An Observation...

Last night, SLing and I together with our friends Errol, Jessica and Josephine were in Tesco to get some food stuff for today's Royal Rangers' 1st Day of 2009 celebration. This was our usual treat to the chidlren before we officially start Royal Rangers lessons. It is sort of to encourage the young ones and also to be a blessing to them at the start of the year.

Anyway, back to Tesco, we did our shopping of food and drinks. Gosh! I have never seen so many people in Tesco that night. Probably, with CNY around the corner, the people are getting their stuff early. I could see that there is more selective buying this year comparably with the previous year. Maybe, consumers are smarter now and with the present economic slowdown, they are getting only the essential stuffs rather than overdoing it as of the previous years. Consumers can be very elaborate in their spendings at times. I guess, being a smart shopper is being able to get the best of your money worth and at the same time not compromising the quality.

Soon, we had filled with enough stuff for the celebration and after paying for the stuff, we took a walk at the shoplots area. It was here that we met up with Mdm.Y [ I want to respect the identity of this person!! ] She was sitting alone, down-casted and oblivious to the happenings until we called out to her. It was rather shocking to find her staring blankly in the air and I must admit that it was a sure sign of her depressive condition. She was a little startled when we called out to her. However, she greeted us and we exchanged pleasantries. Then she told me that she would sit for 1 hour at the shopping complex just to get away from boredom and stare at the people passing her way. She went on and on in regards to how sick she was earlier and how lonely she had been since her children had been away. I would attribute her depressive condition to her medication and also, to loneliness. BTW, she had had an operation earlier which could have ended her life but somehow with God's grace, Mdm. Y was alive. Now, she's battling another hurdle in her life.

As I walked towards my car, I couldn't help but play that scene in my mind over and over again. The empty stare , the lonely life and the mere........emptiness of this soul. Gosh! I just wish that Mdm.Y would look beyond her condition and look to the greatest healer in life, God to fill that void in her life. Yunno, there may be many out there suffering in silence over this depressive spirit. I want you to know that God, the Father, made you whole and healthy & He most definitely did not put this spirit in you! For whatever your mental condition or mental denial state you are in, know that God is the author and finisher of our lives. Don't be lied into your mental state because you have been made whole in the sight of God. Rise up and proclaim that victory in your life! BTW, keep your mind clean and pure for God! Pray hard and He will do the rest. Like the clipart above, Christ is indeed my victory!~

Happy New Year - 2009

Dear fellow friends & family ~ young or old, thank you so much for blessing my life and my family's lives with your blessings either in words or in kindness for the year 2008. There is so many people I would to thank for bringing so much joy in my life and the list would probably go on and on but the No.1 person I want to give thanks first is GOD, The Father! There is no way, I could have lived this long or go the extra mile in life had it not been GOD's wonderful grace upon my life. He has given me so much meaning in my life that sometimes I often wonder if I had been guilty like everyone else who had been "complaining" about their lives to Him.
The second line of people I want to express my thanks to is to my family - my wife & children and my immediate families. Many times, they bear the brunt and weather the storm of my ways and never giving up on me. That is really a tremendous boost of confidence in my life. Next comes, close buddies and close friends [ too numerous to mention and you know who you are! ] who had been inspirational in helping me out a lot mentally, socially, physically and spiritually. Without your support and helping hand, I would have drowned in this ever changing world that we live in and worst still, I would have probably been step, runneth over and even been hard pressed! Thank you for your support!

For the new year 2009, I continually pray that God would bless each and everyone of you, multiply His goodness and reward you with His richness and blessings until it overflows your capacity cup. May the Lord's goodness and mercy follows you all through your life and bless you in all ways and always.

Blessed 2009 everyone!~

1,350.9km of goodness! Part Three ~

After saying our goodbyes to Haadyai, our next destination was Taiping, Perak. This laid back town used to be one of stops during our early travels up north. Lately, we have been giving it a miss. So, we decided that the lure of big leaf char keuh teow was just too much to resists. So, Taiping became our last pit stop before heading home after some gruelling driving along the Malaysian highway.
As we exited Bukit Kayu Hitam, it was already 3.00pm and we decided that we would have some Seberang Jaya courtesy of char kueh teow with duck egg and some smooth ambla drink! While we were there , we simply couldn't resists the 20 sen crepe sold by this old lady at her stall. We bought almost 70 crepes [ my family bought 30 while Steven bought 40 ] for our snacks!!! Anyway, I marvelled at the deftness of this lady in handling the small hot wok and also the hot crepes.I guess, when you have 30 years of experience in handling these item, you could have mastered the technique of lifting the crepes or her hands were simply numb to heat!

We arrived at Legend Inn, Taiping at about 8.30pm. One of the evening male senior staff wasn't friendly while I could say that he was downright rude and a racist. I guess, if I were a white Mat Salleh or an "angmo", I would have had a better treatment. Honestly, I find it rather ridiculous to have this double standard imposed on us by hoteliers staff like this person. Truly unprofessional and down right disgrace for the hotel industry. BTW, we do make payments for our rooms and they are not FREE yunno! Honestly, I seldom complain of hotel staffs as I find most of them to be friendly, ever smiling and helpful. Only a handful are in this zoo category~! Honestly, I find the accomodation in this hotel nothing to shout about nor extraordinary and the rate charged is RM 108 per night w/o breakfast!

Well, not wanting to make a scene, we just went to our rooms, freshened up and got ready for some seafood dinner in Matang. After some great night driving, searching, scrounging for the route and fun, we arrived at the seafood restaurant. We ordered some steamed prawns, fried belanak fish, tomyam pomfret fish, helicopter [ spiny shellfish ], lala and sweet potato leaves meals. There was so much to eat and the food tasted really good, fresh and it costs us a mere RM 112.00!!!! Can you imagine this ?!!!After a hearty meal, we shared some old childhood stories and enjoyed the fellowship very much.

The next morning, we headed down to have our breakfast before leaving the hotel. Coffee tasted good while the "yue tiao" and other stuff fills our belly! Again, it was really cheap and we really had a good time. Then we went around to Taiping Lake Gardens and Bukit Larut [ Maxwell Hill ] We were really "semangat" in climbing up the hill and we made it........to the signboard. We were actualy told that it woudl take us at least two hours to climb to the apex and so, I guess, our climb to the signboard was good enough. We then checked out from the hotel but this time the staffs [ 2 ladies ] were more gentle and more courteous. Anyway, before we left, one of the ladies tried telling one of the guest that their housekeeping staff had found that one of the green coloured plastic tissue holder was missing from the guest room. Before she could stop him, he dashed off the door, went into the car with his family and sped off. My God! Green colored plastic tissue holder also want to take away! No standard-lar or mere Malaysian mentality!

Then, it's off to Pasir Pinji in Ipoh for some lunch of yong tau fu / assam laksa before we headed off for home sweet home in Melaka. Yes! It was a tiring and gruelling trip but it was worth it. I know that this trip made our family closer to one another. I know too that this trip made me learn more about our friends, Steven & Wan Sin and why they are so special and dear to us. Being able to travel, stay together and spend time fellowshipping with Steven and Wan Sin has been truly wonderful and a real privilege. They are a barrel of fun, considerate and easy-going. Well, ocassionally they are peppered with disagreements and so on but it's only natural for couples to squabbles over decisions and so on. I would be a nut case if I say I didn't have disagreements with SLing during our entire trip. I guess, a lot of give and take makes up for a great fun outing.

To me, I am just thankful that I am able to share trips like this with my family. It is not difficult to see that both JWee and SYuen are growing up while SLing and me are getting older. I still remembered my promise to SLing that I would show her the places where I have been in my life and start all over agan to visit the places I have been with her. I guess, I am fulfilling some of the destinations that I have been with her. I didn't promise the whole world to her but I did promise that she would be happy to experience those times with me. I am keeping that end of the bargain in my long lst of things I want to do with her before I turn 50! It's a nice way to keep you "young" , actually!

As for the children, I wanted them to experience the different kind of lifestyle, the culture and social etiquette, manners & obligation in each of the places we have been. In that way, they could really appreciate the life they have. They would also be able to communicate better with others and also, be able to share their life experiences with their respective spouses later on in life. To me, being able to pass on this lesson of life to my children is indeed a rare thing in our society today. Maybe, some will say that I am from the old school era but it works, yunno. Somehow, whatever I have learnt from dad , I have tried to pass it down to my son and daughter. Pass on the good things in life unto them and you'll know that they are in good hands before you take your final bow on this stage and meet your Creator, God.

For me, it is so satisfying to me that my children and wife have been enabled to go to places such as this. I am not ashamed to say that I've worked and saved up very hard for such a trip. But to me , it is money worth spending on. At least now, they [ the chidren ] won't send me to an old folks home when I am old !!!!!Ha.....ha....ha......... You'll never know, right?

Five states [ Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Pulau Pinang and Kedah ], 1,350.9km and a budget of RM 1,700.00 [ inclusive of hotels accomodations, food, fuel, toll and shopping - 4 of us ], I am proud to say, I have made it from coast to coast with the family and good friends. It was really worthwhile and the memories we shared will be etched and have a very special place in my heart always !

"Kapkunkaa"! [ Thank you in Thai ]

1,350.9km of goodness! Part Two ~

Now that we've passed through the Thai Immigration, we had arrived at Sadao, Thailand. Bustling town with fresh smell of hawker road stall food and general lawlessness. You could see many people doing their trading at this border town. We had asked our van driver on the duration to arrive at Haadyai. [ BTW, we had hired the van for RM 80.00. ]. He smiled and told us that it would take about one hour or so. Our destination was Asian Hotel at Niphat Uthit 3 Road, Haadyai. I was thinking, " No kidding. It's that far,huh?". Anyway, along the journey, I could see that the scenery were no different from the ones in Malaysia- full of rubber trees and industrial lots all in the Thai signage/language. Anyway, when the driver told us that we would arrive at our hotel in time, I wasn't aware that he was speeding all the way along the highway. I tell you, he was really testing the van to its maximum speed capacity and he was practically sounding his horn every five minutes to ask the traffic in front of him to clear the route. Steven later confided that he thought he has lost his life when he sat at the front seat of the van and the driver was grinning all the way to our hotel!
A little over the hour, we arrived at our hotel, Asian Hotel~ nice, clean and cosy hotel at the heart of Haadyai. [ Baht 800 per night w/o breakfast or Baht 880 per night with breakfast! ]Yunno, I have heard of the notoriety of Haadyai many times before but I thank God that we really had a good time in Haadyai. The people were met especially the tuk-tuk drivers near our hotel were friendly and ever smiling. I guess, the tuk tuk rides were really memorable times because Steven would always call out "toot-toot" from the back and it would make a lot of Thai motorist to laugh and smile. That's Steven speciality! The six of us [ Steven, Wan Sin, S.Ling, S.Yuen and JWee ] really had a great time whenever we sat in the tuk-tuk. Generally, the locals here are quite stingy in smiles except when in humour or when you are paying for your goods! I guess, you see some good genuine smiles sometimes.

One friend used to tell me that if I don't eat the braised pork leg, my stay in Haadyai would be incomplete and unfulfilled! So, we went in search of the braised pork leg rice in Haadyai. I guess, the best we've had was the one stall near a lot of goldsmith shops where it serves good braised pork leg, pork gearbox soup [ very tasty & super duper good ] and roasted pork [ siew yok ]. The queue is long and yunno know it's where the best braised prk leg is served! The best staple food I've ever had. Street food is abundance in Haadyai. Simple sidewalk stall manned by this Thai lady near our hotel selling sweet pancakes/crepe was our favourite tea time special. You've got to taste it to know it. [ Can't describe it - Baht 30 for 8 pieces of crepes/pancakes ] Then, there's our market food stall breakfast at Prachatipat Road where the road is terribly small in size but the hawkers food were in abundance. We had so much food such as phadthai - Thailand version of char kueh teow, Thai bee hoon noddle soup and fried chicken Thai style. I guess, the most memorable for me was when we sat down at a small drink stall sipping our tea and coffee. Surprisingly, the tea and coffee tasted much better than the coffee shop nearby.

Then, it's off to the supermarkets [ Odean, Central, Le Garden, Robinson and many others ] for some shopping. The ladies went berserk on brassiere hunting and rightly so as they are quite cheap especially with sales on. However, we were actually more into sidewalk stalls and we practically bargained like mad in our shopping time. Our best shopping place was the night market near the city bus terminal along Chotwithiyakul 3 Road which was quite a way out from the hustle and bustle of the busier streets in Haadyai. The place is mostly frequented by the locals. If the locals are gathering there, then, the items in sale would have been cheaper, right? Rightly so, we got our best bargains from this place and it was really worth it. We bought 2 three quarter Dickers pants for JWee for Baht 150 [ That's RM 7.50 per pants! ] As for me, I got 3 origigi [ instead of original ] branded jerseys and it cost me Baht 180 each. That to me was a great bargain. Ah! Yes! It was at this place that I had fried grasshopper/locust as night snack together with Wan Sin, JWee and Steven. The taste ~ salty, crispy and not too bad! [ No wonder John the Baptist could survive on these! ] But I didn't have the stomach for the grub and the worm that were on sale. Looked too soft for me, actually.The next best thing to do after a tiring day of walk and shopping is to have a foot massage. All of us actually walked into Sawass Dee foot massage centre to have a foot massage for an hour. The price - Baht 200 each for an hour! It is located in front of Mc Donalds of Lee Garden Plaza where the hub of activity is as it is frequent by foreigners and tourist alike. To be honest, I almost peed in my pants because of the pain that was inflicted during the massage session. Don't get me wrong. The massage was really good but I couldn't stand some of the pain to my leg calves and knees, actually as I had had injuries during my hockey games days. All in all it was a good massage and no hanky panky,actually. What I really wanted was a full body massage as it would be a nice finale to my visit to Haadyai. Anyway, we couldn't find any decent body massage parlour or we don't know where to go and so, we just scrapped the idea and moved on. It was really a fun time in Haadyai. I guess, I would miss the sights and colours of the morning market especially the flowers stands and I would miss the braised pork leg of Haadyai. We really had a great time of fellowship, talking, laughing and having a good time together.

People used tell me that in Haadyai, there are 3 things you must do as Haadyai is famous for it namely " char boar ", " pai sin" and shopping. I'll give it a miss for the first two but the shopping is fine with me. Anyway, my experience here in Haadyai had been braised with lots of fun, garnished with laughter and served with great fellowship.
Again, as we arrived at the border, we were told by the van driver to put in RM 1 for goodwill appreciation for the officer on duty! Niamah! Out of not so good will, we did just that! We want no trouble and so, we just slipped it in our papers and get out of there as fast as we could. Then, as we exited the Malaysia Immigration, we had to pay RM 3.50 toll charges for the ride from the Malaysia immigration post to the no man's land area! Wah! This one is really too much, man! Super duper cut throat! Anyway, it was nice to be back in Malaysia ; breathing Malaysian air and enjoying Malaysian not so corrupt system-loh!

Taiping is up next!

1,350.9km of goodness! Part One ~

1,350.9km was the speedometer clocking after I have completed my 5D4N escapade to Penang, Haadyai , Taiping and back to Melaka. This is my year end rest escapade. My family and I together with our close friends, Steven and Wan Sin started out from Melaka on the bright and sunny morning on 25th December, 2008. By the time we hit Senawang for our favourite laksa, we were hyped with excitement over our trip. We had planned this trip a little over 3 weeks prior to the actual date of travel. I could still remember how excited we were and how I have tried my level best to finish up as much work as possible before I go for this trip. For once, I really felt good and stressless when we travelled on the road that morning.
After some cruising along the highway, we were ready for some good stuff for lunch. So, the next stop was Bidor town where we had "yam siew pau", " herbal duck soup" and "wan tan mee" special in Puh Chun coffeeshop in Bidor. The taste - good, cheap & love it!~ Then it was back to the highway to Penang for our first stop of the day. Our destination was B-Suite Hotel, Penang. We arrived in Penang and checked into the hotel at about 3.30pm. Then, it's off to Queensbay Mall for window shopping before heading out to the nearby hawker centre for some food. At about 10.30pm, we met up with our family in Penang [ BA, Jessy, Alyna, Esther, Deriss,Darien, Alyna's daughter, Deline and John ] for a great time of fellowship over pots of saliva-watering frog and eel moi. It was really great to see these blessed people again and to have a really good time with them. I really felt so blessed knowing them and they gave me Christmas gifts and I really felt so blessed! Thank you so much for your hospitality, love and your caring ways. Thank you so much! BTW, I love B-Suites hotel as the room is really spacious, well-kept and affordable. Three cheers to B-Suites!
The next morning, Steven brought us to his favourite "char kueh teow"shop. He says it's the best in Penang! Yes, it tasted good and we had our first taste of ambla drink! The drink is not bad while the char kueh teow was not too bad too. Then it's off to Bukit Kayu Hitam and then to Haadyai. Our journey to BKH was uneventful while we made sure that we got our money changed from RM to Thailand baht at the so-called Mini Supermarket. It is super duper confusing when it comes to exchange rate. BTW, the rates weren't good at that time [RM 1.00 = Baht 9.703 ] Then it's off to the Malaysian Immigration border which took a while for us to drive in as it was jammed packed with cars from Malaysia and Thailand. In the grand efficiency level of our Malaysian Immigration, there were only two counters open to service hundreds of car that day! Sigh! That's real efficient! Anyway, if you think the Malaysian Immigration is good enough , wait till you hear of the Thailand Immigration! Now, that's a different story altogether!! This I can promise you!

We parked cars at the Duty Free Complex which is located on " a no-man land" area and some Thais were already hot on our heels to hire their vans or cars. You see, as we are on no man's land, they could come in and go out easily within this range and nobody could do anything about this. Finally, Steven found a reasonable van driver , we loaded up and boarded the van. It was a short 2 minutes ride when we arrived at the Thailand border and our first encounter with the Thai Immigration. We alighted from our van, posed pictures and headed to the Thai Immigration passport counter. There were plentiful of counters opened unlike their counterparts. However, it was here that I get the first shock of my life. It was here that I was told to put a RM 1 in my passport as a token of appreciation for the authorities! What? I was flabbergasted at that and I was told that everyone knows about this. An elderly gentleman in front of me was kind enough to explain that that's how things are in Thailand. He even told us that if we did not put the RM 1 in our passport, we are in for a torrid and horrid time. Like it or not, we put RM 1.00 in all our passports as I didn't want to jeopardise my family's & friend's vacation. When it came to my turn, I could see a drawer filled to brim of RM 1.00 on the left side of the booth and the officer didn't give a two hoots to who I was. As I turned to leave the complex with my family and friends, I couldn't comprehend the behaviour and corrupt practise of the people in authority of this foreign land.

Sawadeekap ! Welcome to Thailand, babe!

A RM 7.00 experience....

This morning, I had travelled to an oil mill plant in Segamat for work and I wasn't really feeling good about it. It is actually the last day of work for me before I take a break for the year. I was really more into trying to work out at my table as much work as possible so that I could have a peace of mind when I go off for the holidays. I know that there'll never be enough time to finish all work but the least I could do was to clear as much as possible. I was really looking for a much needed rest.

Anyway, I stopped by at my favourite pit stop at Tong Seng coffee shop for some chicken rice and pau. As I ordered my meal, in came an Indian family of five [ 2 adults and 3 children ]. I could clearly see that they weren't even middle-income. [ No offence intended, actually. ] What I saw touched my heart a lot. The father ordered 3 plates of rice and a small plate of chicken. By experience, you know that it is not enough to feed the family of five. Somehow, the father divided the rice into 5 plates and everyone had a small portion of rice and a small portion of chicken meat. It was a difficult sight for me because I know, the food is just not enough. The father and mother of the family had cucumbers and probably, one or two piece of chicken each.

Yunno, many a times, we are blessed with so much and we still complain of this and that. Like it or not, we are in one way or another guilty as charge on this matter. We procrastinate and grumble too much, right? This little scene in the coffeeshop taught me a lesson indeed.

Again, talking about this till the cows come home won't help one bit and so, I decided to put in action what I felt. I paid for another 2 plates of chicken rice and I asked the proprietor to send it over to the Indian gentleman's table. I told the proprietor that I need not acknowledgement or whatsoever. All I needed is for him to send the food over to them, say it's paid and nothing else. I then took my pau order at the shop front and walked away from the shop. Before walking out, I turned around and caught a glimpse of the smiling faces of the children and the stunned looks of the parents. I quickly went to my car and I left the coffeeshop. Maybe some of you will say that I am a fool to do such thing or even I am a greater idiot for squandering my financial resources. I must say that the plates of chicken rice cost me RM 7.00 but the joy on the faces ~ priceless! That, to me , is totally worthwhile! Honestly, I saw the need and I responded to it. No frills, no hype, no fuss nor frenzy scenario! Be blessed!

A great honour....

Today I was in Malacca General Hospital for an appointment with a doctor. It was for my work and I didn't expect what happened today. Here I was working from the very first step I got into the office and soon, it was time for my appointment. I didn't want to miss my appointment and I really wanted to clear as much work as possible before I go for my much needed rest. So, I arrived at the hospital and I waited for the doctor. Prior to this, I had circled the hospital four times before I could actually have a great car park below a shady tree! I am not choosy but it's just too pack today. Thank you , Lord for the parking faith! I must admit, sometimes , getting a parking in the hospital is like searching for a needle in a haystack ,man!

Anyway, I waited, waited, waited and waited. I had waited from 2.00pm and I was going mad trying to get myself busy by counting the tiles on the floor and on the ceiling. As I waited at the corridor, I could see every human reaction and spectre when they see the doctors! My God! The doctors are also so...........young! Then there's this thing the doctors and nurses do that is coming in from one door and coming out from the other doors. I was kinda in a spin when I saw this happening. Hmmmmnnnn..... probably to confuse the patients or afraid that they might get stabbed by some lunatics running around in the hospital ! It is so hilarious, actually. Coming from Room 1 and exit at Room 5 then coming in from Room 9 and exit from Room 2.

Oh Yes! I actually met a loony today. He was carrying a book and he was practically knocking on all the doctor's door telling them, " Its my last day today! See you soon! " Anyway, it was about 3.30pm that I actually got to meet the doctor. I was about to count the hairs on my legs when the door opened and there stood a young man and I said to myself, " I've seen this face!". Anyway, the doctor greeted me and vice versa. It was at that moment that he introduced himself to me and he told me this, " Sir, I am your student! Can't you recognise me? " I was dumbstruck and then, slowly, I recalled. [ I'm not that bad with faces and characters ! ] Here stood a man - a specialist in his field and a Senior at the hospital. Wow! What an honour! I had the privileged to teach this young man in school and after 12 years, he could still remember me!! [ I wasn't actually the bestest teacher in the school, I must admit! ] I was really honoured and happy to see him being successful in his field. I quickly finished up the work I had professionally and then catch up with my student. I was told a few of them had ended up being doctors in Ipoh ,KL and even Johor Baru. We talked of the good ol'times in school and that had his nurses in stitches at times. He introduced me to his nurses as the bad ass teacher! We had a good laugh, actually. Then, I asked him, what motivated him to be a doctor when I remembered that he wasn't really interested in that field when in school. He told me that there was one day when I had challenged the class to take up a field of work that could actually help the folks in the rural area and also, I had shared on the life I had in Sabah during one of my lessons. He told me, my advices & sharing helped him realised that there so much to do and so much to see around the place. He also told me that my insistence of challenging them to do their very best in their lives helped him and his group of friends a lot. Wow! That humbled me a lot, yunno. I never knew that my life could actually touch lives like that. Most of the time, students would bad-mouthed & spit on the ground when talking about their teachers, right? So, I really felt so blessed that I have made a difference in someone's life. Really, I felt so blessed. I give ALL glory to God! He is the one that has enabled me thus far. Thank you so much, Lord!

So, for all the teachers out there ~ hey! You'll never know the lives you touch with your life! Blessed you, teachers!~