Langkawi 2007 - Part II

As promised, here is part two. Apologize for the delayed post, busy busy. Anyway, I will let the pictures do the talking on this post. It wasn't that bad except the part where it rained when we were island hoping. The rest is still the same; dreadful car ride without air cond, spending more time traveling out of hotel than traveling around ... yada yada

We started of with Dayang Bunting Lake, at Dayang Bunting Island!!! ~


Awana Port Malai Ali ... where the journey begins ...


As we climbed in, we could felt droplets ... it was raining


Ariel was excited about the boat ride. She didn't quite care about the weather


The rain hit us during the journey there ...


A picture of Dayang Bunting ... the pregnant maiden ... not bad ... the mountain actually looks like that ...


We arrived! Now time to hike ...


It was still raining ...


We got our foot massage from fishes in the lake. Kinda fun but we can't do anything else cos it was still raining.


We saw monkeys everywhere, usual sight ... but one with a Cadbury waffle was rare. Pity the poor boy who lost his snack to this monkey


This rascal even had nasi lemak!


The rain subsided and the view was much better ...


Me!


- EAGLE FEEDING - PULAU SINGA BESAR


We stopped in the middle of the sea near Pulau Singa Besar to see flocks of eagle diving into the water, feeding on chicken skin which the locals feed them everyday ... not sure if that is right but the some of the eagles came from a conversation center, some are from the nature and some are pets!


According to the locals, Langkawi was named after Helang (eagle) and Kawi (a type or rock, marble I suppose)


There is two species of eagles; the white one (this pic) which is bigger in size, more graceful in flight and shy, while the brown ones (the one you see in Kuah's Jetty) is smaller in size, more temperamental and wild.


I did not photoshop this! haha ... Trust me, it's difficult to capture images of animals in motion!

- PANTAI BERAS BASAH -


The reason why they called it Pantai Beras Basah (Wet Rice Beach) was because of the sand that has the color of the grain and is always wet ... even up to high dry areas. Weird ...


People everywhere ... Can't get a nice quiet beach picture


Ariel wanted me to try that ... erm ... not in front of my parents


Didn't brought any swimwear ... that is the best they could do ...

-TANJUNG RHU -


Tanjung Rhu Resort. $400 per night for standard room ... quite expensive, but I am sure it is worth the stay


Ariel ... posing


Mum and Dad was walking around, scouting for a place to sit


Stunning! The view was magnificent


Was trying an artistic shot ... did it work?


Looks like a scene from one of those of scary movie ... haha


Beautiful Sunset ... Tanjung Rhu


After that, we had our last night and travel to Penang for my graduation the following morning. Next to come; graduation pictures ... shot by Kenny!

Langkawi 2007 - Part I

I didn’t enjoy the trip. It was mainly because I did not get what I want from the trip. Overall the vacation was quite stressful, tiresome and I fell sick. Totally the opposite from what you are suppose to get from a vacation.

Anyway, the journey to north began soon after I finished work last Monday. It was a bright morning and I couldn’t sleep in the car. Moreover, my mum was chatting with grandma and I don’t have the heart to stop them. With my tired eyes, fatigue and a mild fever coming up, we reached Kuala Kedah Jetty about 3pm. As soon as we boarded off the car, I started feeling much better and took out my camera

Pak Teh Enterprise - Very interesting business name for a small town

The boat ride to Langkawi was hell! The sea was rough and the ferry aks speedboat was no where near comfort. It was like a roller coaster ride, up down right left everywhere. The first 10 minutes was fun but after that, everyone started to quiet down. The ride lasted an hour. As soon as we got off, passengers started vomiting, some cried (kids of course) and some cursed away (I was one of them). Angela and Ariel was in such a faulty mood, they didn’t even say a single word after that. Mum was dizzy and grandma – speechless.



The Journey begins ...



The Ferry we took - RM18 for a whole lots of headache

For your information, I manage to get some advice from a local. She said that its advisable to travel before noon time to prevent sea sick and rough rides. Alternatively, you can travel further to Kuala Perlis Jetty by land (about 30-45 min) and take a Ferry from there where the route is smoother and shorter by sea ride.

Kuah Jetty lated and situated next to the airport. The room rates were very cheap. We got 2 family rooms, each with 2 queen size bed and paid RM 888 for 3 nights.

Nice bed. Not too bad.

For the price, we got pretty bad housekeeping (no missing items) but we have to constantly ask for our toilet rolls, towels, door mats and also whatever that is missing in the room. As we stroll down the beach, it was shocking to see a pipe line and bridge across the sea. The resort was near an industrial factory and although there were no noises, the view was destroyed. Worse, the resort is located next to Damai Resort, deserted, and haunted.

If you look closely, the black line is the pipe, on top of it is the bridge

The good thing ever happened that day was of course the bath tub, which was huge and duty free shopping. Chocolates and Liquors are so cheap! SO SO CHEAP! A one liter JackDaniel Whisky is only rm55 and Hershey chocolates are going for RM10 for 5! Even dinner was cheap. My entire family had a meal for RM75 in the Kuah. Of course, Langkawi’s city center, Kuah is only about 5-street wide. According to Mum, it was Mahsuri's doing - the curse where Langkawi will not be developed for 7 generations and a whole long story. Kinda funny I thought. As we all call it for the night, my throat began to ache.

The thing that saved my trip

.....

.....

.....

As day two arrived, the first thing we did was to exchange our rented car. Dad’s seat belt is not working and the car has no validation license. JPJ was busy summoning drivers and of course, the companies which rented out the cars. Piece of advice, there will be a lot of human vultures scavenging for business even before you arrive at Langkawi. Learn to say NO, even if they were representing Tourism Malaysia! Hotel’s recommendations are usually more expensive but I believe a marginal RM20 will save you a lot of time and give you a piece of mind. Also, try to get a Waja or Wira – their air conds work wonders. As soon as we exchange our Wira for a Kia, the air cond broke down. You don’t want that in Langkawi because it’s striking sunny and burning hot. If you have to travel at least 20 min every time you leave your accommodation to get somewhere with human or for food (like mine), you will curse your way.

Renting the car - RM80 for Wira, a day without petrol. Not very cheap.

Second day; we visited Makam Mahsuri, Kuah Town, Jetty Area, Port near to Berjaya Resort and Langkawi Geo Park.

Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed at Makam Mahsuri (grandma disallow) except for this bird.

Makam Mahsuri was not that bad. Historical place. Took a long time to translate everything for Ariel. She look confused at the end with all the names and artifacts in the museum. I wanted to go into one of the wooden house but ever-superstitious grandma stopped me. Ghost. She even disallow me to take pictures; unless it's trees or birds.

As evening approach, we went to one of the private port near Berjaya Resort. The view was magnificent during sunset. It's located north west of the island and took about 30minutes drive from Langkasuka. I wish I had a private boat. BTW, the Geo Park, more well known as Langkawi Cable Car and the Telaga Tujuh is also situated near there. Kinda a tourist area. Did I took the Cable Car? No ... Why? Cos it looks so scary. The Cable car goes across two mountain peaks. No way I am taking it.

One of the ports near berjaya

Beautiful ~ One of the resort next to the port

As usual, dad hardly smiles

(l - r) Mum, Ariel, Grandma, Angela, and Me. Dad is photographer

More pictures to come in part II

Langkawi ...

... here I come! Can't believe it is August already. The last time it was August, I was back in Australia - enjoying spring. Sigh, time flies. Since I was back in Malaysia, I reckon life has not been really that bad. Work was not bad, could be better.

Anyway, I will be away on vacation with my family in Langkawi, far north for four days. Then, while driving back south, we will stop by at Penang for my graduation! Finally ... the ceremony is here! I am all packed and ready to go. I wonder will Vynn have enough time to meet me up.

Thanks Anthony for temaning me on Sunday! Lastly, I would like to thank all my friends for my blated birthday gifts; the three design books from PageOne Kinokuniya and chipping in for my future camera gadget. Hugs, Love ya'all.


Hide all

Merdeka Ad

Is it me, or the Merdeka Ads are late?

It's almost 31st and I have not even seen a single Merdeka Ad on TV!
...

...

...

Maybe the advertisements got banned ...

Follow up Checkup

Was having problem blogging since a few days ago. Dunno why ....

I had my follow-up checkup today back in Sunway Hospital. After a string of bad experience there, it seems so weird to walk into the hospital again. My follow up results are good, no cancerous growth, the anal fissure is gone, wound is healing faster than what the doctor is expected and my doctor is getting richer. The consultation took less than 15 minutes and it cost RM60. Previously, when I was in the sick bed, each visit from Dr. Q cost RM180. My surgery was RM5000 .... No wonder he can afford that watch!

Anyway, I finally took some time exploring my D80. Had a mini little studio set up and some of the pictures turn out quite well. The pictures are fairly huge, but here are a few of them...





I just can't seem to get the whole background white. Perhaps it is the cloth, or lighting or maybe my camera setting.





Shot was taken outside my house, with a white cloth placed at the wall. I only used natural sun light. The effect wasn't there but the results were not that bad.



Overall, the shooting session took some time off my Monday afternoon. Setting up was time consuming, not having an assistant is quite troublesome and trying to get the photo you want is even harder. If you think taking picture is that simple, think again! Would just like to thank my two sisters for helping out even when it was hot outside.

Thank you Ariel and Angela, and the bunch of oranges!

Birthday Surgery @ Sunway Hospital

I had to share the room with three other uncles. Why? Insurance. It was an experience. One hell of a bad experience.

• Uncle A in front of me is in a Coma. You can often hear him choking on his breathing machine, releasing loud coughs, nurses running and rushing around him, calming him. Not a pretty sight.
• Uncle B next to me snores so loud, you wish you could choke him. He talks so loud, you wish you could choke him. His mobile rings so loud, you wish you could choke him and his relative is as loud as him, you wish your friends were there to choke all of them.
• Uncle C is always missing in action. He just walks out of the hospital until the nurses call him. How would I know the nurses call him? Our ward is right next to the counter, you can literally hear the nurses chat.

Yes, noise noise noise. Yes, I didn't get any good rest. Yes, it was hell.

Then, we have the part where the nurses are so full of shit. Firstly, they left me in the operating theater for an hour after I was awake from the operation. Enduring pain for an hour without pain killer is worse than hell. The operating theater called my ward 4 times and no one came for me. Excuse given, they were busy. Then, I found out that the whole delay including the opt took 2 hours. Initially, they told my parents it was only a 30min process. Forgetting to inform my parents about my condition is unforgivable. The left my parents waiting and worried sick.

As I doze off in the ward, I could hear loud chatters from the nurses at the counter. I could hear uncles coughing and talking away. I was asleep with stress in my mind. A fever was developing.

I woke up a few hours later to find myself alone, hungry. Meal was served. I ate and vomited. Normal reaction due to anesthetic from the operation. But it was not normal to have no nurses attending to me. SMSed Kenny for help. Struggled to get the emergency button. Then someone came, wish me well and told me to rest. Again I was drugged without food.

Woke up at midnight. Painful and hungry. The nurse came and said "If you want milo, tell me and then we can make you one". I said ok, she poured the water and left the milo powder right next to the glass. Then, she walked off without even looking at me. The glass and mini container was placed so far within my reach, I gave up trying to get the drink. I rather starve than to move my ass and make the drink myself.

Later a nurse came in and gave me pain killers. Again, they left the medicine right next to the milo powder. Do I look like I can stretch my arm like a rubber band? Is it so hard to just bloody pass me the stuff???

What ticked me off? They told me to soak my ass in salt water to reduce the pain. Again they left me in the toilet and totally forgot about me. I had to stand up, watched my ass bleed and ring the god damn emergency button again. The head nurse rushes in and apologized. She gave her team a death stare and personally helped me.

Finally I got to go home and I had to wait for the bloody bill to be settled. Of course, the nurses told me that I was fit enough to leave the bed. I did - in good karma for other patients admitting. After an hour, I began to have a headache and my dad notice blood stains on my pants. I was bleeding again, and the management panic and rearrange another room for me. My dad didn't understand why they asked me to leave my bed.

My dad was furious, he lashed out at the management for ill treating me. Mum took me home. I left the hospital about 12 and my dad is still there right now (2pm) waiting for the bill to be settled because my doctor did not sign a document receipt to be issued as payment. So, now my dad has to wait for the doctor ... and they expected me to wait that long.

Dad told me the bill came up to $8000 ... I say, not worth a single penny at all. The only time I ever get good service was when I ordered a hot chocolate from the Starbucks downstairs.

Is it me being too dramatic or the staff at the hospital are just irresponsible, insensitive and despicable ? Maybe that is why Uncle C tries to escape from the ward 3 times yesterday. I don't know, but I would NEVER recommend the hospital to anyone.

What a birthday to remember

Birthday 2007

Ah! I am one year older. That sucks ...

The funny thing is that most of my birthdays are really cursed. This year, I will be singing birthdays songs in the operating theater. Yes, I am going for a surgery to dispose an infected growth due to anal fissure. Don't get any funny ideas! It is not caused by sex. I will keep the information to myself unless you ask me ... personally.

After clearing my bowels, more than 10 times in the toilet, I fell asleep and woke up right in the middle of the morning, feeling hungry. I literally had nothing down my throat, except for the Salmon at Curve and 4 pieces of Oreo for dinner. Why can't they just cut open me, slice that damn thing off? I didn't even had a bite of my own birthday cake! Argh!

Anyway, I would like thank everyone for coming to Italiannies! Like Jimmy said, it was fun to have two great meals with a bunch of friends in a month. Here are the pictures. I apologize if some of them are quite blur. As you all know, the Nikon D80 DSLR is still very new to me.


Kenny


The girls and me (l-r); Azie, Janet, Andrew, Claire, Jenny


The guys and me (l-r); Clement, Alvin, Colin, Andrew, Anthony


Jimmy, Edward


William, Dennis


Desert at Ikea


Ever so beautiful - Claire


The bunch at Ikea