think we didn’t have to go to those malls as the walkways to the malls are full of shops itself. It’s like an underground shopping mall which is called Underlink City Mall.

Geylang Road

Seriously hotel begini wujud.

Err..

Balai bomba yang lawa

Sempat posing.

 i like this building. COLORFUL!

 There will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

Clarke Quay
We dropped by at Clarke Quay to satisfy Chuna's hunger for adrenaline rush. She wanted to go on the extreme rides, ya'll!

Jaga pintu gerbang Clarke Quay

We were here!

Ini adalah reverse bungee jumping. Lupe la ape name dier yang sebenar.

Ini adalah reverse bungee jumping tahap extreme dimana konsepnya adalah bagaikan lastik. Dapat imagine tak?


Orchard Road
This is like Bukit Bintang for Malaysian except for the fact that they have more LV and Chanel stores! Seriously if i’m filthy rich, i’d ask my driver to stop at each and every malls they have lined up at Orchard Road and shop like nobody’s business. But i’m not filthy rich, and i have a concert to catch  so I just gazed at the designer boutiques from afar while waiting for Chuna and Apiz surveying cell phones.

Bugis Street
This place is like Petaling Street for Malaysian. Stalls everywhere selling souvenirs, clothes, fake bags, watches. As i was broke and couldn’t really afford to shop at Chanel (bluergh!) i bought a pair of shoes here at Bugis Street. They only cost me 10 Singapore dollar which is like RM24. Huhu. And i bought brand-less watches for my brothers. Jam dah stylo, nasib la takde tulis jenama Ah Chai ke Kang Kong ke kat jam tu. Kalau tak, face drop la i!

Sentosa Island
We were hoping to go to the brand new Universal Studios. With my luck, it's still closed (bummer!!). We ended going to the Sentosa Island theme park. There are 2 packages to choose from; Thrill package and Fun package. Thrill package offers extreme activities like mega flying fox (called Megazip Challenge), skyrides, Luge, mini bungee jumping (called Parajump), etc. You can choose 3 activities that you want. Fun package is suitable for family activities as it's more like visiting places (like Tiger Tower, and Merlion). We ended up chosing thrill package which costs $47/pax. Our package include Skyride+Luge, Megazip, and Parajump.

Sentosa Resorts/Universal Studios yang belum bukak
The famous Merlion

Siloso Beach

Riding on the Skyrides. Gayat okeee!

Luge.
Bende alah ni adalah sangat best oke.. Ala-ala go-kart but without engine.

Megazip challenge (super duper huge flying fox).
 
 Getting ready to go.
Perjalanan tidak sah tanpa gambar lompat2 :p
 
We finished our Sentosa activities at 6.30pm and our flight's at 8.30pm. We rushed like hell to the airport. Masing-masing dah pucat muke takot tertinggal flight. Nasib baik sempat. Phewwwww!

As a conclusion, my Singapore trip was okay. i didn't enjoy it that much because 1) we had only 2 days to spend there. Tak cukup nak explore! 2) i was broke, couldn't shop and couldn't get on those reverse bungee jumping and lastik thingy. It was frustratinggggggg! 3) The weather was frigging hot!

i will be back in Singapore. More to explore!

i'm Craving For...

Sleepovers and pillow talks with my two bestfriends

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Crazy, filled-with-insanely-loud-laughter moments with my girlfriends

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Delicious' Chocolate-Berry-something Pavlova

Please... i'm exhausted, tired, severely fatigue. i need combination of these three or i'll DIE.

*drama queen mode on*
March 15, 2010

Random Thoughts on a Hellish Monday

Bler la selsema ni nak ilang.. batuk tak sudah2.. sakit tekak lak tu.. OMG don’t let me demam.. tanak MC.. nanti kene buang keje camne? (T_T)
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Mane Chuna? Kak Yulie? Apsal office macam kosong?
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Mr. Chenta dah makan ke belom?
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Sejuk nyer aircond kat opis ni.. Depa ingat ni New York?
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God, let me just go home.. i really need to faint!
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Hurm.. yeah, i need to buy a pair of Office Socks. You know, for office use. And makan ubat. i hate demam.
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Comel gak kaki aku pakai stoking camni.. on second thoughts nampak cam orang dalam pantang lak..

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Oh, well, yes.. Friends do fall apart.. No one is to be blamed. People change, go to different schools, meet new people, have new interest, different career paths.. it is okay to fall apart. As long as we don’t fight, or bitch about each other. And as long as I still have my two bestest friends (ahem.. Shaq, and Shaf) and the other girls. To my friends, i LOVE you lah!
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My dandruff problem has gotten worse! Should I get treatment at the salon or try at-home remedy? What do they use? Lemon? Grape? Banana? Oh, crap..
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Oh, it’s 3.21PM. 1 hour and 39 minutes to go..
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Eh.. phone aku dah rosak ke? Sewel je lately sebab slalu jatuh.. *excited* now in case, in case I have to buy a new phone, which one should I get? Blackberry? iPhone? That new Nokia N something?
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Should I dye my hair bright red?? I’ve been black all my life.
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Maybe i should masak ikan siakap 3 rasa today.. give it a try..
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Yayyyy! Balik!
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 Okay.. Siakap 3 rasa yang aku masak ni tak la macam kat kedai.. tapi sedap la gak kan.. Ade nenas, masam, manis, masin. Tapi kurang kuah sket.. Yeah.. definitely need more kuah. Tapi ok la kan???


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Okay. Stop membebel. Makan ubat!
March 11, 2010

It's Paramore, bebeh!!

i bragged in my Paramore Live in Singapore post that i’m gonna watch Paramore live in Singapore.. and hell yeah i did!

The show was awesome, awesome, AWESOME!! i can’t even express in words how AWESOME it was..

The journey to the world of paramore madness:

We took off from KLIA at about 10 pm and arrived at Changi Terminal 1 airport at around 11pm. i was cursing coz my bag strap was wet (and was stinking..euwww) when i picked it up from the conveyor belt and started walking towards the entrance when suddenly people around me started screaming like there’s no tomorrow. There, 20 meters from me i saw a group of white people with "Paramore crew" tags and was like “ooohh…that’s what started the screaming” when suddenly Mr. Chenta said “Bb, it’s PARAMORE!!!”

i was like “PARAMORE???”  and within split seconds, he took out our DSLR from his backpack, passed it to me, and i made a mad dash towards the group. And oh-my-gowddd I was instantly in the middle of Paramore crew and was walking next to Justin York (the temporary replacement of Josh farro) and a few meters ahead was their drummer, Zac Farro. i was BEYOND SPEECHLESS! Fans all around are chasing Justin and Zac for autographs and photos. i can’t exactly ask for autograph as i had no pens or paper so i snapped away with the camera, shaking, while trying to locate Hayley, the kick-ass hot vocalist. Sadly the security people whisk them away and all i got were blurred and urgent shots of Justin and Zac and a clear shot of the van that drove them away to the hotel. The saddest thing is no Hayley in sights!!! Argh! *frustrated* Really wished they’d stay and hangout because let’s face it, it’s not everyday we get to land at the same airport and breathe the same air as Paramore!

Back of Zac

Fine! i didn't have anything for you to sign on.

Justin

The van that took them away. Sobs!

Looking at these photos, i think i have paparazzi talent :p

As for the concert, IT WAS ULTRACOOL, AMAZING, AWESOME.. one of the best 1-hour in my entire existence! The crowd was so wild. People were pushing around, some fell, some cried,  but all of them were screaming for Paramore. i almost cried when i saw Hayley’s “carrot” mike on stage!!!

They kicked off the show with Ignorance, 12 other songs, and wrapped it with Brick by Boring Brick. Hayley was more energetic than 1000 Energizer bunnies combined, with her super powerful voice and ability to dance and jump to the music NON STOP. She really interacted with the crowd and kept saying things like “You’re the loudest crowd we’ve ever had”, “OMG you’re so cool, you guys!” and “we’ll definitely come back to Singapore- less than 5 years from now, we promise!” And she’s so cute and hot at the same time – with her “Minor Threat” t-shirt and leopard printed jeans and of course her trademark orange hair. i swear there was no boring moment that night. i didn’t even have a second to stop to catch a breath!

Waiting in line. We got this close to the door after 2 hours of waiting!

Paramore-ers!

Them! Right there in front of my face!

This is the best shot we got.
Nyesal tak bawak DSLR coz the security people said no professional camera. Tapi ramai je bawak. Menyesal!!! 
And oh, Hayley's AH-MA-ZING!!

Shouting my head off!

i miss that backdrop already.

After effect.

i lost my right earring at the mosh pit and found it lying helplessly on the floor afterwards, totally out of shape!



To Paramore, you guys really rock my world! Next time please, please, PLEASE come to Kuala Lumpur. We Malaysians are dying to see you!

*oh, i'll tell you a bit about my Singapore trip later*
March 4, 2010

Krabi Getaway!

i finally went to Krabi, ya'll!!

i've been waiting for like 6 months for this trip and let me scream this straight to your face:

IT'S WORTH IT!!!!!


Unpleasant things happened before i left on the AirAsia plane (like failing to locate where i put my money, a sudden request from a certain boss for a presentation, a troublesome house contractor..). i swear these people are jealous of me leaving for the fun, sun, and sand. Alhamdulillah i managed in the end. *big smile*

Now, let's skip the babbling and more details on the trip. i'm ready to be your tour guide.


The Place

For those of you who is clueless on where in the world is Krabi, it's in Southern Thailand.

Krabi is the tiny dot pointed by the arrow

Contrary to popular belief, Krabi is not an island. It's a province by the sea with beautiful islands a few kilometers from the shore. We stayed in Ao Nang area, which is a popular location for tourist. The Ao Nang  and Noppharat Thara beaches are beautiful! Endless clear unpolluted beach with rows and rows of various shops and restaurant to keep you at ease.

 
The beautiful Ao Nang beach

 

 
Endless rows of shops, restaurants, spas, and travel agents!

Oh, we stayed at the Sunda Resort. It's a 3-star resort in Ao Nang. Unfortunately it's not by the beach. Fortunately they have free tuk-tuk service for the guests to go to Ao Nang and Noppharat Thara area. Even though it's not a luxury 5-star hotel, WE TOTALLY LOVE IT! i love the private-ness, tranquility, and the friendly staff. The rooms are beautifully decorated, spacious, and really clean!


Check out the elephants on the bed.. Two cute!

Foods in Krabi

Like i said, finding food is easy in Ao Nang area as there are rows of restaurants. There are variety of them; Italian, Indian, Mexican and of course, Thai and Asian food. However, it's quite hard to find Muslim foods in Ao Nang area.We found Muslim foods in Krabi town (which is like 30 minutes taxi drive) and only on the last day we found a Muslim restaurant in Ao Nang (away from the beach- explains why it was undiscovered). 

First Day Foods:

 
Night market in Krabi town.
This is not steamboat like the ones we have in KL. The sticks are actually deep fried! So it's like friedboat?

  
At a 'medan selera' nearby a port in Krabi town.
My supposedly oxtail doup with rice.

  
OMG this is the most delicious bottled coffee i ever had!
Too bad we don't have it in Malaysia.


Second Day Foods:

Lunch were provided by the tour agents as we went for an island hopping trip. Again, for dinner we went to Krabi town and found a BBQ-steamboat halal restaurant. With buffet concept, they only charge 190 Baht per pax (around RM19 per pax). The restaurant's name is Rabeab's Kitchen Inter-Buffet. We were beond starving that night so we ate like pigs!



Lunch courtesy of the tour agents.
Yummers!

  
Halal BBQ-steamboat meal at Rabeab's Kitchen Inter-Buffet Restaurant.
Slurrrpppppppppppp!

 
Prove of its halal-ness.

Third Day Foods

We didn't have time for proper lunch as some of us went to the spa, and another two went bungee jumping (guess which session i took? Pampering session at the spa or being crazy and bungee jump?). Obviously we were effing starving when our visiting trip (i'll tell you later) ended at 6pm. We found a Muslim restaurant in Ao Nang, Sareefah Restaurant. Out of all meals we had in Krabi, this dinner we had at Sareefah's is the best!! Oh, sorry gambar makanan tak sempat amek sebab kelaparan tahap kanak-kanak Bosnia, tak hengat bergambar bagai.

 Sarifah Muslim Food & Drink

 
Makanan separa habis : Mixed Tom Yam, Mixed Vege, Butter Prawn, Chicken Green Curry


Ikan yang lazat berkhasiat


Activities in Krabi

Now, where do i start?

As Krabi is a beachy destination, obviously the main attractions are water activities. Island hopping, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and kayaking are the main attractions. However, they don't really have water sport activities like jet-ski or paragliding. 
What we did in Krabi?

1. Island Hopping
2. Horse Riding
3. Bungee jumping
4. Elephant Trekking
5. Visiting Tiger Cave Temple
6. Relaxing at the waterfall and hot spring

But Krabi offers much, MUCH more than that. You can also:

1. Shooting (at a real shooting range)
2. Fishing
3. Rock climbing
4. Camping at Phi Phi Island
5. Water rafting
6. Scuba diving
7. Bird watching
8. Jungle trekking

The list seems endless!

i'm gonna elaborate a bit about the activities we had.

Island Hopping
We took the 4-islands Island Hopping Package. It was included in our Go Holiday Air Asia Package. We had so much fun traveling on the speedboat that we forgot to be sea sick :p The islands that we went to are Phi Phi Don , Phi Phi Lay and Bamboo Island (betul ke ni aku pakai tibai je.. haha). We stopped at Maya Bay, Monkey Beach (for open-sea snorkeling), swam at a beach at Phi Phi Don and sight seeing at Loh Samah Bay, Pileh Bay and Viking Cave. The waters are crystal clear. Totally breath taking! And did you know that the film "The Beach" (starring Leonardo DiCaprio) was shot in Maya Bay?

Ok i'll stop babbling and let the pictures do the talking!

Looking nice and posh

 Surrounded by gorgeous limestone.
*Even on vacation i'm reminded of my job..pfftttt!*

Dah sampai!
Maya Bay.

 
Crowded but beautiful.



Breath taking!


The Viking Cave.


Pretending as if i'm on my own luxury boat!

The waters are irresistable

Pileh Bay


Horse Riding

We went to Sathai Horse Stable for a one-hour horse riding session at sunset. It's a 15 minutes drive from Ao Nang, transportation was provided by the owner of the horse stable. Very accommodating, these people!

Six of us!

Macam Zorro wannabe tak? haha


Bungee Jumping

This is the highlight of my vacation!
When i asked Mr. Chenta "Bb, can i bungee jump?"
He said "Ummm.. OK sayang. i know you really wanna do this. But make sure you come home in one piece ok? Don't come home in a box"

i love every moment of it.
i love every seconds spent deciding whether to or not to jump.
i love the racing heartbeat, wondering will this be my last.
i love the feeling of wanting to shout at the instructor, to tell him to "shut up, i'm scared".
i love the feeling of standing at the edge of the crane, terrified when i looked down yet excited to jump.
And i won't forget what i see when i jump - at the blurring-and-moving trees and mountains, the sound that escaped my mouth.


A brave smile. Padahal dalam hati berdebar macam bunyi enjin kapal terbang.


Seriously, i did it!

Bungee jumping is like suicide+being a yo-yo. You'd thought the terrifying moment is over once u reach the bottom of the jump. Before you know it, you're soaring up to the sky and fall again, and up to the sky and fall again. The process seems endless! i think this yo-yoing part is the scariest! i really shouted "Stopppp! Stop laaaa!"

We didn't plan on doing bungee jumping in Krabi as we didn't know they have it. When we arrived at the hotel and saw the pamphlets, we knew we're gonna do it. No turning back.
It costs us 1300 Baht (around RM130 which is super cheap!), and it takes about 10 minutes to tie the rope and things to our legs, 5 minutes of traveling in the crane, 40 seconds to debate whether to jump or not, and 1 minute to jump and yo-yoing. 

i can now officially tick off one of the items in my "30 Things To Do Before i Turn 30" list.

Elephant Trekking, Visiting Tiger Cave Temple, and Swimming at the waterfall and hot spring.

These activities are included in a tour organized by Unseen Excursion. It cost us 1100 Baht each and started at 12pm and ended at around 6pm. 

Elephant trekking is basically riding on an elephant for an hour. To be honest, it's quite boring to sit on an elephant for an hour and walk thru semak samun. If you're "lucky" the elephant will make a stop to poop. Euwwww!

Macam Tarzan & Jane tak? haha

Elephant is a cute animal.. Really wish could keep one as a pet :p


After elephant trekking we went to Tiger Cave Temple. It is actually situated atop a mountain and you have to climb up 1237 stairs to see it. No, thank you! So we just saw the temples situated at the ground and in the cave.

The beginning of 1237 steps to the top temple.

A temple with a statue of Goddess Kuan Yin

Houses for monks who come here to meditate.

To wrap up the trip, we went to a Bang Kram waterfall hot spring for a dip in the hot and cold water!

Sila baca ye anak-anak!

Contents of the water.

Tempat ni tak la cantik sangat.
The uniqueness lies in hot water spring yang berada di atas dan mengalir sebagai air terjun yang sejuk di bawah.

Shopping and Spa in Krabi

i didn't shop much as that was not my intention. But i'm telling you the things are cheap, cheap, CHEAP! Dresses at about 150-300 Baht, maxi dresses at 300-400 Baht, T-shirt for souvenir you can get at 150 Baht. However, you can buy at these low price if you're a good haggler (like i am! Hehe). Fake designer handbags are also widely sold but i'm not sure about the price because i'm so not interested. CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY HAVE FAKE MARC JACOBS?? i didn't know.. =p

There are LOADS of spas in Krabi. Luxury spa, non-luxury spa... For every 4-7 shops, there'll be a spa in Ao Nang area. They come with really CHEAP price tags!! Thai massage ranges from 200-250 Baht per hour, manicure at 200 Baht, pedicure at 250 Baht, hair treatment ranges from 500-1000 Baht, aromatherapy massage at 300 Baht.. These prices is half of what we pay for in KL! So girls (and you metrosexual guys!) don't even leave Krabi wothout going to the spa!

Bottom line is, I LOVE KRABI! i might come back and this time, i'll make sure i'll stay longer. 4 days are not enough.