Kampar Fever

Do you know what I like about having family trips? Two simple reasons. First, they are fully sponsored and that means I don't have to fork out a single cent for the accommodation, food or other added entertainments. Secondly, mum will repack the things that I've packed earlier into a neater and more organised form (that encourages full utilisation of space!). Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

In view of the global economic crisis, we are heeding the advice of the government to cut on unnecessary spending like leisure travelling. But, what is the fun of life if it is all work and no play? Thus, we decided to travel locally instead and headed for Kampar.

For those of you who have not heard of this place, I assure you that it does exist! At least I've been there and I'm now back safely.

Check Wikipedia and you'll find heaps of information regarding this place. Put simply, this is a small town located somewhere in Perak, which boasts a laid-back and bustle-free lifestyle. I noticed that the people living here are really friendly and they are a very tight-knit community. All of them are known to each other and a stroll at the morning market will see many of them wishing 'Good Mornings' to one another. But, there is one thing lacked about this town.

There is no cinema and no shopping malls. The nearest cinema one can find there is at Ipoh, which is about 20 minutes ride by car while the only 'mall' available to the residents is Tesco. But, I wouldn't even consider that as a mall!

Apparently, a click on Wikipedia will show that there are five hotels in this small town. However, a chat with one of the locals there revealed that there is only one hotel here, which is the Grand Kampar Hotel.

It does give some resemblance to the Eastern & Oriental (E& O) Hotel we have here in Penang.

One thing I find unique about this hotel is that the building was surrounded by shophouses which were all different in terms of the architecture, shape and design.
The above picture portrays a shophouse from the Dutch community.

Next to it was another row of shophouses from the English community. This area was particularly quiet during the day and it only comes to life when the sun sets.

Never mind about the fact that it is the sole hotel here, as it definitely provide value-for-money service to the travellers. A suite only costs RM200 a night and the room is HUGE.

Okay, enough descriptions about the town.

I shall now touch on the activities that we have done during our three days-two nights stay in Kampar.

Frankly, all we did there was to eat and play. This town which was once famous for its abundant tin reserves has plenty of food to offer, but not to my liking. Notably, the trademark food of this town is freshwater prawns (which are 3 times bigger than the tiger prawns). Of course, other food can also be found in this town, but I don't think they are a lot special anyway. In fact, I find Penang's food better in terms of quality and taste. However, the servings of the food in Kampar is clearly more generous and they are easy on our pockets too.

So apart from all the munching, we also had various fun-filled activities to burn off the calories.

Day One:
We did water rafting at the Kampar River, which was located somewhere near the Gua Tempurung. A guide was appointed to show us the way there and it took us almost 20 minutes from the cave.


Upon completing the challenge, we were each given a certificate. Paddle or Die? Hmmm, certainly doesn't sound pretty convincing that we are going to be well taken care of.

Although seemingly the river is graded as level 3, I don't find it very challenging at all. The rapids were minor and though we were told that the whole challenge takes approximately 90 minutes, we had wasted almost 30 minutes waiting for either the photographer or the other rafts.

It was a tiring adventure as we had to row the raft using the paddles given to us. Even my mum was dragged to play along and despite almost falling into the water several times, she still managed to make it till the end. Sorry, no pics for this event....

Day Two:
Supposedly, we had nodded in agreement to go hiking at one of the recreation parks, Taman Ros. But, we were so tired from all the rowing that we overslept and missed the healthy activity. However, not all is lost. We proceeded to a hot water spring somewhere in Perak right after our heavy breakfast at the Kampar market. What have I got to say about this place? Hmm...spectacular..

Ironically, the river beds are boiling hot while the water is icy cold. Of course, not the whole stretch of the river bed is hot, rather, only certain parts of it. And when I say hot, it means business. It means that it is really hot! I tried soaking my feet into the river and in just a split of a second, out my feet went. Hehehe....anyway, it is an experience not to be missed. Besides, hot water spring is said to provide medicinal value by curing arthritis and many other sicknesses. For now, my mood instability (if only you consider that as an illness) has been successfully cured by the miraculous river bed.


Don't worry that you'll get bored there as I will now show you some of the activities that you can indulge in, while waiting for your friends/family to discover the fun of the hot spring.

If the weather is not too hot, you can always take a family photo. Just be careful not to get over excited and fall into the river.

You can also take the children for a stroll on the bridge if they are too tired of playing in the water.

That's not all. You can choose to either sit or rest on the tree branches too. As a safety precaution, just double check the branch to make sure that it is strong enough to accommodate your weight.

You can also walk to the middle of the river to take some fantastic shots if you want to. Still, remember to pack extra clothes into your bag.

If you don't like the mentioned activities, here is one more for you. Bring a mat, food and drinks for your own version of picnic. Not to forget, a food cover to protect your food from the flies.

Fret not if you forget to bring your food. You can always steal some of the eggs that have been left there to boil by the visitors. Hehehe...

I chanced upon this cute little girl playing in the river. Can't help it but to snap a shot. Isn't she chubby?

Even her sister is chubby like her. She somehow reminds me of myself when I was 7 years old. I was that size many many years ago...

That's it for day two.

Day Three: This day spells greatness. I get to visit a pomelo orchard in Ipoh!!! There were so many pomeloes that were still hanging at the trees, waiting to be plucked in a few days time. I reckoned that they use chicken poo as the organic fertilizer for the trees as the smell of the shits were so robust that I wondered if I was visiting a chicken barn instead. That was a total turnoff but all was forgiven when I saw the pomeloes..
There were plenty...countless...lots of it!!!

I wasn't lying! Look!!!

They were big and I bet they were juicy as well. Time to pass on some knowledge about pomeloes. You can touch, harass or kiss them, but you are FORBIDDEN to knock on them. Or else, they will drop from the trees but remain unripe. So, take note!

This is a twin pomelo. They clearly do not wish to be separated and they are still clinging onto the branches.

But, we were too cheeky. We had them plucked just for the sake of a photoshoot. Our bad...

And seriously, it felt great to be surrounded by pomeloes all over your head. At least if they do fall, they won't hurt so much like how durians do.

If I have the time, I'll be willing to sit and wait for them to fall. But, time is envious of me. No choice but to take my pick at the collection of those that are already ripe and waiting to be taken home.

Seriously, I didn't even know that this place existed. It has drawn visitors from as far as Hong Kong and as seen in the picture above, the BIG guy is a food expert whom can be seen on food-related TV programmes.

That's all about my holiday. I am looking forward for more places to visit in the future and hopefully, the next trip will be out of Malaysia.

But right now, Cuti-cuti Malaysia first lah.

Bye Bye Bye

Half an hour more to go and I'll be heading to Kampar! I know, you must be asking why am I so excited about it since the place that we're visiting is merely a sub urban area that is obviously, rather cut off from the entertainment world. Well, the fact is because this trip is fully sponsored by my brother and that the objective of this trip is to eat all we can. And doesn't that sound great??!!

Okay, just like what I have predicted, no one on my MSN list is awake at the point of writing. The 'online' list is EMPTY!! There might be two possibilities. First, I have too few friends on the IM and most of them wake up only after the sun rises. Second, they are all too, like me, away from Penang for holiday! I shall go for option 2!

Hmmm...What is Christmas, really? As a matter of fact, all I know is that it is the birth of Jesus Christ. Is that knowledge adequate for me to go hoo-haa over this special day? Yeah,...5 more days and it'll be a brand new year - 2009!!!. I'm only going to think about my resolutions for the new year when I get back home...which is real soon.

Bye, guys and a Merry Merry Merry Christmas to all of you.

And not to forget that I have a date on New Year's Eve!! Cheers.

Below are some of the pictures that I've snapped just for the mighty Winter Solstice Festival, which is also known as Dongzhi (in Mandarin) or Tang Chik (Hokkien) Festival among the Malaysians.

Every year, I will help my mum to roll out the glutinous rice mixtures into small balls, which will then be boiled and soaked in thick ginger-infused syrup for consumption later on. Gradually, the family members who are involved in the process of making the rice balls are getting less every year. However, I, for one, will never miss out on such special day and thus, here I am this year, sharing some of the pictures depicting the 'extremely delicious but high calorie' glutinous rice balls.

Bet it looks dull with only one colour.

I think the colour combination here is quite successful, considering the fact that it makes me drool even by looking at the picture.

Nah. Here it is!! The complete set of the glutinous rice balls...Total number of colours?
FIVE!!!!

It sure looks tempting, doesn't it?

These bowls are specially prepared for praying purpose...

A close-up of the glutinous rice balls...The colour of the two balls on the spoon are special creations by my mum and I. Initially, we wanted to make it orange in colour (by mixing pink and yellow), but somehow, it turned out to be...this colour.

Another close-up shot

That's all for today. Happy Dongzhi Festival!!

Updates

I've been going out a lot for the past few weeks. I've attended class gatherings, hiked at the Youth Park, stopped over at a friend's house, invited friends to join me for a movie at home, sang at the karaoke and also accompanied my sister to hunt for supper at night. All because I wanted someone to keep me company for this boring holiday season. Although all these activities might sound really exciting and fun, there is also a big drawback that is causing so much misery to myself.

First of all, it is burning a hole in my already-burnt pocket. For each of the outing, I am always tempted to either spend on food or things which I do not need at all. As a result, my house is usually filled to the brim with my stuffs which were bought out of impulse. My mum's constant nags don't help much either, as I will brush them off aside and continue living in my i-wanna-do-whatever-i-want world.

Christmas is approaching and I'm glad that I'll be celebrating it in a different way this year. Of course I would love to join my friends and witness the countdown together like what I did last year, but I did not very much fancy the part where I have to squeeze myself through those stinky and sticky people to get from one end to the other end of the mall. So, for this year, my brother is bringing us to Kampar for the much awaited celebration of the year. And how do I feel? I'm elated of course, but I will have to make sure that I do not overeat and come back with unsightly bulges. I'm considering to bring a skipping rope there as part of my must-do exercise regime.

And what about New Year's Eve? I think I should just stay at home in order to keep myself out of the jams. Perhaps, I'm going to buy a few bottles of Heineken and drink with my sister at home, while getting entertained by the tv programmes. Yes, I love beers and I am admitting it right here in front of you guys. I'm grown up already MA..

Too many words and it might spell BOREDOM. Let me entertain you with some pictures of the week..

Looking puzzled, as always...

He's simply irresistible

Cute as a button

He likes girls, A LOT!

He sure has some Edward Cullen's genes running in his blood

Voila! Group picture at Lynette's house

More updates coming up...

Starwalk 2008

It was my third time joining the Starwalk, first time being when I was in form 4. Nothing much has changed though, but one can surely spot the effects of cost-cutting measures that are being adopted in view of the global economic crisis. In the previous walks, charity concerts were held few days before the walk with many prominent local artistes performing but somehow, this year has not seen anything like that. What I reckon is that everyone is putting up so much struggle with the crisis, that no one even bothers to chip in for charity anymore.

Simply put, there is no charity concert prior to the walk this year and even if there's one (the concert on today itself), it was such a disappointment. I was looking forward to being entertained after such an arduous walk, only to be left baffled by the standard of the performance. But hang on, at least I fancy this walk's t-shirt that has cuter graphics and obviously appeals to people like me. Cheers.

I only had four hours of decent sleep before I finally slipped on the shirt and took on the walk. I've got to admit that I was very much dazed when the alarm rang at 5.15am and I was about to snooze it. But, the thought of winning the lucky draw in the walk has gotten ahold of me and it acted as an energy booster to get me out of bed.

Finally, we reached the PISA before 6.30am. It took us only 20 minutes from my house...thanks to auntie Hong's excellent driving. As we were registered under the fun walk category, we were scheduled to start walking at 7.15am, but instead, we neared ourselves towards the competition walkers so that we can also start early like them. So, we began our walk at 7am sharp, and took exactly 1 hour and 59 minutes to reach the finishing point, that is at 8.59am! Jeez...I only took 1 hour and 23 minutes the last time I joined the walk and now, I almost took more than the recommended time. Shame or luck, you name it...

Here are some of the pictures I captured during the walk.

Early birds getting ready for a big group walk.

The Hong family who took good care of me throughout the walk.

I wanted her to give me a nice post, but she gave me THIS. What do you think? LOL

Halfway through the walk. Just to remind ourselves that we are here again, at the STARWALK

Almost reaching. That is my 'winning' trophy, sad to say...

One more before I officially end the walk.

Upon reaching, I saw human butterflies...

And Digi was there too...persuading the non-Digis to


Still, we never fail to waste a single minute of the day as we

managed to take another picture as if we were the winners of the day! Hoo0..

One thing for sure, even after the walk, we refused to go back despite feeling so tired. I was so determined to win myself an air ticket at the lucky draw while Pin Yin's mum was pinning her hopes on winning one of the bikes for PY's brother.

I thought my chances of winning will be higher with more tickets, but....

as fate would have it, we walked back empty-handed. But we made our vow to come back next year! We were not going to give up just yet, not so soon! Btw, we were not the only ones waiting and hoping...

Seen here are the hopefuls waiting for their numbers to be called, just like us...

There were some who were ecstatic and jumping for joy when their numbers were picked. There were also some who kept on looking at the tickets, hoping that they have the power to turn the numbers to the ones called (just like me). But, there were also some who cheered when no one picked up the prize when they were called. Perhaps, they thought that since they can't win it, might as well they don't let others take it away.

At last, it all came to an end at approximately 1pm. People were gushing out of the hall upon learning that their hopes were crushed. And me? Despite feeling rather upset, I still manage to take back a consolation prize, which is...

a B.A.L.L.O.O.N.
At least it is better than nothing.

It was not a fruitless day for I had learnt something new yesterday. It was my first time at Penang Bowl and I was stunned by what I saw. Prior to that, I've heard that the price there is considered reasonable compared to many other places.

So, the normal price for a game of bowling is RM3.50 while a student, of course gets some rebates. Ironically, there is a different type of pricing for different type of students. If you are a school student, you will only have to pay RM2.00 for one game whereas if you are a COLLEGE student, you will have to fork out 50 cents extra, that is RM2.50. Never in my life have I seen any outlet that categorises the students into such ways. However, are they setting the price on the basis that college students are wealthier and therefore, they do not need that much of rebate? Or else, why do they have to charge the college students an additional 50 cents? *thinking real hard to work this out!!*

Anyway, compared to the adults, I did managed to enjoy the privileges of a student and save RM2 for the games. But still, I think that they should just group the students as STUDENTS and not divide them into school students or college students. After all, not everyone who attends college is financially stable..

Still, that didn't dampen my mood for the day. I had lots of fun talking to my ex-schoolmates about an array of topics that are so interesting! From Penang Bowl, we continued our chatter all the way to A&W in Gurney Plaza. One thing hasn't changed at all, even after so many years. We still talk that loud and laugh even louder. We never fail to draw stares from the people wherever we go...not in a positive way, but somehow in a negative way. However, we were not going to be bothered by that. -.-...So people, bear with us whenever we are near you okay?

Now, let me just summarise the list of people who attended the gathering.

Ee Ping - she is now officially my 'size' when I was in form 5...no offence. She is happy the way she is. And, she is very lucky compared to all of us for she already has that 'someone special'. *laughing hysterically*

Xandria - she lost weight...and she still has 5 more years to go before she officially becomes a teacher. I bet ya she'll be a great one.

Lay Nee - maybe she needs more practices on bowling. or perhaps more luck? :P...heehee. I can give her free lessons if she wants. At least, i had a perfect strike for 4 times okay???

Keh Jun - hmmm, this girl claims that she comes just to see me. Not kidding, okay...:P

Jaslyn - this is a very 'special' person. She paid for the games but she doesn't wanna play. What else? we took turns and play for her-lah...

Shin Yong - she was the latest to arrive and the earliest to leave. But, she made up for it by hanging with us at Gurney. So, she's forgiven...

Michele - a New Zealand baby. as the name would suggest, she is still that sweet and adorable. *wee*

Hwei Zhen - oopss, maybe she prefers to be called Jane. she is happily in love and she still likes to pick on me like she used to back in high school. *mad mad mad*

Lynette - a November baby, just like me. she injured her little finger while waiting to get the bowling ball. she sure has a unique way of accumulating her luck before she throws the ball...

Pin Yin - as usual, we just can't stop bickering with each other. heehee.

And me - who was leading in the games at first, but was soon outpaced by the *actual expert* , Pin Yin


Where else in Penang do you suggest us to go??? We are running out of place for gathering already !!!

Still remember the song, All I Want for Christmas that was sung by Britney Spears when she was still at the peak of her stardom? Hmm...in case you can hardly remember the song, go Google it.

However, instead of hoping for a lover (as indicated in the song), I am hoping for more good things to come into my life. Things such as more cash flow, joy, blessings, brand new clothes and definitely more opportunities and chances. I hope that all these can be made real through the STAR walk which will kick off at PISA on this coming Sunday. I heard that they'll be offering real good prizes like motorbikes, TVs, holiday packages, and even handphones!!!! Wahh...

Although the chance of winning in the lucky draw is very slim, I am still hoping for miracles to happen. Ya know, I've not won anything in the past and therefore, I am hoping for all the lucks to accumulate on this big day -December 14th, 2008. Please....at least let me bring back something this year!!!!

Mali-mali HOMMMMMMMMM!!!!

Almost conned...

It was my first time...and I'll make sure that it'll be the last.

No one knows how we eventually allowed him to enter the house. Somehow, I do believe that he had performed some black magic on us, especially my mum. This guy, in his early 40s, had walked into our house through the gate which was slightly opened. Thinking that the guy might be one of the workers involved in the renovation work that is taking place in my house, mum had thought little of him being a possible con man. Here, I've got to admit that the guy was pretty convincing and smooth-spoken. He broke the news that we were among the 20 lucky houses that the company has chosen to receive an 8-piece set of cookware in conjunction with their company's anniversary. Yeah, right!

His trick started off by claiming how lucky we were and that one of our neighbours also received the gift. To prove that he was a serious business, he went to his car and took out a box of the cookware and demonstrated to us at the front grill door. He told us that the gift was free and we do not have to pay a single cent for it since it was given by the company. Noting the unfriendly look on my face, he assured me that he was not a con man. He convinced me that he was indeed a good man and even addressed himself as koko (brother). *rolls eyes*

Tell me...Which con man will actually admit that he is a con man?

Fine, I allowed myself to be cheated by him since he swore his innocence on his future children, saying that if he lied to us, his future children will be ass-less (handicapped in a way).

Finally, after around 10 minutes of demonstration, he knew that it was time and revealed his trick. He claimed that the whole box of gifts actually cost RM2488. However, since we are the lucky ones, we only have to pay RM458 for the duty fees.

Caught ya! Where got free things in this world?? Trying to con me?

Somehow, I was adamant that he wouldn't leave unless we purchase those things from him. Thank God...My uncle came back in time and I think he was slightly shaken when he finally saw a man in the house.

I knew that I had to chase this guy out of the house before he started doing any harm to anyone. Rudely, I told him that we have a lot of these cookwares in our house and we do not need them for now. Then, this guy hit back at me by saying something really sarcastic (but I can't remember what was it). Anyway, sensing that we might not be the perfect prey for him, he left abruptly in his car after we rejected his 'free gift'...I suppose he was cursing non-stop in his car. *smirk*

Time to wrap up the whole incident. Seriously, I did not know how my mum had allowed him to enter the house and how we ended up listening to his 'demonstration' for around 15 minutes. Right after he left, I even slapped my mum on the face to make sure that she was awake, for she was a very cautious person all the while and will not allow any stranger into the house. Of course, she claimed that she was very conscious but she also said that she felt slightly dizzy. Until now, I am not sure if she was really dizzy or was she saying that just for the fun of saying it...

They said that there is no free lunch in this world.

Absolutely. No questions about that.

Anyway, I still can't believe that he casted such an evil curse on his future children. All for the sake of making us believe that he isn't a con man when he really is one! Sigh, since no actions can be taken against him, I just hope that no other housewives out there will be victimised by this con man. Remember, free lunch only comes at home. Not from the outsiders nor from any 'company representatives'.

SAY NO to CON MAN!

You've got to agree with me. Jason Statham is so much better and HOTTER than the new James Bond in many ways. Mind you, I am not talking about Pierce Brosnan (because I consider him HOT for his age), rather I am referring to Daniel Craig (the latest star of James Bond).

Not only does Jason own a hot body (six packs!!!), he also has a really sexy and hairy chest (suitable for Connie) and the list goes on and on. So, to those of you who are still stuck in the choice of either watching Quantum of Solace or Transporter 3, please...listen to my advice, drop the 007 and go for Frank Martin. Woo0hooo..!

Can see his six packs or not?

I just can't contain my excitement when Frank Martin was forced to strip in exchange for the car keys that were held by his 'package', Valentina. At that point, Jo claimed that she felt 'turned on', which is much to the amusement of both me and Mei. But, seriously, he has a hot body! Well, there was no sex scene, only one kissing scene which Mei deemed should be censored in Malaysia. To me, I don't think that there is anything wrong...people kiss, hug and yeah, they end up in bed. So, what is the big issue about all these? Besides, this is an 18SG film, which means that the movie-goers are all well above 18 years old. I am pretty sure by this age, we are able to use our own discretion to judge what is right or wrong. *wink*

Fast forward, I don't think that Valentina fits the role of the 'package'. She is a bit annoying at the beginning, but there is one particular thing that I liked about her. She has a really nice Ukrainian accent and throughout the whole show, she was only clad in her sexy, gold and glittery party dress...No wonder Frank who was held back initially also gave in to her at last. Which guy on this planet can resist a seemingly HOT girl who willingly offers herself to him???!!!

Frank and Valentina. Is she pretty?

She looks a bit like Avril Lavigne from this angle

Moving on, this movie also changed the perception of my ideal car right away. I've been idolising Mini Cooper all the while (as seen in the Italian Job) but as of December 4, 2008, this car is officially off from the list. I am going for a black Audi S8 instead. The car has gone through thick and thin with Frank Martin. I can still vividly remember a scene where there was a fight-off between the bad guys (in Merz) and Frank (in Audi). Then came a moment where there were two big trailers dominating the road, rendering it impossible for Frank to escape from the baddies. What amazed me was the ability of this guy to make his car run on one side (with two wheels) and squeezed through the small gap between the trailers.

Nah, Mercedes cannot do this okay!

Audi S8

Wait, there's more to come. The chasing scene continued until they reached a cliff and this is when it further reinstates my opinion that Audi is in fact better than a MErz. The baddies were unable to stop the car in time and so, they landed badly on the ground and BOMB...that was the end of their lives. Frank, on the other hand, was able to stop his Audi in time and that prevented him from suffering the same fate as the baddies. Hmm, I wouldn't only compliment his driving skills, perhaps, an Audi's good braking system also helped to keep them alive.

The car was put to further test after that. Left with no other choice, Frank has to crash his car from the bridge into the water reserve to escape from the baddies who were firing at him from both sides. What I am trying to imply here is that even after being submerged in the water for quite some time (I believe), the car was still in a very much good condition (not good shape though) and the car can still run....and land on top of a moving train. I'm beginning to wonder if a Viva can perform the same task or not....

All in all, Transporter 3 is a movie not to be missed. Oh, did I tell you that Frank Martin really makes a girl feel safe?

I would wish to be transported by him someday...hoping...praying... and hoping again...

WEE....