Down Under and the Land of the Hobbits

After a long hiatus, I'm back! As you would now realized that I am not your regular blogger... as I would just disappear from here and god only knows when I will re-appear....like today hahaha.

My entry today is about my trip to Melbourne and the south island of NZ...yup the Land of the Hobbits.

We had nearly missed our flight, my mom and I, on the evening of 11th November as I had totally forgotten that we need 2 hours to check in. We finally got ourselves into the Airbus A320....I think. Silkair...we were one of the first to fill the plane since SIA stopped servicing this route. It was also another eventful moment when we arrived at T2 departing from T3 for our connecting flight to Melbourne...gosh we hadn't realized how far T3 was...poor mom she walked as fast as she could. I regretted not asking for the wheels. Better prepared the next time, I thought to myself.

Nahhh!..this baby, no wait...this behemoth wasn't for us..we only got to fly the 777..... hope lah...or as my ex boss would say " pe-lan pe-lan tunggu" or "slowly wait la" ...so sad, can only see, make me lau nua nia :(

On board SQ 237, we were met by a fabulous young crew. As luck would have it, we were certainly well pampered by Jackson, Amelie and the rest of the crew put in charge of our coach. As usual, I couldn't sleep on long hauls and this one was no different except that I had this set of crew to keep me awake with their wit and charm. Nothing fake about their warmth. Indeed they made me feel as though I've known them all my life. I had first class treatment at the galley despite being a coach passenger. They were even polite to the old lady with wobbly knees and showered her with genuine warmth & concern as she shuffled her way to the loo.

I have only heard so much about SIA's cabin crew's star service but now I can vouch for it b'cos Jackson, Amelie and the others (so sorry I couldn't recall all their names....simple things slip my memory these days...GOSH,....am I suffering from Alz....? hahahha hopefully NOT.) went the extra mile in making sure my mom & I felt so at home. I certainly hope the airline knows how to value these boys and girls and reward them abundantly.

(waiting for the pics I took with them...hopefully Jackson still remembers to mail me some of them lo :P...so this space is reserved for them :) )

We touched down at Tullamarine Airport and with the much valued advice given by Jackson and Amelie.....we checked through the Immigration counter without any hassle. Thanks so much again, guys :).

3 days later and we're off again...to Christchurch, NZ.

...and we're off to the Land of the Hobbits but this time on board Jetstar.....

my dearest sis & mom....

...and moi of course

We got our H1N1 jabs for free, courtesy of the Australian government and of course my dear sis, who paid for the docs services. Then with only a single day's rest, we were again off to the Land of the Hobbits...yup....New Zealand. What a gorgeous country! Words failed me again. I can't even begin to describe a land abound with so much of nature's beauty.

we're just a couple of thousand kilometers from the snow capped mountains of NZ :)






almost there now.....

....and touched down! we're finally here....

Next....stay tuned for Chapter 2 - Departing for Queenstown in a couple of hours.

Mind Your Language

Ralph would probably kill me when he reads this. Well, this is all his idea anyway but kudos to him for sharing this bit of humour. I had a great laugh over this.



You know sometimes when people try their express themselves in English and get all tangled up? By now I'm sure that you know I am referring to people who are less conversant in the English language. And they usually come out pretty funny, actually. Yeah, I'm kind of evil huh?, poking fun at other people's weaknesses. Its not that really, if we choose to see the humourous side of life.




Ralph was relating an incident at a hypermarket sometime back . This guy was trying to make his way through a crowded section when he blurted this out "Ekcue me, can I pass away?" We both burst out in laughter at midnight in McD Damansara. That was so bad, hor? The joint was packed even at that hour...doesn't anyone sleep, anymore? But we couldn't really care less because it tickled every piece of funny bone in our body.









Then Ralph contributed something original when he asked me "Don't you speak your mother's language?" HAHAHAHAHA Well, he meant to say mother tongue. He had both of us laughing uncontrollably. The other patrons were checking out the remnants of our food on the table, wondering what had triggered our looney behaviour. Hmmm ... too much sodium in our fries :)









Well, to be fair to guys who can't speak well in English, they do try their earnest to express themselves but the trouble is they do that by translating their thoughts from Mandarin or Cantonese into English. And now our government wants to reverse all the hard work and efforts put in during the past 7 years in getting students to learn Maths and Sciences in English. Sad day for Malaysians!

Mat Rempit Menace

It was about 3.30 am this early morning as I was driving home with my former school mate and friend of over 20 years from our usual supper hang out at McD. We were at Queen Victoria's clock tower when we chanced upon a group of 5-6 motorcyclists, some with pillions. I didn't think much about them at that moment as they did not seem to pose any threats. However, as I drove past the ferry terminal, one of them with a pillion whizzed past us but slowing down just ahead of us approximately 1-2 car lengths ahead. Then all of a sudden, they pulled back a bit only to be replaced by two others but on 2 separate "kap-chais". These Malay boys, Mat Rempits were tearing down the almost deserted street as if they were in pursuit of something...someone.



Indeed, we only realized that they were indeed pursuing a bike ridden by 2 adults and they rode alongside these 2, taunting them a bit by bit. We could see that the pillion was a female but couldn't make out who the rider was. He / she was shielded by the pillion most of the time. Now, the two alerted by the actions of these Mat Rempits chose to ignore them and rode on even faster. The MR kept pace but as their machines were quicker, it was like a scene taken out from a B-grade Malaysian drama.



Both of us, though we didn't actually utter much to each other but realized that we had to do something. I didn't say it out aloud but I had already decided that I would stay behind these terrors of the road and be prepared to "surprise" them should they try anything funny. As for my friend, Weng Hong, he had already punched in the emergency number to the local police should we need assistance from the law. Fat hopes, I thought to myself but that is for another post , another day.



By now the Mat Rempit hoodlums were already nipping at the heels of their quarry, taunting them and waiting for the right moment to act.



Many thoughts were racing through my mind at that moment. What if they did try to assault the rider and the pillion, what should I do? What could I do? Do I just watch and ignore or should I just drive off now and hope that the 2 would be just fine on their own? After all, I was in a 1500cc vehicle while these menace were only in their "kap chais". Deep down inside, I know I just could not chose, that I shouldn't have to even choose. My obvious answer would be to intervene. I had been brought up to always speak up for the poor, to defend the weak. The time is now. My heart was racing. A sense of anxiety came upon me.

Alas, God spoke. A small turn off appeared by the roadside to a small temple as if granting sanctuary to the two. The Mat Rempits were caught off guard and with the temple in sight, they sped off hastily into the night....seeking other preys, perhaps?

The law is now only thinking of taking drastic action...only thinking ya.... they haven't even begun to take action and these menace are merely juveniles. I blame the parents of these boys for not being in control of their children and also to the BN government for not only failing to act but for encouraging these Mat Rempits to be even more blatant. Rehab programmes like rewarding them with trips to the north pole or camps, I would say is downright stupid and wasting our tax payers money. Stop all this nonsense and govern like a responsible government. If they can't then they must allow others capable of doing so.

Only now with the loss of 4 lives, is the government now waking up to the root of this social ill. It is quite simple really, I mean if the government is indeed serious about eradicating this menace, make it a law to confiscate their machines if and when caught in a police sting. No appeals allowed for whatever their reasons may be. They can cry foul, plead leniency because they are the sole breadwinner of their families, its their first offence, their only mode of transport to work and blah blah blah... I think the people have had quite enough. Once impounded, the riders are charged in court and then destroy the confiscated machines. This way, there won't give rise to corrupt practices within the system to allow the offenders a ghost of a chance to recover their machines from the law and terrorize the streets ....once again. I heard that it works in Australia and even cars are not spared. So now let's see how serious our government is in tackling this problem or perhaps we need to see a death among the family members of the elite ruling government before we can see any action taken..I wonder.

Friendships

How much do we value our friends? Well, some would say it depends on how close they are as friends. It is quite true in every sense of the word. I mean we won't miss someone if we don't have much feelings for that person, right? It doesn't have to be deep emotional feelings even platonic ones should affect us if such close friends were to leave us some day.

I've known C for less than a year but C has been always fun to be around. Possessing a intellectually matured mind, it is always great to carry on meaningful conversations on just about any subject that comes to mind. C is moving on to better things in life and that should be the way. That I know and truth be told, I am glad that C has found a promising career in the Capital city but yet I can't help thinking that long distance friendships, no matter how close we are to that person, would inevitably grow apart eventually. No one should be blamed for it. After all, each of us have our own lives to live and obligations to fulfil. We just have to be honest with one another and keep that friendship, if it really means that much to us.

Good meaningful friendships are hard to come by these days. I hope I would be as good a friend as anyone else could be ever be to C.

C, if you ever happened to read this, know that I am thankful for your hand of friendship. May ours be bonded for life as we thank the angels for their hand in it.

God be with you, always!

Hunger...Waste Not...Want Not

I was in church this morning and today's sermon was delivered by Bro Leong. Now this is a man who delivers God's word using power point like presentation...very organized and always full of facts... a very learned servant of God.

He did not however start his sermon the usual way. He caught everyone by surprise when he shared with the congregation about 4 photos taken in Africa...Ethiopia if I am not mistaken. They were images taken by professional photographers and the one particular photo that he made us ponder is one which won a Pulitzer Prize.

In this picture, there is this African boy making his way to a UN food relief centre about 1km away. In this picture was a bird waiting nearby. Can you imagine the picture in your mind? Not yet? How about this then....Picture the boy, a very young and fragile boy...unclothed, hunger strickened to the point where his skeletal frame was the only thing holding up his sun parched skin and he wasn't on his feet. He was dragging himself along that 1 km journey under the open scorching sun on his belly.

Now, the bird, I am sure you would have realized by now, isn't any ordinary bird... it was an adult vulture, waiting patiently a few feet away from this boy, waiting for him to die, probably waiting for its turn to have its long awaited meal.

I felt sick inside. It was so heart wrenching to capture that scene in my mind. We only see this momentarily but for the poor child and many others like him, its pure hell everyday. They did not ask to live like this. No one did. So, why did it happend anyway? One religion would say its karma while others would say its God's will. So which is which then? I don't have an answer to that question.

Neither could the photographer who snapped the photos for he took his own life 3 months later. How tragic!

Many of us the world over are so very fortunate that we have food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear and house to live in. But for these African people, they have virtually nothing...not even hope! It is tragic, so very sad indeed. As I penned this down, I am filled with guilt.

Guilty that I have more than enough to eat, to drink, to wear and a very comfortable house to live in and yet sometimes I grumbled as to why I don't get to dine in some pricey joint, why I can't afford to wear designer labels

and when will I get to live in a mansion. These thoughts have crossed my mind one time or another.

I grumble no more. I wish I could bring this message to the rest of our people, not to waste their food, just because they have paid for it, not to waste water, just because it is cheap or they have paid for it as well. The amount of food we leave behind at our tables after each meal.

Granted, each community has its cultures and traditions entrenched in their way of life. Some of them includes annual food fights like the tomato fights observed in Spain. Can we still afford to throw away food so carelessly when there are others out there without any food to eat at all. Sinful aren't we all?

More and more of our wasted food end up in landfills when they could have been fed to thousands or even millions of hunger stricken people around this planet.

The very morsel of food or drop of water that we throw away is probably what separates life from death for our African friends. There are many many more suffering in this world, only we do not realize it because we don't see it.

Can't we help or won't we help? When will we ever wake up to this reality? When?

I have decided to make a stand. I have decided to adopt a child. We can all do that by going through world organizations such as World Aid or similar organizations. If we cannot afford to spare our time then we should give from our pockets. We do not need to give a lot but only what we can afford. If every abled and fortunate man were to give a little a person, there would be more than enough in this world to go around.

Maybe someday, someday I might just see myself being part of the world movement and not just side, sponsoring financially.

On Two Wheels

I got myself a Trek 3900 MTB a couple of months back. I guess I got caught up in all the excitement in wanting to feel the outdoors on a non-motorized vehicle. I actually got a fantastic deal through my buddy and gym owner, Ang. His gym is truly a basic set up with lots of free weights - great for fitness buffs who prefer having greater flexibility in using dumbbell's and barbells than to be confined to machines! Not to say machines aren't any good. In fact they are because they basically work on the concept of resistance.

I hope I am making sense ..hmmm better check with Ang hehehe! Lest I make a fool of myself. He is after all a certified trainer and is quite knowledgeable in the matters of fitness and nutrition.

Well, anyway back to my bike, it cost me a painful RM1500 but Gary of CCI Cycle offered me a great package 'cos along with it came a Cratoni Ceron helmet, a pair of bikers' shorts, cat eye LED rear lights and every biker's must have ... a water bottle!

Since having this bike, I've been up Air Itam dam thrice and peddled around my neighbourhood countless mornings. We took a drive up Cameron on February 14th...yeah Valentine's day. It was a Saturday and we decided that we must stop by Foh Shan in Ipoh town for tim sum. Notice they way I spelt it...yeah, the Penang Hokkien way :)

After a sumptuous breakfast, we drove up the hill through Simpang Pulai. The journey up the new highway (well, its new to me 'cos it was my first on this highway) was breathtaking. It was easy on the car as well as the road was less winding. Since there were only three of us, Ang, Sue (his wife) and I, we came in 2 cars. My bike was safely strapped on to the back seat. It is amazing how a car like a Wira 1.3M could be so accommodating. Of course I had to remove the front wheel but it fitted snugly at the back. I had decided against buying a roof rack because it would have cost me more than my bike itself. The other option was to get the boot mounted carrier which did not deserve a second look because it was sooooo fragile. I loved my bike too much :)

We stayed at Tanah Rata for the weekend. The afternoon was reserved for the ride up one of BOH's plantations. Ang led the way. We almost didn't get to ride 'cos out tyres were not properly inflated. Ang brought along his portable hand pump which he recently bought from Gary. Unfortunately for us, one component was missing rendering the pump useless.

We voted to ride on. Man, it was fun with the cool, fresh breeze blowing against us as we ascended the hill. At first Sue was tailing us but we thought it would be better for her to drive ahead and wait at the summit. Boy! did we regret that call or what. This was my first attempt in climbing up a hill, any hill on a bike. Yeah this all happened even before I rode up Air Itam dam. But that is another episode which I shall keep for my next post.

Ang was much more prepared for this as he was more focused and knew how to pace himself. Me, on the other hand, was a green horn at biking. I wore myself up thinking that I could keep on climbing with the momentum gained. How very wrong I was. I was out of breadth in no time and had to stop many many many times :(

I would catch up with Ang after each rest but I was never ever able to maintain my pace. I reasoned that I had made the wrong call. The next time I would know better.

Reaching the top where the BOH's office and cafe was indescribable. You will not appreciate the journey one had to make to reach the summit if you hadn't done it with a bike. Most of us are drivers and getting up any hill in a car have always been effortless. The view of the tea plantation was priceless. It was well worth the torture.

I found a new friend in a brown dog. It seemed so friendly as it quickly warmed up to us when we gestured it towards us. It looked a bit like a small fox, quite beautiful actually. It stuck close by long enough to be photographed.

Then it was time for us to leave as it was already getting dark. Man...riding downhill was a totally different experience altogether. No effort required ...but we did have to watch our brakes! It was so much fun coming downhill. We did stop at a few spots to take photos of ourselves and the scenery. Priceless.

Before we know it, we had already reached the base. How sad :( We had so wanted the ride to go on and on but that would mean that we would have had to climb much higher the next round... Uhh, on second thought I think we did just fine hehehehe.

We decided that we would have dinner first in town before heading back to the apartment. CRAMPS!!! OMG, I've never had it so bad. Thank God it happened as I got down from my car at the Shell petrol kiosk. I had a chance to rest my sore legs. It made the difference.

Dinner and the rest of the night is another episode altogether. Next....visitors arriving at midnight?....

Life is so fragile...

2008 ended with a dark cloud for our family. We suffered a few losses. No, I'm not referring to money but the life of a loved one. My 3rd cousin succumbed to cancer late last year after a very short battle with the frightful disease. I think it is even more lethal than the HIV virus after heart disease. He was a very active sportsman with a beautiful family, lovely wife and 3 children. I never really got to know them when they were growing up but they really are great kids. My cousin, Chris would be very proud of them, I am sure. I knew him growing up here in Penang. His passion for food can be so infectious.
I remembered the time when I went to Singapore in the late 70s, he took us for some dessert after dinner and the ice cream he had ordered for himself was like a tidal wave. Indeed it was aptly named "Tidal Wave" 'cos there were so many scoops of different flavours and colours. It was so beautiful that you just couldn't plunge your spoon into it and spoil the piece of art :)

I would have if my mom had given me the green light but she said..."Touch and see!" hehehehe no la she didn't put it that way....just a plain but stern "NO". I had so much fun then. Chris was very positive and had always and only wonderful wishes for others. Such a great person he was.

And then a close friend of mine lost his dad. Tragic yield a fateful to his family when his mom passed away, just a few months his dad. Sad right? Not bad enough, a former school mate also lost his mom to cancer. Cancer, cancer, CANCER such a dreaded word and yet I am also from this horoscope. To top it all, the eldest brother of my recently demised cousin was also called home to the Lord. He too succumbed to cancer. He fought hard with it for about 2 years but in the end his journey in this world finally came to an end. It was his time to leave. He is survived by his lovely wife and a son. Kevin is getting married this year and it is a shame that my cousin would not be around to rejoice in the marriage of his only child. Both of my cousins were very passionate about living, both are now at peace in the kingdom of the Lord, Almighty.

And only just last month, a close business associate lost his fight with cancer but suffered little in his last days. Thank god for that. Mr Chan or Jackie Chan as he is affectionately known to is friends, loved food , loved his family and his employees.

So, I wouldn't be wrong to say that it is those who are left behind are in pain, left with the thought of not being able to talk to them, or share our laughter or even sorrows with them again. We all need to let go of this longing and learn to live again. I have come to learn that by having Christ in our lives, we shall have peace in our hearts. It is in times like this that we realized that no material things could bring comfort to our heart and soul. Only when we truly understand our fragile life is, that we begin to treasure it dearly and live it to the fullest each day. Only then can we learn to let go.

To those who have lost a loved one, do take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. And there are many others in the same situation, just like you.

We should all do what the Lord has done for us. Learn to love others just as the Lord has loved us. Peace be to all. God bless!

My Maiden Entry

What should I write about? I keep asking myself what to write and ended up procastinating once again. I have made countless resolutions to stop procastinating but in the end I do what I do best...which is? ...yeah good guess...I procastinate. I am beginning to love this word. It can really grow on you, but for the love of God, please don't, else you might end up just like moi here ;)
Hmmm let's see, I think I will not pen much here but perhaps in my next entry and entries after that would feature my thoughts on life, my life and the people around me, my passion with my dogs, my new found activity ....mountain biking. Yup you heard that right but I won't seeing much of any mountains, probably ant hills? LOL.
So to keep myself reminded here...till then, happy trails :)