Lynx with a backpack

My freaking photos can't be uploaded!

2009-06-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Been trying and trying. Used many different PCs. Still, 'bad request' message pop up.

What's wrong with Blogger?
Help!

Next day in Tawau... (captions later... gotta catch dinner)

2009-06-11T02:58:00.000-07:00

My first footsteps in Borneo... My first bite of all-new food... And it all started in Tawau, Sabah...

2009-06-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Day 9: 16 May 2009 Saturday

After two hours' of flight, finally three of us reached Tawau airport.

The view of the airport from my window in the plane...

Keep this slip at all costs. For Malaysians who reside in the Peninsula, one will be issued with this slip. It's something like immigration slip but for Malaysians. So it must be carried everywhere just like MyKad, otherwise...

Matthew walking ahead of us towards the terminal...

It gets dark freaking early in Tawau (the furthest east point of Malaysia in Borneo)...

This is how 6.00pm looks like. My circadian rhythm got messy throughout my time in Sabah. Kept yawning non-stop because my body felt so confused and tired all the time =_=

And Matthew seemed to enjoy himself laughing at my messsed-up inner clock.

Supper time! This is wo tek, a sui kow look-alike. The skin's thicker and crispier and the filling's consisted of pork and bits of white radish, I guess. It's usually eaten on its own, or, like some people (myself included), dipped in a sauce that's made of vinegar, garlic and ginger...

Yummy! I love it, especially with that sauce!

Special only in Sabah for 60 cents per piece ^.^v

Another specialty in Sabah: Avocado juice!

It's so cheap here (around RM6.00 per fruit), which is half the price in the Peninsula O.o

To make the juice, just scope everything into the blender and add milk. The milk enhances the taste. Reminds me of how carrot juice is made.

Very tasty! Sook Ann and I got hooked with that and kept on ordering it whenever we're around in Sabah...

With Janet, my soon-to-be former housemate. She happened to be back in Tawau so she joined us for the supper :)

We also had the regular ikan bakar as well. We were having all that for supper in Taman Hong Yee nearby Matthew's place.

This is Matthew, enjoying himself with the food, as usual... :p

Another one night stop in Selayang

2009-06-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

Day 8-9: 15-16 May 2009 Friday-Saturday

After lunch together, we dropped Eve off at the YMCA for her AEISEC event and then James and Caroline dropped me off at Medan Gopeng bus terminal for my bus ride to KL.

A Konsortium bus. Very comfortable~ As you could have guessed, I took the single seat ^.^v

RM17.40 for Ipoh-KL bus ride. Bought the ticket at KKKL counter. Strangely they offered Konsortium bus instead... Hmm... Oh it's comfy anyway :)

***

Reached Pudu Raya in Kuala Lumpur. Took Sri Petaling LRT line to Masjid Jamek station. Switched to Kelana Jaya LRT line. Arrived in Kelana Jaya station. Missed the free shuttle bus to Ikano. Edmund had to pick me up from Kelana Jaya station (further) instead of Ikano. Hours and hours spent. Tired.

Edmund took me for a late dinner in Selayang. Had a Hokkien noodle a.k.a tai lok mee (different from Penang's Hokkien noodle, which is actually more like prawn noodle there).

The stall that sold this noodle is located in Selayang market.

Next morning, for breakfast, I had sai to yun and it was served with noodles plus fresh fish and fresh mussle. Nice~

Canton City Restaurant in Selayang where I had that breakfast.

In KL Central where I was to board the shuttle bus from KL Central to LCCT, KLIA.

Skybus, the subsidiary bus company under Air Asia's wings. RM9.00 per trip. I'm not sure how much other shuttle bus companies charge but this should be the best bargain.

Caught up with Sook Ann and Matthew in LCCT. Chang Ching even came all the way to LCCT to send me off, for the last time, before I go to Singapore this 24th June... *sad* *touched*

The plane that we boarded... From this point onwards, my series of domestic flights begin...

Bye bye Peninsula...!
Hello Borneo...!

Here my Borneo adventure begins...

One night stop in Ipoh

2009-06-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Day 7-8: 14-15 May 2009 Thursday-Friday

After half day in Sitiawan, it's time for me to make a move to Ipoh city...

I took a Perak Roadways bus to Ipoh. What a bad choice =_= It was a rickety rackety bus but the trip took more than 3 hours... Talk about comfort huhu...

Anyway the discomfort from the ride immediately disappeared the moment Mi Mi took me for my most-awaited dinner, ngai choy kai (beansprout chicken) rice. This dinner for two costed us RM16.80.

The best place for ngai choy kai in Ipoh, right in the heart of the city :)

I actually have been itching to try Ipoh's famous salted chicken too but the price (and inconvenience) scared me off. One whole salted chicken costs RM48.00... O.o

Salted chicken (duck also) is usually eaten with rice as the meat would be very salty to be eaten on its own.

Never mind, there's always next time.

After dinner, before meeting up other friends for supper, Mi Mi took me to Tong Sui Kai (Tong Sui Street) for have some tong sui (Chinese dessert or manisan). The whole street is filled with tong sui stalls.

Wow... talk about competition...

From me, clockwise: Ban Hong, Po Yee and Mi Mi. Faculty mates from School of Biological Sciences. Having supper in Oldtown Kopitiam.

Next morning, I joined James and Caroline to continue my Ipoh adventure...

First we had dim sum in the city before we start venturing around Ipoh.

The tree of democracy!

Remember the famous tree in Perak political battle? I won't delve into politics here (need to be careful with the Sedition Act) so you can go ahead and Google it up on your own instead.

Here is Ipoh's latest project. As I am typing this, the project is currently underway to build a Kinta Riverfront along the 'drain'. Err... river. Well the Ipohans swear that the 'river' was actually a huge drain.

Well I guess once the developer's done with this project, it would be passed off as a river anyway.

This project's main attraction are not only clubs, bars and cafes but also the replicas of the world's famous bridges along the drain... err... river *confused*.

To name few that I've identified from the artist's impression: Penang Bridge, St. Francisco Golden Bridge, London's St. Abbey Bridge and Sydney's Sky Bridge.

Here's the finished portion. Can you recognise which replica is this?

Next was my search for the popular Yee Hup shop, where you can get Ipoh's famous white coffee, heong peng and lou poh peng.

You can view the factory from the interior of the shop.

After cracking my head for quite a while between the white coffee, heong peng or lou poh peng, I decided to get the lou poh peng (wife cake) as a souvenir for Edmund in Selayang later that day.

Note: Met my little sis, Eve in Ipoh that day. Wee...! She happened to be in the city to attend an AIESEC event. The four of us had beef noodle for lunch together :)

Another morning in Kampung Koh

2009-06-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

Day 7: 14 May 2009 Thursday

Another morning for more new food!

Before breakfast, Xiao Hui led me to a place where I could buy some kom piah for Matthew (Matthew, I'm doing you a big favour by lugging a pack of this together with my heavy backpack for you).

As seen here, this lady baked kom piah by sticking them onto the inner walls of the baking clay jar. Reminded me of how heong pneah was made.

Yummy! The smell that filled the air~

This is the kom piah! Not a pretty thing but really popular and delicious among the locals. It still tastes as good even though it cools and softens after baked. There are four or five varieties, some of which are the onion one, the pork one, the donut-like one and the sweet one.

I bought a pack of 10 pieces of onion and pork types mixed together at the price of RM8.80.

Oh ya, I also got myself a bottle of the famour Kampung Koh garlic chilli sauce (RM1.70) as a souvenir for Mi Mi when I get over to Ipoh that evening. Sorry, peeps, I forgot to take a picture of it :p

Kampung Koh market.

Xiao Hui was busy choosing sweets and candies for her little cousin.

Oh I forgot to mention, Xiao Hui couldn't drive so I was the one driving that morning actually while she took the role to navigate :p

A Nissan Datsun one. Auto and old. Quite a challenge to drive but worth the experience.

The most meaningful devotion I had so far in this backpacking trip...

2009-06-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Success without God

"Then he said to Him, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here'."
Exodus 33:15

It is possible to experience success and yet be void of God's presence. If success is what is important to you, you may be tempted to choose accomplishments over your relationship with God. God offered to send an angel with the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land to ensure their success in every venture. No army could withstand them. No city wall could stop them. The wealth of the land lay before them. Everything they had ever dreamed of appeared to be theirs for the taking. The only thing missing would be the presence of God. God said they were an obstinate people, and He would not go with them when their hearts were far from Him.

The Israelites' experience reveals that victory and great accomplishments are no necessarily a sign of God's presence. Do no assume that your good health, your profitable business, or the growth of your ministry is due to the presence of God. It may be that you have inadvertently chosen success over your walk with the Lord.

Moses wisely concluded that success, no matter how great, is not a substitute for fellowship with God. Moses knew how quickly worldly achievements could disappear. His security came from his relationship with God. Success in the world's eye is not a sign of God's blessings. It may, in fact, indicate that you have chosen a substitute for intimate fellowship with God. Would you be satisfied to have success, power and wealth, but not a relationship with God? Do you value God's presence in your life more than the greatest achievements you could experience in the world?

Taken from Experiencing God Day-by-Day: Devotional by H. T. Blackaby and R. Blackaby

Blogger's note:

Understanding this would be very hard in this Asian culture where money and status rules the rungs of our society ladder. Even I myself fall into such temptation at times, risking what matters the most in life for the sake of 'being the creme of the creme'...

Sigh... So evident in my own eyes as I backpacked through the cities, towns and villages... Losing the glitter of wealth and power is often misread by typical Asians as the sign of God's wrath and curse rather than merely parts and parcel of life.

Oh when will we change such mindset? The more I see that in large cities, the more my heart aches, not only because of what I'm guilty of myself doing it, but also because these people who rush and buzz here and there, they just don't know it...

Pulau Pangkor...!

2009-06-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Day 6: 13 May 2009 Wednesday

What a breakfast! Even more new food coming my way! :)

Looks familiar, eh? This is Sitiawan's version of our loh mee, known locally as loo mee. Same starchy soup, same colour but different ingredient. Instead of your usual pork slices, beansprout and egg slices, this is served with bamboo shoots and black fungus. Such wonder is only RM2.20 in a large portion!

This one looks like our usual koay teow soup but this is different. The koay teow lookalike is actually called long yen and it can be served fried or with soup, just like koay teow. Also at RM2.20 for a large portion. So unlike Penang *tsk tsk*

After the eye-opening breakfast, we head to Lumut town for a ride to Pangkor Island! Wee...! Oh by the way, Lumut's 15 minutes' drive from Sitiawan.

These municipal guys really did a good job to make this waterfront very pleasing to the eyes. Hope they do an equally good job in maintenance...

Xiao Hui and her aunt posing for the camera. In the background is the Pangkor island itself.

The jetty from which we took the ferry to the island.

One of the unnecessary structure at Lumut waterfront.

but I won't call this unnecessary though :p

Somehow the way they did this walkway reminds me of KL Central. Hmm...

Ah... now that's a candy eye! :)

Check out this one!

Cool, eh? Now that's one of my favourite 'unnecessary' structures at the waterfront :p

The mammoth-skeleton-like roundabout opposite the waterfront.

This is actually a very good scene for photographs but...

This one is a babe! I love it! Too bad my camera's not a DSLR...

A tuna...

A swordfish...

And a shark! Haha... :p

The terminal of the jetty right in the centre of the waterfront.

Posing right before we board the ferry :p

The ferry that we took to the island.

The ticket. It costs only RM10 for a return ticket. I didn't know Konsortium also do ferries, other than buses.

Taking a shot for fun while in the ferry. The ride takes about 30 minutes from the jetty to the first stop on the island, Kampung Sungai Pinang Kecil. What a long name...

We actually got down from the second stop, Pekan Pangkor. That's the usual for tourists to get down.

This is the taxi-van we took to tour around the island. It usually costs RM50 to tour the whole island and make stops in interesting sites but we bargained till RM45. The best would be RM43 actually.

For your info, if you don't fancy hiring a taxi-van, you can actually rent a car and drive, but I personally think it's not worth it. Why?

A rented car costs RM30 for 3 hours only. And you have to pump your own petrol.

Whereas a rented motorcycle costs RM20 per whole day. Although you still have to pump your own petrol, I think this worths better...

This taxi driver also owns a service apartment so he promoted his 'extra' business to us. A unit of 3 rooms in Coral Bay Resort Apartment (which is his) can fit up to 16 people for RM300 plus per night. Through him, you can get RM220 only.

So people, take his number down and ring him up the next time you come to Pangkor in a group :p

(Oh, by the way, again, he also owns a medicine shop at Pekan Pangkor. How entrepeneur-ish!)

This is the view of the fishing village beside the Pekan Pangkor jetty.

Pekan Pangkor.

Our first stop in our round-island trip: Dutch fort.

This is the actual remains of the wall of the former Dutch fort.

But everything else down there was not. It was added to 'beautify' the whole place.

But still, I'm happy with just walls, as long as the walls are original :p

So you can see here that out of the whole area that was labelled as the tourist landmark of 'Dutch fort', only 10% of the whole area is the actual fort remains. Don't get me started with the souvenir shops. I didn't take the shots of them.

Nipah Bay.

Nipah Bay is one of Pangkor's five bays (two facing east, Perak; one north and two facing west to the straits of Malacca). This one faces the west. That's why it's much cleaner and beautiful :)

For scuba lovers, this is the small island where scuba diving and snorkelling activity is done. You can get a short boat ride there, or wait till a low tide so that you can walk across there.

This is for Abe. What is this thing?

Any idea? Just tell me in the comment section ;)

Ah... the view! I wish I could share such romantic scene~

Yes, Xiao Hui was there with me haha :p

But then again, it'd a huge waste that we didn't go to Pangkor for a dip. The trip would have been more worthy if we did. Dang, I don't bring my swimwear in my backpacking trip...

Just to prove a point that we were actually there :p

This picture was taken around Dalam Bay (Teluk Dalam in Malay). This is Teluk Dalam Resort, a five-star government-run resort. The taxi-van driver said that a plate of fried bee hoon there costs RM30! O.o

Oh I forgot to take a picture of another even-more-extravagant resort called Pangkor Island Resort. Also five-star, with a private stretch of beach and RM30 fried bee hoon... What makes this whole thing crazier was that I found out that you have to pay RM60 just to go in and use the facilities, even though you don't even to spend the night there!

Yeah they have very crazy security there too!

The hilly north of the island. Reminds me of driving through Balik Pulau in Penang.

The shipyard where they make those beautifully expensive yachts. You can buy one for at least RM1 million if that's the cheapest...

Another rustic view of another fishing village...

In Eng Seng Pangkor Food Industry & Trading factory. This is where your favourite cuttlefish satay and fish satay comes from.

The factory section.

The entrance leading to the shop and the factory. We bought some fish satay for Xiao Hui's mom, aunt and Teng Siu.

This is Foo Ling Kong, and I still can't get the pronunciation right =_=

Quite a huge Chinese temple. I wonder what that Chinese character means?

The attraction factor: The mini Great Wall of China encircling the temple grounds

Labi-labi in koi pond. That fellow's quite snappy so don't try putting your hand near it!

Back to Pangkor town after the round-island trip. Here, we're actually looking for lunch and souvenir. I bought a batik purse which costs RM5.9o but later back in Lumut, I found an exact one sold at only RM4.00 =_=

Moral of this story: Don't buy souvenirs with the word Pangkor from Pangkor. Go to Lumut instead...

Back in Lumut, Xiao Hui mentioned about a very nice restroom. Curious, we looked around for it. It is actually located below this restaurant but we somehow couldn't find it and found a souvenir shop instead.

Turned out that you have to ENTER the souvenir shop to get to that restroom...

For 30 cents only. You get a very nice welcome walking through this decorative pathway to the ladies.

Voila. Ze beautiful restroom!

There's even a small garden in the ladies...

Well worth that 30 cents if compared to the ones where you have to pay 50 cents but end up in a not-so-presentable restroom.

For dinner we headed to Villa Seafood Restaurant with Teng Siu and Juan Jym. Our highlight of the meal: Marmite carb! Nice... especially if you like Marmite paste :)

Then a little stroll in Lumut (again!) but this time we were in Marina Wing instead of the terminal side.

Posing with one of the landmarks.

The statue of a swordfish in front of the Yacht Club yard facing the sea...

And that ended the day...

Exercised with the aunties and my first taste on Hock Chew dishes

2009-06-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

Day 5: 12 May 2009 Tuesday

Another bus ride.

A bus from Teluk Intan to Sitiawan costs RM5.40 and takes 1 1/2 hour. There's only one bus in Teluk Intan that goes there everyday and it's MARALINER! What else can you ask for a better bus?

Very lucky. very comfy... :)

Xiao Hui's house is actually situated in one part of Sitiawan called Kampung Koh. Familiar name? Yeah, it's where the famous Kampung Koh garlic chili sauce comes from. Too bad you can only buy it readily within Perak. Elsewhere, you have to dig harder in sundry stores...

For lunch, I had my first try on Hock Chew dishes (Xiao Hui's family is of Hock Chew descent). Her mom's so cool, she really knows how to cook lotsa cool dishes. Here in this picture is kow loo, some kindda soup. If you're familiar with Kim Gary's Bosch soup, you'll probably identify with this soup. The only thing Bosch soup lacks when compared with this kow loo is bamboo shoot, black fungi and more spice factor :p

She made this delicious red wine chicken. The reason I love this is because the wine was not overpowering, unlike most of wine-made dishes I've tried before. The chicken... ahh, tasty!

Later in the evening, her mom asked us to join her in her Zhan Mei Zhao. It's her church activity where people (especially aunties) do aerobic exercises using Christian praise and worship songs. This ministry is quite popular in churches where they have lotsa middle-age and older women.

We were in Air Tawar, a small village somewhere in Sitiawan. Here, these ladies led the aerobic exercises. They even have purple t-shirt as uniforms! Cute...

Look at how energetic these aunties were! I wonder if we youngster were to join them, would we be able to last through the 1 hour non-stop session?

So we tried and joined along :p

Haha... :p Guess we're the youngest aunties among the aunties... xp

The view of Air Tawar...

Later that night, after dinner, we met up with mutual friend Teng Siu in Old Town Kopitiam in the town of Mambang for yum cha session.

One thing you must remember when you go backpacking

2009-06-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

If you go backpacking in Malaysia, chances are that you eat local food as much as you see places, thanks to our culture that bonds over food.

Here's where the problem comes in, if you don't have consistent bowel movement, you're so gonna have problems inside of you after a couple of days of munching and chewing.

You'll be so bloated you can't eat anymore. You won't be able to eat anymore new food that comes into your way. You'll wish you could exchange anything in the world just to be able to expel that yesterday's food just to sample today's new food.

As experienced by the blogger =_=

Few hours in Teluk Intan before a bus ride to Sitiawan

2009-06-03T10:12:00.001-07:00

Day 5: 12 May 2009 Tuesday

Teluk Intan has been very hot! So hot, the only thing I could do best was to sleep. Even that, I'd be bothered with sweats in the middle of my sleep =_=

Playing with PSP just to pass the time... (and the heat)

Enjoying the Kampar chicken biscuit I bought for Joon Nie. We opened it up and ate while watching The Simpsons: Movie.

Very good one. Very nice. I've always loved The Simpsons, although sometimes it may be crude, I still enjoy the wise-cracking lines :)

Breakfast of Teluk Intan's curry noodle. RM2.50 for a large bowl, wow... Yeah, tastes OK but still I prefer Penang's curry noodle at Lorong Seratus Tahun. That's the best curry noodle and nowhere else beats that. So much for the love of curry noodle...

The coffee shop where we had the curry noodle. It is not far from Jalan Hill where that glorious chee cheong fun is sold. *fluttering in euphoria*

Next stop was to get something as a souvenir for Xiao Hui before I went over to Sitiawan. Guess what? It's the heong pneah...!

Heong pneah from this shop. Way back there is the actual factory to make the biscuits.

Because I couldn't get the best view of the leaning clock tower the night before, I made a detour over there to get a good shot.

So here you have it.

The leaning clock tower of Teluk Intan.

Oh don't worry, just like the tower of Pisa in Italy, it won't actually fall. I'm pretty sure the municipal council had already done something to stabilise that tower.

Bye bye Teluk Intan!

Hello Sitiawan!

'Jalan-jalan' and 'cari makan' in Teluk Intan

2009-06-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

Day 4: 11 May 2008 Monday

Breakfast of pan mee (RM2.80). The portion's definitely bigger than Penang's pan mee in Bukit Jambul. Well this is Teluk Intan :p

The restaurant where we had our breakfast. Oh ya, they also sell yee mee there, which I didn't get to try.

Nearby that Tai Ka Chea restaurant was Teluk Intan's oldest temple.

Check out the year on that wall...

A huge Buddha statue on the temple grounds...

A familiar scene in buildings in Perak. Bird nest business is hot in Perak and everywhere, people erect structures like that to attract the swallows to reside and make nests inside...

Joon Nie's mother treated us for tau fu fa and soy bean milk break. Right after breakfast *full* The best soy bean milk is in one of the hawker stalls in Jalan Maharani. So good, they almost ran out when she went over to tapao.

Ahh... tau fu fa. Soft and nice...

The town centre of Teluk Intan. Simple - but the roads are getting more and more busier as it's getting more developed...

Wesak market. Although Wesak was just last weekend, the market was still abuzz with Indian stalls and huge crowds. Joon Nie mentioned that during Wesak, throngs of Indians would go over to Teluk Intan in buses and it gets festive. The Wesak market would usually last for about a week.

You see, not only old buildings like this row of shophouses get converted for bird nest business...

Even new shophouses get done for too! Plus they also played audio recording of swallows' chirpings, purportedly to attract more swallows to come and nest there...

Joon Nie's mother actually disagreed that Ah Chai's rojak is the best (read previous post). So she brought us to new Teluk Intan (Bandar Baru) to show us what she thought was the better rojak.

This rojak is similar to the usual ones, only plus fried yew char koay and umbra fruit. OK, decent bite but to be honest, I've never been a big fan of rojak actually =_= Sorry everyone...

This is where we had that rojak.

For supper, we went for char koay teow near Sports Toto outlet. The char koay teow was not good, I must warn you. Period.

The actual purpose of the supper was to meet up with friends, not char koay teow. Here, Caren poses with me ^.^v

Then we girls (plus Jared, Joon Nie's boyfriend) checked out the Wesak Market near the clock tower in the town centre. The night atmosphere was actually more festive compared to the day's.

From left: Joon Nie, me, Caren, Huey Kiau. Jared's the photographer. Behind in view was the market and the leaning clock tower of Teluk Intan :p

Bloated in Teluk Intan

2009-06-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Day 3: 10 May 2009 Sunday

Joon Nie picked me up from the bus station once I arrived in Teluk Intan.
First stop: Lunch!

Joon Nie recommended this mee rebus (RM2.20). It was somewhat similar to the mamak's version but better.

While she herself ordered laksa (RM2.20). This laksa is more similar to the Penang's assam laksa, minus the assam and pineapple...

The coffee shop where we had our lunch. Packed with people lining up to eat, and also to tapao.

Next was Joon Nie's favourite rojak. This Ah Chai's rojak even appeared in 8TV's Ho Chak! programme. One thing that made it stood out among other rojaks is the heh pneah (shrimp biscuit) pieces in the rojak (RM3.50).

Too bad I had constipation that time so I didn't get to eat that even though we packed it back =_=

Those who are familiar with this would scream "Seremban Siew Pau!" Yeah, you're right. That famous shop in Seremban even opened a branch here in Teluk Intan.

Add that famous egg tart in too~

Now this is the real deal! Must eat! Even if it means travelling from KL for 3 hours after work to pack 30-50 packets of this great stuff! (like those KL we met that time)

Siew Kee's chee cheong fun at Jalan Hill! Delicious, special and unique... (RM3.00 per packet)

This business only operates from 6pm to 6am. When we went there, it was about 10pm and we saw a group of people from KL who packed about 30 packets!

Joon Nie's mother explained that it's usual for people to travel all the way to Teluk Intan after work and pack up to 50 packets in one go. Then they'll travel back and have some for breakfast, keeping the rest in fridge. Each time one wants to eat, just pop it into microwave oven to heat and voila!

Although this is eaten without sauce or anything (on its own), it's soooooo good! Must eat! I'm getting so ecstatic as I am typing this hehe... What's inside? Fried onion, chai po and other ingredients which I fail to identify... But really! It's super tasty....!

Blogger's note:
I never had an eating spree like this before so I had constipation halfway through the day. Bad news...
Moral: Always double veggie and fruits to help with your bowel movements...

A ricketty racketty bus ride to Teluk Intan

2009-06-03T03:16:00.000-07:00

Day 3: 10 May 2009 Sunday

A bus ride from Kampar to Teluk Intan.

An old bus. It looked like it would fall into pieces any time a speed bump would come along...

RM5.50 ride. For one hour ride. Well that's the only bus you can get if you wanna travel to Teluk Intan from Kampar...

Wesak Day Special and Mother's Day Special

2009-06-03T03:00:00.000-07:00

Day 2 & 3: 9-10 May 2009 Saturday & Sunday

To all my friends who celebrate Wesak Day, happy Wesak Day!

In Kampar, the Wesak Day was not of a grand atmosphere.
Nothing much.
The only thing that rifled up for Wesak Day was Keat Meng's mom rushing her clients' order for fresh flowers for Wesak Day haha...

And here's to all mothers, happy Mother's Day!

To my dear mother, happy happy happy Mother's day!

Being away from home in unfamiliar places during Mother's Day was a little unbearable. To watch other children celebrating with their own mothers was even worse. I know my choice to go backpacking at that point of time meant that I'd miss Mother's day with you -again.

Just to tell you here that I love you and you're the best mother I've ever had - even though you're the only mother I have anyway - but still you're the best.

I love you Mummy!

Of Mother's Day, Sunday church service and oh, I almost forgot, more food!

2009-06-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

Day 3: 10 May 2009 Sunday

It's my first Sunday since I started my cross-country backpacking trip!

Breakfast in Kampar market on a fine Sunday morning...

A freaking noisy horn on Sunday morning =_=

This peddlar sells Kampar's popular ham kok chai. His horn blared out 'Ham kok chai!' and it's freaking monotonously annoying but how else you can draw attention?

It looks like the familiar chai kuay but it's smaller with white radish and bits of dried shrimp inside. This cute little thing costs 30 cents per piece. Well it's something new and different but if you ask me, I don't see much difference with the typical chai kuay...

Kampar's curry chee cheong fan - at RM3.00. To those who love chee cheong fan AND curry, I'll suggest this to you, because I personally can't stomach it. My stomach was confused whether it's attempting to digest chee cheong fan or curry. The only credit I can offer for this food is that the chee cheong fan is hand-made. Luckily my stomach didn't revolt in the end - on this fine Sunday morning :p

Beef balls on a fine Sunday morning! I love beef balls! Especially this one. Tasty and padat with beef! Sold at 50 cents per beef ball, you can opt to have it just like this or plus noodle or rice. Your choice :)

My first Sunday church service in backpacking trip! I was at a Wesley Methodist Church in Kampar with Keat Meng...

Coincidentally, that Sunday, the church also held the enrolment ceremony for recruits of Boy's Brigade and Girl's Brigade. This Christian school uniformed body has so far been popularised in Perak and Penang. Good chance for me to see one for real :)

Boy's Brigade performing a recorder ensemble...

Girl's Brigade giving out flowers to mothers for Mother's Day special. I miss Mum back in Sungai Petani... :'(

After Sunday service, with Keat Meng...

With Calvin... The guy whom I forgot to nitch to smuggle me into UTAR =_=

Souvenir from Kampar: The famous chicken biscuit a.k.a kai chai peng. Sold in two different types here, each packet costs RM5.00...

Getting acquainted with Kampar and her neighbours

2009-06-03T01:06:00.000-07:00

Day 2: 9 May 2009 Saturday

After breakfast, Chee Seng took over the role of tour guide and took me to one of the famous waterfall destinations.

Ta-da! It's Lata Kinjang...! Situated in Chenderiang, about 30 minutes' drive from Kampar... You can also reach there directly from NS Highway.

Nice, clean and relaxing... You can't have picnic there, that explains why this place is superbly clean!

Chee Seng and I, standing in the middle of the waterfall ridge...

This is the view of the waterfall from the hanging bridge.

This is the view of the river from the hanging bridge.

Notice the holes here and there? No wonder they closed the bridge for visitors. Very unsafe for kids - and also adults with kid attitude :p Well Chee Seng and I tiptoed over the fence that blocked the entrance... Guilty as captured...

This is me getting a little 'shiok sendiri' on the bridge...

A little walk in Tapah town nearby. Notice the stark difference between Tapah town and Tapah R&R along NS Highway. The 'one of the best R&Rs in Malaysia' even has Baskin Robbins and Dunkin Donuts but this town - erm... I didn't even see any sign of McD when I was there...

The Merdeka tower in Kampar, erected on the independence day...

One of the oldest Catholic churches in Malaysia. Built even before the war. Forgot the year though =_=

Keat Meng's house looks like one of those

The mushroom among the lichen... This is how 12-storey-high Grand Kampar hotel is described among the small little buildings surrounding it in new Kampar. How aptly named...

Keat Meng took me to West Lake at Bandar Barat Kampar. You can see UTAR and TARC in the background. Formerly a mining pool, this is one of the most beautiful man-made lakes I've ever seen.

You can come here for de-stressing therapy because this lake boasts of everything...

From lotus pond...

And lovely flower beds...

To artificial waterfall...

And also koi pond...

Ah... how relaxing... Keat Meng fell in love with this garden instead of the girl who sat beside him on the bench facing this lake... *snorting with laughter*

Oh check out the small island off-right. You can literally listen to the symphony of birds' chirpings from that untouched island. It's like the natural sanctuary for all sorts of birds, away from the humans. Herons, kingfishers etc... Heck I can't even identify the rest of the bird species...

UTAR in the background. I didn't get to go in due to tight security. Forgot to nitch Calvin to get me inside huhu...

TARC in the background... I prefer the architecture on UTAR buildings...

My favourite part of this lake garden - the bamboo grid. Bamboo rows alternating with walkway. Nice!

Getting stuffed up in Kampar

2009-05-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

Day 2: 9 May 2009 Saturday

The next morning, Keat Meng and I met up with Chee Seng for breakfast. We had wan tan mee (RM3.00 - RM3.50) at (not surprisingly) Warung Mi Wan Tan. It was a simple meal but what made it so memorable was that the restaurant owner said that our breakfast was on the house.

Yippie! Free breakfast!

After going around Kampar and neighbouring towns nearby, Keat Meng took me for a lunch at a place called 36 Stalls (literally meant so in Cantonese, as called by the locals but you see, I don't know Cantonese).

The stall that Keat Meng intended to introduce to me was the one selling the famous zhar yun. It's fried minced fish ball also served with fu pi (soy skin) stuffed with the same fish meat (Keat Meng bought RM2.00's worth of zhar yun and fu pi).

Zhar yun was so delicious, I actually scooped up the crumbs, for real.

To complete the lunch, Keat Meng suggested me to try Kampar laksa (RM3.00).

"Try this and you'll know its difference with your favourite Penang assam laksa."

Yeah, it's different.
Not only the absence of pineapple chunks made Kampar laksa stood out, it also had fu pi (without the fish meat stuffings). The fish meat was not blended into the laksa soup like its Penang counterpart, but instead, it was served at the side in chunks.

Yet, the taste is still somewhat familiar, without my favourite add-on of shrimp paste though.

As though as my stomach was able to digest food entirely within seconds, Keat Meng, once again, took me out for ais kacang (RM3.00) for tea time after a brief nap. This local dessert pride was sold in a popular coffee shop in old Kampar town called Kedai Kopi Foong Mun Kee.

One thing that set this ais kacang apart from others elsewhere was that the blended ice was laced with the shop's homemade gula Melaka instead of the typical pink bandung syrup and brown sugar syrup.

After a trip to Kampar's West Lake area, it was time for dinner and as I have anticipated for long time, we went to have Kampar's popular claypot chicken rice in Jalan Idris at the same old town. It was so popular, the walls of that shop were plastered with cutouts from magazines and newspapers promoting this glorious dish. This claypot chicken rice even appeared in many television shows such as 8TV's Ho Chak!, to name one.

They served two types, both of which you MUST try, no matter how much cash you have in your pocket. Borrow, beg, wink etc :p

The first type was with steamed chicken placed on top of the claypot. The chicken was so pink and tender with a wharf of wine and ginger. To eat, you just have to mix the chicken, which was steamed separately, into the rice and stir.

The second one was the version of the familiar claypot rice you always have, but this definitely tasted so much better than those usual ones. Added with lap cheong or pork sausages, this type will turn you away from other claypot chicken rice for long, if not forever.

That night, Keat Meng accidentally ordered both types in large pots, instead of small ones...
(RM10.80 for both types in large claypots plus chrysanthemum tea for two)

*burp!*

Oh ya, this restaurant is actually where the fame of roti ayam began. Too bad I didn't have the chance to eat it. Oh well, an excuse to come back to Kampar then hehe :p

Sungai Petani - Ipoh - Kampar

2009-05-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Day 1: 8 May 2009 Friday

I marked the beginning of my personal ultimate backpacking trip by riding a Sri Maju bus from Sungai Petani to Ipoh. It was a 2-hour plus ride worth RM23.

What a ride. I was unlucky enough to get the furthest seat at the back. Looking at the bright side, at least I was provided a roller coaster experience :p

To those who are familiar to travel between Ipoh and Penang, you'll recall that halfway through the NS Highway, you'll definitely pass by a hilly area where there's ravine at one side of the highway, right before/after the tunnel through the hills.

Somewhere near there, my bus passed by two accident sites at the other side of the highway, within less than 1km between each other. Oh dear, how high can Malaysia hit her highway accident rate?

Too bad I was seated too far from the window to take a good pix to post here. Anyway my description would suffice, right?

The first one was a pile-up between 5 to 6 vehicles. To name a few I saw, there's a truck, a van, and few cars. Thank God I didn't see any casualty bad enough to warrant newspaper usage (not on the headlines, friend!).

But the funny thing was that there was a very minor jam behind the accident scene. You know Malaysians are notorious to be nosy (but not helpful, unfortunately) when it comes to casualties.

Anyway the answer was a few metres away. Another accident. Now that explained the minor jam. This time it was a spin-off. A lorry and a BMW collided so bad that the BMW spinned off the course. Thank goodness not into the ravine on the other side...

And then the major traffic jam began, and snaked all the way till the tunnel. Very bad. When will these people learn to be more careful on the road, especially at areas like this?

Please forgive my photographing skills. This pix doesn't look like there's ravine on the other side but it is there...

After more than two hours, I finally reach Medan Gopeng bus terminal in Ipoh and Keat Meng arrived just in time to pick me up. Before we headed back to Kampar, we went to Kinta City shopping mall to chill out.

We decided to watch Star Trek after thinking for quite a while. Yeah, RM10 sounds like a wasted opportunity on a Friday. We (I think it's only me) could have gotten student price at RM6 if we'd have decided earlier than 6.00pm =.=

But then again, the movie was so GOOD! Recommended for Star Trek noobs who have never followed the famed Star Trek series before this. Yet still, the graphics and effects were terrific even for hard-core Star Trek fans (Me? I'd call myself an intermediate). Once I'm done with this backpacking trip, I promise myself that I'll watch those old series again :)

Oh, and on a cheeky note, call me Vulcan-manic but I think Spock's hawt in this movie!

After the movie, it was a long trip back to Kampar in Keat Meng's car for the next 45 minutes...

Hiatus: Away from Internet access

2009-05-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest challenges in this backpacking trip is not only FFK cases (go figure) and fatigue, but also inaccessibility of Internet to blog this.

As much as I hope to blog every day here, I forgot to foresee the fact I may actually have to wait for a long time before I can actually get my hands on the Internet :p

I know some of you have been checking here many times but found nothing updated. Sorry friends! :( In fact, as I am typing this, I'm actually in a cyber cafe in Teluk Intan, surrounded by teenagers engrossed with DotA and shouting vulgar words at the same time. I actually wonder if I do that each time I get too excited in DotA... Hmm...

Updates: Check under Kedah, Johor, Perlis and Perak

2009-05-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

8 - 15 May 2009: Perak leg
8 - 10 May: Kampar
10 - 12 May: Teluk Intan
12 - 14 May: Sitiawan
14 - 15 May: Ipoh

15 - 16 May: Pit stop in Petaling Jaya before flight to Sabah

16 - 20 May 2009: Sabah leg
16 - 18 May: Tawau
18 - 19 May: Sandakan

19 - 20 May: Pit stop in Tawau before next flight to Sarawak

20 May: Kota Kinabalu

20 - 26 May 2009: Sarawak leg
20 - 21 May: Kuching
21 - 22 May: Sri Aman
22 - 26 May: Back to Kuching

26 - 27 May: Pit stop in Petaling Jaya before next leg

27 - 29 May 2009: Pahang leg
27 - 29 May: Kuantan

29 - 31 May 2009: Selangor leg
29 - 30 May: Selayang
30 - 31 May: Klang, Batu Caves and Kepong

31 - 2 June 2009: Negeri Sembilan leg
31 - 1 June: Port Dickson
1 - 2 June: Seremban

2 - 4 June 2009: Malacca leg
2 - 4 June: Malacca

4 - 6 June 2009: Johor leg
4 - 6 June: Skudai

6 - 8 June 2009: Terengganu leg
6 - 8 June: Kuala Terengganu

8 - 10 June 2009: Kelantan leg
8 - 9 June: Kubang Kerian
9 - 10 June: Kota Bharu

10 - 12 June 2009: Perlis leg
10 - 11 June: Kaki Bukit
11 - 12 June: Kangar & Kuala Perlis

12 - 16 June 2009: Kedah leg
12 - 14 June: Langkawi

14 - 16 June: Pit stop in Sungai Petani *wink*

16 - 18 June 2009: Penang leg
(yet to be confirmed)

19 June 2009: Finishing line in Sungai Petani

This is it...

2009-05-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am getting more excited at every passing day.

Tomorrow is the day!

Wish me luck, everyone. Do pray for me. You're gonna see more updates from tomorrow each time I get my hands on the Internet :)

Looking ahead to a journey ahead of me. A feat different and unique to my own experience. Being solo in parts of the world unknown to me, even in my own country.

Is this what people call the journey of self-discovery?

A road ahead

2009-05-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

This is it... A journey which I am about to take... Self-discovery... Horizon... Reflection... Courage-mustered...

I've finally finished my thesis presentation. This only mean one thing: My next move is the real ultimate move - this backpacking trip.

As much as I thought I have prepared myself for this adventure I call my own, suddenly I have the cold feet.

Am I actually ready for this?

Will I be able to pull this off?

What if something were to happen to me that time?

How am I gonna survive through this backpacking trip?

Do I have the strength and wisdom to go through this?

Will I find what I seek for in this adventure?

Wow... talk about backpacking jitters :p

Stop thinking too much...
Let's have fun!

Here it comes... (the stuff you all have been waiting for!)

2009-05-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

There you go, people :)

Ta-da, my backpacking trip route plan!

8 - 15 May 2009: Perak leg
8 - 10 May: Kampar
10 - 12 May: Sitiawan
12 - 14 May: Teluk Intan
14 - 15 May: Ipoh

15 - 16 May: Pit stop in Petaling Jaya before flight to Sabah

16 - 20 May 2009: Sabah leg
16 - 18 May: Tawau
18 - 19 May: Sandakan

19 - 20 May: Pit stop in Tawau before next flight to Sarawak

20 May: Kota Kinabalu

20 - 26 May 2009: Sarawak leg
20 - 21 May: Kuching
21 - 22 May: Sri Aman
22 - 26 May: Back to Kuching

26 - 27 May: Pit stop in Petaling Jaya before next leg

27 - 29 May 2009: Pahang leg
27 - 29 May: Kuantan

29 - 31 May 2009: Selangor leg
29 - 30 May: Selayang
30 - 31 May: Klang, Batu Caves and Kepong

31 - 2 June 2009: Negeri Sembilan leg
31 - 1 June: Port Dickson
1 - 2 June: Seremban

2 - 4 June 2009: Malacca leg
2 - 4 June: Malacca

4 - 6 June 2009: Johor leg
(Yet to be confirmed)

6 - 8 June 2009: Terengganu leg
6 - 8 June: Kuala Terengganu

8 - 10 June 2009: Kelantan leg
8 - 9 June: Kubang Kerian
9 - 10 June: Kota Bharu

10 - 12 June 2009: Perlis leg
10 - 11 June: Kaki Bukit
11 - 12 June: Kangar

12 - 16 June 2009: Kedah leg
12 - 14 June: Alor Setar or Langkawi (yet to be confirmed)

14 - 16 June: Pit stop in Sungai Petani *wink*

16 - 18 June 2009: Penang leg
(yet to be confirmed)

19 June 2009: Finishing line in Sungai Petani

Blogger's note:
So what do you think? Any interesting thing in any of these locations you wanna recommend to me? Do comment ya...

Help!

2009-04-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

HELP!

I do not have contact available for Johor and Perlis pit stops at the last minute.

So is there any Johorean and Perlisian friend who can host me?

My Johor leg is from 4/6/09 (Thu) to 6/6/09 (Sat).
My Perlis leg is from 10/6/09 (Wed) to 12/6/09 (Fri).

Huhu... I'll be very excited and appreciative if there's anyone willing to take me in...

Don't worry if you don't think your place doesn't have interesting stuff. My aim is to experience being there (and to sample good local food).

What to bring? What to bring?

2009-04-29T10:05:00.001-07:00

I've been fretting over my what-to-bring list for months since I started to actually plan this trip. As if that was not challenging enough for my already-pooped mind, my next worry is to find those things.

I'm now looking at my list for an umpteenth time. It's a scribbled note on one of the pages of my old trusted leather-cover organiser. I guess it has been written on over and over again, time and time. With a little bit of addition here, a little bit of cross-out there, and then some arrows to this point and that point, followed by short notes in brackettes beside each point.

Wow... What a mess I made on that important piece of document :p

1. Traveller backpack
2. Sleeping bag
3. Penknife
4. Torch light
5. Camera
6. Pendrive
7. Notebook
8. Bible with/and devotional material
(Clothes and toileteries are too redundant to be listed here... Duh)

Now, going down the list...

Item #1 and #3:
I managed to snitch both from Chang Ching. It's really great to know someone who was an outdoor sports instructor *wink* And those stuff are real deal! Especially that penknife - it's a Swiss. Basic though, but just right for my needs.

Item #2:
I actually, literally, forgot about this until few hours ago when I planned to post this. Thank goodness Yoong Loke's around (and her sleeping bag too) when I asked to borrow hers. Thanks, girl! That was a close shave.

Item #4:
I am still struggling whether do I really need this or not. My handphone's torch light feature is actually way brighter than my cheap Energizer one.

Item #5:
Camera is a MUST! Must we ask why? I have one readily available. The pixel's low compared to current latest models but good enough to take it around. After all, I don't intend to make large prints or anything like that.

Item #6:
It's for me to save all the images in my camera inside once the memory space hits empty. The question now is, how often do I get the opportunity to access a memory card reader and a computer? Let alone Internet to blog this trip on a daily basis. You better pray every place I go has Internet and computer access...

Sigh, talk about detaching myself from the hustle-bustle of urban life and go backpacking... =.=

Item #7:
If I were to lose this, you won't find me anywhere. It contains my route plans, flight details, info etc... Also helpful to keep boredom away in buses or trains or planes (think doodle, haha).

Item #8:
This is a bit tricky too. I don't have something small enough for me to carry it around. I'm looking for something more related to travelling (like quiet time verses, nature-related). Any recommendation on which book to buy/borrow?

I have a feeling that there'll be more changes to this lis after I post this up. Oh well, travel light - I'd always remind myself...

My maiden post

2009-04-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Finally, as I promised, a blog has finally arrived!

This will serve to keep you all updated on my day-to-day backpacking experience all over the country. From Kedah, all the way around the penisula and across the South China Sea to the south Borneo.

As much as I am ecstatic to share my experiences, I also hope you guys (and girls) will continue to give me support in your prayers, encouragements, wishes and monetary forms. I promise to keep this blog updated daily as long as I get my hands on any accessible source of Internet.

To those who have supported me in my jumble sale to fund this trip, I thank you all so much. And to those who still wishes to support me financially, this blog is open for sponsors in exchange of publicity. Do drop a comment and e-mail here for more details.

I'll be praying hard that this ultimate breakaway would serve me well in teaching me lessons of life, broadening my horizons and strengthening the inner me before I begin my working life. I've been dreaming and planning for this trip since I finished my SPM.

So keep coming back here for more stuff ya!
Thanks!
*hugs and kisses*