Happy Chinese "Niu" Year!

Just had reunion dinner. Turns out that I'll be going to Penang after all. Happy Chinese New Year people!

Never the Same

Yum cha-ed with an old friend last night. I just had to write this. You're probably the strongest girl I know. The death of a parent is something you'll NEVER get over (especially at such a young age) but it's something you'll come to terms with, over time.

I admire you for being so brave and responsible. And you're right. We are destined for greatness. Sometimes we just forget.

Pain

I visited my paternal grandpa last week. Something I should have done sooner. His hip bone got detached or something. So now he can't walk and he has to be in a wheelchair. An operation would be too risky for someone his age.

(In Cantonese)
Bro: You know who this girl is??
Grandpa: -_-"........ She's your sister lor...

My grandpa still remembers me! LOL. His memory isn't as good, and sometimes he says stuff that doesn't make sense. He mumbles too, so he has to repeat himself a couple of times before we get what he's trying to say.

His appetite is really good. We arrived right after he had his lunch, but he could find space in his stomach for two mandarin oranges and popiah we brought. Even thought he's in pain, he hasn't lost his sense of humour, though occasionally he would stare at nothing. It pains me to see him like this.

This got me thinking. Would my children care for me? Would my grandchildren love me? What would I be like 60 years from now? Probably dead.

Perak Tong rockfall

On Sunday, three days after our trip to Perak Tong, there was an accident at the Perak Tong.

Two days later (today), they believe the temple guard is dead. May he rest in peace.

God took care of us. There's so many times He did. I'm so thankful.

Ipoh

Finally, we went to Ipoh. The last time I went there was 2 years ago. This time, we did our homework :)

On the way to Ipoh, we stopped at Sungkai.


I've been wanting to come here! TRAP did not disappoint. This place is well maintained, compared to other hot springs in Malaysia.



Notice the steam! There are certain places where we're not allowed to touch the water because it's too hot. I love this place. I could feel the steam on my legs as I stood there. It's like some sort of foot spa!

90-100 degrees Celsius! The water is almost boiling!


This place is so soothing. We picked the right day to go (it was on a Wednesday). Usually it'll be packed on weekends.

I regretted not bringing an extra change of clothes and a towel. I really wanted to swim in there! I could only walk around the pool. Chin Tuck couldn't resist it. He ended up putting his whole face inside. LOL



You can boil eggs here! Apparently the eggs taste better too. We were expecting somebody to sell eggs there but there was no one around :( Another thing I should've brought. Eggs.

We were already hungry by then. Next destination...

Bidor!

My favourite duck noodles! It's been one and a half years since I last ate it. I love the herbal soup. Yum!

After lunch, we headed to Kek Lok Tong, which means Cavern of Ultimate Bliss. It's a good thing we have GPS, since this cave is quite difficult to locate (you have to go through some housing area).

You'll have to walk through the cave....

Then you'll find this beautiful garden, surrounded by hills. Pretty neat, huh?

I just stood there, taking it all in.

When we were done, we headed back to the car. Next, we had to check into a hotel.

But the GPS device refused to cooperate. We couldn't get it to work! How were we supposed to get out of this housing area?? What right timing... Luckily Chin Tuck downloaded Google Maps into his phone the night before. And I had trouble using it because the screen is so small and I had to scroll everywhere.

We found our way to Majestic Hotel, but we didn't like the looks of it. So we decided to stay at Regalodge Hotel instead. I must say, it's a pretty decent 3-star hotel. It was quite cheap, clean (that's the most important), and safe (I think). Plus, we got a flat-screen TV in our room! hehe...

After we checked-in, we headed out again. With the help of Google Maps, we went to Ipoh Parade, made our way to Popular bookstore, & bought ourselves an Ipoh map.

When technology fails, we got to do it the conventional way. It was much better than using Google Maps on a phone!

With a map, we were ready for Ipoh Kway Teow @ Jalan Yau Tet Shin. Restoran Lou Wong is most famous for their steamed chicken and beansprout dishes that go with a bowl of piping hot kway teow soup. Their (chicken) rice is quite good too.

For supper, we had the famous Tau Fu Fah @ Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar. (The shop's name is called Funny Mountain :D). This is the softest Tau Fu Fah I've ever eaten!

Chin Tuck got this complimentary coupon (from the hotel) to Regal Spa.
I wanted to check it out. If it's cheap, maybe we can go together-gether. I saw lots of uncles and young, pretty girls at Regal Spa. *cough* *cough* Get it? Turns out that Regal Spa is "FOR MEN ONLY". Not the coupon!

We spent the rest of the night driving around Ipoh. Then we bought red wine and finished it in the hotel room.

For breakfast, we had curry noodles. It tasted normal to me :/

Next, we tapau-ed Salted Herbal Chicken from Aun Kheng Lim @ Jalan Theatre. Notice the boxes stacked behind the girl.

Our boxes of Salted Herbal Chicken! :)

Our last stop before heading home, Perak Tong (btw, tong means cave).

The temple guard told us that we could climb all the way to the peak, and then we could view almost the whole of Ipoh.
So climb we did.






That's where we're going! Up up up!

After a steep climb of 385 steps, we reached the peak! Look at the view!

It was then time to head back home...

Goodbye 2008. Hello 2009

2008 was an eventful year. Out of all the years, 2008 is probably the year in which I've cried the most, loved the most, learned the most, and grown the most. It was the year I got a scholarship from UQ. It was the year my "chi mui" got married, and the first time I was asked to be a bridesmaid. It was the year I turned 21, the year my grandpa turned 80, the year Chin Tuck and I celebrated our anniversary 6,565km away from each other.

I wonder what 2009 holds for me. What resolutions have you made? If you've known me long enough, you've probably figured out that I suck at making resolutions. And I suck even more at achieving them. This time I'm gonna make it simple.

I want to live, love, and laugh while I still can. Yup that's my resolution for 2009 :)

I wish all of you a wonderful year ahead!

Sibuk Sial!!!

Those 2 words describe exactly how my life has been for the past few weeks. I'll let the pictures do the talking :)

Had lunch with Lydia. All friendships are different, but the ones where you can just pick up right where you left off are sometimes the best kind, even though they can be hard to come by. She is one of those rare friends. And I thank God that she is not the only one :)

I made tong yuen!! Hehe... *pats self on the back*

A few days later, Chin Tuck and I experimented with more colours :D And he got colouring on my white shirt -__- (I had to wash my shirt before the colouring set in, that's why I'm wearing his shirt)

Besides tong yuen, we also made gingercoffeebread man!

Our last batch. We got creative. LOL.

We went carolling and had so much fun! (and ate lots too! Hehe)

Us carolling in church on Christmas eve.

Chin Tuck+me @ church.

My Christmas present <3

Followed Chin Tuck and his family to Genting. We watched Dreamz. It's the best show that I've watched in Genting so far. The highlight of the evening was taking a picture with a white tiger!

I'm glad I came back to Malaysia, 'cos I got to celebrate my grandpa's 80th birthday. If there's one thing I learned in Brisbane, it's that we have to treasure our loved ones while they're still here.

We'll be celebrating Chin Tuck's mum's birthday today. It's gonna be a quiet New Year's Eve for me this year. Happy New Year everyone! :)

Why Christmas?

Christmas is a strange time of the year.

There are bells and baubles. There are carols and choirs. There are trees and tinsels and turkeys and tarts and treats.

Somewhere - somewhere in there there's a reason for all that. There must be. But who's got the time? We'll all sing the carols and do Christmas. And then that'll be it for another year.

So why do we do this? Why Christmas?

Christians celebrate Christmas to honour the birth of Christ.

Which brings me to my next question. If you do not believe in Jesus Christ, why do you celebrate Christmas?

I read this somewhere:
"What makes Jesus so special that EVERYONE YOU KNOW has to get presents on HIS birthday?"
(I can assume that this wasn't meant to be taken literally and is actually funny)

Before I continue, I need to clear up some points:
1. I am not a religious zealot.
2. I am not condemning anyone nor do I think anyone is a bad person simply because they don't believe in Jesus.
3. Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ.

I can understand that no one wants to have another religion forced on them, but what gives society the right to "sanitize" Christmas just so they can partake in it too? It is Christmas, not Xmas.

This is a Christian holiday, just like Hari Raya Haji is a Muslim holiday. I'm pretty sure that if society were to step in and "participate" and slaughter a chicken (instead of a cow or goat... it is easier to slaughter a chicken right?) without praying, or have a tree as a symbol of their holiday, they wouldn't be too happy about it. Hari Raya Haji may not be in the same league as Christmas is to Christians, but it's still a holy day - as Christmas should be.

I'm not saying that you have to believe in the Christian religion to celebrate Christmas - simply respect that is is a religious and holy day and do not try to sanitize it. If you really want to celebrate something non-religious, there are 364 other days to choose from. Pick one and celebrate.

Somebody tried to explain some of the reasoning behind it. He explained that this is a widely recognised holiday and not everyone in society wants to deal with the religious aspects of it. However, they want to partake in it, so the only option was to sanitize, or ignore, the religious aspects. Therefore creating a comercialised Christmas. Okay... Interesting. While I can understand the reasoning - it doesn't make it right or respectful.

I guess Christians are just as much to blame because we did not stand up and speak as this was slowly happening.

One thing that more people need is tolerance, understanding, and respect.

Ok I'm done ranting. I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, (whatever religion you subscribe to) and a very fruitful new year!

Possessor or Possessed?

Miss A buys clothes, & then she keeps them. She saves them for some "special" occassion, which rarely happens. Her clothes will probably last forever, along with Miss B's furniture which is all covered in clear plastic.

Now this may be fine for some, but I like to think that people should possess things. Never the reverse.

Furniture is for sitting on comfortably, not for sticking to. Carpets are to walk on, regardless the weather. Fine china & gleaming silver are wasted if they are always carefully stored away in some dark cupboard.

Beautiful, expensive clothes are meant to be worn. A lot!

Saving everything "for good" means that many of the best things are never really used.

I don't have that much, but what I do have isn't sacred, to be saved, covered, hidden, protected.

Things are to enjoy!

From Starcraft to this...

We wanted to play Starcraft. But the settings weren't right, we couldn't LAN. We even tried direct cable connection but our laptops couldn't detect each other. We ended up doing this.


Did I mention how much I love holidays?