Wednesday, September 28, 2005

*burp*

Waddup y'all?! I'm back (to only disappear again that is). Last weekend I had a fabulous time and I just wanted to share with the handful of you that actually read my blog. LOL. A group of us just popped into my car and we headed out to Malacca. The only other car was our tour guide's, Dev who actually is from Malacca. This time we were being economic so we decided to crash in Dev's home. No we did not force ourselves in, he actually invited.

We left PJ around noon although we wanted to leave at 10am. You know la how great Malaysian timing is. Anyhoo we reached Malacca around 2ish and went straight to Dev's home. We were greeted by his lovely mum who ushered us in. We dropped our bags and what not in our room and zoomed straight out to have some chicken rice balls for lunch. Boy was dem' balls good. Now now get your mind outta gutter please. We ate at this place called Famosa I think which is located along Jonker's Street. After the scrumptious lunch we headed to Dev's church. A very beautiful place I must say. Its not like the usual churches where there are small rooms and corners hidden. This was one big spacious hall. Timing was perfect as well because Dev and the others were practising for mass the next morning. We got a short preview of Dev on the piano and his mom singing. Simply amazing. It was like watching the duet between Nat King Cole and his daughter performing 'Unforgettable' live. While Dev continued practising, we headed out to get some local ice cream. You know the ones I'm talking about. Only cost RM1 for 2 mouth watering scoops of any flavour on a wafer cone. Its hard to find those in Klang Valley nowadays so we were not going to miss the chance. Its sold in most touristy areas of Malacca. *Droool* I can still taste the chocolate and sweetcorn mix I had.

Around 5ish we decided to head back to Dev's house. On the way we made a detour to this place called Gula Melaka Cafe. There we had some Sago Gula Melaka with Santan followed by a bowl of slurpy Cendol. Damn I've never had that GOOD a gula melaka before. Around klang valley we can get the same desserts but they always use brown sugar instead of Gula Melaka. The taste just isn't the same. The gula melaka at the cafe was simply intoxicating. One can get high we just a small teaspoons full. After the ever so sweet desserts we headed back to Dev's house. There we crashed on our beds and rested for a bit. We took turns taking our showers and getting ready for a night out. By the time we were done it was already 8pm. We got into one car and headed to Umbai for dinner.

Umbai is about 20 minutes or so from Malacca town and is very popular among locals and tourist for their fresh grilled seafood. Its actually a jetty with many malay owned stalls around selling the same exact thing. The 5 of us got about 6 squids, a big Siakap fish and some Sting Ray. We told the cook to grill them all in different flavours. We settled for breaded squid with sweet chilly sauce, deep fried fish with 3 flavour sauce and grilled stingray with chilli rub. The food was served in about 15 minutes or so. By then we were already pigging out on Otak Otak and nasi lemak. We also had a pitcher of Ice Lemon Tea. The seafood was really good. Fresh and tasty. If not for us being tired and full from the other escapades, we would have had more. All that we ate only cost us RM60. Which if you ask anyone, is DIRT CHEAP! After dinner we drove back to Malacca town to head to Jonker's Street.

At night on weekends they close Jonker's Street and allow stalls to be set up. Locals and tourist would roam around munching on various goodies sold or buying interesting ornaments or antiques. They even sell pets. Can you beat that. Anyways the night market wasn't really our goal. There is this nice pub in the middle called Ringo and we wanted to end the night there. We managed to get a nice table on the street in the middle between Ringo Pub and this other pub called The Geographer. These 2 pubs have an agreement that each take 30 minute sets to play their respective live music. Very interesting compromise. Sadly the singer in The Geographer sucked and spoilt so many of my favourite oldies. The idiot sounded like he was in some karoake session. Luckily we had Ringo (who obviously is the owner of Ringo Pub *duh*) who is great as a guitarist and singer. He really liven up things that night. Between the 5 of us we managed to polish off about 5 buckets of beer and share lots of laughter and good music. The night ended around 2am. From there we adjourned to this place near Dev's house called Habeeb Sultan . Its a typical Indian Muslim restaurant that you can find all over Malaysia. The only thing that makes this place special is the Maggi Goreng (fried instant noodles). I have never had such good maggi goreng before. Its not overly spicy or lacking in taste. The noodles were just right and the taste magical. If only they had something like that in Klang Valley. It'll definately be my after beers hangout.

We only managed to retire around 4am. Or at least that is what I think the time was. Next thing I knew it was around noon Sunday and we were being told to wake up for lunch. Dev's mom was kind enough to prepare us a yummy lunch. We had chicken curry, mutton paraetal, rasam, beans, appalam and rice. I could only manage one round but the others were gobbling everything up. After lunch we crashed in the TV room. Too full and tired to go anywhere. An hour or so of bumming around we couldn't sit still anymore. We got up and headed to the beach. Sadly its not that much of a beach so we just ended up eating ice cream and staring at the ocean. After finishing up our ice cream we headed to the church again. There we caught this amazing kid play the drums while a young girl sing. Its amazing the talents some people have. If only I had a musical side, besides making weird or rude noises that is. At about 5ish we were back in Dev's house and his mom was busy making tea. We had cucur udang and biscuits all laid out. When we were done with tea we were too full or tired to think of the next move. We bummed for a couple of hours before deciding that it was time to head back to PJ. But not before we had some dinner of course. Dev took us to this place which is by the sea called Sampan Cafe. A very romantic place. Its this old bungalow which they did up to have indoor seating and also the kitchen and what not. The best part was outside overlooking the sea where there were tables set up all over. Its a big piece of land housing almost 20 odd tables. Sadly it wasn't windy when we went there so we couldn't enjoy the full experience. The food there was so so and the service was horrible. I wouldn't say it was the best experience all weekend. Thank god for the tasty fruit juices. By the time we were done it was already 10pm. Said our goodbyes to Dev and we headed home. Reached around midnight due to heavy traffic. Sent my mates home, had a shower and knocked out. Woke up around noon the next day. Can't wait for the next trip!

I know I know its a freaking long post. But you do not want me to leave out anything right? Anyways I'm tired from typing all this out. You guys have a good night kay. Toodles.

Friday, September 23, 2005

seven whaa??

I just got tagged by Poopie. Here goes...

7 things that scare me:
1. Being mugged 2. Dumb drivers 3. Putting on weight 4. Failing 5. Ghosts 6. Being lonely 7. Darkness

7 things that I like most:
1. Chocolate 2. Music 3. A good movie 4. Driving 5. Coney dog with cheese *drool* 6. Jokes 7. Ice Lemon Tea

7 important things in my room:
1. My PC 2. All my music CDs 3. Poochie and Bubu Bear 4. My graduation photo thingy 5. Aiwa Mini HiFi 6. All the Photo Albums 7. My comfy bed!

7 random facts about me:
1. I'm overweight 2. I'm bored of my job 3. I don't seem to get enough sleep 4. Life is good yet crappy at the same time 5. I miss the life in US 6. I hate the heat 7. I want a dog

7 things I plan to do before I die:
1. Honeymoon in Maldives 2. Own a successful company 3. Buy a spanking new BMW 4. Join the Mile High Club *wink* 5. Fly in First Class 6. Have a ONS (One Night Stand) 7. Cruise to Alaska

7 things I can do:
1. Swim 2. Lie convincingly 3. Cook (not just edible but tasty too) 4. Make people laugh 5. Be alone 6. Watch 4 movies in a row (i'm aiming for more but since i started working, watching even 1 freaking movie is an accomplishment) 7. Impersonations (at times that is and not famous ppl by the way)

7 things I can’t do:
1. Dance 2. Sing (at least in tune that is) 3. Read a book in a day 4. Fly (tried once but ended up having stitches on my chin) 5. Play a musical instrument (farting not counted ya) 6. Ride a motorcycle (would love to one day) 7. Loose weight (seems easier to put on but i'm trying my best aight)

7 things I say the most:
1. “Morning” 2. “What?” 3. “Period” (you gotta be part of my office to understand that) 4. “Another jug please.” 5. “What the fuck?” 6. “Helpdesk going down.” (again you gotta be part of my office) 7. “Aight”

7 celebrity crushes:
1. Jessica Alba 2. Eva Longoria 3. Aishwarya Rai 4. Shu Qi 5. Kirsten Dunst 6. Aaliyah *RIP* 7. Mya

7 people who could do this:
Ah Bald, Hibernating Bear, Bubu, James, Devan and thats it. My mates don't blog la!

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

nice yoke...

Got this via email from a friend. Good stuff.

A taxi passenger tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him a
question.

The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went
upon the footpath, and stopped centimeters from a shop window.

For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said:

"Look mate, don't ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of
me!"

The passenger apologized and said, "I didn't realize that a little tap
would scare you so much."

The driver replied, "Sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my
first day as a cab driver - I've been driving a van carrying dead bodies
for the last 25 years."

Saturday, September 10, 2005

east coast trip finale....

I know I know. Enuff already. I promise this is the last bit on the east coast trip ok. Can't just leave it hanging there can I. I'll make it short and sweet. On the last day we didn't have any plans except for the drive home. We all woke up in time for breakfast. Had a quick bite, packed up and got ready to depart. The plan was to head down to Teluk Cempedak in Kuantan town (about 70km from the resort), have lunch and then drive straight back to KL. The roads were rather dangerous as they ran through small villages. So you had dumbass motorcyclists zooming in and out plus other motorists who I presume owned the roads from the way they were driving. Thankfully we reached Kuantan safely. Had some lunch there, rested for a bit and took some shots of the beach there (which was just as good although the waters rather choppy). When everyone was all fueled up, we drove non stop to KL. Actually we did stop periodically for pee breaks, refueling and so on. The drive back was just as good as the drive there. It was really a sight to see all the cars lined up on the highway. People on the road would stare at us as we passed along or as the overtook us. As expected we did have some idiots trying to cut in between the convoy or tailgate us, but we managed to keep things in control.

Before breaking off the last stop was Genting R&R. Which is usually the last stop for most road trips involving multiple cars. We said our goodbyes, made sure everyone was fine and broke off. By then it was already 430pm so I was definately gonna get caught in the Monday evening jam. I also had to send my mates home and one of them were smack in the middle of the jam. By the time I was done sending them home it was already 7ish. Got home, unpacked, had dinner, took a bath and practically crashed on the bed. By the time I got up it was 11 in the morning. All and all I would say it was a great road trip. The drive was good, the location superb and best of all I was with great company. Can't wait for our next getaway trip. Hmmm maybe we should drive up to Thailand! =)

Enjoy the pictures below. G'nite folks...


rise and shine y'all...


thirsty rides...


off we go...


last regroup...


ahhh finally home...

Friday, September 09, 2005

east coast trip continued...

As promised I'll continue about my road trip today. Now where did I left off. Ahh yes the second day. Well we were supposed to wake up by 8am for breakfast but as expected we only got ready around 10am and that was when breakfast ended. Nonetheless we decided to try our luck. When we got there they were just packing up and by good fortune had some fried noodles and sausages left. After nibbling on the leftovers, we grouped up with the others to head out to the Turtle Sanctuary which is located near Club Med in Cherating, Kuantan. Roughly about 10 to 15km out from where we were. The Turtle Sanctuary is a pretty nice place. Entrance is free and there is a small muzium of sorts on the life cycle of turtles. In there is also a dead double headed turtle. There is also a pool where some turtles were swimming or lazing about. Nearer towards the beach is the nesting/hatching area. All the eggs that were grouped up by the researches are kept in this tent like enclosure and monitored. Batches grouped by date and time.

After hanging about for an hour or so, we drove off to look for lunch. The plan was to go to this chinese restaurant which was famous for stuffed crab. But before that we were gonna raid the keropok lekor stalls along the highway. A popular and the most visible fried snack in Terengganu, the keropok is made of fish meat, ground to a paste, and mixed with sago. Coming in two main different forms, the long chewy ones are called 'lekor', while the thin, crispy ones are called 'keping'. Keropok is best eaten hot with its special chili dip or sauce. In short its simply yummy! I think we gave a fright to some of the stalls as we were packing in and buying everything in sight. Boy do they taste good fresh. We were gobbling away on our way to the restaurant. Once we were done with lunch (which was good I must add), we headed back to the resort for some r&r. As expected, we headed straight up and grabbed some cool cans of Tiger. Nothing like a cold beer to quench your thirst. We then went to check out the beach. Its nice to have a beach all to yourself. The sand was white and powdery and the water cool and calm. Some of the fellas were playing volleyball while some swam.

At around 8pm we headed out again for dinner. This time we tried this floating restaurant called 3K. Pretty decent place with a couple of dart boards and nice music playing in the background. Food came rather late though but tasted good. So at least it was worth the wait. I think they weren't used to catering for 20 plus people. When dinner was done the whole group decided to head to Kerteh to check out the oil refineries. As the sight was something else, we decided to join em'. This time the flames weren't burning as good as the day before but the whole place still looked amazing. Everyone was in awe at how huge the whole structure was and how the sky lit up. By the time we were done, it was already around midnite. Some hit the sack while others goofed around drinking beers. We were all dead tired but it was the last night in Terengganu.

I think I'll end here. Will write about the journey back some other time. I'm sure most of you are bored reading the details. Enjoy the pictures below of the second day. Toodles!


the crew and their rides...


yummy...


sunset at the beach...


wheres the fucking food?!


burn baby burn...

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

east coast getaway...

Finally after almost 1 year plus of delaying and planning, my car club K2OC, finally got on with the East Coast Getaway trip last weekend. A group of us (15 cars and about 29 people) headed up to Kemaman, Terengganu to Strawberry Kijal Resort Apartments for 2 nights and 3 days. I did about 950km worth of driving during this trip which was good as it helped speed up the popping of my car's cherry. The trip was not properly planned due to certain unforseen circumstances but it turned out to be simply perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Although I do not own Betty anymore, as an old timer and almost pioneer of the club, I was invited to join them in my new ride instead. My car turned out to be the 'Documentary Team' as we were in charge of recording the whole event on video. It consisted of 3 alumni members, 2 of whom own GTIs now and myself with my lovely MyVi. =)

The trip started out on Saturday in the wee hours of the morning. Went around picking up my mates and headed to the meet up point in ProJet Gombak. After having some breakfast and a short briefing, we were off. My car was the second last car with the number 13. Damn I wasn't really happy for getting that number but couldn't really care less. The drive up was simply amazing, to see all the cars lined up in unison. We got some really good shots. We arrived at Kemaman without any hiccups. Stopped at this old coffee shop called Hai Peng, which supposedly has the some of the best coffee around. As expected we had some coffee with really old skool roti bakar. The ones that they toast over charcoal with a healthy dollup of homemade kaya and butter. *Drooooool* I can still picture digging into those buns. Considering I ain't really a coffee buff, it wasn't all that bad. The shop had a very old time feel to it with nice aged wooded tables and chairs, old fans and all sorts of antique furnitures. To experience the coffee shop itself is enuff a reason to go there.

After lunch we headed straight up to the resort which wasn't that far off. We did get lost a bit locating it, due to the lack of signs but we managed. At the resort we were greeted by their staff and had a board up welcoming our car club. It did feel good to see the welcoming sign. Makes you feel important. LOL. Even though we know we aren't! After checking in, most of us just crashed in our respective rooms. We were just too tired. We left KL at around 9am and only reached the resort at 3pm. The first thing we did of course was to ensure our beers were kept in the fridge. Can't be drinking warm beer now can we. Till about dinner we just hung about in the living room watching whatever that is on the telly and sipping some semi cold beer. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner which was BBQ! Damn the BBQ was good. We had lamb, chicken, sausages, squid and prawns. What more can you ask for right? After the scrumptious meal, the rest of the crew wanted to drink up on the beer and whiskey and get wasted. We, as in those in my car had other plans. We didn't really want to drink all that much and we didn't want to retire to our rooms as well. So we did the next best thing, which was to take a drive up to Kertih, where the Petronas oil refineries were. Now that part of the night is something I can never forget. It was just like when I went to Las Vegas. Brightly lit and the refineries went on for miles. The flames burning above the funnels were a sight to behold. Its quite hard to imagine, you just got to be there to see it for yourselves. I always did want to see how the Olympic torch looked like and now I had my chance. By the time we were done with that it was already 2am or so. We headed back to our room, had a couple of beers and retired for the night.

*Yaaawn* I think thats all for now. I'm getting prett sleepy now myself. Will blog about the rest tommorrow or something. Enjoy some of the pictures below. G'nite all!


arrival of the beauty...


documentary team down for some breakfast...


getting my sponsors up...


the whold crew with our new banner...

Friday, September 02, 2005

katrina...

Katrina. Isn't it a nice name. Sadly with what it is associated with now, it doesn't sound that lovely anymore. It was only about 7 months ago that we were hit by the deadly Tsunami which killed 250,000 plus and god knows how many more unaccounted for. Now a deadly hurricane (category 4) has rampaged through southern states of North America. Tearing apart everything in its path, flooding cities, leaving thousands homeless and countless dead or missing. The damage is extensive but that is not what is of concern now. Thousands of people are trapped in cities ravaged by this storm without power, shelter or food. A town (Waveland, Mississippi) has also been wiped off the map.

One of my favourite cities in US, New Orleans, was the worse hit by Katrina. More than 60,000 residence are trying to flee from the city for shelter and safety. The city has gone into a state of lawlessness where looters and armed gangs roam around. Evacuation efforts are being distrupted by these arseholes who even shot at a helicopter who was trying to evacuate survivors. In this day and age especially being a developed nation, you would not expect such a thing but like any disaster, it will bring the best and the worse out of people. Looking at the news coverage of the event is depressing, seeing all those people suffering with no clue of what to do, where to start or even where to go from here. I have to admit that I do not feel as much as I did when the Tsunami struck Asia but it still does make me sad.

Lets take some time to say a few prayers to all those that are suffering from this disaster. To those that have passed on, god bless you and may you rest in peace. To the survivers, hang in there and keep your spirits up. If anyone of you would like to help out, you can donate to the American Red Cross. Any amount helps. All you need to have is a credit card and you can make a difference. Below are a few pictures of Hurricane Katrina and the mess it caused. G'nite everyone and do take care. Enjoy your life to the fullest. You never know when shit is gonna happen! =(



Thursday, September 01, 2005

i got snapped...

Arrgghhh I just got snapped!! =(

One of the only few times I skipped the traffic lights and I got snapped. Sigh. Worse still it was still yellow when I passed the line. Damn they are fast. Now I'm praying there is no film in the camera, which is usually the case. But considering my high arseluck factor, I think I got caught. Oh well, can't really do much about it now. Just gotta wait and see. Guess I'll think twice the next time I skip the lights.

Arrrggghhh. Thats like RM300 down the drain!! =(