Haven’t been doing this for awhile. So since have a few time here and in the hotel, I then decided to do some short post about my first day in Bali 2011. Yes there was a trip in 2010 and I haven’t written anything yet.

So not to delay any further. First day was officially 2nd May 2011. 1st May was instead checking in to hotel. Our driver drove us starting at 830am and off we go to Nusa Dua (the place that I didn’t get to visit during my last visit here). Though we had a quick detour and went to had a time at a dance being performed. It was a role play dance performance with humour. The price was Rp.80000. Expensive.

Finally Nusa Dua was next. Looks like nothing much for me here though. More for people who loves watersports. I guessed the driver was promoting the events there but we weren’t interested. So off we go to our next destination.

We were off to Taman Ayun Mengyi Royal Temple. Unlike the temples I visited previously, this one had lots of people, where we got to interact with the people there. There was this Balinese girl over there who thought that we were from Korea (I was wearing South Korea jersey) kept singing “Merah Merah Merah” as me, my bro and Yong wore red. Hahaha… was so funny. By the way entrance fee was Rp. 3000. The people there posed for the camera.

Finally time for lunch. We were brought to a place which is Pacung Restaurant. It was a buffet. Initial price was Rp.80000 and the food was ok. Though after tax (yes government tax…..) the total was Rp. 96000 after 20% tax. Roars.

Finally next destination, it was Ulundanu Bratan Temple. Superb place. The temple is seperated from the land. The view was magnificent. You’ll know once I start posting photos from the NIKON D300 instead from the HTC. The entrance fee was Rp. 10000. Something funny happened again. A group of locals wanted to take photos with us. Must have been the Korea jersey. Epic okay.Finally time to go to our next destination.

Tanah Lot…. the famous place in Bali. Supposed to be there for a sunset photo. Too bad, it wasn’t meant to be. There were too much clouds. On the way there, many shop peddlers were selling souvenirs. One of them is a wooden penis. Hahaha.

Darn…. finally nothing much, its time to go back to our hotel.

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So I reached Singapore. Yes. I was in Singapore for Christmas celebration 2010. Well, sort of.

The night was young. It was 24th December 2010. Time to take the MRT station to Orchard Road, the place where all the Christmas happenings in this city.

The place I got down was in Orchard (duh…) and then we walked in Ion Orchard plaza. Beautiful place. One fact though, I have been to Singapore many times in my life, but I’ve never been to Orchard Road. Reason: I am not a shopping kind of person. I am a boring kind of person. I love to stay at home. Actually in fact, I go to Singapore most of the time to visit my relatives instead.

Since it’s a Christmas occasion, there are bound to be some promotion going on. So got ourselves a Berry Drink on that night. Superb drink.

Time to go out from the shopping mall and head out to the open road. The famous Orchard Road. Greeted by the banner once on the way outside. For someone like me, who doesn’t fancy crowds and the pushing and moving around people, I felt awkward. Maybe it’s the way I am and maybe that’s why I usually avoid going to public places. Though this could be once in a lifetime event for me. Who knows what will happen in the future?

Back to the point. Met a guy who was giving free sweets and chocolates.

At first no one dared to move. No one dared to do anything. Once I took the candies, I see certain people taking a few candies from him and knowingly the ‘Kiasu‘ culture initiated. No one wanted to be left out.

The night lights were a lot to be awed at. Though expected of it. Sometimes I don’t know what to take when there’s like so many people around.

Since I didn’t bring myself a tripod, just have to make do with my steady hands and just look at the crowd. Why oh why does it have to be crowded at Orchard Road? I still don’t get it.

Of course, some people are bound to recognize the Takashimaya Shopping Center. A famous shopping center in Singapore and Chanel and Louis Vuitton are definitely there. A place where most girls seem to like to go no matter poor, rich, etc… (even for those that can’t afford. Still don’t understand why).

As always, when it’s a celebration, there is bound to be crazy people all around. I am not against the celebration but I am not in the mood of getting sprayed at too. People armed with spray canisters and aerosol foam spray are what I would love to avoid. The clock struck 12am and off everyone of these people start spraying people. Girls are usually their targets.

For me, a definite thing to avoid. I even witnessed a photographer capturing the scene only for his camera to be sprayed at directly towards the lens. PAIN~~~~ Imagine the aerosol around the lens. *cringes in pain*

All in all, there is time to take some photos too.

Edit: Photo taken out due to the unattractiveness it shows until I find a better one.

This photo doesn’t actually justify how we look like. Yes, shot with an ultra wide angle lens, our bodies are both distorted. The only decent shot though. Other shots are not for release in the public.

As always, Christmas is a mark of celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ’s birthday. Well not exactly on this time of year 2000+ years ago, but it’s just to commemorate the time when he was born on Earth. Some people got confused with the whole lot Christian thing and then they decided that it was on that day he was born which has absolutely no truth in it.

Finally we decided that we had enough in Orchard Road for the night and it was time to go. Seriously, finally I could get away from all the spraying and the crazy people there. I might be weird but I ain’t that crazy.

Day 2. Time for some sightseeing once more.

Took the bus to Ang Mo Kio Hub. Well, time for some photoshooting minus the crowd. Now finally, no crowd to push me around and to fight my way through the crowd like what was done the day before in Orchard Road. As always, there would be decorations at most places and Ang Mo Kio Hub has got itself a nice decoration posted outside their entrance.

There I met a princess in front of the Candy Shop.

Also a princess at the Bakery Shop.

Finally time to bid the princess farewell (pun intended) and to move on to another place.

A giant watermill in a shopping complex?

Our next stop is by MRT and this time towards City Hall.

Oh my, look at the princess. She’s here too, walking towards the Hanging Gardens. Time for me to stalk follow her. Wonder where is she going to?

Along the way, I noticed a superbly colorful post box around that area. Wonders how come they have superbly nice colored post box here compared to the ones at my housing area.

Walking on and on, it was time to stop at a certain area. The Merlion figure.

Oh… that’s the mini one. But it’s good enough to take a photo with the princess.

The Merlion is just a background. The main focus is the couple of me and dear dear Yen. Ahemz….

Of course I wanted to a photo of myself with the Merlion. But see what happened??

Things doesn’t feel the same and I have that weird funny looking face. FAIL!!!

The Merlion in comparison with us humans. We’re midgets standing beside the Merlion.

There is a river cruise along the way though. Not too far away from the Merlion spitting out water from it’s mouth.

Of course the Merlion is pretty harmless. This picture of bb Yen though is cute.

I had enough, I decided that even though the UWA (Ultra Wide Angle) lens has got it’s usage around scenery and buildings, I still love the sharpness of my Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D prime lens.

Ahhhh… I can look at this photo over and over and couldn’t get enough of it. My dear Yen looks stunning here. I should create a giant poster out of it.

Mind you, there was actually a crowd of people here too but not as many the time in Orchard Road though. It was getting rather late now and it was time for the next stop. Well, time was approaching 530pm and dinner was what we had in mind. What did we have?

Drools….. until the next post. Damn… I am getting hungry just looking at this picture.

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Looks like it’s going to reach the end of my Tibet 2009 and this will be the so called last post. Well, who knows there could be a reprise of it in the coming future as I looked upon to travel to Tibet again in the coming future. Below is a 1280 x 850 Snow Mountain photo for you to look at and to download. Some people prefer the black background.

So how’s the weather around September 2009? During that time, the leaves are starting to turn yellow and Autumn is approaching. Winter is definitely going to be a super cold time in December.

One thing I like about Tibet is the country side. I loathe the shopping complexes compared to the country side where everything is peace and harmony, and there are no busy cars and motorbikes moving around all day to make one feel frustrated over the busy roads of a metropolitan city. *RANTS RANTS*

Sometimes we complaint how unlucky, how nice if we were to stay near the mountainside. But let me show you how does the people there live.

The 4 to 5 story buildings were built alongside the cliffs. I mean, what happens if there was a landslide. I dread to know. Kind of a scary place to live in.

By the way, it was really a superb sight when traveling in the morning in the jeep high up in the mountains. The scenery is superb.

Of course, when you travel at night, it’s what we call dangerous instead. Though with the above scenery, it makes me wanna do crazy and weird stuffs like a cartwheel.

FAILED though. Shadow was removed to show it’s really the WEIRD ONE.

Now most of you must have been thinking, how did I manage to get along in Tibet with my half past six Mandarin. Besides I don’t even speak Tibetan. It’s all thanks to this person, our handsome Tibetan Tour Guide.

Fuiyoh…. kinda modern. He speaks quite good English too.

A picture of me with a Tibetan. Why not??

Though I look weird here. The wind was blowing straight at me and boy do I look thin.

Here’s the Tibetan Jeep Driver. Now it looks like I am reaching to the end of the post.

In the end, what was the most memorable occasion when I was in Tibet with Ek Wei and Kenny?

There is one I can still remember, the taste, the aroma and none other than the Yak Butter Milk Tea which can be viewed at the mentioned link. Another thing I would miss on this trip is the amount of crazy things I did. Imagine jumping up with a face mask.

Finally this wraps up my post and looks like the post about my 20+ days journey in Tibet has finally ended. Now what should I blog about? There is Bali and Philippines and Taiwan upcoming too. Looks like more drafts to do and more photos to share.

For those that just came to this blog and would love to read further and previous issues, you can visit it under Travel > Tibet category or refer to the list below.

[Tibet 1] Hello from Lhasa, Tibet
[Tibet 2] The Rough Journey Tibet
[Tibet 3] Another Day in Lhasa
[Tibet 4] Visiting Drepung Monastery Tibet
[Tibet 5] Monastery Visitation Tibet
[Tibet 6] Moving Around Lhasa Tibet
[Tibet 7] The Day I Visited Temples at Lhasa
[Tibet 8] Weird Blue Lake Tibet
[Tibet 9] Randomness at China and Tibet
[Tibet 10] More Monasteries and Mt Everest
[Tibet 11] Journey to Mt Everest
[Tibet 12] Journey to Namtso Lake
[Tibet 13] Namtso Lake Scene
[Tibet 14] Return to Lhasa from Mountains
[Tibet 15] Lhasa Town Free and Easy
[Tibet 16] Beginning the Journey to Chengdu in Jeep
[Tibet 17] The Giant Tree and Tibet Tradition Wear
[Tibet 18] Journey towards Midui Glacier, Tibet
[Tibet 19] Midui Glacier Tibet Adventure
[Tibet 20] Last Few Days Tibet Trip

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Walking around (Jalan Jalan) Pulau Pinang (Penang Island), after my Penang Bridge Half Marathon 2010 I had one half of a day to go around the island. Well, particularly it has been almost 2 years since I set food foot here. It’s also like 3 years ago when I first came here in 2007. So what is Pulau Pinang famous for? Of course, it’s the variety of food one could get to eat.

What happened after the run, me and Kyuzo were practically asleep until 2pm and got up to find lunch. Decided to eat at the mee goreng (fried noodle) stall. Well, enough to satisfy the hunger I supposed.

Soon it was night and our host, Ms Su Lynn brought us for food. I decided to opt for Lok Lok (food dipped in hot water) for dinner.

Fret not, this is only a part of what I had.

Secret: I do eat a lot BUT I also don’t really gain weight. *BISH*

So after that it was a drive to Batu Feringghi in the night and time for some night shopping for *ahem ahem* DVDs. After that about 10pm, decided to head back to Penang town to try the Koay Zhap (pork lard in starchy sauce) which I haven’t had for 2 years. ARGHHHH… didn’t get to. It was close that day. I was wondering did the uncle took a break? Maybe he ran the Penang Bridge Run also.

Soon we just head back to the house and had our fair share of watching DVDs and doze off soon after.

Next morning, it was a working day, Su Lynn needs to go to work, so were dropped off at Original Kayu Mamak Restaurant. Me and Kyuzo ate Nasi Lemak (Scented Coconut Rice) and Tosai (Indian Thin Crusted Flour Bread) and Vadai (Indian Biscuit with chillies) each. Well, that’s what you get for running in a run. Appetite has grown bigger.

Nasi Lemak is still a local delicacy. Though excessively eating this could lead to very high cholesterol level.

On the first day, I still remembered taking photos of how my weird mind perceived them to be. Here are a few shots.

BEWARE OF DOG…. errrr where’s the dog?

Fire Hydrant?? What’s the use if it’s already opened?

Of course let’s come out of my weirdness and look at something else instead.

Now where is this place? Some people might recognize it though. I am sure the next picture will roughly tell you where I was.

Ahem… still ain’t sure? No kidding.

Ahhhh.. finally, something familiar? Yes, it’s a sculpture of a snake. One of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals. The most magnificent one. Of course, how about me taking a picture of myself with one of the animals that somehow would finally reveal my age.

It’s been a hard day’s night, and I am working like a dog. Seems to me that’s what it means.

It’s just so many pictures one can take here. Even a signboard can look better than normal. It’s all about the angle.

Sometimes angle plays an important part when taking a photo. How one position their photos and camera. This is something I would talk about in a new website that I am doing and preparing. Learn more about it there.

If you’re still clueless as to where’s the location. It’s at Ke Lok Si, the temple up on the hill near to Ayer Itam. Speaking of which, there’s a famous food up around Ayer Itam. Wait for it… wait for it….

AYER ITAM ASAM LAKSA

Look at how thick the gravy is. Yes, it was me, Chin Ann and Kyuzo once again when Chin Ann fetched us from Original Kayu restaurant and from there we headed towards Ke Lok Si and now for some food before we head home to Kuala Lumpur again. It’s better to eat some Asam Laksa (Sour Assam Laksa).

What was the response after eating this? Here’s what.

Chin Ann had 2 bowls of Asam Laksa and Kyuzo smiling after having his fill of Asam Laksa. You can see how delicious it is.

Then finally it was time for us to leave Penang. It will be many more days before coming back to Penang once again. Who knows, it could be the year after with only a few more months to 2011.

Though some people took it too seriously as he looked upon the shores of Penang Island and wondered to himself.

Yes, we took the ferry back to the mainland. It was then a drive all the way to Kuala Lumpur. So see you again Penang Island. Who knows, I’ll be there most probably next year Penang Bridge Marathon 2011. This time aiming for the 42km run.

BYE BYE PENANG!!!

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It’s going to come to the end, and yet I felt that there are many more photos to be uploaded and shared on this blog. Though as time passes by, these are all but memories of my trip in Tibet with 2 friends, Ek Wei and Kenny. The posts about this trip is going to end in the upcoming series with maybe a filler in the end for some memorable moments.

Tibet as we know it, is a land far far away from my home in Malaysia and it’s like a land of a different culture. Earth is definitely a wonder, a splendor when you view it from photos. Tibet used to be governed by the Tibetan government under the Tibetan King and the Dalai Lama until the China Government took over. Well, anyway, the last few days in Tibet will all be here.

On the way back, there are loads of stream and water along the road. As expected, it’s from the mountains. Basically you have got to see how close it is the road along the hills. It’s so close to the ravine, it’s dangerous.

No barrier whatsoever, just one small mistake or if the driver were to fall asleep or careless, we would all meet our doom. The guy peering out of the jeep is none other than Ek Wei. Well, I was outside when I took this shot. Love the sky there. Love the scenery.

Of course, when I am out there, it’s time for some pose of the Weird One.

Daniel Chew is the Superman. Darn, just realized that I have already lost about 3 to 5 kg when my jeans are getting loose. Seriously, I can even see my jawbone protruding out. That is the same case for the rest of us too which includes Ek Wei and Kenny.

Well, along the way, we only got to see rocks and clouds and trees and more trees and more rocks and ahhhhhh…. basically it’s kinda boring along the road driving back towards Chengdu with no more magnificent scenery to take or places to visit. I will surely miss my trip up Mt Everest Base camp, Nam Tso Lake and others. Strange, it has been a year and I really want to go travel once again. I am never tired or bored of the same place though.

Anyway remembered I did say it was a whole lot dangerous when we traveled at night? Yes, we were like traveling in total pitch darkness as there are no street lights on top of the mountain trail. One eventful thing though that stuck through our journey was we had our jeep tire punctured. Oh man, of all things it happened during a super duper traffic jam up in the mountains. What a day to happen.

It was actually cold in this dark night traffic. It should be about 8 to 12 degree Celsius. Still it was an experience that the whole lot of us definitely won’t forget. Though at times, cameras take certain shots without me realizing that it can actually capture certain scenes.

One of them is the one below.

Bird Returning To It’s Nest

Maybe I should have  zoom this photo a bit closer and see how it looks like instead. Partly modified so that the background is all gray.

Well, I must say that all 3 of us are very sad that we are going to be off from this land in another 2 days after this photo was taken. It was Chengdu afterwards which we didn’t bother taking any photos as we only arrived that place in the night and thus we all regretted for not taking out our cameras after that.

For those that miss parts of the trip, here are the whole issue again.

[Tibet 1] Hello from Lhasa, Tibet
[Tibet 2] The Rough Journey Tibet
[Tibet 3] Another Day in Lhasa
[Tibet 4] Visiting Drepung Monastery Tibet
[Tibet 5] Monastery Visitation Tibet
[Tibet 6] Moving Around Lhasa Tibet
[Tibet 7] The Day I Visited Temples at Lhasa
[Tibet 8] Weird Blue Lake Tibet
[Tibet 9] Randomness at China and Tibet
[Tibet 10] More Monasteries and Mt Everest
[Tibet 11] Journey to Mt Everest
[Tibet 12] Journey to Namtso Lake
[Tibet 13] Namtso Lake Scene
[Tibet 14] Return to Lhasa from Mountains
[Tibet 15] Lhasa Town Free and Easy
[Tibet 16] Beginning the Journey to Chengdu in Jeep
[Tibet 17] The Giant Tree and Tibet Tradition Wear
[Tibet 18] Journey towards Midui Glacier, Tibet
[Tibet 19] Midui Glacier Tibet Adventure

Nevertheless, there are some things which is more important than going on a travel trip. They are friends who loves to travel and stick with you through thick and thin.

A filler will come in sooner or later, and then time for my post on Bali. Hooray!!

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