Monday, December 20, 2004

The value of friendship.

Friendship - in my opinion:.

can't be measured by the value of gifts
nor anything quantifiable in monetary terms.

Why the sudden thoughts on this? I just received a few cards through snail mail recently. Not many people actually take the effort to do that these days. The cards (or rather the simple greetings contained in it) bring much pleasure to an otherwise monotonous weekend. The cards may not cost much, but it is the "heart @ cor" inherent in it that is truly valued.

I should be brushing up on my mandarin, my couz has managed to convey regards in an eloquent way (IMO). My imitation of the proper style in conveying greetings. wah-say..

"就此让雯我向大家祝贺,请大家笑纳 - 五福临门, 恭喜发财!"

On other things..I find myself easily contented nowadays (at least easier than before). Surprisingly, after a brief sojourn away from KL, I've gotten more patient. Most times now, esp on the road, I wonder why people in PJ/KL seem to be in such an immediate rush to get to their destination. In their haste, they turn into icky monsters on the road. Off it they revert into friendly (?) Malaysians. Typical Jekyll and Hyde.. or maybe its just the laidback nature of the Aussies influencing me.

Was out with MinHui a coupla days ago, and we were talking about getting stuff we wanted. Topic shifted instantly to how the current generation deals with "wants" and not "needs". We have sufficient for all we need. And now we content ourselves with our selfish desires. The same rings true for me in some aspects, as the truth indeed is, I don't need that digicam, but I just want it. I suppose thats something to ponder about.

Reading the Star in the festive season has highlighted the fact that many people out there are still struggling to fulfill their basic needs. Today, an orphanage (i think, or a shelter) listed what they needed as - a soccer ball. Others needed rice cookers, beds, groceries, books, washing machines, television sets. All the things we take for granted. Although I don't believe in highlighting the unfortunates' needs only during the festive season (they need stuff all year round ey!), it is a good time to reflect on our priorities. In one of the articles, it was mentioned that the amount spent feasting / partying / gift-shopping through the few occasions can be better spent, which I fully concur with. There was another grandmother having problems paying her rent as she had to raise her grandchild alone. And the rent amount each month? A mere RM80. That amount seems pretty trivial compared to our spending ways. Some months ago, I read in the papers, a socialite in KL was showing off her latest home accessory - a chandelier worth RM500, 000. So ironic innit? That some people would rather spend 500k on their whims and fancies..

Pics!

Just a note on the Penang trip last weekend. Hau Wei has some pics posted on his blog (with the accompanying obligatory trip report) so go take a look ;)

Saturday, December 18, 2004

Break - A long (too long) one.

Haven't decided what to do with the rest of my break back home. Unlike other souls out there, I've no plans to go travelling in the nether regions of the world, or have a fortunate someone to sponsor my traipsing around in Europe.

Hence, I'm faced with a dilemma of having time, almost too much of it. Time to do anything I want (within cash limits of course) but without much thought of how I want to spend it. Going out everyday isn't my idea of fun. Endless sessions of yamcha isn't my idea of how my hols should be either. If I don't find something to do, it'll be another case of my mental capacities slowing down and melting away in the KL heat..

Comparing Melbourne and PJ. There are both pros and cons about both places. For some people, the grass is always greener on the other side. But for me, both locations have their inherent "specialness".

Melbourne:
  • 1st thing one notices - the air. Fresh, clean, nice-to-breath air. Unless you stay by the highway like I do, else the air quality's much better in Melb.
  • The food. They have good food, mostly chinese food. Dimsum at Shark Fin's, Rock Kung at Glen Wav, Box Hill's Jade, Springvale's viet food..i'm sure there's plenty more I've yet to discover.
  • Less worries 'bout crime on the street. Although there're PLENTY of drunks (on the trains esp)
  • A very accessible Royal Botanic Gardens (located at the edge of the CBD) Its a convenient place to just lounge on the lawn, plus they've a nice tea room!
  • The galleries, esp the NGV, for bringing in lovely exhibitions ie Impressionists and Munch.
  • The weather - not as humid as KL, though the incessant raining during the spring months were a slight bother. Psst sounds so droll comparing weather innit? shows me beginning to get bored..

PJ:

  • Mamaks! Actually I mean more than mamaks. Includes all the hawker food available across the country, where one dines "al-fresco" albeit its by the road side. Unhygienic as it may look, but who cares?
  • Increasing crime rate plus badddd drivers. I really do think the drivers here are getting increasingly bully-ish on the roads, and really, some seem to descend into madness once they get into the driving seat. This week when I was at BU (fortunately wasn't me driving), when we were waiting for parking, a 30plus year old malay man in a flashy BMW actually wound down his window and began to shout at us cos space was sparse and he didn't have the patience to let the other driver make a reverse turn out. I've personally never encountered a human so rude. And to think he drives a BMW, which makes a mockery of him as a person, for him to be rich in material possessions but so poor in spirit. PJ drivers now seem much worse than Penang ones..
  • Humid rainy weather. Can't imagine going to the parks on a hot afternoon here. Prob would get heatstroke

will continue someday..gtg now.


Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Alittle bored.

At 1.27 am. Random thoughts:.
  • Looking for jobs online, and beginning to wonder - what skills have I actually attained throughout the past few years of odd part time jobs..nothing useful/relevant it seems?
  • Some people can't wait to graduate from uni, while some can't begin to envision leaving the student life behind. Me? No idea. Its as if there's someone else instead of me studying in uni. Classic separation of body and soul (though by now I'm certainly not stuck in the past)
  • Why does Friendster now have so many ads and misc stuff on its pages? annoying-nya.
  • Recollection of an article - "At What Price Have Perfection Cost?" click here.

oops shouldn't be blah-ing at this hour. I'm expected to play "driver" in a coupla hours..a long day ahead. After 2 weeks of self-imposed isolation at home (sortof, i think), its time to meetup with some ol' friends. Such a pity most (actually all) of them don't know each other, else it could be one big yamcha session..oh well, at least I get to yamcha here..

Monday, December 13, 2004

2 weeks..

Its been 2 weeks since I last blogged. What can happen in 2 weeks?

I'm back in KL. Hehhe that was a totally last-minute decision. Made the booking on Monday evening and was on the plane on Wed morning. The flight was pretty uneventful, managed to finally watch "Love Actually" while sipping some niceee wine =)

About the last minute dash back home. It was either Wed's flight, or only in January. Everything else was fully booked. EVERYTHING!!

Hmm..and everyone seems to think I've been mamak-ing aka yamcha-ing every night since I've gotten back. But nothing is further from that. I've actually only gone thrice. But it feels good to be back. The cheap thrill of ordering *neslo ais* etc at mamak..something I've missed over the last half year or so..

ohdear, when we get on the topic of food..

The past weekend was spent on a trip up Penang with LiKai, Samuel and HauWei. Essentially it turned into a *makan* trip. We did the usual, and stopped by Foh San in Ipoh for dimsum..Fortunately LiKai booked a room this time around, cos we heard most hotels are fully occupied due to the school holidays. Stayed at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel. Yupp it was full too, cos we wanted an extra room but none were available.

Friday was all about the rain..Rained all day, from KL to Ipoh and all the way to Penang, even till dinner time.. We had dinner at an interesting place - Teluk Tempoyak. Location-wise, look at the Penang island map, locate the Bayan Lepas International Airport, the move your eyes to the right to Batu Maung, and further down. Right at the bottom you'd see Kg Teluk Tempoyak. Yupp thats where we were. If Phillip didn't bring us there, we'd def miss out. Had ikan bakar, grilled crabs, sotong, nasi lemak, satay and coconut shake (a concoction of fresh coconut, ice cream and corn - interestingly we hardly tasted coconut, but it was very nice nonetheless). Environment wise, there're the few stalls under a covered area, right beside the sea with some fishing boats tethered to some old posts. Typical kampung style..

The next morning, breakfast was another interesting meal. Was supposed to look for the char kuey teow at Macalister Rd but due to the intricacies of Penang's roads, we somehow ended up at Jalan Dato Keramat (or whereabouts there) and spotted the old Kimberley St char kuey teow at the corner of Lorong Selamat. Exactly 2 years ago during our roadtrip up, parking was scarce at that area and we had to ta-pau back to the hotel. This time around, we were more fortunate, though parking space is still as limited. A normal plate would only set you back ringgit 4 but of course we had to try their special 加料 version. HauWei has documented what their RM7 char-kuey-teow looks like =)

Unfinished business (Sat):
Prangin Mall : fulfilling Sam's unfinished business - somewhat related to dubious "copy" stuff. Actually that's Sam's main purpose to Penang ahhha. Interesting to note the high quality of the "copy" in terms of packaging.

Penang Botanical Garden : A short stop there, just sitting on the lawn, watching monkeys lead their monkey life, plus some photo opps (Ours have almost becomed a photography trip by then)

Penang Hill : fulfilling HauWei and LiKai's unfinished business - night photography / shots of Georgetown. Temperature from the lookout points is just like Melbourne's. Gets abit chilly without a jacket though..

As for my unfinished business - kite flying. It remains unfinished. The next time perhaps..

And of course, the food.
Lunch at some stalls near Penang Hill, location which I've no idea how to describe, cept the char-kuey teow stalls (yupp 2 of 'em) has signs saying "Penang Rd char-kuey-teow" and "Shell Station char-kuey-teow" (go figure where's that). They even sell candy floss!

Dinner at the Sunway Hotel stretch of hawker stalls - be forewarned - never try the o-chien there. terrible, more than half of what was delivered to us turned out to be starch - looked like we were trying to eat clumps of glue =(

Some things about Penang:
- At night if you happen to be at Gurney Drive, they collect parking fees till at least 10pm. Its amusing just sit there beside the shore for awhile. You get illegal peddlars selling stuff from jeruk (more on that later), bubble blowers (?), mini kites, ice-cream and fireworks! (incl live demos of course). Seems like CNY there each night..plus the peddlars scrambling to remove their wares at the shouts of *ang-chia* (red car in hokkien) which just means the municipal authorities have turned up on their "enforcement" rounds.

- Penang drivers & Penang motorcyclists & Penang pedestrians - A scary lot. The one who holds the record for our awe-inspiring wonder was "The Auntie" - who crossed a busy road without even looking, taking her own sweet time walking seemingly without even noticing us about to bang into her. Slumber-nya!

- Food. Everywhere one turns, it seems there's food. Read this quote from a tourist guide somewhere "At all times it seems as though half of Penang is cooking for the other half" and its oh-so-true as we once again realised hehhe

Some things about Sam the Man:
- The TV. Sam loves his tv. Especially in the mornings and nights. Trying to wake him up on Sunday morning by switching on his fave little box, it was a tad unsuccessful. Why? The Man uttered later - "its the wrong channel.." 晕倒!!

- The Man's patience with us - when we're lingering for some shots, which is basically most of the trip. Its either he's gotten used to it over the past trips, or he's simply turned speechless. We ARE trying to convert him though hahha "G5, Sam?"

- His seemingly invulnerability to the potent Happy Fruit!

Discoveries about Penang:
- Happy Fruit!
top of our list definitely! Phillip intro-ed us to this fruit with its potent properties. Aihh should have some pics to better describe it.. This preserved fruit is sold by the jeruk sellers at Gurney Drive (2 vans along the roadside) alongside the usual preserved mango, papaya etc..

- Round the island off we go..
Before we left Penang yesterday, we took a drive around the island. Starting off from the Batu Ferringhi stretch, we turned south to Balik Pulau. That stretch of road goes round and round so be prepared for a mildly head-spinning ride. First time we travelled on that route, and though we got glimpses of the sea, its not exactly a coastal road. Scenery's great at one point, where we were overlooking the kampungs beneath and the sea from high up.. This's a side of Penang I'd never seen before, and rather eye-opening it was..those places don't look like Penang, resembles the East Coast rather..

And I never knew Penang had a dam - the Teluk Bahang Dam is just a short distance from the Butterfly Farm. We were supposed to return via Bukit Jambul but somehow missed the turning and ended up going all the way down south to Teluk Kumbar, right at the bottom of the map, and taking the turn through villages with interesting names (eg Kg Seronok, Kg Binjai etc) through to Batu Maung (again!). From there was the coastal way up north leading to the Penang Bridge. The coastal road on this side of the island was scenic..seawater's a pretty shade of green, with a deep blue sky for contrast..

And that's the end of a great trip with the buddies. Missed these kind of stuff when I was away, and its good to be back ;)