Mount Kinabalu Trip [23-26 Mar 2006] Day 1 & 2

All 6 of us (Eric, JN, JK, Myself, VF and Soo) from KL went for a short trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The main objective of this trip is to conquer the 3rd Highest Peak in SEA and the Highest Peak in Malaysia. We depart from KLIA on Thursday afternoon and arrived on KK Terminal 2 Airport in the evening. We were lucky to get on the new AirAsia AirBus 310. The plane looks new but during our takeoff, we were pullback by an engine problem which caused the whole flight to be delayed by around 60mins(30mins at the waiting area and 30mins on board before they start to fly...HUH!). The one that caught my eye was the air-conditioner in the flight. It sprayed across the cabin like some dry ice flowing from the air-cond vent. Here are some of the pics we took:

[Air-Cond]


[AirAsia A310]


If I'm not mistaken we arrived at KK Terminal 2 at around 7pm. After touchdown, we queue to get our I/C scanned to their system to use as a proof of entry instead of using a passport. As usual after check-in, we waited for our luggages. Our tour agency came just after we got our bags. They drove all of us to the foothill of the mountain to sleep one night at Kinabalu Park, Grace Hall before our ascend to Laban Rata (around 3300 m or 10,800 ft) next morning. Upon reaching Park HQ, we went over to the dining hall to have our dinner instead of heading straight to Grace Hall which is around 5mins drive away. We were served with 6 dishes of nice and yummy meal. 3 veges, 1 sotong, 1 tauhu soup and 1 curry chicken. The veges tasted very good and fresh. Sotong was rather salty. Soup was great as the weather was quite cold outside and the soup is just what we need to heat ourselves up. The worst was the curry chicken which tasted like some canned food. huh... anway, not much of complained from us except quickly filled up our stomache since we only arrived there around 9pm+ and most of us already quite hungry except for me and Soo who stopped by McD to get our big Mac on the way to the Park HQ which took us around 2hrs eventhough the driver was driving at high speed.

[KK Terminal 2]


[Soup]


[Vege1]


[Vege2]


[Vege3]


[Sotong or Squid]


[Curry Chicken]


[Left Overs]


[The GanG]


Shortly after we had our dinner, we went over to the exhibition hall to view some of the pics of Mount Kinabalu and the flora and fauna surrounding it. After a while hanging around the exhibition hall and getting a rough idea of what we should expect for our next morning climb, we went over to Grace Hall where all six of us will spend the night together on three double-decker bed. Before we went to bed, we all packed ready our stuff to bring up the mountain and again i was the one whom got the heaviest load of all. Around 12kgs. Crazy man! Was worried that i might injured my back the next day since it's going to be a 6km climb with rough and steep path. That night, I could sleep caused had too much. Shouldn't have taken McD and then eat quite alot during the dinner. So was feeling very uncomfortable and moving around the bed. Instead of continue to disturb others, me and another fellow colleague went out to have a nice chat. Both of us went back to bed around 1am. Feel much better and tired after the chat. ehehehehe...

[The GanG... Still fresh from dinner except some and some even gettin ready for tomorrow's climb! That's the spirit man... although sitll a long way to go...]


[The Common Room at Grace Hall where I had my bedtime stories... see the two chairs there, it's still the same position after we left... muahahahaha!]


[Grace Hall]


Woke up at 7:30am the next morning. All of us supposed to get ready by 8am and head to the Park HQ for our breakfast. The breakfast served at the park was pretty good. We had english breakfast with one sausage, two eggs and some bread each. Had my daily dosage of coffee as well. Then we head back to Grace Hall to get our stuff and also to do a "deep cleansing" before the climb. After which, we are supposed to register ourselves at the Park HQ and get ourselves a tag and also find our guide. At the same time, for those who are intesrested to hire a porter can weighed their bag there and workout the price. If i'm not mistaken, the price for 1kg is RM6/7. Quite expensive I thought. Therefore, I decided to carry my own all 12kgs up. Again worry for my back and also my legs and also the climb to the peak the next morning.

[View outside Grace Hall]


[The GenG, outside the HQ Park Restaurant. The place where we had our dinner and breakfast]


[Me sabo-ing my "ah-mo" breakfast! Camera looks blur, not me :p]


After breakfast at Kinabalu Park, we get oursevles ready and head to Timpohon Park where we will start our climb. We took a bus there from Kinabalu Park. We shared the same bus with a group of college grads from Sweden. And one of them mistaken me for a japanese. First time, i'm being mistaken as a japanese. Hmmm... do I look like one ar? :p

[Timpohon Park Entry]


[Record Holders]


[Summit Trail]


Upon arrival at Timpohon Park, our guide(Jeff Giddy) help us to do our registration and to log our name into the climbers log. Here we go, let's get going... there's a huge mountain for us to conquer!

[Downslope, picture from both side!]


[One of the waterfall(Carson Fall) we passed by before our KM 1 stop. Some people pay for a small amount fees to come in just to see the waterfall]


[Eric n Soo @ KM 0.5, both still looking fresh and strong... muahaha!]


There are around 8-9 few stops along the way to the peak. Each stop will have a small hut, a big untreated water tank and a "mobile" toilet(where some doesn't have water to flush while some jammed and some stinks!!! imagine hundreds of ppl using it w/o flushing... orh yeah, guys and girls, for the 1st time, we get to share the same toilet... a stinky one! :p).

[the flight of stairs that we need to go through during one of our "tough" sections... got mood to say hello somemore... wait till he climb the stairs :p]


[Our first stop of the day... KM1! there are 8-9 more... each stop around 1KM except one of them which have quite a tough trail that have 2 stops in between 1KM.. I tink... might have lost count as well... hmmm... still recovering from the climb and enjoying the feat! ;)]


[the untreated water... basically you got no choice but to drink them unless you want to carry the 5L mineral water with you... yeah, i'm gettin ready to test it... the 1st victim of the whole team... it turns out to be quite ok... apart from being quite alike like mineral water, it's very cooling and refreshing... probably better than any of the mineral water out there in the market!]


[another flight of stairs... i think i'm starting to feel the effects liao... but still can tahan lah... wait till you go higher... ehehehehe!]


[KM 2, the 2nd stop of the day... as you can see, my hand already been tired out from holding the camera... therefore, there is this special "blurry" effect been added onto the picture :p]


[dangerous and treacherous path for those who are willing to take the challenge for a longer and tougher path... please bear in mind that the current one we are taking already considered quite challenging liao... how about up the ante and take on this challenge? i dare not... :s]


[subsequent KM 3 and KM 4 stops... as you can noticed, at KM 4 the surrounding is becoming misty and reduce in visibility... another challenge added on to our lists... hmmm, don't worry be happy! :D]



[so which way should i go? left or right? hmmm... i'm confused... noticed behind the signboard there are some contruction going on... hmmm... construction on a slop, would it cause landslides ar? i better get going fast... left or right doesn't matter, so long as i'm safe! :p]


[layang-layang hut... this hut is at KM 4... is the largest hut around... this is also the place where most people will take a break and have their lunch. I guess by the time we reached here, it's just nice for food! as for me, i've just reached while the others have been there for quite some time.. yeah, i was slow like a tortoise... blame it on my 12kgs tortoise shell :p. at the same time, i'm stretching both my legs from the hours of sustained muscle cramps... better not describe too detail, don't want to dampen the spirit or intention for those who are planning to go soon or anytime in the future... ehehehe... don't worry, i'll soldier on...]


After filling up our stomache, we're all ready to go and complete the next 2KM before we rest overnight at laban rata rest house. As we go higher and higher, we get to see some strange and wild flowers as the mist got thicker and the level of oxygen decreases. Apart from that, some may suffer from altitude sickness caused by lack of adaptation to high altitudes. Also the route we trudge got tougher with more slopes and rocks.

[some wild flowers...]


[thickening of the mist...]


[taking a break from the cliffy path... wat about a photo shot, say cheeze!]


After walking for around 30mins from KM4, we finally reached KM5. That means we are just 1KM away from our stop and it also means there'll be food and a nice comfy bed waiting for us at the top. But check this out... as we approached KM6, the paths we've gone through over the past 5KM is nothing compared to the last 1KM. Both my legs got tired, can feel that my backpack got heavier, the air got thinner which resulted in me getting tired very easily and stopping by for more oxygen... nothing seems as tough as the last 1KM... wow... it's really something to reach there with all the loads and myself... of course if compared to the locals there, all these are nothing. This is because most of them climb the mountain up and down three times a week carrying stuff for the people who stays at KM6, laban rata resthouse and also backpacks. Some of the locals even run up and down. I was amazed at the way they do it! bravo! Me nowhere close but at least... and finally managed to reach laban rata resthouse... the 1st thing i did was to cheer myself wt a nice cup of hot coffee with some food to go with... it's so satisfying after going through 4-5hrs of 6KM climb. it's indeed tougher than what i've anticipated. should have train harder should i have known. hmmmm...

[this is how the path looks like after KM5...]


[and i thought the path at KM5 with the red clay footpath was tough, then came the bigger surpise... the uneven rocks after KM5.5]


[a clear view of what to be expected after KM5.5...]


[after KM5.5, here's what is left before reaching KM6... the destination of the day! as you can see at the top, there's some sign of living and houses... wat a relief!]


[yea! we're almost there... a BIG relief smile! :D]


[and finally... the reward for the day... laban rata resthouse... where we'll be spending one night here before our last 2.7KM climb to the low's peak!]


[-> KM6!!!]


we are supposed to split into two different groups where the 1st group which consists of 2 members will be staying at Gunting Lagadan Hut while the rest of the other 4 members will be spending their night at Panar Laban Hut. The distance between the two huts is about 2mins away. So we are actually staying quite close to each other. Orh yeah, even going to our respective hut requires some climbing effort and it's around 5mins away from the main laban rata resthouse. All the huts there are built on a slope and rocky foundation. But they look pretty steady, so not much worries on the hut coming down but more worry should be given to the weather around us as it's quite cold. If i'm not mistaken, it's around 10 degree celcius and below.

[Gunting Lagadan Hut]


[Panar Laban Hut]


[this is what i meant by "climbing effort" to your hut... ehehehe...]


[nightfall at Panar Laban Hut...]


That night at the resthouse most of us couldn't get much of sleep although we went to bed straight after our dinner at laban rata resthouse. I think this is my first time sleeping so early. Guess all of us we pretty much in our bed covered with thick quilt at around 8pm. The reason we need to go to bed so early is because all of us need to wake up by 1:30am the next morning to cook our early morning breakfast before embarking on our last 2.7KM climb to low's peak. We bought 6 packets of maggie mee which cost rm2 per packet for our early morning breakfast. They do served breakfast at laban rata resthouse but their breakfast hour is from 7:30am-10:30am but we need to start climbing at 2:30am from KM6 so that we could reach the peak(KM8.7) before the sunrise. You wouldn't want to miss the sunrise right?!?! After all the climb and hardwork... of course, all of us deserved a peek at the sunrise at the 3rd highest peak for SEA... not many people could enjoy such a feast!

[this picture was taken right after we had our maggie mee breakfast at around 1:30am... look, we are all dressed up like "fei fu dui" ready to conquer the peak!]


We hardly get enough of sleep although we were in our bed by 8pm but the temperature was so cold in the hut and there's not a heater or anything to keep us warm. And during some part of the night, there were howling winds blowing straight to our hut and it's like earthquake caused the whole hut sort of like shaking. Although we managed to contain ourselves within the hut, due to some broken windows glass, there were gap that allow the cold wind to keep us shiver throughout the night... supposed to get around 5hrs of sleep but i think we only managed to get around 1-2hrs of sleep. lack of sleep, lack of concentration and stamina but need these are two most important elements for the next 2.7KM climb as it's going to be dark out there and the air is definitely much thinner and temperature going to be around the zero deg celcius range. try that for a morning exercise! :p

We didn't snapped any pictures along our climb from KM6 to KM8.7 as the route we are trugding is pretty messy with rocks and slope all the way. Some part of the climb requires some real rock climbing skills as we need to hook ourselves on the rope and slowly pull ourselves up. And if your are without a head torchlight, it'll be much difficult to get a clear view of your path and to hold on to the rope as you are holding on to your torchlight at the same time. It was total darkness everywhere except for a nice and beautiful sky right above us with a bright moon shinning at us which provide us with some sort of light and the twinkling of the stars. And for the 1st time in my life can i see millions and millions of stars. It's like a sky filled with stars everywhere... yeah, an ocean of stars!

Although, i still managed to snap a few of the important landmark pictures as a proof of the climb... muahahaha...

[sayat-sayat checkpoint, this is the only rest stop we have for the whole 2.7KM climb. And also this is where we check ourselves with the security guard there before proceeding with our next 1.7KM climb to the peak...]


[KM7... another 1.7KM before reaching KM8.7.... our final destination!]


[just another 0.7KM away and we're there... although the conditions for the climb is not that ideal with thinner air and difficulty in breathing coupled with cold winds, we need to move on... it's now or never!]


[after walking and climbing relentlessly for another 15-20mins, finally we reached the peak... the last 0.7KM was kind of tough as we were slowly running out of breath and our energy are slowly draining out from our body, can feel as though i'm airless... but when we saw that signboard indicating low's peak... we say to ourselves, what a relief, wat an achievement... just couldn't believe it... we did it, YEAH!!!]


[back of the signboard...]


[pics taken during total darkness... of course, with flash lah... notice any similarity?:p]


We reached the peak at around 5:20am. It took us around 2hrs 50mins to complete the last 2.7KM from KM6(laban rata resthouse). The temperature at the peak was close to zero degree celcius and it was covered with total darkness apart from our individual torchlight. There isn't much space around the peak. I think the most it can fit is around 10-20 people max. That's why if we were to reach the peak later, there'll be a limitation of the number of people allow to go up each time and i guess there'll also be a time constraint. Lucky for us since we were the 2nd team after the finnish team to reach there. At 5:20am, there is nothing much you could see apart from dark figures and the moon... which after sometime we start to see the sun rising....

[the sun starting to rise...]


[sun rising together with the cloud effects...]


[sun rising together with the sea of clouds... you don't get to see this everyday... so treasure it while you can... ehehehe...]


[another magnificent view... mountains and clouds... feel like jumping into the sea of clouds but then again i came to my senses and restraint myself from doing so... i think the altitude sickness it's making my mind haywire... ehehehee...]


[another peak, but definitely not low's peak caused i'm taking this picture from low's peak :p]


[we're almost there... just a little bit more... muahahahaha....]


while waiting for the sun to rise, these are some of the pictures i took. trying to be a good photographer by trying different kind of shots based on the angle and positioning of the mountains, clouds and the sun.

[i'm coming... but still not up yet...]


[wat a spectacular view...]


[here comes the almighty sun!]


[shinning right above the mountain...]


[mountainous view...]


[perspective view... i like this picture...]


After taking many pictures of the sun rising and the surrounding mountains, finally we get a chance for a gang pictures although one is missing(holding the camera). It's like so hard to get ourselves position right at one of the most important landmark of the whole trip and also a proof-of-purchse for the total cost of the trip caused there were certain individuals from certain country(don't want to mentioned names here... those who went for the trip will know who are they... sell-fish-people! :p) kept on holding to this post and taking pictures like no one else is waiting but the fact is there we groups of people awaiting and after they took their group photos, they proceeded with individuals take while ignoring other present. Me as usual, the aggressor, asked all my group members to be ready around that board and once we got the chance, we just hop-in w/out giving much care to them. come'on lah... everyone deserve a chance for at least a group photo... i don't blame their behaviour of being "sakai" since this is also our first trip up the hill but want to be "sakai" oso be in a nice way lah... don't they know that there were lines of people queuing up for a chance as well...huh! such a disappointing bunch...

[finally the long awaiting group photo... minus that right figure coz that guy is one of them from the sell-fish-group! i'm so geram betul but holding it back and forcing myself to smile instead...]


After a well-deserved time spent on the peak, with wonderful scenery, sunrise and mountains viewing, plus the cool and fresh air, and while the sun is still not at its hottest, we decided to descent and also at the same time allow others who are still on their way up a chance of what it feels like to be at the peak of the 3rd highest mountain in SEA and the highest in our home country. Orh yeah, and also we dun wan to be any fish-seller. huh... okok, enough of the selling fish business! Time for some serious descent down the steep and quite dangerous slope. We didn't realised it till it's day as you can only see your own path during the night time climb. But now you definitely can have a clearer picture of what actually you've gone through but this time round, you can see the level of difficutly and the challenges involed. Let's the breathtaking descent begins...

[just right after the peak... you don't walk but you crawl...or to put in a better way, you climb loh!]


[the endless peak... i just luv the view of the clouds up at the peak... it's so refreshing, so white and beautiful... like bundles of cottons!]


[here comes the tough part... not easy though... as you can, some of us need to grab on the rope as an auxiliary support... and the path does make things easier for us as it's uneven and rocky...]


[this chap just make it looks easy... you see i can just walk down without any support...]


[guess what, there's actually a wishing lake right after we descent from the peak... according to our tour guide, people usually throw coins into it and make their wishes... i've made mine and i hope it come true... come'on lah, i go all the way up just to make this wish wor... pls...pls...make it come true!:p]


[one last group photo at the peak... this special mountain seat is just next to the lake and the best part is our background view, overseeing another mountain's peak...]


[this is the bigger picture of what you can see from the peak... it's definitely amazing man!]


[one last peek at the peak... ehehehe...]


[the downslope got steeper and challenging as we continue our descent... as you could see, that rest house is where our last stop, the sayat-sayat checkpoint. again the only support you can get is the tiny piece of rope and a alot of ankle strength and stress...]


[a closer view of sayat-sayat checkpoint in the daylight... a little hut in the middle of nowhere... surrounded by mountains and a guard... i wonder how the guard can survive all by himself them...]


[I BELIEVE I CAN CLIMB, I BELIEVE I CAN TOUCH THE SKY...]

re-surfacing... ehehehe... for how long? :p

i've been tagged few days back by a friend. hmmm... thought i can avoid coming in but finally need to show my face once again :p ok here goes...

4 jobs you've had in your life...
1) waiter at RSYC(Royal Selangor Yacht Club, my 1st job... was exciting and good experience)
two) promoter at Parkson Grand (stand the whole day begging for buyers... muahahah...)
3) site civil eng'r at SG (that explains why i'm so dark now... huh :p)
four) analyst prog at ISYS, e9 & ON (current) (my passion and interest... really?!?! muahahaha...)

4 movies you could watch over and over...
1) harry potter (wish i could be harry and live in his fantasy world... the world of magic... interesting!!!)
dua) gladiator (like the whole movie... it just captivated me from the beginning till the end... quite touching... see the rise and fall of rome...)
3) bruce almighty (luv the jokes esp when it's from jim carey and jennifer aniston... they r such a perfect comedians couple :p)
empat)LOTR I, II, III (LOTR trilogy by tolkiens... no doubt the best ever written...)

4 TV shows you love(d) to watch...
1)CSI Las Vegas & Miami (luv the way they investigate each cases... the gadgets involved... the observation and analytical skills...)
er)The Apprentice (wan to see DT hairstyle... one day i'll the same hairstyle :p)
3)Smallville (couldn't be superman so mah watch and enjoy what his life like... )
si)Buffy The Vampire Slayer (i like buffy... she's so cute and fast... )

4 places you've live(d)...
1)north melbourne, melbourne, AUST
de)bukit batok, chinese garden, tampines, tiong bahru, singapore, SG
3)kerteh, terengganu, MY
xi)port klang, selangor, MY

4 places you've been on vacation to...
1)australia
rendeh)singapore
3)cameron highlands
nale)genting highlands

4 places you would rather be...
I)far... far... far... away on a secluded beach and enjoy myself!!!
II)north pole (i luv cold weather... bet i'll regret! :p)
III)maldives island (still around rite? hmmm...)
IV)planet mars (luv to explore somewhere out of this world... ehehehe...)

4 of your favourite foods...
4)fried kuey teow (especially the stalls ard PK... but the standards is slow dropping...)
3)chee cheong fun (like the one at pandamaran, PK...)
2)any veges (luv them... must have at least a plate each day... can live w/out greens... spinach perhaps? i'm no popeye! :p)
1)any food that it's good and tasty and mouth-watering but at the same time won't caused much weight gains and i don't feel that guilty (got such food ar? in my dream perhaps or this is how food will be in the next 50yrs? too bad most likely i won't be around to enjoy it...)

4 websites you visit daily...
-company's webmail (check every 5mins... even now...muahahaha!)
-gmail (it's the best webmail by far... offerred the most space, better and organized view and email management, luv the filter and label feature... too bad, started to gettin quite a fair amount of spam each day... )
-my development and test sites (hoping that i wont sees a error page or bug while surfing else my emails will be spam with many support or change requests :p)
-thestar.com.my (my daily local news feeds...)

4 tagged (my time to revenge... i do hope they will respond... they r just like me... muahahaha... high-5! :p)
->KY
->Jen
->Anthony
->Cuz

p/s: GonG Xi Fa Choi to all my visitors/readers/spammers/friends!!!

Friends...

came across this poem posted a theStar blog today while i'm surfing... like it pretty much so i tot maybe i share it out here as well...

In appreciation of friends..
Posted by: Jane Chang

Friends...

a divine blessing from on high,
without them life is tough to get by,
with them, it's hard to say goodbye,
they are kindred spirits that never die.

Friends...

the divine moment our paths crossed,
where love is stamped and grace embossed,
the lighthouse when we're lost,
willing to go all out at all cost.

Friends...

the people that stick by you,
some have many, others have a few,
those that remain faithful and true,
the absence of which makes us blue.

Friends...

the best adventure of life,
take away the strain and strife,
catch you when you take a dive,
always there to complete the high-five.

re-shuffle...

new year is over and it's now 2006! time to give myself a wake up call and start to execute all my plans and thoughts i have for year 2006. no more time to waste! 1001 things to take care of and i've only 365 days but 24 hrs/day so altogether i've 8760hrs. hmmm... so 1hr per item... ehehehe... crap! nway, been honeymooning for too long esp when there are so many holidays from dec and the month of january. i've kept myself at bay for too long and giving myself plenty of excuses for all the overdue items. need to get myself together and focus and concentrate on the things i've always wanted to do. too many distractions and disturbances over the past mths. also, there are things that i may need to re-evaluate and re-consider them. they are either slowing me down or are indirectly affecting me in a way or another. ok, i'll need to do some re-shuffling... same as the cabinet... every yr they re-shuffle for a better team and management. as for me, re-shuffling for a better self and more focus life.

NY's eve countdown party @ the curve -> fireworks!!!

some of the pics taken using my hp when the countdown starts... not too clear coz my hands was kind of shaky... think its due to the beer... muahahaha... nevertheless managed to get a sequence shot... chk it out! ;)
[Part I]
[Part II]
[Part III]

a NEW YEAR well CELEBRATED!!!

It was 31st Dec 2005, Saturday. It's D-day! But most of us working on saturday went back to work as usual. I was there early as usual. But wasn't in the mood to do anything as I was quite exhausted from the long and tiring week. But now after sleeping for 11hrs, i feel so much better and refreshed. The day went on as usual as most of us are either busy with their year end closing issue or trying hard to complete their netg to meet their target for year 2005 or trying to resolve some daily issues. I was on the other end feeling tired and sleepy the whole day. Shhh...

Morning started off well, with team breakfast attended by most of those who came to work on that day. Ali Maju was once again the target for breakfast as it's the closest and most convenient place anyone of us could thought off. I bet ali maju boss Mr. JAWAHAR ALI would be damn please with us since we always bring alot of businesses to ali maju since their reception 1 month ago especially on saturday when most of the offices in our building are closed. Maybe we should all make a deal for them, like for each customer we bring in for ali maju, we get 5% commission of the breakfast bought by he/she. Our "MLM" style of network marketing. muahaha... okok, i know i'm diverting again...

I had roti telur and teh tarik for my breakfast. Same goes for most of us except for a few who chose to eat something more special as it's D-day. ehehehe... Orh yeah, as usual my buddy couldn't finished off her tosai and i was kind of enough to offer my tummy to help her eat half of it. thanks buddy for feeding to become a "fei chu". muahahaha... All of us had a good chat while enjoying our last breakfast for year 2005 and ali maju is proud to be the host for that day.

After breakfast, we all went back to our dedicated workstation and continue with our daily chores. As dedicated as I'm, I was trying my best to stay awake and to complete my tasks ASAP b4 I really lose my appetite or mood to do them. As I was struggling to stay awake and on track with my work, suddenly I realised that it's about time for lunch. There we go again... everyone getttin ready for their lunchie! I was late for my "lunch ride" and caused when i reached down I saw my lunch buddies waving goodbye to me. Yeah, the rule of thumb for those who don't want to miss their lunch rides is to arrive at the departure hall either 5mins before 12pm or be punctual. Luckily for me, there were a whole bunch of us who came down at about the same time. So I joined another group and we went to sri hartamas for our lunchie! I had something called "hokkien mee" (dark in color due to the soya sauce). It was quite good. I think I went to the same place before with Jeff, Jan Nee, Choo, Vincent and Loius. As usual, before and after each meal, we'll have our small little chat either about the surroundings, the food we ordered or the day's work or what's happening...

After lunchie, I went back to office to find out that there are still more stuff to be completed since I haven't been that productive during the whole day. yeah, "idle" will be a good word to describe it. Of course, it's bad to be idling around the whole day but if you realised it and have taken some steps to remediate it then it wouldn't be that bad. Afterall, each of us have our day and we always try make the best out of it. So we are actually trying and trying each day to improve ourselves and make a better self or SK3! ehehehehe... :p

Around 5pm, the mood around the office suddenly become so lively and cheerful. Almost everyone was either busy finishing up their daily stuff or involving in some conversation with other colleagues on the most hip/happening places to be for tonight shout-out! After a well-hearted conversation with different parties and friends, I knew that tonight going to be some night which i'll remembered for years to come. When the clock struck 5:30pm, all us were getting ready and the adrenaline was pushing even faster than before. Yeah, it's the preparation for the D-day countdown...

I was supposed to go up to the curve with the rest of my "bates" buddies from klang but due to traffic conditions and to save my time and energy from travelling up and down, I've decided to join my buddies at work. Afterall, we're all heading to the same place, for the same purpose and of course, the more the merrier and lively. We planned to have our dinner at sakae sushi and then head to hello(the name been changed to heaven) cafe for a drink and enjoy the live singing band. Jane was supposed to meet us there once she managed to convince her friends and she did. ehehehehe....

Dinner at sakae sushi was ok or so-so. Wasn't as good as i've expected and the service was lousy as most of the time when we need the service none came to our table or sometimes they don't get what i'm trying to say although there were so many of them walking up and down the restaurant. I don't blame them caused it's new year's eve day countdown and they still need to work. That's why i try my best to give the widest smile possible and not complaning much about their services. Food wise wasn't as good as i've expected. Nothing special as compared to other sushi restaurant. Maybe it's not easy to satisfy SK3 tastebud or I'm having a sleepy day so it's not working well. ehehehehe... Orh yeah, was expecting a touch screen instead of a flat screen with mouse and also there were a few errors on the page with blank images. sighed. luckily, the company was good enough to compensate for the lousy food and services. thanks to JK, TH, SH and KW.

After dinner, we went straight to "heaven cafe" for a drink since it's just next door and there were so many ppl queueing up for a place at the so called high-tech sushi place that served so-so food. muahahaha... we r just being nice and generous to give up our place so that others can enjoy their nights out with their nice companion rather than the food itself. muahahaha... okok, shouldn't comment too much on them caused they are only trying their best to satisfy their customer... some credits to them loh... :p

While waiting for Jane and her friends at heaven cafe, we ordered some drinks and dedicated some songs. Although the live band wasn't as good as the previous one I saw but they did at least sing out our most of the songs we dedicated. Maybe it's because it's still early and not many ppl dedicated any songs yet. huh... while listening to our fav songs (they did sang SYZ - yu jian!), a sudden crazy idea pop into our mind... after finishing our light drinks, me n jeff decided to go for sthg more exciting. so we ordered 1 jug of beer. initially, they were only 2 of us drinking but as the countdown closes in and arrival of jane, we got ourselves another jug and 2 more glasses. we just drink and drink and plenty of bottoms-up fr my side. it was a crazy nite for me. didn't expect to drink so much. they were as though trying to bring SK3 down but too bad it needs more than that. muahahaha... i bet all of us had so much fun till we almost forgetten that it's time for us to leave for our so to claimed biggest fireworks countdown this year at the curve, msia.

Suddenly, everyone started to rush out from their place and head outside when they heard "bang" bang" "bang". yeah it was the fireworks!!! hooray!!! although i lost all my friends caused they were nowhere to be seen after i came out from the counter but i still managed to catch the fireworks with a group of strangers. don't bother liao... just head straight up the sky and snapped as many pics as could. wow... the fireworks was beautiful and colorful. i like the part where a few of them combined and creates a nice galaxy of stars around us. wonderful!!!

after 12mins of non-stopped fireworks, i went back to the cafe to look for my friends. after a few tries around the area, i found them. tt's when we started our 2nd part of the countdown. it's party pack time! we blew up the balloon and started chasing each other like "siao lang" ard the curve. i just couldn't believe that i do that. it reminds me of my younger days. playing "catching". gila sial! what a way to release ourselves after the countdown... hooray!

a new year well countdown... i'm satisfied! looking forward 2006 with great expectations and higher mountains to climb... yeah, tt includes mount KK!!!

"HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!"

a lazy day...

was so reluctant to wake myself up this morning... told myself i need more and more sleep to compensate on the sleep time lost during the past 2 weeks. although i had 8hrs of nice sleep yes'day nite but after my brunch, i went back to sleep again. yeah, wat a lazy bum/pig!!! couldn't believe it than i'm repeating this again. i used to do so especially during long hols few years back but have been tryin to get rid of such lazy and time wasting habit. somehow rather it managed to crop in... ehehehehe... after gettin 11hrs of sleep, i feel so much refreshed and better! it does help but i tried b4 sleepin beyond 12hrs and i got headache the whole day and a moody self. not a gd idea to try it out. it's like havin a day gone without us realising it out of our 365days. must wake up! must wake up! it's year 2006 dude! yeah, i'm awake now!

p/s: still a few pending posting... sighed... looks like my 1001 things just been topped up to 2001 things... :p

my new year resolutions...

it's the time of the year where you start to evaluate all our priorities/objectives/goals set last year and analyse them against what you have achieved so far. hmmm... talking abt goals, i remembered i've made some during my last year resolutions and i guess only about 1/2 made it through although i always hope or greed for more as time is always running out and my age is catching up very fast. sighed!

i told myself to set my resolutions since last week but was too busy hooked up with trips and holidays. i guess those are just excuses! yeah, in life there are no escape routes or shortcuts. you just need to find your way through, either it's the best way or lousy way, you just need to live by your way and principal. they always says that we should all lead by example, the same apply to our life, lead our life not being lead by someone or something else. again a short reminder, life's just too short to be wasted!

sometimes it's so easy for us to say things or put them down in words, but when it comes to executing them, we just shy away or chicken out. "action speaks louder than words!" so to say... (therefore no point putting them down in words here, as long as i know what are them and constantly remind myself of my commitment towards them, that's more than sufficient) this coming year, i dun think i'm going to put too much or trying to do too much but rather i'm going to focus on a few items and try my very best to get the best out of each. it may sounds a bit too ambitious since i want the best for each of them and no compromise on mediocrity then i got to work even harder next year so that what i've just said won't goes down the drain same like the rest of the years. i vow to achieve all of them with all my strength and energy till my last breath... (extremist kind of thinking! muahahahaha...)

a perspective view...

My first and original and natural perspective picture taken while i'm enjoying my holiday at Frasers' Hill. Just right on time when the rain just over and the sun shinning straight beyond the clouds and I was lucky enough to capture a rainbow created on the bottom right hand corner. What a beauty! Such an opportunities doesn't come that often. You need to have to be there on the right time, good observation, steady hands, and beyond all, speedy retrieval of camera from your pouch! :p

Hohohoho... MerrY Christmas 'n' HaPPY New Year!

I did a personal compilation of all the shopping complexes i've visited during this christmas season and here are the pics i took. Enjoy guys! "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!"
[Midvalley]


[Fraser Hill - Pines Resort]


[Tropicana Golf Resort]


[Sunway Pyramid - Internal]


[Sunway Pyramid - External]


[Subang Parade]


[ONSemi]


[Bangsar Shopping Mall]

What is fAtE ?!?!

Do you guys believe in fate? Sometimes when fate comes is hard to block but when you need it badly, it just won't come. That's wat happen in life... sighed!

Recently, came in to contact with a few instances of fate but i'm not sure whether it's real or what but it just happen, if you noe what i mean. Some ppl sees this as being coincindental but some says u r just lucky or same may even say that there is no such thing as fate! so what should i believe in? Can someone explain what's fate or how's fate like? Is there any signal from above saying that's our turn to receive our fate, so be prepared? Or does fate have some sort of form which we can tell from the way it approach us?

Even science couldn't explain fate coz 1st of all it's a feeling or it's not or it's just a hunch or deja vu or instinct? hmmm... not even the brightest scientist in the world could explain but to either deny it, live with it or just stay neutral. Some say god his own way and it's his will to show us some sort of direction but since he couldn't contact us directly, he use fate to let us know that it's your time now and you should do this and this so that you can get this and this. hmmm....

I guess fate is afterall fate and it's up to us to believe or not to believe in it... for those who doesn't believe it will come up with their own reasons or pespectives to prove otherwise or for those who prefers to stay neutral will keep themselves quiet till fate do sthg to do and they will either believe fully in it or jut continue to be self-centred and finally, for those who believe and want to believe in it, you are probably the smartest creatures among all god's creationg that you indeed realised that it's a message or direction from above that we as a living creature on planet earth should respond to it and brace himself/herself for it to happen.

bravo my friend, u just been through some tough session on "fAtE" related exercises. i won't says it's too tough, it's just sthg all of us have been arguing about and after centuries and centuries, it still remains unsolved and will be a mystery for us and our generations to come.

so do you believe or do u not believe in "fAtE" ?!?!

16 days to new year...

wow... time flies man... just a glimpse and here i'm closing in to the end of year 2005... If you ask me why i'm here, dun tink i could answer that caused even myself not sure why i'm doin here... god knows! ehehehehe...

was going thru my memory chip and trying to re-call some of the events or things that happened during the year 2005, and all what I could retrieved from my old and malfunction memory was blank... nothing... it's that bad till i rather forget them all or it's just the age that's catching up or it's just me with that forgetful memory or it's just too personal to bring them up here... I guess it's a bit of each lump together.

yeah some events are meant to be forgetten and some are meant to be kept as fond memories so that one day when we browse through our memory lane, we'll be able to remember all the wonderful stuff that happen in our life which won't come that often. ugly events are doomed to be forgetten or be formatted, erased and burned from our memory to allow more space for new memory. to create a memory it's an easy process since it can be easily triggered from our thinking or thoughts but to delete them if a super-long-tough process which some managed to succeed while some may fail in doing so. for those who succeeded, bravo to them and for those whom failed, it's just going to be there forever but how dark or painful or silly that piece of memory is, as long as we keep them aside and continue to collect fond memories, they will one day leave us!

as for the age part, couldn't say more but to agree to it since it's taking a toll on everything i do from work to sport to sleep. ehehehehehe... who dares to deny old age? instead of letting them continue to slow us down, we should instead try our best to do our best each time. yeah, i may be slower in my response for some stuff but at the same time, i wiser and matured in my thinking which resulted in a similar or better outcome. but of course, it's very obvious especially when we sees it in our stamina level in doing any sports. when we were still young, anything we dare to do. we are not afraid to fall or get ourselves injured caused all these will only make it more interesting and us asking for more but as years passed by especially when u hit the mark and beyond, we start to take precaution and avoid doing rigorous exercise. as for the sleep, when i was young, i can live without sleeping for the whole nite and i'll still looks good and vigour the next day. But if u ask me to do the same now, i tink the next day will be a hell for me to live in and i'll be walking around like the living dead or zombie. Worst still, if you need to work the next day and all you could tink off in your mind is more and more rest and sleep. your brain maybe be working to a certain extend but physically you just feel yourself being drained off and feel kind of fragile.

Being forgetful has been my strength and weakness for the past year. Strength in helping me to forget those bad days and weakness for causing me to read over and over again for something small which by the time i can remember them, i've lost my patient. Maybe what people say abt you'll only remember it if you think it's something you really want to or like. Muahahaha....

Orh nothing personal here or nothing to hide... if you noticed, i've blurted all of them out right above this paragraph so i'm clean. ehehehehe... of course there are things out there which can only be reached within ourselves and not anyone else. deep inside each of us, there is alwiz a deep secret that we hold on to till our last breath rite? not for me coz I couldn't remember having any deep secret of grudge against anyone which deserved my attention till i need to bury so deep inside my memory even the memory tracker also couldn't find it.

hmmm... guess i've been doing or saying too much things which i'm not supposed to say here or do you really believe them or it's just something each and everyone of you experienced during a certain point in your life? Again, the answere for all of them will remains a secret... ehehehehehe... keep on digging... you may find yourself coming out of someone else nose... muahahahaha...

change...

why do people change? for something better or worse? obviously for something better but doesn't everyone view that change of his/her as something good or bad? hmmm.... depends how we sees it... and how matured and balanced our thinking is when we evaluate that person. so if you gg to make a change or have made one previously, how do you or did you expect yourself to fair after the change? did it really workout or is it still in the process of change? what so interesting about change is the results or outcomes or fruits you'll get to enjoy after that transformation, be it physically or mentally.

but sometimes I just couldn't understand why people change so drastically till they themselves are unaware of the impact of the changes on himself/herself and also the people surrounding him/her. again, it's arguable cause some people may view the change as positive while some as negative. but most importantly that person which overcome such a change do realised that he/she is experiencing such and such due to the change rather than waiting for people to inform them or self-discovery which will be quite embarrassing.

guess change is something which is unavoidable in our daily life as we human trying our very best to adapt to their environment and surrounding, they are required to constantly evolve and make changes to their life so that they can continue to live on and blend in with their lifestyle and people around them. here something i found on the net which i think it's quite interesting to share it out:

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."

so why change?!?!?!

Hokkien made easy

(extracted from Oon Yeoh site)

Hokkien is easy to learn. Just remember:
Giving birth is seh kia

Children is gina kia

Korean car is simply Kia

Police constable is mata kia

Bad guy is pai kia

Furniture is Ikea

Puppy is kao kia

Kitten is ngiao kia

Handphone is Nokia

If you believe this lesson, you are gong kia

And if you are laughing out loud... you are siaow kia!

3 months hiatus...I'M BACK!!!

Huh... Was trying to figure out how i should start this post but after traversing on subject like MIA and last post on 31st August, finally got myself an *headache*! Guess i deserved it since i'm the one causing it and as always, indecisive in making my decision. Sometimes a good *headache* may just be the push you needed to make things flow again. Some may wonders whether I'm still alive or am I still at Msia or am I still the same SK or EddY(as what most of my colleagues, x and current known me for), well the answer for all is YES. Of course I'm still alive else won't be here constructing this post. This reminds me of the movie "Bruce Almighty" by Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman where Carrey plays an individual which being honored with the power of being god for a week and he's replying all the millions and millions of prayers by giving a "YES" to all of them and end up causing quite a big stir and chaos around the city. Hmmm... I'm diverting too far once again. Back to my 3 months hiatus... Didn't go anywhere far apart from making some new tweaks to my life, getting to know some nice and wonderful souls and slight changes in my career path. Yeah, made a switched to a new environment. One that's promising which guarantees plenty of room for learning and improvement. Not too mention, get to know a nice bunch of people. All in all, it's been a rollercoaster kind of life for the past 3 months with ups and downs but most importantly is the lesson learned and the experienced gained that counts. Hope it's a good thing for me to make a comeback here and also this place has been my guiding tool when i was still an ametuer/infant blogger. Won't call myself a pro now. Still plenty to learn and catch-up! Ok, hope everyone the best!

P/s: This year is drawing to an end, I guess everyone is either busy planning for their holidays or doing their year end shopping or thinking of a "happening" place for this year closing and opening of 2006 shoutout. As for me, thinking of my new year resolution which always got postponed from year to year... maybe this year I should make it more realistic and put in more effort, commitment and self-disciplined to achieve them rather than just saying them. Life's just too short to be wasted.

HaPPY 48th BirthdaY to MALAYSIA!!!

Still ongoing but MAY move on to a new chapter...

I know i got some unfinished business here. Lots of parts and pieces all laying around my blog waiting for me to put a full stop to each of them. Yeah, I agree I haven't been consistent with my blogging activity for the past 2-3weeks. No excuse will be given here cause excuses are just a way we try to hide ourselves from the reality... muahahaha!!! Ok here's what I've been doing...

In the process now to move my current blog to a new platform (I think new provider will sounds better! platform... people will think of sun microsystem, microsoft, ibm, hp,..and the list go on and on... which platform they'll asked? huh...). I'm trying out this new site i found while surfing around last week. I think it provides quite some extra features as compared to blogger.com but still in the experimental stage. Although some of the features may seem abit too advance for amateur like myself but I'll try to explore them further and try to get used to them.

Perhaps if you'll like to pay a visit to my new and humble site, please do so at: emancipated.blogsome.com Still got lots of things to be done there apart from posting and site laytout. Still fiddling around with site settings and configurations. Having fun...ehehehehe... ok i make a move 1st... time to get my hands dirty once again... the day already started!!! have a great daY @ WORK/HOME/HOLIDAY/SUMATRA(for those fire fighters and SMART who are there trying to help the indonesia govt to stop the peat fires from spreading and keeping the haze aground. thanks alot guys!!!)

a change internally and externally...

have been trying to match a suitable and something i like for my blog background and here's the outcome of the change. you may wonder what sort of sport car is she? hmmm... if you are a "car" person, you may roughly know what brand and model tt beautiful curve represent. She's a "PORSCHE CARRERA GT" with a top speed of 205mph(330km/h) with a massive 605hp! absolutely anyone's dream machine with such a beauty and power, one could deny but to fall in love with she relentlessly. She's more than anything I could dream or wish wor... atm, can only see her from afar(that's what the transparent effect for)... how i wish...

back to reality, she's only too perfect for me therefore I'll just keep her as my dream and no more than that... muahahaha... some people say that dream may come true if you work hard enough... for my case, looks very impossible... ehehehehe!

Pieces of my puzzles…PART I: Good versus Evil

Have you ever wondered or reacted out of your ordinary self that may have caused dearly. I did and I think this is not my first. Sometimes, I just over-reacted or overdo some of the stuff which I don’t mean to. Sighed…I think that’s something that required my full attention before it become part of me. Yeah, it can be quite ugly and made me another person that me myself unknown of. That my friend, is the evil side of me. Sad to say it’s also my weaknesses and if I don’t start to work on it, it could be my downfall one of these days. Hmmm… looks like I need to inject more good into my mind and try to think positively and wholly rather than negatively and selfishly. One of the best example I could think off was went I over-reacted during a friendly game of sports. In conclusion, the essence of a game is not about winning but it’s about sportsmanship and the joy you see and feel from each of the faces of the players on board. If one were to concentrate too much of their strength and energy on just winning and forgetting about the “joy” then he/she is making a silly and big mistake. Yeah, I do agree we need to show off or trying to be competitive at times but all these need to be done in a proper and delightful manner so that all parties involved can gracefully accept and appreciate it. Sighed… yet another mistake added to my already full lists of “error” which required fixing on my side. Nevertheless, I would never give up in improving and fixing those errors caused I believe that one of these days, I’ll be able to master and self-victory will so be so much closer. Personal attainment of the highest! Basically, it’s part of learning and growing up… it’s something all of us need to go through so that we can evolve ourselves to become a better person overall and being love by everyone… That’s what I called personal success… If one can achieved such a great feast, no doubt whatever challenges imposed on them will be just minor. Asking myself now, when would I be able to reach such a level, I personally not sure…Can’t be sure also even I might not even reached there after I’ve left for the netherworld but I think I can be sure of one thing that is, I’m definitely learning and improving myself each day! Keep it up I tell myself…!!! J