Marathon Night

I love Monday...nights! I can't wait to rush back from home, scarf down a quick dinner and plonk myself on the couch to indulge in my once-a-week crime marathon night! Yes, I know all you lucky Astro peeps get to watch the CSI marathon on Sundays, I think, but I'm still stubbornly holding out from crossing over to the Astro dark side! :p

The night begins with CSI:NY at 8.30pm on NTV7. Ok-lah...I usually miss the first part while doing the dishes but it's not too bad. Detective Mac Taylor has this dry look around him but he gets the job done pretty well with his Detective Stella who isn't that bad either. What I find, however, is a certain lack of chemistry between the characters which sometimes gives me the impression that they're just going through the motions. Plots are usually good - there's a crime happening in Noo Yawk City every few seconds so there's sufficient fodder to keep viewers tuned! Verdict: 3 thumbs up!

Then it's a break from CSI with my favourite NCIS at 9.30pm on 8TV! Ooh how I love this one! There's lots of bantering between the characters, witty conversation filled with nuances, hints of romance and they work really well as a team. Plots are great (usually navy-related) and Officer Gibbs seems to have a mysterious past that leaves me guessing at the tantalising bits they throw out every now and then and who can't help but love the cheerful, old Dr. Mallard. Verdict: 5 thumbs up!

Then it's a 15 minute pee break while I attempt to watch the Mandarin news (it's mostly background noise to banana me!) while waiting for CSI:Miami at 10.45 on NTV7. Now, I've got a bit of a bone to pick about this one so fans, leave now! I do not like CSI:Miami! I wish they would swap places with CSI but I figure doing so would probably result in fewer viewers for CSI:Miami! I do not like Horatio who reminds me of a really dry wrinkled paper parchment and his side-kick, Calleigh Duquesne, irritates me to no end! Must be the way she talks! Plots are usually sea-related and are oklah, quite good but argh..the cast spoils it for me! 1.5 thumbs up *runs away from CSI:Miami fans*

And finally my favourite CSI series at 11.45pm. It pains me how late this one is because I would have had to sit through and excrutiating hour of CSI:Miami and would usually be falling asleep by the time this one comes on! I love the chemistry Grissom has with his staff, I love Greg and I do like how they put the case together. The level of gore has increased lots since I last remember, often leaving me cringing. Verdict: 4 thumbs up!

So there you go, Monday nights frenzy which often leaves me with the rest of the week to recover from the lack of sleep! By the way, this is just my personal opinion so please don't come after me with brickbats! *ducks and runs*

Soup's On!

Every now and then, sibs and I get a craving for home-cooked soup. We don't often have time to boil soups on weekdays so when the soup craving hits, we head for Pudu! This soup stall is opposite what-used-to-be Shaw Parade in Pudu and is now the Eu Yan Sang centre.

This soup stall is hugely popular and they have stacks and stacks of steamers full of soup bowls, ready to be served. In fact, they're so famous amongst the locals that their popular soups like water cress or lotus root sell out very fast.

Just part of the steamers of soup! There's more being washed

Service is superbly fast and the minute you sit down, a server will come over and rattle off all the soups available. It's helpful if you understand Cantonese otherwise you'll be terribly lost like me! They have even exotic soups like squirrel, turtle, etc which I don't have the guts to try!

I love this little bowl of chillies available at every table which is perfect for chilli-lovers like me! All the chilli you can eat! :)

There are also side dishes from ginger chicken to wild boar curry with lots of yummy gravy to drown your hot steaming rice in!

Chicken feet braised with mushrooms. The mushrooms were really big and fat and soaked up the gravy nicely so it was very flavourful.

Ginger chicken with bits of crunchy fungus

Lotus root soup. It's quite a big bowl, enough for sis and I to share. Filled with lotus root slices, a big piece of chicken, red dates and dried squid, the soup is really fragrant and very sweet without the chemical MSG taste.

Pig's brain soup. This was had by our more adventurous dinner companion. I didn't have the guts to try it...I don't "do" weird soups!

Dinner came up to RM21 for 3 of us (1 big bowl and 1 small bowl of rice) which was pretty decent. So next time your soup craving hits, head over to Pudu!

My Own Mr Pink-Whistle

I blogged about Mr Pink-Whistle recently and who would have ever thought I'll encounter my very own?!

It has been a rough week of fighting all kinds of imps ands a sudden influx of additional work outside my league. So it was wonderful to head out to dinner on Friday night to unwind a little. Being a little adventurous, we headed out to a new area for dinner. It was a whole long row of open-air stalls with wonderful smells and very affordable food!

After dinner, I headed back to the office to collect some files I left behind and coming back to our unit 2 hours later, I freaked out when I found that my pass wasn't with me! Panicking, I turned my car and handbag upside-down hunting for it but it was nowhere to be found. Taking a stab at luck, I decided to head back to our dinner venue to see if the stallowners had found it. I wasn't hoping for much as at least 3 hours had lapsed since I lost it.

They said they didn't see it but the lady took my number and promised to call me if she found anything. Without having much hope, I turned back to our unit with the painful thought of having to shell out some more money for a new pass. Just then, a small miracle happened! She called and told me that she had found it!

Upon collecting it from her, she told me that she had actually rummaged in her garbage bin to look for my pass and later found it lying on the road by the side of the road! I didn't use to believe in miracles but this little incident just restored my faith in people!

So, yes...there are Mr Pink-Whistles out there! :) Just pray they're there when we need them most!

Ka-Soh Seafood Restaurant

I've been having a terrible craving for fish-head noodles but all the good ones I read about seemed to be only open for lunch! My cravings had to be satiated someway or another so Ka-Soh Seafood Restaurant famed for their fish-head noodles was a fast and easy choice. Ka-Soh actually originated from Singapore and although they sound quite ordinary and look simple, lots of famous Hong Kong and local celebrities frequent the place.

They're so famous for their fish-head noodles that a picture of it graces their menu cover, lest you forget!

I opened the menu and Egad! Their prices have gone up since I last ate there before Chinese New Year! They used to charge RM7 per pax for their fish-head noodles but now it's gone up to RM8.30 per pax. Ditto with the small portion and large portions. Luckily their medium prices remained the same.

Wat-tan-hor yin yong (RM16.50, medium)

Bro who ate here once said their yin yong (kuey teow mixed with fried beehoon in a starchy egg sauce) was not too bad so we gave it a shot and was pleased to find that service was pretty fast as we were all starving! It was quite tasty and they were quite generous with the vege, lean pork and prawns accompanying it. The sauce was nice and eggy with a nice starchy texture - perfect comfort food! Our only grouse was that the fried beehoon base was a little hard and it took some whacking with the spoon to get it to break up.

Kangkung stirfried with sambal (RM9.00, small)

The necessary vegetable dish with a nice fragrant aroma from the sambal.

Prawn paste fried chicken (RM13.00, small)

We got tempted by the photo and ordered it without realising that it was one of their specialities too and we weren't disappointed! Small yielded about 6 pieces of chicken which was seasoned in prawn paste and deep-fried. Served piping hot, it smelt gorgeous and was equally good! Tender from the marinade, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, it was a dish we really enjoyed.

Fish-head beehoon (RM23.00 , medium)

Finally the piece de resistance! It was a huge bowl for a medium portion and swimming in the milky broth was a generous portion of thick vermicelli noodles, slices of fish and large pieces of fried fish and fish-head. According to them, they don't cheat by adding milk into the broth to get the milky texture. Instead, the broth base is created by boiling Toman fish which is also widely believed by the Chinese to have curative powers. It was good! Best eaten when hot, the soup is delicately flavoured but a little fishy, to us. A little bit of salted vegetable might have added a little more flavour and tang to the soup while killing its fishy smell. The sliced fish was fresh while the fried fish pieces were nicely fried, giving it a delicious flavour.

The bill came up to RM70.73 for 4 of us which wasn't too bad considering the portions of the noodles. Service was quite fast but that could have been because the place was relatively empty when we arrived.

So the next time you're craving for some fish-head noodles or good unpretentious Chinese dishes, head over to Ka-Soh! They have 2 more outlets in the city; one in Jalan Bukit Bintang (opposite Ritz-Carlton Hotel) and one in Medan Damansara. And as I was leaving, I saw a printed copy of a review done by KY of KYSpeaks.com! Impressive!

I was rather amused to see Restoran Kak Ipar on the bill until sis pointed out to me that Ka-Soh was Sis-in-Law in Cantonese! Oops...pink fluffy moment! :p

Snore No More

A recently married friend complained that she wasn't aware marriage meant having her sweet slumber wrecked by her partner's incessant snoring every night! Well, they say that marriage is a package - both the good and the bad!

However, hope isn't lost for her and for the millions out there who have to put up with interrupted sleep from snoring, either their own or their sleeping partners. A US-based wholesale distributor of CPAP supplies have been providing relief to sleep apnea out there.

Snoring is apparently caused by blocked airways and CPAP distributes Continuous Positive Airway Pressure supplies (CPAP) machines, masks and humidifiers which are easy to use. All the user needs to do before bed is to turn on the machine, wear the mask while ensuring a tight fit and hop right into bed for a good night's sleep. The system will blow air through the user's nostrils to ensure their airways remain open and to keep away any snores.

You will need a prescription for sleep apnea before you're allowed to purchase a CPAP product. So if your partner has been shooting you dagger stares and looking panda-eyed in the morning, get yourself tested and snore no more with CPAP!

Manta No More

1,000 kg manta ray gets caught in fishing net off Labuan shores

LABUAN:

A group of fishermen with a manta ray, or giant manta (Manta birostris) weighing more than 1,000kg that got caught in their fishing nets in the waters off Sungai Pagar, Labuan, at about 10.30am yesterday.

The creature was found by Awang Japrin, 35, and four of his friends. With a distinctive "horn" (from which the common name devil ray stems) on either side of its broad head, the manta is a prized sighting by divers.

I read this in the NST Online this morning and it made my blood boil. Firstly, I don't proclaim to be a conservationist and secondly, I'm a diver.

Yes, I eat my sharks fin occasionally because I know that in Asia, walk into the wet market and you'll find fish sellers hawking fresh shark cutlets to be cooked. In Australia, go into any local fish & chippery and you'll find flake offered. That's shark so eat it. Here, sharks aren't just killed solely for its fins. The meat is sold just like any other fish meat.

But what makes me mad is when a graceful beauty like this manta ray which isn't used for food or any other form of use is mercilessly left to die and hauled up on to shore like a prized trophy. Yes, I'm sure seeing a 1-tonne manta in anyone's fishing net is every fisherman's dream but before rejoicing and pulling it up to die without a thought, maybe a fleeting question they should have wondered is whether there was going to be any commercial use for it. I know that didn't cross their minds because all these fishermen thought was the fame this manta was going to bring them.

No thought of how many decades it must have taken for it to grow to that size, no thought of what joy it might have brought divers catching a glimpse of it in the shadows of the sea or any thought of how a magnificent and gentle creature like that should have at least the right to swim freely wherever it chooses.

Recently, I read another article about a giant sting-ray being hauled up too in East Malaysia and the fisherman posing next to it grinning in glee. It saddens me to see this. There must be drastic changes happening in our oceans if giants like these have started to come towards the surface. I makes me wonder if our future generations will see these denizens of the deep only in the pages of a glossy magazine.

Squeeeek!

I blogged about my heels giving me trouble not too long ago. This morning, I was very tempted to put on my trusty ol' boots again but since I was wearing a skirt, I had to ignore my dear boots' calling and hunt around for my pair of black heels.

They didn't give me much trouble and my feet actually felt quite comfortable in them...that is, until lunch. I stepped out of the lift and cringe...every step I took was punctuated by a loud squeek! With a sinking heart, I took a few more steps to find the squeek cheerfully accompanying me every step of the way! Even attempting to walk model-style, ie lift your leg completely off the ground and put the whole foot down in front of you, did nothing to lessen the squeeks. It was mighty embarrassing to have a little mouse attached to my feet! In the end, I had to resort to walking on the paving stones in the hot sun which lessened the little squeeks.

Checking my shoes, I found nothing wrong with the heels nor the base of the shoe. So pray tell me, shoe, what is the source of your embarrassing squeeks?!

I so so so need a pair of new shoes!

Sweet-smelling Meme

Paris tagged me on her Women Stuff some time back. Yes, my glam sis has her own little glam site with beauty reviews! I may be a "make-up in 15 minutes" person but I can never leave the house without spritzing on my favourite perfumes. So here they are!

Inez de la Fressange - I stumbled upon this one in the Bangkok old airport during their sale. I'd never heard of this French designer before and only picked it up because it was a steal plus it had a really pretty box and bottle. Yes, I'm a sucker for that! I do like the gold bottle it comes in with the embossed gold leaves and its light, floral fragrance. Quite an easy perfume to wear and rather unusual. I don't think I've seen it in KL before.

Alexander McQueen's Kingdom - Okay, this is sis' which I liberally borrowed while bunking in with her. Shh..don't tell her! :p It's got a unique round bottom bottle which makes spraying a little hard sometimes. You've got to get the angle right otherwise nothing comes out of it. I like it's strong musky smell. It lasts all day and will make a great night perfume. Gorgeous! Time for me to get one of my own!

Cerruti 1881 - This brings back memories of Harvey Nicks in a cold London where I was fretting over whether I should buy it. I finally did at Heathrow and am glad I did! It's another heavy, musky perfume that's great for evenings. Very distinctive smell in a nice round bottle.

Bvlgari BLV - Picked this gem up in Bali. Another great perfume for evenings out with its strong and unmistakable undertones. A nice sexy scent although the bottle makes it a little hard to handle at times if in a hurry!

Givenchy's Very Irresistible - This was one of my earliest perfumes. I was feeling dead depressed during a working trip to JB and got it as a pick-me-up. I love the fresh, floral scent and who can't help but love the tall, sexy bottle?! I've been using it sparingly...not wanting it to run out!

Lancome Miracle - Another everyday perfume that I like. Light, sweet scents in a nice peenk bottle! Funnily enough, the new Miracle So Magic doesn't smell as good on me!

Most of my perfumes come from airports or my trips abroad. I used to tell myself that I'll buy a perfume each time I travel. It worked well until last year where I got free AirAsia flights to too many places and then it got a bit expensive! I wonder what I should buy this year!

Now tag-time! Over to you:

• Soo Yin - have fun with the meme! :)
• Lyrical Lemongrass - what other favourite fragrances do you have besides lemongrass?! ;)
• Alan Ang - from a guy's perspective!

Mr Pink-Whistle

I found another Mr Pink-Whistle fan in Lyrical Lemongrass when she left a comment in my earlier post on imps! Imps away, I googled and found this in the Enid Blyton Society site:

I used to have all 3 books in these exact same covers so I was pretty excited to find them while googling! So who's Mr Pink-Whistle?

Mr Pink-Whistle's a dear half-brownie and half-person little man who loves nothing more than helping others in need. Best of all, he can turn himself invisible to allow him to nip around places bearing help and comfort to others. He lives with Sooty, his talking black cat who helps him carry out his noble deeds.

I remember one particular story where a poor widow had spent the entire day working and came home to wash and hem her childrens' clothes for a party. But when she took a much-needed nap, her washing line broke and all her childrens' clothes were soiled! Mr Pink-Whistle happened to be passing when he heard her crying and in true Pink-Whistle fashion, he bought them new clothes, a nice cake and tea for the widow. He left them on the table and watched, invisible, while his buttons almost popped at the pride and pleasure he felt at being able to help them!

What nice memories of an innocent childhood! Maybe what the world needs, today, is a few more Mr Pink-Whistles!

Beach Baby

I'm a puteri lilin and don't like the sun much so people are usually quite shocked to hear of me going on beach vacations. Little do they know I slather on layers of my SPF130 sunblock, wear my big Jackie-O sunnies, plonk on my extra wide-brimmed hat and sit under the shade! Why bother then, some ask? Well, it's fun hearing the crashing waves and watching the fashion parade in the skimpiest bikinis and Speedos!

I've only ever been to local beaches, Phuket and Australia, which was too cold to do much! So I was pleased to discover Family Vacation Resort, a spanking new website with fantastic savings and features for beautiful and popular beaches in Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico. It has gorgeous images of the available resorts together with virtual tours, detailed information on resorts and rooms available, ratings by real-time travellers and best of all, great deals of even up to 50%! It's a great nifty site for beach babies who are looking for new resorts to explore or savings on a much-loved favourite resort.

So what are you waiting for? It's time to pack your bags and head off to sunny paradise and enjoy the sun, surf and sea! I'll be the one in the shade with the hat and huge sunnies!

I got paid!

I logged into my email this morning and woohoo! :D

I got my first ever payment! Whee...oklah, it was a paltry sum, nothing compared to the earnings that 5xmom or Pablo get but it's hopefully a start towards better things! I only find that opportunities are a lot less for Blogger users and it seems to be shrivelling up day by day.

Well, let's just make hay while the sun still shines. Otherwise, Paris...HELP! Heh...

Home Brand Evening Gowns

I was in our local hypermarket when this pink contraption caught my eye. I was amazed...our hypermarkets have even started selling their own value version of evening gowns! Move over, Beatrice Looi, Daniel Yam and Carven Ong! We now have our own home-brand evening gown!

Alas, the sign above it disappointed me. It was just a novel way of displaying their towels! I was so looking forward to wearing that fluffy pink tube to my next wedding dinner!

But if any creative and imaginative person out there is looking for a nice evening gown, do hop over to our local hypermarket and you could be pleasantly surprised! Gowns in a unique terry material, available in at least 12 different colours and at a fraction of a couture gown!

*Pins to hold up dress are not included

Small-Hearted People

Nothing better tells you that you've grown up when you realise that the world isn't the nice, rose-tinted world with talking bunnies, kind-hearted people like Mr Pink Whistle and good deeds ala Enid Blyton. Instead you begin to realise that the world actually has quite a few small-hearted people in it. Small-hearted...I like this phrase I picked up from my aunt - it conjures up the image of a small, wizened imp with malicious eyes.

They do exist out there, sad but true, and they seem to derive great pleasure in making their "lucky" subject's life a misery. No, not physical in this crime-ridden age but through harsh words, nasty thoughts or deeds which at times wound a lot deeper than any knife can.

I've had my fair share of small-hearted imps in my life. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way that the world isn't as rosy as it appears to be and trust between others is something so hard to earn, yet so easily broken.

So what to do with a small-hearted one?

I used to be filled with ill-feelings when wronged by a small-hearted imp. But recently, I've come to the conclusion that life's a bit too short to allow myself to be filled with so much negativity. It only made me into someone I didn't like so I've learnt to tell myself they weren't worth my time nor my emotions and after a while, their presence ceased to matter to me anymore.

Of the two - hate or indifference, I would have to say that the latter seems a lot worse. At least hate is still an emotion.

Lumut/Pangkor Getaway - Part 2

What's a blog without food? So here you go...some stuff I ate!

Seafood

Upon recommendation by the staff at Swiss-Garden, we gave this restaurant, Hailam Seafood Restaurant, a try. Exit the resort at the main road, drive past Lumut Port and head for Sitiawan. At the traffic light after Lumut Port which shows a left for Sitiawan and straight for Lumut, take a sharp left into the restaurant which is just off the main road.

I recalled a yummy dish I once ate in Kampong Koh some time back. It was bittergourd nicely cooked with salted egg with a delicious creamy gravy. With this in mind, I ordered it again and imagine my horror when the server plonked this down and proclaimed it to be the same dish! Taking a bite, it wasn't all that bad. It was slices of bittergourd coated in a salted egg batter which gave it an interesting combination of sweet, bitter and salty tastes. A bit jelak though towards the end and I can't say that it is the healthiest way to eat your veggies!

What's seafood without crabs and this were 2 medium sized ones cooked in their "speciality" of salted egg which were cooked in exactly the same style as the bittergourd (surprise, surprise)! The crabs were quite meaty and the salted egg combination was really not too bad - very dry and crispy. Can someone say cholestrol :p

Finally a little steamed grouper to round it off. This was quite a small fella and I found that it tasted a bit hard, maybe due to over-steaming. I found that it had a touch of fishiness too. I should have gone with my instincts and ordered a sweet & sour instead of their steamed style.

The bill was about RM67 for two with a plate of fried mee sua (vermicelli). Their mee sua wasn't the thin, fragile type I'm used to here instead was thick, a little like thick beehoon. I think it's a local home-made speciality for I saw shops selling the uncooked form everywhere in Lumut and Pangkor.

Photo borrowed from Eat First Think Later

I found that the seafood wasn't as cheap as what everyone raved about but maybe I ate in the wrong place. Their prices of RM35/kg for the crabs were in fact more expensive than some seafood places in KL which charge only RM20/kg or RM28/kg. I found this rather surprising considering that they are a seaside town. Maybe it was the out-of-towner look as well that added a premium to the prices!

Satay Fish Galore!

What's a post on Pangkor without this icon?

A ride through the picturesque one-main-street Pangkor town will turn up dried seafood shops everywhere. Almost every shop there deals in dried seafood products, easily identifiable by the tubs of dried anchovies and oysters at their entrance to entice you in.

Go on in and have a wander. There's a lot more lurking on the shelves of the shops ranging from satay fish to my favourite keropok. Prices don't differ much from shop to shop due to the high competition. There are a few factories dotted around the island where you can buy these seafood products in the air-conditioned comfort of their shops but from what I found, the prices in some of these shops can actually work out cheaper than buying from their factories.

I came away clutching bags of keropok and had to stifle a laugh when we rode the evening ferry back to Lumut. Everyone leaving Pangkor had an ensemble of plastic bags stuffed with all varieties of dried seafood to eat or to be given away as souvenirs. Was it cheap? Well, personally, I didn't think it was that much cheaper than buying it in KL or on the mainland but when on holiday, do as the tourists do!

Lumut/Pangkor Getaway - Part 1

I recently went on a weekend break to Lumut/Pangkor Islands. "Is there anything else there besides satay fish?!" were some of the questions I got. So, I'm sharing some tips on what you can do for your next Cuti-cuti Malaysia holiday!

Getting There:

1. The trunk road from KL to Lumut is actually a pretty nice and wide road and some say, faster than using the toll roads. I got fantastic directions from Alan (thanks!) and I got there with no problems at all.
2. From KL, get onto the Federal Highway to Klang and turn off at Jalan Kapar heading for Teluk Intan. It's a straight road all the way from there, passing quaint little fishing towns like Kuala Selangor, Sekinchan and others where you can stop for a delicious seafood brunch or lunch!
3. Do be careful of the Bagan Datoh junction (where you have to turn right towards Teluk Intan) as there are no clear signs to Teluk Intan and we went on a scenic drive to Bagan Datoh! After Bagan Datoh, you'll start seeing signs to Lumut and Pangkor.

Accommodation:

1. We stayed at Swiss Garden Damai Laut. You'll see lots of signs leading to the resort from Lumut. Basically you'll have to head for Kg. Acheh towards Lumut Port and over 3 bridges before coming to the main turnoff into the resort. Be careful, the road is rather winding going into the resort.
2. Swiss Garden is a pretty little place with lots of activities, some paid and some free. You'll need to check with the front desk what activities are on for that day. It doesn't have much of a beach but there's a lovely tiny strip of shady beach just a flight of stairs down from the pool.
3. The road to and from the resort to the main road is rather narrow and winding and there are hardly any streetlights (sneaky!) so you'll probably end up having to eat within their resort if you don't fancy a drive out at night.

Surroundings:

1. Lumut's a small town which most people use as a hop-off point to Pangkor. However, a short drive away from the town will take you to a nice little cove called Teluk Batik which was filled with locals when we were there. It has lots of stalls selling ice-cream, all kinds of snacks and beach stuff. The best part for me were the free deckchairs scattered all over the beach. Nothing like the ones in Phuket which you have to pay for!
2. A short drive in the other direction will take you Sitiawan, another small town. What I loved here were the mango stalls lining the roads in an area aptly named as 'Mango Paradise'. Perak is famous for their mangoes and you'll find all kinds here for a pretty decent price.
3. Nearby is the predominantly Chinese Kampong Koh area, famous for none other than the lip-smacking, garlicky Kampong Koh chilli sauce which goes so well with dim sum!

Off to Pangkor:

1. Swiss Garden runs it's own ferry service (RM28) for a return to Pangkor which is about 15 minutes away. Otherwise you can head into Lumut Jetty to have a choice of 3 ferry companies (Mesra Ferry, Duta Pangkor and Pan Silver) for RM10 for a return trip. Mesra Ferry is one of the best ferry services and I found it very comfortable and stable during the 25 minute ride.
2. The ferry will make a stop at Sg. Pinang Kecil, a little fishing village on Pangkor before stopping at the main Pangkor jetty.
3. There are heaps of motorcycles for rent and pink Barbie taxi vans lining up to take you around. The vans were offering RM40 per pax for 2 hours while we managed to get a motorcycle for RM15 for approximately 5 hours. It was an experience indeed as the last time I'd been on a motorcycle was when I was a wee tot!
4. If you opt for a motorcycle, RM2-3 will be more than sufficient to take you around the island! The good part about having a motorcycle is having the flexibility to stop off at any beach you come across. The roads can be a little winding and the northern part of the island has a little hill which can be a bit of a steep incline.

Pangkor Beaches:

1. We stopped off at 3 main beaches - Pasir Bogak Beach, Teluk Ketapang and Nipah Bay Beach.
2. Pasir Bogak is the nearest beach to Pangkor town. I believe it's usually crowded during peak periods but while we were there, we had the entire beach to ourselves! It's the closest beach to Pangkor Laut Resort - the 6 star award winning resort by YTL and allows us minions a great view of the very expensive resort! It being off-season, there weren't any stalls open. There are some big trees on the beach which provide a nice shade for those not so keen on burning themselves! If you're bored, there are some boat rides and snorkelling trips available.
   
   
3. Teluk Ketapang is my favourite beach! Nestled in between Bogak and Nipah Bay, it's set away from the main road by a grassy field. It's very quiet and isolated but beware of monkeys who might steal stuff from your motorcycle if you're not careful! There are some nice rocks around and a small little pool where you can dip your feet. And some kindly people have strung up hammocks between the trees so have a lie-on while watching the day go by.
4. Nipah Bay Beach is touted to be one of the most beautiful of all beaches. Boat trips, kayak and snorkelling are available and quite a number of stalls line the street. If you're lucky, you'll see the famous Pangkor hornbill. Otherwise, relax on the shady beach in a hammock or on one of the few swings made by the local. It's a lovely playground and a nice way to re-live your childhood while swinging!
   
   

Stay tuned for Part 2 - food and more :)

Useful links:

http://www.damailaut.com/ - Official website of Swiss Garden Damai Laut
http://www.pulau-pangkor.com/index.html - Fantastic reference point for Pangkor and more!
http://www.pangkor.com.my/ - Official site for Pulau Pangkor

Friday Funnies

A few funnies to see you on your way to a fun Friday night!

Girls, don't fall for this one!


Always make sure the other can catch you before you let go!


Too cute!

Have a happy and great weekend! :)

New Template Up!

It's been ages since I left the world of html coding and understanding computer language but as they say the only constant is change so...

Ta-dah! I'm unveiling my new template! :)

Please do let me know if there are any bugs in it or any way I can make it more fun and comfortable to your eyes!

Thanks for dropping by!

p/s Thanks ParisB for all that bugging! Buy you lunch!

Movie Review: 300

Caught this new movie recently. I was initially a bit hesitant to watch it, thinking that it'll be a typical guy-sy movie with lots of blood and gore. And true enough, it was! But nonetheless, it was quite a good watch for even a girly girl like me (though there weren't any cute pink fluffy creatures singing while dancing in formation!)

So what is it about besides men (lots of em!) with really sculptured bodies and fantastic six-packs trotting about the screen with loincloths and cloaks to show off their bodies? It's actually a story of courage, team spirit, strategy and valour. It's a story of how this legendary King Leonidas (now I know how the chocolate got its name!) of Sparta led 300 of his best soldiers to fight against a marauding wave of Persians intent on conquering the whole of Asia and Europe. His valiant act inspired the rest of Greece to unite and fight against the Persians, hence foiling their ambition to take over Europe.

I was very impressed at their fighting strategy and how they fought as one, each always looking out for and protecting his neighbour. The way they have been solely trained for combat to protect their country and their freedom allowed them to laugh in the face of impending death and to embrace it, each fighting to die a glorious death for their country.

300 inspired me to google up Sparta and I found some interesting facts about them on Wikipedia:

1. It was a very tough military country with no luxuries and laws regulating everything - hence the term Spartan which we use today!
2. A child was examined at birth to see if it was weak or small. Any form of imperfection meant death for the child as only the perfect and strong were allowed to live to ensure no imperfection entered the society.
3. Male children were taken from their mothers at 7 to be trained; very brutally, physically and mentally.
4. Spartan women enjoyed a status, power and respect that was unknown in the rest of the classical world. They were educated and allowed to hold properties.

Those times were tough times in Ancient Greece! Overall, the movie is pretty gory at certain parts with limbs flailing all over the place, blood spurting everywhere and heads being cut off. It has it's LOTR moments too with Persian mammoths and strange beasts running at our poor Spartans.

But having said that, it's still a pretty good watch if you can stomach the gore. Look beyond the video-game like killing and you'll see a fighting spirit in the little team of Spartans which I'm sure the world or Bolehland would be a much better place if we all had but a fraction of the spirit they did.

Meme about me-me-me!

Paris tagged me for this blogger meme some time back. I've been procrastinating this meme and now she's threatened not to tag me anymore if I don't do what she tagged me earlier so I better get down to it!

I left the blogging scene some time ago and recently just came back again but while I was away, I've still been an active lurker on my favourite blogs. Confession: It sometimes takes me about 2+ hours just to go through all the blogs bookmarked in my Favourites list! *blush* Makes me wonder where the day goes sometimes! Hehe...anyway, here's to you, Paris! The first meme I've done in a long long while!

1) Who is the first blogger you met?
Hmm..I must say it has to be Paris! I probably met her when I was...um...1 day old?! Hehe...ok seriously, I've never really met any blogger but I've seen some famous bloggers like KimberlyCun, ShaolinTiger and KidChan (who used to be in one of my college classes before he became THE KidChan!) around before.

2) Who is the ‘Most wanted to meet blogger?’ for you?

Hard question. There are so many of my favourite bloggers I'll like to meet. Pass for now.

3) Who is the ‘I can meet, want to meet but somehow never got to meet’ blogger?

None yet

4) Who are the group of bloggers you most wanted to meet?

Some would definitely be LB, Little Miss May and their Hughug Club!

5) Do you have any bloggers/blog readers that you wish to meet right now?
Right this moment? None for now.

Who do I tag next?

This is seriously hard! I haven't been blogging much but I'll try tagging some of my favourite bloggers on whose blogs I lurk on: Masak-masak, Soo Yin and Precious Pea

Contractor Woes

We've recently moved into our new place. We were originally scheduled to move much earlier but our contractors were giving us so much trouble in remodelling the kitchen that it had to be delayed. It was a pity that we didn't discover Kitchen Remodelling Contractors earlier.

That would have saved us the stress and headache that came with our kitchen remodelling. Through their network of prescreened, high quality and elite contractors, I'm sure we would have found one that would have been able to meet our requirements. Their licensed, insured and professional contractors would have also been able to deliver our remodelled kitchen within our specified timeframe and budget with their existing pre-negotiated discounts for customers.

So, if you're planning on building your dream kitchen or remodelling your existing one, just fill out a form at Kitchen Remodelling Contractors and I'm sure you'll be able to sleep well knowing your kitchen will be exactly the way you wanted it!