Post Redang Blues...

So, finally, we are back! From Redang.

It was a wonderful trip, full of scholarly jokes, laughter, fun. Haven’t laughed that hard in a while. That’s what happens when you throw the 9 of us together.

The first 5 hours in the Innova was choc a bloc with great songs, singing at the top of our voices, while we sped along the East West highway in the middle of the night.

Usher just gets better and better, and he has done it again with In This Club. Jet as well, with Shine On, has made it to the top of our Must Sing list. Another tune for humming along to is Jesse McCartney's latest. But the staples, as usual, were U2, Jet, Keane, Snow Patrol, Linkin Park, MCR, Muse, just to name a few.

Redang photos coming up.

But for now, it is back to the hellish grind and bustle of daily life again, back to the grinding mill. Work work work.

Back at work with a slight tan and a lobster-red face.

Scholars Road Trip, 2008!

The countdown begins!!!

It is now 10am. In approximately 36 hours, will come the 2008 edition of the multiple-yearly scholars’ trip!

This is so exciting I am shivering and can hardly wait. Finally, after much hoo hah, after being postponed from last year to this year, after much ding donging and tick tocking, we have finally managed to confirm and book things.

Initially it started out as a very ambitious long distance road trip involving 1 van and 9 guys, to Vietnam/Laos. However, due to logistical issues, mainly attributed to the inability to obtain the required leave duration, we scaled it down to just Bangkok. However, as the duration available was shortened even more, we scaled it down again to just Haadyai. Eventually, some got wimpy and pointed to various security concerns, and ultimately, it came down to just 2 nights at Redang.

But it is still better than nothing!

Not much else beats this…surrounded by my 8 fellow scholars, 3 days of no work, no thoughts, no pressures, just me, friends, sun, sea, sand, surf, kayaking, snorkelling…can just bask in the warm sunlight, read a book, and since I am on the East Coast, watch the sun rise.

Only something like PLR with the gf can beat this. Or any other holiday with her, for that matter.

But for now, this is really something I am looking forward to.

1 week ago...

OK. I think I am nostalgic, sentimental etc to a fault. I have this habit of constantly thinking ok, what was I doing X days ago, X weeks ago, X months ago, X years ago. Exactly on this date. Then I find myself wandering back to whatever it is I was doing.

But fault or not fault...I nostalgically look back upon a week ago. And I was at this very spot, looking at this sight.



After paying shitloads for a wonderful spa experience, I think this is my favourite part: on a hot day, going for a cold dip. Definitely didnt harm my fertility ahem.


The landing platform. Good to take a dive off of. Reminds me of the jetty at Cairns, where I saw a large sea turtle.

Ahh...come, it's the weekend now. Time to go off work and... make more memories!

[Hello again, it's you and me...- Bon Jovi, Make a memory]

PLR Part II

The place is magnificent. This is the infinity pool, which is supposed to give the illusion that the pool and sea is joined, as one, and when you swim towards the horizon...it is infinity.



And that is me, Joanne, and our room.

And this is out in front of my room, with a splendid view by virtue of the fact that our villa is situated at the highest on the island.

What a wonderful holiday. Raring to go again! And learnt many new things too during our jungle walk with the resident professional naturalist. Did you know, for instance, that male cicadas stay dormant for 7 months, underground, appear, make a shitload of noise over the next 2 weeks, breed like crazy, and then drop dead? Did you know that when they emerge, they leave behind a plastic like brown shell, moulded into an exact replica of a cicada itself.

Actually it is a weird existence. You basically hibernate for 7 months, show up, breed like mad, and then die. WTF?!

OK..enough about this hols...Got to run! Maybe more next time.

Playground of the rich & famous

Ladies and gentleman, please take a good look.

Welcome to Pangkor Laut Resort - Playground of the Rich and Famous, though I am neither rich nor famous. So last Friday, having taken leave, I was instructed to get meself blindfolded, fold my long muscular frame (I am in a good mood, please do not burst my bubble, you realist you) into the car, and instructed me to go to sleep. After drifting in and out of a forced/induced sleep (which troubled me because I kept feeling the car swerve, followed by a loud vicious and angry horning sound from other cars) while my Joanne drove, suddenly I was instructed to get out of the car. So, ok I removed my (muscular and long) frame from the car, and, still in blindfolds, was led protestingly to...somewhere. After various pleadings, bleatings and protestations of feeling really silly, I was finally allowed to remove the blindfold on the condition that I can only look down. Well...here I was, at the office and departure point to the privately owned PLR!

A few sips of something really nice later, and the both of us were on the ferry, happily blasting our way through the choppy seas to the private island. Upon arrival, it was paradise itself. The scenery was first class, the vaunted Emerald Bay (though falling a bit short of the hype) was fantastic, the whole operations of the place fell into place like tumblers of a giant gear mechanism. The service and people were fantastic. The rooms were great, and we got the highest rooms, the Hill Villas, where we were just a (albeit very very strong) stone's throw away from the sea eagles' nests. The bathtub in there was first rate, the deco was excellent, and they even had Astro, where I, for the first time in years, watched a basketball game (though only for half a quarter, which makes it roughly 10 minutes). The bed was inviting, the lighting classy, the aircond just right.

There was a free shuttle service (i.e. your personal van) taking you to and from. I was really touched by Joanne's initiative, to surprise me and drive me all the way there. To top it off, she paid for it too, and I know it cost her a bomb. To even things up, I paid for our spa, which cost me close to an arm, a leg, and a couple of hairs.

The whole holiday was really really nice...I enjoyed our swims together on the 'horizon pool' (or so that's what my Jo told me!) and the spa and the food and the nature walks and we even saw a snake (no, not the type who works in Marketing/Banking).

There's so much more to say...nvm, in posts to come, shall stick on photos, including of Vietnam. My my, you readers are in for a treat. I am jealous already. How come other blogs don't tease me like this? Btw...the spa is really REALLY cool. Just wait for the pics...

Where is this place?

It seems like I've been working hard and playing even harder lately. Holidays, trips, excursions..it seems like before one is barely over, I am planning for another one.

Having just returned from Vietnam, I am already planning a major road trip with the scholars in June that will take us to 3 different countries.

But this is getting too much! Now, it has gotten to the point where I am on holiday without even realizing it.

This morning was awakened rudely by an alarm clock at 6 30am, chucked into the shower, bundled into the car, blindfolded, ordered to "keep quiet and don't move" for an indefinite amount of time (which later turned out to be 3 hours), and then was ushered out of the car, still blindfolded, and now I am standing at the reception lobby of some spa like place, and I hear people talking about ferries, islands and whatnot...I have packed for 2 nights and 3 days and I still don't know where I am or what is happening.

We shall find out.

Vietnam 1

Last few months have been rather hectic. I was contemplating last few days were pretty busy, but then it seemed like the last few weeks were, and when I thought about it a bit more, it seemed like the last few months were hectic. I decided to stop there, because, in reality, the last few years have been pretty hectic.

Anyway, since I am not in much of a serious and methodical do-work frame of mind, I have decided to unlock the mental shackles on my fingers and just let them type away, free from the limiting biddings of my uncreative brain.

Well! I just got back from Hanoi! As you may have observed, this page is slowly moving away from putting up photographs, but I’ll try to stick in a few in my next post. I think Hanoi can be effectively summarized by the following sentence:

“It is like a slice of France mixed in with a dash of Thailand and a sprinkling of China in the heart of South East Asia.”

Those words, and that description of Vietnam, were immortalized by none other than the infamous author, Alex W. That was his pen name. Until today, no one really knows who he is or what his real name is. Such an enigma…

Vietnam is an interesting place. The Vietnamese are an interesting people. They are hardy and practical and do not waste anything, are resolute and stubbornly persistent. I think they are the only country that the United States have been unable to claim complete military victory, and 30 years down the line, the mighty United States are still licking their wounds from this war. Shameful in defeat and withdrawal, despite leaving the country filled with landmines and with the horrific victims of Agent Orange, amidst other horrors such as military chemical warfare experiments, the Vietnamese have risen and are now proudly taking their rightful place as one of the up and coming success stories of South East Asia. Their never say die attitude, resoluteness and practicality resonate in every fibre of their daily lives, as can be witnessed if one is observant enough and spends some time there.

My trip there could be summarized into 5 themes. 1 = Food. 2 = Halong Bay. 3 = Traffic. 4 = Shopping. 5 = Culture.

In my next post, I shall expound briefly on each theme.

If I was single...

...I'd remember this website.

Note: If you are travelling solo, please be realistic and do not take risks with your safety!

Holiday!

I just so love short trips, quick holidays and the like, and getting to go with special people makes it even more super fun! Shall blog about this in the upcoming days/fortnight. Right now, squeezed for time, just really quickly put this up:

Twas taken in Frasers 1.5 weeks ago...Ahh..(the joys n wonder of sepia setting).

Anyway, so, it was a really fun trip. Must do more.. look fwd to more.

It was read somewhere by me long ago that Msia has one of the most number of holidays in the year, compared to other countries.

Gosh thats great! Unfortunately, it is a slight disincentive to move countries.. I SO do enjoy taking mid week breaks n taking a day trip or sthing...and tomorrow is a holiday!

Mind bursting with endless possibilities of what to do...night is young.. it begins in 10 mins when I leave and slide into my car and drive off home to shower n change n eat n catch a movie n watever else..read? snorkel even maybe?

Ah, to be young!

On the last day of 07...

On the last day of '07, I look back, and see that indeed this has been a year where I visited many places. Let's hope '08 continues that trend! Sitting here in my office space on the 31st of Dec, I do get a bit of the sensation that yet another year has raced by.

Locally (condition: must either involve a hill or at least 1 hr drive), I visited:

- Genting (again) but never before have I driven up myself, and I did it twice this year.
- Frasers Hill (second time), drove up for the first time (companion made it special)
- Kota Bharu, my first time ever, visiting Kelantan (very fun, real eye opener)
- Port Dickson (for the gazillionth time but never before with my GIS gang so twas fun)
- Scaling Mount Kinabalu on a company trip and doing it faster than anyone else from our party save the MD (that was one fit 40 year old!)
- Kuala Selangor (to see the fireflies...it's not what you do, it's who you do it with!)

Overseas (plane ride must exceed 1 hour):

- Phuket (again, but with the scholars...great trip...except for the masseurs hmmm)
- Paris (like the photography expeditions and resultant pics)
- Melbourne (it's who you do it with!)
- Dubai airport (that counts ok.)

In '08, my wish list is to:

- Drive up Camerons
- Check out the much vaunted and haunted Maxwell Hill
- Try Ijok's beggar chicken
- A country that takes more than 4 hours to fly to, i.e. Japan, Korea, NZ...
- An island resort paradise, either locally, Bali, Philippines, Thailand or ... Mauritius? Maldives?

Ah...they say save money when you are young... don't travel so much...I say.. travel when you are young! Take lots of beautiful photos when you are young! Coz your pay is prolly so meager now you can't save much anyway. So why trade a marginal increase in bank balance for beautiful youthful photos of self? Plenty of time to save later when your pay check hits a reasonable size where you can actually SAVE. Invest in holidays, memories and experiences while you are young.

The young ones. Darling we're the young ones. And the young ones. Shouldn't be afraid. To live. Learn. While the flame is strong. Coz we may not be, the young ones. Very long. - Elvis.

Gay Paree 1

Ferris Wheel on the Place De La Concorde!


So, Paris, became a photography adventure. It was fun! Travelling with my camera, experimenting with angles, colors, different settings...trying to capture the feel of things. Anyway to cut a long story short, here are some sample photos:


Taken at the Louvre. Sepia is good.


The Louvre as well!

And for those who have been bugging me no end to show you some photos of me in Paris, and to those who refuse to believe I was there...:


And to those who STILL refuse to believe...yea yea you know who you are..haha...yea yea how could ALEX just drop it all and run off to Paris right? So irresponsible right? Like...no way...Alex do things step by step.. plan rightly.. not so impulsive..well..here you go my furry doubters:


Argh rats. Time for work. More later!

Holidays!!!

Well, where have I been?

You wouldnt believe this...I don't either...I was in Paris! And THEN I came back for 1 night, and the next morn immediately flew to... MELBOURNE!!!

Yep, my second home, and I was reborn there. Revitalized, rejuvenated, you name it. And being in PERFECT company, I cannot really cannot ask for more.

To the 3 Js who were there, you know who you are, you made me holiday beyond perfect.

But I will talk about my holidays and post photos in a later post. The highlights of my hols, believe it or not, involved looking deep into myself and coming out a stronger, better, more mature person. Its the internal changes that really made it great. But come come...enough of this.

Depressing weather aside though, Melb really is beckoning for me to return...return...

Have leg... will travel

Undertook lots of travelling this year.

There was KK, KB, numerous trips to Sg, trips to Genting, trips to PD, trip to Phuket, Pangkor etc.

And now the big un ... going to Paris in Sept!

And immediately after coming back... going to Melbourne in Oct!

Wow...going on an overseas trip with girlfriend...spells fun fun and more fun!

Living on a shoestring budget also sounds fun after a while.

And now the sister is trying to make me go Korea or China end of year. Man, I am gonna be so broke that its funny.

Alex..be sensible.

The great Phuket adventure Part 1 - Nightlife

Well, I am back!

And no, glad to report I am not dead. But I've got something to confess...

Hah! The last 2 post entries..were not done by me! While I was happily gallivanting away in Phuket, my friend was
impersonating me the whole time, writing my posts for me. On the whole she more or less got the details right,
even though I told her nothing. Pretty brilliant eh? No 1 picked up on it though..she must've done a good job.

If my blog readership increased during these few days...I might have to engage her full time. Haha.

Anyway..

Phuket is fun but it really depends on what kind of fun you are after. Lets start with the NIGHTLIFE eh. 

First up...the famous Thai girls..



...though there is a fair amount of uncertainty about whether they were born male or female...



...but these were definitely drag queens...except for the one in the blue miniskirt n pink handbag
coz her arms look kinda small for a guy..

Eventually due to the confusion and potential horrors involved in oggling at a male in disguise, I
was so put off that I no longer wanted to look at any male or female. And my friend tells me that
she heard that some of these crossdressing queens actually go home to their wives and families after work. WTF?! Talk about serious confusion and the risk of mixing up his roles. Does the wife knows that her husband is going out to be screwed and then coming home to screw her?

If ladyboys (ooh I picked up this.. the official lingo for anything cross dressed, trans or confused or in between) aren't your cup of tea, one can alwiz oggle at the numerous bar top dancers all over the place.

Some looked disinterested..



Some knew what dirty white men liked and strove to provide it again and again...



Others believed in quantity, quantity, quantity (and school uniformish attires)...



While others believed in what they perceive to be quality..



If bar top dancing, counter girls, ladyboys etc aren't up your alley, why not try out the A Go Go Bars, of
which there are PLENTY...



If sex sex and more sex is not whats on your mind, then great! You could be like me, interested in the Thai kickboxing. Knees, knuckles, fists, elbows, blood, hard hits, fast punches, flying kicks, wow! Unfortunately, 1 show will set you back slightly more than RM100. But its worth it, because there is real blood, real gore, and about 8 fights in total. But note the word show: some fights look a bit staged.You could get cheaper ones at stadiums like these...



Yea...Phuket nightlife! But..regardless of how hard you try..you can never run from the sex sex sex that is so prominently lived..



You thought that was bad..? And then you turn the corner and you see a FULL PAGE poster ad.



But this is not so bad..when I first went to Phuket .. a bit less than 10 years ago...when it was much less commercialized and developed..I was accosted by transvesvites and worse, shown photos of sex scenes, some with implements, featuring even children. At least that is 
no longer happening.

No visit to Phuket is complete without a visit down Bangla street, where the most famous pubs clubs bars and everything in between rules.



They do have some nice bars.

OK..thats it for the first part...coming up next...DayTime activities!

Gloriousness!

Gloriousness!

In approx 8 hrs I should be Down Under. Sadly, this won't be the Land 6000km away...rather, it's just 300 plus km South. But I guess I shouldn't complain, right? After all, anything good is welcome. Any break from work is welcome.

Ahh...Phantom of the Opera...[The Phaaaaaantom of the Opera is there.....inside my mind..]

Look forward to returning to Timbre..and Jazz @ Southbank. Ooh.. all my fav nooks & crannies...!

And this time I won't be boarding with friends n relatives as per norm..nope, gonna get meself a HOTEL room! Ahh..

Getting on a bus..reading for 6 hrs..or sleeping...or thinking/planning work related stuff..going to my hotel...running in n out alone...wandering like a lost sheep albeit happily.. solo attendance of above events...calling out old buds...hoisting my camera everywhere I go. Should I be a fake Jap
tourist? Along with the requisite camera slung over my shoulder...maybe I should wear a polo shirt tucked into knee length khaki shorts (with the belt showing) and wear sandals and knee high socks.

[Silently guffaws at ridiculous scene]

Don't see whats soo enticing about Chymes...St James Power Station..frankly, St James is like our Asian Heritage
Row but instead of in a street, in a building. And AHR is better.

Ok...its 5am...I still reek of alcohol..better start packing! Eventful wkend coming up, eventful wkend coming up.

Mission: Conquer Mount Kinabalu: Day 3: Summit

Day 3

And so it was, at 2am, everybody awoke from their slumber and tried to grab whatever breakfast they could.
Some had Maggi Mee, some had tonnes of chocolates...I had zero sleep but I did have some Powerbars for
breakfast. And we set out at 2.30am sharp...

I continued my strategy of marching on at a steady, constant, sustainable rate that was quick but had
manyrests, while bopping to the beat of my music in my ear. Muse, Nirvana, LMF, X Japan,
Beyond, Hinder, Blue October, Metallica, Hello Goodbye etc...

I soon overtook most everyone as usual, and caught up with the MD again. We had a smoke beside some
rocks to let others head on up to the peak as it was still early and we didn't want to freeze for 2 hours while waiting for sunrise. Finally, we went up to book a good spot, and it was already 5am. We were one of the first
to arrive, and we did find good spots to face the sunrise.

So while waiting...I snapped some shots...

Thats my foot right at the edge of the hundreds of feet drop off the sheer side of the cliff.



Since I couldn't find my beannie I had to improvise and use my friend Jinn's neck warming thing as a beannie instead, hence it looks like I have on weird headgear.



After sitting in the 5 degrees cold with the wind chill factor making it worse for ages, the first glimmers of light appeared on the far horizon.



I spied the Loch Ness Monster in the sky.



There was no majestic sunrise! I feel cheated. Just a gradual brightening in tandem with the dawn.



As it became lighter we could see the sheer rock walls on the sides of us



From some angles, I could just believe I was standing at the rim of a volcano.




But the view was spectacular in a way.


For safety reasons they have some fence around the perimeter of the very peak where I was sitting.



The canyon in the daytime...stuff that you should only climb at night to prevent fear.



Suicide point.



Kneeling on top of SEA!



Nice and fluffy..felt like jumping into it..but its not down..its clouds.



Can you spot the dustbin?



After being one of the last to leave the summit, this is the descent.



So smooth...



Taking a breather en route down the peak..



Much steeper and tougher than it looks here thats for sure!



Never lose sight of the rope, ever.



Walking down kills the ankles and knees...I invented various methods of descending that others imitated..



Rain clouds ominously gathering, a sign of what was to come...



Making good way...almost down!



The reemergence of vegetation.



Ahhh....vegetation...contrast the 2 photos below. [This 1 is near the rest area]



[On the descent, near the rest hut]



Back on solid ground! 6+ km high!