Singapore - Follow The Law? Errrr Perhaps Not!!

Follow The Law Singapore Signs.. It says, No Parking Of Bicycles..

On The Contrary..

I saw this uncompromising situation recently one evening when I went out to get my favourite Beancurd dessert. I just couldn't help but take a picture of this signage and all the bicycles parked just below the signage. Just when Singaporeans are just so 'well-known' for following orders set by the higher authorities, this scene is just too contradicting. Perhaps they don't belong to the local people? Maybe the bike owners can't read English?

Oh, and for those who have NEVER seen an EXTRA LONG bus before, the second picture shows just it. I know some of my friends who have seen or sat on the double decker bus but not the extra long bus before. This bus has been around for perhaps a decade. Kinda like two bus cabins joint together like the short LRT. It does get abit of bumpy if you sat at the second / back part of the bus, but thank God for it's absorber suspension...LOL

Been Ages, eh?

Wow, it's been ages since I last updated anything here... Well I felt like writing today since I'm off tomorrow. Work has been pretty crazy. We have our busy as hell days and we have some quiet days. We are understaffed - there's only two of us to handle EVERYTHING there is to do..



Anyone went to queue up when Shell offered petrol at $1 per litre a week ago? I didn't but I got to watch the situation. From 10am till almost 4pm the car queues were crazy. Honks didn't stop and the buses didn't get to ply their routes on time. Bus lanes were just useless. See the picture? This is the situation that happened outside my workplace, till 6pm. Crazy. A man with a large advertisement board on a stick walked up and down, counting down the hours. 4 hours, 3 hours, 2 hours... bla bla bla. I didn't queue though I had a quick thought. My petrol was about half full and by the time I reach the petrol station, I might have wasted the other half tank away...

It's only two weeks left before the school holidays comes in. I hope my girls won't be too bored. Intially our plan was to go back Penang for the long holidays but then, now that we have a business to run, it will be difficult. So I really have to find some activity for the girls.

I also think that I need some time to 'plump' up before I see Mom. I've lost weight tremendously and I don't want her to be too shocked. Moms will always be mom, she might start thinking unnecessary stuff. Work keeps me on my toes and many things on my mind gives me some stress. My body handles stress this way - lose weight. Forget all those 'kiam pui' centres, stress tops them all. I don't eat and sleep as well but at least the consolation is, I am able to put back on my old clothes which I thought I'd never get to. LOL

Forgive me if I had not been bloghopping too. I do want to but most of the time, I either have small pockets of time to either check some mail, fb mail and do some time on BBlitz. I don't even have time for my FarmTown, my crops have all died and withered.

I will survive.

Wide Comparison

I still get many queries from some of my friends who started blogging. They always ask me about domains and web hosts and which is the most suitable or best host for blogging and creating an online shop. What can I say, I may have spent some time blogging in the past few years and have owned some personal domains with unique names but I do not have the full wide experience nor answer to which web hosts has the best service, pricing package nor best ratings. I can never really do a comparison with other hosts because my experience lies in the two hosts I use and not several which one can then put together and compare.

Unless one has covered almost every web hosts in the market, then one would be able to comment. However, to make things easier, I always ask them to visit a web hosting site that not only provides ratings, it is also the place to go to when you need to understand all the queries about hosting, bandwidth, service, price and many more. That is because everything you need to know is all compiled for you, including useful articles you can read to gain more understanding about the subject.

In this site, you can read many reviews from independant companies and individuals and also some webmasters. This way, you will know what consumers are looking for when it comes to setting up a blog or commercial website or even just for educational purpose. And you will be able to avoid the little pitfalls that may happen.

Invaded

I've not been updating my blog for a while. I've been busy working and when it is knock off time, there's so much to do at home and some time to spend with the girls, then it's off to bed early. That is because I need to get up as early as 4.30am daily to get ready for work. I usually have just a cup of coffee to perk myself up or I'll never get through the day. The girls have learnt to adjust to their new schedule, to take the school bus since I cannot fetch them to and fro now.

I hardly get to read the daily newspapers and when I do, I would bring the previous day's to work to catch up on news in my pockets of time. When I am away, my girls have now taken over many of my stuff...lol They invaded my room with their toys, fancy stuff, books and they have been hogging on my laptop after 'killing' my desktop. I have no time to look into the problems in my desktop..



See, even my dresser is now filled with the kids' hair bands, rubber bands and whatever they can just find to hog it... They even started to put on my clothes and wear my shoes!

Lea turns 5

Just a little update on what happened in the past week. Lea turned 5 on Tuesday!

Lea, up to her antics again...

Here is a picture of Lea and the birthday cake I made in a dash on Tuesday morning. We took the day off so we could spend some free and easy time with her when she is back from school. I had also arrange to let her celebrate her birthday in her kindy so managed to pack some 30 bags of goodies for her classmates.

I was exhausted from work on Monday but still managed to bake a simple Bitter and Moist Chocolate Cake which the girls always love to eat with ice cream. Never mind if we didn't order any designer cakes like Barney, Barbie or Ben 10 cake this year. This year's cake was baked with LOVE and AFFECTION, albeit the not so finished look, eh? Hope the girls will look back to this day when they are matured adults and do the same with the children.

Everything about Hosting

It's been almost 2 years since I started blogging. Time certainly flies. Along the way, I had accumulated few other blogs, the latest being my food blog, Fad About Food. Each time, I seeked tips and advice from blogger friends, especially when it comes to purhase of domains and hosts for blogs. I hear many different views from different individuals but not quite enough to know which of the web hosts that work well, give value for money or if they offer essential online help for bloggers like me.

If you are new to blogging or seeking advice with regards to web hosts, domains, pricing and more, you should check out Web Hosting Geeks. I remembered how some of my blogger friends asked me which webhost provide cheap hosting as well as a free domain registration for a start.

Web Hosting Geeks provides more than a basic list of web hosts, as a matter of fact. You can find answers from budget hostings, blog hostings, top 10 web hostings, where to find free yahoo domains, features, independant reviews, customer reviews and more. Find out which of the many numerous hosts make the list in web hosting awards for each category so you can get a clearer picture about good web hosts. If you find that the lingo or terms are not too familiar, fret not. They also offer good posts and information such as Web Hosting Guide or How to choose the Best Web Hosting or Reliable Service. These information are invaluable to a person especially when he or she really has no idea where to start. So remember, when you need to find out everything from hosting, value, service and more, Web Hosting Geek is the answer.

Farewell My Dear Friend, HNKP

In sembang room, I remember always
Funny, happy chats, we once enjoyed,
Your sudden leaving left a space
So hard to accept, so empty and void.

Special thoughts stay with you forever,
Fond memories rush thru my mind
A friend, a blogger and PGHK member
We always remember till end of time



I dedicate the above verse to my PGHK friend and blogger, Hainam Keipui aka Joze. She passed away recently and left many of us feeling shocked. I had been busy the past few weeks with some personal matter. Then when I logged on to facebook two days ago and saw some of the condolences messages by Dragon, Taugeh, Boone and few others, it came as a shocked to me. It was, and still is hard to digest this news.

Joze was a bubbly person. She contributed to many shows in the PGHK podcast. On a personal level, she came across as a friendly person, honest and frank. I knew her since since 2007, in sembang chatroom. It's a place where PGHK members regularly share news, chat and joke with each other about anything under the sun and their love for Penang Island. From skype chats we all moved on to multiply, blogspot and facebook. That was how the members kept in touch with each other.

We shared many personal and private chats and although she knew this was coming, she still lived her life the way she wanted - Happy. She told me how she dreaded this day but she quickly perk herself up and change subjects as she didn't want to burden others with her personal problems, and didn't want that kind of pity.

She had many people who loved her, her aunts, uncles and her boyfriend and best friends. She told me how she wanted to travel but she could never go far because she had to bring with her bags of solution and a stand for dialysis. She had to be home often because she needed to have dialysis done regularly like every 5 hours a day. And never once did she complained about the inconvenience to her friends. NEVER.

She was so young and still so full of life. I once went in search of a nearby dialysis centre so I can make sure she won't have to bring a stand and her solutions of Baxter along should she come over for a holiday. Now, that day will never come. I won't have the chance to see her here. Now that I am looking at the remaining stickers I have yet to send to her, I feel so sad. She had been complaining of being bored. I thought she could do more scrapbooking and momentos. I had been eager to see her work in her blog. Now I won't get to.

She is far more matured than any people I know. I am sure God must have taken her for a good reason. God must have special plans for her. I am sure she is in a better place, without fear, pain and only happiness, reunited with those who left her when she was so very young.. How unfair but perhaps this is the only way. Reunited, back as a family.

I can't help feeling remorse over this. Perhaps that is when we should take a lesson. Look around us. Joze is a heroine in her own way. She tried to fulfilled her life even though she knew what may happen one day. She played, danced, ate, shopped, blogged and she loved to take photos. She was really full of life. She showered her family and friends with love, laughter and joy. She didn't burden us with sadness nor her fear.

Goodbye Joze, I'll miss you. May your soul rest in peace.





A video done by Ang Ku Kueh in memoriam of Hainam Keipui.

Make Money

There was a time when I bought unit trusts. Some were good and made good yield. Some were a big mistake, causing me to lose about half of the money invested. In the past 5 years, I had many offers from banks, insurance agents and other financial institutions offering different types of investments from bonds, shares, structured investments and even more. Then recently I heard about something different, called the revolutionary binary options, an online trading platform at EZTrader.com. Sounds attractive, because it is suppose to offer an opportunity for one to make up to as much as 75% return in just an hour! What do you think. It sounds attractive to me. The investment is at a low minimum, suited for trading beginners. Try their demo first.

Endure

I will be busy in the next couple of weeks, or even months ahead. My family and I have some sudden loose ends to tie up, thus I probably will be blogging a little less. But I have been blogging a little less lately too. If God help me, I probably have time to but there's so much to do. Will definitely keep you updated on my life. Although you may not see as many posts, I still hope you will drop by still.

I am trying to look at many things positively. But it is hard when one falls. I know I am sounding rather vague now but if there is a new low, I have been there before and I can pick my life up again, just work a little harder. I thank God for my life and being able to be of existence in this world. Life had been good in the past. Now is the time for action. I am plague by bad economy news, high cost of living, recession news, arrows pointing down and thumbs pointing down.

I don't believe that life will always be a smooth journey. I am praying for a safe journey. And a happy tomorrow. Here is a poem, how I am feeling now.


Endure

If I can endure for this moment,
whatever is happening to me.
No matter how heavy my heart,
or how dark the moment may be.
If I can but keep on believing,
what I know in my heart to be true.
Then darkness will fade into morning,
and with this dawn a new day, too.

This poem is titled Endure, written by Bobi. It was originally published in Poems On Life.

Music to the Ears

I frequent Feng Shui stores quite often. I remembered when I once bought a crystal pendant, the lady of the shop would put the gemstone into a beautiful round bowl and used a short handle stick to go around the rim. This bowl is call the Singing Bowl because it produces a very lovely echoey sound like a song.

Since then, I've been looking to buy one for home but there are not many shops that offer such products. Well, that was until I discovered a website that actually imports such lovely unique items from Tibet and Nepal. Offering one of the world's finest collections of instruments usually associated with healing, meditation and relaxation, this online store carries products such as an assorment of singing bowls, Mala prayer beads, Tibetan herbal incense, gong symbols, bronze statues and more at reasonable retail prices. A great place to check it out if you are interested. They deliver to anywhere around the world.

So Good You Can Even Eat It On Its Own

Whoops! 2 weeks since my previous post! I didn't realize that, really. Perhaps because I've been in Farm Town too often to realise that time lapsed so quickly. And what have I been up too, besides Farm Town? Like what I wrote in my other blog and my food blog, same same. Baking Bread. Just crazy over baking them. Even before the bread is finished, I want to bake another loaf, another loaf and another loaf... I think by the end of this week, I should really stop baking bread. Too much already.

So how wonderful is baking bread at home? Well, get a cheap bread maker and find out. I lurve it of course! The kids are also eating them when they are normally fussy over the breads bought over the shelves. I make Milk Loaf for them because I'm just bought by the goodness of Milk Calcium. How does it taste? Remember Gardenia's "So Good You Can Even Eat It On Its Own"? Well that is what my girl said. Fresh bread is really yummy!

This is my Aquarium

I post this information of my Aquarium which Ah Boy bought last year. It seems that the fry that we had did not survive during the March holidays because there was no food for them over a whole week. Okay I gather that my fish must be either guppy, molly or swordtail because I only learnt recently that these fishes do not lay eggs but have their young born alive. Our little fishes that were in the aquarium were born from our first batch bought from the store and how happy we were when we discovered these little fishees in the aquarium among the artificial plants, shielding them from the adult fishes.

Umbrella Rec was so kind to post an article to help or rather guide beginners like me learn more about having planted plant with soil (as substitute food) in fish aquarium for food should one is away for the holidays. There are more detailed information so if you are also interested in breeding fish, check out this post - Planted Tank for Beginners

I told him that I would post some photos of the aquarium I have so that he could tell if it is suitable or not in terms of light source and etc.

Here are the photos and whatever helpful info I have about the aquarium:

The aquarium and it's measurements

Looking down

Opening the cover and Light information

Left, centre and right from top

Hopefully these photos are good enough for Umbrella Rec to advice if I need any other device to be attached besides a timer for light. And, Thanks!!

Joanne Peh is Best Actress 2009

I watched the Star Awards entertainment last night on telly. I think many of my friends really were shocked to learn that Joanne Peh came out as the winner of the Best Actress in The Little Nyonya. Many of them had thought Jeanette Aw would be the one getting this award. I beg to differ. I think Joanne Peh deserves this award. She herself had a pleasant surprise last night! Congrats, Joanne Peh!

Yes, Jeanette Aw did a good job in this show. But watching her in many of the other shows for the past years, she did not really get many dramatic roles to play. And because she always played the good girl next door, the only effort in The Little Nyonya was for her to talk less here and be less 'Manja'. But she did good in her roles, except I find her role did not really let her shine as much as Joanne. For Joanne, her role was more dramatic as a matter of fact. And having watched many shows, she really is an all rounder. Here she is demure and sweet but she did play up the dramatic roles when she was tortured and abused. I think this is the edge where she probably won by more than an inch.

So, the Best Supporting Actress went to Xiang Yun (who played Yue Niang's granny) and Ng Hui (who played Ah Tao). Ng Hui has never been in my favourite list of actress for the past years because of the roles she played but this show really showed off her strength in acting. And she is now in my A list. Xiang Yun is such a popular actress who have really shown and maintained her progress as years go by.

Surprisingly, this year there isn't much for our Ta Jie - Zoe. Guess motherhood has brought her to concentrate more of her family and kids than in our small screen.

A little lukewarm, this year's Star Awards, dunno why. Apart from the show The Little Nyonya and By My Side (which won Chen Han Wei for Best Actor).

I am now waiting for the drama - The Ultimatum starring Zoe Tay and Fann Wong which will debut in May 27, 9pm. Can't Wait!! It's been a long time I get to watch Zoe and Fann acting together! Fann getting married and Zoe, mom of two kids!

For Batik Lovers or Mother's Day

If you love Batik, you must have a look at the collection on this post.. or the advert on your right.

Batik Lovers' Post

Yummy Thumbdrive

A close friend had been asking me to get something for her lately. Well, it is an exclusive promotion offered only if you buy two sticks of Magnum Ice Cream Bars. Well, actually I bought some of the Magnum ice cream mini bars recently because it was on an offer of buy a box get one free, but I know how much it meant to her to get this. It is a Thumbdrive shaped like a Magnum Ice Cream! Cool! Since she is not in Singapore and is missing out on this offer, I decided to get it for her before the promotion or the stock ends.

I think this is so cute, don't you? Looks so yummy too. This looks a little like those cute erasers which I love to collect since my younger days but if you open up the cap, it's a thumbdrive!



I think the person who must of thought of this idea must be really a joy to work with! Lots of creative juices running.. The full set with a strap so you don't loose it!

Hurry Get Your Free Wrinkle Cream Now!

I know I would. Try this Free Wrinkle Cream that is.

That is because it is being given away to the first 2,500 people who visit the website. Why, because I'm bought by what they have in their reviews.

Wrinkle System Diamond Edition Wrinkle Cream, is the product.

Mind you, as I am writing this post, I didn't want to miss out on this FREE product that has a 30 day money back guarantee. Reviews of this cream have shown that the deep wrinkles appeared much smaller, reduce the eye wrinkles and among them, stimulates the production of the collagen in the skin. This product will help to improve our skin's elasticity.

I really can't wait for my product to arrive through the mailbox. I know many of the mothers of my daughter's friends worry about wrinkles ALL THE TIME. And this is one way to get to try a product to see if it works. BECAUSE IT'S FREE! Who needs a deep pocket in the economy downturn now for a good facial product.

If you want to try it, better hurry up and click on the link to Free Wrinkle Cream because I know of many who are gonna do so. The shipping for this product is international so if you can't get it FREE, you still can purchase it to be delivered to anywhere in the world, from China, Saudi Arabia or even in Pakistan. This product is going to be hot stuff! I'm not joking, I just ordered one!

Yes, I forget easily.

I must be getting old! I posted the previous post about that block of flats. I was intending to show you the block of flats in that goose poo colour but forgotten to post up the picture. How forgetful. So, that would be the second obvious reason I'm getting old.

First, my taste of colours. Second, my forgetful picture. Anyone can guess what else?
Here's the goose poo flats that i thought was cool errr.. until the girls boo-ed me. Hrrmmmpppphhhh...



Oh, and did i tell you that I bought a new 19" LCD telly for my room yet?

I Love Batik, Without A Doubt

When I was younger, I liked modern looking furniture, clean neat lines and also swanky apartments and restaurants. I realised that as I grow older, my tastes have changed. The opposite, as a matter of fact. I enjoy eating at kopitiams (local coffeeshops), love retro colours, old old looking apartments and mismatched furniture. Is this a sign of me trying to hold on to all things old? I saw this block of flats, painted in a retro green colour and I went, WOW! AWESOME.. my kids didn't like them of course. I can't blame them. Few decades ago, I'd have snuff these colours liken to the Goose Poo. hehehe

Shows of the lifestyle of the Peranakan and different cultures are all just lovely now. Ornate, flowers and patterns of Frangipani, colour red, temples, old buildings all fascinates me now.

I just couldn't resist looking at Batik handicrafts too. East Malaysia has plenty of factories doing these but I wasn't interested then. Now they are even found online like these ones! And they are cool! Click on them to see what they have.

Natural Looking Furniture

Wood furniture is in demand. They give one the feeling of resort holidays, warmth, log cabins, holidays away from concrete jungles, countryside and also the feeling of a nice warm fire during winter. It is also very often that many people who loves to bring their 'holidays' home will also dress their homes with furniture either of natural wood or resemblance of them.

I had a chance to check out a site that sells rustic furniture online. I love their bunk beds and am sourcing to look for one for my two growing-up daughters. The bunk beds I see here aren't the stereotyped wooden furniture at all. The round shape used is so natural it reminds me as if one had actually climbed up on a tree for a nap! And it does looked as if you had cut out a log and naturally tie them into beds. The only thing I'd have wished for would be that they offers it in more shades of brown than what is available. And because I am looking for a child's furniture, it would also be fun to have a bed that looks like it is a bed built into a large piece of log! Wouldn't that be wonderful!

Decisions on Webhosts

A friend asked me yesterday about blogging. She has a few months old daughter and is keen in recording down the milestones of her cute daughter. She had asked for my advise about blogging as well as how to get a domain and which website hosting company is recommended.

For myself, I first started blogging on a free hosting platform before moving on to paid hosting. I believe that many have their reasons in moving to a paid hosting. For those who have not really tried blogging using a unique domain name, it certainly is useful to read up some resource about it first. If you are planning to keep a blog permanently and uniquely yours, purchasing a domain name is a good choice. However besides getting the domain and the name you wanted, you still need to pay for hosting in a company that offers this service.

So what happens after you buy a domain? Well, you may like to ask yourself what kind of website you are going to have. A blog? An online shop? Or even an online resource library for public or just for restricted viewers. Some do not really need much traffic if the website is a blog solely for friends and relatives and selected few. Thus, one with a low bandwidth is sufficient. Whatever the choice is, there is always option for an upgrade. And are you one who is familiar with the terminology in IT? If you are not, a good way is to look for one that has great customer service, efficient when it comes to helping you at times in need. A blog or a site may seemed to be working but when something goes wrong to one who is not IT savvy, it is a headache as what I have experienced myself. A 24/7 online help is very much a better deal.

There are many more questions here about website hosting company, such as which one is the best, which one offers you the best value and so forth. For me, I only have experience with one or two companies so I would never know if any other hosting company offers better value or services or not.

For a person to be able to know in depth would take quite some time and effort. However, all this has been consolidated in a website specially for you - for your convenience. Top hosts in terms of value and price, packages offered and even many other information such as what do you really need. These questions, advice and solutions are all accessible from just one website so do make good use of it.

Manhattan Fish Market

Although I've walked past Manhattan Fish Market plenty of times, I've never tried their fare. So last month during the school holidays, we popped by into the restaurant. We couldn't decide which was good so decided to share a Seafood Platter. It looked scrumptious and it did tasted good. Perhaps we were too hungry? I have not heard much reviews from this restaurant except some news when they first started few years ago and there was a case about originality between them and another reknown outlet that sells the same thing.

Anyway, let bygones be bygones and frankly, this restaurant does serve tasty food. I love the fish and the large prawns... mmmmm

The kids had a Kid's Fish but they were mostly busy with the Free activitiy from the Kid's Menu given. Many restaurants adopt this method of letting them do some puzzles, colouring or spot the differences. Smart move, eh.

Kid's Fish Meal (can't remember the real name..)



My girl busy with her menu activity..



Yes, the food was nice! We ordered this large Seafood Platter to share.

Healthy Body Healthy Mind

When I was young, I had little exposure in ballsports, except Volleyball and Netball. I'd not mention about Badminton since those were feather light balls. Perhaps those were the only kind that my school provided since it was an all-girls-school. Now that my eldest is in school, she too, hardly gets to pick many types of games in school, as her school's strength is in dance and literature. She wanted to play Netball but she didn't auditioned for it and it was a little late for new enrollment. I didn't let her try Hockey as I didn't like the idea of her thrashing out in the open field and the risks involved. Now the school Cheerleading team is looking for new talents and my girl has shown some interest.

Last weekend I was watching a team of kindy boys and girls playing soccer near my home, I can't help but admire how these little kids learn to tackle the soccer ball swiftly and decisively. My younger daughter is now showing signs of interest in that sport. She had a brief moment of kicking the ball when it came her way.

My friend who has a young daughter also loves football told me that playing this sport actually enables players to make decisions in a short frame of time and handle situations of stiff pressure well. It is also good to pick up teamwork as we all know playing this sport is all about teamwork. Her father is starting a young team of all girl's soccer for the neighbourhood. He has asked if I would be interested in letting my girl join since they are in the same age group. Sounds like fun. Would you let your young daughter enjoy this game. It'd be fun to shop for soccer jerseys for little girls..

A Day to the Temple for Kids

The year of the Ox kinda seemed a little gloomy, after months into it. Yesterday, I read that a popular Chinese restaurant finally shuts it's doors to patrons after having cash flow problems because of low patronage. Some of their longest staff who had worked for more than a decade could hardly believe it. This Chinese Restaurant is popular with wedding banquets as many as 26 banquets in a single month. And this does not stop the bad economy from swallowing them up no matter how good their food may be. The truth is there, people are spending less and those in business are suffering. Many businesses are finding it hard to stretch.

For a while, I played around getting a job. I am still considering them seriously. I feel very guilty not working at times like these. And with the bad times, jobs are not easy to get by too. I've been flipping pages of classified and they are really getting thinner each week.

On Friday was Good Friday. It was a public holiday for us in Singapore. In Chinese Calendar, it was the 15th day of the month, where many Buddhists will go to the temple. I thought this was a good time to pray for blessings, safety, health and kids. My sis told me this is a good opportunity for me to bring the girls to the temple for the experience. I have not brought them into one before. We headed for Bencoolen St where the popular Kwan Yim Temple is.

We parked just across Bugis Street Flea Mart, directly below ILUMA. This is the first time I've seen this beautiful unique building there.. I was really awed by the external facade of the building! It's new and I wonder if the mall is opened for business yet..

Iluma building

I know this popular Kwan Yim temple will be fully packed with people and smoke because 15th is a day many would offer prayers in this temple. Ah Boy was worried if the girls would be uncomfortable with the crowd and the joss sticks.

So what I did was - left the girls outside first with him while I go in and pray first. Then when I am done only brought them all in to pray at the main altar. Lea and Rae were very good. Rae followed the way I guided her to place her palms together and I spoke on her behalf out loud so she could hear how to pray.. Po-Pee Po-Pee Peng-Aun, Gao-Tak-Chek, Gao-Tua-Han.... all that stuff.

Lea was so cute. She closed her eyes and clasp her hands instead! She thought it was to be done as we did in Church! So I told her to just place her palms flat against each hand.. She did so diligently and repeated what I said. Never mind if the girls spoke dialect like Greek. I was really proud of them because they did not complain about the crowd, and the smoke that made them weep. Very good girls! I think this is a good experience for both my girls at this age. I shall not hesitate to bring them to the temple again in future. In fact, on the way out of the temple, the girls said they wanted to visit this place again because they really liked it. I guess, I didn't have to worry if they will adjust, God has showed them the way in a quiet way.

Our Trip in Genting, again

We had just been to Genting shortly on a short break during the Chinese New Year and two weeks ago on the school holiday break, we drove up there again after the kids spent some time with Phor Phor (Granny) in Penang. They love the place and in the Chinese New Year, we only had time at the outdoor theme park but we didn't go for the rides at the indoor theme park. This time we bought single ride tickets since my eldest is tall enough for some of the rides, compared with previous years whereby she had not reached the minimum height requirement yet.

We started our drive in the late morning after our last breakfast in Penang. The girls were sad to leave because the both knew they would not see Phor Phor till the next available holidays. They pulled long faces and were quiet in the car for a while. After a nap, they woke up refreshed and had forgotten about it and looked forward to the Genting Highlands' trip.

Kids were sad when we had to leave Phor Phor.. *sulked badly* We promised them we'll be back in Penang when they get to have longer holidays.

We reached Genting about 2pm after a series of wrong turns.. We tried to exit into Tanjung Malim to head towards Genting but we just got lost amidst the small little rural towns as we were relying on signages most of the time. We went back to the main expressway and decided to take the next exit instead. That was when we realized that it was the same, bringing us back to the same rural roads. After a road query at the petrol kiosk, we managed to get back on track and found that our previous drive was not lost except that we just didn't have the confident to drive on those rural roads. We found the signage finally that heads Genting and finally got ourselves up the hills to Genting Highlands. *read - We NEED GPS badly*

It was a long queue at the hotel lobby. This is the first time we saw a massive ticketing way of checking in... taking queue numbers... and our first stay at First World. We've been to Resort, Theme Park Hotel and Genting. And this was the only available room available for this holidays so we grabbed even though we were told it is a very small room. Indeed, it was a small room with only 2 single beds! Lucky we brought along our inflatable camping bed just in case!

Wanna be a Superstar? (picture below) This is not ours. But we had a go at this fun thingy. They took shots of us on a background, omit it and superimpose us on dancing figures to our song selection. All we need to do was sit and shake our heads.. I've got a CD but not sure how to show it in my blog.. have to think of a way.

Theme Rides way up high (indoors)

Lotus Rides (indoors)

The girls had fun in this Ferris Wheels (indoors)

Lots of shopping for you

An overview of the indoor First World Plaza

Watch Ripley's Believe It or Not here!

Reindeer Ride (indoor)

Ride on the Gondolas (we didn't take these because it looked a little boring and slow...*yawn*

If you want to scare yourself silly, here's the place

So much to do in Genting Highlands - First World Plaza

We enjoyed our trip to Genting Highlands a lot. The kids want to come here every chance they have.. well, we have to see about that, won't we?

Sights of Penang

Penang has the best of both worlds. Modern Buildings and Malls and the simple lifestyle of the local folks. On my trip there, instead of hitting the malls as we usually do in the past decades, we now head more for the heartlands area. Heartlands meaning, local markets, shop houses, coffee shops, hawker fare and just taking in the smell and sights of Penang like they were in the old days.

Of course the kids complained every now and then because these places are void of air-conditioning and there's bound to be some kind of weird smell or stench, I still enjoyed every moment of it. This is what aging is all about. Grasping on to whatever childhood memories I had here and also to ground me and realize how much times have changed.

Compared with Singapore, you can see much rubbish strewn all around the roads, exhaust fumes and cigarette pollution and rubbish dump alleys but this is an education for my children that I don't want them to miss. I had to explain to them that this is the norm as MANY other countries are bigger and have more population, hence take time to develop and clean up, compared with a small country like Singapore. Many buildings in Penang are not maintained, looks forlorn and diapidated and is in need of a new coat of paint.

As a matter of fact, Penang looks much cleaner now, except for her congested looking roads and messy directions.

I consider these part of life lessons for Rae and Lea and hope that someday, when they do travel or go to other parts of the world, they will learn to appreciate the beauty of the local lifestyle and their friendliness of the people.

We drove to many parts of town and even got down for the kids to relieve themselves. Ah Boy remembered a public toilet at the old esplanade when the girls were screaming urgent and true enough, the toilet is still around and looks very enchantingly retro, to me. I can't help taking shots of it. I even took shots of an old car because in Singapore, we hardly get to see cars that are older than 10 years.

We even took a wrong turn to the Chowrasta Market on one morning only to get caught in the massive human traffic market along the streets... Embarrasing situation as we slowly edge our way out while the locals looked and stared at a car in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Penang and it's many sights

Tua Pek Kong Temple at Pulau Tikus

Times Square (Is this opened?)

Streets around Georgetown (where shopping was best in 70s!)

Tunes Hotel (errr... where'd such a hotel come from??)

Parking lots that had no lots... Our car under the tree.. Safe to Park?

Pulau Tikus Market Still Standing Proud..
Where the goods are most expensive..sigh

Tandas (old fashioned public toilet) near old Esplanade
Ah Boy must have used this many times!! He knew this place!

A familiar sight of a typical sugar cane drink stall
I love this type of pure sugar cane juice!

Our wrong turn to Chowrasta Market...
lucky we finally cleared *embarrassed to look back*

It was exciting driving around Penang. The familiar sights, the familiar buildings and the names of the roads. And most importantly the best place for FOOD!

Read about my Food Hunt
Char Koay Teow
Curry Mee

Back to Singapore

Aaah I'm finally back in Singapore after a week's holiday in Penang and Genting Highlands, Pahang. We started driving from Singapore from about 5 ish. We used the Tuas' custom entry to get to Johore because we were worried that there might be a jam due to after-work-hours as many Malaysians travel to and forth Singapore for work daily.

After clearing the customs and getting our passports stamped, it was about 6pm. In case you were wondering why didn't we start travelling from morning, it was because Ah Boy had to work that very day and because it was a Monday, he needed to clear emails first and complete all the paper work early. He managed to get off work about 4pm and got home, have a shower then helped to put the luggage into the car.

Weather wise driving in the evening was really very nice. It wasn't hot nor humid. However it got a little stressful when it was dark. At about 8 - 10ish, Ah Boy was still fine. I kept conversation going during the trip because I wanted to make sure he was fine and still alert. If really need to, then we can switch places but i've never driven on his Honda before. His car does not have a hand brake but has a pedal brake on the far left instead of a clutch pedal. So from the left are, foot brake, middle-foot brake and right is the accelerator.

Dark unlighted roads @ 12.51am

Anyway, driving later into the night got a little stressful not because traffic was heavy. It was because roads are not lighted except for the luminous signs painted at the sides of the road to guide you along. If there was a car in front it was easier but if there were no cars, you'd be squinting your eyes out to make sure you follow the luminated signs! YIKES!

Altogether, we took about 3 toilet breaks. The girls were watching their favourite movie Enchanted and Mr Bean along the way. About 10pm they were all asleep. I kept a watch for the road for Ah Boy. Just to be safe because it was our first drive at night.

The total trip to Penang from Singapore was shorter than we expected. It was about 8 and half hours.. I guess we made a record time compared with the 10 hours drive back previously during the day. Traffic at night consists of more Trucks and Heavy laden goods' vehicles. There were some buses but not many because many buses do not leave Sg as early as us so it was only after the Selangor/Perak state we saw more buses from KL/Perak heading north.

We are almost almost reaching! It was about 12.59am in the morning!

Reach Toll! @ 1.00am

We finally drove across Penang Bridge @1.04am

All in all, it was a heck of an experience driving at night. Thank God we arrived safely.

To read about my food haunt in Penang, click below:
Char Koay Teow
Curry Mee