A weekends trip to Kluang, Malaysia (7 - 8 November 2009)

4 weekends ago, I went to Kluang with Juat as her sister last minute cannot make it. Wake up early in the morning and took a cab to Tanjong Pagar Train station and arrived at 7am. Initially I wanted to stay in SG to accompany Alvin to prepare/study for exam and give him some moral support, but he prefer to study at home. Since there is nothing constructive I can help, I decided to go to Kluang and since I can have a little break and accompany Juat too.

These are some photos of the station:

Soon, it was time to board the train......

Posing next to the train

It has been more than 10 years since I took the train. The last time I took train was to Taman Negara back in 1999! Spot the coffee I'm holding? =X

My Coffee

Me in the train

I simply LOVE this picture

Juat and me.

This is Kluang, train station:

I like this welcome sign:

 

I like it maybe because of the angle that I took it from. It looks so artistic. LOLX.

This is the timing of the trains:

And how the outside of the train station looks like:

And we are on our way to our hotel:

 

Here we are, our hotel:

How does the inside of the hotel looks like?

 At the reception counter
(really got wifi meh?)

The lobby

The room rate

At the reception counter

Sorry, full house.

As we were early, our rooms were not ready yet. We left our bags at some temporary place before we headed out to have our breakfast. One the way to the coffee shop, I spotted this shop which looked like Singapore's Toy' R Us with castle as the exterior design:

At the outside of the shop, I saw many soft toys!!!!

How can I not take photo with them:

How I wished these are mine.....

Then, we walked to the coffee shop to have some breakfast. I quite like the exterior design of the coffeeshop too:

Another orientation of the shop:

Even the picture on the menu was nice:

Before we went back to hotel to check in out bags, we went to book our foot reflexogy and back massage at one of the shops. After that, we went back to the hotel and here we are, going up to our rooms.

Stairway to our rooms

(no lift available here)

level 3

This is Juat's and my room:

Room 204

TV and dressing table

2 single beds

I changed my jeans into my shorts before going out again, so that I don't have to bear with so much heat being trapped in my black jeans.

Heard that there was a new shopping centre - Pacific Kluang Mall nearby, we decided to go and take a look. There it is!

How can I miss the chance to pose again?

When we were reaching the shopping centre, we saw a group of people crowding outside the centre. Surprisingly, they seemed to have some car racing in a circuit.

I am so excited when I see these sports car even  though I'm an idiot about cars, as a vainpot as what Juat's put it, how can I not go near and pose and take photos? How often can we take such closed up photos with such cars? I know I'm not a model with super good figure, so do bear with me for a while, while I present to you some of the photos of these cars..... with me of course. =)

 

 Follow us to Kluang Mall

when I saw these cars in the mall, I can't help but walk towards it and asked Juat to take a photo for me:

 

 Do not dare to sit on it

Another one:

 

 I begin to heckcare and went to sit on it:

 

I then became slightly bolder and went to open the door of the car:

 

 And became boldest when I sat in the car:

Here I am!!! =D

Here's another car:

 

 

Another one taken from the top:

 

From the side:

 

More outside:

 

Another one:

 

The last red one:

 

Finally eh?

Really one last one:

 

The above seems to be a Singapore Car. Because it starts with SJK... ......

And I've made a collage on the cars:

The mall has this organic food:

Spotted this plant, which is said to help to reduce radiation from the computer:

Juat saw this and ask me to pose with her:

Posing and more posing:

 

 

 

In a kiddo's taxi somemore. =X

We wanted to find the cinema as we were interested to watch movie at night but we couldn't find and ended up at the mall's open roof car park:

JUMP!

After that, we went to visit some rattan furniture shop where some of them bought some ratan chair and small box.

On the way there, I saw this sign that I thought it will look nice. Juat helped me took a photo of it as my phone was low batt and got to off it to reserved the battery life for the next day trekking:

And this is the rattan place:

After that, we went for our foot reflexology and back massage:

 

This is me, doing my first foot reflexology

Surprisingly, I don't have much pain except areas that is associated with my sleep, urinary tract, bladder and head. I think without pressing on my leg, any public can see that I had problem with my sleep just by looking at my eyes. LOLX.

This is Juat and me after our foot reflexology......

After that, we went for our dinner and it was an open concept coffeeshop and it rained. Imagine us eating 3/4 done and got to put some food into our bowl of rice and bring our bowl into the shelter and eat. Another friend of Juat helps us to carry our curry fish head in. It was quite an amusing moment eating while standing  as it ended up with me and Juat eating only.

After that, we went to another shopping centre and I caught my eyes on this:

And I though someone like Alvin may like it!

And I got myself a scissors keychain which I didn't take photo of it. I also bought a Sony Ericsson handphone charger because my phone is going low batt after all that photo taking, GPRS as well as searching of network. I chatted with Alvin over GPRS using my ebuddy for a while before I logged off. He said I'm wasting my data. =X. I slept pretty early for someone who used to sleep at 2-3 plus on a saturday. I slept at 11.30pm.

The next day, we woke up damn early to climb Gunung Lambak.

The photos taken outside the hotel while we wait for the taxi to send us to the hill/moutain: 

View of the hotel

Waiting for our cabs

3 elderlys

The time when we boarded the cab:

6.44am.

Finally, we arrived and were at the foot of the hill:

At the start

My back

Jungle tracking

I don't believed I can see exercise equipment at the hill!

All ahead of me while I took photos

"Mini waterfall"

 

A steep slope up

Time for tea coffee!

While waiting for coffee and noodles to be ready, I took more photos, especially on the squirrels:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally managed to feed it. *happy*

The people there preparing FREE breakfast for the trekkers there:

The noodles they cooked are not bad, just a little oily. But well, I'm surprised that there are such service! They are just so heart-warming and kind.

How can Juat and me leave without taking a photo together (taken by her friend with a DSLR):

With our coffee!

Some other shoots before we headed down the hill/mountain:

 

 Jump again!

These are what I had captured on the way down, which is another route by the way:

On a hanging bridge

Another exercise equipment

Didn't know Falun Gong is in Malaysia too

*Disclaimer: The blogger is just taking photo and is not related to the

Falun Gong in any ways*

Are you lost? That way please.

After the trek, we went to have Yong Tau Hu for breakfast:

 

My COFFEE

The noodles

Mixed Yong Tau Hu ingredients

After that, we went to a noyan kueh shop:

 

The desserts that we ordered:

The ice-kachan which looks like our chengdo

Ice jelly

The interior of the shop:

The signboard of the shop:

After that, we walked past a utensils shop:

 

Why did I see a dragonboat paddle here?

Oh..... so it wasn't a paddle?? It's a ......

Rice Laddle!!!

After all these, it's finally time to go.... ....

Last shoot at the hotel

At the train station, we spotted a group of students:

Apparently they were there because they had not seen a train before.

More photos at the train station:

 

 

Train is coming...... Till I see you again.......

What are the things that I bought back?

For home

 

1 for office, 1 for home

 

For Alvin

找出你的恋爱风格 与 妈妈的感言

以下是从《我报》取出：


爱情面前，你会很自我、很任性，还是很痴情？赶快找出你的恋爱风格吧！

问题：
与好友到夜店狂欢，你喝了几杯后便尿急。如果夜店只
设男女厕所各一间，而你要进的那一间厕所大门紧闭，
你会怎么办？


A. 不管那么多了，直接去隔壁的厕所解决再说。
B. 边急迫地敲门，边说“你快好了吗？我很急！”
C. 忍、忍、忍！忍到里面的人出来。
D. 倒数计时1分钟，1分钟后人没出来就去隔壁厕所。

你的答案是什么呢？


我的答案是 C。


答案分析：
选择A：你的恋爱风格以自由为重，虽然很看重爱情，很在乎对方，但就是无法忍受被束缚的感觉。厌恶被人摆布的你，就算与对方交往了一段时间，还是需要很多个人空间，依旧自我。


选择B：你谈恋爱时很任性，只要是你想要的，你一定会想方设法弄到手。你懂得在适当的时候撒娇，让对方束手无策地被你征服，但太常耍性子会为两人的关系带来不少麻烦。


选择C：你的爱情格言就是“守得云开见月明”，很坚持自我信念的你，如果喜欢上一个人，就会痴痴地等。与你谈恋爱不会怕你变心，但思想太保守和呆板，有时会让对方觉得很无趣。


选择D：你的恋爱风格是“优柔寡断”，谁要和你谈恋爱，最好先与你的家人朋友打好关系，因为他们的任何一句话都可能影响到你。当你的恋人需费很多心力，劝你还是改掉犹豫不决的毛病吧！


我觉得这挺准的。的确当我喜欢上一个人的时后，我就会痴痴地等。哈哈。。。我的思想有时也会保守和呆板些。难怪有时有人会觉得我有些 无聊无趣啦。


不知妈妈是不是担心我这个女儿嫁不出去，刚刚当我在帮我的 “Super Glue Sister” 做 以下的wedding poster时 (wedding poster 以被我用特辑弄得模糊，以免被新朗看到新娘要给他的“惊喜”）

她看了，便问我新郎新娘几岁。当我听了，便知她 将问我什么问题。果然不出我所料，当我回答 “新娘和我一样” 与 “ 新郎三十岁” 时，她变说：

“你的朋友都嫁人了，那你呢？你没有朋友吗 （妈妈指的是男朋友）？如果有的话，要带他回来给我们看。”

我本想开玩笑的回答说： “朋友我有很多，可以从淡宾泥排到马来西亚。” 可是我还是决得不回答可能是个比较明智的选择。


哎呀妈吖，如果你女儿有个两情相愿的朋友，你以为我不想好好谈个恋爱吗？我可是人有心却力不足啊。一个巴掌是拍不响的。只能随缘，走一步，算一步咯。

P.S: 我是从不和妈妈谈儿女私情的事情。

Excitement, happiness and motivation

I'm always excited and motivated to hear the song - 蒲公英的约定 when Alvin logs into MSN (customized function only for special people) =P  This is the song. The first song - that was supposed to send to me but didn't, due to the disrupted network connection on 14 March last year. It was sent halfway. Apparently, it wasn't hearing the song that is making me excited but the fact that he logs in into MSN is making me excited.

Just as I was typing this, i have been hearing the song at least 3 times. This shows that there is definitely something wrong with his network today.But there is nothing concrete that I can do..... so I shall not ask.

And... I am hearing it for the 4th time now....

Opening the door of your heart - Part 1

In Ajahn Brahm's Opening the door of your heart, there is 11 categories that revolve around the cause of happiness:

1. Perfection and guilt
2. Love and committment
3. Fear and Pain
4. Anger and forgiveness
5. Creating happiness
6. Critical problems and their compassionate solutions
7. Wisdom and inner silence
8. The mind and reality
9. Values and spiritual life
10. Freedom and humiity
11. Suffering and letting go

This Part 1 of opening the door of your heart, I'm going to share with you  on Perfection and guilt.

These are a summary of some of the short stories (do read the book if you are really interested):

Perfection and guilt

1.  Two bad bricks
   
   Many time in life, we concentrate so much on our weakness and mistakes. In the story of wall building, there were 2 "bad" bricks that spoils the wall. The monks were ashamed to show the visitors the wall because of these 2 bad bricks. One day, a visitor came across the wall and said it was a nice wall. The monk were surprised and wondered if the visitor was visually impaired that he didn't see the 2 bad bricks? The visitor replied that he did see the 2 bad bricks but he also see the 988 remaining good bricks. The story tries to relate that how often in people end a relationship because of these 2 "bad" bricks; and how people get depressed because all that we can see is all our 2 "bad" bricks. In reality, there are many many more good bricks that we just fail to see. Instead, every time we looked, we focus so much on our mistakes and these mistakes are all that we can see, and "they are all we think they are, so we want to destroy them". And sometimes, we destroy a "very nice wall". "We've got 2 bad bricks but the perfect bricks in each one of us are much, much more than the mistakes." Who knows, the "mistakes" that you started out initially, may become the "unique features" when we stop focusing on them exclusively.
   
   
2. What is done is finished and the idiot's guide to peace of mind
   This story tells us that if we try to look at the work that we have already done instead of focusing on the remaining work that needs to be done, we may understand what it's meant by what is done is finished. But when we focus exclusive on the faults, on the things that need to be fixed, we will never find peace. In this story of garden, when we understand how to find peace in our garden, we will know how to find peace anytime, anywhere, especially the ability to find peace in the garden of our heart, even though we may think how messy the garden of our hearts are, with so much things needed to be done or to be fixed.
   
   
3. Guilt and double guilt
   
   
   
   
   
   
   In this story, it shares that a lady was feeling guilty over the death and accident of 2 persons, which she didn't planned for. She knew that she has to 'let go'. And of course there were many times where people will tell her 'Don't feel guilty'. To her, she felt guilty about feeling guilty; she felt guilty that people are telling her not to feel guilty. So, there was double guilt - guilty over the accident and guilty over guilty. "Our complicated minds work like that."
   Guilt is different from remorse. Guilty is usually a term used in court. Thus, if no one punishes us, we will try to punish ourselves, some way or another. Guilt means "punishment deep in our psyche". The solution for her would not be asking her to forget it and get on with life. Instead, asking her to volunteer in a rehab unit helped her as she was able to help.
   
   
   
4. You are what you were told, treated, believed and became
   In the story, there were 2 class of students - A and B. All the students have same abilities. All of them thought that "A" were the clever ones, and they were treated differently from "B". They were told that they were "Class A" and "Class B" students. At the end, "Class A" performed better than "Class B" where they were supposed to be the same. Thus, because of what they were told, treated and believed, they became.
   
   In another story of the 2 children in the supermarket, the 2 children dropped something in the supermarket. The parent of child A responded "You stupid child!" while the other responded with "That was a stupid thing that you did!" The "stupid child" probably become stupid, while the child that did the stupid thing, probably stopped doing stupid things.
   
   
5. We deserved to be forgiven
   If we focus on the "Class B" for too long, we might become a "Class B" person and that is the reasons why we keep making the same mistakes and creating more guilt. But when we look at the other part of our lives; the other bricks of our wall, we gained another perspective, we deserved to be forgiven.
   
   "The most difficult stage of the journey  out of guilt is convincing ourselves that we deserved to be forgiven" The stories being shared are there to assist us but the final step out of the "prison" can only be made alone by ourselves.
   

Look out for Part 2 of Opening the door of your heart by Ajahn Brahm.

Great Eastern Run 2009

This was one of my worse-prepared run. But it ended not too bad. At least I'm still alive.

Why was it the worse-prepared one?

Firstly, I never train since my last run - Adidas Sundown 2009. Secondly, I only slept at 1+am and woke up at 5am. Lastly, I reached there at almost 7am. That meant that I didn't do any stretching before my run and I didn't managed to take photos before the run, which I usually do. Yeah. I'm a vain pot, if that makes u happy. =P Thank God YY managed to take a few.

This is taken before the race

The crowd

Me and Juat

Yeah!

 I like my backview!

Still quite fresh at our 1st 2km

The women before us

Well, managed to capture these while I was "jogging" back:

And some photos after we arrived at the finishing line:

 

 Juat and Me

Me and Juat

 

 Juat and me again!

 

Yeng Yeng and me

3 of us!

Another one.

Me

Myself

And I!

Our 3rd Great Eastern Run

3, 2, 1

1,2,3

View of City Hall

The "bigger size" gal who came back and was being applaud for her effort. Good try!

 

 Me again....

Now you know I'm "vainpot" LOLX.

Us!

Lifting the finishing point

The great woman pledge

Every 1 card pasted here, GE will donate $1 to a welfare organisation.

The 3 GREAT WOMEN!

On our way in slippers for our usual TRADITIONAL breakfast after the run

3 of us again!

Last but not least, congrats on our 3rd Great Eastern Run:

And many more to come!

YEC Teambuilding

Last Saturday, I went to PA Holiday Flat (Pasir Ris) for my YEC teambuilding.

I was there around 1+pm. Some of them were already there when I arrived with Jeff. Then we had our Nasi Ayam.

The first game was Charades.

I cannot remember what I'm supposed to act. I just know that my team is only left with 30secs or so when it's my turn to "act".

Next was a communication type of game where a shepherd has to guide his sheep back home.

We were all blind-folded, to be lead astray by team 1.

And here we are, being dispersed away... ....

I'm being lead away by Daphne.  Where's my team mate?!?!?!

While waiting for the shepherd to give instructions, the lost sheep make our way to find our own team-mates......

Through our sense of hearing.....

And we were "caught" and ganna separated by our opponent team!!!!

Okay.... and we continued on and I'm the last one to be "lead".

Being left alone in the "Wild" is so dangerous!!!! Especially if I'm blinded!!! LOLX.

Finally reaching home......

And we are done with the sheeps and the shepherd!

Next is some relay thingy, where I've to turn 5 rounds anti-clockwise and 5 rounds clockwise, and then run across the basketball court.

The 1st leg of the relay - 3 legged race

Posing with Aishah

The whole game ended with TEAM 2 winning!!! YEah!!!

Anyway, these are the 2 groups:

Good job for both!! We are all a TEAM, not 2 teams!!! =D

Next is the BBQ... ....

 BBQ pit set up by the guys.

One of the first few times where I no need to help to start the fire.

These are the chicken...

Have you BBQ in the rain? We did... ...

And after some time, it became a rain pour and all of us gathered back after most food are BBQ.

Thanks to some of members' effort.....

After awhile, it is time for our invited guests to go back.... and they are non other than Johnny, Emily and their 2 twin sons!

Bye Bye ... ....

Hugz!

And after that, it was discussion for our workplan for next year.

Some snapshots of my groups:

 

The discussion ended at about 12+ and I reach home about 1am? And bathe and quickly went to sleep because I had to wake up at 5am to go for my run. ZZZzzzzzzz

Anyway, all the photos above are taken by Karen. Thanks!

相思

Heard this in weekends' Chinese drama - 爱 ：

明知相思苦,

何必苦相思,

几番细思后,

还是相思好。

Existence of GOD

Today, while talking to a parent whose child is being seen by my colleague, she mentioned this:

"God Won't Put More on You than You can Bear"

She was just sharing how difficult it was to bring up a child with special needs. Indeed it must have been tough for her. She also shared that, GOD must have know that she can do it when she herself thinks she can't. 

Though I am not a Christian but a Free Thinker, I do enjoy spiritual discussions at times. To me, each of his own. All of us have different beliefs on WHO and WHAT is GOD. To Buddhists, buddha is their god. To Christians, Jesus is their GOD. To Muslims, Allah is their God. To me, GOD is GOD. It can be any GOD in any religion. What I seek is the teachings and sayings of most of these religion. Of course I won't say there is no GOD. I'm grown up in a family where I used to go to mediums with my mother and I enjoyed it. Now that I am older, I have and can decide on my own faith.

Declaring myself as a Free Thinker doesn't mean that I didn't want to choose "Taoism" as my religion because it was no good. Rather what I seek is all the teachings and sayings in many religions. Thus, being a Free Thinker doesn't make me to be labelled as "betrayal" of faith if I believe in certain teachings in another religion.

Having said that, it brings me to another point. Is there really GOD in existence? I don't know. I have not seen one, therefore I cannot comment much. Or are we really our own GOD? 

Often, when we faced with obstacles that we could not overcome, we seek GOD. Was it the teaching that we seek? Or is there really a GOD there to give you the answer? Or the answer has already been written down in the form of teachings for us to understand it? But was the saying written down by someone or really by GOD? GOD knows. 

See? When things that we have no answer to, we use "GOD knows". That seems like an avoidance way to answer questions that we have no answers to. It is because GOD will know all the answer?

(you know what I'm going to say........ God knows.)

Anyway, I was just google-ing away on the quote above and chance upon some forums where they say GOD will give you more than you can bear, so that you will SEEK him. Do GOD really guide you to what you should do or can do? Or is the GOD a medium/means to justify what you should do and subconsciously think what you should do?

So does that mean your sub-conscious is the GOD? Just that we need something or someone to "justify" it. Thus it is known as the GOD?

I was just reading a book borrowed from my colleague on "Opening the door of your heart", written by Ajahn Brahm, a buddhist monk born in the west but trained in the "Thai forest tradition".

There is this quote which says,

"Many people ask such questions knowing that what they do is wrong, but in the hope that some 'expert' will convince them it is right. Deep inside, most people know what's right and wrong - only some don't listen carefully."

The above can also be related to someone who has a questions to ask, which he already know the answer but hope that someone will convince them otherwise or to further "justify" to support him.

What do you think? Ponder for a while..... 

I will be back! (to be continued...... )

 

Last module to go

Finally I am left with one last battle - one last module to go: Neuro rehab

Last week, I've gotten back my Cognitive and Perceptual Assignment. We passed but we didn't score as well as we thought we could.

Still praying hard for my health promotion project assignment marks.

As for my paeds module, I can only say I can only blame myself. I didn't manage to post 2 discussions and 10 marks has been deducted. I tried to draft the last discussion's answer last night but was too tired to continue and post. Thus, I went to sleep and wanted to wake up to continue today. But to my dismay, the discussion was LOCKED. There goes my As and distinction I suppose. This is the only module that I can score, yet, I destroy it myself.

Now, left with this neuro rehab. But there is so much work to do in this module. Endless readings.... endless posting of comments.... and endless interventions to plan....


I guess the only motivation now is, I will have my freedom soon ... ..... and perhaps that monetary incentives? But then, what is the 50 -100 increment as compared to my AUD$ 18 000 spent on this degree?

I guess, maybe end of the day, I still gain that knowledge afterall. *Think Positively*