May
7
Con Men On The Prowl
Filed Under life, family | 5 Comments
Just the other day, after reading some forwarded emails on theft & robbery, I was thinking that baddies nowadays are getting very creative & clever with their different plots & tactics.
I didn’t know it would come this close though.
On Monday morning, on my way to work by LRT, my father called me on my mobile. He seldom called early in the morning and I thought I would return his call later as I was sardined in the packed train.
However, a couple of minutes later, my brother called me. Fearing for the worst, I picked up his call when the train halted to a stop and I have space to talk.
He asked me where I was. I told him that of course I was on the way to work. Where could I be on a Monday morning? He sounded relieve and told me that someone made a nasty call to my father.
It seemed that a young girl was crying in the phone (pretended to be me) and begged my father to help her! Then, the phone was handed to a guy and he demanded money for her release.
Of course my father was panic (as he told me later that the girl sounded a little like me!).
After hanging up, my father called me. Failing to answer the call made him even worried!
It seems like this kind of scam is quite popular as my colleague heard it from radio station as many listeners called to complaint. I think it is targeted for parents with children working outstation as one of my neighbours got the call too (her daughter working in Singapore).
But one of the caller to the radio station said that she has no children and yet she got that call! Wrong number? 
Smart but not too smart, so many loopholes, eh..?
Dec
9
Hotel Helang in Langkawi
Filed Under travel, family | 11 Comments
I got the package of RM179 per person for 3D2N hotel stay inclusive of 1 day car rental (2 persons 1 car). So we have 4 persons and it should be 2 days of car rental.
And a week before the trip, the hotel called me and asked me if I preferred which 2 days to have the car. Since I would arrive during evening on the first day, I thought it would be good to have the car on the 2nd and 3rd day.
But upon reaching the airport, the car rental agent was already there. I told him twice that I only get 2 days of car rental but he didn't seem to hear me. He just asked me when I would be flying back and asked me to call him when I am in the airport on the last day. He gave me the car on the spot, with RM50 as deposit!
Weee…! We got the Iswara car for 3 days instead of 2! And that very night we could drive to the Kuah town for dinner and pasar malam. I think normal car rental price of a Iswara is about RM70 – RM90 per day (depending on peak season) =)
We stayed at Hotel Helang which is 3 stars, 5 minute walk from the airport and a little too far from Kuah town but 10 minutes drive from the Underwater World. I love the room as it was huge with 2 double beds and very nice bathroom, with glass top sink, separate shower area and bath tub.
My parents were elated with the large room; they said it was triple size the hotel room in Genting Highland! The limited wireless card is available at RM25 for 24 hours or RM6 for 1 hour of internet usage at their one computer.
The only thing that I wasn't happy at the hotel is that they do not provide drinking water or water cooler at all. Another thing is their lousy breakfast. We get to choose either western food, nasi lemak, roti canai or porridge which was sent to our room!
All the food was not fresh and taste horrible! The ham tasted like plastic and I couldn't chew on them and thus didn't eat it. The porridge was not hot and very watery with no side dishes at all. Yucky! Even the teh tarik and orange juice tasted awful! Yucks!
Otherwise, all were cool and nice! 
Dec
5
Seafood Dinner at Langkawi~
Filed Under travel, photo, food, family | 7 Comments
My friend asked if I remember the restaurant which we had our seafood dinner 2 years ago when we were in Langkawi. She said the food price is pretty cheap compared to the one she had on her next visit. She insisted that I should visit the restaurant again.
How could I remember a restaurant which I had only been there for one time with my lousy sense of direction and a poor memory and we do not know the restaurant's name.
Anyway, when I passed by this restaurant, I felt that it was the same one we went last time. I remembered seeing the 'Orkid Restaurant' before and it was in the same row. The restaurant name that we went was 'Yong Leong' seafood at Kuah town, by the main road.
My family seldom eats seafood as it was not as cheap in our hometown and my father wasn't a fan of seafood too. But my mum insisted of having them since we were there! S
o, yeah, after some compromising, we have fish, pork, tofu soup, vege and I insisted on squid too (my all time fav; the cholesterol level can wait!)! The dinner for four pax was at RM76, quite cheap and nice too. ^.^
My mum saw others ordering crab and it looked pretty good. So we came back the next night for crab, 2 plates of fried oysters (which I didn't think was good as it was too soft but well, they liked it), pork and vege at R M96.
The crab was very yummy and we enjoyed it very much although my brother didn't eat any of the seafood coz he hate them. (good for me, coz he is a big eater; less competition u see). And the boss was a little too arrogant for my liking!
But well, it was a pleasant 2 dinners. For lunch we went to a normal Malay stall and had expensive and not nice mixed rice (RM20 for 3 plates with a drink at lousy shop!). But I had a very nice young coconut pudding! Yummy yum!
Dec
4
3rd Day At Langkawi!
Filed Under travel, fun, family | 9 Comments
On the very last day, we checked out at 9.30 am and load all our belongings into the car and drove to the town. Before that we had breakfast somewhere near Cenang, just simple mamak stall nasi lemak. But yum!
We went to Eagle Square to see the must-see-big-eagle-statue and my mum refused to take photos again! Only my father posted as an eagle
Next we went to the shopping mall for last minute shopping before having quick and lousy lunch at hawker stalls in a coffee shop as my father was craving for his wan tan mee already! But he said the wan tan mee tasted like malay's version of wan tan mee and I couldn't finish my portion! My mum's tomyam was too sour and not spicy at all. Yucks too.
Our flight was at 3pm and we reached the airport around 1.40pm because my father was too worried if we would be late and he hated rushing. We had 5 minutes of massage on the massage chair for RM3. I love it as I my back was aching a little but my mum complaint it was too painful. Aiks, I thought I was the skinny 1.
Overall it was a good family trip which had me worry excessively if anything could go wrong. I was so worried of missing the flight or any of my plan goes wrong as it is practically the first family trip we have in years, since I was kid! And I was organizing for the first time.
Everyone did enjoy themselves. Yay! =)
Dec
4
Cable Car at Langkawi
Filed Under travel, photo, fun, family | 16 Comments
On the first day, after short rest in the hotel from the island hopping, we went to the cable car. It is a must-go when you are in Langkawi, according to my cousin advising my mom.
My brother and I was happy to see, pet and feed the animals there near the cable car; rabbits, monkey, deers, turkey, small birds (geez, I don't know the name of those small green love birds) and parrot!
There was this cute, green, amusing parrot which wasn't tied down but it won't fly away. It was perching on the stand outside a souvenir shop. But the bird, Lisa was very agile and wouldn't let anyone touch it!
My brother and I also took photos with huge phyton for RM5 per person but my mom was terrified of snake! The snake was already about 75% of my weight, ah so heavy! The fella said it fed on 4 chickens a month (only 4? I doubted it!) There were also 2 trained eagles which you can pet and take photos at the same price too. We also fed the deer and hungry bunnies that were practically begging us for food!
Back to cable car. It was RM25 (or was it RM28) for adult but if you show them your MyKad, you can get them at only RM15 per pax! Good to be Malaysian, sometimes. 
There were two stops at the cable car and you can stop for pictures or fresh air. By the way, my mum hate to be photographed but my father is very cooperative as he was ready to post for me!
There were suppose to be a bridge where you could cross at the 2nd stop but it was close for maintenance. We had green cotton candy to munch on at RM2. =)
Nov
27
Island Hopping in Langkawi
Filed Under travel, photo, fun, family | 12 Comments
It is my second visit to Langkawi as I have visited this island in Nov 2006, yeah, exactly two years ago. I went with my close friends back then and I found it enjoyable. Since my parents have never stepped into the island before, well, why not?
During the Matta fair, I almost booked the island hopping basic package as it was RM58 if I book on the day. But if I walk-in, it would cost me RM68! Luckily I didn't book it!
My housemate told me that it was only RM35 when she went last year and I couldn't remember how much I paid for during the my previous trip (coz I didn't blog much about it - only 2 paragraphs for the whole trip! - which I regretted now and so I am going to write long, grandmother posts for this trip! So bear with me! )
So when I was at the airport, this guy approached me and offered me RM40. I bargained as I have 4 persons and I got it at RM35 too! Yay! I didn't pay on spot and tell him that I would call him the next morning, in case I could get RM30 from other company. He laughed and said he would refund me if I got it at that price! Anyway, I did find a RM30 package on the last day, after the island hopping trip.
On the 2nd day morning, we went to Pulau Dayang Bunting (Pregnant Maiden Island, I think ), where you have to climb up the stairs and descend to a lovely lake. It was a little difficult for my mother to climb up or down as she always have knee pain problem. But slowly and steadily we made it!
The bear-in-the-photo-idea was stolen from Keone & coincidentally this is the bear that he bought for my birthday about 8 years ago which I almost lost and I was scared he would be mad but he didn't; and knowing him well, I bet he remember none of it. =)
We have an hour in the island. You could kayak/canoe or rent the paddle boat there or simply relax and dip your feet into the lake where there are garoupa fishes 'cleaning' up the dry skin on your feet for free!
It is like those fish spa in KL. If you buy some fish food and throw them on your feet, all the fishes will come swimming around your feet! It feels ticklish to have them touching you. My mom, bro and I tried but my father wouldn't! My father bought 3 keychains there (see, he is like me, like to buy small useless small stuffs).
There were many monkeys at the island too and one should be watchful of their belongings. We stopped to eat some breads and those monkeys wanted to snatch the food from us too! We fended them off with umbrellas. By the way, there are toilets in the island too.
Next we went to see eagle feeding nearby an island (which I forgot the name, or never knew the name, in fact). I was told that they feed the eagles with chicken skin! Yikes, high cholesterol, birdie! It was amazing to see some big, strong eagles swooshing about! Beautiful!
Lastly we went to the lovely island of Pulau Beras Basah (Wet Rice Island?) which is a stretch of beach with fine sands and no water supply, which means no toilet. If you have to do your business, you go to some bushes and do it there.
There is a small hut where a lady was selling some cold canned drinks and hot beverages (I had coconut there before too) and chips too. Very pleasant and relaxing island with beautiful girls in bikinis as well as obese ladies in skimpy bikinis too! Ooops! 1 hour there.
You could go swimming, play sands or go for banana boat.
The whole island trip takes around 3 hours only, do bring your own foods. Wear shorts and sandals (and hats and umbrella if you are scared of sun like me). It was the first time seeing my father wearing shorts when we go out. He is always in his long pants! ;D
Aug
11
Protected: That’s Where I Got My Stubborn Gene From
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Aug
7
Hybrid?
Filed Under family | 10 Comments
What are these?
Are they plants or are they birds?
These are my mother's pride and joy and she is very proud to plant it from seeds! I do not know what is the name of the plant but the "flower" seems to look like a little bird! With head, tail and wings too!
Anyone have seen this before or know the name of it?
Mar
4
Protected: Are You a Keeper or Thrower?
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Nov
30
Protected: Rambling on a happy Friday~
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Jul
11
Weekend @ Malacca~
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Last weekend I went back to my hometown Malacca after nearly a month didn’t go back. I bought the 7pm bus ticket but the damn Transnasional bus didn’t arrive till 7.40pm and departed around 7.50pm, which made me waited for an hour at the super-hot-Pudu bus station! >.<
Anyway, the weekend was quite relaxing as I had plenty of the much-needed-sleep despite the scorching hot weather in the morning and night. The only un-peace-ful thing was my mother’s friend from Singapore came to overnight at our house. She’s a nice lady, around fifties, very modern and friendly, except that she’s like a radio, talking non stop all the time!
Oh my, I really couldn’t stand a chatterbox that talks non-stop and she really could talk to anybody, regarding any topic. Sometimes I have to hide in my room for some peace. She asked me if I would want to go to Australia with her, just buy air tickets and we could stay at her relative’s house there. Gosh, tell me what holiday would that be?! I am just so glad that she’s not my mother; don’t get me wrong, she’s nice just that she loves talking so much. >_<
Celebrated Father’s Day one week earlier too as I am not sure if I am able to go back hometown again this weekend. Just had a nice dinner with my parents, the chatterbox.. oopps, I mean my mother’s friend and my cousin brother too.. ^.^
