Island Hopping Escapade

Welcome, welcome. Come join me in my island hopping quest in Langkawi. On my 2nd day in Langkawi, i signed up for an island-hopping trip via my hotel. Here's a picture walkthrough of my journey :

A van picked us up at our hotel, followed by some other guests in Frangipani. In all, there were 10 of us. 5 Malaysians, 2 from the Middle East and 3 Europeans. We were driven to Awana Porto Malai, where the jetty is situated. The resort looked like a really nice place cos of the Mediterranean theme and all the alfresco dining.

Look! On our way to the first island, the boatman pointed out this oddly-shaped island. This island was our first destination. The name of the island is Pulau Dayang Bunting (Pregnant Maiden Island). The name was derived from its shape, note that it looks like a pregnant lady lying on her back. The name of this island also came from a famous Malay folklore which claims that many ladies became fertile after soaking in a lake amidst the forest in this island.








Oh, i've finally reached Pulau Dayang Bunting. Now i'm just going to hike through a short path in the forest and i'll be able to see the lake. After the boat ride, i looked kinda drenched huh? I was sitting on the front of the boat and all the sea water was splashing onto me.... haha...talk about a good way to cool off.

Alrighty, here's the lake. There were already many swimmers there by the time i hiked there. The water was green and clear. I was there at about 10.30 am, the sun was shining brightly but it was really cool there. Must be all the trees and the lake giving the weather a bit of a balance. As i was nervous of getting into the water, i rented a solar boat for half an hour. U know, the ones you normally see people paddling with their feet. Only this one is operated by car battery, so i can save my energy from paddling.

After an hour in Dayang Bunting, we continued the journey on choppy waters to another island. We stopped there briefly and our boatman threw some chicken skin into the water, inviting eagles for a meal. Part of our tour included eagle-feeding... haha, but it was not easy to get a close-up shot of them though. It was then that i discovered the name Langkawi basically came from the words Helang (eagle) Kawi (stone). Now that explains why I stumbled across many eagles (both real and reel ones)in Pulau Langkawi.

At the same place where we were feeding eagles, we were also able to feast our eyes on the large mangrove forest there. We were lucky it was high-tide during our visit, so we were able to see the nice blue sea surrounding the mangrove trees. A monitor lizard approached our boat and the boatman gingerly fed him a chicken head, drawing delighted gasps from the 3 Europeans from our boat... hahaz...How i wished Puffy was here, she would've loved to challenge it to a fight.

Our last stop was at Pulau Beras Basah (Wet Rice Island). I must admit that the beach was the blue-est i've ever seen. Truthfully, the beaches at mainland Pulau Langkawi were not much to shout about. Some from Kuantan can rival them, but after taking a boat out to this secluded island, i finally saw a beach that actually looked like those they advertised on travel brochures =P. I guess human contamination makes a big difference to a beach's cleanliness!

Till my next blog on my other escapades in Pulau Langkawi, bye!

King of All Fruits

Puffyrazzi hasn't had a decent durian in years! Finally, mid last month, i was able to sample some first-class durians. I was lucky to be in Malaysia during the fruit season, and the streets were full of durian vendors. I couldn't remember how much they cost, but in Malaysian currency, they did not come very cheap, but i guess quality comes with a hefty price tag.

Bought the two large ones and the small one was 'free'. Buy 2 get 1 free...haha...sounds like a pirated DVD sale


The old-fashioned way is to open it on your own, not to buy it in styrofoam boxes from a supermarket

Wow, look at those succulent pieces of goodies

*Drooling*

A true blue Malaysian dog also enjoys the favourite fruit of Malaysians.

An Engagement and a Birthday

Muahahahaha~ 2 celebrations in one day. We celebrated Sue Anne's birthday at a Thai Restaurant, after catching Die Hard 4.0. Choosing a movie to watch in a big group was definitely a challenge. Some have watched Harry Potter, a handful has seen Transformers, one refused to watch The Simpsons. It was so appalling but thank god we didn't have to resort to watching Jay Chou's 'Secret' haha~All this thanks to Jeremy who sacrificed himself by sitting through Die Hard 4.0 for the 2nd time. The movie was great so i think it was worth it!

Oh ya, speaking of the celebrations, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to SUE ANNE. She had also earlier told us about her engagement, and informed us about the rough proceedings and how we're going to be a part of it. We all could hardly contain our laughters when Shin Yen asked who her fiance is, i guess she's just making sure... haha...OMG, that was the moment of the day!

This photo's classic. No Sue Anne's face but can see her engagement ring clearly. Congrats Sue Anne and Chih Wei!


Happy birthday Sue Anne! Hope you love your birthday present....

All happy after having a nice meal

Hmm...nice restaurant interior, and it's overlooking the sea.

QQ's Busy Mouth

As most of you know, i have 2 dogs at home ; One Pomeranian, One Shih Tzu. Here, i would like to confirm what is widely believed by all, that a Pom can get really noisy. My Puffy is like our guard dog, emitting shrill barks whenever unwelcome entities approach near ( be it iguanas, cats, neighbours or Bangla workers).

Contrary to our Puffy's behaviour, the Shih Tzu likes to keep mum at moments like those. Most of the time he just has this very confused and puzzled look on his face. Crispy once remarked to me that she hardly ever see QQ bark at all.

After observing QQ at home for a while, i've finally come to the conclusion why QQ does not bark as much as Puffy. And here are the reasons :

QQ busy licking Puffy's paws.


QQ busy licking Puffy's ears.

QQ busy playing fetch with us.

QQ busy gnawing on his bone-biskit.

QQ busy playing chase with his toy.

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Well, here you see, QQ's mouth is always occupied. It is no surprise then that we will never hear him squeak anything out of his mouth. He He He!

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MALAYSIA'S BUSIEST MOUTH : QQ

Homemade Minced Meat

This post is requested by Miss Basket Chen Xiao Lan prior to me going home. So, this is to repay her kindness for always reading my blogs and loving my QQ!

This is my mother's mincer at home. It can double up as a blender and also a cake mixer.

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Drop pork into the top and press down with the presser. My mother says that the meat we use must at least contain abit of fats, not just pure lean meat though.
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Nicely minced meat coming out from the other end of the mincer, collected in a bowl.

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Looks nicer and fresher than those we see at supermarket shelves.

Home, Hum and Halal

I was back in Malaysia for 6 days last week. As always, i endured a 7-hour bus ride back to Kuantan, but it is no longer as uncomfortable as it used to be, cos the buses had been replaced by a new fleet which is much slicker than before.



Guess what i had back at home? For those who remembered my post back in January, i simply must have Malaysian Hokkien Mee every time i'm home. Well, this time is no different. However , this time i had another of my favourite dish, Spicy Cockles! Here, have a look at this mouth-watering serving :

Can't really tell it's 'seehum' huh! That's beside the point. The point is, i really love them, but i don't really get to eat them every time i'm home, it really depends on the availability of the cockles at different times of the year.

This time, my visit home was marred by an unpleasant incident which i promised my mother i will repeat here. Here goes :

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Me and my parents were shopping in Cold Storage and we purchased some picnic ham which were sealed in a styrofoam container and bagged in an extra plastic bag. At the check-out counter, the Malay cashier REFUSED to touch it, meaning we had to scan it for her and place it in the plastic bags ourselves.

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My take is: I thought halal-ness ( haha, what a word) is justified by what you eat. Correct me if i'm wrong though. Anyway, WELCOME to my HOMETOWN, the land of Ninja Turtles (if you don't comprehend this, don't worry, it's a special racist term i reserve for myself...hohoho)

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Don't mind me, sometimes i just need to let off some steam. But look at it from a different angle and it does seem like a comical situation. My father even quipped that money being passed from hand to hand may not be 'halal', for at some point in time, it could've passed a pork butcher, who knows?

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I am reserving some nice photos i took back in Malaysia for future postings. Stay tuned alright?

Love, puffyrazzi

Michelle Kwan 2003 World Championships

She's the best figure skater Puffyrazzi has ever seen. One of the most moving Long Program she's ever done. Cheers, michelle!

QQ's Day Out

Hi everyone, I'm QQ ! Look at how fluffy i look with my long silky locks. My mommy has been threatening to bring me for a haircut...

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Help me! They've put me in a miniscule little cage and dumped in the car!!!

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Heehee, Mommy's brought me to a hairdresser. My hair's so long i can't see properly. Careful, don't you snip off my ears ok?

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Voila! The job is done... I look like a different hound now, don't i? So handsome ;D
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The nice lady even put up little bows on my ears! Thank God she knows i'm a little boy, she almost gave me pink ribbons.

My Gaming World

I love playing PC and Nintendo DS games. Here's my pick of what rocks and what can be ignored :


Puffyrazzi Favourites

1. Dreamfall : The Longest Journey II
-A continuation from Part I which i played 2 years back but much slicker and with better graphics. Fantastic story development. I recommend this for adventure-game lovers.
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2. Syberia
- This game came close to topping this chart of my favourite games, but the storyline is slightly weaker. There is a Part II to this game, but it is too short and not as impressive as the original.
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3. Phoenix Wright : Ace Attorney
- I love this cute little mystery-solving game. With its cutesy characters and funny dialogues.
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4. Neighbours From Hell

- The naughty little game needs a lot of cheekiness and brain-storming

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5. Sims Makin' Magic Expansion Pack
- My favourite among the Sim series of games
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6. Hotel Dusk : Room 215
- I love its shady and jazzy theme. Wished it was longer though.
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7. The Longest Journey I
- Received rave reviews from the adventure game lovers when it was first released. I love it too!
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8. CSI 2 : Dark Motives
- CSI released 4 games but this is the only one that i truly appreciate.
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Puffyrazzi's Hall of Shame

1. Cooking Mama

- Fun in the beginning, but then later got annoying.

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2. Agatha Christie : Murder on the Orient Express
- The worst adventure game i've ever played. It made me go 'what the...'. Bad, bad storyline, bad, bad game planning and too draggy.
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3. CSI 3 : 3 Dimensions of Murder
- They should rename this CIS : Bedebah haha
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4. Maple Story

- Pretty fun, but did not need any brain power, just mindless killings. Totally wasted my time and energy. Glad i put it behind me.

OK, that's about it. I've tried to learn to play games on PS2 but i'm not really good at using a game console, so i sort of gave up on it. I still prefer PC games, especially adventure games ( e.g. Syberia and The Longest Journey). Anyone with any good recommendations of adventure games, please let me know! It's so hard to find one with a good plot.

Other games that i'd like to try but have yet to get my hands on them:

1) Trace Memory

2) Harvest Moon

3) Trauma Center : Under the Knife



Alrighty then, have a nice time. Do try out Dreamfall : The Longest Journey. Oh, but you'll need
to know the storyline from part I, so i guess you'll need to play from Part I. It's worth it!

Sheraton Towers 29 June

Photos from a recent company function, we stuffed ourselves silly by indulging in photo-taking instead of the 8-course dinner. Haha... Let me bring you on a walkthrough of my colourful colleagues :
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Group photo-taking. There are a few people missing though. What a pity. Colour of the day : Black, white and grey

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Snapped a few shots with some colleagues i hardly have chances to take photos with. Here's one of them, Team Supervisor Aziz ( whose voice usually can be heard miles away)

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The two little sisters of the lab. Do i look like 5 years older than them? haha...i feel so old beside them. One interesting bit : both of them can't be more different than day and night in terms of personality and work style but i love both just the same. One of them is leaving us soon for a new horizon. Good luck!

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Woohooo....some of them are impeccably-dressed that night. I'm too used to seeing them in their work uniforms and unkempt hair. What a change to see the technicians with well-coiffed hair and nicely-pressed clothes!

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The cute-as-button Basket! This feisty gal has a bubbly personality that is almost contagious. Haha...Check out her cleavage! Oops, she's so going to scold me for this =P

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Tsuey Tsuey and Sixian. They are always very outgoing and easy to chat with. Nice photo, except for the extra antlers on my head courtesy of my 'very mature' Senior Chemist. Haha....

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My partner-in-crime, Batman (without sidekick Robin). Been partners close to 1.5 years. After many glasses of bubble teas, coke lights and buckets of KFC, we are finally separated and working with different people now.

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A very special photo. I've never seen 2 people standing further from each other than this whilst taking a photograph. Probably cos we always work closely with one another, we need a bit of personal space ;)

No More Sorrow

By Linkin Park
Dedicated to a Madman at my workplace
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Are you lost in your lies

Do you tell youself i don't realize

Your campaign's a disguise

Replaced freedom with fear

You trade money for lives

I'm aware of what you've done

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No, No more sorrow

I've paid for your mistakes

Your time is borrowed

Your time has come to be replaced

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I see pain, I see need

I see liars and thieves abuse power with greed

I had hope, I believed

But I'm beginning to think that I've been deceived

You will pay for what you've done

Thieves and hypocrites

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No, No more sorrow

I've paid for your mistakes

Your time is borrowed

Your time has come to be replaced

Your time has come to be erased

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