Sunday, September 16, 2007

Handmade with Love....by Dad

Previously, i had blogged about my sister's handmade accessories on her webbie. This time, i'm going to show all of you my father's handicrafts, a different type though. My dad doesn't have a blog, so i'll just have to post the photos on his behalf, then...hehe...

My home has a garden full of plants. Small, big, crawling ones, green ones, red ones, you name it. It is like a museum of artwork, very pleasant to look at. I am not able to show you everything, but only selective works. For any orders, errr... pls direct all mails to

A-2907, My Father's Road
Kuantan, Pahang.

There are several pots of cactuses in the garden. This one always makes me giddy and itch all over cos it sorts of resembles a caterpillar, and i hate caterpillars! There is one cactus which always grows a white flower once in a while and it blooms for only a day, so to be able to see it is good luck , i suppose.

A blurry photo of half of the garden. The swing and hammock-chair is a place for family meetings. Haha...we think better while we're swaying.

This is the collection of his 'Fu Gui' flowers. Most of them look like human beings being tangled after a strenuous session of advanced yoga. Notice the third one from the right? Looks like a giraffe, huh?


This looks like a lady with a big hairdo (someone should tell her big hairdos are soooo over) sitting daintily. There have been several reports in recent news about Singaporeans praying to monkey and elephant shapes protruding from tree barks around the island. I bet these rabid, pious people will go bonkers in my garden, not sure which one to pray to first.

This shot makes my father's garden looks like a Japanese Garden. With green smooth well-kept grass and massage stones. Where's the fountain, you ask? In the neighbour's house...hehe... See the little wooden house? The house is covered on the sides with a Barisan Nasional poster and there is a mini Malaysia Flag hanging on its side. Don't mess around with its occupant during the Elections, she is an ardent supporter of the current government.


Collection of bonsai plants. They look like miniature trees. Some of them have little white flowers and needs to be de-leafed once every....i dunno...year? Month?
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I had wanted to post photographs of my dad's bougainivillea plants but those few photographs refuse to load here, they're shy as plants. My dad has one big bougainivillea plant which he had been working on, which bears flowers of three different colours! Can your dad do that? (wahaha, showing off).

Monday, September 10, 2007

Kai Kai's Birthday

Little kai kai's birthday had just came and gone several days ago.Here's a nice pic of the handsome boy. Happy birthday Kai !

According to his mom, his favourite flavour is strawberry. Here's his birthday cake, strawberry cake =P Looks nice huh, it was handmade by a neighbour, and only costs RM 25~ Cheappp...

QQ joining in the fun of the birthday celebration. Call me King QQ!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Sensational September

1 Sept : Happy birthday Theron ( better known as kai kai!) Hope you enjoyed your birthday celebration. Photos of birthday to come soon ( thanks Crispy!)


11 Sept : QQ's first ever birthday....muacks muacks... An An loves you to death~





11 Sept : Happy birthday Chui Ying!



12 Sept : Wan Qing's last day in the company. Good luck and best wishes, you'll be missed.. =(



19 Sept : Happy birthday Wolfie... Muacks muacks piglet loves you to death (eh, how come sounds the same as the wish for QQ? haha...)


Monday, September 03, 2007

Delightful Dining

Yummy food blogging again. I love to eat toufu, whatever shape, sizes and flavour they come in. So if i get to order, i'll definitely have a toufu dish, especially if it's full of gravy and comes in a claypot... If someone asks me in Mandarin what's my favourite food however, i can't answer it in Mandarin (wo xi huan chi toufu). Hmm...sounds pervy... (it is a slang for saying i love to take advantage in a sexual way)....hohoho...

Long time never eat steamed fish! Everytime i go home, my mom will steam some fish for me. Unless i go out i don't steam fish at home, cos i'm lousy at picking good, fresh fish and my cooking sucks!

Must have nice vege too! Or else i'll get constipation =P

My favourite cuisine is Thai food. I adore having Tom Yam cos it gives me good appetite. I like clear broth Tom Yam but an unclear one like the photo gives me some kick too! Sometimes they get a little too spicy for me though.
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In Langkawi, i wanted to eat Ikan bakar, Little did i know their Ikan Bakar looks like this... Damn... but this meal's ambience more than make up for its meagre ikan bakar. This small Ikan Bakar hut seats its diner on the sandy beach. So, enjoying the meal with sand on my feet and the sea breeze gently blowing my hair...akakakakakaz....

Looks good, tastes better. Thai-style chicky...sour, sweet, salty and spicy all in one. Perfect.


Hey look Ma! My favourite kueh!!! My mom knows i love this. Can only be found in Malay pasar malams...it is made of the dough used to make Apam balik. U can usually see this sold at Apam Balik stalls. RM0.40 each...Cheap...Yummy...Gone...into my belly... :D
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A Chinese meal look-alike at a Malay dining place. Not that delicious actually. Haiz...

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Matrix Ping Pong

Thank you Elwin for the recommendation of this impressive video =P

Friday, August 24, 2007

Whirlwind Summary

Here goes my last post on Langkawi attractions. Besides the beach, what other stuff can you see in Langkawi? I'll just briefly describe these other places that i visited. They are all scattered around the island, so getting from one place to another sometimes took quite some time, not to mention i got lost several times ( well, u know Malaysian road signs *wink*)






Galleria Perdana : This museum is really out of the way of other attractions. Spent about an hour looking for it. This place displays things related to Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohd, and also the souvenirs he had gotten from various parties during his term as Prime Minister. Haha...look, an f1 car! Not sure if it's a life-size one, but it sure seemed smaller to me. Looking at the car from so close, i had this bizarre urge to climb in... :D



Dataran Lang ( Eagle Square) : Situated in Kuah Town, this humongous eagle is actually the welcoming 'mascot' at the jetty for incoming boats from Malaysia and Thailand.


Air Terjun Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells Waterfall) : This waterfall traces its roots back to a Malay myth, which i can no longer remember haha...I was there really early, on a Sunday morning at around 8 am. Took a nice morning hike through the rainforest to the waterfall and i was the only visitor there.... cool~ Started the day early 'cos alot was on the schedule for the day... hehe...

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Oriental Village : This little village contains various gift shops and restaurants, complete with a different Asian design at every corner. The Oriental Village is actually the cable car hub for visitors ascending Gunung Mat Cincang, so it is filled with tourists like me! When i reached there at its opening hour at 9.30 am, it was drizzling. The cable car was not started due to the weather, so i walked around posing for photos.



Gunung Mat Cincang : When the weather finally permitted me to ride the cable car, i went atop Gunung Mat Cincang at 700 m above sea level. The first cable car stops at 652 m though and the 2nd observatory is at 700 m. Wow, the view was breathtaking... the clear blue sea and little neighbouring islands. As it was pretty hot, plus my tired calfs, i did not attempt to cross the hanging bridge, content to just have a photo of it...haha~

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Underwater World : It was really dark in there, so no good photos to show for all. The entrance fee is EXORBITANT, but lucky i have my Malaysian MyKad, and its RM10 off.... why do they rip off foreigners? haha.... just to see some little fishies, is it worth paying so much?


Muzium Laman Padi (Rice Field Museum) : This museum is directly opposite Pelangi Beach Resort. Inside, it is filled with tools and pictures of how rice planting has evolved over the years. There is also a rice field in its grounds complete with the kerbau (buffalo). Oh yea, did i mention there were hordes of Kerbaus in Langkawi? haha....they should've named the Island Kerbaukawi.
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Langkawi Falls : This man-made waterfall is situated on the north-west of the island. I wanted to approach it for a nearer look , but this monkey kept on baring it's teeth at me when i go anywhere near it. You see the little rascal? he's the little brown furry thing sitting on the pavement just slightly left from me. No wonder i was frowning!
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Makam Mahsuri (Mahsuri's Tomb) : Mahsuri is a name synonymous to Langkawi. Its tale is told and retold repeatedly to school children in Malaysia. So, it was a must for me to visit her tomb and her museum. When i was there, they had just upgraded her grave. No wonder i was puzzled to see the tomb looking slightly different from the brochure and Crispy's pic when she was there 3 years ago.
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Petronas Quay : Nothing much to see here, i was just killing time before driving to the airport... hehe.... anyway, love its marina feel with many yachts docked there. Somewhere further , one can see the Petronas Lighthouse from the quay.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Malaysian Resort Gap

During my 5-day 4-night trip to Langkawi, i spent 2 nights each in different resorts. First 2 nights were spent in a 3-star resort while the last 2 days were spent in a 5-star resort. There were very obvious differences even though it was just 2 star differences.


The first resort i stayed in was Federal Villa, a sister resort of Holiday Villa. We tried to book Holiday Villa but it was fully occupied for the weekend. Thus we had to put up with it's poorer sister, =P

This is the bedroom. The room was spacious but sparsely furnished, and the furniture were really old. We had to play treasure-hunting to locate the kettles and stuff. The bathroom was also very basic, reminiscent of a home toilet... haha...

Hotel room - OK lah, considering i did not spend much time in the resort in the first two days.
Swimming pool - What pool? I ain't see no pool in this resort
Window view - My room window opened up face a gazebo, hmmm....fancy... but the hotel's real close to the beach, a plus point
Staff - Not too bad, very helpful.
Food - The breakfast's quite standard. Weak coffee though.
Ambience - Bad. The building's all bricks and cements, so there's no holiday feel.


On my third day, we moved over to another resort just a stone's throw away from Federal Villa, Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort. Look, our hotel room's pretty quaint huh?


Hmm, the interior design looked pretty soothing and comfy. The best part was yet to come though. See next photo :


Ahhh...the lanai door in our room opens up straight to the beachfront.

Hotel Room - Nicely designed. I love the dressing room-cum-closet-cum-bathroom separated from the room. Gave me ample time to spend in the bathroom.
Swimming pool - There were 2 nice pools. We swam at the Horizon pool and had a drink at the pool-bar. We also rented their bikes to explore the grounds and realised there was another pool (Cascade Pool), which was more deserted and also 2 water-lily ponds.
Window view - See photo of lanai door...kekekeek
Staff - Friendly. The resort's really big and they were all either on bicycles or buggy. They chirpily greet all guests as they pass by.
Food - OK la. Only tried the breakfast, normal lah.
Ambience - Nice. This is the kind of resort that enables you to stay in the resort the whole day, instead of venturing out for entertainment.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

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!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

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.



Monday, August 06, 2007

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.