mission accomplished: the highest in Southeast Asia @ 4,095meters above sea level

she is Mt. kk, 4095 meters (13,435 ft) above sea level.

 

to me, it was not easy at all, and i did not feel excited the moment i reach the peak because there is still another 8.7km to hike all the way down. i was unsure if it is an altitude problem which causes me to throw out all that i have consumed but definitely it was really not an easy task to be on an empty stomach along such journey. i really felt so glad that i have manage to complete it.

i still feel flabbergasted about the whole thing. it was really worth all the hard work of sustaining until the end. i was happy about it, to actually made it to the top...

thanks to all my family & friends for their support especially my cousin who join me despite the fact that i am moving as slow as a tortoise! (:

we all made it! it was really a fabulous experience!

p/s: i will be posting on the details of the itinerary, contacts and a summary of our group and individual expenses report to share with all of you, if you will be planning on such expedition in the future , this can be a good reference. (: 

mission

i have a mission, that is to complete. 

also, to view the beauty of nature, 

another side of God's amazing creation. :)

i do hope i will enjoy! :)

oh mine, no more days to-go, 0 Mississippi it is... :P

a spontaneous weekend in Singapore, Mar 19 - Mar 21

It was my last year-end plan to visit Singapore Zoo (ranked one of the best zoo in the world by Forbes http://www.tripspirit.com/35:The-Best-Zoos-in-the-World-According-to-Forbes), and I thought this is a good start, cos is the nearest to Malaysia! But without realizing, it clashes with the year end closure period, I got to canceled the hostel I booked, I may have been too excited to book it before checking my schedules. :P

I stayed at my ex-boss place at Bishan together with his family. We went to the Zoo as plan on Saturday morning. It was a wet tour as the downpour didn't stop, but we were glad we went too! :) Not only that I like animals, I thought touring the Zoo was educational too. I really thought that animals are amazing. :) And it was surely a nice outing despite the fact I don't get such fresh air often, we normally surrounds by office buildings, laptop screens, spreadsheets...

After a shower and a little rest, I hopped into the MRT and my first stop was Somerset, went to 313 for some shopping! In fact some of the mid tier brands clothing, you can actually get it much cheaper compared to Malaysia especially during sales. Example: I bought a short and long sleeves formal wear blouse from G2000 at SGD13 = MYR30 each. Charles & Keith has more varieties of handbags and shoes (maybe because it is from Singapore), don't normally get to see much choices in Malaysia. 

Walk back upward to Orchard, stop by Food Republic for dinner with a friend. It was a nice stroll along the stretch of roads. Hopped into the MRT and stop at City Hall , walk down towards Waterfront Park and the Esplanade Hall. So happened there was MOSAIC Musical Festival 2010 , indulged myself with the awesome music performance for the evening :)

The night was still early, went to watch 'How To Train Your Dragon 3D' at Junction8. The movie was funny and touchy. It made me laugh at the same time shed some tears. Took a cab back home. Felt very safe though it was close to midnight to have actually took a cab back home by myself. I will never ever dare to if it is here in my home country. Too bad. Well, it is rather a sad fact huh. 

I got up the next morning, hit to Junction8 after a nice homemade breakfast. Visited the library and watched another movie again, 'The Book of Eli' :P Watch it and you will know what is called 'faith'. After movie, had lunch with  an ex-colleague then head back home.

Took the 5pm First Coach back to KL. Not only I wanted to thank Alex Tham & his family for the superb & warm hospitality, also through him and his family, I see it once again what's a simple yet happy family we all could have. :) He has a beautiful wife with 3 awesome kids: Sarah, Luke & Sandra. They were all very loving and caring. :)

It was a simple yet rewarding weekend. I remember mum once said: seeing new places and meeting new people is a source of experimental learning. I just had one over the weekend! (though it may seems a little silly to have paid double the price to watch the 2 movies, haha)

I will surely make another weekend trip soon again, and also to catch up with my primary school best buddy! Misses the chance to meet up with her this trip.

Longshen Rice Terrace Climb @ China – Oct 2009

5 hours climb to get us reached to the place we stay up for the night.It was the longer route we took to visit the different area of rice terraces surrounding the longshen village.

Though i was numb and speechless at the last hour, but no regrets. The view was magnificent, not to forget to mention the great companions during the journey. ;)

Longshen is 2 hours bus ride from Guilin. Those terrace fields are built along the slope winding from the riverside up to the mountain top. Got to know from the local villagers that most of the terrace fields were built 500 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty.

This is still not the peak, is a rest stop halfway through the climb =P .

I am half dead, whole body sweated and my legs started shaking. haha. A little exaggerating, but is when i started to feel a little exhausted. It was after the second hour, and we thought we were almost there.

Awesome weather early in the morning

When sun rises… keeping everyone of us warm and cozy

 

The little ‘white bug’ we see in this village up in the mountain hill

Horses helps the villagers to transport goods up and down the mountain hill. The horses back are really strong !

Their land of producing rice to their people, its like our padi fields in Malaysia.

Houses where the local villagers stays

River Ride @ Yangsuo, China – Oct 2009

The most enjoyable thing to do i have liked most in Yangsuo was the River Ride !

2 hours of ride in the raft takes you to feel the serenity and tranquility of the river, and tells you the captivating view of Yangsuo.

Enjoying every juncture of the ride… and the cool breeze makes me feel so refreshing ! :)

We tracked a little along the river side…

Visited a village @ Yangsuo - children learning to sketch at one of the back lane.

Met a dog who looks like Lassie in one of the street in this village !

West Street before peak hour, the atmosphere makes me feel like I am @ Jonkers Street, Malacca.

Let these pictures illustrate to you the beauty of Yangsuo !

a visit to IBM Vietnam @ Hanoi, Apr 2009

their houses captured my sight along the journey (so slim & tall !)

stayed @ Movenpick, just right beside HQ office, only few steps away :)

 their streets… lots of people cycling around

some local food, dessert & coffee that I’ve tried

a little challenging:
local road side food with the chair of such height tried that too, together with Xuan & Daphne !

Daphne, I-Ping & I did indulged ourselves in a cozy Italian restaurant one of the night @ Verticale

 

humougous spring roll - baiscally you just add the tauge and spring roll in their so-called local Vietnamese beehun and stir it – ta…da…its ready to serve as a meal ! And it makes you REALLY FULL !

Daphne & I also had ice-cream @ Fanny’s. She ended up wide awake, coz… I wrongly ordered her the ice-cream with coffee + liquor =P

er, of course I worked too ! ;) we had financial reviews and went thru business controls with the local RE team. Also visited some other IBM offices in Hanoi. No pictures at work because I am focusing ! (there is the proof that I worked) Well, I know bubbles will never ever believed me…

a visit to IBM Philippines @ Manila, Oct 2008

Weather
Sun rise is 2 hours earlier compared to Mys. (5a.m. in Phil is 7a.m. in Mys). Air is polluted in Manila city, sky is hazy.

Taste Bud

Local love sweet stuff. Green curry is sweet not spicy. Green tea is sweet does not taste like the normal green tea though we went to a typical Japanese restaurant, guess is already custom-made just for the Filipino.

Fast Food
Jollibee is a very famous local fast food restaurant. Is like McD but is specially customized for Filipino. Jollibee have spaghetti with very sweet sauce ! And where there is McD you can see Jollibee right beside ! Guess Jolliebee don’t need to do market research anymore just by following where McD goes, SMART!

Local pizza like the “yellow cab” is also customized for local taste – its SWEET.

Local loves buffet packages. International restaurant like Italianese have constant daily buffet packages.

Culture/People
Kind and polite, speak gently and friendly. There is guard (human & dog) – the K9 team in front of the entrance of every hotel, shopping mall, office building. You will be body checked as well as your bags before you enter any of the entrance. Local don’t used to waste food. Waiter/waitress encouraged take away when they see leftovers. Local love to shop & Phil has all the largest mall ranked world-wide !

Shopping Malls (Infrastructure)
they have the largest mall Worldwide (by size)
1. SM Mall of Asia
ranked largest in Phil & 3rd worldwide @ Pasay city – 386,000 sqm
2. SM City North Edsa
ranked 2nd in Phil & 6th worldwide @ Quezon city – 332,000 sqm
3. SM Megamall
ranked 3rd in Phil & 7th worldwide @ Mandaluyong city – 332,000 sqm
4. SM City Cebu
ranked 4th in Phil & 11th worldwide @ Cebu city – 267,000 sqm
*Berjaya Times Square
largest in Malaysia & ranked 8th worldwide @ KL - 320,000 sqm

I visited SM Megamall for dinner and some shopping, did not managed to get to the others cos is too HUGE and required a lot of TIME. 

Transportation

1. Jeepney (with/without air cond) and its colorful. Historically is used by the American in World War 2 as transport utilities and the Filipino then modified it to become a public transportation and it is now one of the oldest transportation in their country. It is 4 peso (RM2.80) longest distance is up to 4km.

2. Tricycle – this small vehicle can take up to 7 passengers !

Manila International Airport
1. Everyday it is crowded like the scene in KL Pudu Raya Bus Station

IBM site visits
1. IBM Plaza in Eastwood city
2. 1800 Avenue in Eastwood city
3. UP Ayala Buildings (current existing and new construction site)
*UP = University of Philippines
*Ayala = most famous developer inPhilippines
4. Edsa office

IBM Philippines offices are colorful. The walls are painted with many colors (blue, green, pink, etc…). 

I met up with Sam Marbebe, ex-Intel colleague, who came all the way from Cavite.

I forgot my passport, left it in the hotel save box and it was 3pm when we reached the Manila airport. Our flight suppose to depart @ 4:15pm. Shang Manila to the airport is 45 mins journey 1-way. I was speechless haha. The only way is to pray for a delayed flight muahaha my wish came true ! FLIGHT DELAYED ! I enter the departure gate @ 4:30pm. Flight departed @ 4:50pm.

-THE END on such a silly act-


But it was this which makes the entire trip more thrilling ;)

Updated:

For some visitors from trip advisors who is asking if Malaysia has its own local design transport we still have our very own trishaw in Penang !